The History of the Hungarians

The Hungarian people today are the true definition of diversity in the area. Their blood, language, and culture are a mix of people groups close and far. With this comes a complex and beautiful history that few know. Hello, I am your host David, and this is Eurasia. Without further ado, let's talk about the history of the Hungarian people right now. The history of the Hungarian people starts more than two millennia ago in what is now northwestern Siberia. The Hungarians are a Uralic people, just like the Finns and Estonians. In the 4th century BC, the Uralic people broke up for unknown reasons. Some moved west and east, while others moved south like the ancestors of the Hungarians did. Yet, though 2000 years ago the ancestors of the Finns, Estonians, and Hungarians were very close, by the start of the AD calendar, the groups became more and more different. By the 4th century AD, most Hungarians lived in the southern Ural mountains in what is nowadays Bashkortostan, Russia, right around the city of Ufa. However, by the 8th century AD, a large group of Hungarians had moved southwest on the Don River in what is now the area around Rostov-on-Don. The Hungarians who stayed at the southern Ural mountains would stay there into today. However, today, they are known as the Khanti and Mansi people, with only about 30,000 people left combined. Nonetheless, these Hungarians on the Don River became subjects of the Khazar Khagnate. The Hungarians learned lots from the Turkic Khazars, and, among the many skills acquired, the Hungarians adopted many Turkic words into their language. However, in 830 AD, the Khazar Khagnate went into rebellion, and most Hungarians on the Don River fled to a land known as Etelkhoz by the Hungarian people. Etelkhoz is located between the Dnieper River in modern-day Ukraine, and the Carpathian Mountains located in modern-day southwest Ukraine, western Romania, and eastern Slovakia. However, along with the Hungarians came three defected tribes of the Khazars. The Khazar tribes would intermix with the Hungarians, and, thus, continue to introduce many linguistic and cultural traditions to the Hungarians. Within a few decades, the largest tribe of the Hungarians, named the Magyars, would cross the Carpathian Mountains and settle in the Carpathian Basin in modern-day Hungary. Many Hungarian tribes would follow, while some would stay on the eastern side of the mountains. However, the tribes on the eastern side would face the repercussions of the vengeful people groups from the rebellion that they were trying to escape. They would be killed or they would escape across the Carpathian Mountains by 900 AD. From 900 to 1000 AD, the Hungarians would raid German and other people group settlements in the area in order to clear an area for their people to live. They would often reach even farther, where they would raid French, Danish, and Spanish areas across Central and Western Europe. By the turn of the millennium, Hungarians had adopted many of the European cultures and traditions through the absorption of many locals in the Carpathian Basin. This is especially true when talking about the Hungarian political system and rule of law. In the year 1001, the Hungarians would adopt Christianity, while also crowning the first official king of Hungary, Stephen I. The Kingdom of Hungary was established. Stephen I was instrumental in the creation of the modern identity and state of Hungary, as he unified the now scattered Hungarian tribes of the Carpathian Basin into one unified state. Also, with the adoption of Christianity, Stephen I accepted the role of holding off Islamic and Turkic invasions from the east and the south. The Kingdom of Hungary did relatively well for the next 300 years, with indirect support from the Western and Central European empires. With the exception of England, Hungary was even the first state in Europe to adopt a constitution in 1222. However, by the middle of the 13th century, the Kingdom of Hungary experienced many economic and political troubles, as well as the Black Death. Even if these troubles could have been solved, however, the Mongolian invasion would reach Hungary in 1241. Hungary was one of the many who were useless against the Mongols and, within a year, the Carpathian Basin was under Mongol control and approximately 50% of Hungarians were dead. Yet, being one of the last territories that the Mongols conquered, the Kingdom saw many peoples come to the Carpathian Basin in search of refuge. This includes hundreds of thousands of people groups anywhere from modern day Iran to Siberia. Again, these people mixed into Hungarian society and were eventually absorbed along with the inclusion of many of their traditions and languages. With the Mongols losing strength day by day, the Kingdom of Hungary eventually pushed the Mongols back out of the Carpathian Basin. By the late 1300s, the Hungarians were back to full strength. However, by the 1400s, the Ottoman Empire broke into the Balkans and was met with many European soldiers repelling the advance, including the Hungarians. By the end of the 15th century, the tides had turned against the Europeans and Hungarian armies were falling fast. From 1521 to 1526, most of Hungary was absorbed into the Ottoman Empire. The first Kingdom of Hungary was defeated, yet, within a few months, the second Kingdom of Hungary had been established in the little territory that Hungary still held. Like others in the Ottoman Empire, the Hungarians were treated with general respect since they paid tribute. However, as one of the territories on its borderlands, the Carpathian Basin seen lots of fighting for the next 200 years that would cripple the region. In the late 1600s, the Habsburgs would take control of the relatively weak Kingdom of Hungary. The Habsburgs, who generally tried to keep a peaceful and friendly relationship with the Ottomans at the time, would constantly be in conflict with Hungarian leadership and citizens alike. This would culminate into an eight-year rebellion against Habsburg rule in the Kingdom of Hungary, starting in 1703. The failure of the rebellion would lead to 100 years of neglect and poverty in the Kingdom. Within these 100 years, however, territory would be acquired back from the Ottomans. By the end of the 1700s, most of the Carpathian Basin was back in Hungarian and, thus, Habsburg control. In 1804, Francis II, after losing control in Germany, would found the Austrian Empire that would include many other territories including the Kingdom of Hungary. By the 1820s, the Hungarians, who made a large minority in the empire, would demand more rights. Though some were given, by 1848, the state was in full rebellion once again. The Hungarians were defeated, but the Austrian Empire suffered greatly, and they agreed to create a dual monarchy. In 1867, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was established. Thanks to this, the Hungarians were again developing. By 1900, the Carpathian Basin was well-developed compared to other areas in the region. However, in 1914, the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, and though the Prime Minister and Emperor of Hungary tried hard to stop the war from coming, their attempts were futile. The Austro-Hungarian Empire would ally with Germany and the Ottomans against the Allies in the First World War. Between 1914 and 1916, Hungarians were well-involved in the war and would take over Serbia and Romania. Yet, in November of 1916, the Emperor of Hungary would die, and a new emperor would slowly withdraw the empire from the war. As a result of the war, in late 1918, Austria and Hungary would dissolve the empire and become two separate countries while also withdrawing from the war. Soon after the war's end, the Emperor was deposed, and Regent Mikolos Horthy would assume power. Horthy and his new yet weak Hungarian state would become more and more fascist and eventually ally itself with Nazi Germany before and during World War II. Yet, as the war turned against the Germans, Horthy arranged for an armistice with the Allies. Hitler, after finding this out, would attempt to assassinate Horthy. Horthy had escaped, but the Hungarian state fell under German control, only for the war to end six months later in Europe. This would really hurt the development of the Hungarian state as dozens of armies invaded and retreated through the Hungarian heartland. Needless to say, however, it was not the Western Allies who liberated Hungary, but rather the Soviet Union, who, along with its armies, brought communism to Budapest that would eventually envelop the entire Hungarian government. For the next ten years, the communists would control the government. The citizens, however, were extremely disgruntled with the communist government. This all culminated into the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, where, after a student protest catalyzed others to rise, the Soviets quelled the rebellion at the cost of nearly 5,000 Hungarian lives. In 1956, János Kádár assumed leadership of the country. Needless to say, he was a hardcore communist as Moscow demanded. He enacted many Stalinist-type policies early on in his term that would be aimed at suppressing those involved in the opposition of the revolution. Yet, starting in the mid-1960s, Kádár would start to reverse many of these policies and liberalize the economy within the range that Moscow felt comfortable with. By the time the Soviet Union had introduced perestroika, Hungary had to do little in order to fully transform into a Western capitalist-like economy and government. Kádár's rule would end in 1988, but the future leaders would be even more liberal. Hungary would make every effort to connect with Western and Central Europe. And, in 2004, the country joined the European Union. Today, we are seeing increased tensions between Europe and Hungary, as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has expressed some autocratic tendencies, as some Western experts have stated. Nonetheless, Orbán, as well as his predecessors, have enacted policies welcoming ethnic Hungarians from abroad to come home. This has culminated into Hungary consisting of more than 98% Hungarian today. However, 5 million of the total 15 million Hungarians in the world today live abroad, especially in the United States and Romania, with about 1.3 million each. Many of the former Hungarian Empire's lands in the surrounding countries hold the majority of Hungarians outside of Hungary today. All in all, it is obvious that the Hungarian people today have a deep history. Starting in the northern Ural Mountains, they have relocated multiple times in the past two millennia until they finally found their home in the Carpathian Basin. Though, along the way, and even into today, the Hungarians met and adopted others as their own, which, in return, created a truly diverse and unique culture that Hungarians treasure into today, despite the troubles they may have faced in the past. Thanks for watching! Don't forget to like the video and subscribe to my channel to see more content as well. And, of course, until next time, stay happy, stay humble, stay hopeful, and goodbye!