This illustration from the Viennese Illuminated Chronicle depicts King Saint Stephen defeating Kean, king of the Bulgarians and the Slavs.

The very next day Abbot Astrik appeared before Pope Sylvester, and in the name of Duke Stephen asked for his blessings and for a crown.  Remembering the words of the Lord’s angel, the pope immediately handed the crown over to him and said: “I am only apostolic, but Duke Stephen is a true apostle.”  Thus did the Holy Crown of Hungary arrive to the land of the Magyars, and thus did that sacred crown come to grace the head of King Saint Stephen and all his legitimate successors.

However, Stephen’s crowning did not end the opposition of the regional princes.  King Stephen had to wage long wars against them to reach his goal.  First it was Prince Koppany of Somogy who rose up against him.  Koppany had already plotted to have Stephen killed at the time of Duke Geza’s death.  He wanted to occupy the throne himself, but it was Stephen who emerged victorious.  One of Stephen’s generals, Vencillin, killed Koppány, for which he was generously rewarded.  After his victory King Stephen had Koppány’s corpse quartered, and the four parts of his body were displayed at the city gates of Esztergom, Veszprem, and Gyor, as well as in the province of Transylvania.  This was done to frighten the enemies of Christianity.

Koppány’s defeat was followed by a war against King Stephen’s pagan uncle, Gyula, who was the viceroy of Transylvania and an enemy of Christianity.  In the year 1002, King Stephen had Gyula captured and brought to the royal court to be imprisoned for life because, despite all warnings, Gyula had refused to become a Christian.

By defeating Gyula, Stephen added the beautiful province of Transylvania—whose rivers are rich in gold sediments—to his personal possessions.

King Stephen was also forced to lead a campaign against the Pecheneg prince Thonuzóba, whose ancestors had settled in Hungary in the days of his grandfather, Taksony.  Being of princely blood, Thonuzóba was rich and powerful, but he was so attached to his pagan faith that he refused to embrace Christianity.  King Stephen defeated him, and as a deterrent to other unregenerates, ordered him buried alive.

Finally, King Stephen also led a campaign against Kean, king of the pagan Bulgarians and Slavs of the northern Balkans.