Comitele de Timiș. Un baron al Regatului medieval Maghiar / The Count of Timiș. A Baron of the Hungarian Kingdom

From the beginning of the XIIIth century, the most powerful dignitary in the territory between the rivers Mures,Tisza, Danube and the western slopes of the Transylvanian Alps was the Ban of Severin. Despite its temporaryvacancy, the rank and the dignity were maintained until the XVIth century, yet some historians like Maria Holbanspeak about a “fantastic existence”. Certainly, this is only one of the reasons who cause, during the XIVth and theXVth centuries, at the political level, a competitor institution. Then, without being officially included betweenthe baronial ranks, the count’s seat confers to the Count of Timiș himself the same form of address granted to theTransylvania Vayvoda or the Bans of Slavonia and Croatia. This was not a spontaneous decision by the Centralrulers, nor did it occur in a single moment, rather it was the result of an internal process reflecting the politicalchanges at the south-eastern frontier of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. In view of the Ottoman threats, thesouthern border became very fragile, necessitating that important human and financial resources be supplied forthe defense of the frontier. the dignitary who would manage the entire situation and would lead a part of theoperations for repelling the Ottoman raids would be the count of Timiş.