Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526)
Kingdom of Hungary | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1301–1526 | |||||||||||||||||
Flags during the reign of Matthias Corvinus
Top: Royal standard Bottom: Banner at the battle of Baia, Chronica Hungarorum Coat of arms of Matthias Corvinus
| |||||||||||||||||
Kingdom of Hungary in the 14th century | |||||||||||||||||
| Status | In personal union with the Kingdom of Croatia (see historical context section) | ||||||||||||||||
| Capital | |||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Latin (ceremonial, liturgical and administrative), Hungarian, Croatian, Cuman, German, Greek, Slavic dialects, Romanian | ||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic (official), Eastern Orthodox, Tengrism (among Cumans) | ||||||||||||||||
| Demonym | Hungarian | ||||||||||||||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||||||||||||
| King | |||||||||||||||||
• 1301–1305 (first) | Ladislaus V | ||||||||||||||||
• 1516–1526 (last) | Louis II | ||||||||||||||||
| Palatine | |||||||||||||||||
• 1302–1309 (first) | Máté Csák | ||||||||||||||||
• 1526–1530 (last) | István Báthory | ||||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Royal Diet | ||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Medieval | ||||||||||||||||
• Extinction of the Árpád dynasty | 14 January 1301 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1301–1308 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1370–1382, 1440–1444 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1443–1444 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4–22 July 1456 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 April 1479 | |||||||||||||||||
| 29 January – 1 June 1485 | |||||||||||||||||
• Peasants' revolt of György Dózsa | 9 April – 15 July 1514 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1520 | |||||||||||||||||
| 29 August 1526 | |||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Forint | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
In the Late Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Hungary, a country in Central Europe, experienced a period of interregnum in the early 14th century. Royal power was restored under Charles I (1308–1342), a scion of the Capetian House of Anjou. Gold and silver mines opened in his reign produced about one third of the world's total production up until the 1490s. The kingdom reached the peak of its power under Louis the Great (1342–1382) who led military campaigns against Lithuania, southern Italy and other faraway territories.
The expansion of the Ottoman Empire reached the kingdom under Sigismund of Luxembourg (1387–1437). In the next decades, a talented military commander, John Hunyadi, directed the fight against the Ottomans. His victory at Nándorfehérvár (present-day Belgrade, Serbia) in 1456 stabilized the southern frontiers for more than half a century. The first king of Hungary without dynastic ancestry was Matthias Corvinus (1458–1490), who led several successful military campaigns and also became the King of Bohemia and the Duke of Austria. With his patronage Hungary became the first country which adopted the Renaissance from Italy.