Thread by @Arby_K

A princess married off to a foreign noble, a queen consort seizing the throne, leading to a union of nations lasting 800 years.

Story in the evening ...

https://twitter.com/Arby_K/status/1336136840953253888

Princess Ilona was born after 1050 to Prince Béla of Hungary and his wife Princess Ryksa. Béla was the younger brother of the Hungarian King András. In 1060 with Polish support, Béla would seize the throne from his brother, as András tried to crown his son, Salamon. 1/10

But Béla's death in 1063 would bring Ilona and her brothers back to Poland as refugees. It was around this time Ilona married Zvonimir Dmitrije, Ban of Slavonia. Ilona's brothers would soon make peace with their cousin, Salamon, the new king. 2/10

Seen as a German vassal, Salamon, would soon face rebellion from his cousins who would defeat him at Mogyoród, with the elder son of Béla, Géza, becoming King in 1074. Géza would soon be followed by his younger brother, László, in 1077. 3/10

In 1075, Ilona's husband, Zvonimir, was crowned King of Croatia. He had been nominated as heir by King Krešimir earlier. After running away from Hungary as refugees a decade earlier, Béla's children were very much in ascendance. 4/10

In 1089, as Zvonimir died heirless, Ilona would try to assume power. But the Croatian nobles would opt for a nephew of King Krešimir, Stjepan, instead. Ilona would call upon her brother, King László, to protect her interests in Croatia. 5/10

With Stjepan's death in 1091, László would seize most of Croatia, leaving his nephew Álmos in charge. But the Croatian nobles would elect a noble from amongst them as King. King Petar would re-take most of the Kingdom by 1095. 6/10

László had died in 1095 and was succeeded by his nephew, Kálmán, elder brother of the designated heir, Álmos. Kálmán would soon go to war with King Petar, coming victorious in 1097 at Gvozd Mountains. By 1102, he had seized all of Croatia and had been crowned King. 7/10

A decade after Ilona called upon her brother, Croatia was firmly in union with Hungary. As she had no surviving children, the union of Hungary and Croatia would continue. Kálmán would have his brother Álmos and his young son, Béla, blinded after a rebellion in 1113. 8/10

Béla would eventually become King after his cousin István's death in 1131 and all the later Kings of Hungary and Croatia are descended from the blind King Béla. After the Battle of Mohács, when Hungary was divided, the Habsburgs would acquire Croatia. 9/10

After the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy in 1918, Croatia would join the Kingdom of Serbia to form Yugoslavia, eventually separating from Yugoslavia after its collapse in 1992. 10/10