Maria Komnene, Queen of Hungary


Maria Komnene was Queen of Hungary and Croatia from 1163 until 1165.
Maria was the youngest child of sebastokrator Isaac Komnenos, son of John II Komnenos and elder brother of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and Isaacʻs first wife, Theodora, great-granddaughter of King Ladislaus I of Hungary.
In 1153, she was engaged with Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor by her uncle, the Emperor Manuel I, but their engagement was broken off shortly afterwards. In 1156, her uncle married her to Duke Stephen who had fled to his court following an unsuccessful rebellion against his brother, King Géza II of Hungary.
After the death of King Géza II on 31 May 1162, the Emperor Manuel I prepared a campaign against Hungary in order to have her husband ascend the throne against the deceased kingʻs son, King Stephen III. However, the Hungarian barons elected her brother-in-law, Ladislaus II, who granted one third of the Kingdom of Hungary to Maria's husband.
Following the sudden death of King Ladislaus II on 14 January 1163, her husband was proclaimed king. However, King Stephen IV was defeated on 19 June 1163 by his nephew, King Stephen III, and was obliged to flee again to the Byzantine Empire, where he died while still struggling against his nephew on 11 April 1165. Queen Maria died in Constantinople.

Marriage

She married c. 1157 to King Stephen IV of Hungary. They did not have any children.