Hungarian invasions of Europe
Encyclopedia
This article describes Hungarian invasions of Europe.
Three groups invaded Europe during the ninth and tenth centuries. The Vikings, the Muslims and the Hungarians. In the short run, they wreaked havoc on land and people, in the long run, they were absorbed into the European population and became constituents of a newly prosperous and aggressive European civilization.
possibly at Battle of Pliska
in the Haemus Mountains(Balkan Mountains).
Georgius Monachus
' work mentions that around 837, the Bulgarian Empire
sought the alliance of Hungarians.
Constantine Porphyrogenitus wrote in his work On Administering the Empire
that the Khagan
and the Bek
of the Khazars
asked the Emperor Teophilos to have the fortress of Sarkel
built for them. His record is connected to the Hungarians on the basis that the new fortress must have become necessary because of the appearance of a new enemy of the Khazars, and other peoples could not be taken into account as the Khazars’ enemies at that time.
In the 10th century, Ahmad ibn Rustah
also mentioned that,
In 860–861, Hungarian soldiers attacked Saint Cyril
's convoy but the meeting became peaceful between them according to the sources. Saint Cyril was traveling to the Khagan, around Chersonesos that had been captured by the Khazars.
Muslim
geographers recorded that the Magyars regularly attacked the neighboring East Slavic
tribes and they imprisoned and sold their captives to the Byzantine Empire at Kerch
.
There is some information about Hungarian raids into Eastern province of Carolingian Empire in 862.
In 881, the Hungarians and the Kabars invaded East Francia, and they fought two battles, the former (Ungari) at Wenia (probably Vienna
) and the latter (Cowari) at Culmite (possibly Kulmberg or Kollmitz in Austria
).
In 892, according to the Annales Fuldenses
, King Arnulf of East Francia
invaded Great Moravia
and the Magyars joined to his troops. After 893, The Byzantine fleet delivered the Magyar troops over the Danube, and the Magyars defeated the Bulgarians in three battles (at the Danube, Silistra
and Preslav
).
In 894, the Magyars invaded Pannonia
in alliance with King Svatopluk I
of Moravia
.
, Hungarians (Magyars) crossed the Carpathians and entered the Carpathian Basin. In 899, the Magyars invaded the northern regions of Italy and pillaged the countryside around Treviso
, Vicenza
, Verona
, Brescia
, Bergamo
and Milan
. In 901 Magyars attacked Italy again. In 902, they lead a campaign against the northern Moravia and defeated the Moravians whose country was annihilated. Almost every year after 900 they led raids against the Catholic
West and Byzantine
East. In 905, the Hungarians and King Berengar formed an amicitia, and fifteen years passed without Hungarian troops entering Italy.
The Magyars defeated no fewer than three major east Frankish armies between 907 and 910:
In 907 they defeated the Bavarians near Brezalauspurc, destroying their army and laying Great Moravia, Germany, France and Italy open to Magyar raids. These raids were fast and devastating. On August 3rd, 908 the Hungarians won in the battle of Eisenach, Thuringia. Egino, Duke of Thuringia was killed, along with Burchard, Duke of Thuringia
, and Rudolf I, Bishop of Würzburg
in this battle.
The Magyars defeated Louis the Child's united Frankish Imperial Army near Augsburg
in 910.
Smaller units penetrated as far as Bremen
in 915. In 919, following Conrad's death Hungarian raids of the year against Saxony, Lotharingia, West Francia. In 921, they defeated King Berengar's enemies at Verona
and reached Apulia in 922. From 917-925, Magyars raided through Basle, Alsace
, Burgundy, Provence
and the Pyrenees
. In 926, they ravaged Suabia and Alsace and campaigned through present day-Luxembourg
and reached as far as Atlantic.
In 927, Peter, brother of Pope John X, called them to 'rule' Italy. The Hungarians marched into Rome and enforced large tribute payments on Tuscany
and Tarento. In 933 substantial Hungarian army appeared in Saxony
(the pact with the Saxons expired), however they were defeated by Henry I at Merseburg. In 935, Magyar attacks continued against Upper Burgundy, in 936 against Saxony. In 937, they raided France as far west as Reims
, Lotharingia
, Suabia, Franconia
, Duchy of Burgundy
, and Italy as far as Otranto
in the south.
They attacked Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire, reaching the walls of Constantinople. The Byzantines paid them a “tax” for 15 years. In 938, Hungarians repeatedly attacked Saxony. In 940 they ravaged at region of Rome.
In 942, Hungarian raids on Spain
as we pick up information from Ibn Hayyan
's work. In 947, Taksony
led a raid to Italy as far as Apulia
, and King Berengar II of Italy
had to buy the peace by paying a large amount of money to him and his followers. Magyar expansion was checked at the Battle of Lechfeld
in 955, although raids on the Byzantine Empire continued until 970.
Three groups invaded Europe during the ninth and tenth centuries. The Vikings, the Muslims and the Hungarians. In the short run, they wreaked havoc on land and people, in the long run, they were absorbed into the European population and became constituents of a newly prosperous and aggressive European civilization.
Prior to the "Landtaking" (9th century)
First reference to the Hungarians in War is originated from the 9th century. In 811, the Hungarians(Magyars) were in alliance with Krum of Bulgaria against Emperor Nikephoros INikephoros I
Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I, Logothetes or Genikos was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811, when he was killed in the Battle of Pliska....
possibly at Battle of Pliska
Battle of Pliska
The Battle of Pliska or Battle of Vărbitsa Pass was a series of battles between troops, gathered from all parts of the Byzantine Empire, led by the Emperor Nicephorus I Genik, and Bulgaria, governed by Khan Krum...
in the Haemus Mountains(Balkan Mountains).
Georgius Monachus
George Hamartolus
George Hamartolos or Hamartolus was a monk at Constantinople under Michael III and the author of a chronicle of some importance. Hamartolus is not his name but the epithet he gives to himself in the title of his work: "A compendious chronicle from various chroniclers and interpreters, gathered...
' work mentions that around 837, the Bulgarian Empire
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
sought the alliance of Hungarians.
Constantine Porphyrogenitus wrote in his work On Administering the Empire
De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...
that the Khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
and the Bek
Khagan Bek
-History:Khazar kingship was divided between the khagan and the Bek or Khagan Bek. Contemporary Arab historians related that the Khagan was purely a spiritual ruler or figurehead with limited powers, while the Bek was responsible for administration and military affairs.In the Khazar Correspondence,...
of the Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
asked the Emperor Teophilos to have the fortress of Sarkel
Sarkel
Sarkel was a large limestone-and-brick fortress built by the Khazars with Byzantine assistance in the 830s. It was named white-house because of the white limestone bricks they have used to build Sarkel...
built for them. His record is connected to the Hungarians on the basis that the new fortress must have become necessary because of the appearance of a new enemy of the Khazars, and other peoples could not be taken into account as the Khazars’ enemies at that time.
In the 10th century, Ahmad ibn Rustah
Ahmad ibn Rustah
Ibn Rustah was a 10th century Persian explorer and geographer born in Rosta district, Isfahan, Persia....
also mentioned that,
In 860–861, Hungarian soldiers attacked Saint Cyril
Saints Cyril and Methodius
Saints Cyril and Methodius were two Byzantine Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century. They became missionaries of Christianity among the Slavic peoples of Bulgaria, Great Moravia and Pannonia. Through their work they influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they...
's convoy but the meeting became peaceful between them according to the sources. Saint Cyril was traveling to the Khagan, around Chersonesos that had been captured by the Khazars.
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
geographers recorded that the Magyars regularly attacked the neighboring East Slavic
East Slavs
The East Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking East Slavic languages. Formerly the main population of the medieval state of Kievan Rus, by the seventeenth century they evolved into the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian peoples.-Sources:...
tribes and they imprisoned and sold their captives to the Byzantine Empire at Kerch
Kerch
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...
.
There is some information about Hungarian raids into Eastern province of Carolingian Empire in 862.
In 881, the Hungarians and the Kabars invaded East Francia, and they fought two battles, the former (Ungari) at Wenia (probably Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
) and the latter (Cowari) at Culmite (possibly Kulmberg or Kollmitz in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
).
In 892, according to the Annales Fuldenses
Annales Fuldenses
The Annales Fuldenses or Annals of Fulda are East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Francia with the accession of the child-king, Louis III, in 900...
, King Arnulf of East Francia
Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of East Francia from 887, the disputed King of Italy from 894 and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor from February 22, 896 until his death.-Birth and Illegitimacy:...
invaded Great Moravia
Great Moravia
Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
and the Magyars joined to his troops. After 893, The Byzantine fleet delivered the Magyar troops over the Danube, and the Magyars defeated the Bulgarians in three battles (at the Danube, Silistra
Silistra
Silistra is a port city of northeastern Bulgaria, lying on the southern bank of the lower Danube at the country's border with Romania. Silistra is the administrative centre of Silistra Province and one of the important cities of the historical region of Southern Dobrudzha...
and Preslav
Preslav
Preslav was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities of medieval Southeastern Europe. The ruins of the city are situated in modern northeastern Bulgaria, some 20 kilometres southwest of the regional capital of Shumen, and are currently a...
).
In 894, the Magyars invaded Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
in alliance with King Svatopluk I
Svatopluk I
Svatopluk I or Zwentibald I was the greatest ruler of Moravia that attained its maximum territorial expansion in his reign . His career had already started in the 860s, when he governed a principality, the location of which is still a matter of debate among historians, within Moravia under the...
of Moravia
Great Moravia
Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...
.
After the conquest (10th century)
Around 896, probably under the leadership of ÁrpádÁrpád
Árpád was the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians . Under his rule the Hungarian people settled in the Carpathian basin. The dynasty descending from him ruled the Hungarian tribes and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301...
, Hungarians (Magyars) crossed the Carpathians and entered the Carpathian Basin. In 899, the Magyars invaded the northern regions of Italy and pillaged the countryside around Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
, Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
, Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
and Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. In 901 Magyars attacked Italy again. In 902, they lead a campaign against the northern Moravia and defeated the Moravians whose country was annihilated. Almost every year after 900 they led raids against the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
West and Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
East. In 905, the Hungarians and King Berengar formed an amicitia, and fifteen years passed without Hungarian troops entering Italy.
The Magyars defeated no fewer than three major east Frankish armies between 907 and 910:
In 907 they defeated the Bavarians near Brezalauspurc, destroying their army and laying Great Moravia, Germany, France and Italy open to Magyar raids. These raids were fast and devastating. On August 3rd, 908 the Hungarians won in the battle of Eisenach, Thuringia. Egino, Duke of Thuringia was killed, along with Burchard, Duke of Thuringia
Burchard, Duke of Thuringia
Burchard was the Duke of Thuringia from shortly after 892 until his death. He replaced Poppo as duke shortly after his appointment in 892, but the reasons for Poppo's leaving office are unknown. Burchard may have been a Swabian.In 908 he led a large army in battle against the Magyars...
, and Rudolf I, Bishop of Würzburg
Rudolf I, Bishop of Würzburg
Rudolf I was the Bishop of Würzburg from 892 until his death. He was the youngest son of Udo of Neustria.In 892, he was appointed as bishop to replace Arno, who had been killed during a campaign against Great Moravia. At the same time, his brother Conrad the Elder became Margrave of Thuringia,...
in this battle.
The Magyars defeated Louis the Child's united Frankish Imperial Army near Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
in 910.
Smaller units penetrated as far as Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
in 915. In 919, following Conrad's death Hungarian raids of the year against Saxony, Lotharingia, West Francia. In 921, they defeated King Berengar's enemies at Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
and reached Apulia in 922. From 917-925, Magyars raided through Basle, Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, Burgundy, Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
and the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
. In 926, they ravaged Suabia and Alsace and campaigned through present day-Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
and reached as far as Atlantic.
In 927, Peter, brother of Pope John X, called them to 'rule' Italy. The Hungarians marched into Rome and enforced large tribute payments on Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
and Tarento. In 933 substantial Hungarian army appeared in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
(the pact with the Saxons expired), however they were defeated by Henry I at Merseburg. In 935, Magyar attacks continued against Upper Burgundy, in 936 against Saxony. In 937, they raided France as far west as Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
, Lotharingia
Lotharingia
Lotharingia was a region in northwest Europe, comprising the Low Countries, the western Rhineland, the lands today on the border between France and Germany, and what is now western Switzerland. It was born of the tripartite division in 855, of the kingdom of Middle Francia, itself formed of the...
, Suabia, Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
, Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
, and Italy as far as Otranto
Otranto
Otranto is a town and comune in the province of Lecce , in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses.It is located on the east coast of the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto, to which the city gives its name, connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and Italy with Albania...
in the south.
They attacked Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire, reaching the walls of Constantinople. The Byzantines paid them a “tax” for 15 years. In 938, Hungarians repeatedly attacked Saxony. In 940 they ravaged at region of Rome.
In 942, Hungarian raids on Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
as we pick up information from Ibn Hayyan
Ibn Hayyan
Abu Marwán Hayyán Ibn Khalaf Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi , usually known as Ibn Hayyan, was a Muslim historian from Al-Andalus.Born at Córdoba, he was an important official at the court of the Andalusian ruler al-Mansur and published several works on history which have only survived in part...
's work. In 947, Taksony
Taksony of Hungary
Taksony , Grand Prince of the Hungarians .Taksony was the son of Zoltán , the fourth son of Árpád, the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians...
led a raid to Italy as far as Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
, and King Berengar II of Italy
Berengar II of Italy
Berengar of Ivrea , sometimes also referred to as Berengar II of Italy, was Margrave of Ivrea and usurper King of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961, the last before Italy's incorporation into the Holy Roman Empire...
had to buy the peace by paying a large amount of money to him and his followers. Magyar expansion was checked at the Battle of Lechfeld
Battle of Lechfeld
The Battle of Lechfeld , often seen as the defining event for holding off the incursions of the Hungarians into Western Europe, was a decisive victory by Otto I the Great, King of the Germans, over the Hungarian leaders, the harka Bulcsú and the chieftains Lél and Súr...
in 955, although raids on the Byzantine Empire continued until 970.