Historically, the region of Baranya was part of the
Roman Empire, the
Hunnic Empire, the Kingdom of the
Ostrogoths, the Kingdom of the
Lombards, the
Avar Kingdom, the
Frankish Empire, the
Balaton Principality, the
Bulgarian Empire, the
Kingdom of Hungary, the
Ottoman Empire, the
Habsburg monarchy, the
Austrian Empire and
Austria-Hungary. For most of the 20th century, the region was divided between
Hungary and
Yugoslavia. Since 1991, it has been split between
Croatia and Hungary. The region of Baranya was settled by the
Slavs in the 6th century, and in the 9th century, it was part of the Slavic
Lower Pannonian Principality.
Hungarians arrived in the area in the 9th century, and
Baranya county arose as one of the first
comitatus of the
Kingdom of Hungary, in the 11th century. This county included not only the present-day region of Baranya, but also one part of present-day
Slavonia, on the southern side of the river
Drava. In the 16th century, the
Ottoman Empire captured Baranya, and included it into the
sanjak of
Mohács, an Ottoman administrative unit, with the seat in the town of
Mohaç. Later the sanjak of
Peçuy was created from the northwestern part of the Mohaç Sanjak. After Ottoman rule was established the area was settled by people from
Bosnia. In the late the 17th century Baranya was captured by the
Habsburg monarchy and Baranya County was restored within the
Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. Under the Habsburgs the area was settled by Germans; the total number of German settlers who emigrated from different parts of Germany to Hungary between 1686 and 1829 is estimated at 150,000. The official name
Danube Swabians has been used for this population group since 1922.
Croats moved from Bosnia into Slavonia and Baranja
en masse after the Ottoman retreat, and this population is today known as the
Šokci. In 1918, the entire region was captured by
Serbian troops. The
Great People's Assembly of Serbs, Bunjevci and other Slavs in Banat, Bačka and Baranja was an assembly held in
Novi Sad on 25 November 1918, which proclaimed the
unification of Banat, Bačka and Baranya with the
Kingdom of Serbia. It would subsequently be administered by the newly created
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as Yugoslavia). For a short time (in 1918–1919), Baranya was part of
Banat, Bačka and Baranja region, which was governed by the People's Administration from
Novi Sad. By the
Treaty of Trianon (part of the Versailles peace) in 1920, the Baranya region was formally divided between Hungary and the Yugoslavia, but de facto remained under the administration of the latter until 1921. On 14 August 1921, the Serb-Hungarian
Baranya-Baja Republic was proclaimed. It included northern parts of Baranya and
Bačka regions, which were assigned to Hungary by the treaty. On 21–25 August 1921, the Republic was abolished and its territory was included into Hungary, as was previously decided by the Treaty of Trianon. The northern part of Baranya in Hungary became the Hungarian Baranya county. (1944) The southern (Yugoslav) part of the region was part of Novi Sad county between 1918 and 1922, part of
Bačka Oblast between 1922 and 1929, and in 1929 it was included into the
Danube Banovina, a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In 1941, the
Yugoslav Baranya was occupied by Hungary, but it was returned to Yugoslavia in 1944. In 1944–1945, Yugoslav Baranya was part of the
Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, while in 1945 it was assigned to the
People's Republic of Croatia. During the
Croatian War of Independence in 1991 it came under the control of the self-proclaimed
SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Srem, which became part of the unrecognized self-declared
Republic of Serbian Krajina. After the war ended (in 1995), it was peacefully integrated into Croatia in 1998, by the
Erdut Agreement. According to the agreement, it was administered by the
administration of the United Nations from 1996 to 1998, when it was returned to full sovereignty of Croatia. Today, it is part of that republic's
Osijek-Baranja County. ==Stifolder==