European Kingdoms

Pannonia

Pannonia, the core of which formed the later state of Hungary along with a slice of Dacia, was generally Roman-occupied between 15 BC and about AD 378. It contained all sorts of fragmented tribal leftovers, such as various groups of Celts (specifically Taurisci elements). Prior to that it had provided a home to various groups of barbarians or, even earlier, a transit corridor between the Black Sea steppe in the east and the headwaters of the Danube and the Alpine region in the west.

This use as a transit corridor possibly dates as far back as the earliest modern humans of the Aurignacian culture. It certainly seems to have happened during the Chalcolithic (Copper Age). Europe's population of Neolithic Farmers found itself having to accept a long-lasting stream of Indo-European migrants which formed several lines of advance into Central Europe and Northern Europe.

One of these lines was the West Indo-European grouping which spread along the entire length of the Danube. Along the way it formed the Vučedol culture in the northern Balkans and Pannonian plain to displace elements of the older Baden-Boleraz culture. Another line of advance was the North-West Indo-European grouping which reached the southern Baltic sea coastline to become, in time, the proto-Germanics.

With the arrival of the Magyars in the late ninth century AD, Pannonia as a name was already falling out of use, and 'Hungary' eventually came to replace it. The traditional view is that the people of this region simply inherited the new name from the Huns who had previously controlled it. With the Magyars themselves being linked in part to Turks, this may be seen as a reasonable move, but it ignores complexities which are too extensive to cover here anything more than briefly.

The territory which later came to be called Hungary was generally Roman-occupied from 15 BC to circa AD 378. Prior to that it had provided a home to various groups of barbarians, many of whom used it as a corridor the travel from the Black Sea coast towards the headwaters of the Danube and the Alpine region. This certainly seems to have happened during the ninth to seventh centuries BC as the Thraco-Cimmerian influence on Indo-European migratory groups eventually influenced the Celts to the west (see feature link). It seems also to have provided a corridor of advance for millennia before that, possibly as far back as the earliest modern humans of the Aurignacian culture, and right down to the great Indo-European migrations of the fourth and third millennia BC.

Once the aforementioned Celts had expanded from their Alpine homeland, areas of Hungary also contained Celtic tribes such as the Hercuniates, Eravisci, and Anarti. Large areas of what is now Hungary formed the Roman province of Pannonia. In the late third and early fourth century AD various other tribes infiltrated it, including the Germanic Rugii. Then the Huns swept through Eastern Europe and dominated this area until AD 427. The Western Roman empire briefly recaptured it until the Huns once more took control circa 445. They were followed by the new power in Europe, both southern and eastern, the Ostrogoths, around 460, but as they migrated into the Balkans the area became tribal from about 488-558.

Elements of the surviving Huns had settled nearby, and until relatively recently it was generally thought that it was their name that was applied to the region in the form of Hungary (but see the kingdom of Hungary, below, for a more detailed investigation), while Germanic tribes such as the Gepids also occupied northern and eastern areas of it, close to the Carpathians. The Avars swept in from the steppe to control the region from 558-803, but there was a break in their rule in the seventh century. Eventually they were superseded by another wave of Asiatic horsemen called the Magyars, and their arrival signalled the creation of a state that became modern Hungary.

Slovakia was never a kingdom or state in its own right. For most of its history (906-1918) it was part of Hungary. Then it was attached to former Bohemia-Moravia to form the republic of Czechoslovakia. In-depth study of Hungarian history is often difficult as the most detailed literature is only available in the Hungarian language and remains practically unknown outside the country's borders.

(Additional information from Journal of World History 4(3), 513-540: The Outlines of Hungarian Prehistory, Denis Sinor, from Who were the Cimmerians, and where did they come from? Anne Katrine Gade Kristensen (Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Hist-fil. Medd 57), from Celts and the Classical World, David Rankin (1996), from The Civilisation of the East, Fritz Hommel (Translated by J H Loewe, Elibron Classic Series, 2005), from Europe Before History, Kristian Kristiansen, and from External Link: The Outlines of Hungarian Prehistory.)

558

The nomadic Avars assume control of Hungary.

562

The Avars incur into Austrasia, forcing the king to move his capital. This attack is repelled, as is another in about 568.

c.625 - c.660

The local Slavs form a kingdom of their own with the intention of expelling the Avars. The Slav Kingdom achieves its aim, but is short-lived.

c.660 - 803

The Avars resume their control of Hungary.

c.830s - 840s

The Eastern Franks under Louis the German now command the Avar domains. They turn them into a march territory - the March of Pannonia - using it to block Bulgarian expansionist efforts and also to regain some of the lost territory.

Lake Balaton today lies within the borders of Hungary, with landscapes, nature reserves, beaches, and folklore which make it focal point of the country's tourism trade

895 - 896

At the end of 895 the Magyars invade the Carpathian basin, advancing towards the Danube and attacking the Bulgarians there, only to be repulsed by Tsar Simeon.

It is close to the Danube that Álmos is stated to be murdered, leaving his son, Árpád, to lead the conquest. In carrying out their invasion, they sweep away any remaining Avar control of the region.

They also lay the foundations of a state which maintains approximately the same territory thereafter. By 896 the name Pannonia is effectively consigned to history because the Magyar 'Kingdom of Hungary' is now established fact.