Officers: prévôtés, bailiwicks, seneschals · Kingdom of Hungary · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Szabolcs, Szatmár, Kraszna

The north-eastern counties of the plain.

Szabolcs is one of the oldest counties of the kingdom, centred on the great earthwork castle of Szabolcs on the Tisza, where King Ladislaus held the synod of 1092. Szatmár is centred on its castle on the Szamos, with the German guests of Németi beside it (settled, by tradition, in Queen Gisela's time) and the salt from the Transylvanian mines coming down the Szamos. Kraszna (on record from 1164) is a small county round its castle on the Kraszna river at the edge of the Meszes hills.

The Nyírség's sandy woods hold the kindreds' estates (Kaplon, Gutkeled, Balogsemjén) and the Muslim villages of the Böszörmény.

Who he is

Name
Not named in the sources reached for 1199-1200
Title
Ispáns (comites) of Szabolcs, Szatmár and Kraszna
Since
not pinned
Born
not pinned
Confidence
low

No ispán named for 1199-1200 in the sources reached (see Pest, Solt, Csongrád, Békés).

Overlord

King Emeric.

What it holds

  • Szabolcs county with Szabolcs castle (earthwork) on the Tisza.
  • Szatmár county with Szatmár castle on the Szamos, the salt landing and the guest village of Németi; the royal forests of Kékes and Fentős (handed to Thomas Hont-Pázmány in 1203: later).
  • Kraszna county with Kraszna castle.

How it was acquired

Royal counties since the eleventh or twelfth century.

How things stand that morning

Royal counties under ispáns serving Emeric as far as any evidence shows; no ispán named for the day.

Wealth

Each ispán takes his share of the county's royal revenues (tolls, court fines, the castle folk's dues); the rest goes to the king.

Military

Earthwork castles of Szabolcs and Szatmár, Kraszna castle; castle warriors. The Galician frontier beyond the Carpathians is hno's.

Places of note

  • Szabolcs castle: Earthwork county seat; synod of 1092.
  • Szatmár castle: County seat on the Szamos.
  • Kraszna castle: County seat.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Counties and castles certain; their ispáns in 1199-1200 not named in the sources reached.

On the map: Later medieval bounds.

Primary sources for Hungary

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

4 more in the sources library for Poland, Hungary and the Adriatic.

Sources and studies

  1. Szabolcs County (English Wikipedia)
  2. Kraszna County (English Wikipedia)
  3. Satu Mare (English Wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.