The Eastern Magyars of the Muslim Sources in the 10th Century (original) (raw)
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The Jayhani Traditon contains the most detailed description of the Magyars/Hungarians before the Conquest of the Carpathian Basin (895) Unfortunately, the book itself was lost and it can be recunstructed from late Arabic, Persian and Turkic copies. The reconstruction is primary based on the texts of al-Marwazi, Ibn Rusta and Gardizi. The original texthas a shorter and longer versions. The basic text was reformed at least twice and the later copyists adde further emmendation. Tis study focuses on the philological comments and historical interpretation of the Magyar chapter, integrating the results in the fields of medieval Islamic studies, the medieval history of Eurasian steppe, and the historiography of early hungarian history.
A new Muslim source on the Hungarians in the second half of tenth century
2004
The tenth century was the golden age of the Muslim culture. The political centers of the Islamic civilizations such as Buchara in the East, Baghdad and Cairo in the central regions, and Cordova in the West had developed high scientific and literary levels. The neighboring and even remote non-Muslim lands were also well known if they were parts of the worldwide commercial system. Europe was in close contact with Muslim Spain, while Eastern Europe stood in the middle of the area of interest of the Samanids and Baghdad. The Hungarians living in the Carpathian Basin attracted attention from both ends of the Muslim world. The Samanid wazir, al-Űayhání, preserved a discourse on the Hungarians before they conquered the Carpathian Basin. 1 In the tenth century the cartographer al-Balhi and his followers al-Istahri and Ibn Hauqal 2 and the traveler al-Mas'üdl 3 gave accounts of the Hungarians. Most of this information reached Andalusia, as is attested in the Andalusian author al-Bakri's geographical chapters on the Hungarians based on the books of al-Gayhani and al-Mas'üdl. The work of al-Bakri, entitled The Book of Routes and Kingdoms, was published in parts until recently. In the 1970s Károly Czeglédy discovered a new Andalusian Muslim source concerning 1 T. Lewicki, trôdla arabskie do dziejôw slowianszczyzny. [Arabic sources on the history of the Slavs] T. 2/2. Wroclaw-Warszawa-Kraköw 1977, 32-35, 94-107; H. Göckenjan-I. Zimonyi, Orientalische Berichte über die Völker Osteuropas und Zentralasiens im Mittelalter.
The paper gives an overview about the five historical stages of the Hungarian history featured by significant Muslim influence. Ethnic background, social status and geographical distribution are the main points are dealt in the study. In the mediavel period the Muslims were Asiatic origin people joined the Hungarian tribes and became strong mainstay of the royal power as financial experts and soldiers. In the Ottoman era (1541-1699) islamised Southern Slavic and Vlach people from the Balkans migrated to the middle third, occupied part of the Hungarian Kingdom. They gave military service and played a fundamental role in the administration of the state. After 1878 occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy Bosniaks and Turks migrated to the country. The legal status of the Muslim community was settled in 1916. During the First World War and the uprising against the Austrians in the western border areas of Hungary (now Burgenland) the Muslims earned serious legitimacy and laid the cornerstones of a favourable relationship with Hungarian centre-right, revisionist, and also far-right political groups. When the communists took power after the Second World War, they terminated Muslim community activities, and many Turks and Bosnians left the country. In the very last hours of the Communist era, students from Arabic countries and Hungarian Muslims began to establish religious organisations. Muslims settled in Hungary from farther areas of the Islamic world, including especially Arabic countries, and also Turkey, Central and Southern Asia. Geographical distribution has changed a lot since the beginning. During the Middle Ages their communities settled in the royal estates in different places countrywide. The Ottomans lived in the fortified settlements mainly in the hilly or montanous areas. In the modern period the Muslims are concentrated in the capital city and a few regional centres.
Eastern Muslim Groups among Hungarians in the Middle Ages / Erdal Çoban - Bilig 63. Sayı – Güz 2012
The role of Islam in Hungarian history dates back before the Ottoman reign. The first written records about the 9 th and 10 th century Hungarians belong to Muslim writers who brought these up on the scene of history with their own ethnic names. In the light of Garnati and other sources, we can designate that there were two Khwarezmian ethnic groups, respectively the Turkified Chwalisians and the As people among Hungarians and these groups joined Hungarians before the Magyar conquest (896) of Hungary. Out of these groups, which were called Ishmaelite or böszörmény by Hungarian sources, especially the Chwalisians later continued to migrate to Hungary together with various Turkic tribes during the medieval period. The Chwalisians undertook significant posts in administrative and financial fields while, at the same time, they became a part of Hungarian army like the As people.