32. A King Killed by His Throne
Bela I of Hungary (circa 1020 – 1063) reigned from 1060 until his death. Bela was born into Hungarian royalty. His father, prince Vazul, had been a nephew of the childless Hungarian king Stephen I. When the king bypassed Bela’s father to name another nephew heir, Vazul rebelled, but was captured and blinded as punishment in 1031. Bela and his siblings fled Hungary, but returned in 1046, when Bela’s eldest brother successfully deposed the king and seized the crown.
When Bela became king, he solidified Hungary’s Christian identity by putting down a final pagan rebellion. He also fought a successful war against Holy Roman Emperor Henry III to defend Hungary’s independence. Bela accomplished much during his relatively brief tenure on the throne. Unfortunately, it was his very throne that would prove his undoing: it literally killed him.