Hungarian invasions of Europe

Quick Facts: Who was Hungarian invasions of Europe?

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Hungarian invasions of Europe

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A series of destructive military campaigns by the Magyars across Europe in the 9th and 10th centuries.

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Origins & Early Life

The Hungarian invasions of Europe (Hungarian: kalandozások, German: Ungarneinfälle) occurred in the 9th and 10th centuries, during the period of transition in the history of Europe of the Early Middle Ages, when the territory of the former Carolingian Empire was threatened by invasion by the Magyars (Hungarians) from the east, the Viking expansion from the north, and the Arabs from the south. The Hungarians took possession of the Carpathian Basin (corresponding to the later Kingdom of Hungary) in a planned manner, with a long period of settlement between 862 and 895, and launched a number of campaigns both westward into former Francia and southward into the Byzantine Empire. The westward raids were stopped only with the Magyar defeat at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, which led to the revival of the Holy Roman Empire in 962, producing a new political order in Western Europe. The raids into Byzantine territories continued throughout the 10th century until the eventual Christianisation of the Magyars and the establishment of the Christian Kingdom of Hungary in 1000. The first supposed reference to the Hungarians in war is in the 9th century: in 811, the Hungarians (Magyars) were in alliance with Krum of Bulgaria against Emperor Nikephoros I possibly at the Battle of Pliska in the Haemus Mountains (Balkan Mountains).

Career & Major Achievements

Georgius Monachus' work mentions that around 837 the Bulgarian Empire sought an alliance with the Hungarians. Constantine Porphyrogenitus wrote in his work On Administering the Empire that the Khagan and the Bek of the Khazars asked the Emperor Theophilos to have the fortress of Sarkel built for them. This record is thought to refer to the Hungarians on the basis that the new fortress must have become necessary because of the appearance of a new enemy of the Khazars, and no other people could have been the Khazars’ enemy at that time. In the 10th century, Ahmad ibn Rustah wrote that "earlier, the Khazars entrenched themselves against the attacks of the Magyars and other peoples". In 860–861, Hungarians attacked Saint Cyril's convoy, but the meeting is said to have ended peacefully.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

(Saint Cyril was traveling to the Khagan at (or near) Chersonesos Taurica, which had been captured by the Khazars.) Muslim geographers recorded that the Magyars regularly attacked the neighboring East Slavic tribes in this period, and took captives to sell to the Byzantine Empire at Kerch. There are descriptions of Hungarian raids into the eastern Carolingian Empire in 862. In 881, the Hungarians and the Kabars invaded East Francia and fought two battles, the former (Ungari) at Wenia (probably Vienna) and the latter (Cowari) at Culmite (possibly Kulmberg or Kollmitz in Austria). In 892, according to the Annales Fuldenses, King Arnulf of East Francia invaded Great Moravia, and the Magyars joined his troops. After 893, Magyar warriors were conveyed across the Danube by the Byzantine fleet and defeated the Bulgarians in three battles (at the Danube, Silistra, and Preslav).

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1000: 1000 Milestone — The raids into Byzantine territories continued throughout the 10th century until the eventual Christianisation of the Magyars and the establishment of the Christian Kingdom of Hungary in 1000.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Hungarian invasions of Europe

True or False: “The Hungarian invasions were entirely stopped after the Battle of Lechfeld in 955.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While the battle checked their major expansion, raids on the Byzantine Empire continued until 970.

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