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Battle of the Leitha River
Frederick II's death at the battle of the Leitha River. FromHans Part's Babenberg Pedigree inKlosterneuburg Monastery,c. 1489–1492
Date 15 June 1246 Location banks of theLeitha river Result Austrian victory
Belligerents
Duchy of Austria	Kingdom of Hungary
Commanders and leaders
Frederick II of Babenberg †	Béla IV of the House of Árpád Roland I Rátót
Strength
Fewer than the Hungarians	Greater than the Austrians
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

TheBattle of the Leitha River was fought on 15 June 1246 near the banks of theLeitha river between the forces of the KingBéla IV of Hungary and DukeFrederick II of Austria. The Hungarian army was routed, but Duke Frederick was killed, ending Austrian claims to the westerncounties of Hungary.^[1][2] Its exact location is unknown; according to the description delivered by contemporaryminnesingerUlrich von Liechtenstein the battlefield may have been between the towns ofEbenfurth andNeufeld.

Towards the end of the tenth century, in the reign ofGéza, the River Leitha came to be seen as the boundary between Hungary and the German lands. The territories west of the Leitha were incorporated as theMarch of Styria into theHoly Roman Empire. In 1180 EmperorFrederick Barbarossa raised the Styrian lands to aduchy, which in 1192 was acquired by theAustrian dukes from theHouse of Babenberg.

Since 1241 the Hungarian kingdom suffered heavy losses in the course of theMongol invasion of Europe, culminating in the disastrousBattle of Mohi. The Babenberg duke Frederick II, haughty and overambitious, made use of this weakness, attacked Hungary and claimed the western comitati ofMoson,Sopron andVas. The Hungarian KingBéla IV of theHouse of Árpád however was able to make a stand against the Austrian invasion: Supported by the liensmen of his son-in-law PrinceRostislav Mikhailovich he gathered his troops and marched against Frederick's forces, which were challenged at the Leitha and the Duke himself was killed on the battlefield.

The battle marked the end of the rulingHouse of Babenberg and sparked another conflict, theWar of the Babenberg Succession over the vacatedImperial fiefs of Austria and Styria betweenÁrpád Hungary and theBohemian kingOttokar II, leading to theBattle of Kressenbrunn in 1260 and theBattle on the Marchfeld in 1278. The Leitha river remained the borderline between Austria and Hungary (Cis- andTransleithania) until 1918.

47°44′12″N16°13′49″E / 47.73667°N 16.23028°E /47.73667; 16.23028

• Battles involving Hungary in the Middle Ages
• 13th century in Austria
• Conflicts in 1246
• 1246 in Europe
• Battles involving Austria
• Battles involving Hungary

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