A Herman Ottó Múzeum Évkönyve 32. Kunt Ernő emlékére. (1994)

TANULMÁNYOK - FODOR István: A magyar őstörténet vázlata (magyar és angol nyelven)

gration of the eastern nomads, thus creating a relatively peaceful period on the Eastern-European Plain. This protection ensured the external conditions for the settlement process in which all of the area's pastoral communities participated. The economic incentive behind this phenomenon was an impressive development in land cultivation techniques which made the sedentary way of life increasingly attractive. Such improvements resulted in the increasing productivity of this branch of economy in comparison to previous times. The Alan population of the Khanate had, by then, been involved in land cultivation for a long time and increasing masses of Bulgarian-Turkic pastoralists chose this new way of life as well. Hungarians were undoubtedly part of this process with an expanding sedentary population pursuing land cultivation. This phenomenon is shown by the 250 to 300 Bulgarian-Turkic loanwords, the majority of which are associated with land cultivation and intensive animal husbandry. Most of these words were adapted from the Onogur-Bulgarian language. Of these population groups, Hungarians first established links with the Volga-Bulgarian people moving northwards along the Volga river after 700 A.D. Subsequently, they came into contact with the Don-Bulgarians in the area of Levedia. Tight connections between the Hungarian ("Magyar") and Onogur populations who occupied neighbouring domains may explain the names 'vengr', 'Ungarn', 'hongrois', and 'Hungarian' which derive from the name of the Onogur people and were spread over all Europe through Slavic mediation. It is very likely that most of the loan-words adopted at that time originated in the Khazar language itself. The settlement process may also be demonstrated by archaeological data. Settlement patterns, building structures and other parts of the matetial culture discovered in Hungarian villages built after the conquest of the Carpathian Basin all reveal close relationships with the agricultural settlement of the Don river's region. Significant part of the Hungarian population, however, still followed a predominantly pastoral way of life. Consequently, their culture was characterized by nomadic elements and their organization as well as military system followed nomadic patterns. During the stay within the boundaries of the Khazar Khanate, Hungarian society again underwent significant development as well. A sovereign's status was established above the authority of the seven Hungarian tribes (Nyék, Megyer, Kürtgyarmat, Tarján, Jenő, Kér, Keszi) which may be regarded as the first beginnings of state formation. The first sovereign was Levédi (whose name became associated with the habitation area), who probably was the khan's subordinate. Subsequently, the Hungarian power system included two sovereigns (kende and gyula). This duality of the supreme power followed a Khazar pattern as it was brought into existence under its influence. Reliable data from this period are available concerning the changes in the ethnic composition of the Hungarian community as well. New population elements joined the Hungarians while others became separated from them. One may assume that members of the Eskil Bulgarian tribe, ancestors of the Seklers ("Székelys") were united with the Hungarian population during the intensive period of Hungarian-Bulgarian contacts. Following a Hungarian-Pecheneg showdown (the Hungarians often joined arms with the Khazars in fighting the Pecheneg who lived in the area of the Volga and Ural rivers), a part of the Hungarian population separated and settled south of the Caucasus Mountains near the Persian frontier. This group has been denoted by the name Savard in a variety of sources. During the first half of the 9th century a civil war broke out in the Khazar Khanate, but the khan's army regained control over the insurgents. The defeated usurpers sought refuge with the Hungarians who accepted them as the eighth tribe. While this population was almost certainly heterogeneous, it spoke the Khazar language. In the written sources 120