Álmos (died 1129) was a Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 prince, the son of King Géza I of Hungary

Géza I of Hungary

Géza I was King of Hungary from 1074 until his death. During King Solomon's rule he governed, as Duke, one third of the Kingdom of Hungary. Afterwards, Géza rebelled against his cousin's reign and his followers proclaimed him king...

, brother of King Kálmán. He held several governmental posts in the Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

.

Between 1084 and 1091 he was the duke of Slavonia

Slavonia

Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...

; between 1091 and 1095 he was named duke of Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

. In 1095 Kálmán appointed him the duke of the apanage Nitrian duchy

Principality of Nitra

The Principality of Nitra also Nitrian Principality or Slovak Principality is the name for a polity of Nitra Sloviens, centered on large agglomeration, a multi-tribal centre around Nitra, Slovakia. The initially independent Principality of Nitra came into existence in the early 9th century...

 (Tercia pars regni). But, last native Croatian King, Petar Svačić

Petar Svacic

Petar Svačić was the last king of Croatia. It is assumed that he began as a ban serving under king Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia and was then elected king by the Croatian feudal lords in 1093. Petar's seat of power was based in Knin. His rule was marked by a struggle for control of the country...

 expelled him from Slavonia, and united Croatia to the river Drava. In 1097 Petar was defeated at Gvozd Mountain

Battle of Gvozd Mountain

The Battle of Gvozd Mountain took place in the year 1097 and was fought on Petrova gora in central Croatia, between the army of Croatian king Petar Svačić and King Coloman I of Hungary...

 by Coloman.

Álmos, supported by Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

, came in conflict with Kálmán in 1098. On August 21, 1104 Álmos married Predslava, the daughter of Svyatopolk II of Kiev.

Kálmán made peace with Álmos in 1108, but only to have Álmos and his son Béla

Béla II of Hungary

Béla II the Blind , King of Hungary and Croatia . Still as a child, Béla was blinded by his uncle, King Coloman who wanted to ensure the succession of his own son, the future King Stephen II...

 imprisoned in 1108 or 1109 and then blinded in 1113 to prevent them from becoming the future king. After this he went on to live in seclusion at the monastery of Dömös founded by himself until his death, but his son would succeed as king of Hungary.

Álmos was the last duke of Nitra (in Hungarian Nyitra), his removal also marks the end of the Nitrian Frontier Duchy and thus a full integration of most of today's Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

 into the Kingdom of Hungary.

Family

On August 21, 1104 Álmos married Predslava, the daughter of Svyatopolk II of Kiev and had children:

1. Adelaide, (b. c. 1105/07–15 September 1140); married 1123 with Duke Sobeslav I of Bohemia
   Sobeslav I of Bohemia
   Sobeslaus I was Duke of Bohemia from 1125 until his death. He was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, the youngest son of Vratislaus II , the first Bohemian duke to also rule as king, with his third wife Svatava of Poland.-Life:...
   
   
2. Béla II of Hungary
   Béla II of Hungary
   Béla II the Blind , King of Hungary and Croatia . Still as a child, Béla was blinded by his uncle, King Coloman who wanted to ensure the succession of his own son, the future King Stephen II...
   
   
3. Hedwig (aka. Sophia), married 1132 to Duke Adalbert of Austria (1107–1137/38)

Sources

• Cross, Samuel and Sherbowitz-Wetzor, Olgerd. The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text, 1953
• Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon (Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1967.)