The Magyars

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The Magyars
The Medieval Period in European History saw several waves of “barbarians” which helped shape the face of European society. The nomadic tribes of people that lived a migratory life, while other groups were founding civilizations with permanent living centers, are today referred to as barbarians. Two great empires, the Chinese and the
Roman, ruled on the extreme edges of the enormous Eurasian continent and were separated by vast distances.1 The people that existed between the two empires and roamed the large wasteland were called “barbarians.”2 They did not have a permanent living center and therefore raided settled towns and cities for food and riches. Because of there roaming ways and raiding tactics, barbarians were feared and hated in the Medieval
World. The word “barbarian” is presently associated with being backwards, uneducated, or indecent; in one word, uncivilized. These wandering people lived in family orientated groups called clans, which combined together to form a tribe. Tribes depended on one another for protection. Among these barbarian groups where a traveling people known as the Magyars. The Magyars had a major impact on the Carpathian Basin in Central Eastern
Europe, and directly affected the picture of the European landscape that we have today.
The magyars are a mysterious peoples whose origins and connections are highly debated among scholars and historians. The first place to begin when searching for origins, is the language. The Magyar language is a branch of the Finno-Ugrian family of languages, most nearly related to Finnish, although supplemented by numerous Turkic words.3 The language is very unique and their is no other like it in the world. Popular
2
belief places the origin of the people themselves somewhere in the Orient. The Old
Magyar Fatherland was probably situated in the ancient Orient, which we call the
Near-East, and played an important role in Mesopotamian lands.4 Linguistic evidence places the Magyars among the ancient Egyptians. Contemporary records speak of a
Makari Queen5 from the XXth dynasty; between 1080-940 BC6 Egyptian Kings of the
XIXth dynasty forced the Magyars out of Africa for good. From their the people dispersed, moved around the European landmass, including Hungary, and mixed with other peoples.7 Much of the Finno-Ugrian peoples mainly dispersed in the widespread region on the west side of the Ural Mountains.8 It was in this region that the Magyars were exposed to the Turks. Their language was enriched with Turkic elements while maintaining its basic Finno-Ugric characteristics. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact location of the Magyars during this period because of their nomadic ways.
By the end of the 5th century the Magyars had begun their southward migration

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