Origins & Early Life

Coloman the Learned, also the Book-Lover or the Bookish (Hungarian: Könyves Kálmán; Croatian: Koloman; Slovak: Koloman Učený; c. 1070 – 3 February 1116), was King of Hungary from 1095 and King of Croatia from 1097 until his death. Because Coloman and his younger brother Álmos were underage when their father Géza I died, their uncle Ladislaus I ascended the throne in 1077. Ladislaus prepared Coloman—who was "half-blind and humpbacked", according to late medieval Hungarian chronicles—for a church career, and Coloman was eventually appointed bishop of Eger or Várad (Oradea, Romania) in the early 1090s.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

The dying King Ladislaus preferred Álmos to Coloman when nominating his heir in early 1095. Coloman fled from Hungary but returned around 19 July 1095 when his uncle died. He was crowned in early 1096; the circumstances of his accession to the throne are unknown. He granted the Hungarian Duchy—one-third of the Kingdom of Hungary—to Álmos. In the year of Coloman's coronation, at least five large groups of crusaders arrived in Hungary on their way to the Holy Land.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

He annihilated the bands who were entering his kingdom unauthorized or pillaging the countryside, but the main crusader army crossed...

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