Ladislaus II Kán


Ladislaus from the kindred Kán was a Hungarian baron and landowner, member of the gens Kán.

Biography

He was the son of palatine Ladislaus I and an unidentified mother. He had two brothers, including prelate Nicholas, and a sister. One of his three sons from his unidentified wife was Ladislaus III, voivode of Transylvania who became one of the most powerful oligarchs during the interregnum after the death of king Andrew III and ruled Transylvania de facto independently until his death in 1315.
Ladislaus II served as voivode of Transylvania from 1263 to 1264, when the king's son, Stephen governed Transylvania independently from Béla IV, holding the title of duke of Transylvania. Ladislaus supported the efforts of duke Stephen. In 1263, he led a Hungarian army in alliance with a Bulgarian magnate, Jacob Svetoslav against the re-forming Byzantine Empire. However, along with his brother Julius, he defected to Béla IV in 1264, and led a campaign through the valley of river Maros to invade Transylvania, nevertheless he suffered a serious defeat from the army of Peter Csák at the Fortress of Déva, which functioned as the "royal castle" of Stephen.
Because of his betrayal, he lost his full political influence after the coronation of Stephen V in 1270. This reduction in political power is demonstrated by the fact that he was able to holding an office only after the sudden death of the king, when he served as ispán of Pozsony County between 1272 and 1273. He was appointed judge royal twice in 1273, which was the second-highest secular position after the palatine. Besides that he also functioned as ispán of Baranya County, Szeben and Bánya ispánates. Between 1275 and 1276, he was the voivode of Transylvania and ispán of Szolnok County for the second term.