Hungarian prehistory

Hungarian prehistory tells the story of the Hungarian people, or Magyars, from around 800 BC until they entered the Carpathian Basin in 895 AD. It began when the Hungarian language separated from other Ugric languages. For a long time, people thought the Magyars were related to the ancient Scythians and Huns, but this idea changed when scientists discovered connections between Hungarian and Uralic languages.

Studies of old pollen and language suggest that the speakers of the Proto-Uralic language lived near the Ural Mountains thousands of years ago. They lived in small houses and made beautiful clay pots. As the land changed, these people moved, and some began to raise animals like horses and cattle. By around 1000 BC, some groups started moving across the grasslands.

The Magyars lived in areas near big rivers and the wide grasslands called the steppes. They formed tribes, each led by a leader called a "voivodes". In the 9th century, they formed an alliance with the Bulgarians and lived in a place called Levedia near the Khazar Khaganate. Later, most of the Magyars moved to a region called Etelköz, where they controlled lands between important rivers. Finally, around 895 AD, they crossed the Carpathian Mountains and settled in the Carpathian Basin, which is modern-day Hungary.

Ethnonyms

Main article: Name of the Hungarians

The Hungarians were known by many different names in old records from the 9th and 10th centuries. Writers from Arabic lands called them Magyars, Bashkirs, or Turks. Writers from the Byzantine Empire used names like Huns, Ungrs, Turks, or Savards. In Slavic sources, they were called Ugr or Peon, and in Western European writings, they appeared as Hungrs, Pannons, Avars, Huns, Turks, and Agaren.

One of the first writers to mention a version of the Hungarians' own name was Ibn Rusta, who wrote (al-Madjghariyya). Scholars think the name "Magyar" might be made from older words. Some believe it comes from words meaning "man" in other languages, while others think it started from the name of a powerful tribe called Megyer.

Formation of the Magyar people

The history of the Hungarian people, called the Magyars, began long ago. Their language, Hungarian, is part of a group called Uralic languages. Scientists used to think the Magyars were related to ancient groups like the Scythians and Huns, but we now know this isn't true. We learned this by studying language similarities.

Before around 800 BC, the people who would become the Magyars lived near the Ural Mountains. Climate changes and other factors caused them to move over time. By around 895 AD, they moved into a place called the Carpathian Basin, which is where Hungary is today. Archaeologists have studied clues from old times to learn more about where the Magyars came from and how they lived.

Further information: Proto-Uralic homeland hypotheses and Shamanistic remnants in Hungarian folklore

Migrations

Early westward migrations (before 600 AD – c. 750 or 830 AD)

See also: Eastern Hungarians and Magna Hungaria

In the 1230s, Friar Julian searched for the Magyars' legendary homeland called Magna Hungaria. He met a Hungarian-speaking group beside a large river in the land of the Volga Bulgars, in what is now Bashkortostan in Eastern Europe. Scholars debate whether Magna Hungaria was the original home of the Magyars or if they settled there after moving from their original home in Western Siberia.

Some believe the Magyars moved from Western Siberia to Eastern Europe between 500 BC and 700 AD due to major movements of peoples during that time. The westward migration of the Huns around 350 to 400 AD forced many groups from Western Siberia to move toward Europe. Attacks by the Avars in the 460s and their movement toward Europe around 550 to 600 also caused many nomadic groups to relocate.

Levedia (c. 750 or 830 – c. 850)

The Khazar Khaganate was a powerful empire between the Dnieper and Volga rivers after around 650. The Magyars lived near the Don River in a place called Levedia. They had seven clans but no single leader. They fought alongside the Khazars in battles.

Etelköz (c. 850 – c. 895)

See also: Magyar tribes and Blood oath (Hungarians)

Constantine Porphyrogenitus described Etelköz as the lands where several rivers ran. The Magyars settled here after leaving Levedia. They had two main leaders and formed a confederation of tribes. They sometimes raided neighboring Slavic peoples.

The Hungarian Conquest (c. 895 – 907)

Main article: Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin

The Magyars returned to Central Europe in 892, invading regions like Moravia and the March of Pannonia. They eventually moved into the Carpathian Basin, settling lands east of the Danube first. They defeated Moravia before 906 and secured their control of the region by winning the Battle of Brezalauspurc in 907 against a Bavarian army.