Charles I of Hungary

Charles I of Hungary, called Charles Robert (1288–1342), was the Angevin prince who put a shattered kingdom back together. Grandson of Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary, he landed at Split aged twelve in 1300 and was crowned in 1301 with a provisional crown.

Hungary had split into provinces under oligarchs, and most refused him. Proclaimed king in 1308, he was crowned with the Holy Crown in 1310. His victory at Rozgony in 1312 and the death of Matthew Csák in 1321 made him master of nearly the whole kingdom.

He granted office fiefs instead of perpetual estates and opened gold mines that made Hungary Europe's largest gold producer. The defeat at Posada in 1330 did not stop Wallachia from becoming independent. His son Louis the Great inherited the rebuilt kingdom.