Kingdom of Hungary

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Kingdom of Hungary
Names
Regnum Hungariae (Latin)
Knigreich Ungarn (German)
Magyar Kirlysg (Hungarian)
10001918
19201946
Flag
Flag (1867-1918)
Coat of arms
Coat of arms
Motto
Regnum Mariae Patrona Hungariae[1]
Kingdom of Mary, the Patron of Hungary
Anthem
Himnusz
Hymn
MENU000
Royal anthem
God save, God protect Our Emperor, Our Country!

Kingdoms of Hungary (dark green) and Croatia-Slavonia (light green) within Austria-
Hungary in 1914
Capital Budapest
Historical capitals
Esztergom (10th to mid-13th century)
Buda (mid-13th century to 1541)a
Pressburg (15361783)
Debrecen (1849)
Szkesfehrvr (place of diets, royal seat, crowning and burial site from 1000 to
1543)
Languages Official languages
Latin (10001784; 17901844)
German (17841790; 18491867)
Hungarian (18441849; 18671946)
Other spoken languages
Romanian, Slovak, Croatian, Slovene, Serbian, Italian, Ruthenian, Carpathian
Romani, Yiddish, Polish
Religion Roman Catholic,[2] Calvinism, Lutheranism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern
Catholic, Unitarianism, Judaism
Government Monarchy
Monarch
10001038 Stephen I (first)
19161918 Charles IV (last)
19201944 Regent Mikls Horthy
Palatine
10091038 Samuel Aba
18471848 Stephen Francis Victor
Prime Minister
1848 Lajos Batthyny
19451946 Zoltn Tildy
Legislature Diet (from the 1290s)
Upper house House of Magnates
(18671918; 19261945)
Lower house House of Representatives
(18671918; 19271945)
Historical era 2nd millennium
 Coronation of Stephen I 25 December 1000
Ottoman occupation
of Buda 29 August 1541
Hungarian Revolution 15 March 1848
1867 Compromise 20 March 1867
Treaty of Trianon 4 June 1920
Monarchy abolished 1 February 1946
Area
1910[4] 282,870 km2 (109,220 sq mi)
1930[5] 93,073 km2 (35,936 sq mi)
1941[6] 172,149 km2 (66,467 sq mi)
Population
1711[3] est. 3,000,000
1790[3] est. 8,000,000
1910[4] est. 18,264,533
Density 65km2 (167sq mi)
1930[5] est. 8,688,319
Density 93km2 (242sq mi)
1941[6] est. 14,669,100
Density 85km2 (221sq mi)
Currency
Florentinus (13251553)
Thaler
Florin (17541867)
Forint (18671892)
Korona (18921918)
Korona (19191926)
Pengo (19271946)
Adpengo (1946)
Preceded by Succeeded by
Principality of Hungary
Hungarian Republic (191920)
First Hungarian Republic
Second Hungarian Republic
Today part of
Austria
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia
Hungary
Poland
Romania
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Ukraine
a. First became capital in 1256
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed from the
Middle Ages into the twentieth century (10001946 with the exception of 19181920).
The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of
the first king Stephen I at Esztergom in about the year 1000;[7] his family (the
rpd dynasty) led the monarchy for 300 years. By the 12th century, the kingdom
became a European middle power within the Western world.[7]

Due to the Ottoman occupation of the central and southern territories of Hungary in
the 16th century, the country was partitioned into three parts the Habsburg Royal
Hungary, Ottoman Hungary and the semi-independent Principality of Transylvania.[7]
The House of Habsburg held the Hungarian throne after the Battle of Mohcs until
1918 and also played a key role in the liberation wars against the Ottoman Empire.
From 1867 territories connected to the Hungarian crown were incorporated into
Austria-Hungary under the name of Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen. The monarchy
ended with the deposition of the last king Charles IV in 1918, after which Hungary
became a republic. The kingdom was nominally restored during the Regency of
192046, ending with the Soviet occupation in 1946.[7]

The Kingdom of Hungary was a multiethnic[8] state from its inception[9] until the
Treaty of Trianon and it covered what is today Hungary, Slovakia, Transylvania and
other parts of what is now Romania, Carpathian Ruthenia (now part of Ukraine),
Vojvodina (now part of Serbia), Burgenland (now part of Austria), and other smaller
territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders. From 1102 it also included
Croatia, being in personal union with it, united under the King of Hungary.

Today, the feast day of the first king Stephen I (20 August) is a national holiday
in Hungary, commemorating the foundation of the state (Foundation Day).[10]

Contents [hide]
1 Names
2 Origins
3 Capital cities
4 Middle Ages
4.1 High Middle Ages
4.1.1 Mongol invasion
4.2 Late Middle Ages
4.2.1 The Anjou Age
4.2.2 The Age of Sigismund
4.2.3 Hunyadi family
5 Early modern history
5.1 The divided kingdom
5.2 The Kuruc age
5.3 Age of Enlightenment
5.4 Hungarian Revolution of 1848
6 Austria-Hungary (18671918)
7 Transitions (1918 to 1920)
7.1 Two short-lived republics
7.2 Treaty of Trianon (1920)
8 Between 1920 and 1946
8.1 Interwar period
8.2 During World War II 19411945
8.3 Transitioning into a republic
9 See also
10 References
11 Further reading
12 External links
Names[edit]
Main article Name of Hungary
The Latin forms Regnum Hungariae or Ungarie (Regnum meaning kingdom); Regnum
Marianum (Kingdom of Mary); or simply Hungaria, were the names used in official
documents in Latin from the beginning of the kingdom to the 1840s.

The German name Knigreich Ungarn was used officially from 1784 to 1790[11] and
again between 1849 and the 1860s.

The Hungarian name (Magyar Kirlysg) was used in the 1840s, and then again from
the 1860s to 1946. The non-official Hungarian name of the kingdom was Magyarorszg,
[12] which is still the colloquial, and also the official name of Hungary.[13]

The names in the other native languages of the kingdom were Polish Krlestwo
Wegier, Romanian Regatul Ungariei, Serbian Kraljevina Ugarska, Croatian Kraljevina
Ugarska, Slovene Kraljevina Ogrska, Slovak Uhorsk krlovstvo, and Italian (for the
city of Fiume), Regno d'Ungheria.

In Austria-Hungary (18671918), the unofficial name Transleithania was sometimes

used to denote the regions of the Kingdom of Hungary. Officially, the term Lands of
the Crown of Saint Stephen was included for the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary,
although this term was also in use prior to that time.

Origins[edit]
Main articles Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin and Principality of
Hungary
The Hungarians led by rpd settled the Carpathian Basin in 895, established
Principality of Hungary (8961000).[14] The Hungarians led several successful
incursions to Western Europe, until they were stopped by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
in Battle of Lechfeld.

Capital cities[edit]
Main article List of historical capitals of Hungary
Name Time period
Szkesfehrvr 10001543
Esztergom 10001256
Buda 12561315
Temesvr 13151323
Visegrd 13231408
Buda 14081485
Vienna 14851490
Buda 14901536 (1541)
Lippa (Eastern Hungarian Kingdom) 15411542
Gyulafehrvr (Eastern Hungarian Kingdom) 15421570
Pressburg 15361784
Buda 17841849
Debrecen 1849
Buda 18491873
Budapest 18731944
Debrecen 1944
Budapest 19441946
Middle Ages[edit]
High Middle Ages[edit]

King Stephen I of Hungary

Main article Kingdom of Hungary (10001301)
The principality was succeeded by the Christian Kingdom of Hungary with the
coronation of St Stephen I (son of principal Gza. Originally called Vajk until
baptized) at Esztergom on Christmas Day 1000. The first kings of the kingdom were
from the rpd dynasty. He fought against Koppny and in 998, with Bavarian help,
defeated him near Veszprm. The Catholic Church received powerful support from
Stephen I, who with Christian Hungarians and German knights wanted a Christian
kingdom established in Central Europe. Stephen I of Hungary was canonized as a
Catholic saint in 1083 and an Orthodox saint in 2000.

After his death, a period of revolts and conflict for supremacy ensued between the
royalty and the nobles. In 1051 armies of the Holy Roman Empire tried to conquer
Hungary, but they were defeated at Vrtes Mountain. The armies of the Holy Roman
Empire continued to suffer defeats; the second greatest battle was at the town now
called Bratislava, in 1052. Before 1052 Peter Orseolo, a supporter of the Holy
Roman Empire, was overthrown by king Samuel Aba of Hungary.[15][16]

The Holy Crown of Hungary along with other regalia

Hungary (including Croatia) in 1190, during the rule of Bla III
This period of revolts ended during the reign of Bla I. Hungarian chroniclers
praised Bla I for introducing new currency, such as the silver denarius, and for
his benevolence to the former followers of his nephew, Solomon. The second greatest
Hungarian king, also from the rpd dynasty, was Ladislaus I of Hungary, who
stabilized and strengthened the kingdom. He was also canonized as a saint. Under
his rule Hungarians successfully fought against the Cumans and conquered Croatia in
1091, due to a dynastic crisis in Croatia, he managed to swiftly seize power in the
kingdom, he also was a claimant to the throne due to the fact that his sister was
married to the late Croatian king Zvonimir who died childless.

However, kingship over all of Croatia would not be achieved until the reign of his
successor Coloman. With the coronation of King Coloman as King of Croatia and
Dalmatia in Biograd in 1102, the two kingdoms of Croatia and Hungary were united
under one crown.[17][18] Although the precise terms of this relationship became a
matter of dispute in the 19th century, it is believed that Coloman created a kind
of personal union between the two kingdoms. The nature of the relationship varied
through time, Croatia retained a large degree of internal autonomy overall, while
the real power rested in the hands of the local nobility.[19] Modern Croatian and
Hungarian historiographies mostly view the relations between Kingdom of Croatia
(11021526) and Kingdom of Hungary from 1102 as a form of a personal union, i.e.
that they were connected by a common king.[20] Also, one of the greatest Hungarian
jurists and statesmen of the 16th century, Istvn Werboczy in his work Tripartitum
treats Croatia as a kingdom separate to Hungary.

In 1222 Andrew II of Hungary issued the Golden Bull which laid down the principles
of law.

Mongol invasion[edit]
Main article Mongol invasion of Europe

The Meeting of Ladislaus IV and Rudolf I during the Battle on the Marchfeld,
painting by Mr Than (1873)
In 1241, Hungary was invaded by the Mongols and while the first minor battles with
Subutai's vanguard probes ended in seeming Hungarian victories, the Mongols finally
destroyed the combined Hungarian and Cuman armies at the Battle of Muhi. In 1242,
after the end of the Mongol invasion, numerous fortresses to defend against future
invasion were erected by Bla IV of Hungary. In gratitude, the Hungarians acclaimed
him as the Second Founder of the Homeland, and the Hungarian Kingdom again became a
considerable force in Europe. In 1260 Bla IV lost the War of Babenberg Succession,
his army was defeated at the Battle of Kressenbrunn by the united Bohemian forces.
However, in 1278 Ladislaus IV of Hungary and Austrian troops fully destroyed the
Bohemian army at the Battle on the Marchfeld.