Keleti Nepek a Kozepkori Magyarorszagon (Peoples of Eastern Origin in Medieval Hungary)

This book familiarizes the reader with the history and the culture of the tribes and splinter groups from the Eastern European steppe who settled in medieval Hungary, and later were assimilated into the Hungarian people. This is done on the basis of the results of the related historical, archaeological, linguistic and ethnographic research. Of the various eastern and foreign ethnic groups living in Early Arpad Period Hungary, who most likely arrived together with the conquering Hungarians, the book discusses the data on Muslims in particular depth. The fate of this social group, which can be differentiated from its surroundings in terms of religion, can serve as a model during the analysis of the processes of assimilation that occurred within medieval circumstances. With a special emphasis on the antecedents and circumstances of their settlement, the author also deals with the early history and ethnogenesis of the Pechenegs, who settled here during the period when the Hungarian state was founded or soon after, the Oghuz Turks, who arrived in small, scattered groups during the 11th-12th centuries, and then the Cumans and Jasz, who fled here in the 13th century before the Mongol invasion. The traditional cultures of these groups are presented on the basis of the results of so-called late nomadic Eastern European archaeological research. The book discusses in detail the history in Hungary of the ethnic groups of eastern origin, and the processes through which they were integrated into Hungarian society. It also introduces the areas where they settled and their cultural legacy. Intensive archaeological research on this subject has been ongoing in Hungary for about a half a century. The study of ethnic groups of eastern origin has developed into a separate branch within medieval archaeology, and this has a great significance in terms of uncovering our cultural links with Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The author of this volume has been working within this professional field for a significant portion of his career. In the book he delves in most detail into the archaeological relics of the Cumans, due to the relative abundance of this material. In separate chapters he analyzes the grave goods of the aristocratic class, the settlement cemeteries of the common people, their towns, their armaments and their attire. Following their immigration, the ethnic elements from the east reinforced the oriental features of Hungarian culture that had been inherited from their ancestors who conquered the Carpathian Basin, and also contributed to its diversity with numerous valuable elements. The linguistic and cultural assimilation of the Cumans and the Jasz can be placed in the 15th-16th centuries, but they preserved awareness of their origins and ethnic identity even longer, and due to this they continue to survive as independent ethnographic groups. This book follows their lives all the way to the middle of the 18th century, and to the extent possible shines light on the Cuman or Jasz cultural elements within Hungarian folk culture. This book provides an in-depth summary that fills in the gaps with a broad introduction to the professional literature and illustrations that present the archaeological material. It is a useful work as both a professional handbook and a source of information for the general public.