Charles 1 (Karl Robert) was king of Hungary and Croatia from 1308-1342. He was the only son of Charles Martel, Prince of Salerno, who was the son of Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary. Mary claimed the throne of Hungary when her brother, Ladislaus IV died in 1290, but was denied the crown which was given to her cousin, Andrew III. Andrew died in 1301, and Charles was crowned king. But he was denied the title of Holy Crown of Hungary. The crown was disputed and Hungary disintegrated into a dozen different provinces each with their own ruler. In 1321, at the death of his chief adversary, Charles became the undisputed ruler. In the second half of his reign he abandoned the Diets and ruled with absolute power. He established the Order of Saint George, the first secular order of knights. He made Hungary the largest producer of gold in Europe.

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