Gyula
Encyclopedia
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
and Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
sources, the title
Title
A title is a prefix or suffix added to someone's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...
of one of the leaders, the second in rank, of the Hungarian tribal federation
Magyar tribes
The Magyar tribes were the fundamental political units whose framework the Hungarians lived within, until these clans from Asia, more accurately from the region of Ural Mountains, invaded the Carpathian Basin and established the Principality of Hungary.The locality in which the Hungarians, the...
in the 9th-10th centuries. In the earliest Hungarian sources, the title name is only recorded as a personal name
Personal name
A personal name is the proper name identifying an individual person, and today usually comprises a given name bestowed at birth or at a young age plus a surname. It is nearly universal for a human to have a name; except in rare cases, for example feral children growing up in isolation, or infants...
(Gyyla, Geula, Gyla, Iula). The title name do not have convincing etymologies
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
, but it is probably of Turkic
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
origin.
According to the Hungarian chronicles, Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
was ruled by a line of princes called Gyula, and their country was occupied by King Stephen I of Hungary (1000/1001-1038).
Etymology
The title "Gyula" is known from the Hunnic times. The Chinese Shi Ji recorded hierarchy in the Hunnic state, after the Juki Prince (Ch. Xiang Wang) followed Luli or Guli Wang (谷蠡), a third grade in the state hierarchy. Other Chinese phonetizations are kokli, and the initial phonetics is not only “gu” but also “yu”: Yuli. The title was used by the states of the Hunnic circle in China, Europe, and Central Asia, among them the Hungarian Gyula, the Hephthalite Huns' Gula (in Byzantine sources also Golla), it is a component in the Indian Huna MihirakulaMihirakula
Mihirakula was the most important Sveta Huna ruler in India. He was the son of Toramana, the founder of Huna power in India. He ruled his horde from 502 to 530 ....
’s name, Constantine Porphyrogenitus noted it as Gila and Yula among the Kangar Pachinaks in his De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...
(ca. 950), it is found in the Old Turkic Yula, and in the Khitan
Khitan
The history of the Khitans dates back to the 4th century AD. The Khitan people dominated much of Mongolia and modern Manchuria by the 10th century, under the Liao Dynasty, and eventually collapsed by 1125 ....
clan name Yila, in the Mongolian Jangar epos in the form Jula and in Mongolian expression “joloo” with a meaning "rein", earlier this title appeared when was established the Turkic empire Turkic Khaganate. During the Middle Ages it is known as a title and a personal name Ulug Bek, meaning "Great Prince".
The gyulas in the 9th century
The first data of the title, recorded by Ibn Rusta and Gardizi, can be traced back to the so-called Jayhani tradition (around 870). According to these earliest pieces of evidence, the Hungarians were ruled conjointly by two ‘kings’. The major one, called kendeKende
The kende was one of the kings of the dual-monarchy of the early Magyars, along with the gyula or war-chief. The function of the kende is believed to have been a religious one. At the time of the Magyar migration to Pannonia, the Kende was named Kurszán...
(or künde), enjoyed nominal leadership, while effective power was exercised by his colleague, inferior in rank, called the gyula. This peculiar form of governance (‘dual kingship
Diarchy
Diarchy , from the Greek δι- "twice" and αρχια, "rule", is a form of government in which two individuals, the diarchs, are the heads of state. In most diarchies, the diarchs hold their position for life and pass the responsibilities and power of the position to their children or family when they...
’) is generally supposed to have been imitative of the Khazar Khaganate, which did indeed have a similar organization. However, the only thing that the Muslim sources tell us is that the gyula was in charge of the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
matters of the tribal confederation; whereas there existed a legitimate ruler (the kende) who had little influence on army-related issues.
The gyulas in the 10th-11th centuries
Following the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 896, the title gyula can be found in the De administrando imperioDe Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...
(“On the Governance of the Empire”) written by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...
. The emperor confirms that around 950 the gyla was one of the two important officers who assisted the leader of Hungarian tribal federation
Grand Prince of the Hungarians
Grand Prince was the title used by contemporary sources to name the leader of the federation of the Hungarian tribes in the tenth century.-The title:...
; also, each tribe had a chieftain.
The Byzantine Ioannes Skylitzes
John Skylitzes
John Skylitzes, latinized as Ioannes Scylitzes was a Greek historian of the late 11th century. He was born in the beginning of 1040's and died after 1101.- Life :Very little is known about his life...
in the second half of the 11th century recounted (using earlier written sources) the baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
of the Hungarian chieftain Gyula (or gyula) in Constantinople in the mid-10th century. According to Ioannes Skylitzes, Gyula stayed true to his new faith and took a missionary bishop, Hierotheos, with him. A Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
source also contains related information.
The almost contemporary Annales Hildesheimenses (“The Annals of Hildesheim”) recorded for 1003 that “King Stephen of Hungary led an army against his maternal uncle, King Gyula” and “obliged his country by force to adopt the Christian faith
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.”
The Gesta Hungarorum written by an anonymous author
The anonymous writer of the Gesta HungarorumGesta Hungarorum
Gesta Hungarorum is a record of early Hungarian history by an unknown author who describes himself as Anonymi Bele Regis Notarii , but is generally cited as Anonymus...
“(The Deeds of the Hungarians”) was the first Hungarian chronicler who compiled the list of the seven Hungarian conqueror chiefs around 1210. At the seventh place we can find Tétény (Tuhutum), his son Horka (Horca) and the latter's sons, Gyula (Gyyla/Geula) and Zombor (Zubor). According to the author of the Gesta, Zombor (Zubor) was the father of the younger Gyula (Geula/Gyla). The Gesta also narrates that Tétény occupied the land of Transylvania from the Vlach
Vlachs
Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
(Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
) Duke Gelou
Gelou
Gelou or Gelu was a Romanian duke mentioned in Gesta Hungarorum as having opposed the conquest of Transylvania by Tuhutum, one of the “seven dukes” of the Magyars. His story was recorded only by the anonymous writer of the 13th century Gesta...
; neither Tétény nor Gelou are mentioned in other primary sources.
The family tree of the gyulas according to the anonymous author of the Gesta Hungarorum:
Tétény (Tuhutum) ♂
│
Horka (Horca) ♂
┌───────────────────┴──────────────────────┐
Gyula (Gyyla/Geula) ♂ Zombor (Zubor) ♂
┌───────────┴──────────┐ │
Karold (Caroldu) ♀ Sarolt (Saroltu) ♀ Gyula the Younger (Geula/Gyla) ♂
∞ Géza ♂ ┌─────────┴────────┐
│ Bolya (Bua/Biua) ♂ Bonyha (Bucna) ♂
Stephen I ♂ │ │
Maglód kindred (genus Maglout)
The Gesta Hungarorum written by Simon of Kéza
Simon of KézaSimon of Kéza
Simon of Kéza was the most famous Hungarian chronicler in the 13th century. He was a priest in the royal court of king Ladislaus IV of Hungary....
, who wrote his Gesta Hungarorum
Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum
The Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum , written mainly by Simon of Kéza around 1282-1285, is one of the sources of early Hungarian history...
(“The Deeds of the Hungarians”) between 1280 and 1285, inserted Gyula /Iula/ in connection to Translyvania in the list of the seven Hungarian conqueror chiefs. He, as opposed to the anonymous writer of the Gesta Hungarorum, wrote not about two but only one Gyula.
The Chronicon Pictum
The chronicle attributes the finding of the ruins of Gyulafehérvár (in Hungarian, ‘Gyula’s White Castle’; Apulum
Apulum
Apulum may refer to:*The Latin name of Alba Iulia.*Apulum , the Roman fort of Alba Iulia.*Apulum , a Romanian porcelain manufacturing company....
in Roman Dacia
Roman Dacia
The Roman province of Dacia on the Balkans included the modern Romanian regions of Transylvania, Banat and Oltenia, and temporarily Muntenia and southern Moldova, but not the nearby regions of Moesia...
, now Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,747, located on the Mureş River. Since the High Middle Ages, the city has been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania...
, Romania) to the conqueror Gyula.
The family tree of the Gyula family according to the Chronicon Pictum:
Gyula I ♂
┌──────────┴─────────┐
Sarolt ♀ Gyula II ♂
∞ Géza ♂ │
Gyula III ♂
The list of the gyulas
The list of persons who held the gyula office is still subject to debate.Many historians (e.g., György Györffy, Florin Curta) suggest that at the time of the Hungarian conquest Árpád was the gyula, who was later considered to be the ancestor of the dynasty that ruled Hungary until 1301. At any rate, Hungarian chroniclers are unanimous in reporting that the conquest of the Carpathian Basin was directed by Árpád. Florin Curta suggests that when the kende of the conquest (whom he does not name) died in 902, the leadership passed onto Árpád, and one of Árpád’s kinsmen became gyula.
Other scholars (e.g., Gábor Vékony, C. A. Macartney) argues that Árpád was the kende, and the gyula was Kurszán
Kurszán
Kurszán , the Magyar sacral prince, was a partner ruler besides Árpád till his death. He had a crucial role in the Hungarian Conquest . In 892/893 together with Arnulf of Carinthia he attacked Great Moravia to secure the eastern borders of the Frankish Empire. Arnulf gave him all the captured...
(Chussal, Chussol) whose name, in contrast to Árpád, can be found in contemporary Western texts.The Annales heremi, the Annales alamannici
Annales Alamannici
The core text of the Annales Alamannici covers the years 709 through to 799. Spread over several Swabian monasteries, the annals were continued independently in several places, in the Reichenau Abbey up to 939 , in St. Gallen up to 926. The St...
, and the Annales sangalenses maiores refer to him (Róna-Tas, András op. cit. p. 344).
The Slavic source narrating the baptism of the Gyula in Constantinople in the middle of the 10th century mentions that his baptismal name was Stefan. According to the chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg was a German chronicler who was also bishop of Merseburg.-Life:...
(975-1018), the name of King Stephen’s uncle whose country was occupied by the Hungarian king in 1003 was Procui.
The following is the list of the gyulas supposed by modern historians:
- KurszánKurszánKurszán , the Magyar sacral prince, was a partner ruler besides Árpád till his death. He had a crucial role in the Hungarian Conquest . In 892/893 together with Arnulf of Carinthia he attacked Great Moravia to secure the eastern borders of the Frankish Empire. Arnulf gave him all the captured...
(before 894 - 902) or ÁrpádÁrpádÁrpád was the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians . Under his rule the Hungarian people settled in the Carpathian basin. The dynasty descending from him ruled the Hungarian tribes and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301...
(before 894 - 902/after 902) - "Gyula I" or an unknown member of the Árpád dynasty (? - ?); "Gyula I" may be identical to Kurszán
- "Gyula IIGyula IIGyula II was a Hungarian tribal leader in the middle of the 10th century. He visited Constantinople where he was baptized. His baptismal name was Stephen .- Life :...
" (c. 952/953); his baptismal name was Stefan - "Gyula IIIGyula IIIGyula III, also Gyula the Younger, Geula or Gyla, was an early medieval ruler who apparently ruled in Transylvania . His actual name was probably Prokui, yet Prokui cannot possibly be the same as Gyula. Around 1003, he and his family were attacked, dispossessed and captured by King Stephen I of...
"/ (c. 980 - c. 1003); his name may have been Procui
See also
- Hungarian prehistoryHungarian prehistoryHungarian prehistory refers to the prehistoric Magyars, from the time when they separated from Common Ugric until their invasion of the Carpathian basin in the late 9th century...
- Grand Prince of the HungariansGrand Prince of the HungariansGrand Prince was the title used by contemporary sources to name the leader of the federation of the Hungarian tribes in the tenth century.-The title:...
- Horka (title)Horka (title)Horka or harka was a title used by the Magyar tribes in the 9th and 10th centuries. According to Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenetos in De administrando imperio, the horka had judicial authority. However, in other sources the term horka was applied to a military leader...
- KendeKendeThe kende was one of the kings of the dual-monarchy of the early Magyars, along with the gyula or war-chief. The function of the kende is believed to have been a religious one. At the time of the Magyar migration to Pannonia, the Kende was named Kurszán...
Sources
Primary sources- Constantine Porphyronenitus (Author) – Moravcsik, Gyula (Editor) – Jenkins, Romilly J. H. (Translator): De Administrando Imperio; Dumbarton Oaks, 2008, Washington, D. C; ISBN 0-88402-021-5
- Kézai, Simon (Author) – Veszprémy, László (Editor) – Schaer, Frank (Translator): Gesta Hungarorum: The Deeds of the Hungarians; Central European University Press, 1999, Budapest; ISBN 963-9116-31-9
Secondary sources
- Berend, Nóra – Laszlovszky, József – Szakács, Béla Zsolt: The Kingdom of Hungary; in: Berend, Nora (Editor): Christianization and the Rise of Christian Monarchy: Scandinavia, Central Europe and Rus’ c. 900-1200; Cambridge University Press, 2007, Cambridge&New York; ISBN 978-0-521-87616-2
- Curta, Florin: Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages - 500-1250; Cambridge University Press, 2006, Cambridge; ISBN 978-0-521-89452-4
- Fügedi, Erik: The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895-1526; I. B. Tauris, 2001, London&New York; ISBN 1-85043-977-X
- Kristó, Gyula (General Editor) – Engel, Pál - Makk, Ferenc (Editors): Korai Magyar történeti lexikon (9-14. század) /Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History (9th-14th centuries)/; Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994, Budapest; ISBN 963-05-6722-9 (the entry “Anonymus” was written by Zoltán Kordé, “Árpád” by Gyula Kristó, “Gyalu” by Zoltán Kordé, “gyula” by Alfréd Márton, “Gyula” by Sándor László Tóth and László Szegfű, “Kézai Simon” by Tibor Almási, “Kurszán” by Sándor László Tóth, “Tétény” by Zoltán Kordé)
- Kristó, Gyula: Early Transylvania (895-1324); Lucidus Kiadó, 2003, Budapest; ISBN 963-9465-12-7
- Rady, Martyn: Nobility, Land and Service in Medieval Hungary; Palgrave (in association with School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London), 2000, New York; ISBN 0-333-80085-0
- Róna-Tas, András (Author) – Bodoczky, Nicholas (Translator): Hungarians and Europe in the Early Middle Ages: An Introduction to Early Hungarian History; Central European University Press, 1999, Budapest&New York; ISBN 963-9116-48-3