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Great Hungarian Plain

Coordinates:47°00′N20°30′E/ 47.000°N 20.500°E/47.000; 20.500
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For the Great Plains region in the United States, seeGreat Plains.
Alföld

TheGreat Hungarian Plain(also known asAlföldorGreat Alföld,Hungarian:Alföld[ˈɒlføld]orNagy Alföld)[1][2]is aplainoccupying the majority of the modern territory ofHungary.It is the largest part of the widerPannonian Plain(however, the Great Hungarian Plain was not part of the ancient Roman provincePannonia). Its territory significantly shrank due to its eastern and southern boundaries being adjusted by the new political borders created afterWorld War Iwhen theTreaty of Trianonwas signed in 1920.

Boundaries[edit]

Wells in theHortobágy National ParkPuszta, with a stable

Its boundaries are theCarpathiansin the north and east, theTransdanubian Mountainsand theDinaric Alpsin the southwest, and approximately theSavariver in the south.

Geography[edit]

Plain in Hungary[edit]

The territory of the GHP in Hungary.

Its territory covers approximately 52,000 km2(20,000 sq mi) of Hungary, approximately 56% of its total area of 93,030 km2(35,920 sq mi). The highest point of the plain isHoportyó(183 m (600 ft)); the lowest point is theTiszaRiver. The terrain ranges from flat to rolling plains.

The most important Hungarian writers inspired by and associated with the plain areFerenc MóraandZsigmond Móricz,as well as the poetsSándor PetőfiandGyula Juhász.

Hungarian scientists born on the plain includeZoltán Bay,physicist;János Irinyi,chemist, inventor of the noiseless match;János Kabay,pharmacologist;Gábor Kátai,physician and pharmacist; andFrigyes Korányi,physician and pulmonologist.

The most important river of the plain is theTisza.

The notable cities and towns with medicinal baths areDebrecen,Berekfürdő,Cserkeszőlő,Gyula,Hajdúszoboszló,Orosháza,SzentesandSzolnok.

Among the cultural festivals and programmes characteristic of the region are theCsángófesztivál(CsángóFestival) inJászberény,theCseresznyefesztivál(Sweet CherryFestival) inNagykörű,theGulyásfesztivál(GoulashFestival) inSzolnok,theHídi Vásár(Bridge Fair) inHortobágy National Park,theHunniálisatÓpusztaszer,theSzabadtéri Játékok(Open-air Theater) inSzeged,theVárjátékok(Castle Games) inGyula,theVirágkarnevál(Flower Carnival) inDebrecenand theBajai Halászléfőző Népünnepély(Fisherman's Soup Boiling Festival) inBaja.

A farm in Great Hungarian Plain, 19th century, by Géza Mészöly
Hortobágy National Parkon the Great Hungarian Plain withRackasheep

The part of the plain located in Hungary comprises the following areas:

Plain in Serbia[edit]

The term is used in Serbia to denote the Hungarian portion of thePannonian plain.

The portion of the Pannonian plain in Serbia is mostly divided into 3 large geographical areas:Bačka,BanatandSrem(Syrmia), most of which are located in theVojvodinaprovince.

Plain in Croatia[edit]

The term is rarely used in Croatia, and is usually associated there with the geography of Hungary.

Parts of Pannonian Croatia can be considered an extension ofAlföld,particularly easternSlavoniaand the connected parts ofSyrmia.[3]

Plain in Slovakia[edit]

The portion of the plain located in Slovakia is known as theEastern Slovak Lowland.

Plain in Ukraine[edit]

The part of the plain located in Ukraine is known as theTranscarpathian Lowland.

Plain in Romania[edit]

In Romania, the plain (Rom. câmp or câmpia, from Lat. campus) includes the regions ofBanatandCrişana.It is referred to inRomanianasThe Western Plain(Câmpia de Vest[ro]).

History[edit]

Local autonomies (includingCumaniaandJazygia) in theKingdom of Hungaryin late 13th century
János Tornyai:Clouding over the Great Hungarian Plain

Prehistoric culture[edit]

During the prehistoric era, the Great Hungarian Plain was a place of cultural and technological changes, as well as an important meeting point of cultures of Eastern and Western Europe.[4]It is a region of great archaeological importance to major European cultural transitions.

Agriculturebegan in the Great Hungarian Plain with the EarlyNeolithicKörös culture,located in present-day Serbia, 6000-5500 B.C.E.[5]followed 5500 B.C.E. by theLinear Pottery culture(LBK)[6][7][8]which later became the dominant agricultural culture of Europe. The LBK was followed by theLengyel culturein the Late Neolithic 5000-3400 BC.

During the EarlyBronze Age(2000 - 1800 BC), the growing demand for metal ores in Europe resulted in the new pan-European and intercontinental trade networks.[9]During that period cultures of the Great Hungarian Plain incorporated many elements from the other cultures of Bronze Age Near Eastern, Steppe and Central Europe

During the earlyIron Age(first millennium BC), a variant of the Central EuropeanHallstatt cultureinhabitedTransdanubia,while pre-Scythian and laterScythiancultures were found in the eastern region of the Great Hungarian Plain.

In 2014, a major study of DNA from burials in the Great Hungarian Plain was published.[10]The 5,000-year record indicated significant genomic shifts at the beginning of the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, with periods of stability in between. The earliest Neolithic genome was similar to other European hunter-gatherers and surprisingly there was no evidence oflactase persistenceat that period. The most recent samples, from the Iron Age, showed an eastern genomic influence contemporary with introduced Steppe burial rites. There was also a transition towards lighter pigmentation.

Nomadic migrations and conquests[edit]

The Hungarian plain became the heartland of theEurasian nomads,being in its natural environment similar to thePontic–Caspian steppe.The plain had formed the base forHuns,Avars,Magyars,Cumans,Jasz peopleand other nomadic tribes from theEurasian Steppe.[11][12]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Gábor Gercsák (2002)."Hungarian geographical names in English language publications"(PDF).Studia Cartologica.Eötvös Loránd University.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 20 March 2012.Retrieved30 April2011.
  2. ^Gábor Gercsák (2005)."Magyar tájnevek angol fordítása"(PDF).Fasciculi Linguistici / Series Lexicographica(in Hungarian).Eötvös Loránd University.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 20 March 2012.Retrieved30 April2011.
  3. ^Heršak, Emil; Nikšić, Boris (September 2007)."Hrvatska etnogeneza: pregled komponentnih etapa i interpretacija (s naglaskom na euroazijske/nomadske sadržaje)"[Croatian Ethnogenesis: A Review of Component Stages and Interpretations (with Emphasis on Eurasian/Nomadic Elements)].Migration and Ethnic Themes(in Croatian).23(3). Zagreb: Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies: 255.ISSN1848-9184.U velikoj mađarskoj nizini Alföld zapadno od Karpata tradicionalno su se smještale euroazijske nomadske skupine, a dio panonske Hrvatske može se smatrati ekstenzijom tog područja, osobito istočna Slavonija i s njome povezani dijelovi Srijema.[5]
  4. ^Milisauskas, S. (2011).European Prehistory: a Survey.Springer.
  5. ^Whittle, A. (1996).Europe in the Neolithic: the Creation of New Worlds.Cambridge University Press.
  6. ^Kalicz, N.; Makkay, J. (1977).Die Linienbandkeramik in der Großen Ungarischen.Akadémiai Kiadó.
  7. ^Sherratt, A. (1997).Economy and Society in Prehistoric Europe. Changing Perspectives.Edinburgh University Press.
  8. ^Oross, K.; Bánffy, E. (2009)."Three successive waves of Neolithisation: LBK development in Transdanubia".Doc. Praehist.36:175–189.doi:10.4312/dp.36.11.
  9. ^McIntosh, J. (2009).Handbook to Life in Prehistoric Europe.Oxford University Press.
  10. ^Gamba, Cristina; Jones, Eppie R.; Teasdale, Matthew D.; McLaughlin, Russell L.; Gonzalez-Fortes, Gloria; Mattiangeli, Valeria; Domboróczki, László; Kővári, Ivett; Pap, Ildikó; Anders, Alexandra; Whittle, Alasdair; Dani, János; Raczky, Pál; Higham, Thomas F. G.; Hofreiter, Michael; Bradley, Daniel G.; Pinhasi, Ron (2014)."Genome flux and stasis in a five millennium transect of European prehistory".Nature Communications.5:5257.doi:10.1038/ncomms6257.ISSN2041-1723.PMC4218962.PMID25334030.
  11. ^"Y-chromosome haplogroups from Hun, Avar and conquering Hungarian period nomadic people of the Carpathian Basin".Nature.12 November 2019.
  12. ^"Hungary – History".Encyclopædia Britannica.

External links[edit]

Media related toGreat Hungarian Plainat Wikimedia Commons

47°00′N20°30′E/ 47.000°N 20.500°E/47.000; 20.500

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