Garam Éva szerk.: Between East and West - History of the peoples living in hungarian lands (Guide to the Archaeological Exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum; Budapest, 2005)

HALL 6 - Barbarians of the Roman Age (turn of the millennium-early 5th century A.D.) (Eszter Istvánovits, Valéria Kulcsár)

number of barbarian troops in the Roman army grew at an alarming rate. Only few emperors died a natural death. One of the main signs of the crisis was the abandonment of Dacia in 271. The westward advance of the Huns from China's borders triggered the migration of the Germanic tribes in their path, many of whom sought refuge in Hungary (Gepids, Goths, Scirs and others). Germanic finds begin to appear among the Sarmatian assemblages of the Great Hungarian Plain from the late 4th century. Sarmatian-Roman relations continued to dominate events in the region, especially during the Tetrarchy - a total of seven campaigns were conducted against the Sarmatians between 284-305. However, Germanic peoples too began to play an increasingly important role. The Sarmatians' troubles were aggravated by an internal strife, mentioned in several Roman sources. It would appear that the Goths fleeing the Hunnish advance moved towards the Great Hungarian Plain from the Maros valley. The terrified "free Sarmatians" armed the so-called "servant Sarmatians", but the latter turned their weapons against their overlords. It is unclear whether these terms reflect social categories or rather an armed conflict between different Sarmatian tribal groups. The crisis dragged on for some ten years, ending in 334. By this time, the Romans permitted the mass settlement of barbarian peoples throughout the empire. The construction of a large rampart system encircling the Great Hungarian Plain, known as the Csörsz Dyke, perhaps reflects the weakening of Sarmatian power. The over 1260 km long defensive line, made up of several parallel ramparts along some sections, was in all likelihood erected under the direction of Roman military engineers and its function was to protect the Sarmatian settlement territory from the incursion of the Germanic peoples. However, it was only able to fulfil this purpose for a short time. Archaeologists base their reconstructions of historical events, religious beliefs, myths and various aspects of daily life on the burial finds and the scant settlement remains. The weapons deposited into graves can be of help in visualising warfare and battle tactics (the number of burials with weapons suddenly increased in the late Roman Age). The typical weaponry of the age (cuirass, swords, spears and shields) is illustrated by the tropaeum, the arms taken from the enemy, often depicted on coins, triumphal arches and columns commemorating major campaigns (such as the famous Trajan's Column, still standing in Rome). The Roman historical accounts chronicling the troubles and turmoils of the late Roman period paint a rather confused picture of the Barbaricum: accounts of what happened are often contradictory and, very soon, the sources simply fall silent. What seems certain from the literary sources is that the ethnic mosaic of eastern Hungary changed during the decades preceding the Hunnish invasion. The archaeological record suggests that the whirlwind invasion of the Huns did not bring death and destruction to the peoples remaining in the Great Hungarian Plain. Traces of a drastic devastation could only be noted on a few settlements from this period. It was hardly in the interest of the invading Huns to massacre the subdued peoples. We know from various sources that the name of the conquerors was often transferred to the conquered peoples. In a letter written to the Chinese Emperor in 176, the Hun ruler noted that "by favour of the heavens, warriors were healthy, horses strong, and they conquered the people. Having put to the sword or subdued everybody, the inhabitants of these new possessions joined the Hunnish armies and became Huns." The Sarmatians and the Germanic peoples of the Great Hungarian Plain thus became Huns in the 5th century - even though most of them continued their earlier life, they were nonetheless forced to adapt to some extent to their new role as "Huns". These events were the prelude to a new chapter in the history of the Carpathian Basin.