The Vatha (or Vata) pagan rebellion was a Hungarian rebellion in 1046, which unseated king Peter Urseolo, martyred Saint Gellért and reinstated the Árpad dynasty on the Hungarian throne. // Events First contact between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuks. ... Peter Urseolo (or Orseolo) was the second king of Hungary and reigned from 1038 till 1041 and from 1044 till 1046 after a brief interruption of three years in which Sámuel Aba ruled the nation. ... Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for their convictions or religious faith, such as during the persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire. ... Gerard Sagredo (also known as Gellért, c. ... The Árpáds (Hungarian: Árpádok, Slovak: Arpádovci, Croatian: Arpadovići) were a dynasty ruling in historic Hungary from the late 9th century to 1301 (with some interruptions, e. ...

Background

Christianity had been introduced in Hungary by the King Saint Stephen I of Hungary. Upon his death in 1038, he was succeded by his sororal nephew Peter Urseolo, a Venetian noble. Through tax increases, and Urseolo's involvement with foreign powers, he proved an unpopular ruler. The Hungarian peasants, still largely pagan, suspected he was intent on bringing Hungary into the fold of the Holy Roman Empire. In a rebellion in 1041, Stephen's brother-in-law Samuel Aba took control of the throne, unseating Urseolo. Urseolo fled to Bavaria, in exile allying himself with German king and Holy Roman Emperor Henry III. Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus as recounted in the New Testament. ... Saint Stephen, Protomartyr, depicted by Carlo Crivelli in 1476 with three stones and the martyrs palm. ... Peter Urseolo (or Orseolo) was the second king of Hungary and reigned from 1038 till 1041 and from 1044 till 1046 after a brief interruption of three years in which Sámuel Aba ruled the nation. ... Location within Italy Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia) 45°26′N 12°19′E, the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice in Italy. ... Paganism (from Latin paganus) and Heathenry are catch-all terms which have come to connote a broad set of spiritual/religious beliefs and practices of a natural religion, as opposed to the Abrahamic religions. ... This page is about the Germanic empire. ... Samuel Aba (Hungarian: Aba Sámuel; in contemporary foreign sources: King Aba, on his coins: King Samuel) was the third king of Hungary. ... The Free State of Bavaria  (German: Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... Henry III, from a miniature of 1040 Henry III (October 29, 1017 – October 5, 1056), called the Black, was a member of the Salian (sometimes Franconian) dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors. ...

In the years that followed, Aba's reign weakened, likely due to opposition from the church, who disliked his catering to pagan beliefs. With support from Henry, Peter Urseolo returned to Hungary in 1044, defeating Aba at the Battle of Ménfõ. Urseolo regained the throne, but Hungary was no longer independent; instead it was a nation within the Holy Roman Empire. However, his second reign would prove to be even more short-lived than his first.

Rebellion

András (Andrew), Béla and Levente were the sons of Vazul, cousin of Saint Stephen. During the reign of Samuel Aba, they had fled the country in fear of their lives, Béla to Poland and András and Béla to Kiev. In 1046, András and Béla returned to Újvár (today: Abaújvár) in Hungary from their exile and quickly gained popular support to the throne, especially among the pagan populace, despite the fact that András was Christian (Levante had remained pagan). On their return, a rebellion began, which András and Levante initially supported. Andrew I (born c. ... Béla I (Hungarian: , Slovak: Belo I), was the king of Hungary between 1061 and 1063. ... Reign From 1025 until 1031 Coronation On December 25, 1025 in Gniezno Cathedral, Poland Royal House Piast Coat of Arms Orzeł Piastowski Parents Bolesław I Chrobry Emnilda Consorts Ryksa Children with Ryksa Boleslaw Zapomiany Kazimierz I Odnowiciel Gertruda Date of Birth 990 Place of Birth  ? Date of Death May 10... Map of the the extent of Kievan Rus through the 11th century. ...

During this rebellion, a pagan noble named Vatha (or Vata) gained power over a group of rebels who wished to abolish Christian rule and revert to paganism. According to legend Vatha shaved his head in the pagan fashion, leaving three braids remaining, and declared war on the Christians. A slaughter of priests and Christians by Vatha's mob ensued.

King Peter is said to have fled towards Székesfehérvár, where he was killed by the rebellious townspeople, and András, as the oldest brother, pronounced himself king. As András and Levante's men moved towards Pest, the bishops Gellért, Besztrik, Buldi and Beneta gathered to greet them. Székesfehérvár (help· info) (German: Stuhlweißenburg, Latin: Alba Regia, colloquial Hungarian: Fehérvár) is a city in central Hungary, located around 65 km southwest of Budapest. ... Pest (in Slovak Pešť, pron. ... Gerard Sagredo (also known as Gellért, c. ...

View of Budapest from Gellért Hill, looking North

In Pest, on September 24, the bishops were attacked by Vatha's mob, who began stoning the bishops. Buldi was stoned to death. As the pagans threw rocks at him, Gellért repeatedly made the sign of the cross, which further infuriated the pagans. Gellért was taken up Kelenhegy hill, where he was put into a cart and pushed off a cliff into the Danube. Besztrik and Beneta managed to flee across the river, where Bezstrik was injured by pagans before they could be rescued by András and Levante. Only Beneta survived. Download high resolution version (1632x1232, 374 KB)Budapest, looking north from Gellért Hill. ... Download high resolution version (1632x1232, 374 KB)Budapest, looking north from Gellért Hill. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). ... Stoning or lapidation is a form of capital punishment in which the convicted criminal is put to death by having stones thrown at him or her, generally by a crowd. ... The Sign of the Cross is a ritual performed mainly within Latin-Rite Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and the Oriental Orthodox, as well as Eastern-Rite Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism. ... The Danube (German: , Slovak: Dunaj, Hungarian: , Croatian: Dunav, Serbian: Дунав/Dunav, Bulgarian: Дунав, Romanian: , Ukrainian: , Latin: Danuvius) is Europes second-longest river (after the Volga). ...

Gellért was later canonized for his martyrdom and the hill from which he had been thrown was renamed Gellért Hill. Now in central Budapest, the hill has a monument on the cliff where Gellért, now a patron saint of Hungary, was killed. Canonization is the process of declaring someone a saint and involves proving that a candidate has lived in such a way that he or she is worthy of sainthood. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Nickname: Pearl of the Danubeor Queen of the Danube Motto: Official website: www. ...

Aftermath

The Vatha uprising marked the last major attempt at stopping Christian rule in Hungary. While András had received assistance from pagans in his rise to the throne, he had no plans to abolish Christianity in the kingdom. Once in power he distanced himself from Vatha and the pagans. However, they were not punished for their actions.