Born around 975 as Vajk, in 997 he succeeded his father, Géza to the headship of the country. He emerged victorious from the feud following Géza’s death, defeating the revolt of the followers of customary law led by Koppány, and had himself crowned as king in 1000 with the insignia of royalty sent to him by pope Sylvester II. During the four decades of his reign, he transformed the country into a powerful and influential feudal state. Crushing the resistance of the local barons, he organized the country on a new administrative system based on the counties (vármegyék) [each under a royal official, the ispán who represented the king’s authority] and built out the network of the Catholic church in Hungary, founding ten bishoprics. He was a creator of laws and one of the very few medieval monarchs who never lost a battle. He is the most respected figure in Hungarian history; the day of his sanctification (1083) is the national feast of all Hungarians. Historiography considers him the founder of the Christian Hungarian state, while his church cult is due to his work of conversion and organization of the Catholic Church in Hungary as well as to the saintliness of his life. He died in 1038 and was buried in the sacred centre of medieval Hungary, the Székesfehérvár cathedral (Tarnoczi 1680a; Tarczay 1930; Schreiber 1938a; Schreiber 1938b; Bogyay 1976; Györffy 1977a; Magyar 1996a; Magyar 2000a).