'Ladislaus II' or 'László II' (
Hungarian: ''II. László'';
Slovak: ''Ladislav II.'',
Croatian: ''Ladislav I.''), (
1131–
January 14,
1163), was King of
Hungary from
1162 to
1163.
Ladislaus was the second son of King
Béla II of Hungary by Jelena of
Serbia. In
1137, his father named him Duke of
Bosnia, but Ladislaus quarreled with his brother
Géza II and was forced into exile. Like his younger brother
Stephen, Ladislaus sought the support of the Byzantine Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos.
After the death of Géza II in May
1162, the throne passed to his young son
Stephen III, but the Byzantine emperor threatened the Hungarian nobility, forcing it to accept Ladislaus as king. The reign of Ladislaus lasted for only about half a year, from
July 15 1162 to his death on
January 14,
1163. Almost nothing is known about his short reign. Already recognized his brother's heir,
Stephen IV succeeded to the throne. By a wife whose name is unknown, Ladislaus had a daughter, Mária.
In medieval times, he was not counted as a king (being only an
anti-king). So
Ladislaus III was also counted as Ladislaus II.
References
★ G. Vég, ''Magyarország királyai és királynői'', Maecenas, 1990.
★ (primary source) ''The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle'', A. West, trans., Corvina, 1969.
★ (primary source) John Kinnamos, ''Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus'', C.M. Brand, trans., Columbia University Press, 1976.