The mission of Hierotheos:

l ocati on and si gni fi cance

Alexandru MADGEARU
(Bucharest)
The development of the archaeological excavations in the early
medieval cemeteries from Alba Iulia provided new arguments for the sup-
porters of the theory that this fortified settlement was the center where
the Byzanti ne bi shop Hi erotheos exerted hi s mi ssi on among the subj ects
of the Hungarian chief Gylas who was baptized at Constantinople around
the mi ddl e of the 1Oth century. The studi es and the archaeol ogi cal reports
published by Radu HrnEL,l Mihai BuL;ax,2 Horia Crucuonex,3 and Aurel
Dnacor,L4 are emphasizing that the large number of Christian graves, the
exi stence of an eccl esi asti cal monument and the recent di scovery of three
pectoral crosses i n one of these cemeteri es coul d support thi s theory. The
new pieces of evidence were used by A. Dnecori to deny our different
poi nt of vi ew, whi ch was expressed si nce 1994 i n several works.5 Di d they
1 p.
R. Hrrrnl, Archriologische Beitrrige zur Geschichte d,er romanischen Baud,enkmriler in
Siebenbiirgen, II. Im Zusammenhang mit dn zeitlichen Bestimmung der riltesten
,,Rotunda
Ecclesia" Rumciniens und der Kathedral I in Alba lulia. Revue Roumaine d'Histoire de
I'Art, Beaux-Arts 12 (1975) 5-9; idem, Contrihulii la problcma genezei raporturilorfeudale
tn lumina cercetdrilor arheologice de la Alba lulia, Muzeul Nagonal 2
(1975)
345-350;
idem, Die Archtiologie der Ersten und Zweiten Phase d,es Eindringens der L'ngarn in das
innnkarp atis che Transilu anien, D acia, NS 38-39 ( I 994-1 995
)
4 I 7 . 127 428.
2
14. Bra:eN - A. Popn, Cercetdrilc arheologice de la Atba lulia "stayia de salztare",
Materiale qi cercetiri arheologice 15 (1983) 37G379; M. Br-i.;.r-x, Alba lulia, jud. Alba
(Apulum). Punct: IzuoruI tmpdratuluf, in: Cronica cercetd.rilor arheologice. Campania
2001, Buzi aq 2002, 33; i dem, i n: Croni ca cercetdri l or arheol ogi ce di n Romi ni a.
Campani a 2005, Constanl a 2006, 70-72; i dem, i n: Croni ca cercetdri l or arheol ogi ce
di n RomAni a. Campani a 2006, Tul cea 2007,5G57.
3 g.
CIucuoneN, Catalogul expoziliei
,,Anul
1000 ta Alba lutia - intre istorie
Si
arheolo-
gi e", Al ba Iul i a 1996, 3, 10.
4
A. Dnecor,i., Aspecte
funerare
la Alba Iutia tn secolzlz X-XI, in Relafi interetnice in
Transi l vani a (secol el e M-XIII), ed. Z. K Pi nter - I. M.
Ji pl i c
- M. E.
Ji pl i c
(=
Bi bl i otheca Septemcastrensi s, XIII), Bucuregti 2005, 158-163; i dem, Aspecte de mul ti -
culturalitate spirituald. Rit
Si
ritual
funerar
tn Transilaania
Si
Europa Centrald
Si
de Sud-
Est (secolele IX-XI), Alba Iulia 2006, 4l-45.
s
4. Meocranu, Misiunea episcopului Hierotheos. Contrihulii la istoria Transiluaniei
Si
Ungariei tn secolul al X-lca, Revista Istorici, SN 5, 1-2 (1994) 147-154; idem, Genaa
Si
euolu{ia uoieuodatului bd.nd.lean din secolul al X-lea, Studii qi materiale de istorie medie
16 (1998)
203-204; idem, Rom6,nii tn opera Notarului Anonim, Cluj-Napoca?}}7,132-
l3-1; idem, Transyluania and the Bulgarian Expansion in the th and lfh Centuries, Acta
\Iusei Napocensis 39-40 (2002-2003) II, 55; idem, The Romanians in the Anonymous
C*sta Hungarorum, Truth and Fiction, Cluj-Napoca 2005, 97-98, 137-138; idem, Sa/r
Trade and Warfare: The Rise of the Romanian-Slaaic Military Organization in Early
fkdia'al Trans\luania, in East Central & Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages,
cc. F. Curta. .\nn Arbor 2005, 107.
II9
BYZANTINOSLAVICA, LXVI, 2008, 1-2, P. 119-138
Alexandru Madgearu
really prove that Hierotheos was sent to Alba Iulia, as many other histori-
ans and archaeologists6 sustained, based on the identification of the bap-
tized Gylas with a ruler attested by the Hungarian sources at Alba Iulia?
This paper will examine again the Hierotheos problem.
The chronicle of Skylitzes is speaking about two Hungarian chiefs
who became Christians during their visits at Constantinople, not in the
same time, but in similar circumstances. The first one, Boulosoude,s, enti-
tled archegos, received the dignity of patrikios and a big amount of money.
After some time came the second one, called
@lot,
archon ton Tourkon.He
became too patrikios,but unlike the first one, he went back accompanied
by the monk Hierotheos, who was appointed bishop of Tourkia. The
source says that Hierotheos has converted many people, being supported
by Gylas, who did not abjure Christianity, as did Boulosoudes, rvhose death
at Lechfeld in 955 was seen as a divine punishment for the apostasy.T
Almost the same data were recorded by Zonaras, who specified that Gylas
was the ruler
"of
a part of the Hungarians".S
Skylitzes did not speci$, the Christian names received by Bulcsu and
Gylas, but a 12th century Byzantine legend preserved in a Russian transla-
tion from the 14th century has remembered, two Hungarian princes who
were baptized in the Orthodox rite. One of them, called Stephen, who
remained a faithful Christian, was identified with Gylas,g but the late date
of the source makes possible a confusion rvith the future king Stephen I.
Different and ferver data \rere recorded in De Administrando Imperio.
The rel ati on about fu-pad' s hei rs i ncl udes a short di gressi on about one of
them, Termatzous, son of Tebel i s. rrho \ras a grandson of Arpad.
Constantine Porphrrogenitus said that
"he
came recentlv as friend with
Boultzous, third prince and karchas of Tourkia".l0 The latter is obviously
the same with Boulosoudes. the chief recorded bv Skrliues. The word phi-
6
Ol der works are quoted i n A. \I-rocmnu
,
)Ii si ttnea..., 148.
7
loannes Sqlitzes, Synopsis histmiarum. recensuit I. Thurn, Corpus Fontium
Hi stori ae Byzanti nae (further
CFHB), Seri es Berol i nensi s, V, Berl i n - New York
!?73,239;Jean
SkylitzDs, Histoire des empereurs de Byzance, traduction frangaise par B.
Fl usi n, notes parJ.-C. Cheynet (=
Rdal i tds byzanti nes, 8), Pari s
2003, 202.
8
Ioannes Zonaras, Epitomae Historiarum, vol. III, ed. Th. Buttner-Wobst, CSHB,
Bonn 1897, 484 (X\ 1.
21. 14-19).
9
6. Monevcsrr, The Role of the Byzantine Church in Medinal Hungary, American
Sl avi c and East Europe?n Revi ew 6,3-4 (1947) 138-139; i dem, Byzani e i t k chri sti an-
T1ry
hqngrois du Moyen Age, Corso di cultura sull'arte ravennate e bizantina^16 (1969)
327;idenn, Byzantium and the Magyars, Budapest 1970,108; I. R{uunnaNv, inceputurile
creStindrii ungurilor tn credinla ortodoxd a rdsdritului. Ortodoxia la unguri pdnd, tn ti,mput
domniei regelui
Stefan
cel Sf6,nt, Studii Teologice 9, l-2 (1957)
30; I. BoNn, zeit des
ungarisch+lawischen Zusammenlebens (895-1172), in: Kurze Geschichte Siebenburgens,
Bgdapest 1990, 120; G. Krust6, Die Arpaden Dynastie. Geschichte Llngants uon 895 bis
!?0l,Budapest
1993, 51; G. GvOnrrv, King Saint Stephen of Hungary, Boulder - New
York (= East European Monographs, 403)
,1994,
45.
10
Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De Administrando Impnio,vol. I., ed. G. N{oravcsik - R.
J.
H. Jenki ns, Washi ngt on DC 1967, 179 (cap. 40. 63-65).
r20
The mission of Hierotheos: location and significance
los is clearly an allusion to the establishment of a client state type alliance
that involved payments for the barbarian ruler. It is strange that Skylizes
does not remember Termatzous, who had a higher rank than Boultzous,
but we can suppose that he transmitted in a selective manner the infor-
mation. The chapter was focused on the visit of Gylas, not on the previous
one, because the mission of Hierotheos was the most important event for
him. The source does not speak about the Christianization of Termatzous,
but some historians supposed without proofs that this happened.ll
We shoul d remark the unusual character of the mi ssi on of
Hierotheos, seen in comparison with other conversions organized by
Byzantium in the 9th and 10th centuries. All of them concerned sedentary
peoples, which had states and sometimes incipient towns (the Bulgarians,
the Moravians, the Serbs and the Russians, and even the Alans). The
nomadic life was usually seen as incompatible with Christianiq.tz Even
the failed mission to the Khazars (863) belonged to the same pattern,
because this people was no more entirely nomad. Instead, the conversion
of the Hungarian chiefs Bulcsu and Gylas concerned a territory peopled
by nomads who were not yet organized in a state and where the cities van-
ished centuries ago. Likewise interesting is that, contrary to the usual
practice, it was not baptized the supreme chief of the confederation
(kende), but two subordinate rulers.13 The emperor acted in this way in
order to stimulate the dissent between the Hungarian tribes. This action
was one of the causes of the breaking of the tribal alliance.la
The first problem is the chronology of the events. The terminus ante
quern is the battle of Lechfeld (955), when Bulcsu died. Because Gylas was
not recorded in De Administrando Imperio, it was supposed that the event
took place after the writing of this text, achieved in 948-952. As a conse-
quence, the visit of Gylas was dated by many researchers around 952-
953.15 We shared too this opinion in our previous stud,ies. However,James
ll
G. Monevcstx, Byzance...,325; idem, Byzantium..., 106; F. MRxr, Les relations hun-
gartblzantines aux K-XIIq siicles, in: European Intellectual Trends and Hungary, ed.
F. Glatz (= Etudes historiques hongroises 1990, publi6es d l'occasion du XVIIe
Congrds International des Sciences Historiques par le Comitd National des Historiens
Hongrois, vol. 4), Budapest 1990, lz;P.Ytczv, Somz
Questions
of Early Hungarian History
and Material Culture, Antaeus. Communicationes ex Instituto Archaeologico
Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 19-20 (1990-1991) 314; G. Gvonrrv, King..., 33;
M. Fowr, Missions, Conuersions, and Power Legitimization in East Central Europe at the Tum
of the First Millenium, in: East Central & Eastern Europe..., 286.
\2
J.
SHrreru, Spreading the Word: Byzantine Missions, in: C. Mango (ed.), The
Oxford History of Byzantium, Oxford 2002, 243.
13
P. ANroNopoulos, Byzantium, the Magyars Raid,s and their Consequences,
Brzantinoslavica 54 (1993)
263;P. SrrpsnNsov, Btzantium's BalkanFrontier: A Political
Stur/r of the Nofihern Balkans, 900-1204, Cambridge 2000, 41.
r{
\I. Fosr, Mi ssi ons....283-284.
' 1
I. Ri rrunu-ru, i nceputuri l e...,30; G. MonRvcsrr, Byzanti um..., 106; G. Gy6nrry,
5'i.;;,.',;r.' dts residences d'hiuer et d'6t/ chez les nomades et les chefs hongrois au Xe siicle, 12I
Alexandru Madgearu
Douglas Howenn-JouNsrox has recently remarked that Constantine VII
did not carefully update the work that had been previously prepared for
Leo \4. The chapters about Hungarians contain very few recent data. The
visit of Terunatzous and Boultzous is in fact the single new event recorded
in these chapters, and it is a short digressiott.16 By this reason, the absence
of Gylas in De Administrando Imperio does not necessary mean that the visit
took place after the final redaction of this work, that is after 952. We con-
sider that the date could be established only according to Skylitzes' chron-
i cl e.
The conversion of the Hungarian chiefs is the first international
event recorded in the relation of Constantine' s single reign. The previous
One, from the chapter about Romanos Lekapenos, was very important, the
recovery of the Edessa Mandylion in 944, an'd before this it was briefly
mentioned the Hungarian attack of 943.17 The selection of the external
events operated by Skylitzes is showing the great importance given by him
to the visits of the Hungarian chiefs. The visit of Boulosoudes was men-
tionedjust after the coronation of Romanos as associated emperor, which
now is surely dated on the Easter of 946.18 On the other hand, the next
event record,ed after the visit of the Hungarian chiefs was another visit of
a foreign ruler, the Russian princess Olga. Its date was disputed by the his-
torians, but now it is clear that the right year is 946, and not 954 or 957.re
This reinterpretation of the contextual evidence changes the accepted
Archi vum Eurasi ae Medi i Aevi I (1975) 109;J. P. RIpocHt, Constanti n VII Porph2'
rogdn\te et sa politique hongroise au milieu du X' siicle, Sudgst-Fo^rschungen 36 (1977)
5-6; L. Kovhcs, Byzantinische Miinzen im Ungarn des 10,
tahrhunderts,
Acta
Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 35, 1-2 (1983) 146; G. GvoRrrv,
Landnahmi, Ansiedlung und Streifziige der Ungarn, Acta Historica Academiae
Sci enti arum Hungari ca-e 31,3-4 (1985) 264; i dem, La chri sti ani sati on de l a Hongri e,
Harvard Ukrainian Studies 12-13 (1988-1989) 67; T. von Bocvev, Ungamziige gegen
und,
ftir
Byzanz: Bemerhungen zu nzunen Forschungen, Ural-Altaische
Jahrbucher.
Internati onal e Zei tschri ft l ur Nord-Eurasi en 60 (1988) 37; l , BoNe, hi t..., 120;
F. Mexr, Les relations..., 13; P. ANroNoPoULoS, Byzantium...,266; K Bexeg Hungary in
the tenth and, elsuenth centuries, in: I( Bakay (ed.), Sacra Corona Hungariae, Budapest
lgg4, 15; G. GvORrw, King...,33; R. M-tnsIN.t, Christianization of the Mag_ars_and
Hungary between the East and the Wsst, Studia Historica Slovaca 19 ( 1995) 44; F. MAKK,
Ungiriiche Aussenpolitik (895-1196),Herne 1999, 13; P. SrnpHENSoN, Byzantium's..., 40;
M.'FoNr, Ungarn und die Kianer Rus'um 1000, in: F. Glatz (ed.), Die ungarische
Staatsbi l dung und Ostmi ttel eu
(= Schri ftenrei he des Europa Insti tutes
Staatsbl l cl ung uncl
(Jstmrttel europa
(- JCnrl r[crrrerrrc ucs
_f-rrl
uP4 rrtsLrLLrLcr
Budapest, 15), Budapest 2002, 211; B. Lr Cenoc' :n, Le Xe-' siicle et les Hongrois (-
Bibliothdque finno-ougrienne, 12), Paris 2002, 31.
16
J.
D. Howenn-JonxsroN, The De Administrando,Imperio: a-re-exam,ination of the text
and,"a re-eualuatioi of its anidence about the Rus, in: M. Kazanski - A. Nersessian - C.
Zuckerman (ed.), Les Centres proto-urbains russes entre Scandinavie, Byzance et
Ori ent (= Ral i t6s byzanti nes, 7), Pari s 2000, 325-
17
l oannes Scyl i tzes, Synopsi s hi stori arum...,237 (l ean Skyl i tzDs, Hi stoi re...,195).
18
C. ZucxnnueN
,
Le uoyage d'Olga et la premiire ambassade espagnole d,_Constantinople
en 945, Travaux er M6moi res 13 (2000) 669-670;
Jean
Shyl i tzDs, Hi stoi re..., 200,
f oot not e 17.
122
l e
C. Zucxnru, mN, Le uoyage. . . , 647-672.
The mission of Hierotheos: location and sisnificance
chronology of the visits. Inserted between two events occurred in 946, the
visit of Termatzous and Bulcsu should be dated in the same year, and not
in 948, as most historians consider.20 Skyliues did not speci$' the time
passed between the two visits, but he said it was short. This means that
Gylas came at Constantinople after one, two, or at most three years. No
precise terminus ante quem could be established, but it could be taken into
consideration the year 948, when the five years peace agreement estab-
lished after the invasion of 943 came to end.2r The resolution of the con-
flict occurred in 943 was important for the future of the Byzantine-
Hungarian relations, because an offi cial, the parakoimomenos Theophanes,
was sent to the Hungarians to close the treaty and to take high rank
hostages that guaranteed the peace. The same Theophanes, when he was
patrihios and protouestiarios, received a similar mission after the Hungarian
attack of 934.22
The particular circumstances of the baptism of Bulcsu and Gylas
could mean that the mission was extremely important for the Byzantine
foreign policy. Constantine \rII has accepted to convert them because it
was necessary to stop in some way the Hungarian attacks. Few years
before, in 943, these warriors caused great damages in different places of
Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire. If some enemy rulers were eager to
became Christian friends of the empire, this was an opportunity to estab-
lish an alliance. Bulcsu and Gylas received the rank of patrikios. This title,
which was very high in the 6th century, was no more so important in the
lOth century, being granted to many people, Byzantine or foreign, like the
princes of Salerno, an archon of Zachlumia, or a ruler of Armenia.23 Even
so diminished, the title of patriAios indicates the intentions of Constantine,
since all the foreign patrihioi were vassals of the empire.
The initiative of the contacts with the emperor belonged to Bulcsu
20
I. R{nunn,q,rrrv, fnceputurilz..., 28-29; G. Mon-*'cstx, Byzance..., 325; idem,
B1zanti um..., 104; G. Gvonrrv, S1sti me..., 101;
J.
P. Rreo<;Hr, Constanti n...,5; G.
Gvonrrv, Landnahme...,264;'f . von Bo(;rAt', Ungarnziige...,36; G. Gvonrw, La chris-
t i ani sat i on. . . , 66; I . BdNe, Zei t . . . , l l 9- 120; F. Mexx, Les r el at i ons. . . , 12: P.
ArroNopour-os, Byzantium..., 263; K BAK.{v, Hungary..., 1 4; G. Gvonrw, King..., 33; R.
MARSINA, Christianization..., 13' F. Mexx, Ungarische...,l2; M. FoNr, [Jngarn...,211; V.
SptNrr. Tir Creat Migralions in thc East and South East of Europc
from
thp Ninth to thc
Thirteenth Century, Cluj-Napoca 2003, 7 8.
2r
The year 948 was admitted by G. Monevcstx, The Rolz..., 137; N. OmoNourors,
I
ltrrlpo:
des rekttions ecc,llsiastiques entre Blznnce et la Hongrie a'u XIe siicle: Le metropo-
l i ti di Turqui e, Revue des Etudes Sud-Ei t Europ6ennes"O, S
1tOZt153l ;
M. SAci rv,
Aspect: de la_rhristianisation des Hongrois aux IK-Xo siirles, in: Early Christianity in
Central and East Europe, ed. P. Urbanczyk,l, Warszaw 1997, 56.
22
loannes Sqtitzes, Slnopsis historiarum...,228 (Jean Shllitzis, Histoire...,l92, 195);G.
Monevcstr, B1zantium..., 55-56;
J.
P. Rrpocun, Constantin..., 4; T. von Bocvev,
Ungarnzilge...,35-36; P. ANroNopoulos, B)zantium..., 260-263; F. I\4,{KK, [Ingarische...,
12; P. SrrpsnusoN, Byzantium's...,40. For Theophanes, see R. Gurlr-qNo, fucherches sur
ks institutions blzantines, Berlin -Amsterdam 1967, vol. I,219.
23
R. Gurr-r-A,No Rrcherches..., vol. II, 178, 181, 185, 186, 191. r23
Alexandru Madgearu
and Gylas. In fact, almost all the conversions made by Byzantium in the
gth
and 10ft centuries were requested by the foreign rulers.24 However, we
could suppose that the idea of conversion was somehow suggested by the
Byzantines, and more precisely by Theophanes, in 943.If two Hungarian
rulers came to Constantinople before the end of the five-year-interval of
peace, this means that they looked for a special treatment from Byzantium
in comparison with the supreme chief of the confederation (who
was then
Faj sz), i n order to consol i date thei r regi onal power.25 The second vi si t
from 948 was a reaction of another chief, willing to gain similar or even
higher advantages. The events look like a competition between rival
rulers. More zealous or maybe more realistic, Gylas remained Christian
and al l i ed wi th the empi re.
The years 941-944 were quite difficult for the northern policy of
Byzanti um. In 941, a Russi an fl eet attacked Constanti nopl e, and i n 943
another expedition against the Khazars took control over one side of the
Kerch Strait. A planned campaign against Constantinople was stopped by
the Byzantines who convinced Igor to close in 944 or 945 a treaty which
defended Crimea.26 The visit of Olga was the direct consequence of the
establishment of a peaceful relationship after 945. Her conversion said to
have happened at that occasion was thought to be an instrument of this
new policy, implemented by Constantine Porphpogenitus at the begin-
ning of his independent reign. The same type of policy could be observed
in the Hungarian case. The diplomacy applied in 946 involved two paral-
lel actions, directed toward two people that had a common enemy, the
Pechenegs. The Christianization was only one of the means that support-
ed the alliance. In the Kievian Russia, the conversion of Olga did not
result in the conversion of the people, but in the case of the Hungarian
tribe led by Gylas, the archaeological evidence that will be presented
below testifies a penetration of the new religion among the upper and the
lower classes.
The purpose of the alliances with Bulcsu and Gylas was twofold: to
create discord among the supreme ruler (hende)
and the other chiefs who
received Byzantine support, and, on the other hand, to prevent future
attacks of the tribes which were now allied with the empire. In the case of
Gyl as, the acti on was successful , because he remai ned an al l y of
Constantine, but Bulcsu launched several attacks with all his men. accord-
2a
1.
Suerexo, Spreading...,234.
25
L. VAruq.ov, Reaision des Llngarn-Image aon Konstantinos Porphyrogennetos.
Textana\sen und Rrintnlnetation zu den Aussagen des Konstantinos Porphyrogennetos iiber
die Politikgeschichte der Ungarn, Byzantinische Zeitschrift 82,7-2 (1989)
36 emphasized
that the title of patrikios indicates that both rulers had independent military power.
26
M. Wnrrrow, The Mahing of Blzantium, 50G1025, Berkeley 1996,257; S. Fnerqxr.rx
-
J.
SHtnaru, The Emergence of Rus' . 75G1200, London - New York 1996, 113-117; V.
124 Sp"rNer, Iftz Crcat..., 117".
The mission of Hierotheos: location and significance
ing to Skylitzes andZonaras. The single Hungarian inroad dated between
943 and 955, when Bulcsu died, is recorded ing47, in Apulia, but this can-
not be taken into consideration, because it happened too short time after
the conversion and because we know that it was conducted by TaksonyzT.
Yet, we could suppose that Bulcsu started other attacks after 948, because
the second alliance closed with Gylas could cause a rivalry between them.
The diplomacy had in this case a bad result for the Byzantine inrerests.
Gyorgy Gyonrry sustained that C'1las was in fact only the name of the
dignity of the person recorded by Skylizes and Zonaras. He identified this
ruler with Zombor, son of Horka, who was in the same time the brother of
Gyrla from Transylvania, the father of Sarolt.Z8 Gylas and Boulosoudes
were remembered among the seven Hungarian chiefs ruling ing42 by the
Arabian historian Ibn Halyan, according to the data provided by a prison-
er in Spain: Djiktand VuKudi. The source says that "the highest of them in
rank was called Djila"zg, which suggests indeed that this was not a person
name, but a dignity, the military commander of all the tribes. In this case,
it is possible that the ruler who came to Constantinople after six years was
too a person who hold the title of gl,os, understood by the chronicler as a
proper name. This means that in the second visit was involved the highest
military commander of the Hungarians in that moment. This matches with
the expression used by Skylitzes: archon ton Tourhon.
Hierotheos was entitled bishop of Tourkia.In the work of Constantine
Porphpogenitus, written by the same time when the bishop was sent
there, Tourkia was called the region crossed by the rivers Tisza, Timiq,
Mureq and Criq, that is the area that presented the major interest for the
empire because it was connected with the Morava way, and that it was bet-
ter known by rhe Byzanti nes through the di pl omati c contacts.30 However,
because the emperor knew that the Hungarians are living too in other
regions,3l it seems that the word Tourhiarneant all the territory peopled
by Hungarians by the middle of the 10th century, described with more
details in its eastern part,3z and not only the region between Danube and
27
T. von Bocye! LIngarnziige...,36.
28
G. Gyonrrv, Syst i ' me. . . , 109; i dem, Landnahme. . . , 264; i dem, Kng. . . , 33, 35, 44. For
B. Lt Cluoc' n,lx X' *' siicle...,lT,Zombor was the same lvith the Transylvanian
Gyula.
2e
G. Gvon-rrv, Dual Kingship and the Snen Chieftains of the Hungarians in the Era of
Conquest and the Raids, Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 47
,
I-2
(
r 9g4) 9G97.
30
C. BArrNr, S,tidungam im 10.
Jahrhundert,Budapest
1991, 120.
31
P. ANrouopoutos, Byzantium...,
264.
32
Ibidem, 264265; S. L. T6rH, The Teffitories of the Hungarian Tribal Fednation
around 950 (Some Obsentations on Constantine VII's
,,Tourhia"),
in: G. Prinzing
-
M.
Salamon (ed.), Byzanz und Ostmitteleuropa 950-1453. Beitrige zu einer Table-
Ronde des XIX International Congress of Byzantine Studies, Copenhagen 1996 (=
Mainzer Veroffentlichungen zur Byzantinistft, :;, Wiesbaden 1999, 31-*. I25
Alexandru Madgearu
Tisza, as other historians maintained.33 Therefore, we can suppose that
the title of bishop of Tourhia given to Hierotheos concerned all the
regions peopled by Hungarians, and that the missionary action was theo-
retically extended over the entire people, regardless the tribal ruler. As
said Gyrrla Moravcsik, "this was a strategic measure; it stressed the mis-
sionary character of the bishopric by pointing out that the authority of
Hierotheos, the first Hungarian bishop, extended over the whole territo-
ry
of the Magyars".34If Skylitzes called Gylas archon ton Tourkon he did this
because he supposed that only a supreme ruler could receive a bishop,
and that the mission will concern the entire people.
This policy of alliance with two Hungarian chiefs suggests that at least
one of them mastered an area from where these attacks were launched.
Since the main direction of the inroads against Bulgaria and the
Byzantine Empire was the Morava valley, it is high probable that this tribe
was located somewhere on the Tisza valley. Of course, this does not
excludes other locations, for instance Transylvania, but the paynents
made to Bulcsu and Gylas should be reflected in the numismatic discov-
eries. Already in 1994 we observed that many gold and silver coins issued
by Constantine \rII between 948 and 959 discovered on the territory mas-
tered by Hungarians in the 10th century are concentrated in a small
region, in the Csongr6d and B6k6s counties. No such coins were insofar
discovered in Transylvania,3S despite the archaeological researches con-
ducted in many sites, including the large cemeteries from Alba Iulia.
From the total of 29 coi ns found i n 16 pl aces, 19 are of gol d,7 of gi l ded
bronze, and 3 of silver. The coins from the large hoard from Veliki Gaj36
are not included because the composition of the treasure shows that it was
accumulated elsewhere and hidden much later. Ten gold pieces were
included in the hoard from Tokaj, while other three belonged to anoth-
er hoard, from Nagyharsdny. The map (Fig. 1) shows a clear concentra-
tion between the mouths of Mureg and Criq, on the left and rights banks
of Tisza. This situation was explained by several researchers as the result
of the payments given to Gylas and Bulcsu after their conversion3T. The
hoard of 60 coins issued between 937-944 found in the same area, at
Kundgota, was linked with the invasion of 943.38
33
G. Monevcsrr, Byzantium..., 57
;
P. Y Aczv, Some
Questions...,
307.
34
G. Monwcsrr, The Ro\ e. . . , 138. See al so i dem, Byzance. . . , 326; i dem, Byzant i um. . . ,
t 07.
35
A. M. Vu-rEn, Transiluania in secolele V-XIL Intnlnetdri istorico-politice
Si
economice
pe baza descoperirilor monetare din bazinul carpatic, secolele V-XII, BucureEti 2002,78.
36
l bi dem, 318-319.
37
L. KovAcs, Byzantinische..., 14G148; I. B6Ne, Zeit..., I2l; C. B;tr-tNr, Sildungarn...,
118-120; A. M. Vnl rrn, Transi l uani a. . . . , 80-81.
126
38
L. KovAcs, Byzantinische..., 148.
The mission of Hierotheos: location and significance
Fig. I
o Gold coins
O Gilded bronze coins
E
Silver coins
O Gold coins from treasures
Even more suggesting is the mapping of the pectoral crosses
discovered on the territory dominated by Hungarians in the 10e century
(Fig.
2). The list includes only those pieces that could be dated in the 10ft
century. Two places from Transylvania provided such finds. At Dibica, a
reliquary cross dated in the lOth-llth centuries was found on the area of
the fortified settlement, but without a known archaeological context. This
means that its use after the conquest of Stephen I is not excluded, The
other Transylvanian site is the cemetery Izuonrl Inpri,ratuluifromAlba Iulia,
dated in the 10rt century. Two bronze reliquary crosses and a simple pec-
toral cross were found here in the last years.3g It could be admitted that
3e
M. Br-4an, Alba lul;ia..., 2002, 33; M. Br-1pN, Alba lulia..., 2006, 70-71; A.
Dnq.core, Aspecte de multiculturalitate..., 140. I27
5a
t2
2
o
J
Nexandnr Madgear-u
Fig.
2
they are dated during the period when Hierotheos and his followers exer-
ted the mission, but the problem is that no other Transylvanian cemetery
or settlement provided such crosses. Instead, other 14 places are con-
centrated roughly in the same area like the coins issued between
g4B
and
959 (Fi g.
3). Another cross comes from Szob i n northern Hungary, and
even in this case the object is associated with two coins found in the same
cemetery and in the neighborhood. The large group of crosses is in fact
divided in two areas. In the region between Mureq and Cri; and on the
opposite part of Tisza were found ten crosses. A smaller group of six
crosses from five places is located on the upper Tisza valley, in the same
area where it was discovered the Tokaj treasure. It should be emphasized
the coexistence of the precious pectoral crosses, that belonged to rich
people, with modest crosses, some of them without decoration, which
could be local products. This let us to suppose that the Christianity was
embraced by people of different social positions, which means that the
missionary action of Hierotheos and his priests started a kind of mass
conversion. A Christian mission implied a large Byzantine cultural and
economic penetration, which should be reflected in the archaeological
evidence (gold
coins and other Byzantine imports). The region between
IZg
the lower sectors of MureE and CriE matches with this condition. As
The mission of Hierotheos: location and significance
Fig. 3
emphasized Kateiina HonNiirovA, the counties Csongr6d and B6k6s
'fuere
a gate through which Eastern Christianity found its way to Hun-
gvry".40
The striking difference between these two areas of concentration of
the crosses and coins, and what could be observed in Transylvania, has only
one explanation: it is more probable that Hierotheos exerted his mission
in the area between the lower Mureq, the lower Criq and the middle Tisza.
The coins came as pa)rynents for Gylas, and entered later in the possession
of his subjects. Their spreading area approximates the territory ruled by
Gylas. It is possible that this ruler had the power center in the place of the
present day town
Qula
(Gula, in Romanian), in the Bdk6s County. The
oldest recorded name of the place was
Julamonostara,4r
which could con-
40
IL HonNierovA, The Byzantine fuliquary Pectoral Crosses in Central Europe,
Byzantinoslavica 60 (1999)
226.
4r
I. B6Ne, kit..., 122; K Mrsrnnrugv, Der byzantinisch-balkanische Handel nach
Ungarn im 10.-11.
Jahrhundert
im Spiegel dn Grtibafunden, in: Byzance et ses voisins.
M6langes i la m6moire de Gyrla Moravcsik ) I'occasion du centidme anniversaire
de sa naissance (= Acta Universitatis Szegedinensis de Attila
J6zsef
Nominatae. 129
t
Alexandru Madgearu
cern a disappeared monastery built during the mission of Hierotheos. In
the neighborhood, at Fovenyes, it was discovered a rotonda church dated
in the lIft century, maybe in the 10ft centurya2. Another church that
could be linked with the mission of Hierotheos is that from Kis-Zombor,
but its building by the middle of the 10ft century is not yet certain43.
The payrnents for Bulcsu should be too reflected in the archaeologi-
cal discoveries. According to the place-names supposed to have inherited
his name, G. Gvdnrrv has established that Bulcsu had a residence near
Szombathely and another one near Turda, in Transy'vania. The place
Butcs (Bulci) on the lower Mureg is on the way between them.44 In fact, it
is possible that this place name located within the area of the concentra-
tion of the Byzantine coins could indicate a power center of Bulcsu. C.
BAIINT has remarked that there are no Christian finds and coins around
the supposed residence near Balaton, and that Bulcsu had his territory
somewhere near that of Gylas.a5 A different location was proposed by G.
Kmsro: at the confluence of Drava with the Danube.46
We conclude that the mission of Hierotheos was directed toward a ter-
ritory bordered by the lower Mureq, lower Criq and middle Tisza, domi-
nated by two competing Hungarian chiefs, Bulcsu and Gylas. The most
probable date of the mission was 948. Our opinion is not a new idea. It was
also sustained by several historians like B6lint H6ueN, Ioan R.i.lrunntNu,
Gyula Monevcsx, Nikolaos OIxoNonmns, Eugen GLUCx, Liiszlo KovAcs,
Csaniid BArmr, Kurt HoRrnr, Istv6n BoNA, Karoly MrsrnrurAzv, Korn6l
Bexag Gfr-rla KRrsro, Ana Maria VnLrnn, Petru Ielreon.aT
Opuscula Byzantina, 9), Szeged 7994, 120; idern, Die Beziehungen zwischen Byzanz und
dern
frtihmittelalterlichen
Ungam im Lichte der materielkn Kultur, in: Mitteldonaugebiet
und Sudosteurooa im fruhen Mittelalter. Zbornik refer6tov z kolloouia. Bratislava
r995, 76.
12
V. Gnnr''nns, Les rotondes de l'dpoque rotnane dans la Hongrie mddinale, Cahiers de
Ci vi l i sat i on M6di 6val e (Xe-XI I e si dcl es) 11, 4 (1968) 530.
43
As supposed G. Gyonrry, Landnahme...,265.
44
Idem, Sys/lnze..., 10G108. The location was accepted by R. NI-*srNt, Christiani-
zat i on. . . , 43.
45
C. BArmr, Siidungarn..., ll9.
16
G. Knrsr6, Di e Arpaden. . . , 4I .
47
B. H6la+N, Geschichte des ungarischen Mittelalters, I, Berlin 1940, 147-148; G.
MonwcsIr, The Role..., 330; I. RANtunncNu,. Inceputurik..., 3l-36; G. Moruwcstr,
Byzantium..., 55-56, 108; N. OtroNovtons, ,4 propos..., 531; E. Glucr, Contribulii
priai.nd istoria pdrlilor arddene tn secokle IX-X" in: Studii privind istoria Aradului,
BucureEti 1980, 92; L. KovAcs, Byzantinische..., 148; C. BAuNr, Zur Frage dn blzanti-
nischen Beziehungen im Fundmatnial Ungams. Archriologische Forschungen zwischen 1970
und 1984, Mitteilungen des Archiologischen Instituts der Ungarischen Akademie
der Wissenschaften 14 (1985)
2I7; K Horulr, Siebenbtirgen im Frtihmittelalter, Bonn
1986, 105; C. B.,irtxr, Sitdungarn..., 120; I. B6Ne, Zeit..., l2I-722; K. Mnsrnnstzv, Der
b1zantini,sch... 120; K BAXAv, Hungary..., l8; A. M. Vrr-rrn, Transilaania...,72,7+78,
80-81; G. Krusrd, Early Transylvania
(895-1324),
Budapest 2003, 64-65; P. IAMBoR,
130 Asnari
forlifratc
din Tiansiluania
(scrolele
IX-XIl), Cluj-Napoca 2005. 255.
The mission of Hierotheos: location and significance
How does this opinion fits with the arguments invoked by the sup-
porters of the different location, in Transylvania, of the baptized Gylas?
They identified him with Gyula, the father of Sarolt, who ruled in
Transylvania, and who established his residence at Alba Iulia.a8 For the
supporters of this theory, the christian faith of Sarolt is seen as a result of
the missionary action of Hierotheos. In fact, there is no proof for this
identity. His brother Gy'ula Minor was certainly pagan, as results from the
relations of the Hungarian chronicles about the war of Stephen I against
him. The expression noluit esse christianos cannot concern the orthodox
faith, as some historians have wrongly sustained,49 because the believers
of the Greek rite were never considered so by the Latins. on the other
hand, it was supposed that king Stephen I received this name at the bap-
tism in the memory of his christened grandfather,5o but it was demon-
strated that this name was given because this saint was the patron of the
Passau bishopric, which was involved in the conversion.5l As for the Greek
nunnery of Veszpr6mvolgy, it is not sure that is was founded for Sarolt;
another opinion links itwith the Byzantine wife of prince Emerich.s2 Even
if Sarolt was Christian, this does not necessary mean that she was baptized
by Hierotheos, since Transylvania
was already peopled by christians when
her father occupied Bdlgrad.
We have demonstrated
elsewhere that the real conqueror of
Transylvania
was a chieftain called Gyula, and that this conquest was made
from north-west, after 930.53 He was the brother of Zombor, who accor-
ding to G. Gvonrrv was the chief baptized in 948. This Gyrla from
:"
R. Tnrolonnscv,
(Jn
mileniu d,e artd la Dund,rea d,e
Jos,
Bucuregti 1976, 94; M.
\y-ty, lo
fqrynalions
p9lltiques
roumaines et leur lutte pour ltautonomie, Renre roumaine
d'histoire
21, 34 (1982)
372; L. Maxxer, Politische c*schichte siebenbiirgens im 10.
Ighrhundet,
in: Forschungen fiber Siebenbtirgen und seine Nachbarn. Feitschrift ftir
Attila T. Szabd und ZsigmondJak6, hrsg. von K Benda, I, Mtinchen 1987,4G47;1.
\or1,
rrlTs2luania and Hungar\. From the Tima of Atmos ana Arpaa tu the Times of King
Stephm, lbidem, 31; F. I4q,xr, Zes relations..., 13;-G. Knrsr6, Di) Arpaden..., 40-4I, bf,
54; H. ctucuoteN, catalogul...,3;1. A. Pop, Romd,nii
si
maghiarii tn secorere IX-yv.
Gena,a statului rnedianl tn Transiluania cluj-Napoca 1996, I+z;vt. sAcrry, Aspects...,
5G57; G. KRISr6, The Bisholwics of Saint Stepien, King of Hungary, in: In honorem
paul
Cernovodeanu, ed. V. Barbu, fiucuregti 1SSS, SZ-5S; F. M;Ki( Unsarische..., lZ; M.
FoNr, ungarn...,277; idem, Missions...,
286; A. Dnecor.{, As'becte di murtiatrturalitate
spirituald, 4l-45.
4e
H. CrucutraN, Catalogut..., 11; I. Bone, Trans1laania...,31; I. A.
pop,
Romftnii...,
144.
50
G. Monevcsrr, Byzance..., 328; R. MensrNe, Christianization..., 44.
5r
M. SAcnv, Aspects...,58.
?' -
G. Monevcsm, Byzance...,329; i dem, Byzanti um...,111; G. Gvonnw, Ki ng...,151; R.
MensrNe, Christianization..., 57; B. Lr Cerloc'lr', It X'-' siicle..., 117-tO$ Z.
Koszrotmax,^Byzantine
Christianity and the Early Magyars in the Rzcmil of the Byzantine
chroniclers, specimina Nova. Pars Prima.'sectio
Mediaevalis. Dissertationes
Historicae collectae per cathedram Historiae Medii Aevi Modernorumque
Temporum Universitatis
Quinqueecclesiensis,
P6cs 1 (2001)
84-85.
53
A. trzfA.DcEARu, Romd.nii...
,12G134;idern,
The Romanians...,9!gg.
131
Alexandm Madgearu
Transylvania and his heirs remained unknown to Constantine Porphlro-
genitus and they were not recorded in other sources than the Hungarian
ones. It is very important that the so informed work of Constantine
Porphlrogenitus does not mention anything about Transylvania. This
means that nothing real important was there at the middle of the 10m cen-
tury, from the Byzantine point of view. This fact goes against any attempt
to locate a Byzantine ally in Transylvania in the period when De Admi-
nistrand,o Imperiowas achieved, by the middle of the 10ft century.
Another proof used for the alternate theory is the rotonda discovered
under the present Catholic cathedral of Alba Iulia. The author of the
excavations, Radu HEITEL, as well as other archaeologists and historians,54
linked this monument with the establishment of Hierotheos in the city
ruled by Gyrla, considering that the data provided by the Hungarian
chronicles about the Hungarian chief called Gyula, who discovered this
city, concern the same person with that one baptized at Constantinople.
A different opinion was sustained by I. B6Ne, C. BAuNr, K Mrsrnnrnzv' G.
KRISTo, and P. IaMson. They ascribed the rotonda to another Gyrla,
moved from the Tisza region in Transylvania after 971, the momentwhen
the restoration of the Byzantine administration on the Lower Danube has
stimulated the religious contacts and the relations with the empire. In
their view, this Gpla was the father of Sarolt.55 Nor this idea can be sus-
tained, because no Blzantine gold coins issued during this period were
found in Transylvania until now. The relations with the empire would
lead to a situation similar with that encountered in the area between
Mureq, Criq and Tisza.
The rotonda consists of a circular structure inherited from a Roman
tower, modified by the construction of an apse on the eastern side. The
interior diameter of the round part is of circa 5 m. The stratigraphy makes
certain a date before the llft century,56 but does not excludes an early
date, in the 9ft century, as the same R. Hnnnr has observed in another
study.57 In this case, the rotonda was built for the ruler of that Romanian-
Slavic polity which was under Bulgarian domination during the second
half of the 9th century and in the first decades of the l0th century. Before
the Hungarian conquest, Bilgrad was the center of this polity emerged
54
R. Tnnouonr,scu, Ltn mileniu..., 108-110; M. Rusu, Les
formations...,
380; G.
PETRov, Consid,nalii. asupra unor hiserici medinak at plan central din Transiluania, Acta
Musei Napocensis 33 (1996) II, 38; H. Crucuon-tx, CataloguL..,3.
55
I. B6Ne, kit..., 122 C. BArrNr, Slidungarn..., 121; I( MnsrnnnAzv, Der byzanti-
ni sch...,120; G. Krusr6, Earl y...,66; P. Iertnon, ASezdri ..., I94.
56
R. HEITEL, Archriologische..., 5-8; idem, Contribulii,..., 346-350; idem, Die
Archriologie..., 417, 427.
57
ldem, Unele considerali,i priuind ciailizalia din bazinul carpatic tn cursul cebi de-a
d.oua
jumd,td.li. a secolului al lX-lza in lumina izuoarekv arheohgice, Studii
$i
cercetiri de
istorie veche
gi
arheologie 34, 2
(1983) 103. This idea was shared by G. AucunL AlDa
I32 lulia, Bucuresti 1987, 65, 84 and by us.
The mission of Hierotheos: location and significance
after the end of the Avarian domination, organized by the local Romanian
and Slavic population, subjected by Bulgaria after 830. The survival of the
Roman precinct of Apulum was the reason why this place became the cen-
ter of the Bulgarian enclave. It is undoubtedly that the recent finds58 are
giving a more clear picture on the population living at Alba Iulia in the
9tn-1gth century. The Christian faith of this population is certain even if
the crosses would not be discovered, because this settlement was since the
last decades of the 9th century and until the third decade of the 10th cen-
tury under the domination of a Christian state, Bulgaria.59 On the other
hand, the Romanian population from Transylvania was Christian. A By-
zantine mission directed to an already Christianized territory seems
unthinkable. The crosses from Alba Iulia were found in graves of the local
Romanian and Slavic population. They do not necessary illustrate the
Christianization of the Hungarians made by Hierotheos.
In these circumstances, the building of a princely round chapel in the
last third of the 9ft century, after the conversion of Bulgaria, is not exclud-
ed. The source of influence was in this case Great Moravia, a state that had
economic and perhaps religious relations with the Transylvanian space.
Several rotondas of Frankish inspiration dated in the last third of the
gth
century were discovered in Moravia at Mikuldice and Star6 Mdsto, and in
Slovakia at Nitrianska Blatnica and Ducov6 (former Great Moravia).60
Good analogies for Alba Iulia are the Stard M6sto rotonda under the Saint
Michael cathedral, and that one from Ducov6; both have the same shape
and similar dimensions (G7 meters the interior diameter).6r In a recent
critical overview of the Transylvanian history in the lOth century, Florin
Cunre has remarked that these analogies with the Moravian rotondas
require a careful analysis of the social and political context of this pre-
sumable influence.62
58
H. CtucuoreN - A. Dnecori, Catalogul expoziliei
,,Ciuilizafia
medinald timpurie din
Transilaania: rit
Si
ritual
funerar
(secolelz N-XI), Llba Iulia 2002, 10-14 and the illus-
t rat i ons; A. Dnqcore, Aspert e
f unrarc. . . ,
157-169.
59
A. I\{,qocnqnu, Trans1luania..., 55.
60
1.
Pour-ir, The Origins of Christianity in Slauonic Countries North of the Middtz Danube
Basin,.\Norld Archaeology 10 (1978)
2
(= Archaeology and Religion), 164.166, fig.
2
/ 2, 3
/
10
;
V. Gtr*'nnsMoLNAR, Origins of Romanesque Rotundas in East-Central Europe,
in: Rapports du IIIe Congrds International d' Arch6ologie Slave, Bratislava 1, 1979,
309; D. Cepr-or,ri, Archaeologl and the beginnings of Christianity in the taritory of Slouakia,
in: Early Christianity in Central and East Europe, ed. P. Urbanczyk, I, Warszalv 1997.
98.
u_t
L. GeruSxe, The
Question
of Eaaluating and the Present Lnel of Knowkdge about the
Great Morauian Agglomeration of Stard Mdsto-Uhershd Hradiite, in C. Staiia - L. Poldiek
(hrsg. ), Fni hmi t t el al t erl i che Macht zent ren i n Mi t t el europa. Mehrj ahri ge
Grabungen und Ihre Auswertung. Symposium Mikuliice, 5.-9. September 199f.
Brno 1996, 192, fig. 2.
62
F. Cunre, Transyh.tania around A.D. 1000, in: P. Urbanczyk (ed.), Europe around
the Year 1000, Warsaw 2007,752. 133
Alexandru Madgearu
As a bishop, Hierotheos needed a real church and not a simple small
chapel. The rotonda could not be his residence. It could be supposed
instead that this monument was the private chapel of the prince rr-ho
ruled at Alba Iulia. Of course, the existence of an episcopal church at A]ba
Iulia, erected by the middle of 10th century, could not be excluded, but
no such building was found insofar. Because the building date of the
rotonda could be also placed in the last third of the 9th century, this mon-
ument cannot be certainly ascribed to Hierotheos.
In conclusion, the chief Gylas-Zombor, who was christened around
948, was not the same with that G1'ula who mastered Transylvania and who
was the father of Sarolta. The mission of Hierotheos was directed to the
territory which was in that moment under the control of the highest mil-
itary commander of the Hungarians, namely between the lower streams of
Mureg and cri;. This region was later included in the metropolitanate
of
Tourhia, created perhaps in 1018, which, according to recent researches,
coexisted during the llth cenrury with the Latin bishoprics created. in
Hungary after the coronation of Stephen L A successor of Hierotheos was
Theophylactos, bishop of Tourkoi.In 1028 is recorded a metropolite of
Tourkia,John, while another metropolite of rourkia, Antonios, is attested
by an llth century lead seal.63 The Byzantine religious orientation of the
Hungarians was however abandoned after 973, when prince Geza was bap-
tized by the bishop Bruno sent by rhe German emperor Otto I. This
change was caused by the Byzantine recovery of the Danubian region,
which became a danger for the Hungarians, but also for the German
sphere of influence.64 According to a tradition preserved in the chronicle
of the Priest from f)ioclea,
the Byzantine army has occupied Raska soon
after the conquest of Bulgaria, but the local Zupan expelled it after the
death of
John
Tzimiskes. This is confirmed by the seal of
John,
proto-
spatharios and katepano
of Ras, dated in the same period. The Byzantines
advanced to this region by DFrachion. Another seal, of Adralestos
Diogenes, protospatharios and strategos of Morava, attests that this
katepanate was extended up to this city on the Middle Danube. He was
recorded in the age of rzimiskes, and he was appointed after
g7b,
the date
of raktikon Scorialensis (this
source does not mention the katepanate of
63
G. Moruu' csrx, The Role..., 329; idem, Byzance..., 32G227
;
idem, Byzantium..., 107
;
N. OKoNor,rrnns, ,4 propos...,
527-533; I. B,\AN, The Metropoktane of Tourkia. The
Organization of the Blzantine Churrh in Hungary in the Middlt,4grs. in: G. Prinzing - M.
Salamon (ed.),
Byzanz und Ostmitteleuropa 950-1453. Beitrege zu einer Table-
Ronde des XIX International Congress of Byzantine Studies, Copenhagen 1996 (=
Mainzer veroffentlichungen zur Byzanrinistik, 3), wiesbaden- 1ggg, 4g-b2;
p.
SrnrHENsoN, Blzantium' s..., 4I.
64
G. Szrxrry kt, Hongrie et Byzance aux K-XIF siicles, Acta Historica Academiae
Scientiarum Hungaricae 73,3-4 (1967)
291; G. Gyonrry, La christianisation...,63-69;
M. SAcsv, Aspects...,57-59; F. Maxr, idem, A l'ombre de la menace b.gzantine (Le
choix
politiro-religieux
du prince^-Gcza).
-Chronica.
Annual of rhe Instiiute of History.
134 Uni versi t y of Szeged 1
(200
I
)
20-21.
The mission of Hierotheos: location and significance
Ras and the strategy of Morava).65 The Byzantine penetration at the
Middle Danube caused the alliance of Geza with Samuel, the ruler of the
revived Bulgarian state, by means of the marriage of his daughter with
Gabriel Radomir, which lasted until around 997.66
l -
c)
.') -
4-
5-
6-
n
8-
9-
Appendix I. Gold and silver coins issued by Constantine VII
and Roman II, 948-959:
Hajduszoboszl6, Hajdu-Bihar County, gold, from grave 109.67
H6dmezov6s6rhely-Kopdncs, Csongrdd County, gilded bronze.68
Kiskunfdlegyh6za, Bdcs-Kiskun Councy, gilded bronze.6e
Kiszombor, Csongrdd County, gilded bronze.70
K6spallag, Pest County, gold.71
Nagyharsdny, Baranya County, three gold pieces, together with other
Western si l ver coi ns, i n a hoard./z
S6rrdtudvari, Hajdu-Bihar County, two silver pieces.73
Senta, Serbia, gold.Ta
Szeged, Csongrdd County, silver, from an equestrian grave.7s
65
1.
FEnruce, Die Chronih des Priesters uon Diokleia ak
Quelle rtir
die blzantinische
Geschichte, Byzantina 10 (1980) 437-438;J. NESBrrr
- N. OrroNovrors, Catalogue of
Byzantine seak at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of ArL vol. l. haly, North of
the Balkans, North of the Black Saa, Washington, DC 1991, 100-101, 195-196; S.
PnwernrC, Vizantijshe terna Moraaa i
,,Morauje"
Konstantina WI Porfirogeryeta, Zbornik
Radova Vizantoloikog Instituta 36 (1997)
173-201; N. OrxouorrlrDEs, I propos de la
premiire occupation byzantine de la Bulgarie (971-c. 985), in: Eupsychia. M6langes
offerts ) H6ldne Ahrweiler (: Byzantina Sorbonensia, l6), II, Paris 1998, 589.
66
G. Moruqvcstr, B1zantium..., 62; F. Mexx, Relations hungaro-bulgares au temps de
prince Geza et du roi Etienne 14, in: Hungaro-Bulgarica, V. Szegedi Bolgarisztika,
Szeged 1994,27; i dem, A I' ombre...,2l .
67
L. KovAcs, Mi)nzen aus der ungarischen Landnahmezeit. Archtiologische Llntnsuchung
der arabischen, byzantinischen, westeuroptiischen und rtjmischen Miinzen aus der
Karpatenbecken des 10.
Jahrhundert,
Budapest, 1989, 31, nr. 99; A. M. Vnrrrn,
Transilaania.... 305. nr. 224.
68
L. KovAcs, Miinzen..., 32, nr. 131; C. B.'ir-rNr, Siidungam....,
223, nr.94; A. M.
VELTER, Transiluania..., 305, nr. 227.
69
L. KovAcs, Miinzen...,31, nr. 99; A. M. Vnlrnn, Transiluania..., 176, nr.1723.
70
L. KovAcs, Mi i nzen...,41, nr. 198; C. BAuur, Si i dungarn...,236, nr. 134; A. M.
Vrlrrn, Transilaania..., 306, nr. 242.
7r
L. KovAcs, Mi l n2en...,90, nr. 1091; A. M. VELTER, Transi l aani a...,305, nr.243.
72
L. KovAcs, Miinzen..., 4546; A. M. Velrrn, Transiluania..., 307, nr. 254.
73
L. KovAcs, Miinzen..., 173, nr.165; A. M. Vurrnn, Transiluania..., 308, nr. 268,
269.
74
L. KovAcs, Mi l n2en...,77, nr.450; C. BAl nqr, Si i dunqarn...,26l , nr. 328; A.
Vnlrnn, Transilaania..., 322, nr. 801.
75
L. KovAcs, Miinzen...,61, nr. 322; C. BduNr, Siidungant...,250, nr. 242 A.
Vtlrr,n, Transiluania..., 308, nr. 27 4.
M.
M.
135
Alexandru Madgearu
10 - Szegvar, Csongrdd County, gilded bronze.76
ll - Szentes, Csongrdd County, nvo pieces, gilded bronze, perforated and
put in the graves in a 1Oth century cemetery, point Borb:isalfotd; anoth-
er piece was found in the grave 73 of the Szentes-Szentldszl6 cemerery,
together with a cross - see AppendixII, nr. 14.77
12 - Szob-Kiserdo, Pest Counry, gilded bronze, put in the child grave nr.
60.78
13 - Tokaj, Borsod-Abauj-Zempln Counq,, a hoard of 10 gold pieces togeth-
er with I gold piece struck in 921-931; the coins were trasformed in
medallions-.79
14 - T6tkomlos, Bks County, gold.8O
15 - Ull6s, Csongrdd Counry, gold.8l
16 - Vukovar, Croatia, gold, from a cemetery, perforated and put in the
grave nr. 2.82
Appendix II. Pectoral crosses dated in the 10ft century
discovered in Hungary and Transylvania:
I - Alba Iulia, Alba County, Romania. Two bronze reliquary crosses and a
simple pectoral cross from a 1Oth century cemetery. No description.S3
2 - Algyo, Csongr6d County, Hungary. A pectoral cross from an old
Hungarian cemetery, in association with other objects dated in the first
half of the 1Oth century.84
3 - Bdkscsaba, B6kis County, Hungary. A pectoral cross. Stray find, but
si mi l ar to nr. 8.85
4 - Dibdca, Cluj County, Romania. A reliquary pectoral cross dated per-
haps in the iecond half of the 1Oth centrrry.bo^
76
L. KovAcs, Miinzen...,62; C. B.,irrNr, Sildungarn..., 2b1, nr. 255; A. M. Vnlrrn.
Transiluania..., 308, nr. 277.
77
L. KovAcs, Miinzen...,62, nr. ZZ2; C. BArrNr, Siidungarn...,
2b3, nr.259; K
HoRNieKovA, The Byzantine...,232, footnore 111; A. M. Vrlien, Transilaania..., Z0g,
nr. 281 A. Dna.cor.{., Aspecte de multiculturalitate..., l3l.
7a
L. KovAcs, Miinzen...,67, nr.366; A. M. Vnlrrn, Transiluania..., 309, nr. 284.
7e
L. KovAcs, Miinzen..., 72; A. M.Vnrrsn, Transiluania..., 310, nr. 290.
80
L. KovAcs, Miinzen..., 73, nr. 413; A. M. VrrrEn
,
Transih.tania..., 310, nr. 291.
ur
L. KovAcs, Miinzen...,91, nr. 1045; A. M. Vnrrnn, Transiluania..., 310, nr. 292.
82
L. KovAcs, Miln2en...,77, nr. 445; A. M. Vrrrrn, Transilaania..., Z2Z, nr. 823.
83
See footnote 39.
84
C. BAurrr, Sildungarn...,
20G207, 262.
85
I. Saru.,irr, Biztinci.ttpuxi erehlyetartti rnellhnesztek Bdhds ds Csongrrid, Megldben, A
M6ra Ferenc Mtizeum Evkonlve. Srudia Archaeologica, Szeged 1 (1995)
258, Abb.
2/I;K HoRNi eKovA, The Byzanti ne...,236, nr. 18.
86
N. Guom - C. Cosut, Crucea-relia,rar tlescoperitd, la Ddbdca. Consid,eralii
briuind,
tipologia
gi
cronologia mtrikr-relianr bizantine dii bronz, ru
figuri
in relief, descoiterite pe
136 ttri tori ul Romdni ei ,Ephemeri s Napocensi s 8
(1998)
272,2i 6,295,
pl .
i .
The mission of Hierotheos: location
and significance
5 - Grrla, Biks County, Hungary. A pectoral cross from a l0th century
cemeterv.ST
6
- H-ajdridorog-G;nil6s,
Hajdu-Bihar
County, Hungary. A bronze cross of
Maltuqpe,
withfragments
of a silver chain, from a child grave.
probably
a local product.88
7
- Kiskunfdlegyhdza,
Bdcs-Kiskun
county. A bronze pectoral
cross from a
cemetery dated after the middle of the l0th century.8g
8
- Makd,, Csongrdd County, Hu^qgary. A pectoral cross, most probable
from a l01h century cemetery.go-
9 - Mindszent-Koszonisdulo,
csongrdd county, Hungary. A bronze cross of
Malta type found in a child grave, in u c.ttret.ry that includes a
Blzantine
belt buckle and with coins issued by Hugo d.e
provence
(92G
945) and Lothar II
(931-950).el
10
- Nagylak,
-C,s91gr:id
County. Hung^ary. A simple pectoral cross, from a
destroyed l Oth century cemel erv.g2
1l
- Puspokladdny-lperjeshalom,
Hajdri-Bihar
Counry, Hungary.
A simple
pectoral cross from the_ child grave nr. 95 from a iOm cen'tury cemerery,
associated with co_rdiform pendants ("zweigliedrigen
palmetten-
verzierte
Gehringerr'). Another pectoral
cross was found in a grave nr.
107 dated in the llth century, but this does not concern
the"present
study.93
12
- Sdrrdtudvari,
Hajdrl-Bihar
county, Hungary. A reliquary
pectoral cross
from the
grave
nr. 199 of a cemetery
dated in the secbndhalf
of the l0th
century.94
l3 - Szeged., Csongr6d,Count/,
ll-ungary.
A reliquary pectoral cross, dated
perhaps i n the l Oth century.gs
14
- szentes-Szentldszl6,
csongrdd county,. Hungary. A reliquary
pectoral
cross from a cemetery dated in the lOrh -l I
rFcenturies,
fiom the grave
73 of a child; another simple cross was found in another child graie.e6
87
K HonNi drovA,
The Byzanti ne...,2Z7,
nr.2l .
88
-
The Ancient Hungarians. Exhibition catalog.te, ed. by I. Fodor
- L. R6vsz
- M. wolf
- l . M. Nepper, Budapest 1996, 230.
8e
Ibi dem,330.
e0
I. Szerlulinr, Bizdnci...,
258, Abb.
2/2;K HonNiirovA, The Byzantine...,2z7-22g,
nr . 23.
91
z. Lovtc, Bronzene Pektoralkreuze
aus dn Arpadenzeit, Acta Archaeologica
Academiae
scientiarum Hungaricle 32, 14 (1980)
3'66, nr.
g;c.
BArrNr, zurFrafie...,
215; i dem, Si i dungarn...,239,
nr. 170.
e2
C. BArrNr, Siidungarn...,24I,
nr.18l, Taf. LXII/8.
e3
I. Nnppen, Name Gruibnfetd.n
aus d,er Landnahmezeit aus Hajfui-Bihar Komitat, A
Debreceni Deri Mrizeum.Evk6nyve (1993)
9b, Taf. b; The Ancieit Hungarians...,2,4b;
Z. Lovtc, Mittelalterliche Bronzegegenstcinde
iles ungarischen
Nationalmusiuzs,
Budapesi
1999,
29.
s4
I. Nnpprn, Nzuere ...,105, Abb. 15; K HonNieKovA,
The Byzantine...,
ZZl_222, nr.
2; The Ancient Hungarians...,
277, 272.
e5
I. szerrwinr, Biainci...,
261, Abb. 5; K HonNicrovt, The B1zantine...,24b,nr.4b.
e6
K HonNidrovA, The Byzantine...,232,
nr. 4.
t37
15-
16-
t 7-
Alexandru Madgearu
Szob, Pest County, Hungary. A reliquary_pectoral cross from a cemererl
dated between the second half of the 1Oth centurv and the middle of rhe
I l ' h cent ur y. sz
Tiszaeszl6r-Sinkahegy, Szabolcs-Szatm6r-Bereg County, Hungary. A reli-
quary pectoral cross from a cemetery dated in the 1Oth century.g8
Tiszafured-Nagykenderfoldek,
Jiisz-Nagykun-Szolnok
County, Hungan-.
A simple pectoral cross and a reliquary
pectoral cross from a cemeten'
dated between the second half of tlie 1()th century and the middle of the
l l r h cent ur y. 99
97
Z. Lovtc, Byzantine Type Rctiquary Pectoral Crosses in the Hungarian National
Museum, Folia Archaeologica
22
(1971)
152, 154, frg. 3/3; K HowidrovA, ?fta
Byzantine...,232, nr. 5; Z. Lovl.c, Mittelalterliche...,26, nr. 17.
e8
K HonNierovt, The B1zantine...,234, nr. 12.
ee
Ibidem, 232-233,nr.6; The Ancient Hungarians..,29I;Z.Lovtc, Mittelalterliche...,
138 23, nr . 3, 28, nr . 27.