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Hungarian invasions of Europe

Hungarian invasions of Europe

Hungarian raids in the 9–10th century
Date~800/839–970
Location
Belligerents
Hungarian tribes
Principality of Hungary
Kingdom of Italy
East Francia
Middle Francia
Great Moravia
Byzantine Empire
Catalan Counties
Upper March of Al-Andalus
First Bulgarian Empire
Khazaria
West Francia
Lower Pannonia
Principality of Littoral Croatia
Kingdom of Croatia
Principality of Serbia
Duchy of Carinthia
Commanders and leaders
Árpád
Bogát
Dursac
Szalárd
Bulcsú
Lehel
Súr
Kisa
Apor
Taksony
Berengar I of Italy
Louis the Child
Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria
Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria
Henry the Fowler
Otto the Great
Conrad, Duke of Lorraine
Muncimir of Croatia
Tomislav of Croatia
Časlav of Serbia
Abd al-Rahman III
Boris I of Bulgaria
Simeon I of Bulgaria
Bardas Skleros
Peter
Strength
~25,000 warriors maximum (but variable) ~40,000 (variable)
Casualties and losses
Mostly not significant Mostly heavy.
Some villages and cities burned.

The Hungarian invasions of Europe (Hungarian: kalandozások, German: Ungarneinfälle) occurred in the 9th and 10th centuries, during the period of transition in the history of Europe of the Early Middle Ages, when the territory of the former Carolingian Empire was threatened by invasion by the Magyars (Hungarians) from the east, the Viking expansion from the north, and the Arabs from the south.[1][2]

The Hungarians took possession of the Carpathian Basin (corresponding to the later Kingdom of Hungary) in a pre-planned manner, with a long period of settlement between 862–895, and launched a number of campaigns both westward into former Francia and southward into the Byzantine Empire. The westward raids were stopped only with the Magyar defeat at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, which led to the revival of the Holy Roman Empire in 962, producing a new political order in Western Europe. The raids into Byzantine territories continued throughout the 10th century, until the eventual Christianisation of the Magyars and the establishment of the Christian Kingdom of Hungary in 1000.

  1. ^ Barbara H. Rosenwein, A short history of the Middle Ages, University of Toronto Press, 2009, p. 152 [1]
  2. ^ Jean-Baptiste Duroselle, Europe: a history of its peoples, Viking, 1990, p. 124 [2]

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