Andrew II (, , , ; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 1188 until 1189/1190, and again between 1208/1209 and 1210. He was the younger son of Béla III of Hungary, who entrusted him with the administration of the newly conquered Principality of Halych in 1188. Andrew's rule was unpopular, and the boyars (or noblemen) expelled him. Béla III willed property and money to Andrew, obliging him to lead a crusade to the Holy Land. Instead, Andrew forced his elder brother, Emeric, King of Hungary, to cede Croatia and Dalmatia as an appanage to him in 1197. The following year, Andrew occupied Hum.

Although Andrew did not stop conspiring against Emeric, the dying king made Andrew guardian of his son, Ladislaus III, in 1204. After the premature death of Ladislaus, Andrew ascended the throne in 1205. According to historian László Kontler, "[i]t was amidst the socio-political turmoil during [Andrew's] reign that the relations, arrangements, institutional framework and social categories that arose under Stephen I, started to disintegrate in the higher echelons of society" in Hungary. Andrew introduced a new grants policy, the so-called "new institutions", giving away money and royal estates to his partisans despite the loss of royal revenues. He was the first Hungarian monarch to adopt the title of "King of Halych and Lodomeria". He waged at least a dozen wars to seize the two Rus' principalities, but was repelled by the local boyars and neighboring princes. He participated in the Fifth Crusade to the Holy Land in 1217–1218, but the crusade was a failure.

When the servientes regis, or "royal servants", rose up, Andrew was forced to issue the Golden Bull of 1222, confirming their privileges. This led to the rise of the Hungarian nobility. His Diploma Andreanum of 1224 listed the liberties of the Transylvanian Saxon community. The employment of Jews and Muslims to administer the royal revenues led him into conflict with the Holy See and the Hungarian prelates. Andrew pledged to respect the privileges of the clergymen and to dismiss his non-Christian officials in 1233, but he never fulfilled the latter promise.

Andrew had several children by three marriages. He had five children with his first wife, Gertrude of Merania, who was murdered in 1213 because her blatant favoritism towards her German kinsmen and courtiers stirred up discontent among the native lords. The Holy See canonized their daughter Elizabeth during Andrew's lifetime. His second marriage to Yolanda de Courtenay produced a daughter, Yolanda, while his third wife, Beatrice d'Este, bore a posthumous son, Stephen. After Andrew's death, his sons from his first marriage, Béla IV of Hungary and Coloman of Halych, accused the widowed Beatrice of adultery and never considered her son to be Andrew's legitimate son.

Early life

Childhood and youth ( 1177–1197)

Andrew was the second son of King Béla III and Béla's first wife, Agnes of Antioch. The year of Andrew's birth is not known, but modern historians agree that he was born around 1177, considering that Margaret, who was born in 1175 or 1176, was his elder sister, which, however, is far from certain. Andrew was first mentioned in connection to his father's invasion of the Principality of Halych in 1188. That year, Béla III invaded Halych upon the request of its former prince, Vladimir II Yaroslavich, who had been expelled by his subjects. Béla forced the new prince, Roman Mstislavich, to flee. After conquering Halych, he granted it to Andrew. Béla also captured Vladimir Yaroslavich and imprisoned him in Hungary.

After Béla's withdrawal from Halych, Roman Mstislavich returned with the assistance of Rurik Rostislavich, Prince of Belgorod Kievsky. They tried to expel Andrew and his Hungarian retinue, but the Hungarians routed the united forces of Mstislavich and Rostislavich. A group of local boyars offered the throne to Rostislav Ivanovich, a distant cousin of the imprisoned Vladimir Yaroslavich. Béla III sent reinforcements to Halych, enabling Andrew's troops to repel the attacks. Andrew's nominal reign remained unpopular in Halych, because the Hungarian soldiers insulted local women and did not respect Orthodox churches. Consequently, the local boyars allied themselves with their former prince, Vladimir Yaroslavich, who had escaped from captivity and returned to Halych. Duke Casimir II of Poland also supported Vladimir, and they expelled Andrew and his retinue from the principality in August 1189 or 1190. Andrew returned to Hungary after his defeat.

King Béla did not grant Andrew a separate duchy, but only gave his son some fortresses, estates and money. According to historian Attila Zsoldos, these landholdings laid in Slavonia. On his deathbed, Béla, who had pledged to lead a crusade to the Holy Land, ordered Andrew to fulfill his vow. Andrew's father died on 23 April 1196, and Andrew's older brother, Emeric, succeeded him.

Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia (1197–1204)

Andrew used the funds that he inherited from his father to recruit supporters among the Hungarian lords. It is plausible he demanded from his brother to install him as Duke of Slavonia, which became increasingly the title of heir to the throne by the second half of the 12th century. Andrew also formed an alliance with Duke Leopold VI of Austria, and they plotted against Emeric. Their united troops routed the royal army at Mački, Slavonia, in December 1197. Under duress, King Emeric gave Croatia and Dalmatia to Andrew as an appanage, as most historians believe. In contrast, historian György Szabados claims that Emeric never acknowledged Andrew's dominion in Croatia and Dalmatia and that Andrew used the title of duke without his brother's approval. In practice, Andrew administered Croatia and Dalmatia as an independent monarch. He minted coins (Croatian frizatik), granted land and confirmed privileges. In accordance with the agreement, Varaždin and Bodrog counties also belonged to his suzerainty. He cooperated with the Frankopans, Babonići, and other local lords. Some of the prominent barons also supported his aspirations, including their uncle comes Andrew and Macarius Monoszló. The Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre settled in the province during his rule. Taking advantage of Miroslav of Hum's death, Andrew invaded Hum and occupied at least the land between the Cetina and Neretva rivers sometime before May 1198. He styled himself, "By the grace of God, Duke of Zadar and of all Dalmatia, Croatia and Hum" in his charters.

Pope Innocent III urged Andrew to lead a crusade to the Holy Land, but Andrew hatched a new conspiracy against Emeric with the help of John, Abbot of Pannonhalma, Boleslaus, Bishop of Vác, and many other prelates and lords. For instance, incumbent Palatine Mog also betrayed Emeric and swore allegiance to the Duke. The Pope threatened Andrew with excommunication if he failed to fulfill his father's vow, but Andrew did not yield. The conspiracy was uncovered on 10 March 1199, when King Emeric seized letters written by Andrew's partisans to Bishop Boleslaus. That summer, royal troops routed Andrew's army in the valley of Rád near Lake Balaton, and Andrew fled to Austria. During Andrew's exile, Emeric appointed his own partisans to administer Slavonia, Croatia and Dalmatia. A papal legate mediated a reconciliation between Andrew and Emeric, who allowed Andrew to return to Croatia and Dalmatia in 1200. Andrew married Gertrude of Merania sometime between 1200 and 1203; her father, Berthold, Duke of Merania, owned extensive domains in the Holy Roman Empire along the borders of Andrew's duchy, in what is now Slovenia.

When Emeric's son, Ladislaus, was born around 1200, Andrew's hopes to succeed his brother as king were shattered. Pope Innocent confirmed the child's position as heir to the crown, declaring that Andrew's future sons would only inherit Andrew's duchy. Andrew planned a new rebellion against his brother, but King Emeric captured him without resistance near Varaždin in October 1203. In contrast, historian Attila Zsoldos considers it was the king who turned against his brother's province with an army initially convened for a crusade.

Andrew was first imprisoned in the fort of Gornji Kneginec, then in Esztergom. Alexander of the Hont-Pázmány clan freed him in early 1204. It is uncertain whether Andrew was freed by his partisans or his release took place with Emeric's consent. Having fallen ill, King Emeric had his son, Ladislaus, crowned king on 26 August. As Pope Innocent already ordered Archbishop Ugrin Csák to perform the coronation in April, it is plausible that the king decided on Andrew's release, therefore, the coronation was not vitally urgent. Andrew reconciled with his dying brother, who entrusted him with "the guardianship of his son and the administration of the entire kingdom until the ward should reach the age of majority",Archdeacon Thomas of Split: History of the Bishops of Salona and Split (ch. 23.), p. 143. according to the nearly contemporaneous Thomas the Archdeacon.

Nephew's guardian (1204–1205)

King Emeric died on 30 November 1204. Andrew governed the kingdom as Ladislaus's regent, but subsequently he counted his regnal years from the time of his brother's death, showing that he already regarded himself as the lawful monarch during Ladislaus III's reign. Pope Innocent told Andrew that he should remain loyal to Ladislaus, also instructing him to fulfill his vow to lead a crusade, to secure the incomes of Emeric's widow and Ladislaus III's mother, Constance of Aragon, and to keep royal property intact. The pope's letters suggest that serious tensions burdened the relationship between Andrew and Constance after Emeric's death.

Instead, Andrew seized the money that Emeric had deposited for Ladislaus in Pilis Abbey. He also confiscated a significant portion of private wealth from Constance, who deposited it in the Stephanites' convent in Esztergom prior to that, in addition to the denial of her dower. Queen Constance fled from Hungary, taking her son and the Holy Crown to Austria. According to the Annals of Admont, "some bishops and nobles" escorted them, breaking through the blockade that Andrew erected along the Austrian border. Andrew prepared for a war against Leopold VI of Austria, but Ladislaus suddenly died in Vienna on 7 May 1205. Andrew sent Bishop Peter of Győr to Austria, who successfully recovered the Holy Crown.

Reign

"New institutions" and campaigns in Halych (1205–1217)