Christianization
955-1196







Arrival in Pannonia and Magyar Raids, 895-970


The Proto-Magyars were a Finno-Ugric people living in the steppes of the lower Volga region; in around 880/890 seven Magyar tribes, joined by the non-Magyar Kabar (believed to be aTurkic federation of three tribes), split from the Khazar Khanate, becoming a tribal federation of their own. Under High Prince Almos, they soon dominated the steppe of Etelköz, between lower Volga and the Carpathians, until the lower Danube. In 895, pressed out of Etelköz by the Pechenegs, they moved into the Carpathian Basin, the old center of the Avar Khanate, at first occupying only the plains to the east of the Danube. Here they grazed their herds, well-protected by the Carpathian mountains. From here they launched raids into central Europe - into Italy in 898, in 902 into Moravia, in 915 and 933 deep into the Empire, in 924 into Aquitaine, in 928 to Rome, in 934 into Bulgaria, in 942 even across the Alps and Pyrenees into Andalusia, in 954 into Flanders.
The tribal federation was strong under the rule of Almos (858-895) and Arpad (895-907); when a Magyar peace offer was rejected by the Empire, Magyars proceeded to occupy Pannonia (the plains to the west of the Danube, c.900).
Margrave Luitpold of Bavaria (889-907), Carinthia and Upper Pannonia (893-907) pursued an expansive policy of his own; in 896 he achieved the submission of Great Moravia; in 907 he lead an army into Hungary, but was defeated and slain in the Battle of Pozsony (Pressburg, Bratislava). Now Magyar control of the Carpathian basin was undisputed; the rival Great Moravian Empire destroyed, Bavaria considerably weakened.
The death of Khan Arpad (907) resulted in a competition between tribes/tribal leaders to emerge. The Magyars (the Kavars and Proto-Magyars assimilated into the M.) were pagan nomads, excellent horsemen who found raiding christian settlement an easy and profitable business. The frequent Magyar raids since 907 indicate rather undertakings of individual tribes respectively the followers of one of a group of Magyar tribal leaders than of the entire federation. In a number of cases, Magyars allied themselves with other tribes accustomed to steppe warrior type warfare, in one case even with the pope.
In 955 the Magyars were defeated in the Battle of Lechfeld; this was the end of Magyar raids into the west. Raids into Byzantine territory (at times in alliance with Bulgars, Kievan Rus and Pechenegs) continued until 970. The Germans retook the Danube valley west of Vienna, calling it the Ostmark (which developed into Austria).
For a detailed list of Hungarian campaigns, click here




EXTERNAL
LINKS 		Magyar Conquest of Hungary, from A Short History of Austria-Hungary by H. Wickham-Steed, 1914
Article Liutpold, Margrave of Bavaria, Arpad, Almos, Magyars, Kabar, Etelköz, Hungary before the Magyars, from Wikipedia
Conquest, Settlement and Raids, from History of Transylvania by Istvan Bona
DOCUMENTS Maps from Magyar Elektronik Konyvtar : The Carpathian Basin before the Hungarian Conquest in the 9th Century; The Wander and Conquest of the Hungarians
REFERENCE Peter F. Sugar (ed.), A History of Hungary, Indiana Univ. Press 1990, 432 pp.


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First posted in 2000, last revised on June 4th 2006

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