The Hungarian invasions of Europe (
Hungarian: kalandozások,
German: Ungarneinfälle) took place in the 9th and 10th centuries,
the period of transition in the
history of Europe in the
Early Middle Ages, when the territory of the former
Carolingian Empire was threatened by invasion from multiple hostile forces, the Magyars (
Hungarians) from the east, the
Viking expansion from the north, and the
Arabs from the south.[1][2]
The Hungarians took possession of the
Carpathian Basin (corresponding to the later
Kingdom of Hungary) in a pre-planned manner, with a long move-in between 862–895, and launched a number of campaigns both westward into former
Francia and southward into the
Byzantine Empire. The westward raids were stopped only with the Magyar defeat of the
Battle of Lechfeld in 955, which led to the establishment of the
Holy Roman Empire in 962, a new political order in Western Europe. The raids into Byzantine territories continued throughout the 10th century, until the eventual Christianisation of the Magyars and the establishment of the Christian
Kingdom of Hungary in 1000 or 1001.
The first supposed reference to the Hungarians in war is in the 9th century: in 811, the Hungarians (Magyars) were in alliance with
Krum of Bulgaria against Emperor
Nikephoros I possibly at the
Battle of Pliska in the Haemus Mountains (Balkan Mountains).[3]Georgius Monachus' work mentions that around 837 the
Bulgarian Empire sought an alliance with the Hungarians.[3][4]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.[4] This record is thought to refer 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 no other people could have been the Khazars’ enemy at that time.[4] In the 10th century,
Ahmad ibn Rustah wrote that "earlier, the Khazars entrenched themselves against the attacks of the Magyars and other peoples".[4]
In 860–861, Hungarian soldiers attacked
Saint Cyril's convoy but the meeting is said to have ended peacefully.[3] Saint Cyril was traveling to the Khagan at (or near)
Chersonesos Taurica, which had been captured by the Khazars.
Muslim geographers recorded that the Magyars regularly attacked the neighboring
East Slavic tribes, and took captives to sell to the Byzantine Empire at
Kerch.[5][6]
There is some information about Hungarian raids into the eastern Carolingian Empire in 862.[7]
In 881, the Hungarians and the Kabars invaded East Francia and fought two battles, the former (Ungari) at Wenia (probably
Vienna)[7] and the latter (Cowari) at Culmite (possibly Kulmberg or Kollmitz in
Austria).[8] In 892, according to the Annales Fuldenses, King
Arnulf of East Francia invaded
Great Moravia and the Magyars joined his troops.[4][7] After 893, Magyar troops were conveyed across the Danube by the Byzantine fleet and defeated the Bulgarians in three battles (at the Danube,
Silistra and
Preslav).[6] In 894, the Magyars invaded
Pannonia in alliance with King
Svatopluk I of
Moravia.[4][7]
Around 896,[9] probably under the leadership of
Árpád, the Hungarians (Magyars) crossed the Carpathians and entered the
Carpathian Basin (the plains of
Hungary, approximately).
In 899, these Magyars defeated
Berengar's army in the
Battle of Brenta River and invaded the northern regions of Italy. They pillaged the countryside around
Treviso,
Vicenza,
Verona,
Brescia,
Bergamo and
Milan.[6] They also defeated
Braslav, Duke of Lower Pannonia. In 901, they attacked Italy again.[10] In 902, they led a campaign against northern Moravia and defeated the Moravians whose country was annihilated.[6] Almost every year after 900 they conducted raids against the
Catholic west and
Byzantine east. In 905, the Magyars and King Berengar formed an amicitia, and fifteen years passed without Hungarian troops entering Italy.[11]
Around 925, according to the Chronicle of the Priest of Dioclea from the late 12th century,
Tomislav of Croatia defeated the
Magyars in battle,[15] however others question the reliability of this account, because there is no proof for this interpretation in other records.[15]
In 926, they ravaged
Swabia and Alsace, campaigned through present-day
Luxembourg and reached as far as the
Atlantic Ocean.[11] In 927, Peter, brother of Pope John X, called on the Magyars to rule Italy.[11] They marched into Rome and imposed large tribute payments on
Tuscany and Tarento.[11][14] In 933, a substantial Magyar army appeared in
Saxony (the pact with the Saxons having expired) but
was defeated by Henry I at Merseburg.[11] Magyar attacks continued against Upper Burgundy (in 935) and against Saxony (in 936).[11] In 937, they raided France as far west as
Reims,
Lotharingia, Swabia,
Franconia, the
Duchy of Burgundy[16] and Italy as far as
Otranto in the south.[11] They attacked Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire, reaching the walls of Constantinople. The Byzantines paid them a “tax” for 15 years.[17] In 938, the Magyars repeatedly attacked Saxony.[11] In 940, they ravaged the region of Rome.[11] In 942,
Hungarian raids on Spain, particularly in
Catalonia,[18] took place, according to
Ibn Hayyan's work.[19] In 947,
Bulcsú, a chieftain of
Taksony, led a raid into Italy[20] as far as
Apulia, and King
Berengar II of Italy had to buy peace by paying a large amount of money to him and his followers.
The
Battle of Lechfeld in 955, in which the Magyars lost approximately 5,000 warriors, finally checked their expansion, although raids on the Byzantine Empire continued until 970. Lechfeld is south of
Augsburg in present-day southern Germany.
Between 899 and 970, according to the contemporary sources, the researchers count 45 (according to Nagy Kálmán) or 47 (according to Szabados György 38 to West and 9 to East)[21] raids in different parts of Europe. From these campaigns only 8 (17.5%) were unsuccessful (901, 913, 933, 943, 948, 951, 955, 970) and 37 ended with success (82.5%).[22]
Timeline of the Hungarian invasions
Before the Hungarian Conquest
811 – The Hungarians were in alliance with
Krum of Bulgaria against Emperor
Nikephoros I at the
Battle of Pliska in the Haemus Mountains (Balkan Mountains).[3]
839 – The Hungarians, who then lived East to the Carpathians, in
Etelköz, fight at Lower Danube at the request of the
First Bulgarian Empire against the Byzantine insurgents.[23]
861 –
Saint Cyril is attacked in Crimea by Hungarians "screaming like wolves", but seeing him praying, they became peaceful.[24]
c. 870 – al-Djayhani and
Ahmad ibn Rustah writes that the Hungarian tribes attack the Slavs who live near their borders, defeat them continuously and drive many of them to
Kerch in Crimea, selling them to the Byzantines as slaves.[25]
881 – The Hungarian troops, helping the
Moravians, fight two battles against the Germans.[24]
In alliance with
Svatopluk I of Moravia, the Hungarians attack the East Francian province of Pannonia. Svatopluk dies during this war.[28]
The Bulgarians, led by
Simeon I of Bulgaria, attack the Byzantines, who ask for Hungarian help. A Hungarian army, led by
Liüntika, defeats the Bulgarian army in three battles (at the Danube,
Silistra and
Preslav),[6] and force Simeon to retreat to
Silistra.[29]
895 – Simeon allies with the
Pechenegs, and attacks in alliance with them the Hungarians, forcing them to retreat towards West and enter in the
Carpathian Basin. The Hungarians conquer the eastern parts of the Carpathian Basin (until the river
Danube). Here the Hungarians defeat the Bulgarians in Southern
Transylvania and
Tiszántúl, and end their power in the Carpathian Basin, starting with this the
Hungarian Conquest.[30]
900 – The Hungarian army units conquer
Pannonia, after their alliance proposal to the East Francians was rejected. This was another step in the Hungarian Conquest.[32]
April 11 or 18 – The Magyar army from Carinthia is defeated by Margrave Ratold at
Laibach.[33]
902 – The Hungarians conquer the eastern parts of Great Moravia, ending with this the Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin, while the Slavs from West and North to this region, start to pay tribute to them.[34]
903 – A Hungarian unit raiding in Bavaria, is defeated near the river
Fischa.[34]
904
The Hungarian political and military leader
Kurszán (
kende,
gyula or
horka) is invited to a feast and then assassinated by the Bavarians.[34]
early summer – Hungarian troops go to
Lombardy.[34]
905
King Berengar of Italy makes alliance with the Hungarians against his enemy,
Louis of Provence, who declared himself emperor of Italy.
early summer – The Magyars defeat
Louis of Provence, who is then blinded by Berengar.[35]
906 – Two Hungarian armies devastate, one after the other, the
Duchy of Saxony. The Magyars were asked to come by the Slavic tribe of Dalamancians, threatened by the Saxon attacks.[35]
907
July 4–6 – An East Francian army led by
Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria, which entered the Hungarian territory in order to expel the Hungarians from the Carpathian Basin, is annihilated by the Hungarian army in the
Battle of Pressburg. Luitpold,
Dietmar I, Archbishop of Salzburg, Prince Sieghard, 19 counts, 2 bishops and 3 abbots are killed in the battle, together with the majority of the soldiers.[34] This battle is considered the conclusion of the Hungarian Conquest.[36]
July–August – The Hungarians assault Bavaria, making great destructions, and occupying many towns, in their way home, defeating a Bavarian army at
Lengenfeld. The Hungarian-Bavarian border is fixed on the
Enns river.[37]
June 12 – The Hungarians crush the army of the German king
Louis the Child in the
first Battle of Augsburg, led by Count Gozbert of Alemannia. The commander and Managolt, count of Alemannia are killed in the battle.
911 – Hungarian troops cross
Bavaria and attack
Swabia and
Franconia. They plunder the territories from Meinfeld to
Aargau. After that, they cross the
Rhine, and attack
Burgundy for the first time.[40]
912 – Hungarians attack Franconia and Thuringia, in order to force the new East Francian king,
Conrad I of Germany to pay them tribute.[40]
915 – A Hungarian army devastates Swabia then Franconia. One of their plundering units attack the
Fulda monastery, but they are repelled, they burn the
Abbey of Corvey, plunder the monastery St.
Ida in
Herzfeld. In Saxony the Hungarians plunder Valun, then they burn
Bremen, and after defeating a Saxon army at
Eresburg, they arrive to the
Danish border.[42]
916 – A Hungarian army helps
Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, in his first, unsuccessful attack to regain his duchy.[42]
917
Attack to West
January 21 – The Hungarians sack and burn
Basel, then invade the
Duchy of Alsace.
Hungarian troops are allegedly helping
Simeon I of Bulgaria to defeat the Byzantines in the great
Battle of Acheloos,[44] but their involvement was narrated by a single 11th-century source, Miracula Sancti Georgii, and this information contradicts from contemporary records.
919–920
After the election of
Henry the Fowler as the new king of East Francia, a Hungarian army enters in Germany, and defeats Henry's forces in the
Battle of Püchen, then heads towards West.
The Hungarian army enters Lotharingia and France. King
Charles the Simple cannot gather enough forces to face them in a battle, retreats, and lets them to plunder his realm.[44]
In 921 a Hungarian army led by Dursac and
Bogát, enters Northern Italy, then annihilates, between
Brescia and
Verona ,the forces of the Italian supporters of
Rudolf II of Burgundy, killing the
palatine Odelrik, and taking as captive Gislebert, the count of Bergamo.
This army goes towards southern Italy, where it winters, and in January 922 plunders the regions between
Rome and
Naples.
February 4 – The Magyar army attacks
Apulia in Southern Italy, ruled by the Byzantines.[46]
924
Campaign in Italy and Southern France
Spring –
Rudolf II of Burgundy is elected by the Italian insurgents as king of Italy in
Pavia. Emperor
Berengar I of Italy asks the Hungarians for help, whom then send an army led by Szalárd, who burns Pavia and the war galleys on the shores of the Ticino river.
April 7 – When emperor Berengar is assassinated in Verona, the Hungarians go towards Burgundy.
Rudolf II of Burgundy and
Hugh of Arles try to encircle them in the passes of the
Alps, but the Hungarians escape from the ambush, and attack Gothia and the outskirts of
Nîmes. They return home because a plague breaks out among them.[47]
Campaign in Saxony
Another Hungarian army plunders Saxony. The German king
Henry the Fowler retreats to the castle of
Werla. A Hungarian noble falls by accident in the hands of the Germans. King Henry uses this opportunity to negotiate with the Hungarians, asking for peace, and accepting to pay a tribute to the
Principality of Hungary.[48]
926
May 1–8 – Hungarian troops enter Swabia, as allies of the new Italian king,
Hugh of Italy, besiege
Augsburg,[49] and then occupy the
Abbey of Sankt Gallen, where they spare the life of the monk
Heribald, whose accounts give a detailed description about their traditions and way of life.[50] From the abbey they send minor units to reconnoitre and plunder the surroundings. One of their units kills Saint
Wiborada who lived as anchoress in a wood nearby.
After May 8 – The Magyars besiege
Konstanz, burning its suburbs, then head towards West in the direction of
Schaffhausen and
Basel. One of their units is defeated by the locals at
Säckingen on the shores of the
Rhine. The Hungarian army cross the Rhine with some captured ships into
Alsace, and defeat the troops of count Liutfred. Then, following the Rhine they went towards North, sack the surroundings of
Voncq, arrive to the
Atlantic Ocean's shores, then head towards home via
Reims. On their way home, they renew the alliance with
Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria.
927 – Hungarian troops are called by King
Hugh of Italy to help margrave Peter regain his power in Rome, against
Pope John X, which they succeed. During and after these events, they plunder
Tuscany and
Apulia, taking many prisoners, and occupying the cities of
Oria and
Taranto.[52]
931 – A Hungarian army burns the Italian city of
Piacenza.[53]
933
Beginning of March – Because the German king
Henry the Fowler refused to continue to pay tribute to the
Principality of Hungary, a Magyar army enters Saxony. They enter from the lands of the Slavic tribe of Dalamancians, who refuse their alliance proposal, then the Hungarians split in two, but soon the army which tries to outflank Saxony from west, is defeated by the combined forces of
Saxony and
Thuringia near
Gotha.
March 15 – The other army besieges
Merseburg, but after that, is defeated in the
Battle of Riade by the kings army.[53]
934
West
A Hungarian army raids in the environs of
Metz in Lotharingia.[54]
Balkans
War breaks out between the Hungarians and the
Pechenegs, but a peace is concluded after the news of a
Bulgarian attack against their territories, coming from the town of W.l.n.d.r (probably
Belgrade). The Hungarians and the Pechenegs decide to attack this town.
April – The Hungarian-Pecheneg army defeats, in the
Battle of W.l.n.d.r, the relieving Byzantine-Bulgarian forces then conquer the city, and plunder it for three days.
May–June – The allies plunder Bulgaria, then head towards
Constantinople, where they camp for 40 days, and sack
Thrace, taking many captives. The
Byzantine Empire concludes a peace treaty with the Hungarians, ransom captives, and accepts to pay tribute to the
Principality of Hungary.[55]
935 – Hungarian raid to
Aquitaine and
Bourges. They return towards home in Burgundy and Northern Italy, where they plunder the environs of
Brescia.[54]
936–937
End of 936 – The Hungarians, with the aim to force the new German king,
Otto I, to pay them tribute, attack Swabia and Franconia, and burn the
Fulda monastery. They then enter Saxony, but the new king's forces repel them towards Lotharingia and
West Francia.
February 21, 937 – They enter Lotharingia, crossing the Rhine at
Worms, and advance towards
Namur.
The Hungarians occupy the Abbey of Saint
Basolus from
Verzy, which they use as headquarters. They then send plundering units to attack the abbeys from Orbay, Saint Macra from Fîmes, the city of
Bouvancourt.
March 24 – They reach the city of
Sens, where they burn the Abbey of Saint Peter.
At
Orléans they fight a French army led by count Ebbes de Déols, who is wounded in the battle and dies afterwards. After this, the Hungarians, following the course of the
Loire, cross the whole of France until the Atlantic Ocean, then return through the South-East, and on their way to Burgundy, they plunder the surroundings of
Bourges.
After July 11 – The Hungarians enter Burgundy near
Dijon, harrying the Monastery of
Luxeuil, then they plunder the valley of the
Rhône, burn the city of
Tournus, occupy the monasteries of Saint
Deicolus and Saint Marcell, but fail at the Monastery of Saint Appollinaris.
August – Continuing their campaign, the Hungarians enter Lombardy from the West, where
Hugh of Italy asks them to go to Southern Italy to help the Byzantines. The Hungarians plunder the surroundings of
Capua, and install their camp in
Campania. They send small units to plunder the regions of
Naples,
Benevento,
Sarno,
Nola and
Montecassino. The
Abbey of Montecassino gives them valuable objects valuing 200 Byzantine
hyperpyrons in order to ransom the captives.[56]
Autumn – One Hungarian unit returning home is ambushed in the
Abruzzo Mountains by local forces, and loses its plunder.[56]
938
End of July – The Hungarians attack Thuringia and Saxony, and set camp at the
Bode, north to the
Harz mountains, and send its raiding units in every direction. One of these units is defeated at
Wolfenbüttel, and its leader killed. Another unit is misled by its Slavic guides on the marshes of
Drömling, ambushed, and massacred by the Germans at Belxa. The Hungarians ransom the captured leader of this unit.
After 31 August – Hearing about these defeats, the main Hungarian army, camped at the Bode river, withdraws to Hungary.[57]
940 April – The Hungarian auxiliary troops helping
Hugh of Italy in his campaign against Rome are victorious at
Lateran against the Roman nobles, but are then defeated by the Longobards.[57]
942
Spring – A Hungarian army enters Italy, where king Hugh, giving them 10
bushels of gold, persuades them to attack the
Caliphate of Córdoba.
Middle of June – They arrive in
Catalonia, plunder the region, then enter the northern territories of the Caliphate of Córdoba.
June 23 – The Hungarians
besiege Lérida for 8 days, then attack Cerdaña and
Huesca.
June 26 – The Hungarians capture Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn al Tawil, the ruler of
Barbastro, and hold him captive 33 days, until he is ransomed.
July – The Hungarians find themselves on desert territory and run out of food and water. They kill their Italian guide and return towards Italy. Five Hungarian soldiers are taken prisoner by the Cordobans and become bodyguards of the caliph.[58]
The Hungarians plunder the region of
Latium and defeat the sortieing Romans who attacked them.[59]
943
Balkans
Allied with the Kievan Rus, a Hungarian army attacks the
Byzantine Empire. Emperor
Romanos I Lekapenos buys peace, and accepts to pay a yearly tribute to the Hungarians.[60]
947 – A Hungarian army, led by prince
Taksony, campaigns in Italy, heading southwards on the Eastern shore of the peninsula. It besieges
Larino, and reaches
Otranto, plundering Apulia for 3 months.[61]
Spring – Hungarians, crossing through Lombardia, attack Aquitania.
November 20 – The returning Hungarians are defeated by the Germans, who in the meanwhile had conquered the Kingdom of Italy.[62]
954
The German princes rebel against
Otto I, and ally with the Hungarians, who in February sends an army led by
Bulcsú to help them. The Magyar army plunders the domains of Otto's allies in Bavaria, Swabia and Frankonia.
The Hungarians plunder the regions of
Hesbaye and Carbonaria in today's
Belgium, plunder and burn the Monastery of Saint Lambert from
Hainaut, plunder the monastery of
Moorsel, and sack the cities of
Gembloux and
Tournai.
April 2 – They besiege the
Lobbes Abbey, but the monks defend the monastery. However, the Hungarians burn the church of Saint Paul, and take with them the treasures of the abbey.
April 6–10 – The Hungarians besiege the city of
Cambrai, burn its suburbs, but are unable to conquer the city. One of Bulcsú's relatives is killed by the defenders. They refuse to return his body to the Hungarians, who in return kill all their captives and burn the monastery of
Saint Géry near Cambrai.
After April 6 – the Hungarians cross the French border, plundering the surroundings of
Laon,
Reims, Chalon,
Metz,
Gorze. After that, they return home via Burgundy and Northern Italy.[66]
Middle of July – Called by the Bavarian and Saxonian insurgents, a Hungarian army led by Bulcsú,
Lehel, Sur, and
Taksony breaks into Germany, plundering Bavaria, then enters Swabia and burns many monasteries.
Beginning of August – The Hungarians start besieging
Augsburg.
August 10 – The German army of
Otto I defeats the Hungarian army and puts it to flight, in the
Battle of Lechfeld. Despite the victory, the German losses were heavy, among them many nobles:
Conrad, Duke of Lorraine, Count Dietpald, Ulrich count of Aargau, the Bavarian count Berthold, etc.[68]
August 10–11 – The Germans capture Bulcsú,
Lehel, and Sur. Many Hungarians die during the flight, killed by the Germans.
August 15 – Bulcsú, Lehel, and Sur are hanged in Regensburg.[69] End of the Hungarian invasions towards the West.
958 April–May – Because in 957 the Byzantines ceased the payment of tribute, a Hungarian army, led by
Apor, attacks the empire, plunders its territories up to Constantinople, but on its way back, it is defeated by the Byzantines in a night attack.[70]
961 – A Hungarian army attacks
Thrace and
Macedonia, but it is defeated, in a night attack, by the Byzantine army.[70]
968 – A Hungarian army attacks the Byzantine Empire, and splits into two groups. Near
Thessaloniki, one army group of 300 men takes 500 Greek captives, and takes them to Hungary. The other army group of 200 men is ambushed by the Byzantines who take 40 of them as captives. They become bodyguards of emperor
Nikephoros II Phokas.[72]
970 –
Sviatoslav I of Kiev attacks the Byzantine empire with Hungarian auxiliary troops. The Byzantines defeat Sviatoslav's army in the
Battle of Arcadiopolis.[73] End of the Hungarian invasions of Europe.
Tactics
Their army had mostly light cavalry and were highly mobile.[74] Attacking without warning, they quickly plundered the countryside and departed before any defensive force could be organized.[74] If forced to fight, they would harass their enemies with arrows, then suddenly retreat, tempting their opponents to break ranks and pursue, after which the Hungarians would turn to fight them singly.[74] This tactic is formally known as a
feigned retreat.
The Hungarians were the last invading people to establish a permanent presence in Central Europe.[74]Paul K. Davis writes, the "Magyar defeat (at the
Battle of Lechfeld) ended more than 90 years of their pillaging western Europe and convinced survivors to settle down, creating the basis for the state of
Hungary."[76] In the following centuries, the Hungarians adopted western European forms of feudal military organization, including the predominant use of heavily armored cavalry.[74]
Notes
^Barbara H. Rosenwein, A short history of the Middle Ages, University of Toronto Press, 2009, p. 152
[1]
^Jean-Baptiste Duroselle, Europe: a history of its peoples, Viking, 1990, p. 124
[2]
^
abcdefTóth, Sándor László (1998). Levediától a Kárpát-medencéig (From Levedia to the Carpathian Basin). Szeged: Szegedi Középkorász Műhely.
ISBN963-482-175-8.
^Elter, I. (1981) Remarks on Ibn Hayyan's report on the Magyar raids on Spain, Magyar Nyelv 77, p. 413-419
^The Hungarians' Prehistory, their Conquest of Hungary, and their Raids to the West to 955, Laszlo Makkai, A History of Hungary, ed. Peter F. Sugar, Péter Hanák,
Tibor Frank, (Indiana University Press, 1990), 13.
^Nagy Kálmán: A honfoglalás korának hadtörténete; Heraldika Kiadó, Budapest, 2007, p. 168
^Bóna, István (2000). A magyarok és Európa a 9-10. században ("The Hungarians and Europe in the 9th-10th centuries") (in Hungarian). Budapest: História - MTA Történettudományi Intézete. p. 11.
ISBN963-8312-67-X.
^Baják László: A fejedelmek kora. A korai magyar történet időrendi vázlata. II. rész. 900-1000 ("The Era of the Princes. The chronological sketch of the early Hungarian history. II. part. 900-1000"); ÓMT, Budapest, (2000). p. 8–9
^Die Ungarn und die Abtei Sankt Gallen (in German). Akten des wissenschaftlichen Kolloquiums an der Universität Eötvös Loránd Budapest vom 21. März 1998 anlässlich der Ausstellung «Die Kultur der Abtei Sankt Gallen» im Ungarischen Nationalmuseum (21.3.–30.4.1998). Ungarisch Historischer Verein Zürich, Stiftsarchiv Sankt Gallen, Sankt Gallen/Budapest 1999.
^Ballan, Mohammad (2010). Fraxinetum: An Islamic Frontier State in Tenth-Century Provence. Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Volume 41, 2010, p. 31.