The Eighth Tribe, 1976 (3. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1976-02-01 / 2. szám
Page 4 THE EIGHTH TRIBE February, 1976 arrow-fire. This explains their ability to roam over Europe for decades without encountering any effective resistance. Before the coming of the Magyars, the Carpathian Basin had never seen a lasting national régime. Nor was there a compact political organization or a larger body of people in 895. Since the fall of the Avars, the Empire dominated the western border, and Bulgarian interests the eastern. In the mountains on the north lived Slavic peoples, ancestors of the Slovaks of today. There were also scattered Slavic settlements in Transdanubia, but these were too small to maintain their identity for long. In the east, in the present Transylvania, there were remnants of Bulgarian Slavs. There is much argument about the priority of the Rumanians in Transylvania. Rumanians claim that they are the descendants of the Romanized Dacians of the emperor Trajan’s day, who have lived uninterruptedly in Transylvania since Roman times. Many historians point out, however, that according to all available evidence, the Romans completely evacuated their Dacian settlements, and that from the third century to the twelfth, during the course of nearly a thousand years, not a single trace of the Dacians may be found in Transylvania—even if the Rumanians were their descendants. On the other hand there are chronological data concerning the Rumanians’ gradual immigration into Transylvania from the twelfth century onward. The Rumanian language itself points to a long sojourn on the western, now Albanian, shores of the Balkan peninsula. Since the immigration, cultural standing and role of the Rumanians is sufficiently described in historical sources, there seems little point in arguing about hypotheses that cannot be supported by proof. The Magyars first occupied the lowlands, gradually spreading out into the valleys of the surrounding mountains. They encountered remnants of many other racial migrants, and assimilated the smaller ones. The tribe of the ruler, Árpád, was allotted the most protected central zone in the vicinity of presentday Budapest. The other tribes surrounded them, still maintaining the strategy forced upon them during their centuries of roaming, i.e., they established defensive outposts in the east, expecting further westward expansion on the part of other peoples. The Magyars soon found that instead of steppes and nomadic tribes, mountains and peoples of different political structure were in their way. For a time the Magyars took many military expeditions, sweeping through western countries, — Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, and even Spain. These campaigns, causing people to fear the coming end of the world, as shown by the pious chroniclers of the Middle Ages, were not prompted, however, merely by a desire for looting, as recent documentary proofs bear out. This was the customary method followed by mounted peoples of the age of the great migrations, both to insure their own safety and to further political alliance with their reluctant neighbors. As a result they were able to conclude alliances with the principalities of Upper Italy, Bavaria and Saxony, all of which paid tribute to Hungary for a time. However, it was evident that since the possibilities of steppe-life were gone, the nomadic raids must come to an end. The 9th century was unboubtedly one of the most crucial in the history of Europe. In addition to inner strife that undermined most of the states, three consecutive waves of pagan invasion threatened the very foundations of Christianity. The Norsemen, from the north, the Moors from the south and the Magyars from the east all arrived at a time when the Christian civilization of Europe was in its early stages. We have to bear in mind that it was barely two hundred years since only the most westerly fringe of the continent was Christian. The succeeding century saw the Germans join the fold. On the north and the east, hastily organized dioceses and military “counties” guarded the border districts against the Danes, Slavs, and the Avars, who then inhabited the territory of Hungary. In 796, Charlemagne defeated the Avars, but after the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire into three parts the expansion of Christianity was weakened. Four counties stood on the eastern border of Christianity; the most southerly, known as Ostmark, the forerunner of Austria, faced the assaults of the new arrivals, the Magyars. Its strength was insufficient against the latter’s penetrating force. But the 10th century brought a revival of European resistance. Under its Saxon kings, the German Empire gained power. On the other hand, all Christianity became strengthened through the reform movement started in the French monastery of Cluny, France. Two decisive defeats were suffered by the roughriding Magyar warriors. The first blow was delivered in 933 by Emperor Henry I on the down of Lech, the second by Otto the Great in 955 at Augsburg. These campaigns decimated Magyar manhood. Thus, Magyar paganism, like that of the Avars before them, faced disintegration; and it became more and more evident that the Magyars were doomed unless they gave up their nomadic habits and chose the plowshare instead of the sword. — To be continued —
