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Hungarian invasions of Europe

The Hungarian invasions of Europe 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.

History
Before the conquest of Hungary (9th century) 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). 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. 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) In 892, according to the Annales Fuldenses, King Arnulf of East Francia invaded Great Moravia, and the Magyars joined his troops. probably under the leadership of Árpád, the Hungarians (Magyars) crossed the Carpathians and entered the Carpathian Basin (the plains of Hungary, approximately). In 899, these Magyars defeated Berengar's army in the Battle of Brenta River and invaded the northern regions of Italy. They pillaged the countryside around Treviso, Vicenza, Verona, Brescia, Bergamo and Milan, In 902, they led a campaign against northern Moravia and defeated the Moravians, whose country was annihilated. The Magyars defeated three large Frankish imperial armies between 907 and 910, as follows. In 907 they defeated the invading Bavarians near Brezalauspurc, destroying their army, successfully defending Hungary and laying Great Moravia, Germany, France and Italy open to Magyar raids. On 3 August 908 the Hungarians won the Battle of Eisenach in Thuringia; Finally, the Magyars defeated Louis the Child's united Frankish imperial army at the first Battle of Lechfeld in 910. Smaller groups of Magyars penetrated as far as Bremen in 915. In 919, after the death of Conrad I of Germany, the Magyars raided Saxony, Lotharingia, and West Francia. In 921, they defeated King Berengar's enemies at Verona and reached Apulia in 922. others question the reliability of this account, because there is no proof of this interpretation in other records. and Italy as far as Otranto in the south. In 938, the Magyars repeatedly attacked Saxony. took place, according to Ibn Hayyan's work. In 947, Bulcsú, a chieftain of Taksony, led a raid into Italy as far as Apulia, and King Berengar II of Italy had to buy peace by paying a large amount of money to him and his followers. The Battle of Lechfeld in 955, in which the Magyars lost approximately 5,000 warriors, finally checked their expansion although raids on the Byzantine Empire continued until 970. (Lechfeld is south of Augsburg, in present-day southern Germany.) Between 899 and 970, according to the contemporary sources, the researchers count 45 (according to Nagy Kálmán) or 47 (according to Szabados György 38 to West and 9 to East) raids in different parts of Europe. From these campaigns only 8 (17.5%) were unsuccessful (901, 913, 933, 943, 948, 951, 955, 970) and 37 ended with success (82.5%). File:Pál Vágó (1853-1928) painter The Hungarian at Kiev (1896-99).jpg|The Hungarians at Kiev (Pál Vágó, 1896–99) File:Hungarian warrior.jpg|Fresco about a Hungarian warrior (Italy) File:Europe around 900.jpg|Europe around 900 File:ArpadstatueHerosSquareBudapest.jpg|Grand Prince Árpád's sculpture in Budapest File:Hungarian_warriors.jpg|Hungarian warriors (oil on canvas) ==Timeline of the Hungarian invasions==
Timeline of the Hungarian invasions
Before the Hungarian Conquest • 811: The Hungarians were in alliance with Krum of Bulgaria against Emperor Nikephoros I at the Battle of Pliska in the Haemus Mountains (Balkan Mountains). • 861: Saint Cyril was attacked in Crimea by Hungarians "screaming like wolves", but seeing him praying, they became peaceful. • 862: First raid of the Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin at the request of Rastislav of Moravia against East Francia. • 881: Hungarian troops, helping the Moravians, fought two battles against the Germans. • 892: Hungarian troops attacked Great Moravia in alliance with the East Francian king Arnulf of Carinthia. • 894 • In alliance with Svatopluk I of Moravia, the Hungarians attacked the East Francian province of Pannonia. Svatopluk died during this war. • The Bulgarians, led by Simeon I of Bulgaria, attacked the Byzantines, who asked for Hungarian help. A Hungarian army, led by Liüntika, defeated the Bulgarian army in three battles (at the Danube, Silistra and Preslav), • 895: Simeon allied with the Pechenegs to attack the Hungarians, forcing them to retreat west towards the Carpathian Basin. The Hungarians then conquered the eastern parts of the Carpathian Basin (those east of the river Danube). Then, the Hungarians defeated the Bulgarians in Southern Transylvania and Tiszántúl, ending their power in the Carpathian Basin. After the Hungarian conquest • 899: The Hungarians attacked the Italian Kingdom, and defeated the army of Berengar I of Italy on 24 September, in the Battle of Brenta, burning Modena, and attacking Venice. Berengar agreed to pay them tribute. • 900: The Hungarians conquered Pannonia, after their proposal of alliance to the East Francians was rejected. This was another step in the Hungarian Conquest. • 901 • The Hungarians attacked Carinthia and Northern Italy. • April 11 or 18: The Magyar army from Carinthia was defeated by Margrave Ratold at Laibach. • 902: The Hungarians conquered the eastern parts of Great Moravia, completing the Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin, and began forcing the Slavs west and north of this region to pay tribute to them. • 903: A Hungarian force raiding in Bavaria was defeated near the river Fischa. • 906: Two successive Hungarian armies devastated the Duchy of Saxony. The Magyars were asked to come by the Slavic tribe of Dalamancians, which had been threatened by Saxon attacks. • July–August: The Hungarians assailed Bavaria, causing great destruction and occupying many towns. Returning home, they defeated a Bavarian army at Lengenfeld. The Hungarian-Bavarian border was then fixed on the Enns river. • 908: Hungarians attacked Thuringia and Saxony, and on 3 August defeated in the Battle of Eisenach the army of Burchard, Duke of Thuringia. Burchard, Egino, Duke of Thuringia, and Rudolf I, Bishop of Würzburg, were killed in the battle. • 909 • Spring: Hungarians raided in Bavaria and Swabia. • August 4: Hungarians burned the two churches of Freising in Bavaria. • August 11: The returning Hungarians were defeated at Pocking by a Bavarian army led by Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria. • 911: Hungarian troops crossed Bavaria and attacked Swabia and Franconia, plundering the lands from Meinfeld to Aargau. After that, they crossed the Rhine, and attacked Burgundy for the first time. • 912: Hungarians attacked Franconia and Thuringia, hoping to force the new East Francian king, Conrad I of Germany, to pay them tribute. • 914: Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria and his family was forced to flee to Hungary by king Conrad I of Germany. The Hungarians promised him help to regain his throne. • 915: A Hungarian army devastated Swabia, and then Franconia. One of their plundering units attacked the Fulda monastery but was repelled. Hungarians burned the Abbey of Corvey and plundered the monastery St. Ida in Herzfeld. In Saxony, the Hungarians plundered Valun and burned Bremen, and after defeating a Saxon army at Eresburg, they reached the Danish border. • Hungarians allegedly helped Simeon I of Bulgaria to defeat the Byzantines in the great Battle of Achelous, but their involvement was described by a single 11th-century source, Miracula Sancti Georgii, which is inconsistent with contemporary records. • 919–920 • After the election of Henry the Fowler as the new king of East Francia, a Hungarian army entered Germany, and defeated Henry's forces in the Battle of Püchen, then headed west into Lotharingia and modern France. King Charles the Simple could not gather enough forces to face them in a battle, forcing him to retreat and allow them to plunder his realm. • 921–922 • In 921, a Hungarian army led by Dursac and Bogát entered Northern Italy, annihilating between Brescia and Verona, the forces of the Italian supporters of Rudolf II of Burgundy, killing the palatine Odelrik, and taking captive Gislebert, the count of Bergamo. • This army proceeded into southern Italy, where it wintered, and in January 922 plundered the regions between Rome and Naples. • February 4: The Magyar army assailed Apulia in Southern Italy, ruled by the Byzantines. • 924 • Campaign in Italy and Southern France • Spring: Rudolf II of Burgundy was elected king of Italy in Pavia by the Italian insurgents . Emperor Berengar I of Italy asked the Hungarians for aid; they sent an army led by Szalárd, which burned Pavia and the war galleys on the shores of the Ticino river. • April 7: When emperor Berengar was assassinated in Verona, the Hungarians turned towards Burgundy. Rudolf II of Burgundy and Hugh of Arles tried to encircle them in the passes of the Alps, but the Hungarians escaped from the ambush, and attacked Gothia and the outskirts of Nîmes. They returned home because a plague broke out among them. • Campaign in Saxony • Another Hungarian army plundered Saxony. The German king Henry the Fowler retreated to the castle of Werla. A Hungarian noble happened to be captured by the Germans, which King Henry used as an opportunity to negotiate peace with the Hungarians, agreeing to pay tribute to the Principality of Hungary. • 926 • May 1–8: Hungarian armies entered Swabia, as allies of the new Italian king, Hugh of Italy, besieged Augsburg, and then occupied the Abbey of Sankt Gallen, where they spared the life of the monk Heribald, whose accounts give a detailed description of their traditions and way of life. From the abbey, they sent minor units to reconnoiter and plunder the surroundings, one of which killed Saint Wiborada, who lived as anchoress in a wood nearby. • After May 8: The Magyars besieged Konstanz, burning its outskirts and headed West in the direction of Schaffhausen and Basel. One group was defeated by the locals at Säckingen on the shores of the Rhine. However, the main Hungarian army crossed the Rhine into Alsace with captured ships, and defeated the forces of Count Liutfred. Then, following the Rhine, they proceeded north, looting the area of Voncq, reached the Atlantic Ocean's shores, then returned home via Reims. On their way home, they renewed the alliance with Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria. • July 29: The Hungarians destroyed Oberkirchen. • 927: ? Hungarian fighters are called by King Hugh of Italy to help Margrave Peter regain his power in Rome, against Pope John X; this succeeded. During and after these events, they plundered Tuscany and Apulia, taking many captives, and occupying the cities of Oria and Taranto. • 931: A Hungarian army burned the Italian city of Piacenza. • 933 • Beginning of March: Because the German king, Henry the Fowler, refused to continue to pay tribute to the Principality of Hungary, a Magyar army invaded Saxony from the lands of the Slavic tribe of Dalamancians. The Hungarians split into two main groups, but the group that tried to outflank Saxony from the west was defeated by the combined forces of Saxony and Thuringia near Gotha. • March 15: The other army besieged Merseburg, but was then defeated in the Battle of Riade by Henry the Fowler's army. • Balkans • War broke out between the Hungarians and the Pechenegs, but a peace was concluded after news arrived of a Bulgarian invasion of their territories being prepared in the town of W.l.n.d.r (probably Belgrade). The Hungarians and the Pechenegs decided to attack this town. • April: The Hungarian-Pecheneg army defeated, in the Battle of W.l.n.d.r, the relieving Byzantine-Bulgarian forces, then conquered the city, and plundered it for three days. • May–June: The allies plundered Bulgaria, then headed towards Constantinople, where they camped for 40 days, sacking Thrace and taking many captives. The Byzantine Empire concluded a peace treaty with the Hungarians, ransoming the captives and agreeing to pay tribute to the Principality of Hungary. • 935: Hungarians raided Aquitaine and Bourges. They returned home via Burgundy and Northern Italy, where they plundered the environs of Brescia. • Autumn: One Hungarian group returning home was ambushed in the Abruzzo Mountains by local forces, and lost its plunder. • 940 April: The Hungarian auxiliary troops helping Hugh of Italy in his campaign against Rome were victorious at Lateran against the Roman nobles, but are then defeated by the Longobards. • The Hungarians plundered the region of Latium and defeated a sortie against them from Rome. • 943 • Balkans • Allied with the Kievan Rus, a Hungarian army invaded the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos bought peace, and agreed to pay a yearly tribute to the Hungarians. • Bavaria • The Hungarians who invaded Bavaria were defeated in the Battle of Wels by Berthold, Duke of Bavaria and the Carantanians. • 948: Two Hungarian armies invaded Bavaria and Karintia. One of them was defeated at Flozzun in Nordgau by Henry I, Duke of Bavaria. • 949 August 9: The Hungarians defeated the Bavarians at Laa. • 950: Henry I, Duke of Bavaria attacked Western Hungary, taking captives and plunder. • The Hungarians plundered the regions of Hesbaye and Carbonaria in today's Belgium, plundered and burned the Monastery of Saint Lambert of Hainaut, plundered the monastery of Moorsel, and sacked the cities of Gembloux and Tournai. • April 2: They besieged the Lobbes Abbey, but the monks successfully defended the monastery. However, the Hungarians burned the church of Saint Paul, and took with them the treasures of the abbey. • April 6–10: The Hungarians besieged the city of Cambrai and burned its outskirts, but were unable to conquer the city. One of Bulcsú's relatives was killed by the defenders, who refused to return his body to the Hungarians, who responded by killing all of their captives and burning the monastery of Saint Géry, near Cambrai. • After April 6: The Hungarians crossed the French border, plundering the lands around Laon, Reims, Chalon, Metz, Gorze. After that, they returned home via Burgundy and Northern Italy. • In Provence, a Hungarian army battled with Arabs from the Muslim enclave of Fraxinet, when Conrad I of Burgundy fell on them by surprise and defeated both armies. • 955 • Middle of July: Called by the Bavarian and Saxonian rebels, a Hungarian army led by Bulcsú, Lehel, Sur, and Taksony burst into Germany, plundering Bavaria, then entered Swabia and burned many monasteries. • Beginning of August: The Hungarians began besieging Augsburg. • August 10: The German army of Otto I defeated the main Hungarian army and puts it to flight at the Battle of Lechfeld. Despite the victory, the German losses were heavy, among them many nobles: Conrad, Duke of Lorraine, Count Dietpald, Ulrich count of Aargau, the Bavarian count Berthold, etc. • August 10–11: The Germans captured Bulcsú, Lehel, and Sur. Many Hungarians were slain in flight by the Germans. • August 15: Bulcsú, Lehel, and Sur were hanged in Regensburg, ending the Hungarian invasions of western Europe. • 958 April–May: Because in 957, the Byzantines ceased the payment of tribute, a Hungarian army, led by Apor, invaded the empire and plundered its territories as far as Constantinople, but on its return, was defeated by the Byzantines in a night attack. • 961: A Hungarian army invaded Thrace and Macedonia, but was defeated in another night attack. • 968: A Hungarian force invades the Byzantine Empire, and splits into two groups. Near Thessaloniki, one group of 300 men takes 500 Greek captives, bringing them back to Hungary. The other group of 200 men was ambushed by the Byzantines, who took 40 of them captive. Some became bodyguards of emperor Nikephoros II Phokas. • 970: Sviatoslav I of Kiev invaded the Byzantine Empire with Hungarian auxiliary troops. The Byzantines defeated Sviatoslav's army in the Battle of Arcadiopolis. This concluded the Hungarian invasions of Europe. ==Tactics==
Tactics
Their army used mostly highly mobile light cavalry. Attacking without warning, they quickly plundered the countryside and departed before any defensive force could be organized. If forced to fight, they would harass their enemies with arrows and suddenly retreat, which would tempt their opponents to break ranks and pursue, and the Hungarians would then turn to fight them singly. This tactic is formally known as a feigned retreat. ==Summary of battles==
Aftermath
The Hungarians were the last invading people to establish a permanent presence in Central Europe. In the following centuries, the Hungarians adopted western European forms of feudal military organization, including the predominant use of heavily armored cavalry. == Sources ==
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