Coloman I the Book-lover, also spelled Koloman, King of Hungary and Croatia (full royal title "King of Hungary, Slavonia, Croatia and Dalmatia"). Coloman was the elder son of the future King Géza I and his first wife Sophia, daughter of Count Giselbert of Looz. When his father died on April 25, 1077, in accordance with the Hungarian tradition which gave precedence to the eldest member of the royal family over the king's son, King Géza's brother, Ladislaus was proclaimed king. Coloman and his younger brother, Álmos were educated in the court of their uncle. King Ladislaus wanted Álmos to succeed him as king of Hungary, and wished to make Coloman a bishop. Coloman was educated pursuant to the clerical traditions and acquired his subsequently famous learning, which earned him the appellation "the Book-lover". King Ladislaus appointed Coloman to bishop of Eger or Nagyvárad. However, Coloman did not want to live an ecclesiastical life, and in 1095, when King Ladislaus named officially Álmos as his heir, Coloman escaped to Poland. When Coloman came back followed by Polish troops provided to him by Duke Wadysaw I Herman of Poland, King Ladislaus died on 29 July 1095. Shortly afterwards, Coloman made an agreement with his brother, under which Álmos acknowledged his reign. In 1112, Coloman married Eufemia of Kiev, daughter of Grand Prince Vladimir II of Kiev. However, a few months later, she was caught in adultery and immediately divorced and sent back to her father. Eufemia bore a son in Kiev, named Boris in 1112, but Coloman refused to acknowledge him as his son. Shortly afterwards, Coloman had a meeting with Bolesaw III who was going on a pilgrimage to Székesfehérvár and Somogyvár because of having made his brother blind. In 1115, Coloman, who had become more and more ill, also ordered to have Álmos and his infant son, Béla blinded in order to secure his own son's inheritance. In August 1115, Venice made an assault against Dalmatia and began to conquer the Dalmatian towns and isles. But Coloman was not able to answer to the aggression, because he died on February 3, 1116. He was buried in Székesfehérvár, next to St. Stephen.
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