98 CHAPTER 1
According to V. Spinei, during the settlement of the Magyars on the Middle
Danube, the gyula title belonged to Arpad, while Kurszan was kende. Kurszan
was killed in 904 during a battle with the Bavarians, after which Arpad’s author-
ity increased.364 M. Artamonov assumes the opposite—that the title of kende
belonged to Arpad, which he received in the form of kender khagan from the
Khazars.365 It is clear that the Eastern sources are not sufficient for the under-
standing of the Magyar dual kingship. Unlike the information on the Khazars,
there is an important account by Constantine Porphyrogenitus: “They have for
their first chief the prince who comes by succession of Arpad’s family, and two
others, the gylas and the karchas, who have the rank of judge”, the first one of
which stands above the latter.366 In other words, the gila (gula-gyula) and the
karchas or karkhan were the people that limited the power of the chief ruler
and had judicial functions.367 In the account, the similarity between the titles
karkhan and tarkhan is clear. It is worth recalling the meaning of the tarkhan
title as judge and his mention as king of Khazaria, which most probably made
him the predecessor of the bek.
It is again Ibn Rustah and Gardizi who note a form of dual kingship among
the Rus’. According to them, the Rus’ had a king who was called khagan and
had judicial power. The power of this khagan was limited by priests and medi-
cine-men. Like the Khazar khagan, he lived on an island.368
Of greater interest with regard to the Rus’ dual kingship is the account of
Ibn Fadlan. He does not use the khagan title for the ruler of the Rus’, calling
him instead king (malik). His main occupation was to lay with his concubines,
drink and be merry. The king had a vicegerent who managed the army and
represented him in state affairs. In disputes between two people, if the king
could not achieve reconciliation between the two, by his will the problem was
resolved by a fight, with the winner having the right on his side.369 This sug-
gests a judicial function for the Rus’ ruler who was limited in his power by his
modern Hungary “in a solemn ritual, in order to transfer his power and wisdom to his suc-
cessors” (Bellinger 2008, 34 and 204).
364 Spinei 2003, 33 and 70.
365 Artamonov 1962, 346–347. In Vernadski’s view, the kender khagan represented the Magyar
ethnic group in the Khazar government (Vernadskii 1997, 232).
366 Zakhoder 1962, 228. See the text in Constantine Porphyrogenitus. De Administrando
Imperio, ch. 40, in Litavrin and Novosel’tsev 1989, 167.
367 Artamonov 1962, 347.
368 Konovalova 2001, 117–118; Zakhoder 1967, 78; Beilis 1986, 143–144.
369 Kovalevskii 1956, 146.