The practise of dynastical divisions of the kingdom's territories commenced in 1048 when King Andrew I of Hungary conceded one-third of the counties of his kingdom in appanage to his brother, Béla. The territories entrusted to the members of the ruling dynasty were organized around two or three centers and the duchy made up one-third of the kingdom's territory. Béla's autonomous duchy (ducatus) extended from the Morava river to the border of Transylvania. It was composed of two parts: Nitra and neighboring Bihar, extending from the upper Tisa in the north to the Körös river in the south, from the Transylvanian borders in the east to the Tisa river in the west. Béla was a sovereign lord of his demesne. This is testified by ducal half-denarii - they had the words BELA DVX engraved on them - as well as by the previously mentioned Hungarian Chronicle. Béla probably had the coins struck at his ducal seat in Nitra and new fortifications were added to the Nitra castle. At that time, Duke Béla was the heir presumptive, but later King Andrew I fathered a son, Solomon. The birth of Solomon gave rise to conflicts between the two brothers that resulted in a civil war. The civil war stopped in 1060 when Béla defeated his brother and ascended the throne.