page_title: Ajtony
section_title: In primary sources
hierarchical_section_title: Ajtony / In primary sources
context_page_description: Ajtony, Ahtum or Achtum was an early-11th-century ruler in the territory now known as Banat in present Romania and Serbia. His primary source is the Long Life of Saint Gerard, a 14th-century hagiography. Ajtony was a powerful ruler who owned many horses, cattle and sheep and was baptised according to the Orthodox rite in Vidin. He taxed salt which was transferred to King Stephen I of Hungary on the Mureș River. The king sent Csanád, Ajtony's former commander-in-chief, against him at the head of a large army. Csanád defeated and killed Ajtony, occupying his realm. In the territory, at least one county and a Roman Catholic diocese were established.
  Historians disagree on the year of Ajtony's defeat; it may have occurred in 1002, 1008 or between 1027 and 1030. His ethnicity is also a subject of historical debate; he may have been Hungarian, Kabar, Pecheneg or Romanian. In Romanian historiography Ajtony is viewed as the last member of a Romanian ruling family founded by Glad, lord of Banat around 900 according to the Gesta Hungarorum.
context_section_description: The principal source of Ajtony's life is the Long Life of Saint Gerard, compiled from a number of earlier sources in the early 14th century. According to modern historians (including Carlile Aylmer Macartney and Florin Curta), all information on Ajtony incorporated into the Long Life was based on a ballad about the heroic deeds of Csanád—Ajtony's former commander-in-chief—because a shorter version of Bishop Gerard of Csanád's life does not mention Ajtony. Most historians agree that the ballad was composed shortly after Ajtony's death. In addition to the Long Life, Ajtony is mentioned in the Gesta Hungarorum; the Hungarian chronicle was written after around 1150. According to the Gesta, Ajtony was descended from Glad (in the same source, lord of the Banat); however, its credibility is questioned. In a 1499 sermon the Franciscan Osvát Laskai wrote that Ajtony was from the Nyírség region, but no evidence exists to indicate that Laskai knew his place of birth.
  Ajtony's name, recorded in the earliest sources as "Ohtun" or "Achtum", is of Turkic origin. According to linguist Loránd Benkő, his name is rooted in the Turkic word for golden (altun) and changed in Hungarian. Place names also echo his name; an abbey named Ahtunmonustura (Ajtony's monastery) existed in Csanád County and a village (Ahthon) in Krassó County, and a settlement named Aiton exists in Romania.
  According to the Long Life, Ajtony's seat was a stronghold on the Mureș (urbs Morisena). His realm extended from the Criș in the north to the Danube in the south, and from the Tisza in the west to Transylvania in the east. Ajtony was a wealthy ruler who owned horses, cattle and sheep, and was powerful enough to establish customs offices and guards along the Mureș and tax salt carried to Stephen I of Hungary on the river.
  Originally a pagan, Ajtony was baptised according to the Greek rite in Vidin. Shortly after his baptism, he established a monastery for Greek monks at his seat which was dedicated to John the Baptist. Ajtony remained polygamous, with seven wives after his baptism. In the Long Life Ajtony "had taken his power from the Greeks", suggesting that he accepted the Byzantine emperor's suzerainty.
  Ajtony's commander-in-chief was Csanád, described in the Gesta Hungarorum as the "son of Doboka and nephew" of King Stephen. Accused of conspiring against Ajtony, Csanád fled to Stephen; the king prepared to conquer Ajtony's realm, placing Csanád at the head of a large army. After crossing the Tisza, the royal army engaged Ajtony's troops but was forced to withdraw. In a second battle, Stephen's army routed Ajtony's troops near modern Banatsko Aranđelovo or at Tomnatic. Csanád killed Ajtony, either on the battlefield (according to the Long Life) or in his stronghold on the Mureș (according to the Gesta Hungarorum). In the Long Life Csanád cut out Ajtony's tongue after his death, enabling him to prove that he had killed Ajtony (and exposing Gyula, who had taken credit for the deed in Stephen's presence). Archaeologist István Erdélyi said that the Treasure of Sânnicolau Mare, excavated near Ajtony's seat, was connected to the ruler; however, his view has not been universally accepted by scholars.
  King Stephen granted large estates to Csanád in the lands Ajtony had ruled. Ajtony's stronghold, now known as Cenad (Hungarian: Csanád), was named for Stephen's commander. The king also appointed Csanád the head (or ispán) of the county made up of Ajtony's former realm. Stephen established a Roman Catholic diocese in Cenad, with the Venetian monk Gerard its first bishop. The Greek monks from Cenad were transferred to a new monastery built by Csanád at Banatsko Aranđelovo. Ajtony's descendants owned land in the region, indicating that King Stephen had not confiscated all of his predecessor's domain.
caption: Stephen I of Hungary, whose army conquered Ajtony's realm, on the Hungarian coronation pall (made in 1031)
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