Hungarian invasions of Europe

Hungarian invasions of Europe
Hungarian raids in the 10th century
Date ~800(862)-973 Location Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Balkans and Iberian Peninsula Result raids, decisive wars for more than 150(100) years in Europe Territorial changes Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Balkans and Iberian Peninsula
Belligerents
Hungarian tribes	Kingdom of Italy East Francia Middle Francia Great Moravia Byzantine Empire Al-Andalus First Bulgarian Empire Khazaria West Francia
Commanders and leaders
Árpád Bulcsú Lél Taksony Súr	Berengar I of Italy Louis the Child Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria Henry the Fowler Otto the Great Conrad, Duke of Lorraine
Strength
~25,000 warriors (maximum number of troops, variable)	~40,000 (variable)
Casualties and losses
Not significant	Heavy in most of time. Some villages and cities were burned.

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.

History

Prior to the "Landtaking" (9th century)

The Hungarians at Kiev (Pál Vágó, 1896-99)

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 I 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,

earlier, the Khazars entrenched themselves against the attacks of the Magyars and other peoples

—Ahmad ibn Rustah

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.

After the conquest (10th century)

See also: Principality of Hungary

Fresco about a Hungarian warrior (Italy)

Europe around 900

Grand Prince Árpád's sculpture in Budapest

Around 896, probably under the leadership of Árpád, 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. Between 917 and 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 the Atlantic Ocean.

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.

Tactics

Hungarian warriors (oil on canvas)

They army had mostly light cavalry and were highly mobile. Attacking without warning, they quickly plundered the countryside and departed before any defensive force could be organized. If forced to fight, they would harass their enemies with arrows or sudden retreat temping their opponents to break rank and pursue, after which the Hungarians would turn to fight them singly.

Aftermath

The Hungarians were the last invading people to establish a permanent presence in Central Europe. In the following centuries, the Hungarians settled down in Hungary and adopted western European forms of feudal military organization, including the predominant use of heavy armored cavalry.

External links

• Hungary in the Carpathian Basin