Beschreibung
Erhaltung: ss / vz | Abkürzungen
Katalognummer: Bela IV, 120670, king of Hungary (123570)
Durchmesser: 12,00 mm
weight 0,51gr. | silver Ø 12mm.
obv. Cross on crescent divides two crowned heads
rev. Animal (panther?) with long tail walks right Bela IV, 120670, king of Hungary (123570), son and successor of Andrew II. He tried to curtail the power of the magnates and set out to recover the crownlands his father had given to supporters. Confronted by the menace of the Mongol invasion, he sent unheeded appeals to Pope Gregory IX and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, but he was crushingly defeated at Mohi on the Sajo River in 1241. Returning after the withdrawal of the invaders, he repopulated the country by inviting foreign colonization.
After the Tartar invasion, King Béla IV founded the city that is known today as Buda. He was looking for a place that would be impregnable during a next Mongol attack. He surrounded the plateau of Castle Hill with thick walls, parcelled and populated the area, and built monasteries and churches. Béla IVs Buda still exists today, the castle walls he built, the streets he walked on, the house walls and window frames he could see, the booths he could sit in, but not even a plaque preserves the name of the founder here. In a battle (1246) with the last Babenberg duke of Austria, the duke was killed but the Austrians were victorious. Belas long struggle with Ottocar II, king of Bohemia, for Austria and Styria ended (1260) in defeat. His last years were disturbed by the rebellion of his son, later King Stephen V. Bélas favorite son, also named Béla, died in the summer of 1269. On 18 January 1270 the Kings youngest daughter, the saintly Margaret, also died. King Béla too soon fell terminally ill. On his deathbed, he asked his grandson-in-law King Ottokar II of Bohemia to assist his wife, daughter and partisans in case they were forced to leave Hungary by his son. Béla died on Rabbits Island on 3 May 1270. Dying at 63, he exceeded in age most members of the House of Árpád. He was buried in the church of the Franciscans in Esztergom, but Archbishop Philip of Esztergom had his corpse transferred to the Esztergom Cathedral.
Huszár 339 | Emil Unger (ÉH) 256 | C.I. 369
András Lengyel (EK) I. 18/77 | Numista 50699
Catalogue of Árpádian Coinage (CAC III) 22.70
Off-centre reverse strike. Attractive toning.
vf/xf
