Urged by his brother, Béla returned in 1048 and received one-third of the kingdom, with the title of duke. Béla's "ducatus" or "duchy" encompassed large territories along the eastern and northern borders, including the regions of Nyitra (Nitra, Slovakia) and Bihar (Biharia, Romania). He possessed a wide range of royal prerogatives, including coinage. The half-denars minted for him bore the inscription "BELA DUX" ("Duke Béla"). According to Steinhübel, the mid-11th-century timber and earth walls of the fortress of Nyitra were erected in Béla's reign.