of the Banat); however, its credibility is questioned. In a 1499 sermon the Franciscan Osvát Laskai wrote that Ajtony was from the Nyírség region, but no evidence exists to indicate that Laskai knew his place of birth. Ajtony's name, recorded in the earliest sources as "Ohtun" or "Achtum", is of Turkic origin. According to linguist Loránd Benkő, his name is rooted in the Turkic word for golden (altun) and changed in Hungarian. Place names also echo his name; an abbey named Ahtunmonustura (Ajtony's monastery) existed in Csanád County and a village (Ahthon) in Krassó County, and a settlement named Aiton exists in Romania. According to the Long Life, Ajtony's seat was a stronghold on the Mureș (urbs Morisena). His realm extended from the Criș in the north to the Danube in the south, and from the Tisza in the west to Transylvania in the east. Ajtony was a wealthy ruler who owned horses, cattle and sheep, and was powerful enough to establish customs offices and guards along the Mureș and tax salt carried to Stephen I of Hungary on the river. Originally a pagan, Ajtony was baptised according to the Greek rite in Vidin. Shortly after his baptism, he established a monastery for Greek monks at his seat which was dedicated to John the Baptist. Ajtony remained polygamous, with seven wives after his baptism. In the Long Life Ajtony "had taken his power from the Greeks", suggesting that he accepted the Byzantine emperor's suzerainty. Ajtony's commander-in-chief was Csanád, described in the Gesta Hungarorum as the "son of Doboka and nephew" of King Stephen. Accused of conspiring against Ajtony, Csanád fled to Stephen; the king prepared to conquer Ajtony's realm, placing Csanád at the head of a large army. After crossing the Tisza, the royal army engaged Ajtony's troops but was forced to withdraw. In a second battle, Stephen's army routed Ajtony's troops near modern Banatsko Aranđelovo or at Tomnatic. Csanád killed Ajtony, either on the battlefield (according to the Long Life) or in his stronghold on the Mureș (according to the Gesta Hungarorum). In the Long Life Csanád cut out Ajtony's tongue after his death, enabling him to prove that he had killed Ajtony (and exposing Gyula, who had taken credit for the deed in Stephen's presence). Archaeologist István Erdélyi said that the Treasure of Sânnicolau Mare, excavated near Ajtony's seat, was connected to the ruler; however, his view has