Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. A Szent István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 32. 2002 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (2003)

Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Demeter Zsófia: The History and the Situation of Serb Minority in the East-Transdanubian Region. p. 51–60.

Turkish border stiffened and it had to be protected from the inner part of Hungary. A large number of Serb people moved to Hungary that time. Even if we have to be careful about the number in historic records, we can assume that about 30000 Serbs moved to Hungary. The chamber administration in Buda reported about the settling of 2000 families, about half of them settled in Szentendre, the others along the Danube led by Milutinovics, a judge from Belgrade. These people were not only refugees but they settled down as a nation with their religion and secular rights, religious and secular leaders and with all their possessions. The minority - craftsmen and tradesmen - settled in various Hungarian towns, usually where Serb people had already lived. Most of the people - who were soldiers, farmers or shepherds -, settled in Transdanubia, between the river Danube and the river Tisza, and along the bank of the river Maros. The people living in villages near the Danube played an important role in the fluvial transport and trade. Their ships carried cloth from the Balkan, salt and wood from Transylvania, wheat from the Southern region, cattle and hide from the Great Plain. In 1693 most of the Serbs, about 24000 people, lived in Szentendre and in its surroundings. They had about 300 ships. About 6000 Serbs lived in Buda and many of them settled down in nearby towns and villages as well. Soon there were conflicts between the feudal pretensions of the noblemen and the Serbs. The settlements were often sources of conflicts with the noble counties, the power of noblemen and the Catholic Church. Most people complained that they were disturbed in their religion and an attempt was made to convert them into Catholicism. The center of the Serbian inhabitants was Szentendre, Arzén Csernojevics also settled there with his priests, and built a wooden church for the relics of prince Lazarevics and despot Brankovics. In 1691 King Leopold I. confirmed the power of the patriarch in a charter. There was a new situation with the Peace Treaty of Karlóca in 1699, which stabilised the borderlines formed after the war with the Turks. The hope for the conquest of the Serb land had fallen through. So the settlement and sheltering of the refugees - considered as temporary and transitional until that time - had to be changed into permanent settling. The metropolitan moved to Karlóca as well. Most of the people who chose the military service settled down in the border region, which had been created for them. However, the inhabitants of the villages by the bank of the Danube and the people choosing the civil lifestyle in towns refused to move. In the Turkish war of 1716-1718 the northern part of Serbia and Bánság was liberated from the Turkish occupation. By then the re-settlement of the Serbs was out of question. The Court of Vienna wanted to take advantage of the Serbian military service against the Thököly uprising and later against the Rákóczi Fight for Freedom. The Serbs joined the Court in the Fight for Freedom, which was honoured by Emperor Joseph with new privilege letters (1706). Later on Charles III. and Mary Theresa organised their relations with the Serbs in a similar way. In 1706 Patriarch Csernajevics died. With his death one of the greatest diplomats of the Serbs passed away. After this it was getting more obvious that the Court only considered the Serbian nation important when they wanted to rely on their military service. In the middle of the 18

th century Russian agents came to the Serb populated regions of Hungary in search of soldiers who were recruited and escorted to Russia. It was an easy choice for the Serbs because Russia was an empire sharing a common religion with them. Therefore, more than 100 000 Serbs immigrated to southern Russia in 1751 and 1753 and settled down there forming the two colonies of Nova Sribja and Slaveno Sribja. By that time the patriarchy of Ipek was absolutely unacceptable for the Turks especially after the Serbian movement against them in 1739. The leader of the movement was the patriarch (Arzén IV.) who - just like his predecessor - had to escape after losing Belgrade. His followers found homes in Syrmia and in the border region. Finally the patriarchy was abolished in 1766. The Independent Serbian Church came to an end with this event. From that date the Serbian church existed only in the organisation which had been exported to Hungary in 1690. The representatives of the church had a distinctive position in the Serb society. Instead of the logically constructed dogmatic system, the traditional rites became the base of the religious life. So orthodoxy during the time of Feudalism could come close to the masses, liturgy could fit in to the system of folk custom, religion was the cohesive power. The Serbs were wedged in other nations with different religion. In this way they had to stick to their religion in order to survive. It was a sign of oppression for them when the rights and autonomy of their church were restricted. The leading position of the Greek Orthodox religion greatly determined the cultural development of the Serbs. However, impacts of Hungarian culture could be discovered, resulting from the co-habitation with Hungarians. Because of the lack of higher institutions, the children of Serb noblemen, town dwellers and soldiers were educated in Hungarian Protestant schools in the first place. Then the Habsburg education policy introduced the system of low and normal schools. The Serb students received a Latin secular education. In such towns as Pest, Buda, Szentendre or Székesfehérvár the social differentiation created intellectuals who contributed significantly to the making of the nation. As a typical representative Jovan Muskativovics could be mentioned. He was the first Serbian lawyer, writer and member of the town council in Pest. Another example was the first Serbian woman painter Katarina Ivanovics. 59