92 AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 



The Magyars, although distinguislied amongst all other nations by their 

 patriotic cohesion, are nevertheless the outcome of a commingling of the most 

 diverse tribes and nations. The conquerors of the country certainly did not 

 exterminate the Yazygians, Quades, Dacians, and other tribes whom they found 

 living within the amphitheatre of the Carpathians. When the Roman Empire fell 

 to pieces, the vast plains of Hungary became a huge field of battle. Goths, 

 Gepides, Vandals, and Alans successively established themselves there. Then 

 came the Huns, led by Attila, who subjugated Slavs and Germans alike. The 

 modern Magyars are fond of tracing their origin from these Huns, but they passed 

 over the country like a swarm of locusts, leaving hardly any traces behind them. 

 Far more abiding was the influence of the Avares, who governed the country 

 during two centuries and a half. But so great had been the terror which the 

 epithet of Hun aroused that the country retained its name of " Hunnia " long 

 after the Huns had disappeared, and the Magyars, when first they appeared 

 in the ninth century, were called " Hans," or "Hungarians." The Byzantines 

 called them Turks. 



In reality they are neither Huns nor Turks. They separated from the original 

 Finnish stock when still living as hunters and fishermen, and long before the dog 

 and the horse were known amongst them. Subsequently they became associated 

 with Turkish tribes, who initiated them into the mysteries of cattle-breeding and 

 agriculture. When they established themselves in Hungary, under the sons of 

 Arpad, they came into contact with the Slovenes, who became the teachers of the 

 Magyars, whose language and customs they in course of time adopted. Hundreds 

 of Magyar words bear witness to the great extent of this influence. 



Though scarcely numbering 200,000 men when they first came to Hungary, 

 the Magyars have not only retained their nationality for ten centuries, but they 

 have also assimilated many of the other inhabitants of the country. The Bulgarian 

 Ismaélites and Khazars, who lived in the country as traders, have become 

 Magyars. The Pecheneges, towards the middle of the eleventh century, sought 

 an asylum amongst their Hungarian kinsmen. Two centuries later the Kumans 

 were assigned extensive territories in the mountainous region of the north-west 

 and in the central plain. They too have become Magyars, as have also the 

 Paloczes (Pal()Czok) and the Yazygs (Jaszok), who immigrated subsequently. 

 Even the Germans, in spite of their pretended Aryan superiority, have yielded in 

 large numbers to " Magyarisation." Many villages, originally settled by Germans, 

 as is proved by the family names and historical documents, have become Magyar. 



Great was the terror inspired by the clouds of Magyar horsemen, who extended 

 their ravages as far as Italy and France. But the great defeat which they 

 suffered at Augsburg in 955 definitely slaked their thirst after conquest, and 

 thenceforth they confined themselves to their own country. In the ninth century 

 their seven tribes had formed an alliance, and their princes were made to swear 

 that they would respect their liberties and defend them against all comers. 

 The Magyar, although he felt constrained to submit to be civilised, retains the 

 free gait, the dignified bearing, and open glance of a warrior. He is proud of 



