Gyula (title)
Template:Not to be confused with
Gyula (Yula, Gula, Gila) was, according to Muslim and Byzantine sources, the title of one of the leaders, the second in rank, of the Hungarian tribal federation in the 9th–10th centuries.<ref name='Kristó'>Template:Cite book</ref> In the earliest Hungarian sources, the title name is only recorded as a personal name (Gyyla, Geula, Gyla, Iula).<ref name='Kristó'/>
According to the Hungarian chronicles, Transylvania was ruled by a line of princes called Gyula, and their country was occupied by King Stephen I of Hungary (1000/1001–1038).<ref name='Kristó'/>
EtymologyEdit
The etymology of the word is disputed.<ref name='Róna-Tas'>Template:Cite book</ref> It is traditionally considered of Turkic origin,<ref>A Magyar Nyelv Történeti-Etmológiai Szótára, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1967, 1984. p. 1137-1138</ref><ref>Entry "gyula" in Tótfalusi, István, (2001). Magyar etimológiai nagyszótár (Hungarian Comprehensive Dictionary of Etymology). Budapest: Arcanum Adatbázis</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> however other etymological explanations have recently been proposed. According to Lóránd Benkő, the word originates from Old Turkic, where it can be found as a personal- (altaic: Kaltanjula), genus- (Bulgar: Дуло - Dulo) and tribal (Pecheneg: Yula, Bashkir: Yulaman) name.<ref>A Magyar Nyelv Történeti-Etmológiai Szótára, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1967, 1984. p. 1137-1138</ref> It was transferred as a title in the Hungarian language, presumably from the Khazar language. Benkő assumed a *ǰula form derived from a Turkic word meaning 'torch'.<ref>A Magyar Nyelv Történeti-Etmológiai Szótára, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1967, 1984. p. 1137-1138</ref> Related words of Turkic origin can be found in the Hungarian language: gyúl (to catch fire, to be ignited) cf. West Old Turkic: *jul; East Old Turkic: *yul. András Róna-Tas and Árpád Berta also consider the latter to be Turkic.<ref>Róna-Tas; Berta 2011, p409–411</ref> Dániel Németh suggested that the word may have Uralic origins. He derives it from the Finno-Ugric *ćȣlkɜ-, *ćȣ̈lkɜ- (shines, gleam, glitter) and the Ugric*čittɜ- (shine, illuminate) words.<ref name="Németh">Németh 2023, p207–208</ref> This theory was criticized by János B. Szabó and Balázs Sudár: "Recently, Dániel Németh presented a strongly hypothetical etymological proposal based on both a Turkic and Finno-Ugric linguistic background, deviating from historical data."<ref name="Németh" />
The gyulas in the 9th centuryEdit
The first data of the title, recorded by Ibn Rusta and Gardizi, can be traced back to the earlier works of Abu Abdallah al-Jayhani.<ref name='Kristó'/> According to these earliest pieces of evidence, the Hungarians were ruled conjointly by two ‘kings’.<ref name='Fügedi'>Template:Cite book</ref> The major one, called kende (or künde), enjoyed nominal leadership, while effective power was exercised by his colleague, inferior in rank, called the gyula.<ref name='Fügedi'/> This peculiar form of governance (‘dual kingship’)<ref name='Kristó'/> is generally supposed to have been imitative of the Khazar Khaganate, which did indeed have a similar organization.<ref name='Fügedi'/> However, the only thing that the Muslim sources tell us is that the gyula was in charge of the military matters of the tribal confederation; whereas there existed a legitimate ruler (the kende) who had little influence on army-related issues.<ref name='Róna-Tas'/>
The gyulas in the 10th-11th centuriesEdit
Template:See also Following the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 896, the title gyula can be found in the De administrando imperio ("On the Governance of the Empire") written by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus.<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/> The emperor confirms that around 950 the gyla was one of the two important officers who assisted the leader of Hungarian tribal federation; also, each tribe had a chieftain.<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/><ref name='Róna-Tas'/>
The Byzantine Ioannes Skylitzes in the second half of the 11th century recounted (using earlier written sources) the baptism of the Hungarian chieftain Gyula (or gyula)<ref name='Kristó (2003)'>Template:Cite book</ref> in Constantinople in the mid-10th century.<ref name='Berend'>Template:Cite book</ref> According to Ioannes Skylitzes, Gyula stayed true to his new faith and took a missionary bishop, Hierotheos, with him.<ref name='Berend'/> A Slavic source also contains related information.<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/>
The almost contemporary Annales Hildesheimenses ("The Annals of Hildesheim") recorded for 1003 that "King Stephen of Hungary led an army against his maternal uncle, King Gyula" and "obliged his country by force to adopt the Christian faith".<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/>
Persons named Gyula in the Hungarian chroniclesEdit
The Gesta Hungarorum written by an anonymous authorEdit
The anonymous writer of the Gesta Hungarorum ("The Deeds of the Hungarians") was the first Hungarian chronicler who compiled the list of the seven Hungarian conqueror chiefs around 1210.<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/> At the seventh place we can find Tétény (Tuhutum), his son Horka (Horca) and the latter's sons, Gyula (Gyyla/Geula) and Zombor (Zubor).<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/><ref name='Rady'>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to the author of the Gesta, Zombor (Zubor) was the father of the younger Gyula (Geula/Gyla).<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/><ref name='Rady'/> The Gesta also narrates that Tétény occupied the land of Transylvania from the Vlach (Romanian) Duke Gelou; neither Tétény nor Gelou are mentioned in other primary sources.<ref name='Kristó'/> Template:Quote
The family tree of the gyulas according to the anonymous author of the Gesta Hungarorum:<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/><ref name='Rady'/>
Tétény (Tuhutum) ♂
│
Horka (Horca) ♂
┌───────────────────┴──────────────────────┐
Gyula (Gyyla/Geula) ♂ Zombor (Zubor) ♂
┌───────────┴──────────┐ │
Karold (Caroldu) ♀ Sarolt (Saroltu) ♀ Gyula the Younger (Geula/Gyla) ♂
∞ Géza ♂ ┌─────────┴────────┐
│ Bolya (Bua/Biua) ♂ Bonyha (Bucna) ♂
Stephen I ♂ │ │
Maglód kindred (genus Maglout)
The Gesta Hungarorum written by Simon of KézaEdit
Simon of Kéza, who wrote his Gesta Hungarorum between 1280 and 1285,<ref name='Kristó'/> inserted Gyula /Iula/ in connection to Transylvania in the list of the seven Hungarian conqueror chiefs.<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/> He, as opposed to the anonymous writer of the Gesta Hungarorum, wrote not about two but only one Gyula.<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/> Template:Quote Template:See also
The Chronicon PictumEdit
The chronicle increased the members of the Gyula family with the same name to three.<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/> However, it caused a problem for the author to separate these three persons.<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/>
The chronicle attributes the finding of the ruins of Gyulafehérvár (in Hungarian, ‘Gyula’s White Castle’; Apulum in Roman Dacia, now Alba Iulia, Romania) to the conqueror Gyula.<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/> Template:Quote In a later chapter, the chronicle tells the story of Stephen's campaign against Gyula and the annexation of Gyula's territory (Transylvania) to the Kingdom of Hungary.
The family tree of the Gyula family according to the Chronicon Pictum:<ref name="Kristó (2003)" />
Gyula I ♂
┌──────────┴─────────┐
Sarolt ♀ Gyula II ♂
∞ Géza ♂ │
Gyula III ♂
The list of the gyulasEdit
The list of persons who held the gyula office is still subject to debate.<ref name='Kristó'/>
Many historians (e.g., György Györffy, Florin Curta) suggest that at the time of the Hungarian conquest Árpád was the gyula,<ref name='Kristó'/><ref name='Curta (2006)'>Template:Cite book</ref> who was later considered to be the ancestor of the dynasty that ruled Hungary until 1301.<ref name='Fügedi'/> At any rate, Hungarian chroniclers are unanimous in reporting that the conquest of the Carpathian Basin was directed by Árpád.<ref name='Fügedi'/> Florin Curta suggests that when the kende of the conquest (whom he does not name) died in 902, the leadership passed onto Árpád, and one of Árpád's kinsmen became gyula.<ref name='Curta (2006)'/>
Other scholars (e.g., Gábor Vékony, C. A. Macartney) argues that Árpád was the kende, and the gyula was Kurszán (Chussal, Chussol)<ref name='Kristó'/> whose name, in contrast to Árpád, can be found in contemporary Western texts.<ref group="note">The Annales heremi, the Annales alamannici, and the Annales sangalenses maiores refer to him (Róna-Tas, András op. cit. p. 344).</ref><ref name='Kristó'/><ref name='Fügedi'/>
The Slavic source narrating the baptism of the Gyula in Constantinople in the middle of the 10th century mentions that his baptismal name was Stefan.<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/> According to the chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg (975-1018), the name of King Stephen's uncle whose country was occupied by the Hungarian king in 1003 was Procui.<ref name='Kristó (2003)'/><ref name='Curta (2006)'/>
The following is the list of the gyulas supposed by modern historians:<ref name='Kristó'/><ref name='Curta (2006)'/>
- Kurszán (before 894–902) or Árpád (before 894–902/after 902)
- "Gyula I" or an unknown member of the Árpád dynasty (?–?); "Gyula I" may be identical to Kurszán
- "Gyula II" (c. 952/953); his baptismal name was Stefan
- "Gyula III" (c. 980 – c. 1003); his name may have been Procui
See alsoEdit
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
SourcesEdit
Primary sources
- Constantine Porphyronenitus (author), Moravcsik, Gyula (editor), Jenkins, Romilly J. H. (translator): De Administrando Imperio; Dumbarton Oaks, 2008, Washington, D. C; Template:ISBN
- Kézai, Simon (author), Veszprémy, László (editor), Schaer, Frank (translator): Gesta Hungarorum: The Deeds of the Hungarians; Central European University Press, 1999, Budapest; Template:ISBN
- Template:Cite book
Secondary sources
- Berend, Nóra – Laszlovszky, József – Szakács, Béla Zsolt: The Kingdom of Hungary; in: Berend, Nora (Editor): Christianization and the Rise of Christian Monarchy: Scandinavia, Central Europe and Rus’ c. 900–1200; Cambridge University Press, 2007, Cambridge & New York; Template:ISBN
- Curta, Florin: Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages 500–1250; Cambridge University Press, 2006, Cambridge; Template:ISBN
- Fügedi, Erik: The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895–1526; I. B. Tauris, 2001, London&New York; Template:ISBN
- Kristó, Gyula (general editor); Engel, Pál, and Makk, Ferenc (Editors): Korai Magyar történeti lexikon (9-14. század) /Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History (9th–14th centuries)/; Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994, Budapest; Template:ISBN (the entry "Anonymus" was written by Zoltán Kordé, "Árpád" by Gyula Kristó, "Gyalu" by Zoltán Kordé, "gyula" by Alfréd Márton, "Gyula" by Sándor László Tóth and László Szegfű, "Kézai Simon" by Tibor Almási, "Kurszán" by Sándor László Tóth, "Tétény" by Zoltán Kordé)
- Kristó, Gyula: Early Transylvania (895–1324); Lucidus Kiadó, 2003, Budapest; Template:ISBN
- Rady, Martyn: Nobility, Land and Service in Medieval Hungary; Palgrave (in association with School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London), 2000, New York; Template:ISBN
- Róna-Tas, András (author); Bodoczky, Nicholas (Translator): Hungarians and Europe in the Early Middle Ages: An Introduction to Early Hungarian History; Central European University Press, 1999, Budapest & New York; Template:ISBN
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journal