she may have been a member of the Bulgarian Cometopuli dynasty.***Samuel Aba might have been the son of Stephen's sister instead of her husband. Legacy Founder of Hungary Stephen has always been considered one of the most important statesmen in the history of Hungary. His main achievement was the establishment of a Christian state that ensured that the Hungarians survived in the Carpathian Basin, in contrast to the Huns, Avars and other peoples who had previously controlled the same territory. As Bryan Cartledge emphasizes, Stephen also gave his kingdom "forty years of relative peace and sound but unspectacular rule". His successors, including those descended from Vazul, were eager to emphasize their devotion to Stephen's achievements. Although Vazul's son, Andrew I of Hungary, secured the throne due to a pagan uprising, he prohibited pagan rites and declared that his subjects should "live in all things according to the law which King St. Stephen had taught them", according to the 14th-century Illuminated Chronicle. In medieval Hungary, communities that claimed a privileged status or attempted to preserve their own "liberties" often declared that the origin of their special status was to be attributed to King Saint Stephen. An example is a 1347 letter from the people of Táp telling the king about their grievances against the Pannonhalma Archabbey and stating that the taxes levied upon them by the abbot contradicted "the liberty granted to them in the time of King Saint Stephen". Sainthood Stephen's cult emerged after the long period of anarchy characterizing the rule of his immediate successors. However, there is no evidence that Stephen became an object of veneration before his canonization. For instance, the first member of the royal family to be named after him, Stephen II, was born in the early 12th century. Stephen's canonization was initiated by Vazul's grandson, King Ladislaus I of Hungary, who had consolidated his authority by capturing and imprisoning his cousin, Solomon. According to Bishop Hartvic, the canonization was "decreed by apostolic letter, by order of the Roman see", suggesting that the ceremony was permitted by Pope Gregory VII. The ceremony started at Stephen's tomb, where on 15 August 1083 masses of believers began three days of fasting and praying. Legend tells that Stephen's coffin could not be opened until King Ladislaus held Solomon in captivity at Visegrád. The opening of Stephen's tomb was followed by the occurrence of healing miracles, according to Stephen's