Coloman of Galicia

Coloman
Coloman's statue in Gödöllő
Prince/King of Galicia
Reign1214–1219
1219–1221
Coronationearly 1216
PredecessorVladislav Kormilichich (regent)
Mstislav Mstislavich
SuccessorMstislav Mstislavich
Born1208
DiedMay 1241 (aged 32–33)
Čazma, Slavonia
SpouseSalomea of Poland
DynastyÁrpád
FatherAndrew II of Hungary
MotherGertrude of Merania

Coloman of Galicia (Hungarian: Kálmán; Ukrainian: Коломан; 1208 – 1241) was the ruler—from 1214 prince, and from 1215 or 1216 to 1221, the king—of Galicia, and the duke of Slavonia from 1226 to his death. He was the second son of Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Merania. His father and Leszek the White, Duke of Poland, concluded an agreement about the marriage of Coloman and Leszek's daughter, Salomea, and the division of Galicia, allotting its western regions to Leszek, the remaining lands to Coloman. The Hungarian and Polish armies occupied the principality in late 1214. Andrew II appointed a Hungarian nobleman, Benedict the Bald, to administer it on Coloman's behalf. Coloman was crowned the first king of Galicia with the pope's authorization in early 1216.

After the Hungarian troops occupied the western Galician territories, Leszek made an alliance with Mstislav Mstislavich, Prince of Novgorod. Mstislav invaded Galicia, forcing Coloman and his supporters to flee to Hungary, most probably in early 1219. Mstislav supported his son-in-law, Daniel Romanovich—who had claimed Galicia since 1205—to invade Polish territories, which brought about a reconciliation between Andrew II and Leszek. The Hungarians and Poles again occupied Galicia and restored it to Coloman in the autumn of 1219. Mstislav and his Cuman allies defeated the Hungarians near Galicia and captured Coloman and Salomea in August 1221. To secure their release, Andrew II renounced Galicia and arranged a marriage alliance between his youngest son, Andrew, and Mstislav's daughter.

Coloman returned to Hungary in late 1221 or 1222. He settled in Szepes (now Spiš in Slovakia) where he had held large estates since the late 1210s. Andrew II made him duke of Slavonia, with jurisdiction also in Croatia and Dalmatia, in 1226. He cooperated with his eldest brother, Béla, in revising their father's donations already during Andrew II's lifetime.