Hungary is a country in Central Europe whose history under this name dates to the Early
Middle Ages, when the Pannonian Basin was conquered by the Hungarians (Magyars), a semi-
nomadic people who had migrated from Eastern Europe. For the history of the area before this
period, see Pannonian basin before Hungary.
This country has more than a thousand years of history, full of great events, battles, kings,
allies, intrigue and enemies and sometimes peaceful years. Here you can get a quick overview of
the main events that have led the country and its people to be as they are today.
Hungarians were nomadic people and are believed to have moved to the Carpathian basin from
the East, somewhere around the Ural Mountains. Under the leadership of Árpád, the Hungarians
took over the land around 895.
In 1000, King Stephen I (St. Stephen) founded the state of Hungary, and accepted the Catholic
religion as standard. Stephen was crowned with the Holy Crown of Hungary and blessed by the
Pope. The crown is now displayed in the Parliament building.
In 1241-1242 the invasion of the Mongols caused serious destruction in the country, and half
of the population were killed or deported as slaves (1 million people). After the invasion King
Béla ordered the construction of a system of strong stone castles to defend the country from
further attacks. The second Mongolian strike was stopped at Pest by the royal army thanks to
these castles.
After a Turkish conquering army defeated the Hungarian royal army at Mohács in 1526, the
country split into three parts around 1541; the Hungarian Kingdom, the Habsburg dominion and
the Turkish dominion. It took 150 years before the Hungarians could stand up to this situation,
reunite and drive out the Turks. After the Turkish domination, the country became part of the
Habsburg dominion, but under the leadership of Ferenc Rákóczi II. Hungarians partly took back
their independence, and signed the treaty of peace at Szatmár in 1711.
In the 19th century very important reforms were made. Hungarian became the official language
of the country, and the language was renewed and elected to a literary level.
In 1848 there were independence revolutions in Europe, as well as in Hungary. The Magyars
tried to remove the boundaries of the Habsburg dominion. After the suppression of the
revolution, the silent resistance made the nation stronger than ever before. In 1867, a Hungarian
delegation, led by Ferenc Deák finally came to an agreement with the Habsburgs and so the
dualistic system of the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy was born and peace descended across the
land.
In World War I Hungary was ally to Germany and Austria and had to send hundreds of
thousands of troops to die for foreign interests. In 1918 the Monarchy broke up, the first
government was established and the country became the Republic of Hungary. After losing the
war, the allied Atlantic countries overran Hungary and in accordance with the Treaty of Trianon,

split up the country. The Hungary of more than 20 million became a small country of less than 8
million. Hungary was now in the shape we know today.
After the Germans were beaten by the Allies, Soviets took over the country, drove out the
Germans, and stayed for 44 years. In 1956 the people tried to force the leadership to stop this
domination, and dictatorship by the soviets, but the attempt was unsuccessful and was punished
unmercifully. However it did have some effect on the government and some concessions were
made. The soviet domination lasted until 1989, when Hungary finally became an independent
democracy.
In 1999 Hungary joined NATO, and in 2004 became a member of the European Union.
(Source: Wikipedia)