Chapter 17: Count Imprisoned and Hungary fights for Birlad
(1153-1163)
Making his way into class for the third Tuesday, the teacher was shocked to see that Jacob, Anna, and the last Balog were standing around his desk chatting. They were so distracted by each other they did not see him enter and they all jumped when he said, "I thought the three of you dropped my class. Where have you been this past week?"
It was Jacob who jumped forward and answered. "Europe, sir. We saw so many things. It was incredible."
"We saw the resting place of the Saint Andras, the Shield of Ibolya, and the Crown of Croatia. The last has not been worn since the Balog's wore it all those years ago."
The last to speak was the Balog, "Where are you now in the class?"
"We have just reached the death of Konrad of Feher and the beginning years of..."
Before he could finish all three said, "Domotor the Greater." The Balog took the lead and added, "We saw the picture he painted of his father. It was a true masterpiece. That man deserves the name 'The Great'."
"It's hard to believe with all he did, he never rose above the position of a Count. Even though nearly a quarter of Hungary fell under his rule during that era." Moving forward Jacob smiled at his teacher and added, "The children of Ibolya, my ancestors were..."
Lifting his hand the teacher just smiled. "You may tell the class today when they get here." Glancing at the clock the teacher added, "For now take your seats and we will continue after class. Okay?"
Giving a quick nod Jacob and the two girls made their way to their seats and continued to talk amongst themselves while the teacher got ready for class. It didn’t take long for the other students to make their way into the room and a few of them stopped and chatted with the three kids who had just returned. Before they got to telling them to much about what they saw the teacher made his way up to the podium and said, “Yes, it appears that three of our classmates have returned from a trip to Europe. More specifically from what I have heard they have traveled through the region of Hungary and the other Balkan states. So as I promised I will be telling you about Ibolya’s children. Well I won’t be, but Jacob will. If you will Jacob.”
Rising from his chair Jacob looked around the class and said, “Ibolya as we know was the first person of the Balog’s to wear a crown upon her head. She was not a vastly important person in history but she is known for a few things. First, was that she was a warrior. She fought in three battles dressed as a man and her shield is still in the Balog museum in Gemer. Secondly, she was married to an idiot. Her husband was weak, lazy and overall just useless so she was the person who was really ruling the lands. Here she proved herself a very capable stateswoman as well as a warrior. But her children were very skilled as well. Following her husband, Baileus the Fat’s death, her son Konstantinos became Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. This man was the first Emperor in years to push back against the Muslim hordes. He went on to reclaim all the lost territory of the Byzantines that had been lost over the past few years. He would become known as Konstantinos the Great while his son and Ibolya’s grandson was Zoltan the Holy. He was a very religious man and was able to keep the territory that his father had claimed from the Muslims but he often had trouble with insurrection and rebellions.” Returning to his seat Jacob kept the next part to himself. The teacher knew what happened next and it seemed that Jacob wanted for the class to learn in time as well.
So with Jacob finished the teacher nodded his head and said, “Thank you, Jacob. That is all you guys need to know of the children of Ibolya for the time being. Today in class we will be going over Domotor’s rule. He had been Count for a little over a year now and he had already turned five. He didn’t really do much except study and learn but Domotor was a very bright child. Even at that age he understood the importance of gaining power for ones family. His first act was that on the 17th of April 1153 he married his mother off to the Duke of Poplogonia so that he was not seen being told what to do by his mother until he turned sixteen years of age. Next he betrothed Zsofia Arpad, Countess of Bihar, and sent his sister Emoke to the Isle of Rhodes.
“While this was going on King Salamon was waging a war for Birlad but it failed to gain any real momentum. In the end they called off the war to recoup. A year following that he went on another campaign to reclaim the province but again he was forced to end the war because of failure of proper supply lines. It would not be until 1159 that King Salamon would declare yet another war to reclaim Birlad.
“The following year Domotor was invited to take part in a feast by the Duke of Transylvania, his soon to be father-in-law. This man greatly hated the Balogs and so during the feast he took the twelve year old Count hostage. Placing the young man in the dungeons the boy could do nothing but think. From the first of January 1160 to the twenty-second of September of that same year he was a prisoner to this man. All the while he kept himself sane by working out strategy and plans. He went over battles he had studied in his head and whatever else he could think of to keep his mind distracted.
“Upon his release many thought he would immediately call for war against the man who imprisoned him. This child did not press for war though. Instead he knew the only real option was to be calm and to take things slow. The best way to hurt this family would be to take the crown from them. So he would do just that he promised. Over the next three years very little happened in the lands of Hungary. The war was fought but the Balogs did not take part in the war. Instead they built up their forces and strength. Which was a good thing because the war was not going in Hungary’s favor. Just as the year 1163 was coming to an end the King accepted defeat and gave up all ambitions on returning the province to his control.”