As a result of these two threads ( here and here ), I've decided to write something, mostly with the purpose of "getting my feet wet", as this is the first time I'm posting something like this. So, here it goes :
The two armies stood face to face on a field near Nagyvárad. It was clear even for an untrained eye, that the army ocuppying the western part of the field was in disadvantage, both numerical and in terms of morale. On the opposing part of the plain, with one of its flanks supported by the Sebes-Körös river, a huge army, numbering almost 10000 men, was proudly flying it’s banners. Among them the banner of the Papacy, a symbol of the justness of their cause, was waving in the wind. The soldiers felt protected by the divinity every time they looked at the banner. Thousands of noble knights flocked from all over Europe, to join this army, when Pope Honorius III called them “to enforce the justice of God”.
The leader of this army, Bela of Hungary, Herceg of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, and the son of King Andrew II of Hungary and Croatia, was making an attempt to depose his father. The rift between father and son was produced four years earlier, when the king ordered his son to separate from his wife, Maria Laskarina, daughter of the Emperor of Nicaea, with whom, Andrew himslef arranged this marriage. When the Pope denied to declare the marriage null and void, Bella and his wife fled to Austria. There, the Prince started to gather support against his father. This wasn’t such a heavy task, as Andrew was already very unpopular, due to his excessive taxes, raised to cover the expenses of the unsuccessful 5th Crusade.
When the relation between Andrew and his nobles plummeted to the ground in 1222, because the king refused to issue a bull which enlarged the power and privileges of the nobility, many nobles sent word to Bela that they would support him if he tries to take the throne.[1] Andrew quickly lost the support of the Transylvanian Saxons and the Teutonic Order, when he refused to grant them higher autonomy within the Kingdom. As a result Hermann von Salza left for Rome, where he supported in front of the Pope, Bela’s cause. Bela already had the support of the Duke of Austria, and thanks to the mediation of Hermann von Salza, he got the approval of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, another close friend of von Salza. Also, the Hochmeister managed to persuade the Pope to back Bela. The Pope excommunicated Andrew II and declared Bela the rightful King of Hungary and Croatia. This was the last spark needed for the situation to explode. As Bela started to assemble his army, in the anarchic Hungary, noble after noble was rebelling against Andrew. Hermann von Salza placed his lands in Burzenlad under the protection of the Pope, and although very unpopular among the Hungarian nobility, von Salza’s support was welcomed by the rebels.
Meanwhile, in Austria, French, Italian, German and Burgundian knights were coming to fight for the army blessed by the Pope. Andrew was left only with the support of a few loyal nobles and of his veterans from the Crusade. The King and his supporters decided to march on Transylvania, where most of the rebels were coming from. This proved to be a major mistake as it allowed Bela to cross into Hungary. Through every fiefdom he was passing, Bela’s ranks were growing, as the nobles who didn’t rebelled yet, were left with the choice of confronting Bela on their own or join him. On 21 June 1224, Bela entered Székesfehérvár unopposed, and proclaimed himself King of Hungary and Croatia as Bela IV. All he needed now was the Crown of Saint Stephen from his father. In Transylvania, Andrew had won a few small victories against the rebels, and now he was laying siege on the city of Nagyvárad.
Bela then headed towards Nagyvárad, taking every stronghold in his path, without much of a fight. In September 1224, Bela reached Nagyvárad. His army merged with the army of several rebels, including a Teutonic force of 2000 men. Andrew II found himself trapped between the walls of Nagyvárad and Bela’s army. Bela asked for a meeting with his father and the two met in the middle of what will soon turn into a bloody battlefield. Bela asked his father to surrender and he will grant amnesty for him and every follower of his. The reckless old King refused only by noding his head and turned his back to his son, returning to his lines without speaking a word to Bela.
The battle soon started, but by evening it was already over. As expected, it was a slaughter. Most of Andrew’s follower found their deaths this day, including the old king, hit by an arrow in the opening phases of the battle. The rest of them were taken prisoners by Bela’s men. Bela feasted for three days in Nagyvárad, with his followers. During these days, the new king granted all the requests that his father refused. More power for the nobility, autonomy for the Saxons and sovereignity over Burzenland for the Teutons. The acts are known as the Golden Bull and the Diploma Belorum[2]. The Saxons of Southern Transylvania were granted by the Diploma Belorum special liberties, such as electing their own leaders and freely using „the forrests of the Romanians and the Pechenegs”.
[1] This is the POD. OTL Andrew accepted the demands and issued the Golden Bull, relieving the tense situation in Hungary.
[2] A parallel to the OTL Diploma Andreanum, issued by his father, Andrew. I don't know if "Diploma Belorum" is the right form, so please correct me if it's not.
The (Alternate) History of the Teutonic Order in the Lands of Ancient Dacia
I
The two armies stood face to face on a field near Nagyvárad. It was clear even for an untrained eye, that the army ocuppying the western part of the field was in disadvantage, both numerical and in terms of morale. On the opposing part of the plain, with one of its flanks supported by the Sebes-Körös river, a huge army, numbering almost 10000 men, was proudly flying it’s banners. Among them the banner of the Papacy, a symbol of the justness of their cause, was waving in the wind. The soldiers felt protected by the divinity every time they looked at the banner. Thousands of noble knights flocked from all over Europe, to join this army, when Pope Honorius III called them “to enforce the justice of God”.
The leader of this army, Bela of Hungary, Herceg of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, and the son of King Andrew II of Hungary and Croatia, was making an attempt to depose his father. The rift between father and son was produced four years earlier, when the king ordered his son to separate from his wife, Maria Laskarina, daughter of the Emperor of Nicaea, with whom, Andrew himslef arranged this marriage. When the Pope denied to declare the marriage null and void, Bella and his wife fled to Austria. There, the Prince started to gather support against his father. This wasn’t such a heavy task, as Andrew was already very unpopular, due to his excessive taxes, raised to cover the expenses of the unsuccessful 5th Crusade.
When the relation between Andrew and his nobles plummeted to the ground in 1222, because the king refused to issue a bull which enlarged the power and privileges of the nobility, many nobles sent word to Bela that they would support him if he tries to take the throne.[1] Andrew quickly lost the support of the Transylvanian Saxons and the Teutonic Order, when he refused to grant them higher autonomy within the Kingdom. As a result Hermann von Salza left for Rome, where he supported in front of the Pope, Bela’s cause. Bela already had the support of the Duke of Austria, and thanks to the mediation of Hermann von Salza, he got the approval of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, another close friend of von Salza. Also, the Hochmeister managed to persuade the Pope to back Bela. The Pope excommunicated Andrew II and declared Bela the rightful King of Hungary and Croatia. This was the last spark needed for the situation to explode. As Bela started to assemble his army, in the anarchic Hungary, noble after noble was rebelling against Andrew. Hermann von Salza placed his lands in Burzenlad under the protection of the Pope, and although very unpopular among the Hungarian nobility, von Salza’s support was welcomed by the rebels.
Meanwhile, in Austria, French, Italian, German and Burgundian knights were coming to fight for the army blessed by the Pope. Andrew was left only with the support of a few loyal nobles and of his veterans from the Crusade. The King and his supporters decided to march on Transylvania, where most of the rebels were coming from. This proved to be a major mistake as it allowed Bela to cross into Hungary. Through every fiefdom he was passing, Bela’s ranks were growing, as the nobles who didn’t rebelled yet, were left with the choice of confronting Bela on their own or join him. On 21 June 1224, Bela entered Székesfehérvár unopposed, and proclaimed himself King of Hungary and Croatia as Bela IV. All he needed now was the Crown of Saint Stephen from his father. In Transylvania, Andrew had won a few small victories against the rebels, and now he was laying siege on the city of Nagyvárad.
Bela then headed towards Nagyvárad, taking every stronghold in his path, without much of a fight. In September 1224, Bela reached Nagyvárad. His army merged with the army of several rebels, including a Teutonic force of 2000 men. Andrew II found himself trapped between the walls of Nagyvárad and Bela’s army. Bela asked for a meeting with his father and the two met in the middle of what will soon turn into a bloody battlefield. Bela asked his father to surrender and he will grant amnesty for him and every follower of his. The reckless old King refused only by noding his head and turned his back to his son, returning to his lines without speaking a word to Bela.
The battle soon started, but by evening it was already over. As expected, it was a slaughter. Most of Andrew’s follower found their deaths this day, including the old king, hit by an arrow in the opening phases of the battle. The rest of them were taken prisoners by Bela’s men. Bela feasted for three days in Nagyvárad, with his followers. During these days, the new king granted all the requests that his father refused. More power for the nobility, autonomy for the Saxons and sovereignity over Burzenland for the Teutons. The acts are known as the Golden Bull and the Diploma Belorum[2]. The Saxons of Southern Transylvania were granted by the Diploma Belorum special liberties, such as electing their own leaders and freely using „the forrests of the Romanians and the Pechenegs”.
[1] This is the POD. OTL Andrew accepted the demands and issued the Golden Bull, relieving the tense situation in Hungary.
[2] A parallel to the OTL Diploma Andreanum, issued by his father, Andrew. I don't know if "Diploma Belorum" is the right form, so please correct me if it's not.
Last edited:
