Empire · 1000–1918 · Europe
Kingdom of Hungary
Also known as Magyars, Hungary, Imperial Hungary
The Magyars, horse-riding nomads speaking a Finno-Ugric language, crossed the Carpathians around 895 under Grand Prince Árpád and settled the Danube basin, raiding deep into Europe until their defeat at Lechfeld in 955. Árpád's descendant Stephen converted to Latin Christianity and was crowned king in 1000, founding a kingdom organised into counties around royal castles. Hungary joined with Croatia in 1102, survived the devastating Mongol invasion of 1241, and under the Angevin king Louis the Great and the Renaissance ruler Matthias Corvinus became a great power of central Europe.
After the Ottomans killed King Louis II at Mohács in 1526 the kingdom was split; the Habsburgs inherited the crown and later reconquered the whole country. Hungary gained equal status within Austria-Hungary in 1867, until the monarchy collapsed in 1918.
- Years
- 1000–1918
- Capital
- Esztergom and Székesfehérvár, then Buda; Pozsony (Bratislava) 1536 – 1783
- Greatest extent
- 1910, about 325,000 km²
- Region
- Europe
Lands of the Hungarian Crown, including Croatia-Slavonia, within Austria-Hungary
Legacy
Hungary preserved a distinct Magyar language and identity in the heart of Europe and served for centuries as Christendom's frontier against the Ottomans.
Rulers
- Árpád grand prince c. 895 – 907
Led the Magyar conquest of the Carpathian Basin
- Stephen I 1000 – 1038
First king; converted Hungary to Christianity
- Béla IV 1235 – 1270
Rebuilt the kingdom after the Mongol invasion
- Louis I the Great 1342 – 1382
Also king of Poland; height of medieval power
- Matthias Corvinus 1458 – 1490
Renaissance king who took Vienna
- Louis II 1516 – 1526
Killed fighting the Ottomans at Mohács
- Franz Joseph I 1867 – 1916
Crowned king of Hungary in the Dual Monarchy
Realms on the map
- Kingdom of Hungary 1000–1943
- Principality of Hungary 900–999
- Magyars 840–910
Wars
- Mongol conquests (1206–1260) 1206 – 3 September 1260