The reconstruction effort taken by Béla IV in the late thirteenth century and the fall of the Árpád Dynasty in 1301 have shifted significantly the locus of power in Hungary.

As the royal fortunes declined, rival magnates had carved out petty kingdoms, expropriated peasant land, and stiffened feudal obligations.

During the chaotic interregnum following the death, in 1301, of Endre III, “Andrew the Venetian,” and the consequent extinction of the Árpád line, local lords have used the fortresses built by Béla to defy royal power and rule over the various provinces.

Charles Robert, a grandson of Charles II, the Angevin king of Naples, had claimed the Hungarian throne immediately after Endre's death.

Other aspirants had included Bavaria's Duke Otto III and the son of Bohemia's Wenceslas II, but Charles Robert has had the advantage of the support of his uncle, Germany's Habsburg king Albert, and Pope Boniface VIII.