Gyöngyössy Márton (szerk.): Perspectives on the Past. Major Excavations in County Pest (Szentendre, 2008)
The Conquest period and the Árpádian Age (895-1301 AD) (6100-4500 BC) (4500-2700 BC) (2700/2500-800 BC) ©he environment of County Pest differed but little from the present one in the Conquest period, the only difference being that the woodland cover of the hilly regions was more extensive and that there were more waterways. The one-time branches of the River Danube could be navigated by boats before the river’s regulation. Following the arrival of the ancient Hungarians around 895-900, more-or-less permanent villages evolved but gradually because the population pursued a semi-nomadic life-style based on stockbreeding. During the fifty years following their arrival, Hungarian troops regularly went on raiding expeditions in various regions of Europe with the purpose of acquiring booty. The defeat of the ancient Hungarians in the Battle of Augsburg in 955 brought at end to these raiding campaigns. The baptism of Prince Géza in 972 and the first steps towards the organisation of a feudal state determined the subsequent history of the Hungarian people. Set in a European perspective, the historical significance of the Hungarian conquest is that it eventually led to the creation of a stable, multi-ethnic state on the borderland between Asia and Europe. The shift from a nomadic life-style of seasonal migration between winter and summer camps to settlement in permanent villages lasted for about a century. The settlement network in County Pest was organised around the princely settlement territories. It has been shown that the region along the Danube was divided between Prince Árpád and Prince Kurszán, with the former acquiring Csepel Island and the Danube bank, the latter the areas north of former Aquincum. Following the death of Prince Kurszán, his duties and his territories passed to Prince Árpád, and the territory was carved up between his offspring. The settlement territory of Prince Taksony lay along the eastern bank of the Danube. The archaeological record, however, does not reflect an early settlement in these areas. Our knowledge of the Conquest period (895/896-970/980) and the early Árpádian Age (up to the 12th century) principally comes from cemeteries. The various social groups of the communities using the cemeteries can be clearly distinguished based on the differences between the grave goods of the commoners and their leaders. County Pest is rich in finds of the Conquest period and the early Árpádian Age: weapons, jewellery, various tools and implements have been found at Visegrád, Dunabogdány, Törtei, Budakeszi, Nagykőrös, Páty, Kisoroszi, Soroksár, Vecsés and other sites. • Edit Tari 1. Aerial view of the 15th century church at Törökbálint 2. Ground plan of St. Mihály1 2 3’s Church in Vác 3. Reconstruction of the early Romanesque period of the church at Inárcs 4. House with ovens at the Budakalász settlement 3. 4.
