Magyars in the context of "Hungarian language"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Magyars in the context of "Hungarian language"

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Magyars

Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország), who share a common culture, language, history and ancestry. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ugric branch of the Uralic language family, alongside the Khanty and Mansi languages.

There are an estimated 14.5 million ethnic Hungarians and their descendants worldwide, of whom 9.6 million live in today's Hungary. About 2 million Hungarians live in areas that were part of the Kingdom of Hungary before the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 and are now parts of Hungary's seven neighbouring countries, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria. In addition, significant groups of people with Hungarian ancestry live in various other parts of the world, most of them in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Chile, Brazil, Australia, and Argentina, and therefore constitute the Hungarian diaspora (Hungarian: magyar diaszpóra).

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
In this Dossier

Magyars in the context of First Bulgarian Empire

The First Bulgarian Empire (Church Slavonic: блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, romanized: blŭgarĭsko tsěsarǐstvije; Bulgarian: Първо българско царство) was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led by Asparuh, moved south to the northeastern Balkans. There they secured Byzantine recognition of their right to settle south of the Danube by defeating – possibly with the help of local South Slavic tribes – the Byzantine army led by Constantine IV. During the 9th and 10th century, Bulgaria at the height of its power spread from the Danube Bend to the Black Sea and from the Dnieper River to the Adriatic Sea and became an important power in the region competing with the Byzantine Empire.

As the state solidified its position in the Balkans, it entered into a centuries-long interaction, sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile, with the Byzantine Empire. Bulgaria emerged as Byzantium's chief antagonist to its north, resulting in several wars. The two powers also enjoyed periods of peace and alliance, most notably during the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople, where the Bulgarian army broke the siege and destroyed the Arab army, thus preventing an Arab invasion of Southeastern Europe. Byzantium had a strong cultural influence on Bulgaria, which also led to the eventual adoption of Christianity in 864. After the disintegration of the Avar Khaganate, the country expanded its territory northwest to the Pannonian Plain. Later the Bulgarians confronted the advance of the Pechenegs and Cumans, and achieved a decisive victory over the Magyars, forcing them to establish themselves permanently in Pannonia.

↑ Return to Menu

Magyars in the context of High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history between c. 1000 and c. 1300; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended c. 1500 according to historiographical convention. Key historical trends of the High Middle Ages include the rapidly increasing population of Europe, which brought about great social and political change from the preceding era, and the Renaissance of the 12th century, including the first developments of the rural exodus and urbanization. By 1350, the robust population increase had greatly benefited the European economy, which had reached levels that would not be seen again in some areas until the 19th century. That trend faltered in the early 14th century, as the result of numerous events which together comprised the crisis of the late Middle Ages—most notable among them being the Black Death, in addition to various regional wars and economic stagnation.

From c. 780, Europe saw the last of the barbarian invasions and became more socially and politically organized. The Carolingian Renaissance stimulated scientific and philosophical activity in Northern Europe. The first universities started operating in Bologna, Oxford, Paris, Salamanca, Cambridge and Modena. The Vikings settled in the British Isles, France and elsewhere, and Norse Christian kingdoms started developing in their Scandinavian homelands. The Magyars ceased their expansion in the 10th century, and by 1000, a Christian Kingdom of Hungary had become a recognized state in Central Europe that was forming alliances with regional powers. With the brief exception of the Mongol invasions in the 13th century, major nomadic incursions ceased. The powerful Byzantine Empire of the Macedonian and Komnenos dynasties gradually gave way to the resurrected Serbia and Bulgaria and to a successor crusader state (1204 to 1261), who continually fought each other until the end of the Latin Empire. The Byzantine Empire was reestablished in 1261 with the recapture of Constantinople from the Latins, though it was no longer a major power and would continue to falter through the 14th century, with remnants lasting until the mid 15th century.

↑ Return to Menu

Magyars in the context of Battle of Lechfeld (955)

The Battle of Lechfeld, also known as the Second Battle of Lechfeld, was a series of military engagements over the course of three days from 10–12 August 955 in which the Kingdom of Germany, led by King Otto I the Great, fought the Hungarian army led by Harka Bulcsú and the chieftains Lél and Súr. The traditional view is that with the German victory, further invasions by the Magyars into Latin Europe ended, although it is more accurate to say that the battle resulted in a stalemate between the Hungarians and Germans over the next several decades.

The Hungarians invaded the Duchy of Bavaria in late June or early July 955 with 8,000–10,000 horse archers, infantry, and siege engines, intending to draw the main German army, under Otto I, into battle in the open field and destroy it. The Hungarians laid siege to Augsburg on the river Lech. Otto I advanced to relieve the city with an army of 8,000 heavy cavalry and infantry, divided into eight legions.

↑ Return to Menu

Magyars in the context of Palóc

The Palóc [ˈpɒloːt͡s] are a subgroup of Hungarians in Northern Hungary and southern Slovakia. While the Palóc have retained distinctive traditions, including a very divergent dialect of Hungarian, the Palóc are also ethnic Hungarians by general consensus. Although their origins are unclear, the Palóc seem to have some sort of connections with the Khazar, Kabar, Pechenegs, Cuman and especially with the Avar tribes. The writings of Kálmán Mikszáth gave new prominence to the people in 1882 with his work The Good People of Palóc. The Palóc village of Hollókő was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 because of its preservation of traditional Palóc architecture and land use. Two branches of the Palócs can be distinguished based on their place of residence and customs: the western and the eastern (Barkó) Palócs, although the folk customs of both branches are mixed with remnants of ancient inner Asian beliefs and Christianity. They can be further grouped based on their dialect. The residence of the Palócs extends to the often-mentioned Palócföld (Palócland), which used to belong to Hont and Gömör and Kishont counties, and today it covers partly Slovakian and partly Hungarian areas (Pest, Nógrád, Heves, and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén counties): Cserhát, Mátra, Bükk mountains and north of these horizontal basin and the Ipoly Valley - nearly 150 settlements.

The Palócs never had special rights, so their first written mention dates only from 1656, when the notary from Nagykőrös recorded the following in his account book: "I bought ten pairs of mother of pearl knives from the Palócs". Their own specific ancient name is "had", which is the name of all the Palócs living in the same community who bear the same surname, even if they are form a separate family.

↑ Return to Menu

Magyars in the context of Árpád dynasty

The Árpád dynasty consisted of the members of the royal House of Árpád (Hungarian: Árpád-ház), also known as Árpáds (Hungarian: Árpádok, Croatian: Arpadovići). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1301. The dynasty was named after the Hungarian Grand Prince Árpád who was the head of the Hungarian tribal federation during the conquest of the Carpathian Basin, c. 895. Previously, it was referred to as the Turul dynasty or kindred.

Both the first Grand Prince of the Hungarians (Álmos) and the first king of Hungary (Saint Stephen) were members of the dynasty. Christianity was adopted as the state religion for the Kingdom of Hungary by the dynasty, and the Árpád's kings used the title of the apostolic king, the descendants of the dynasty gave the world the highest number of saints and blesseds from one family. The Árpád dynasty ruled the Carpathian Basin for four hundred years, influencing almost all of Europe through its extensive dynastic connections. Eight members of the dynasty were canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church; therefore, since the 13th century the dynasty has often been referred to as the Kindred of the Holy Kings. Two Árpáds were recognized as Saints by the Eastern Orthodox Church.

↑ Return to Menu

Magyars in the context of Kumis

Kumis (/ˈkmɪs/ KOO-mis, rarely /ˈkʌmɪs/ KUM-is), alternatively spelled coumis or kumyz, also known as airag (/ˈræɡ/ EYE-rag), is a traditional fermented dairy product made from mare milk. The drink is important to the peoples of the Central and East Asian steppes, of Turkic and Mongolic origin: Kazakhs, Bashkirs, Kalmyks, Kyrgyz, Mongols, and Yakuts. Kumis was historically consumed by the Khitans, Jurchens, Magyars, and Han Chinese of North China as well.

Kumis is a dairy product similar to kefir, but is produced from a liquid starter culture, in contrast to the solid kefir "grains". Because mare's milk contains more sugars than cow's or goat's milk, when fermented, kumis has a higher, though still mild, alcohol content compared to kefir.

↑ Return to Menu

Magyars in the context of Horka (title)

Horka, or harka, was a title used by the Magyar tribes in the 9th and 10th centuries. According to Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenetos in De administrando imperio, the horka had judicial authority. However, in other sources, the term was applied to a military leader (such as Bulcsú, who led the Magyar forces at the Battle of Lechfeld). Certainly at some point in the 10th century, the roles of horka and gyula (the chief warlord) had become similar, with the horka having authority in Western Transdanubia and the gyula in Transylvania in the east. In later sources the word appears, only as a personal name.

The title is somewhat similar to the word harki, which is used to describe soldier in Arabic.

↑ Return to Menu

Magyars in the context of Hungarian mythology

Hungarian mythology includes the myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales and gods of the Hungarians.

↑ Return to Menu