home

recipes

about paprika

photos

links

history

shopping

learn hungarian

contact

Year 1000 BC
Celts inhabit Danube basin. Finno-Ugrian people originate from somewhere between the middle Volga and the Urals, probably near the Kama river. Eventually the Ugrians split from the Finns. Finno-Ugrians are skilled in pottery making, weaving, and spinning. They breed livestock, till the land with hoes, breed horses. Ugrian hunters exchanged furs, textile, metal, and glass products. Property accumulation and stratification of society by wealth are furthered by animal husbandry and agriculture. Ugrians begin to use bronze and iron. Hunting of fur bearing animals dominates over agriculture and livestock breeding.

500 BC
Ugrians separate into 2 branches-present day Ugrians and the ancestors of the Hungarians the Magyars. Hungarians, now a separate group, fall under the control of a number of successive empires, finally under the tribal rule of the Khazars who establish an imperial hierarchy—the clan system. Nomadic Turks begin to move into the region. Hungarians transition from being hunters, fisherman, and stock breeders to nomadic herdsmen. Hungarian-inhabited area extends to the middle reaches of the Volga. Tribal organization develops within the framework of the nomadic empires of the Pontic Steppes.

35 BC
Roman armies of Julius Caesar conquer region.

14 BC
Region becomes part of Roman Empire known as Pannonia. Buda is established. Pannonia is eastern frontier of Roman Empire. Acquincum is established.

433 AD
Attila becomes King of the Huns. The army is very large and capable of conducting siege operations which other Barbarian armies are not. One of the most feared and notorious barbarians of all time, Attila is believed to be of distant Mongol stock. He ravaged much of the European continent during the 5th century. He was known as the “Scourge of God,” From the year 433, Attila shared the throne with his brother Bleda, but killed him in 445. Some of the greatest cities of Europe were sacked and burned: Rheims, Mainz, Strasbourg, Cologne, Worms, and Trier. Paris was spared. An unsuccessful campaign in Persia was followed in 441 by an invasion of the Eastern Roman empire, the success of which emboldened him to invade the West. He passed unhindered through Austria and Germany, across the Rhine into Gaul. When he entered the Rhine he is said to have had and army of somewhere between 300,000-700,000. By 447, Attila devastates the whole region between the Black and the Mediterranean seas. He defeats the Byzantine emperor Theodosius II, but is not able to take Constantinople. In 451 he was met on the Plains of Chalons by the allied Romans who overcame the Huns and averted the peril that menaced Western civilization. Turning then to Italy, in the spring of 452, he laid waste to many Lombard cities, and was approaching Rome, and was met by an embassy, including Pope Leo I- which dissuaded Attila from the sacking the city.

453
Attila the Hun dies. Ends period of marauding through Europe.

500s
Hungarians leave the area of the Urals along the Volga and Caspian Sea. After several hundred years of wandering they reach Carpathian Basin.

600s-700s
Clan system gives way to the federation of the seven tribes. Most leaders are of Khazar descent.

800s
Hungarian leaders separate completely from Khazar ties. Hungarians begin migration in second half of century, invade Carpathian Basin and take over land formerly held by Slavs. Hungarians maraud and attack armies of Carolingian empire. King Arnulf (Western Europe) offers 7 tribes land if they help him fight off enemies. Arpad is chosen as leader of the 7 tribes and leads tribes across mountains into what is now Eastern Europe. Slave influence advances agriculture. Successful raids and attacks result in annual payments from German and Italian rulers, creating wealth for Hungarian warriors. After death of German King Henry, Hungarians again began conquests , reaching Atlantic seaboard, Mediterranean coast and the Bosphorus. Byzantine emperer, German and Italian princes making annual payments to Hungarians to avoid attacks.

900
Conquest of Hungary by Magyars is completed. Under the leadership of Arpad, the Hungarian tribes settle in the Carpathian Basin, driving out some, absorbing other inhabitants.

955
Hungarian leader Bulcsu taken prisoner and hanged at Augsburg by army of princes of Otto 1. End of marauding campaigns in the West. Increasing power of clan chiefs weakens tribal organization, leading to development of feudal state. Struggle of supremacy among tribal chiefs is won by a descendent of Arpad.

966
Benedictine Monks establish monastery at Pannonhalma. The abbey is the oldest standing building in Hungary,

970-997
Prince Geza (Father of Stephen) organizes Hungary as a feudal feudal state. Continues expansionist policy of ancestors. Makes peace with German emperor, asking him to send Christian missionaries, but still tolerated paganism. Old order chiefs support revolt against Stephen, supporting Koppany. Stephen’s German knights kill Koppany. Pagan resistance to Christianity remains strong among those who lost power in the transition to feudal society..

1000
On Christmas Day, Stephen ascends to throne with crown from Pope Sylvester II, receiving approval from Emperer Otto III. Hungarian kingdom and nation is born. Stephen establishes current counties and establishes feudal class rule. Stepehn is married to German princess, Gisella. Nation moves from being semi-nomadic to animal breeding and agriculture.

1038
Stephen dies. Designates Peter Orseolo, a nephew, as his successor (his own son was dead and another nephew Vaszeley had plotted to overthrow him). As punishment, Vaszely was blinded and molten lead poured in his ears. Peter ascends to throne. Stephen is canonized 45 years \after his death.

1038-1041
Peter Orseolo is king.

1041
Stephen’s brother-in-law, Samuel Aba drives out Peter and has himself crowned king.

1044
Aba is assassinated fleeing from Emperor Henry III. Peter reoccupies throne and takes oath of fealty to Henry III.

1046
Peter is killed. Andrew is king from 1046-1060,

1055
Abbey at Tihany established. A foundation charter was drawn up on the northern shore of Lake Balaton, the earliest written record in Hungarian.

1060
Accession of Bela. Of Stephen’s cousin Vaszely’s three sons, two will become kings: Andrew and Bela. Andrew is asked to return from exile and become king. He has married Anasztazia of Kiev. His brother Bela, with a Polish army, defeats Andrew who falls from his carriage and is trampled to death by the horses. He is buried in the Tihany monastery cemetery.

1063
Bela dies in an accident when the throne collapses during a meeting of various leaders.

1063-1074
Bela’s nephew Salamon (Andrew’s son) becomes king. Salamon is defeated by Bela’s sons Geza and Laszlo. Prince Geza appeals to Pope Gregory VII for support. Pope asks for total submission. Geza refuses and has himself crowned with a crown from the Emporer of Byzantium.

1074-1077
Geza is king. Geza marries twice. Nothing is known about his first wife. The second is a Greek princess. They have two sons, Kalman and Akos.

1077-1095
Laszlo, brother of Geza, is king. Laszlo who helped defeat Salamon and have Geza crowned, is now himself king.

1221
Nobles sign “Golden Bull” defining the Hungarian nation.

1235
Elizabeth (daughter of Hungarian King Andrew II and his wife Gertrude) is canonized. Elizabeth, widowed during the crusades, spends her life caring for the sick and poor, founding a hospital in honor of St. Francis. St. Elizabeth of Hungary is the patron of Catholic charities.

1221-1241
Period of Mongol invasions. In 1241 Mongolian Tatars devastate the country. Their presence lasts a year, halting development for at least a century.

1241
Mongol invasion sweeps through Hungary in last wave of great migration.

1300
Ottomans begin invasion into Byzantine Empire.

1301
Andrew II, last of Arpad’s line dies.

1301-1387 Anjou /Dynasty
Ends period of near anarchy, constant struggles with rivals for throne. Hungary flourishes under a succession of ruler beginning with Charles Robert (Anjou prince of Naples), followed by his son Nagy Lajos (Louis the Great, under whom the kindom expands to Baltic, Adriatic, and Black Seas), and culminating with Matthias Corvinus.

1387


1387-1437
Luxembourg Dynasty Zsigmond of Luxembourg is King and Holy Roman Emperor.

1400
Beginning of Ottoman Turk invasions. Ottomans were nomadic people from central Asia who took over the remanants of the Byzantine Empire, centered in Constantinople. Constantinople falls (1453), becomes Istanbul, capital of Ottoman Emp Empire. Byzantine (Christian) institutions become overlaid with Islamic and Turkisk customs. The empire peaks under Sultan Suleiman I (1520-1566).

1456
Hunyadi Janos fends off Turks for decades, finally stopping them at Nandofeher, preventing the Turkish advance into Western Europe. In honor of his heroic defense at Nandofehervar (Belgrade today), Pope Calixtus III called Hungary the “Shield of Christianity” and decreed the bells be run every day at noon in Catholic countries all over the world. Hunyadi dies in 1456.

1458-1490
King Matthias rules. Organizes Black Army. Matthias is first Hungarian on the throne since 1301, the extinction of the House of Arpad. Cultural life flourishes in his palaces at Buda and Visegrad. Matthias valued the arts, sciences, architecture. He ordered the renovations of buildings, churches, set up the first Hungarian press and the Corvin library. Under Matthias, Hungary became one of the most powerful nations in Europe. He died at 47, without accomplishing his dream of eliminating the Turkish threat forever.

1490
Matthias dies. Anarchy follows. The High Nobles refuse to support Matthias’ son John Corvin as king fearing that he will continue his father’s policy of taxation. A foreign king, Louis II, from the House of Jagello, comes to rule over Hungary. 1490-1526 Jagello Dynasty. Matthias is succeeded by Vladislav who is unable to lead effectively.

1532
25 day siege of Sopron by 60,000 Turks.

1526
Hungary’s weakened army is crushed by Ottoman Turks at defeat at Mohacs. Hungarian king is killed in the battle. Nation begins downward spiral. Occupation lasts 150 years.

1541
Royal seat of Buda falls. Country split into 3 parts: Habsburgs/Turkish/Transylvania.

1571
Battle of Lepanto. Naval forces from Spain and Venice defeat Turks slowing expansion into Europe, and ending it entirely in 1683 through a victory of Austrian and Polish troops at Vienna. From there, the empire enters a very slow (250 year) decline, ending as part of the end of World War I.

1686
Buda freed from Turks by Germans after 145 years. Castle and Buda completely destroyed in 3 month battle. Hungarians not allowed in Buda afterwards, only Germans.

1699
Turks driven out by Austrians. Country becomes province of Habsburg empire. Hungary blossoms but wishes for independence.

1703-1711
The uprising of Ferenc Rakoczy II was the first attempt to win back the country’s independence since the expulsion of the Turks. The rebels defeated the Imperial army several times, but did not receive promised French support, and failed.

1848
Kossuth asks U.S. for help against Austria, but is unsuccessful. Austrian government attacks Hungarian army.

1849
Under Kossuth Lajos, Hungary declares independence, but Austria launches armed attack on Hungary in order to crush the revolution. Independent Hungarian army succeeds in holding off the attack, and surrenders only when Austrians bring in help from imperial Russian troops. Hungarian Diet pressured to revolutionary demands including liberation of serfs, equality before the law, freedom of the press and an independent Hungarian government. Brutal reprisals from Austria, absolutism reinstated.

1867
Compromise of 1867—dual monarchy established. Austria the Empire and Hungary the Kingdom. Constant military skirmishes led to compromise. Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elizabeth become monarchs. 1867-1914 become Golden Years of Budapest. A capitalistic economic structure developed and significant foreign capital was invested in Hungary.

1873
Buda/Obuda/Pest officially united as Budapest.

1918
WWI ends, Germany and its allies, including the Austro-Hungarian Mondarchy lose, the monarchy disintegrates.

1918
Hungarian Communists seize power. Communists overthrown 5 months later by troops from Romania.

1919
Treaty of Saint Germain-in-Laye separates Austria and Hungary.

1920
Treaty of Trianon--Hungary loses 2/3 of its territory. 1920-30 Silver Age of Budapest. Loss of land means loss of valuable access to raw materials.

1938-40
Germany concludes treaties in Munich and Vienna, according to which Southern Slovakia and Northern Transylvania were returned to Hungary.

1941
Hungary (under Horthy) enters WWII on side of Germans and Italians, hoping to regain land after victory.

1944
German forces occupy the country. Hungarians suffer grave losses on the Soviet Front. At the end of the war, Fascists take over. After an unsuccessful attempt to pull out of the war, the extreme right wing Arrow-Cross Party comes to power. This is the low ebb in Hungary’s history.

1944
New Hungarian government formed in Debrecen, in Eastern part of the country.

1945
First free elections held. Six parties take part.

1946
Hungary proclaimed as a republic.

1947
Rigged elections bring communists to power. Only 2 parties left to oppose Communists who were getting help from Moscow. One party system is established.

1947
Hungarian government signs the Paris Peace Treaty, restoring the 1938 Trianon borders.

1956
Uprising against Communists leaves thousands dead. Janos Kadar begins reforms. Hungary becomes richest nation in region.

1989
Collapse of communism leads to Republic of Hungary. October 23 Hungary renamed the Republic of Hungary.

1990
Free elections, the Hungarian Democratic Forum winning by a large majority. Soviet army leaves Hungary. Jozsef Antall, the party’s chairman formed the new government which was sworn in on May 23.


1993 Jozsef Antall dies. Peter Boross, becomes new Prime Minister.

1994
Hungarian Socialist Party wins a majority and forms coalition government with the Alliance of Free Democrats.

1999
Hungary joins NATO.

2004
Hungary joins EU

2006
50 year anniversary of 1956 revolution celebrated with violence.