# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/bela-iii-of-hungary
# Generated: 2026-08-31T22:50:56.198Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/bela-iii-of-hungary"
name: "Béla III of Hungary"
slug: "bela-iii-of-hungary"
description: "A Hungarian king raised in Byzantium as the emperor's heir, renamed Alexios and groomed for the purple throne — until a baby boy was born and the plan collapsed. He came home to rule the kingdom he'd once been sent to campaign against."
tagline: "King of Hungary and Croatia from 1172 to 1196"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Bela_3.jpg"
gender: "male"
category:
  name: "Politicians"
  slug: "politicians"
profileType:
  name: "Politician"
  slug: "politician"
birthDate: "1148"
deathDate: "1196-04-23"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           54.25
  momentum:             1.284046692607004
  historical:           22.038284
  currentAttention:     7.133592736705577
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  60
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Politicians"
    slug: "politicians"
  - name: "Politician"
    slug: "politician"
  - name: "Politics"
    slug: "politics"
  - name: "Medieval Era"
    slug: "medieval-era"
sources:
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_III_of_Hungary"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q86978"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/B%C3%A9la%20III%20of%20Hungary"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%DB%86%DA%86%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%88_%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C"
    title: "اۆچونجو بلای"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/III_Bela"
    title: "III Bela"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B0_III"
    title: "Бела III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B0_III"
    title: "Бела III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bela_III%2C_kralj_Ugarske"
    title: "Bela III, kralj Ugarske"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_III_d'Hongria"
    title: "Béla III d'Hongria"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_III._Uhersk%C3%BD"
    title: "Béla III. Uherský"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_III._(Ungarn)"
    title: "Béla III. (Ungarn)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9C%CF%80%CE%AD%CE%BB%CE%B1_%CE%93%CE%84_%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82_%CE%9F%CF%85%CE%B3%CE%B3%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%AF%CE%B1%CF%82"
    title: "Μπέλα Γ΄ της Ουγγαρίας"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_la_3-a_(Hungario)"
    title: "Béla la 3-a (Hungario)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bela_III_de_Hungr%C3%ADa"
    title: "Bela III de Hungría"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_III.a_Hungariakoa"
    title: "Béla III.a Hungariakoa"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C_%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%85"
    title: "بلای سوم"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_III"
    title: "Béla III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_III"
    title: "Béla III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%94_%D7%94%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%99%2C_%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9A_%D7%94%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%92%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94"
    title: "בלה השלישי, מלך הונגריה"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bela_III."
    title: "Bela III."
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/III._B%C3%A9la_magyar_kir%C3%A1ly"
    title: "III. Béla magyar király"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_III_dari_Hungaria"
    title: "Béla III dari Hungaria"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_III_d'Ungheria"
    title: "Béla III d'Ungheria"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%99%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A93%E4%B8%96_(%E3%83%8F%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AC%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E7%8E%8B)"
    title: "ベーラ3世 (ハンガリー王)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%91%E1%83%94%E1%83%9A%E1%83%90_III"
    title: "ბელა III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%A7_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB"
    title: "بيلا الثالث"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%A7_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA"
    title: "بيلا التالت"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Béla was the second son of Géza II, granted a duchy that included Croatia around 1161. A peace treaty shipped him to Constantinople in 1163, where Manuel I Komnenos renamed him Alexios, gave him the new title of despotes, and betrothed him to the imperial daughter. He was designated heir in 1165 and rode in three campaigns against his own brother's Hungary. The birth of Manuel's son in 1169 ended the engagement and demoted him to kaisar. When Stephen III died in March 1172, Béla returned and took the Hungarian throne, pledging never to war against Byzantium. He fought his younger brother Géza and held him captive for over a decade. After Manuel's death he retook Croatia, Dalmatia and Sirmium, then briefly occupied Halych before losing it. He promoted written governance, built the first Gothic palace in Central Europe at Esztergom, and was listed as the wealthiest monarch of his age.