Banate of Macsó

The Banate of Macsó or the Banate of Mačva^[1] (Hungarian: macsói bánság, Serbian: Мачванска бановина / Mačvanska banovina) was an administrative division (banate) of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, which was located in the present-day region of Mačva, in modern Serbia.

Banate of Macsó Banate of Mačva Macsói bánság Banatus Machoviensis Мачванска бановина Mačvanska banovina
Banate of the Kingdom of Hungary
1254–1284 1319–1496
The Banate of Macsó in 1490
History
• Established	1254
• Disestablished	1496
Preceded by Succeeded by Theme of Sirmium Kingdom of Serbia (medieval) Sanjak of Zvornik
Today part of	Serbia

Banate of Macsó in 1370

Name

Kingdom of Hungary in the 13th century with the Principality of Macsó.

In Serbo-Croatian: Mačvanska banovina (Serbian Cyrillic: Мачванска бановина), Latin: Banatus Machoviensis, Hungarian: Macsói bánság.

History

The region of Mačva or Macsó came under Hungarian administration shortly after the death of Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus (1180), but it was returned to emperor Isaac II Angelos upon conclusion of Byzantine-Hungarian alliance (1185). It was retaken by Hungarians (c. 1200) and later administered as part of the feudal domain of duke John Angelos of Syrmia. During that time, the region of Mačva was also known as the Lower Syrmia (lat. Sirmia ulterior).^[2]

Rostislav Mikhailovich was mentioned among the dignitaries of Béla IV as Ban of Slavonia in 1247, and from 1254 onward he was mentioned as the Duke of Macsó (in Latin, dux de Macho).^[3] This was the first mention of the Banate of Macsó. The banate was named after a town called Macsó (Mačva or Macho), but the location of this settlement has not been clearly established in modern times. It is suspected that the town existed a few kilometers down the river from modern Šabac.^{[citation needed]}

The Banate of Macsó was ruled by several powerful bans. In the 13th century, Béla of Macsó (grandson of Hungarian king Béla IV and son of Rostislav Mikhailovich) ruled the Banate of Macsó as well as Usora and Soli (areas across Drina river in today's northeastern Bosnia).

Macsó soon become apple of discord between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbia. King Stephen Uroš I of Serbia tried to conquer it in 1268, but was defeated and captured by the Hungarians. In 1284, King Stephen Dragutin of Serbia, son of Uroš I, married Catherine of Hungary and received Macsó from King Ladislaus IV of Hungary.

Late Arpadian era

Further Hungarian expansion in the Balkans was interrupted by the Tatar invasion, the Hungarian rule in Cumania ceased, but the Banate of Szörény remained. The Balkan region only became the focus of Hungarian foreign policy after 1246-1247. The temporary confusion was resolved, and the duchy continued to exist for nearly forty years after the Tartar invasion. After the death of Stephen V, the strengthening of the defensive character seems to have been decisive, and six new fiefdoms were established between Croatia and the Banate of Szörény. During the Interregnum after the death of Andrew III, the power-gap let Bulgarians and Serbs to became the rulers of the region, and the Wallachians, who were in the course of becoming a nationality. ^[4]

Post Arpadian Era

Since the central power in the Kingdom of Hungary collapsed, Stephen Dragutin ruled an independent kingdom centered in Macsó, which also included regions of Usora and Soli in northern Bosnia, as well as Belgrade, Rudnik and Braničevo. This kingdom was known as the Kingdom of Syrmia (Srem) and Stephen Dragutin ruled it as king until his death in 1316.^[5]

Macsó remained in the hands of Dragutin's son Stephen Vladislaus II until 1319. The northern part of the region along the river Sava was captured by King Charles I of Hungary while the southern part remained firmly under Serbian administration.^[6]

In the 14th century, the bans of the Garai family (Paul I Garai, Nicholas I Garai and his son Nicholas II Garai) expanded their rule not only to Bosnia but also to Upper Syrmia and the last one also became the ban of Slavonia and Croatia, which were also parts of the Kingdom of Hungary at the time.

In the 1370s it was captured by Serbian Prince Lazar who in 1377–1378 donated several villages in Macsó to his newly founded monastery of Ravanica. Lazars's son despot Stefan Lazarević was officially granted with possession of Macsó by King Sigismund of Hungary in 1403 as a vassal of the Hungarian ruler. The territory got back to Hungary with Lazarević's death (1427). The Hungarian bans of Macsó existed during this period as well but only as titular holders and the title of ban was usually granted to the ispáns (counts) of southern counties of the Kingdom of Hungary.

The territory was conquered by the Ottomans around 1459, after the fall of the Serbian Despotate. The region was regained for the Kingdom of Hungary in 1476, when the fortress of Zaslon (modern Šabac) was taken.^[7] By the end of the 15th century, title of ban was transferred to commanders of Belgrade, thus creating the Banate of Belgrade, that existed until final Ottoman conquest of Belgrade and Šabac in 1521.^[8]

Administrative divisions

According to the Treaty of Tata in 1426 Macsó was divided into several districts:^[9]

• Bitva (Bytthwa),
• Gornja and Donja Obna (Felsewatna and Alsowatna),
• Rađevina (Radio, Ragy),
• Nepričava (Neprichow),
• Ljig (Ligh),
• Kolubara (Collubara),
• Ub (Ubmelek),
• Tamnava (Tamlavamelek),
• Rabas,
• Pepeljevac,
• Debrc,
• Beljin,
• Toplica and
• castle of Bela Stena (castle) near present-day Valjevo.

Population

The population was mostly Serb and Orthodox, seen in a letter of pope Gregory IX dating 1229, where the pope had ordered the Archbishop of Kalocsa to convert the Orthodox Slavs in Lower Syrmia to the Roman rite.^[10]

List of bans

Term	Incumbent	Monarch	Notes
1254–1262	Rostislav[11]	Béla IV	"dominus de Machou"; king Béla IV's son-in-law; he might have been in office since 1247
1262–1272	Béla[11]	Béla IV Stephen V	"dux de Machou"; son of Rostislav; murdered in 1272
1272–1273	Roland[12]	Ladislaus IV	gens Rátót; first ban; also palatine (1272–1273)
1273	Egidius[12]	Ladislaus IV	first rule; gens Monoszló; also ban of Bosnia (1273)
1273	John[12]	Ladislaus IV
1273	Egidius[12]	Ladislaus IV	second rule; gens Monoszló; also ban of Bosnia (1273)
1275 (?)	Albert[12]	Ladislaus IV	gens Ákos; only a non-authentic charter refers to him as ban
1279	Ugrin[12]	Ladislaus IV	"banus et dominus"; gens Csák; also master of the treasury (1277–1279) and ban of Bosnia (1279)
1279–1284	Elizabeth the Cuman[12]	Ladislaus IV	"ducissa de Machou [et de Bozna]"; widow of king Stephen V
1284–1316	Stefan Dragutin[12]	Ladislaus IV Andrew III Wenceslaus Otto Charles I	vassal of the Hungarian monarch as king of Syrmia; formerly king of Serbia (1276–1282)
1316–1317	Stefan Vladislav II	Charles I	king of Syrmia
1317–1319	Stefan Milutin[13]		king of Serbia; Mačva under Serbian rule
1320–1328	Paul Garai [13]	Charles I	Hungarian rule restored in 1319; also ispán of Bodrog, Valkó (1320–1328) and Syrmia Counties (1323–1328); castellan of Kőszeg
1328–1334	John Alsáni [13]	Charles I	also ispán of Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Valkó (1328–1334) and Bács Counties (1333–1334)
1335–1339	Nicholas Ostffy [13]	Charles I	also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1340–1353	Dominic Ostffy [14]	Charles I Louis I	brother of Nicholas Ostffy; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Syrmia, Valkó and Veszprém Counties
1353–1354	Andrew Lackfi[14]	Louis I	also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1354–1359	Nicholas Csák [14]	Louis I	son of Ugrin Csák
1359–1375	Nicholas I Garai[14]	Louis I	also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1375–1381	John Horvat[14]	Louis I	first rule; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1381–1382	Paul Liszkói [14]	Louis I	also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1382–1385	Stephen Kórógyi [14]	Mary	first rule; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1385–1386	John Horvat[14]	Mary Charles II	second rule; conspired against Mary; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties; self-declared ban and regent for anti-king Ladislaus of Naples until 1387
1386–1387	John Bánfi de Alsólendva [14]	Mary	also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1387–1390	Nicholas II Garai[14]	Sigismund	first rule; son of Nicholas I Garai; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Valkó (1387–1390) and Virovitica Counties (1388)
1390–1392	Stephen Losonci [14]	Sigismund	also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Valkó (1390–1392) and Bereg Counties (1391)
1392–1393	George Lackfi [14]	Sigismund	also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1393–1394	Nicholas II Garai[15]	Sigismund	second rule; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1394–1397	Nicholas Treutel [15]	Sigismund	also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
	Stephen Kórógyi [15]		second rule; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1397	Peter Perényi[15]	Sigismund	first rule; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Valkó and Zemplén Counties
	John Maróti [15]		first rule; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1397–1400	Francis Bebek [15]	Sigismund	together with John Maróti (1398–1402); also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1398–1402	John Maróti [15]	Sigismund	second rule; together with Francis Bebek (1397–1400) and with Peter Perényi (1400–1401); also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Tolna and Valkó Counties
1400–1401	Peter Perényi[15]	Sigismund	second rule; together with John Maróti (1398–1402); also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1402	Stephen Ludányi [15]	Sigismund	together with his brother, Thomas Ludányi; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
	Thomas Ludányi [15]		first rule; together with his brother, Stephen Ludányi; also bishop of Eger (1400–1403); also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia and Valkó Counties
1402–1403	Ladislaus Újlaki [15]	Sigismund	first rule; together with John Maróti (1402–1410); also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Tolna and Valkó Counties
1402–1410	John Maróti [15]	Sigismund	third rule; together with Ladislaus Újlaki (1402–1403); also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Tolna and Valkó Counties
1403	Thomas Ludányi [15]	Sigismund	second rule; also bishop of Eger (1400–1403); ban for anti-king Ladislaus of Naples
1410–1418	Ladislaus Újlaki [15]	Sigismund	second rule; together with his brother, Emeric Újlaki; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Tolna and Valkó Counties
	Emeric Újlaki [15]		together with his brother, Ladislaus Újlaki; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Tolna and Valkó Counties
1419–1427	Desiderius Garai [16]	Sigismund	first rule; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Tolna and Valkó Counties
1427–1428	John Maróti [16]	Sigismund	fourth rule; together with Peter Cseh de Léva (1427–1431); also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Tolna and Valkó Counties
1427–1431	Peter Cseh de Léva [16]	Sigismund	together with John Maróti (1427–1428) and with Stephen Újlaki (1429–1430); also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bars, Bodrog, Syrmia, Tolna and Valkó Counties
1429–1430	Stephen Újlaki [16]	Sigismund	son of Ladislaus Újlaki; together with Peter Cseh de Léva (1427–1431); also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Tolna and Valkó Counties
1431–1441	Ladislaus Garai[16]	Sigismund Albert Vladislaus I Ladislaus V	first rule; son of Nicholas II Garai; together with Desiderius Garai (1431–1438); also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Fejér, Syrmia, Tolna and Valkó Counties; as a supporter of Elizabeth of Luxembourg, deposed by Vladislaus I in 1441
1431–1438	Desiderius Garai [16]	Sigismund Albert	second rule; together with Ladislaus Garai (1431–1441); also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Tolna and Valkó Counties
1438–1477	Nicholas of Ilok[16]	Albert Vladislaus I Ladislaus V Matthias I	first rule; son of Ladislaus of Ilok; together with Ladislaus Garai (1431–1441), with Ladislaus Maróti (1441–1443), with Emeric Hédervári (1442–1445), with Ladislaus Garai (1445–1447), with Stephen Bebek (1447–1448), with John Kórógyi (1447–1456), with Paul Herceg de Szekcső (1456), with Michael Szilágyi (1456–1458) et al.; also ispán of Bács, Baranya, Bodrog, Syrmia, Tolna, Valkó (1438–1458), Fejér (1440–1448), Csanád, Csongrád, Temes (1441–1446) and Somogy Counties (1446–1458); also voivode of Transylvania (1441–1458, 1459–1472) and captain of Belgrade (1441–1458), count of the Székelys (1441–1446), ban of Severin (1445–1446), ban of Slavonia (1457–1466) and king of Bosnia (1472–1477)
1441–1443	Ladislaus Maróti [16]	Vladislaus I Ladislaus V	son of John Maróti; together with Nicholas of Ilok (1438–1458); also ispán of Arad, Békés and Zaránd Counties
1442–1445	Emeric Hédervári [16]	Vladislaus I Ladislaus V	together with Nicholas of Ilok (1438–1458) and with Ladislaus Maróti (1441–1443)
1445–1447	Ladislaus Garai [16]	Ladislaus V	second rule; together with Nicholas of Ilok (1438–1458); appointed palatine
1447–1448	Stephen Bebek [16]	Ladislaus V	together with Nicholas of Ilok (1438–1458) and with John Kórógyi (1447–1456)
1447–1456	John Kórógyi [17]	Ladislaus V	grandson of Stephen Kórógyi; together with Nicholas of Ilok (1438–1458) and with Stephen Bebek (1447–1448); also župan of Požega (1450–1456) and Vrbas (1453–1456) Counties
1456	Paul Herceg de Szekcső [17]	Ladislaus V	together with Nicholas of Ilok (1438–1458)
1456–1458	Michael Szilágyi[17]	Ladislaus V Matthias I	first rule; together with Nicholas of Ilok (1438–1458); also captain of Belgrade (1456–1458); regent in 1458
1458–1459	Nicholas Dombai [18]	Matthias I
	Peter Szokoli [18]		first rule

See also

• Mačva
• Banate of Barancs