Chapter 19: Croatians seize an opppertunity
(1179-1191)
Coming in early once more the teacher was happy to see that the class was empty. This gave him an oppertunity to sit down for a minute and just relax. He had nothing to get ready for this class, though tomorrows would be a very exciting one. It would show why this Domotor is considered one of the most important men in the Balog line. The teacher had been sitting there for so long and was so distracted by his own thoughts he didn't even realize that the Balog was sitting in one of the chairs.
"Sir, why are the Balogs so important?"
"Well it's because they went from a minor family to holding many of the thrones of Europe and shaped the history of the age."
"Well then who is your favorite Balog in history?"
"That is a difficult question to answer to be honest with you. There are men like the First Balog, Tamas Altmannfi, who made the family what it is. Then there is Domotor the Greater here who was the first to bring a country under a Balogs rule. Then there were other Kings and Queens who made an impact. I don't really have just one favorite."
"Okay Sir. Me, I think it was the third King of Hungary." Before the teacher could comment on her choice all the students began pushing into the classroom. So instead the teacher just nodded and took his place at the podium.
"Welcome students. It's great to see you all today. As we left off Domotor is growing in power and marrying off his children. The wife of his son, Levente, was imprissoned and later executed. The year 1180 brings more sad news for Domotor I fear. You see on April 11, 1180 his wife Zsofia passed away. With her death his eldest son Konrad became the new Count of Bihar at the age of eleven. Only a few days after his wife's death Domotor became betrothed to Aelflaed of Godwin, daughter of the English King. The following year they were wed and she gave birth to another son for him. This child was named Zolton after his grandfather on his mother's mother's side.
"Domotor now had six children, five sons and just one daughter. The eldest Peter the Bastard was just coming of age when he had his last child. Since the boy would recieve nothing from him as an inheritance Domotor married him off to Sbyslava of Tot'ma in the far north. This young woman was the Countess of Chud and Zaozerye, making him a Count through marriage. This also ensured no fighting between Peter and Konrad after Domotor's death.
"The next big event to occur was the death of the man who had imprisoned Domotor all those years ago. This meant that when Zsofia married Kristof the following year he was not only Count of Vas but also heir to the Duchy of Transylvania. Her brother and heir to the Balog family Konrad had also married Sophia. She had also given birth to a son, however, this child was not a son of Konrad's as he had not touched her yet when she started showing signs of pregnancy. This was the Bastard child of the King Salamon II. Domotor grew enraged by this action by the King for two reasons." Picking up his book the teacher began reading from it.
'I can not believe the man I call brother, friend and King would fall to do such an action. Salamon Arpad who is suppose to look out for all men in the lands of Hungary has made a fool of me. He dared impregnate the woman who my son was married to. He first kills the future wife of one of my sons and now he dares have a child with another of my son's wives. I swear before God that I will see the Crown of Hungary taken from his family. If I do not succeed then I will ensure that I leave my family in a position to take this vengence.'
Setting the book aside the teacher looked out at the class. "So you now know of Domotor's darker side and why the Balogs began their desire for the Hungarian throne. It will take some time, but they will eventually see the throne and crown taken from the Arpads. After this even the Balogs will never marry an Arpad again. Following the baby incident the King decided to declare war against the lands of Bohemia in an attempt to place Gabriel Csanad as the new Duke of Bohemia. For a few months 13,000 Hungarians come together to march north, a thousand of these men are soldiers from Balog lands. Just as they begin moving into Bohemia, Queen Doroteja I of Croatia uses this oppertunity to try and take back Krizevci.
"The Beohemians had no soldiers to speak of and so by the 7th of May 1190 after only two years of fighting they surrendered and the Billungs no longer ruled Bohemia but the Csanad's did. With this victory Hungary moved south to deal with the Croatians that had already captured Krizevci and was begining to move north. For the next couple of years the two armies fought back and forth. However, before they engaged one another the Balogs abanded the war and their men returned home. It took some time but eventually Hungary won out and Croatia gave up their claim on Krizevci.
"This war may have ended, but it gave Domotor an idea."