Géza ( 940 – 997), also
Gejza, was
Grand Prince of the Hungarians from the early 970s. He was the son of Grand Prince
Taksony and his Oriental
Khazar,
Pecheneg or
Volga Bulgarianwife. He married
Sarolt, a daughter of an
Orthodox Hungarian chieftain. After ascending the throne, Géza made peace with the
Holy Roman Empire. Within Hungary, he consolidated his authority with extreme cruelty, according to the unanimous narration of nearly contemporaneous sources. He was the first Hungarian monarch to support Christian missionaries from
Western Europe. Although he was baptised (his baptismal name was
Stephen), his Christian faith remained shallow and continued to perform acts of pagan worship. He was succeeded by his son,
Stephen who was crowned the first
King of Hungary in 1000 or 1001.