[1] The Árpád dynasty ruled the Carpathian Basin for four hundred years, influencing almost all of Europe through its extensive dynastic connections.

According to recent Y-STR and Y-SNP archaeogenetic studies of the skeletal remains of dynasty descendant and King Béla III of Hungary and unknown Árpád member named as "II/52" / "HU52" from the Royal Basilica of Székesfehérvár, it was established that the male lineage belonged to the Y-haplogroup R1a rare subclade R-Z2125 > R-Z2123 > R-Y2632 > R-Y2633 > R1a-SUR51.

[6][7][8] Medieval chroniclers stated that the Árpáds' forefather was Ügyek, whose name derived from the ancient Hungarian word for "holy" (igy).

Medieval chroniclers also referred to a tradition that the Árpáds descended from Attila the Hun – the anonymous author of the Gesta Hungarorum, for example, has Árpád say: The land stretching between the Danube and the Tisza used to belong to my forefather, the mighty Attila.The first member of the dynasty mentioned by a nearly contemporary written source was Álmos.

The Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII recorded in his De Administrando Imperio that Álmos was the first Grand Prince of the federation of the seven Magyar tribes (megas Turkias arkhon).

[19][20] Prince Álmos, the sacred leader of the Hungarian Great Principality died before he could reach Pannonia, he was sacrificed in Transylvania.

[21][22] Between 899 and 970, the Magyars frequently conducted raids into the territories of present-day Italy, Germany, France and Spain and into the lands of the Byzantine Empire.

[23] Such activities continued westwards until the Battle of Lechfeld (955), when Otto, King of the Germans destroyed their troops; their raids against the Byzantine Empire ended in 970.

[25] The sources prove the existence of at least three and possibly five groups of tribes within the tribal federation, and only one of them was led directly by the Árpáds.

[26] The list of the Grand Princes of the Magyars in the first half of the 10th century is incomplete, which may also prove a lack of central government within their tribal federation.

[32] Stephen had to face the rebellion of his relative, Koppány, who claimed Géza's inheritance based on the Magyar tradition of agnatic seniority.

[37][38] He introduced the administrative system of the kingdom, based on counties (comitatus), and founded an ecclesiastic organization with two archbishoprics and several bishoprics.

[48] In the 11th century, the counties entrusted to the members of the ruling dynasty did not form a separate province within the kingdom, but they were organized around two or three centers.

[51] From 1063 until 1080 there were frequent conflicts between King Solomon (1057–1080) and his cousins, Géza, Ladislaus and Lampert who governed the Tercia pars regni.

[58][59] His daughter Eirene, the wife of the Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos, is venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church.

[68] Henceforward, members of the Árpád dynasty governed southern or eastern provinces (i.e., Slavonia, and Transylvania) of the kingdom instead of the Tercia pars regni.

[47] During the reign of King Géza II (1141–1162), the Bishop Otto of Freising recorded that all the Hungarians "are so obedient to the monarch that not only irritating him by open opposition but even offending him by concealed whispers would be considered a felony by them".

[70] During his reign, the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos occupied the southern provinces of the kingdom on the pretext that the king's brother, Béla (the Despotes Alexius) lived in his court.

[77] King Emeric married Constance of Aragon, from the house of Barcelona, and he may have followed Barcelonese (Catalan) patterns when he chose his coat-of-arms that would become the Árpáds' familiar badge (an escutcheon barry of eight Gules and Argent).

[79] His reign was characterized by permanent internal conflicts: a group of conspirators murdered his queen, Gertrude of Merania (1213); discontent noblemen obliged him to issue the Golden Bull of 1222 establishing their rights (including the right to disobey the king); and he quarreled with his eldest son, Béla who endeavoured to take back the royal domains his father had granted to his followers.

[87] During his last years, he was struggling with his son, Stephen who was crowned during his lifetime and obliged his father to concede the eastern parts of the kingdom to him.

[1] In the 819th year of Our Lord’s incarnation, Ügyek, who, as we said above, being of the family of King Magog became a long time later the most noble prince of Scythia, took to wife in Dentumoger the daughter of Duke Eunedubelian, called Emese, from whom he sired a son, who was named Álmos.