position of ispán of Bács County, Denis was installed as Ban of Slavonia in 1181. He was also styled as "Ban of Croatia and Dalmatia", then "governor of maritime parts" in 1183 (succeeding Maurus Győr), and "Ban of Maritime Provinces" (, ) in 1184, which reflect he had jurisdiction over all Croatia and Dalmatia, and his suzerainty extended until the river Danube. According to historian Gyula Kristó, the bans took charge of the area between the rivers Sava and Drava in the period between 1167 and 1180, since Denis recovered an estate in Varaždin County to the Diocese of Zagreb upon the instruction of Béla III in 1181. Historian Judit Gál considered after Béla recovered Dalmatia, Hungary's territories beyond the Drava were initially consolidated under a single ban after 1183, during the terms of Denis then Kalán Bár-Kalán. Gábor Szeberényi argued their power and authority might have resembled that of a Duke of Slavonia. According to a charter, Denis adjudicated a lawsuit on the advice and contribution of the župans of Slavonia. His pristaldus (bailiff) referred to Denis as "his lord" ("dominus meus"), as kind of a sign of evolution of a separate provincial court of the ban in Slavonia and Croatia. Succeeding Farkas Gatal, Denis was made Palatine of Hungary in 1184. In this capacity, Béla III delegated him into the judicial body, of which Judge royal Charena and comes Achilles were also members, which judged over the lawsuit between Tihany Abbey and the royal udvornici of Esztergom, according to a document issued by the collegiate chapter of Székesfehérvár. Tibor Szőcs emphasized this special royal mandate did not connect Denis' court dignity. Denis was succeeded as palatine by Thomas in 1185, at the latest. A non-authentic royal charter refers to Denis as ispán of Bács County in 1186. The fate of Denis is unknown, he had no known wives nor descendants. Historian Attila Zsoldos claimed he is identical with that namesake lord, who served as ispán of Sopron (1197) then Újvár (or Abaúj; 1198–1199) counties, during the reign of Emeric, King of Hungary. References Sources Primary sources Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos (Translated by Charles M. Brand) (1976). Columbia University Press. . O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniatēs (Translated by Harry J. Magoulias) (1984). Wayne State University Press. . Secondary sources Bans of Slavonia Bans of Croatia Palatines of Hungary Medieval Hungarian military