The Eighth Tribe, 1976 (3. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1976-02-01 / 2. szám
February, 1976 THE EIGHTH TRIBE Page 3 Editor’s Note: The EIGHTH TRIBE continues to publish the History of the Hungarian Nation. All references in the presentation apply to Hungary as it was prior to the Trianon Treaty of 1918. THE HISTORY OF THE HUNGARIAN NATION — continued from January, 1976 issue — During the second half of the 9th century, a Turkic people, the warring Petchenegs, exerted pressure on the Magyars, who then began their historical westward migration, severing all connections with the tottering Kazar Empire. From 830 to 889 we find the Magyars between the Don and the Dnieper. This region they named Levedia after one of their chieftains. Previous to 830, some of the Magyar tribes broke away from the main body, and took no part in the migratory movement. These people called their country Greater Hungary (Magna Hungária), and preserved their language to a remarkable degree. In the thirteenth century Father Julian, a Hungarian monk and one of the outstanding explorers of his day, visited them, and they had no difficulty in understanding each other. This tribe, however, disappeared soon afterwards under the tremendous onslaught of Mongol hordes. Gradually forced westward, as far as the lowland that lies north of the Danube estuary, the Rumanian lowland of today, which they named Etelköz, the Magyars arrived within range of the conflict between the Byzantine Empire and the eastern peoples. While they fought the Bulgars as allies of the Greek Emperor, the latter deserted them just in the crucial moment when the Petchenegs launched a vicious attack against them. This forced the Magyars to unite under one leader and consequently they elected Árpád, son of Álmos of the Magyeri tribe, as their Prince. Following an ancient custom of nomadic peoples, the seven heads of the seven Magyar tribes cut their veins and mixed the blood in a vessel, thus sealing their loyalty to one another and to their ruler. Árpád led his people out of their exposed position in Etelköz into the Carpathian Basin. The majority of the Magyars entered through the Yerecke Pass, in the northeast of present-day Hungary. Three years before Árpád’s entry, this country had witnessed a foray by Magyar warriors on their way to Svatopluk’s Moravian principality, against which they were campaigning as allies of Emperor Arnulf. Hungary has existed on its present site since 893, when the Magyars finally took possession of it as their permanent home. According to mediaeval belief, which erroneously held them to be descendants of Attila, the Magyars inherited the Carpathian Basin as a legacy. This tradition of relationship between the Huns and Magyars, current as late as the nineteenth century, was nothing but a legend of the Árpád dynasty, preserved because of past dynastic associations with the Huns, and accepted by the entire people. Of the seven tribes, the largest was the Magyar, after which the state and its inhabitants were named. The word Magyar, or Magyeri, is of Finno-Ugric origin. The second tribe bore the name of Nyék, probably of Turkic origin, since they fought in the forefront as tribes who joined the main body generally were obliged to. Such was the Kabar remnant which joined the Magyars after the dissolution of the Kazar Empire. The third tribe was known as Kiirt- Gyarmat; the fourth, Tarjan; the fifth, Jenő; the sixth, Kér; and the seventh Keszi. All these are preserved to this day as place names. It is not definitely proved whether the Székely tribe, also of Turkic organization, came in with the Magyars or joined them after the conquest, having been left behind by the Avars. Be that as it may, the Székelys were a Magyar-speaking people, and have always considered themselves as Magyars. According to contemporary historians, the Magyars, composed of one large body of Finno-Ugric people and several smaller tribes of predominantly Turkic origin, were a united, disciplined people. They believed in the super-natural mission of their ruler and his successors. As was customary with nomadic peoples, each tribe endeavored to trace its origin to some mythical animal (totemism) whose emblem they wore. The totem of the Árpáds was a legendary hawk, known to the early Magyars as the “turul”. To contemporary foreign observers the outstanding characteristic of the Magyars was their military power. Leo the Wise of Byzantium wrote of them: “This people abounds in men and is independent. Aside from their love of pomp and abundant life, their chief aim is to fight bravely against any invader”. The Magyars, with their fast horses, were able to cover great distances in a comparatively short time: thus the heavily-armored feudal armies of the West were for a long time helpless against them. Among the Magyar’s tactics, a favorite device was the hasty retreat, a successful ruse, for their strong flanks annihilated the charging enemy with disastrous
