Transcarpathia ( Ukrainian : Закарпаття , romanized : Zakarpattia , pronounced [zɐkɐrˈpatʲːɐ] ) is a historical region on the border between Central and Eastern Europe , mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast .
178-628: From the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin (at the end of the 9th century) to the end of World War I ( Treaty of Trianon in 1920), most of this region was part of the Kingdom of Hungary . In the interwar period , it was part of the First and Second Czechoslovak Republics . Before World War II, the region was annexed by the Kingdom of Hungary once again when Germany dismembered
356-577: A constitutional monarchy . However, it was obvious that the Allies would not accept any return of the Habsburgs . Earlier, Archduke Joseph August had declared himself regent , but he stood down after two weeks when the Allies refused to recognize him. It was thus decided to choose a regent to represent the monarchy until a settlement could be reached. Miklós Horthy , the last commanding admiral of
534-493: A "National Assembly" without any semblance of a democratic process, and effectively ordered to endorse incorporation into Czechoslovakia. He further asserts that Clemenceau had personally instructed the French general on the spot to get the area incorporated into Czechoslovakia "at all costs", so as to create a buffer separating Soviet Ukraine from Hungary, as part of the French anti-Communist " Cordon sanitaire " policy, and that it
712-750: A Slavic name, while the name of Keszthely preserved the Latin word for fortress ( castellum ), with Slavic mediation. Besides the Slavs, the presence of a German-speaking population can be demonstrated, based on toponyms. For example, the Hungarians adopted the Germanized form of the name of the river Vulka (whose name is of Slavic origin) and the document known as the Conversion of the Bavarians and
890-568: A Soviet-backed government under Béla Miklós was nominally left in control of the entire country. A High National Council was appointed in January to assume the regency, and included members of the Hungarian Communist Party , like Ernő Gerő , and later Mátyás Rákosi and László Rajk . Upon the kingdom's establishment soon after World War I, the country suffered from economic decline, budget deficits, and high inflation as
1068-565: A break of eleven years, the Hungarians returned to the Carpathian Basin in 892. They came to assist Arnulf of East Francia against Svatopluk I of Moravia. Widukind of Corvey and Liutprand of Cremona condemned the Frankish monarch for destroying the defense lines built along the empire's borders, because this also enabled the Hungarians to attack East Francia within a decade. Meanwhile Arnulf…could not overcome Sviatopolk, duke of
1246-473: A decision that happened parallel to other events that affected these proceedings. At the Paris Peace Conference , several other countries (including Hungary, Ukraine and Russia) laid claim to Carpathian Rus'. The Allies, however, had few alternatives to choosing Czechoslovakia. Hungary had lost the war and therefore gave up its claims; Ukraine was seen as politically unviable; and Russia was in
1424-836: A distinctive culture from the main Ruthenian -speaking areas. Over time, because of geographical and political isolation from the main Ruthenian-speaking territory, the inhabitants developed distinctive features. In 1526 the region was divided between the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary and the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom . Beginning in 1570 the latter transformed to the Principality of Transylvania , which soon fell under Ottoman suzerainty. The part of Transcarpathia under Habsburg administration
1602-747: A geographically unified but politically divided land, after acquiring thorough local knowledge of the area from the 860s onwards. After the end of the Avar Kaganate (c. 822), the Eastern Franks asserted their influence in Transdanubia , the Bulgarians to a small extent in the Southern Transylvania and the interior regions housed the surviving Avar population in their stateless state. According to one theory
1780-457: A grant of land, grass and water." When this message was delivered to the leader, he said with a smile: "Let them kill the horse with a wooden mallet, and throw the bridle on the field, and throw the golden saddle into the water of the Danube." To which the messenger replied: "And what loss will that be to them, lord? If you kill the horse, you will give food for their dogs; if you throw the bridle on
1958-447: A great deal of attention and training to archery on horse-back. A huge herd of horses, ponies and mares, follows them, to provide both food and milk and, at the same time, to give the impression of a multitude. Based on extant Hungarian chronicles, it is clear that more than one (occasionally extended) list existed of the peoples inhabiting the Carpathian Basin at the time of the Hungarian landtaking. Anonymus, for instance, first writes of
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#17327651118542136-687: A joint attack by the Pechenegs and the Bulgarians forced the Hungarians' hand. Kristó, Tóth and the theory's other adherents refer to the unanimous testimony provided by the Annals of Fulda , Regino of Prüm and Porphyrogenitus on the connection between the Hungarians' conflict with the Bulgar-Pecheneg coalition and their withdrawal from the Pontic steppes. An intermediate theory proposes that
2314-403: A large number of Hungarians and have shaved their own heads according to their heathen customs and they have sent them against our Christians, overcoming them, leading some away as captives, killing others, while still others, imprisoned, perished of hunger and thirst. Porphyrogenitus mentions that the Hungarians dwelled in a territory that they called " Atelkouzou " until their invasion across
2492-489: A long period the Slavs settled beside the Danube, where the Hungarian and Bulgarian lands now lie. From among these Slavs, parties scattered throughout the country and were known by appropriate names, according to the places where they settled. (...) [T]he [Volkhi] attacked the Danubian Slavs, settled among them, and did them violence... The Magyars passed by Kyiv over the hill now called Hungarian and on arriving at
2670-489: A male buried with the skull and legs of his horse) are attributed to pre-conquest Hungarians. However, these tombs may date to the 10th century. The Hungarians were organized into seven tribes that formed a confederation. Constantine Porphyrogenitus mentions this number. Anonymous seems to have preserved the Hungarian "Hetumoger" ("Seven Hungarians") denomination of the tribal confederation, although he writes of "seven leading persons" jointly bearing this name instead of
2848-613: A new Nazi-backed government , effectively turning Hungary into a German-occupied puppet state . After World War II, the country fell within the Soviet Union 's sphere of influence. It changed its name to the Hungarian State ( Hungarian : Magyar Állam ) and the Second Hungarian Republic was soon thereafter proclaimed in 1946, succeeded by the communist Hungarian People's Republic in 1949. Upon
3026-719: A new conflict in Central Europe; both countries were facing strong diplomatic pressures to avoid any military operations. Finally both parties accepted the arbitration of Germany and Italy, known as the Second Vienna Award , and as a result Northern Transylvania was assigned to Hungary. Shortly afterward, the Kingdom of Hungary joined the Axis powers . Hitler demanded that the Hungarian government follow Germany's military and racial agenda to avoid potential conflict in
3204-545: A number of professions. Later it scapegoated the Jews for the country's failing economy. In March 1944, responding to the advancing Soviet forces, Prime Minister Miklós Kállay , with Horthy's backing, established contacts with the Allies in order to open negotiations and switch sides; however, this became known to the Germans, who proceeded to invade Hungary and quickly overran the country, meeting only limited resistance. With
3382-719: A political organization. The Hetumoger confederation was strengthened by the arrival of the Kabars , who (according to Constantine) joined the Hungarians following their unsuccessful riot against the Khazar Khaganate . The Hungarians and the Kabars are mentioned in the longer version of the Annals of Salzburg , which relates that the Hungarians fought around Vienna , while the Kabars fought nearby at Culmite in 881. Madgearu proposes that Kavar groups were already settled in
3560-641: A pre-planned manner, with a long move-in between 862–895. Other theories assert that the Hungarians crossed the Carpathian Mountains following a joint attack by the Pechenegs and Bulgarians in 894 or 895. They first took control over the lowlands east of the river Danube and attacked and occupied Pannonia (the region to the west of the river) in 900. They exploited internal conflicts in Moravia and annihilated this state sometime between 902 and 906. The Hungarians strengthened their control over
3738-650: A referendum conducted in Subcarpathian Rus' in 1937. In November 1938, under the First Vienna Award —a result of the Munich Agreement — Czechoslovakia ceded southern Carpathian Rus to Hungary . The remainder of Subcarpathian Rus' received autonomy , with Andrej Bródy as prime minister of the autonomous government. After the resignation of the government following a local political crisis, Avhustyn Voloshyn became prime minister of
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#17327651118543916-525: A result of the loss of economically important territories under the Treaty of Trianon , including to Czechoslovakia , Romania , and Yugoslavia . The land losses of the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 caused Hungary to lose agricultural and industrial areas, making it dependent on exporting products from what agricultural land it had left to maintain its economy. Prime Minister István Bethlen 's government dealt with
4094-565: A sedentary (non-nomadic) way of life from the 8th century. The Avars' power was destroyed between 791 and 795 by Charlemagne , who occupied Transdanubia and attached it to his empire. Archaeological investigation of early medieval rural settlements at Balatonmagyaród , Nemeskér and other places in Transdanubia demonstrate that their main features did not change with the fall of the Avar Khaganate. New settlements appeared in
4272-528: A separate and unique Slavic group of Rusyns and some consider themselves to be both Rusyns and Ukrainians. To describe their home region, most of them use the term Zakarpattia (Trans-Carpathia; literally "beyond the Carpathian mountains"). This is contrasted implicitly with Prykarpattia (Ciscarpathia; "Near-Carpathia"), an unofficial region in Ukraine, to the immediate north-east of the central area of
4450-668: A small imperial troop. The Byzantines approached the Hungarians to hire them to fight the Bulgarians. Nicetas Sclerus, the Byzantine envoy, concluded a treaty with their leaders, Árpád and Kurszán (Kusan), and Byzantine ships transferred Hungarian warriors across the Lower Danube. The Hungarians invaded Bulgaria, forced Tzar Simeon to flee to the fortress of Dristra (now Silistra , Bulgaria) and plundered Preslav . An interpolation in Porphyrogenitus's work states that
4628-487: A smile, "In return for the gift let them have as much as they desire." ...Then [the Hungarians] sent another messenger to the leader and this was the message which he delivered: "Arpad and his people say to you that you may no longer stay upon the land which they bought of you, for with the horse they bought your earth, with the bridle the grass, and with the saddle the water. And you, in your need and avarice, made to them
4806-432: Is located in the regions on the northern Morava river , in the territory of the present-day Czech Republic and Slovakia. However, Constantine Porphyrogenitus places "great Moravia, the unbaptized" somewhere in the regions beyond Belgrade and Sirmium ( Sremska Mitrovica , Serbia). His report supported further theories on Moravia's location . For instance, Kristó and Senga propose the existence of two Moravias (one in
4984-512: Is unclear; at any rate, István was killed in an airplane crash in August that year, and a new Deputy Regent was not appointed. During his first ten years, Horthy led increased repression of Hungarian minorities. In 1920, the numerus clausus law formally placed limits on the number of minority students at university, and legalized corporal punishment for adults in criminal cases. Although the law seemingly applied in equal measure to all minorities,
5162-653: The Austro-Hungarian Navy , was chosen for this position on 1 March. Sándor Simonyi-Semadam was the first prime minister of Horthy's regency. In 1921 Charles returned in Hungary and tried to retake its throne , even trying to march on Budapest with some rebel troops in October 1921; however, his attempts failed as much of the Royal Hungarian Army remained loyal to Horthy and thus Charles
5340-696: The Balkans in the 7th century. Those who remained were conquered by Kievan Rus' in the late 10th century. In 896 the Hungarians crossed the Carpathian Range and migrated into the Pannonian Basin . Nestor's Chronicle wrote that Hungarian tribes had to fight against the Volochi and settled among Slavs when on their way to Pannonia. Prince Laborec fell from power under the efforts of
5518-563: The Carpathian Basin . They occasionally hired Hungarian horsemen as soldiers. Therefore, the Hungarians who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian Steppe east of the Carpathian Mountains were familiar with what would become their homeland when their conquest started. The Hungarian conquest started in the context of a "late or 'small' migration of peoples ". The Hungarians took possession of the Carpathian Basin in
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5696-597: The First Bulgarian Empire was also deeply involved in the Carpathian Basin in the 9th century. A late 10th-century Byzantine lexicon known as Suda adds that Krum of Bulgaria attacked the Avars from the southeast around 803. The Royal Frankish Annals narrates that the Abodrites inhabiting " Dacia on the Danube", most probably along the lower courses of the river Tisza, sought the assistance of
5874-498: The First Vienna Award reassigned the southern parts of Czechoslovakia to Hungary, and shortly after Czechoslovakia was abolished Hungary occupied and annexed the remainder of the Carpatho-Ukraine . After the successful revision policy Hungary sought further solutions to the remainder of its former territories and demanded the concession of Transylvanian territory from Romania. The Axis powers were not interested in opening
6052-661: The Franks against the Bulgars in 824. Bulgarian troops also invaded Pannonia, "expelled the Slavic chieftains and appointed Bulgar governors instead" in 827. An inscription at Provadia refers to a Bulgarian military leader named Onegavonais drowning in the Tisza around the same time. The emerging power of Moravia brought about a rapprochement between Bulgaria and East Francia in the 860s. King Arnulf of East Francia sent an embassy to
6230-546: The Hungarian land-taking ( Hungarian : honfoglalás , lit. 'taking/conquest of the homeland'), was a series of historical events ending with the settlement of the Hungarians in Central Europe in the late 9th and early 10th century. Before the arrival of the Hungarians, three early medieval powers, the First Bulgarian Empire , East Francia , and Moravia , had fought each other for control of
6408-581: The Hungarian prime minister . The succession after Horthy's death or resignation was never officially established; presumably the Hungarian Parliament would have selected a new regent, or possibly attempted to restore the Habsburgs under Crown Prince Otto . In January 1942, Parliament appointed Horthy's eldest son István as Deputy Regent and expected successor. Whether this represents an attempt to gradually re-establish monarchy in Hungary
6586-708: The Illuminated Chronicle , the Hungarians "remained quietly in Erdelw and rested their herds" there after their crossing because of an attack by eagles. The Hungarian chronicles preserved two separate lists of the Hungarians' leaders at the time of the conquest. Anonymus mentions Álmos, Előd , Künd , Ónd, Tas, Huba and Tétény, while Simon of Kéza and the Illuminated Chronicle list Árpád, Szabolcs, Gyula, Örs, Künd, Lél and Vérbulcsú. Contemporaneous or nearly contemporaneous sources make mention of Álmos (Constantine Porphyrogenitus), of Árpád ( Continuation of
6764-543: The Kievan Rus' Principality of Halych to the north. Slavs from the north ( Galicia ) and east—who actually arrived from Podolia via the mountain passes of Transylvania —continued to settle in small numbers in various parts of the Carpathian borderland, which the Hungarians and other medieval writers referred to as the Marchia Ruthenorum—the Rus' March. These new immigrants, from the north and east, like
6942-808: The Red Army had already reached Budapest and a long siege started , while Szálasi fled the capital. On 21 December 1944, a Hungarian "Interim Assembly" met in Debrecen , with the approval of the Soviet Union. This assembly elected an interim counter-government headed by Béla Miklós , the former commander of the Hungarian First Army . Budapest capitulated in February 1945 and the so-called Government of National Unity, now in exile in Munich ,
7120-570: The Soviet Union . Fearing a potential turn of support to the Romanians, the Hungarian government sent armed forces to support the German war effort during Operation Barbarossa . This support cost the Hungarians dearly. Almost the entire Second Army Group of the Royal Hungarian Army was lost during the Battle of Stalingrad . By early 1944, with Soviet forces fast advancing from the east, Hungary
7298-438: The Treaty of Trianon on 4 June 1920, thereby reducing Hungary's size substantially: the whole of Transylvania was taken by Romania; much of Upper Hungary became part of Czechoslovakia; Vojvodina was assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (known after 1929 as Yugoslavia); and the Free State of Fiume was created. With a succession of increasingly nationalist prime ministers, Hungary steadily came to resent
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7476-404: The Uriadova rada ("Governing Council) of Rus'ka Krajina. Prior to this, in July 1918, Rusyn immigrants in the United States had convened and called for complete independence . Failing that, they would try to unite with Galicia and Bukovina ; and failing that, they would demand autonomy, though they did not specify under which state. They approached the American government and were told that
7654-502: The Wehrmacht into her territory, thus supporting Germany and Italy in the invasion of Yugoslavia . After the Independent State of Croatia was proclaimed, Hungary joined the military operations and was allowed to annex the Bačka (Bácska) region in Vojvodina , which had a majority of Hungarians, as well as the region of Muraköz (present-day Prekmurje and Medjimurje ), which had large Slovenian and Croatian minorities, respectively. On 27 June 1941, László Bárdossy declared war on
7832-468: The dissolution of Austria-Hungary after World War I, the Hungarian Democratic Republic and then the Hungarian Soviet Republic were briefly proclaimed in 1918 and 1919, respectively. The short-lived communist government of Béla Kun launched what was known as the " Red Terror ", involving Hungary in an ill-fated war with Romania . In 1920, the country fell into a period of civil conflict, with Hungarian anti-communists and monarchists violently purging
8010-446: The khagan asked Charlemagne to let his people settle in the region between Szombathely and Petronell in Pannonia. His petition was accepted in 805. The Conversion of the Bavarians and the Carantanians lists the Avars among the peoples under the ecclesiastic jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg around 870. According to Pohl, it "simply proved impossible to keep up an Avar identity after Avar institutions and
8188-417: The "Slavs, Bulgarians, Vlachs and the shepherds of the Romans " as inhabiting the territory, but later he refers to "a people called Kozar" and to the Székelys . Similarly, Simon of Kéza first lists the "Slavs, Greeks , Germans, Moravians and Vlachs", but later he adds that the Székelys also lived in the territory. According to Macartney, those lists were based on multiple sources and do not document
8366-416: The "double-conquest" ( kettős honfoglalás ) of the Carpathian basin. According to historian Bálint Csanád "Not one single element (of the original theory) is tenable" and that a "compelling piece of evidence is that a genuine similarity between the Avar- and Conquest-period skeletal material could only be demonstrated in 4.5% of the theoretically potential cases". The Continuation of the Chronicle by George
8544-427: The 11th century. Pribina died fighting the Moravians in 861, and his son Kocel inherited his estates. Kocel was succeeded around 876 by Arnulf , a natural son of Carloman , king of East Francia . Under his rule, Moravian troops interved into the conflict known as the " Wilhelminer War " and "laid waste from the Raab eastward" between 882 and 884, according to the Annals of Fulda . Moravia emerged in
8722-406: The 820s under its first known ruler, Mojmir I . His successor, Rastislav , developed Moravia's military strength. He promoted the proselytizing activities of the Byzantine brothers, Constantine and Methodius in an attempt to seek independence from East Francia. Moravia reached its "peak of importance" under Svatopluk I who expanded its frontiers in all directions. Moravia's core territory
8900-461: The 9th century. In the case of Doboka (Dăbâca), two pairs of bell-shaped pendants with analogues in sites in Austria, Bulgaria and Poland have been unearthed, but Florin Curta dates them to the 9th century, while Alexandru Madgearu to the period between 975 and 1050. Three main theories attempt to explain the reasons for the "Hungarian land-taking". One argues that it was an intended military operation, prearranged following previous raids, with
9078-414: The Battle of Uzhgorod to break through to the Hungarian plains and encircle German troops in Transylvania . On 28 October 1944, upon conclusion of the offensive campaign, most of Subcarpathian Ruthenia was secured by the Workers-Peasants Red Army (RKKA). Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin The Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin , also known as the Hungarian conquest or
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#17327651118549256-493: The Bulgarians in 892 in order "to renew the former peace and to ask that they should not sell salt to the Moravians". The latter request suggests that the route from the salt mines of the eastern Carpathians to Moravia was controlled around that time by the Bulgarians. The anonymous author of the Gesta Hungarorum , instead of Svatopluk I of Moravia and other rulers known from contemporary sources, writes of personalities and polities that are not mentioned by chroniclers working at
9434-446: The Carantanians from around 870 lists Germanic place names in Pannonia, including Salapiugin ("bend of the Zala ") and Mosaburc ("fortress in the marshes"). The name of the Barca , Barót and other rivers could be either Turkic or Slavic in origin. According to Béla Miklós Szőke's theory, the detailed description of the Magyars by western contemporary sources and the immediate Hungarian intervention in local wars suggest that
9612-422: The Carpathian Basin by defeating the Bavarian army in a battle fought at Brezalauspurc on 4 July 907. They launched a series of campaigns to Western Europe between 899 and 955 and also targeted the Byzantine Empire between 943 and 971. However, they gradually settled in the basin and established a Christian monarchy, the Kingdom of Hungary , around 1000. The Hungarians arrived in the Carpathian Basin ,
9790-403: The Carpathian Range, and potentially including its foothills, the Subcarpathian basin and part of the surrounding plains. From a Hungarian (and to an extent Slovak and Czech) perspective, the region is usually described as Subcarpathia (literally "below the Carpathians"), although technically this name refers only to a long, narrow basin that flanks the northern side of the mountains. During
9968-401: The Carpathians in search of a new homeland. The memory of the destruction brought by the Pechenegs seems to have been preserved by the Hungarians. The Hungarian name of the Pechenegs (besenyő) corresponds to the old Hungarian word for eagle (bese) . Thus the 14th-century Hungarian chronicles' story of eagles compelling the Hungarians' ancestors to cross the Carpathians most probably refers to
10146-428: The Carpathians is also contested. Anonymus and Simon of Kéza have the invading Hungarians crossing the northeastern passes, while the Illuminated Chronicle writes of their arrival in Transylvania. Regino of Prüm states that the Hungarians "roamed the wildernesses of the Pannonians and the Avars and sought their daily food by hunting and fishing" following their arrival in the Carpathian Basin. Their advance towards
10324-450: The Carpathians. He adds that it was located in the territory where the rivers Barouch , Koubou , Troullos , Broutos and Seretos run. Although the identification of the first two rivers with the Dnieper and the Southern Bug is not unanimously accepted, the last three names without doubt refer to the rivers Dniester , Prut and Siret . In the wider region, at Subotsi on the river Adiamka, three graves (one of them belonging to
10502-428: The Chronicle by George the Monk and Constantine Porphyrogenitus), of Liountikas (Constantine Porphyrogenitus) and of Kurszán ( Continuation of the Chronicle by George the Monk ). According to the Illuminated Chronicle , Álmos , Árpád's father "could not enter Pannonia, for he was killed in Erdély". The episode implies that Álmos was the kende , the sacred ruler of the Hungarians, at the time of their destruction by
10680-478: The Danube seems to have stimulated Arnulf, who was crowned emperor to entrust Braslav (the ruler of the region between the rivers Drava and Sava ) with the defense of all Pannonia in 896. In 897 or 898 a civil war broke out between Mojmir II and Svatopluk II (two sons of the late Moravian ruler, Svatopluk I), in which Emperor Arnulf also intervened. There is no mention of the Hungarians' activities in those years. The next event recorded in connection with
10858-457: The Dnipro, they pitched camp. They were nomads like the Polovcians . Coming out of the east, they struggled across the great mountains and began to fight against the neighboring [Volokhi] and Slavs. For the Slavs had settled there first, but the [Volokhi] had seized the territory of the Slavs. The Magyars subsequently expelled the [Volkhi], took their land and settled among the Slavs, whom they reduced to submission. From that time this territory
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#173276511185411036-409: The Eastern Front, Horthy was finally able to remove him in August 1944 and replaced him with the more balanced Géza Lakatos . By October of the same year, the Hungarians were again caught trying to quit the war, and the Germans launched Operation Panzerfaust . They replaced Horthy with Arrow Cross leader Ferenc Szálasi . The Government of National Unity was proclaimed, and it continued the war on
11214-478: The German 's realm in 862. Victor Spinei and other historians argue that Rastislav of Moravia , at war with Louis the German, hired Hungarians to invade East Francia . Archbishop Theotmar of Salzburg clearly states in his letter of around 900 that the Moravians often allied with the Hungarians against the Germans. For many years [the Moravians] have in fact perpetrated the very crime of which they have only once falsely accused us. They themselves have taken in
11392-542: The German for the Mattsee Abbey may well attest that the Onogurs (another people of Turkic origin) were also present in the territory. The charter refers to the "Marches of the Wangars" (marcha uuangariourum) situated in the westernmost regions of the Carpathian Basin. The Wangar denomination seems to reflect the Slavic form of the Onogurs' ethnonym . The territories attached to the Frankish Empire were initially governed by royal officers and local chieftains. A Slavic prince named Pribina received large estates along
11570-402: The Hungarian government on December 21, 1918, thereby establishing the autonymous Rusyn province of Rus'ka Krajina from the Rusyn-inhabited parts of four eastern counties ( Máramaros County , Ugocha County, Bereg County , Ung County . On February 5, 1919, a provisional government for Rus'ka Krajina was established. The "Rus'ka rada " (or Rusyn Council), was made up of 42 representatives from
11748-417: The Hungarian historical tradition together point to an early occupation of the eastern territories of the Carpathian Basin by auxiliary troops of the Hungarian tribal confederation. The Annals of Fulda narrated in 894 that the Hungarians crossed the Danube into Pannonia where they "killed men and old women outright and carried off the young women alone with them like cattle to satisfy their lusts and reduced
11926-424: The Hungarians "claimed for themselves the nation of the Moravians, which King Arnulf had subdued with the aid of their might" at the coronation of Arnulf's son, Louis the Child in 900. The Annals of Grado relates that the Hungarians defeated the Moravians after their withdrawal from Italy. Thereafter the Hungarians and the Moravians made an alliance and jointly invaded Bavaria, according to Aventinus. However,
12104-408: The Hungarians and the Kievan forces. According to Gesta Hungarorum , the Hungarians defeated a united Bulgarian and Byzantine army led by Salan in the early 10th century on the plains of Alpár, who ruled over territory that was finally conquered by Hungarians. During the tenth and for most of the eleventh century the territory remained a borderland between the Kingdom of Hungary to the south and
12282-466: The Hungarians became the masters of the Carpathian Basin by the occupation of Pannonia. The Primary Chronicle may also reflect the memory of this event when relating how the Hungarians expelled the "Volokhi" or "Volkhi" who had earlier subjugated the Slavs' homeland in Pannonia, according to scholars who identify the Volokhi and Volkhi as Franks. Other historians associate them either with Vlachs ( Romanians ), or with ancient Romans . Over
12460-410: The Hungarians had a prince named " Liountikas , son of Arpad" at that time, which suggests that he was the commander of the army, but he might have been mentioned in the war context by chance. Simultaneously with the Hungarian attack from the north, the Byzantines invaded Bulgaria from the south. Tzar Simeon sent envoys to the Byzantine Empire to propose a truce. At the same time, he sent an embassy to
12638-400: The Hungarians had already lived on the eastern territories of the Carpathian Basin since the middle of the 9th century. Regarding the right location of early Hungarian settlements, the Arabic geographer al-Jayhani (only snippets of his work survived in other Muslim authors' papers) in the 870s placed the Hungarians between the Don and Danube rivers. Szőke identifies al-Jayhani's Danube with
12816-656: The Hungarians had for decades been considering a westward move when the Bulgarian-Pecheneg attack accelerated their decision to leave the Pontic-Caspian steppe. For instance Róna-Tas argues, "[the] fact that, despite a series of unfortunate events, the Magyars managed to keep their heads above water goes to show that they were indeed ready to move on" when the Pechenegs attacked them. In fact, following
12994-550: The Hungarians is their raid against Italy in 899 and 900. The letter of Archbishop Theotmar of Salzburg and his suffragans suggests that Emperor Arnulf incited them to attack King Berengar I of Italy . They routed the Italian troops on 2 September at the river Brenta in a great battle and plundered the region of Vercelli and Modena in the winter, but the doge of Venice , Pietro Tribuno , defeated them at Venice on 29 June 900. They returned from Italy when they learned of
13172-490: The Hungarians knew "nothing about fighting hand-to-hand in formation or taking besieged cities", but he underlines their archery skills. Remains indicate that composite bows were the Hungarians' most important weapons. In addition, slightly curved sabres were unearthed in many warrior tombs from the period. Regino of Prüm noted the Hungarians' preference for deceptions such as apparent retreat in battle. Contemporaneous writers also recounted their viciousness, represented by
13350-454: The Hungarians purchased their future homeland in the Carpathian Basin from Svatopluk for a white horse harnessed with gilded saddle and reins. Then [ Kusid ] came to the leader of the region who reigned after Attila and whose name was Zuatapolug, and saluted him in the name of his people [...]. On hearing this, Zuatapolug rejoiced greatly, for he thought that they were peasant people who would come and till his land; and so he dismissed
13528-403: The Jews of Transcarpathia were killed, though a number survived, either because they were hidden by their neighbours, or were forced into labour battalions , which often guaranteed food and shelter. The end of the war had a significant impact on the ethnic Hungarian population of the area: 10,000 fled before the arrival of Soviet forces. Many of the remaining adult men (25,000) were deported to
13706-547: The Monk contains the earliest certain reference to the Hungarians. It states that Hungarian warriors intervened in a conflict between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarians on the latter's behalf in the Lower Danube region in 836 or 837. The first known Hungarian raid in Central Europe was recorded in the Annals of St. Bertin , which writes of "enemies, called Hungarians, hitherto unknown" who ravaged King Louis
13884-527: The Moravians if they received the lands they were to occupy. Accordingly, Aventinus continues, the Hungarians took possession of "both Dacias on this side and beyond" the Tisza east of the rivers Danube and Garam already in 893. Indeed, the Hungarian chronicles unanimously state that the Székelys had already been present in the Carpathian Basin when the Hungarians moved in. Kristó argues that Aventinus and
14062-471: The Moravians…and – alas! – having dismantled those very well fortified barriers which…are called "closures" by the populace. Arnulf summoned to his aid the nation of the Hungarians, greedy, rash, ignorant of almighty God but well versed in every crime, avid only for murder and plunder. A late source, Aventinus adds that Kurszán (Cusala) , "king of the Hungarians" stipulated that his people would only fight
14240-457: The Nazis, became the new Hungarian prime minister . Sztójay governed with the aid of a Nazi military governor, Edmund Veesenmayer : he legalized the antisemitic and pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party , started to deport Hungarian Jews en masse to Germany and initiated a violent crackdown on liberal and leftist opposition. Increasingly appalled by Sztójay's methods and alarmed by the imminent collapse of
14418-774: The Pechenegs had their dwelling on the river [Volga] and likewise on the river [Ural] (…). But fifty years ago the so-called Uzes made common cause with the Chazars and joined battle with the Pechenegs and prevailed over them and expelled them from their country (…). The relationship between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire sharpened in 894, because Emperor Leo the Wise forced the Bulgarian merchants to leave Constantinople and settle in Thessaloniki . Subsequently, Tzar Simeon I of Bulgaria invaded Byzantine territories and defeated
14596-423: The Pechenegs to incite them against the Hungarians. He succeeded, and the Pechenegs broke into Hungarian territories from the east, forcing the Hungarian warriors to withdraw from Bulgaria. The Bulgarians, according to Constantine Porphyrogenitus, attacked and routed the Hungarians . The Pechenegs destroyed the Hungarians' dwelling places. Those who survived the double attack left the Pontic steppes and crossed
14774-523: The Pechenegs' attack. The Hungarians were (…) driven from their home (…) by a neighboring people called the Petchenegs, because they were superior to them in strength and number and because (…) their own country was not sufficient to accommodate their swelling numbers. After they had been forced to flee by the violence of the Petchenegs, they said goodbye to their homeland and set out to look for lands where they could live and establish settlements. [At]
14952-519: The Pechenegs, which caused his sacrifice. If his death was in fact the consequence of a ritual murder , his fate was similar to that of the Khazar khagans who were executed, according to Ibn Fadlan and al-Masudi, in the case of disasters affecting their whole people. The death of Arnulf released the Hungarians from their alliance with East Francia. On their way back from Italy they expanded their rule over Pannonia. According to Liutprand of Cremona ,
15130-607: The Second Czechoslovak Republic. After the war, it was annexed by the Soviet Union and became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic . It is an ethnically diverse region, inhabited mostly by people who regard themselves as ethnic Ukrainians , Rusyns , Hungarians , Romanians , Slovaks , and Poles . It also has small communities of Jewish and Romani minorities. Prior to World War II, many more Jews lived in
15308-520: The Slavs already living in Carpathian Ruthenia, had by the eleventh century come to be known as the people of Rus', or Rusyns . Local Slavic nobility often intermarried with the Hungarian nobles to the south. Prince Rostislav , a Ruthenian noble unable to continue his family's rule of Kiev, governed a great deal of Transcarpathia from 1243 to 1261 for his father-in-law , Béla IV of Hungary . The territory's ethnic diversity increased with
15486-459: The Soviet Union; about 30% of them died in Soviet labor camps . As a result of this development since 1938, the Hungarian and Hungarian-speaking population of Transcarpathia was recorded differently in various censuses and estimations from that time: 1930 census recorded 116,548 ethnic Hungarians, while the contested Hungarian census from 1941 shows as many as 233,840 speakers of Hungarian language in
15664-593: The Tisza plain within the Carpathian Basin around 881, which may have given rise to the anachronistic reference to Cumans in the Gesta Hungarorum at the time of the Hungarian conquest. The Hetumoger confederation was under a dual leadership, according to Ibn Rusta and Gardizi (two Muslim scholars from the 10th and 11th centuries, respectively, whose geographical books preserved texts from an earlier work written by Abu Abdallah al-Jayhani from Bukhara ). The Hungarians' nominal or sacred leader
15842-528: The Tisza river. The two major cities are Uzhhorod and Mukachevo , both with populations around 100,000. The population of the other five cities (including Khust and Berehove ) varies between 10,000 and 30,000. Other urban and rural populated places have a population of less than 10,000. During the Late Bronze Age in the 2nd millennium BC, the region was characterized by Stanove culture; however, it only gained more advanced metalworking skills with
16020-455: The Treaty of Trianon, and aligned itself with Europe's two fascist states, Germany and Italy, which both opposed the changes to national borders in Europe at the end of World War I. The Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini sought closer ties with Hungary, beginning with the signing of a treaty of friendship between Hungary and Italy on 5 April 1927. Gyula Gömbös was an open admirer of
16198-549: The Treaty of Trianon, which it mostly did in early 1941 after the First and Second Vienna Awards and after joining the German invasion of Yugoslavia . By 1944, following heavy setbacks for the Axis, Horthy's government negotiated secretly with the Allies, and also considered leaving the war. Because of this Hungary was occupied by Germany and Horthy was deposed . The extremist Arrow Cross Party 's leader Ferenc Szálasi established
16376-661: The United States under Zatkovich and voted unanimously to accept the admission of Carpathian Ruthenia to Czechoslovakia. Back in Ruthenia, on May 8, 1919, a general meeting of representatives from all the previous councils was held, and declared that "The Central Russian National Council... completely endorse the decision of the American Uhro-Rusin Council to unite with the Czech-Slovak nation on
16554-683: The administration of Transylvania. From 1699 the entire region eventually became part of the Habsburg monarchy , divided between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Principality of Transylvania. Later, the entire region was included into the Kingdom of Hungary. Between 1850 and 1860 the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary was divided into five military districts, and the region was part of the Military District of Kaschau . After 1867,
16732-507: The archaeological evidence, the Avar population survived the time of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin. In this power vacuum, The Hungarian conqueror elite took the system of the former Avar Kaganate , there is no trace of massacres and mass graves, it is believed to have been a peaceful transition for local residents in the Carpathian Basin . Other scholars dismiss the continuity between late Avar and Hungarian Conquerors and/or
16910-535: The area was used as a conduit for arms and ammunition for the anti-Soviet Poles fighting in the Polish-Soviet War directly to the north, while local Communists sabotaged the trains and tried to help the Soviet side. During and after the war many Ukrainian nationalists in East Galicia who opposed both Polish and Soviet rule fled to Carpathian Ruthenia. Gregory Žatkovich was appointed governor of
17088-713: The arrival of Thracians from the South with Kushtanovytsia culture in the 6th-3rd century BC. In the 5th-3rd century BC, Celts arrived from the West, bringing iron-melting skills and La Tène culture . A Thracian-Celtic symbiosis existed for a time in the region, after which appeared the Bastarnae . At that time, the Iranian-speaking Scythians and later a Sarmatian tribe called the Iazyges were present in
17266-725: The basis of full national autonomy." Note that the Central Russian National Council was an offshoot of the Central Ruthenian National Council and represented a Carpathian branch of the Russophiles movement that existed in the Austrian Galicia. The Hungarian left-wing writer Béla Illés claimed that the meeting was little more than a farce, with various "notables" fetched from their homes by police, formed into
17444-491: The border territories outside the new borders of the kingdom, in the Kingdom of Romania and the newly created states of Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (in greatly enlarged Romania there also remained a significant Hungarian population in Székely Land ). Republican Austria , the successor of the former other half of the dual monarchy also received some minor territory from Hungary. Thus
17622-490: The changes to the electoral system were reversed. Social conditions in the kingdom did not improve as time passed, as a very small proportion of the population continued to control much of the country's wealth. Jews were continually pressured to assimilate into Hungarian mainstream culture. The desperate situation forced the Regent, Horthy, to accept the far-right politician Gyula Gömbös as prime minister. He pledged to retain
17800-511: The communists, leftist intellectuals, and others whom they felt threatened by, especially Jews. This period was known as the " White Terror ". In 1920, after the pullout of the last of the Romanian occupation forces, the Kingdom of Hungary was restored. After the collapse of the short-lived Communist regime, according to historian István Deák : On 29 February 1920, a coalition of right-wing political forces united and returned Hungary to being
17978-456: The contemporary Annals of Fulda only refers to Hungarians reaching the river Enns . One of the Hungarian contingents crossed the Danube and plundered the territories on the river's north bank, but Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria gathered troops and routed them between Passau and Krems an der Donau on 20 November 900. He had a strong fortress erected against them on the Enns. Nevertheless,
18156-462: The country now under German occupation, Horthy was forced to remove Kállay from his position and appoint pro-Nazi politician Döme Sztójay as the new prime minister. Sztójay legalized the antisemitic and pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party , deported large numbers of Hungarian Jews to Germany and initiated a violent crackdown on liberal and leftist opposition. As the months went by, Horthy became increasingly appalled by Sztójay's brutal methods and alarmed by
18334-495: The country, especially in part due to the economic effects of the failure of the Österreichische Creditanstalt bank in Vienna , Austria. From the mid-1930s to the 1940s, after relations improved with Germany, Hungary's economy benefited from trade. The Hungarian economy became dependent on that of Germany. Initially, despite a move towards nationalism , the new state under Horthy, in an effort to prevent further conflicts, signed
18512-411: The county administrative system was expanded to the whole of Transcarpathia, and the area was divided between the counties of Ung, Bereg , Ugocsa , and Máramaros . At the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century, during the collapse of the central power in the Kingdom of Hungary, the region was part of the domains of semi-independent oligarchs Amadeus Aba and Nicholas Pok . From 1280 to 1320,
18690-403: The death of Emperor Arnulf at the end of 899. According to Anonymous, the Hungarians fought with Menumorut before conquering Gelou's Transylvania. Subsequently, the Hungarians turned against Salan , the ruler of the central territories, according to this narrative. In contrast with Anonymus, Simon of Kéza writes of the Hungarians' fight with Svatopluk following their arrival. According to
18868-701: The desire of its members to separate from the newly formed Hungarian state but did not specify a particular alternative—only that it must involve the right to self-determination . Other councils, such as the Carpatho-Ruthenian National Council meetings in Huszt ( Khust ) (November 1918), called for unification with the West Ukrainian People's Republic . Only in early January 1919 were the first calls heard in Ruthenia for union with Czechoslovakia . Throughout November and
19046-1049: The eastern and south-eastern portions of the region. During the period of Czechoslovak administration in the first half of the 20th century, the region was referred to for a while as Rusinsko (Ruthenia) or Karpatske Rusinsko , and later as Subcarpathian Rus ( Czech and Slovak : Podkarpatská Rus ) or Subcarpathian Ukraine (Czech and Slovak: Podkarpatská Ukrajina ), and from 1928 as Subcarpathian Ruthenian Land. (Czech: Země podkarpatoruská , Slovak: Krajina podkarpatoruská ). Alternative, unofficial names used in Czechoslovakia before World War II included Subcarpathia (Czech and Slovak: Podkarpatsko ), Transcarpathia (Czech and Slovak: Zakarpatsko ), Transcarpathian Ukraine (Czech and Slovak: Zakarpatská Ukrajina ), Carpathian Rus/Ruthenia (Czech and Slovak: Karpatská Rus ) and, occasionally, Hungarian Rus/Ruthenia ( Czech : Uherská Rus ; Slovak : Uhorská Rus ). The region declared its independence as Carpatho-Ukraine on March 15, 1939, but
19224-473: The economic crisis by seeking large foreign loans, which allowed the country to achieve monetary stabilization in the early 1920s. He introduced a new currency in 1927, the pengő . Industrial and farm production rose rapidly, and the country benefited from flourishing foreign trade during most of the 1920s. Following the start of the Great Depression in 1929, the prosperity rapidly collapsed in
19402-455: The electoral system was changed to reintroduce an open vote system outside Budapest and its vicinity and cities with county municipal rights. Bethlen's political party, the Party of Unity , won repeated elections. Bethlen pushed for revision of the Treaty of Trianon . After the collapse of the Hungarian economy from 1929 to 1931, national turmoil pushed Bethlen to resign as prime minister. In 1938
19580-672: The end of the 9th century. For instance, he refers to Menumorut residing in the castle of Bihar (Biharia, Romania ), to Zobor "duke of Nitra by the grace of the Duke of the Czechs ", and to Gelou "a certain Vlach " ruling over Transylvania. According to historian Ryszard Grzesik, the reference to Gelou and his Vlachs evidences that the Vlachs had already settled in Transylvania by
19758-531: The ethnic makeup of the region, with ideas such as the Lemko-Boiko-Hutsul schema looking to prove the Slavic nature of the Rus, and therefore justifying union with Russia (or later a Ukrainian state) under the claim that the Rus were part of that Slavic cultural sphere. These Rus or Ruthenians would argue this point until the early 1900's when action would be taken. In 1910, the population of Transcarpathia
19936-449: The ethnicity quota system was never fully introduced and the law acted largely to conceal anti-Jewish action from foreign observers. Limitations were relaxed in 1928. Racial criteria in admitting new students were removed and replaced by social criteria. Five categories were set up: civil servants, war veterans and army officers, small landowners and artisans, industrialists, and the merchant classes. Under István Bethlen as Prime Minister
20114-435: The existing political system. Gömbös agreed to abandon his extreme antisemitism and allow some Jews into the government. In power, Gömbös moved Hungary towards a one-party government like those of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany . Pressure by Nazi Germany for extreme antisemitism forced Gömbös out and Hungary pursued antisemitism under its "Jewish Laws". Initially, the government passed laws restricting Jews to 20 percent in
20292-625: The exploiters of the same nationalities". Communist sympathizers accused the Czechoslovaks and Romanians of atrocities, such as public hangings and the clubbing to death of wounded prisoners. This fighting prevented the arrival of Soviet aid, for which the Hungarian Communists hoped in vain; the Bolsheviks were also too preoccupied with their own civil war to assist. In May 1919, a Central National Council convened in
20470-402: The express purpose of occupying a new homeland. This view (expounded, for example, by Bakay and Padányi) mainly follows the narration of Anonymus and later Hungarian chronicles. The Hungarians took possession of the Carpathian Basin in a pre-planned manner, with a long move-in between 862–895. This is confirmed by the archaeological findings, in the 10th century Hungarian cemeteries,
20648-399: The fascist leaders. Gömbös attempted to forge a closer trilateral unity between Germany, Italy and Hungary by acting as an intermediary between Germany and Italy, whose two fascist regimes had nearly come to conflict in 1934 over the issue of Austrian independence. Gömbös eventually persuaded Mussolini to accept Hitler's annexation of Austria in the late 1930s. Gömbös is said to have coined
20826-527: The field, their men will find the gold of the bridle when they mow the hay; if you throw the saddle into the Danube, their fishermen will lay out the gold of the saddle upon the bank and carry it home. If they have earth, grass and water, they have all." Ismail Ibn Ahmed , the emir of Khorasan , raided "the land of the Turks" (the Karluks ) in 893. Later he caused a new movement of peoples who one by one invaded
21004-630: The following few months, councils met every few weeks, calling for various solutions. Some wanted to remain part of the Hungarian Democratic Republic, but with greater autonomy; the most notable of these, the Uzhhorod Council (November 9, 1918), declared itself the representative of the Rusyn people and began negotiations with Hungarian authorities. These negotiations ultimately resulted in the passage of Law no. 10 by
21182-488: The former borderlands with cemeteries characterised by objects with clear analogues in contemporary Bavaria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moravia and other distant territories. A manor defended by timber walls (similar to noble courts of other parts of the Carolingian Empire) was unearthed at Zalaszabar . Avar groups who remained under the rule of their khagan were frequently attacked by Slav warriors. Therefore,
21360-537: The former counties of Ung , Bereg and partially Máramaros . On March 23, 1939, Hungary annexed further territories disputed with Slovakia bordering with the west of the former Carpatho-Rus. The Hungarian invasion was followed by a few weeks of terror in which more than 27,000 people were shot dead without trial and investigation. Over 75,000 Ukrainians decided to seek asylum in the Soviet Union ; of those almost 60,000 of them died in Gulag prison-camps. Others joined
21538-405: The four constituent counties and headed by a chairman, Orest Sabov, and vice-chairman, Avhustyn Shtefan. The following month, on March 4, elections were held for a formal diet of 36 deputies. Upon election, the new diet requested the Hungarian government define the borders of the autonomous region, which had not yet been elaborated; without an established territory, the deputies argued that the diet
21716-571: The future. Antisemitism was already an established political cause by the far right in Hungary. In 1944, after the ousting of Horthy by Hitler and before the installation of the National-Socialist Arrow Cross Party, the Hungarian government readily aided Nazi Germany in the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Jews to concentration camps during the Holocaust , where most of them died. In April 1941, Hungary let
21894-449: The graves of women, children and elderly people are located next to the warriors, they were buried according to the same traditions, wore the same style of ornaments, and belonged to the same anthropological group. The Hungarian military events of the following years prove that the Hungarian population that settled in the Carpathian Basin was not a weakened population without a significant military power. The opposite view maintains that
22072-518: The ground was established, when Czechoslovak Army troops acting in coordination with Royal Romanian Army forces arriving from the east—both acting under French auspices—entered the area. In a series of battles they defeated and crushed the local militias of the newly formed Hungarian Soviet Republic , which had created the Slovak Soviet Republic and whose proclaimed aim was to "unite the Hungarian, Rusyn and Jewish toilers against
22250-487: The high claims of their tradition had failed." The growing number of archaeological evidence in Transdanubia also presumes Avar population in the Carpathian Basin at the eve of the 10th century. Archaeological findings suggesting that there is a substantial late Avar presence on the Great Hungarian Plain , but it is difficult to determine the proper chronology. A charter issued in 860 by King Louis
22428-520: The independent West Ukraine Republic. However, for most of this period the region was controlled by the newly formed independent Hungarian Democratic Republic , with a short period of West Ukrainian control. On November 8, 1918, the first National Council (the Lubovňa Council, which later reconvened as the Prešov Council) was held in western Ruthenia. The first of many councils, it simply stated
22606-616: The influx of some 40,000 Cuman settlers, who came to the Pannonian Basin after their defeat by Vladimir II (Monomakh) in the 12th century and their ultimate defeat at the hands of the Mongols in 1238. During the early period of Hungarian administration, part of the area was included into the Gyepű border region, while the other part was under county authority and was included into the counties of Ung , Borsova and Szatmár . Later,
22784-749: The invitation of Leo, the Christ-loving and glorious emperor [the Hungarians] crossed over and fought Symeon and totally defeated him, (…) and they went back to their own county. (…) But after Symeon (…) sent to the Pechenegs and made an agreement with them to attack and destroy [the Hungarians] And when [the latter] had gone off on a military expedition, the Pechenegs with Symeon came against [them] and completely destroyed their families and miserably expelled thence [those] who were guarding their country. When [the Hungarians] came back and found their country thus desolate and utterly ruined, they settled in
22962-653: The jurisdiction of Rome , thus establishing the so-called "Unia" of Eastern Catholic churches , the Ruthenian Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church . In the 17th century (until 1648) the entire region was part of the Principality of Transylvania and between 1682 and 1685 its north-western part was administered by the Ottoman vassal state of Upper Hungary , while the south-eastern parts remained under
23140-615: The land where they live today (…). Passing through the kingdom of the Bessi and the Cumani Albi and Susdalia and the city named Kyo , they crossed the mountains and came into a region where they saw innumerable eagles; and because of the eagles they could not stay in that place, for the eagles came down from the trees like flies and devoured both their herds and their horses. For God intended that they should go down more quickly into Hungary. During three months they made their descent from
23318-642: The lands of their western neighbors in the Eurasian Steppe . Al-Masudi clearly connects the westward movement of the Pechenegs and the Hungarians to previous fights between the Karluks, Ouzes and Kimeks . Porphyrogenitus writes of a joint attack by the Khazars and Ouzes that compelled the Pechenegs to cross the Volga River sometime between 893 and 902 (most probably around 894). Originally,
23496-437: The messenger graciously. [...] Then by a common resolve [the Hungarians] despatched the same messenger again to the said leader and sent to him for his land a big horse with a golden saddle adorned with the gold of Arabia and a golden bridle. Seeing it, the leader rejoiced all the more, thinking that they were sending gifts of homage in return for land. When therefore the messenger asked of him land, grass and water, he replied with
23674-593: The middle Danube region, as opposed to the previously assumed lower Danube region because, following al-Jayhani's description, the Christian Moravians were the western neighbors of the Magyars. The Carpathian Basin was controlled from the 560s by the Avars , a Turkic-speaking people. Upon their arrival in the region, they imposed their authority over the Gepids , who had dominated the territories east of
23852-494: The midst of a civil war. Thus the only importance of Rusyns' decision to become part of Czechoslovakia was in creating, at least initially, good relations between the leaders of Carpathian Rus' and Czechoslovakia. The Ukrainian language was not actively persecuted in Czechoslovakia during the interwar period , unlike in Poland and Romania . 73 percent of local parents voted against Ukrainian language education for their children in
24030-469: The monarchy as a form of government, and Hungarian newspapers continued to refer to the country as the Kingdom of Hungary ( Magyar Királyság ), although Magyarország (Hungary) was used as an alternative. From May to June 1944, Hungarian authorities rapidly rounded up and transported hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews to Nazi concentration camps, where most died. After the fall of the Szálasi regime,
24208-427: The mountains, and they came to the boundaries of the kingdom of Hungary, that is to Erdelw [...]. The date of the Hungarian invasion varies according to the source. The earliest date (677) is preserved in the 14th-century versions of the "Hungarian Chronicle", while Anonymus gives the latest date (902). Contemporaneous sources suggest that the invasion followed the 894 Bulgarian-Byzantine war. The route taken across
24386-400: The national sphere was less than that hoped for. Carpathian Ruthenia included former Hungarian territories of Ung County , Bereg County , Ugocsa County and Máramaros County . After the Paris Peace Conference , Transcarpathia became part of Czechoslovakia . Whether this was widely popular among the mainly peasant population, is debatable; clearly, however, what mattered most to Ruthenians
24564-636: The new government. In December 1938, Subcarpathian Rus' was renamed to Carpathian Ukraine. Following the Slovak proclamation of independence on March 14, 1939 and the Nazis' seizure of the Czech lands on March 15, Carpathian Ukraine declared its independence as the Republic of Carpatho-Ukraine , with Avhustyn Voloshyn as head of state, and was immediately occupied and annexed by Hungary , restoring provisionally
24742-441: The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Rusyn-Jewish relations were generally peaceful. In 1939, census records showed that 80,000 Jews lived in the autonomous province of Ruthenia. Jews made up approximately 14% of the prewar population; however, this population was concentrated in the larger towns, especially Mukachevo , where they constituted 43% of the prewar population. After the German occupation of Hungary (19 March 1944)
24920-460: The north and other one in the south), while Boba, Bowlus and Eggers argue that Moravia's core territory is in the region of the southern Morava river , in present-day Serbia. The existence of a southern Moravian realm is not supported by artifacts, while strongholds unearthed at Mikulcice , Pohansko and other areas to the north of the middle Danube point at the existence of a power center in those regions. In addition to East Francia and Moravia,
25098-470: The north-western part of Carpathian Ruthenia was part of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia . Between the 12th and 15th centuries, the area was probably colonized by Eastern Orthodox groups of Vlach ( Romanian ) highlanders with accompanying Ruthenian populations. Initially, the Romanians were organized into the Voivodeship of Maramureș , formally integrated into Hungary in 1402. All the groups, including local Slavic population, blended together, creating
25276-572: The only viable option was unification with Czechoslovakia . Their leader, Gregory Zatkovich , then signed the "Philadelphia Agreement" with Czechoslovak President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk , guaranteeing Rusyn autonomy upon unification with Czechoslovakia on 25 October 1918. A referendum was held among American Rusyn parishes in November 1918, with a resulting 67% in favor. Another 28% voted for union with Ukraine , and less than one percent each for Galicia, Hungary and Russia. Less than 2% desired complete independence. In April 1919, Czechoslovak control on
25454-413: The period in which the region was administered by the Hungarian states , it was officially referred to in Hungarian as Kárpátalja (literally: "the base of the Carpathians") or the north-eastern regions of medieval Upper Hungary , which in the 16th century was contested between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire. The Romanian name of the region is Maramureș , which is geographically located in
25632-399: The phrase "axis", which he applied to his intention to create an alliance with Germany and Italy; those two countries used it to term their alliance as the Rome–Berlin axis . Just prior to the Second World War, Hungary benefited from its close ties with Germany and Italy when the Munich Agreement obliged Czechoslovakia and Hungary to settle their territorial disputes by negotiation. Finally,
25810-404: The population illiterate, no industry, and a herdsman way of life, up to the level of the rest of Czechoslovakia. Thousands of Czech teachers, policemen, clerks and businessmen went to the region. The Czechoslovak government built thousands of kilometers of railways, roads, airports, and hundreds of schools and residential buildings. The Rusyn people decided to join the new state of Czechoslovakia,
25988-492: The post-1918 kingdom can be described as a rump state . Hungary's interwar politics were dominated by a focus on the territorial losses suffered from this treaty, with the resentment continuing until the present. Nazi Germany 's influence in Hungary has led some historians to conclude that the country increasingly became a client state after 1938. The Kingdom of Hungary was an Axis power during World War II, intent on regaining Hungarian-majority territory that had been lost in
26166-415: The pro- Nazi policies of the Hungarian government resulted in emigration and deportation of Hungarian-speaking Jews , and other groups living in the territory were decimated by war. During the Holocaust , 17 main ghettos were set up in cities in Carpathian Ruthenia, from which all Jews were taken to Auschwitz for extermination. Ruthenian ghettos were set up in May 1944 and liquidated by June 1944. Most of
26344-414: The province by Masaryk on April 20, 1920 and resigned almost a year later, on April 17, 1921, to return to his law practice in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , US. The reason for his resignation was dissatisfaction with the borders with Slovakia. His tenure is a historical anomaly as the only American citizen ever acting as governor of a province that later became a part of the USSR. In 1928, Czechoslovakia
26522-457: The rapidly collapsing Eastern Front . In August 1944, he deposed the pro-German prime minister and installed a more balanced government led by Géza Lakatos , in an effort to engage with the Allies and avoid occupation by the Soviet Union. This did not sit well with Hitler and, in October, German forces overthrew Horthy and Lakatos and installed a puppet regime led by Ferenc Szálasi of the Arrow Cross Party. The Arrow Cross Party never abolished
26700-402: The real ethnic conditions of the Carpathian Basin around 900. Ioan-Aurel Pop says that Simon of Kéza listed the peoples who inhabited the lands that the Hungarian conquered and the nearby territories. The Hungarians adopted the ancient ( Celtic , Dacian or Germanic ) names of the longest rivers in the Carpathian Basin from a Slavic-speaking population. For instance, the Hungarian names of
26878-827: The region possessed some form of quasi-autonomy with its own legislature, while remaining under the governance of the Communist Party of Transcarpathian Ukraine. After the signing of a treaty between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union as well as the decision of the regional council, Transcarpathia joined the Ukrainian SSR as the Zakarpattia Oblast . The region has subsequently been referred to as Zakarpattia ( Ukrainian : Закарпаття ) or Transcarpathia , and on occasions as Carpathian Rus’ ( Ukrainian : Карпатська Русь , romanized : Karpatska Rus ), Transcarpathian Rus’ ( Ukrainian : Закарпатська Русь , romanized : Zakarpatska Rus ), or Subcarpathian Rus’ ( Ukrainian : Підкарпатська Русь , romanized : Pidkarpatska Rus ). Carpathian Ruthenia rests on
27056-403: The region was administratively included into Transleithania or the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary . In the 19th and 20th centuries, many nationalist groups vied for unification or alignment with many different possible nationalities, all arguing that the Rus people would be better off uniting with that nation for security or staying within the nation of Hungary. Many of these groups utilized
27234-418: The region, constituting over 13% of its total population in 1930. The most commonly spoken languages are Rusyn , Ukrainian , Hungarian , Romanian , Slovak , and Polish . The name Carpathian Ruthenia is sometimes used for the contiguous cross-border area of Ukraine, Slovakia and Poland inhabited by Ruthenians . The local Ruthenian population self-identifies in different ways: some consider themselves to be
27412-614: The region. Proto-Slavic settlement began between the 2nd-century BCE and 2nd century CE, and during the Migration Period , the region was traversed by Huns and Gepids (4th century) and Pannonian Avars (6th century). By the 8th and 9th century, the valleys of the Northern and Southern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains were "densely" settled by Slavic tribe of White Croats , who were closely related to East Slavic tribes who inhabited Prykarpattia , Volhynia , Transnistria and Dnieper Ukraine . Whereas some White Croats remained behind in Carpathian Ruthenia, others moved southward into
27590-402: The region. Subsequent estimations are showing 66,000 ethnic Hungarians in 1946 and 139,700 in 1950, while the Soviet census from 1959 recorded 146,247 Hungarians. The Soviet takeover of the region started with the East Carpathian Strategic Offensive in the fall of 1944. This offensive consisted of two parts: the Battle of the Dukla Pass in effort to support the Slovak National Uprising ; and
27768-611: The remaining Czech troops from the Czechoslovak army-in-exile . Upon liquidation of Carpatho-Ukraine , in the territory annexed the Governorate of Subcarpathia was installed and divided into three, the administrative branch offices of Ung ( Hungarian : Ungi közigazgatási kirendeltség ), Bereg ( Hungarian : Beregi közigazgatási kirendeltség ) and Máramaros ( Hungarian : Máramarosi közigazgatási kirendeltség ) governed from Ungvár , Munkács and Huszt respectively, having Hungarian and Rusyn language as official languages. Memoirs and historical studies provide much evidence that in
27946-403: The river Tisza . However, the Gepids survived up until the second half of the 9th century, according to a reference in the Conversion of the Bavarians and the Carantanians to their groups dwelling in Lower Pannonia around 870. The Avars were initially nomadic horsemen, but both large cemeteries used by three or four generations and a growing number of settlements attest to their adoption of
28124-438: The river Zala around 840. He promoted the colonisation of his lands and also erected Mosaburg , a fortress in the marshes. Initially defended by timber walls, this "castle complex" (András Róna-Tas) became an administrative center. It was strengthened by drystone walls at the end of the century. Four churches surrounded by cemeteries were unearthed in and around the settlement. At least one of them continued to be used up to
28302-515: The rivers Danube (Duna) , Dráva , Garam , Maros , Olt , Száva , Tisza and Vág were borrowed from Slavs. The Hungarians also adopted a great number of hydronyms of Slavic origin, including Balaton ("swamp"), Beszterce ("swift river"), Túr (" aurochs ' stream") and Zagyva ("sooty river"). Place names of Slavic origin abound across the Carpathian Basin. For instance, Csongrád ("black fortress"), Nógrád ("new fortress"), Visegrád ("citadel") and other early medieval fortresses bore
28480-429: The side of the Axis . Szálasi did not replace Horthy as regent, but was appointed as the "Leader of the Nation" (" Nemzetvezető" ) and prime minister of the new "Hungarist state". Antisemitic persecution and pogroms increased during Szálasi's regime and his militias were singularly responsible of the murder of 10,000-15,000 Hungarian Jews. The new Quisling regime, however, was to be short-lived, for in November 1944
28658-491: The slaughter of adult males in settlement raids. [The Hungarians] are armed with swords, body armor, bows and lances. Thus, in battles most of them bear double arms, carrying the lances high on their shoulders and holding the bows in their hands. They make use of both as need requires, but when pursued they use their bows to great advantage. Not only do they wear armor themselves, but the horses of their illustrious men are covered in front with iron or quilted material. They devote
28836-479: The southern slopes of the eastern Carpathian Mountains , bordered to the east and south by the Tisza River, and to the west by the Hornád and Poprad Rivers . The region borders Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, and makes up part of the Pannonian Plain . The region is predominantly rural and infrastructurally underdeveloped. The landscape is mostly mountainous; it is geographically separated from Ukraine, Slovakia, and Romania by mountains, and from Hungary by
29014-506: The throne shortly before his death were prevented by Horthy . Hungary under Horthy was characterized by its conservative , nationalist , and fiercely anti-communist character. The government was based on an unstable alliance of conservatives and right-wingers. Foreign policy was characterized by revisionism — the total or partial revision of the Treaty of Trianon , which had seen Hungary lose over 70% of its historic territory along with over three million Hungarians , who mostly lived in
29192-417: The time the Gesta was completed, while the stories about Zobor and Menumorut preserved the memory of the Hungarians' fight against the Moravians. Translating Menumorut's name as "Great Moravian", Grzesik associates him with Svatopluk I and refutes the report of Menumorut's rule in Bihar. Early medieval fortresses were unearthed at Bihar and other places east of the Tisza, but none of them definitively date to
29370-476: The whole" province "to desert". Although the annalist writes of this Hungarian attack after the passage narrating Svatopluk I's death, Györffy, Kristó, Róna-Tas and other historians suppose that the Hungarians invaded Pannonia in alliance with the Moravian monarch. They argue that the "Legend of the White Horse" in the Hungarian chronicles preserved the memory of a treaty the Hungarians had made with Svatopluk I according to pagan customs. The legend narrates that
29548-428: Was 605,942, of which 330,010 (54.5%) were speakers of Ruthenian , 185,433 (30.6%) were speakers of Hungarian , 64,257 (10.6%) were speakers of German , 11,668 (1.9%) were speakers of Romanian , 6,346 (1%) were speakers of Slovak or Czech , and 8,228 (1.4%) were speakers of other languages. After World War I , the Austro-Hungarian monarchy collapsed and the region was briefly (in 1918 and 1919) claimed as part of
29726-438: Was arrested and exiled to Madeira . On 6 November 1921 the Diet of Hungary passed a law nullifying the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 , dethroning Charles IV and abolishing the House of Habsburg's rights to the throne of Hungary. Hungary was a kingdom without royalty. With civil unrest too great to select a new king, it was decided to confirm Horthy as Regent of Hungary. He remained in that powerful president -like status until he
29904-426: Was called Hungarian. Kingdom of Hungary (1920%E2%80%931946) The Kingdom of Hungary ( Hungarian : Magyar Királyság ), referred to retrospectively as the Regency and the Horthy era , existed as a country from 1920 to 1946 under the rule of Miklós Horthy , Regent of Hungary , who officially represented the Hungarian monarchy . In reality there was no king, and attempts by King Charles IV to return to
30082-439: Was caught attempting to contact the British and the Americans to secretly escape the war and establish an armistice with the Allies. On 19 March 1944, the Germans responded by invading Hungary in Operation Margarethe . German forces occupied key locations to ensure Hungarian loyalty. They placed Horthy under house arrest and replaced Prime Minister Miklós Kállay with a more pliable successor. Döme Sztójay , an avid supporter of
30260-458: Was disbanded at the end of March 1945. Under Soviet occupation , the fate of the Kingdom of Hungary was already determined. A High National Council was appointed as the country's collective head of state until the monarchy was formally abolished on 1 February 1946. The regency was replaced by the Second Hungarian Republic . It was quickly followed by the creation of the Hungarian People's Republic . There has been some debate as to what extent
30438-401: Was divided into four provinces: Bohemia, Moravia-Silesia, Slovakia, and the Subcarpathian Rus'. The main town of the region, and its capital until 1938, was Užhorod . It had an area of 12,097 square kilometres (4,671 sq mi), and its 1921 population was estimated as being 592,044. In the period 1918–1938 the Czechoslovak government attempted to bring the Subcarpathian Rus', with 70% of
30616-416: Was included into the Captaincy of Upper Hungary , which was one of the administrative units of the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. During this period, an important factor in the Ruthenian cultural identity, namely religion, came to the forefront. The Union of Brest (1595) and Union of Uzhhorod (1646) were instituted, causing the Byzantine Orthodox Churches of Carpathian and Transcarpathian Rus' to come under
30794-453: Was not which country they would join, but that they be granted autonomy within it. After their experience of Magyarization , few Carpathian Rusyns were eager to remain under Hungarian rule, and they desired to ensure self-determination. According to the Czechoslovak Constitution of 1920 , the former region of the Kingdom of Hungary, Ruthenian Land ( Ruszka Krajna ), was officially renamed to Subcarpathian Ruthenia ( Podkarpatská Rus ). In 1920,
30972-419: Was occupied and annexed by Hungary on the same day, and remained under Hungarian control until the end of World War II. During this period the region continued to possess a special administration and the term Kárpátalja was locally used. In 1944–1946, the region was occupied by the Soviet Army and was a separate political formation known as Transcarpathian Ukraine or Subcarpathian Ruthenia. During this period
31150-428: Was overthrown in 1944. Horthy's rule as Regent possessed characteristics such that it could be construed a dictatorship . As a counterpoint, his powers were a continuation of the constitutional powers of the King of Hungary , adopted earlier during the federation with the Austrian Empire . As Regent, Horthy had the power to adjourn or dissolve the Hungarian Diet (parliament) at his own discretion; he appointed
31328-570: Was styled kende , while their military commander bore the title gyula . The same authors add that the gyula commanded an army of 20,000 horsemen, but the reliability of this number is uncertain. Regino of Prüm and other contemporary authors portray the 9th-century Hungarians as nomadic warriors. Emperor Leo the Wise underlines the importance of horses to their military tactics. Analysis of horse skulls found in Hungarian warriors graves has not revealed any significant difference between these horses and Western breeds. Regino of Prüm states that
31506-423: Was the French rather than the Czechoslovaks who made the effective decisions. The Article 53, Treaty of St. Germain (September 10, 1919) granted the Carpathian Ruthenians autonomy, which was later upheld to some extent by the Czechoslovak constitution . Some rights were, however, withheld by Prague, which justified its actions by claiming that the process was to be a gradual one; and Ruthenians representation in
31684-448: Was useless. On March 21, 1919 the Democratic Republic of Hungary was replaced by the Hungarian Soviet Republic , which then announced the existence of a "Soviet Rus'ka Krajina". Elections organized by the new Hungarian government of a people's soviet (council) on April 6 and 7, 1919 led to Rus'ka Krajina then had two councils: the original diet, and the newly elected soviet. Representatives from both councils then decided to join, forming
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