Szabari family
The Szabari family, also known as Szabary, was a short-lived minor Hungarian noble family based in Zala County during the fourteenth century.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Szabari family, also recorded as Szabary, was a minor Hungarian noble lineage that flourished briefly in the fourteenth century. It belonged to the wider Hahót kindred, a prominent noble gens whose traditions traced its origin to the knight Hahold. According to medieval Hungarian historical tradition, Hahold came to Hungary in 1163 at the invitation of King Stephen III to assist in the suppression of a rebellion by the Csák kindred. The Szabari branch emerged several generations later from the estates associated with Hahold’s descendants in western Hungary. The branch’s territorial identity developed around Szabar, corresponding broadly to present-day Zalaszabar in Zala County. Blessed Buzád, a major figure in the family’s ancestry who later entered the Dominican Order, transferred the estates of Buzádsziget and Szabar to his eldest son, Buzád III, on 14 February 1233. Buzád III’s son Atyusz later became closely associated with Szabar. After regional disruptions caused by the invasions of Ottokar II of Bohemia and the growing power of the Kőszegi family, Atyusz resided permanently at Szabar. He also received the lands of Kerecseny and Palkonya from King Ladislaus IV for military service against Ottokar. Atyusz’s son John II Hahót, known genealogically as John I Szabari, adopted the territorial surname Szabari in his documents. This usage marks the formation of the distinct Szabari branch. John was involved in the unstable political affairs of late thirteenth-century Hungary. In 1292, he was among the hostages sent to the Kőszegi family in connection with the release of King Andrew III. Because he was still a minor when his father died, probably between 1302 and 1310, the older relative John Pacsai of the Lőrinte kindred acted as his guardian. Although John was the sole heir to the branch’s property, financial pressure rapidly reduced the family’s landed position. In 1310 he sold Szölc, Pácod, and Budafa to the Salamonvári family to meet obligations connected with his stepmother’s dowry. He later transferred Buzádsziget to John Lőrinte in 1313 to settle debt. In 1323, he sold Ivánc near present-day Grad in Slovenia to Nicholas Felsőlendvai, Ban of Slavonia, reportedly for less than its value. Nicholas compensated him with the smaller estate of Baráti in Somogy County. By 1332, John still held Gelsesziget and Bagota in Zala County. John was last recorded in 1348 and had died by 15 May 1353, when his wife Margaret Nagymartoni was identified as his widow. His sons Lőkös, John II, and Atyusz were recorded from 1348 onward. Two of them, John II and Atyusz, became involved in a violent dispute with an official of Zalavár Abbey in 1351. The brothers also participated in a prolonged effort by descendants of the Buzád branch to recover former possessions from the Lackfi family. That litigation, involving the Szabaris, Csányis, and Söjtöris, continued from 1351 to 1376 but did not restore the disputed holdings. The branch’s decline continued through the 1360s and 1370s. John II and Atyusz protested a 1365 transfer involving Buzádsziget, while documents also referred to John’s unnamed minor son. By 1368 and 1376, only Atyusz and John’s son Peter were still appearing in the surviving record. Both died without male heirs before 1384. Their extinction enabled Queen Mary of Hungary to grant the family’s orphaned lands to the more distant Bánfi de Alsólendva family. The Szabari line therefore disappeared as an independent noble family by the end of the fourteenth century.
History
The Szabari family was a short-lived branch of the Hahót kindred, a notable Hungarian noble gens. Its distant ancestral tradition began with Hahold, who was said to have arrived in Hungary in 1163 during the reign of Stephen III. The branch’s immediate territorial foundation lay in the estates of Buzádsziget and Szabar. On 14 February 1233, Blessed Buzád, who had withdrawn from secular politics and entered the Dominican Order, donated those estates to his eldest son Buzád III. Buzád III’s descendant Atyusz established a permanent connection with Szabar. Following conflicts involving Ottokar II of Bohemia and the Kőszegi family, Atyusz settled there and received Kerecseny and Palkonya from Ladislaus IV for military participation. His son John II Hahót later adopted the territorial surname Szabari. In genealogical usage he is often called John I Szabari and is regarded as the first member of the family under that name. John’s life reflected the political and financial difficulties faced by many lesser nobles in fourteenth-century Hungary. In 1292 he was sent as a hostage to the Kőszegis in connection with the release of Andrew III. After his father’s death, John remained under the guardianship of John Pacsai of the Lőrinte kindred. Despite being the sole heir, he accumulated financial obligations and sold or transferred several estates. In 1310 he sold Szölc, Pácod, and Budafa to the Salamonvári family. In 1313 he gave Buzádsziget to John Lőrinte, and in 1323 he sold Ivánc to Nicholas Felsőlendvai. The latter provided Baráti in Somogy County as a replacement holding. John retained Gelsesziget and Bagota in 1332, but his patrimonial base was substantially weaker than that of the family’s more powerful relatives. John’s sons Lőkös, John II, and Atyusz entered the documentary record in 1348. John died by 1353, leaving Margaret Nagymartoni as his widow. In 1351, John II and Atyusz were accused of attacking and attempting to kill an official of Zalavár Abbey. The family also joined related descendants of the Buzád branch in a lengthy attempt to reclaim former possessions from the Lackfi family. The litigation began in 1351 and remained unresolved in the family’s favor through 1376. The surviving branch became increasingly narrow. A 1365 record mentioned John II, Atyusz, and John’s minor son in a dispute concerning Buzádsziget. By 1368 and 1376, the records named only Atyusz and Peter, John’s son. Both died without male descendants before 1384. Queen Mary subsequently granted the family’s orphaned estates to the distant Bánfi de Alsólendva family. The Szabari family consequently became extinct as a male-line noble house by the late fourteenth century.
Hahold arrives in Hungary
[1]The traditional ancestor of the Hahót kindred, the knight Hahold, is said to have come to Hungary at the invitation of Stephen III to help suppress a rebellion by the Csák kindred.
Szabar estates transferred to Buzád III
[1]Blessed Buzád donated Buzádsziget and Szabar to his eldest son Buzád III, establishing the territorial foundation from which the later Szabari branch emerged.
John is sent as a hostage
[1]John II Hahót, later known as John I Szabari, was among those sent to the Kőszegis as a hostage in arrangements connected with the liberation of Andrew III of Hungary.
Early estate sales
[1]John sold Szölc, Pácod, and Budafa to the Salamonvári family to meet financial obligations related to his stepmother’s dowry.
Buzádsziget transferred to John Lőrinte
[1]John transferred Buzádsziget to John Lőrinte as part of an arrangement to settle debt.
Ivánc sold
[1]John sold Ivánc near present-day Grad in Slovenia to Nicholas Felsőlendvai, receiving the smaller estate of Baráti in exchange.
Dispute with Zalavár Abbey
[1]John II and Atyusz were accused of attacking and attempting to kill an official of Zalavár Abbey.
End of the property-recovery litigation
[1]The prolonged attempt by Buzád-branch descendants, including the Szabaris, to recover former possessions from the Lackfi family remained unsuccessful through the final recorded phase of the litigation.
Extinction of the male line
[1]Atyusz and Peter had died without male heirs by this date, after which Queen Mary granted the family’s orphaned lands to the Bánfi de Alsólendva family.
Products and positioning
A historical territorial noble lineage rather than a commercial brand; its identity was tied to the Szabar estates and its descent from the Hahót kindred.
Sources1 sources
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