Transylvanian. Also see Hungary and Pecheneg
Formed from:
At the beginning of the 9th century the Hungarian tribes, were located in the north of the Black
Sea. In 895 as a result of a planned 'conquest' and a massive withdrawal caused by a
Bulgarian-Pecheneg attack they established in the Upper-Tisza region and Transylvania and
started to expand their territories toward the west only in 899. According to Gesta Hungarorum
describing among others the conquest of Transylvania, three statal structures were encountered
and defeated by the Magyars, ruled by Menumorut, Glad and Gelu. However, even the exitence
of these rulers is controversial.
Original Record of: 8th Century
Migrations & Changes:
The early 11th century was marked by the conflict between King Stephen I of Hungary and his
uncle Gyula, the ruler of Transylvania. The Hungarian ruler was successful in these wars, and
Transylvania was incorporated into the Christian Kingdom of Hungary. The Transylvanian
Christian bishopric and the comitatus system were organised. By the early 11th century, the
ethnic Hungarian Székely were established in southeastern Transylvania as a border population
of ready warriors, and in the 12th and 13th centuries, the areas in the south and northeast were
settled by German colonists called Saxons. Romanians maintained control over a few autonomous
regions called 'terrae': Fagaras, Amlas, Hateg, Maramures, and Lapus. However, the autonomy
was taken by the end of Arpadian dinasty in 1301.
In 1241-1242, during the Mongol invasion of Europe, Transylvania was among the territories
devastated by the Golden Horde. A large portion of the population perished. This was followed by
a second Mongol invasion in 1285, led by Nogai Khan.
Following this devastation, Transylvania was reorganized according to a class system of Estates,
which established privileged groups (universitates) with power and influence in economic and
political life, as well as along ethnic lines. The first Estate was the lay and ecclesiastic aristocracy,
ethnically heterogeneous, but undergoing a process of homogenization around its Hungarian
nucleus. The other Estates were Saxons, Szeklers and Romanians (or Vlachs - Universitas
Valachorum), all with an ethnic and ethno-linguistic basis (Universis nobilibus, Saxonibus, Syculis
et Olachis). The general assembly (congregatio generalis) of the four Estates had few genuine
legislative powers in Transylvania, but it sometimes took measures regarding order in the country.
After the suppression of the Budai Nagy Antal-revolt in 1437, the political system was based on
Unio Trium Nationum (The Union of the Three Nations). According to the Union, which was
explicitly directed against serfs and other peasants, society was ruled by three privileged Estates
of the nobility (mostly ethnic Hungarians), the Székelys, also an ethnic Hungarian people who
primarily served as warriors, and the ethnic German, Saxon burghers.
The only possibility for Romanians to retain or access nobility in Hungarian Transylvania was
through conversion to Catholicism. Some Orthodox Romanian nobles converted, becoming
integrated into the Hungarian nobility. These circumstances marked the beginning of a conflict
between ethnic Hungarian Catholics and ethnic Romanian Orthodox in the territory of
Transylvania which in some regions remains unresolved to this very day
Cities or towns:
Sibiu, Sighisoara (founded by Saxons), Bran, Bucharest, Sinaia, Baciu, Cernatu, Satulung,
Turches, Tarlungeni, Zizin, Purcareni, Crizbav, Apata, Zarnesti, Brasov / Corona, and Tohan,
Language:
Romanian
Hungarian
Recorded names:
Male: Stefan Batory,Sigismund, Andreas, Gabriel Bethlen, Andreas and Zsigmond were Princes of
Transylvania 1500's , Vlad Tepes , Mircea (Vlads brother), Redu ( Vlads brother), John Zapolya
1500's ,
female: Elizabeth Bathory- the blood countess 1500's,
Neighbors
10th Century:
Bohemia to the Northwest, Kievan Rus to the Northeast and East, Ottonian Empire to the West,
Croatia, Serbs, and Bulgaria to the South
Sources for Research:
Gesta Hungarorum