Stephen Rátót

His acquisitions of lands in Central Hungary proved to be basis for establishment of his clan's province during the era of feudal anarchy.

Stephen was born into the prestigious and influential gens (clan) Rátót, as the son of Dominic I, who was killed in the Battle of Mohi in 1241.

[2] Stephen's sons were important lords at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries; Dominic II was a courtier of Andrew III and was one of the most powerful barons during the era of Interregnum.

[4] Because of his betrayal, the king plundered his landholdings, which laid in Béla's realm, causing severe damage to Stephen Rátót.

"Ágas Castle"), a small fort located in the mountain range of Mátra in Nógrád County, to Stephen in 1265, after the civil war.

[6] Ágasvár and its surrounding lands became the basis of the future Rátót province by the end of the 13th century, which laid roughly in Nógrád and Heves counties.

Thereafter Stephen shared his elder brother Roland's political orientation, but definitively lost effective influence in the royal court.