Béla III of Hungary
As a boy he was sent to Constantinople to be educated in the court of the Emperor, Manuel I Comnenus, who intended Béla to succeed him and betrothed him to his daughter, Maria. However, when a son was born to the Emperor this engagement was broken, but another marriage was arranged between Béla and Agnes de Chatillon, a princess of Antioch. She was also the half-sister of the Empress Maria.
Béla III succeeded his brother Stephen III of Hungary and was crowned under the influence of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus. As the new king, Béla adopted Catholicism and crowned his son Emeric as his successor. He was a powerful ruler, and his court was counted among the most brilliant in Europe.
Béla was a warrior by nature and training, and the death of the Emperor Manuel I Comnenus in 1180 left him free to expand Hungarian power in the Balkans. His attempt to recover Dalmatia led Hungary into two wars against Venice, and ultimately faltered. He also aided the Serbs against the Byzantine Empire. At the time of his death Béla was assisting the Emperor Isaac II Angelus in a war against Bulgaria. He was succeeded by both of his sons in turn, Emeric and Andrew.
Family
Béla III was engaged once and married twice.- Maria Porphyrogenita Comnena, daughter of Emperor Manuel I Comnenus, with no issue. They were engaged in 1163, separated in 1169.
- Agnes de Chatillon (1154-1184), daughter of Raynald of Chatillon and Constance of Antioch (joint princes of Antioch). They married in 1172 with issue:
- Marguerite of France, daughter of King Louis VII of France, married in 1186, with no issue.
Through his son Andrew II, he is the ancestor of Edward III of England through Isabella of France. He is therefore an ancestor to the present-day British royal family including Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
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