Early History: 1000 B.C. to 900 A.D.

• ancestors moved from Urals south onto Russian steppes, continued west
• eventually come under the influence of the Khazars, who ruled from the Volta to the Black sea
• Hungarian tribal segments joined Onogur tribal alliance = became the ethnic majority
• culturally Bulgar-Turkish, linguistically Finno-Ugric
• left Khazar Kaganate around 830 A.D. = lived between Don and Dnieper
• 830-893 lived between Don and Lower Danube
• conquered the Carpathian Basin in 896 = actually chased out of their home near the Black Sea in 895 by the Bulgarian Tsar
• establishment of Árpád Dynasty

Medieval Period (Early and Late)
 

This rather arbitrary periodicization spans from the Árpád Dynasty (900-1301) through the Age of the Jagiello Kings (1490-1526). Christianity was accepted in 953 by Zombor, who visited Byzantium. The princes of the Árpád family continued this interest in Christianty, and hoped to remake Hungary into a European-type monarchy. In fact, under Béla III (1173-96) the people, including architecture and clothes, became distinctly Europeanized and Hungary emerges as one of the leading powers in southeastern Europe. The year 1196 marks the beginning of the large lay estates and the fuedual monarchy, with the nobles forcing the Golden Bull (1222) on Andrew II (1205-35), which limited the crown's powers. Under Béla IV's reign, the Mongol's invade in 1241. Surprisingly, the Hungarian army is annihilate and the Mongols begin a mass exterminaiton of the population. This is followed shortly by famine and epidemics, and the last of the Árpád kings in 1301. The Angevines assume control of the state under Charles Robert, who was the third king the Hungarians crowned. While superficially European in character, in relation to churches, monasteries, and some knightly customs, Hungary remained archaic compared to feudal Europe. The Late Medieval period (1382-1526) saw the introduction of the Order of the Dragon (1408) with the new landed aristocracy after years of civil strife. The double coronation in1440 of Albert of Habsburg and his wife Elisabeth, daughter of the last Hungarian king, led to civil war. Some towns acknowledged the queen while others came under the rule of the Hunyadi family, eventually leading to the Age of the Jagiello Kings (1490-1526). On 28 August 1526, the Ottoman Empire attacked and once again Hungary was annihilated.