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- From Leo van de Pas:
Béla was born about 1016, the third son of Vazul (Basil) 'the Blind' of Hungary, and younger brother of András I, who was crowned king after the Vatha pagan rising.
In 1048 András conferred on Béla one third of Hungary as appanage ('Tercia pars Regni'), making him Duke of the Nitrian Frontier duchy, with Nitra its capital, and which included the southern Slovakian Nitrian principality and the north-eastern historic Hungarian Bihar region (not identical to the later Bihar).
The two brothers shared power without incident until 1053, when András fathered a son Salomon. Thereafter András became determined to secure the throne for his son and to displace his brother. András therefore had Salomon, Béla's nephew, crowned future king in 1057. According to legend, András placed before Béla a crown and a sword, representing royal and ducal power, respectively, and asked Béla to take his choice. Knowing that choosing the crown would mean his life, Béla instead selected the sword. In 1059 Béla fled to Poland where he was received by his brother-in-law Kazimierz I Karol, king of Poland, brother of Béla's wife Richeza. Béla and Richeza had eight children, of whom five would have progeny, and two, Geisa I and Lászlo I, would be kings of Hungary.
In 1060 Béla returned to Hungary and defeated András I to become the new king. After András' death, Béla was crowned king on 6 December 1060. During his brief reign he concerned himself with crushing pagan revolts in his kingdom. In 1063 Béla died in an accident when his throne's canopy collapsed. After his death the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich IV installed András I's son Salomon as the new king, and Belá's sons had to flee to Poland again.
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