Description

Stephen V (1239–1272) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1270 to 1272, and Duke of Styria from 1258 to 1260. The eldest son of King Béla IV and Maria Laskarina, he was crowned king at age six and became Duke of Slavonia. As a child, he married Elizabeth, the daughter of a Cuman chieftain settled in the Great Hungarian Plain by his father. Stephen was later appointed Duke of Transylvania in 1257 and Duke of Styria in 1258, but local noblemen in Styria opposed his rule and, with the help of King Ottokar II of Bohemia, expelled his troops.

Stephen forced his father to cede all lands east of the Danube to him, adopting the title of junior king in 1262. A civil war erupted in 1264 after Stephen accused Béla of planning to disinherit him. They made peace in 1266, but trust was never restored. Stephen succeeded his father without difficulty in 1270, but his sister Anna and his father's advisors fled to Bohemia. Ottokar II invaded Hungary in 1271, but Stephen repelled him. In the summer of 1272, a rebellious lord captured and imprisoned Stephen's son, Ladislaus. Shortly thereafter, Stephen fell ill and died unexpectedly.