NEW «SCOURGE OF GOD»: CAMPAIGNS OF HUNGARIAN LEADERS AT PERIOD OF OBTAINING OF MOTHERLAND ACCORDING TO ROMAN SOURCES

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the Hungarian campaigns against Western Europe. Several chronological stages can be distinguished in the sequence of Hungarian campaigns. The first period dates back to 862-898 when the Hungarians participated as mercenaries in the wars between the rulers of Western and Central Europe. The second period is presumably dated 899-910 and distinguished by campaigns of the Hungarians against the Germans. The campaigns against the Italians (899) and the Slovenes (901) were non-recurrent events. Hungarian campaigns reached peak intensity during the third period of 911-933 when the Hungarians ravaged not only German, but also French and Italian lands. German dukes paid tribute to the Hungarians. It ended with a defeat of the Hungarians in the Battle of Merseburg in 933. The Germans put an end to their tributary dependence on the Hungarians. This
victory of the Germans, despite not being decisive, forced the Hungarians to march on Italian and French lands and only occasionally devastate German lands. The end of Hungarian attacks on Western Europe was marked by a defeat by the Germans in the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. The German duke who had the most success in resisting the Hungarians was the ruler of Bavaria. More ancient ethnonyms - Huns, Avars and Hagarins - were used in the European historical tradition in relation to the Hungarians when they were compared with nomads of the earlier periods. The fi gures announced by European chroniclers for the Hungarian army are overestimated. The Hungarian
army was based on light cavalry armed with bows and swords, which practised typical nomadic tactics.