Denis (, ) was an influential lord in the Kingdom of Hungary in the second half of the 12th century. He was Palatine of Hungary in 1184, Ban of Slavonia between 1181 and 1184, Ban of Dalmatia in 1183, and ispán of at least three counties. He was a commander of the Hungarian army fighting against the Byzantine Empire in the reign of Stephen III of Hungary. Early career Denis possibly originated from the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary. He started his career during the reign of Géza II of Hungary. It is possible he is identical with that Denis, who is referred to as ispán of Bodrog County by a non-authentic charter from 1145. A certain comes Denis is mentioned among the testimonies by a charter of Géza II in 1146. Prior to 1162, Géza removed a child named Botus, son of Gab from the service of the Archdiocese of Kalocsa and took him into his own service for his son of the same age. According to Stephen's charter around 1163 or 1164, Denis delivered Botus to the court of the young prince upon the instruction of the monarch. Fights against the Byzantines Géza II died in May 1162. Denis was a member of that faction led by Queen Euphrosyne of Kiev and Archbishop Lucas of Esztergom, who supported the coronation of the 15-year-old Stephen III, whose legitimacy was challenged by his uncles Ladislaus II and Stephen IV, both of them enjoyed the support of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. The imperial troops prepared for an invasion of Hungary weeks after Stephen's coronation, but several magnates agreed to accept Ladislaus as a "compromise candidate" for the Hungarian throne. Stephen's army was routed at Kapuvár. Denis was among those barons, who fled from Hungary and sought refuge in Austria together with Stephen III in July 1162. Denis is referred to as simply comes (or ispán) in 1162, when Stephen issued his only known royal charter from that year, possibly during his exile or shortly after his return to Hungary in the second half of 1162. Stephen III mustered an army and supplemented it with German mercenaries, defeating his uncle Stephen IV in June 1163. It is plausible that Denis took part in the military campaigns, based on John Kinnamos' account, who stated that Denis "was experienced in many wars" prior to 1166. Denis was responsible for establishing