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Menumorut

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For the residential district that was most likely the source of the name, seeMenumorut, Satu Mare.

MenumorutorMenumorout(ModernHungarian:Ménmarót) was the ruler of the lands between the riversMureș,SomeșandTiszaat the time of theHungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basinaround 900, according to theGesta Hungarorum,a Hungarian chronicle written after 1150 by an unidentified author, referred to asAnonymus.Historians debate whether Menumorut was an actual ruler or a fictional character created by the author, since theGestatells of multiple figures, including Menumorut, who are not identified in any other primary sources, and does not name any of the enemies of the invading Hungarians written of in other contemporary accounts of the invasion. According to Anonymus, Menumorut's duchy was populated primarily withKhazarsandSzékelys,and he acknowledged thesuzeraintyof the (unnamed) rulingByzantine Emperorat the time.

Background

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Early history of the Magyars

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Further information:Gesta Hungarorum
A page from an old codex presenting a large green P initial decorated with tendrils
The first page of the sole manuscript preserving the text of theGesta Hungarorum,the onlychroniclewhich mentions Menumorut

The most important source of theMagyars' early history is a work known asDe Administrando Imperio,written by theByzantine EmperorConstantine VIIaround 952.[1]According to the emperor, the Magyars "lived together with" theKhazars"for three years, and fought in alliance"[2]with them for an unspecified time.[3]The text suggests that the Magyars were once subjected to theKhazar Khaganate,the dominant power of the lands between the riversDnieperandVolga,but modern historians debate whether their subjection lasted only for a couple of years, as the emperor states, or for a longer period.[3][4][5]In the same area, three or four local variants of theSaltovo-Mayakiarchaeological culture,which represented semi-nomadic groups, emerged in the western regions of theEurasian steppesin the second half of the 8th century.[6][7]

Internal strife and attacks by neighboring tribes caused the decline of the Khaganate in the early 9th century.[8]The Magyars were among the Khazars' subject peoples who seceded, settling in thePontic steppesto the north of theBlack Sea.[9]According to Emperor Constantine VII, theKabars,who "were of the race"[10]of the Khazars, also rebelled against the Khaganate and joined the Magyars.[11]This event occurred before 881, because in that year the Magyars and the Kabars invadedEast Francia,according to the longer version of theAnnals of Salzburg.[12]The Magyars also intervened in a war betweenBulgariaand theByzantine Empireon the latter's behalf in about 894.[13]The Bulgarians formed an alliance with thePechenegs,who dwelled in the lands east of the Magyars, and they jointly invaded the Pontic steppes and defeated the Magyars, forcing them to move to theCarpathian Basinin search for a new homeland.[14][15]

Theirconquest of the Carpathian Basinis the principal subject of theGesta Hungarorum.[16]TheGestawas written after 1150 by an unidentified author, who is referred to asAnonymusin modern scholars' works.[16][17]He wrote primarily of the Magyars' battles with six local rulers, including Menumorut, who are not named in otherannalsand chronicles.[18][19]On the other hand, Anonymus did not write ofSvatopluk I of Moravia,Luitpold of Bavaria,and other local rulers whose fights with the conquering Magyars were described in late 9th-century or early 10th-century sources.[20]

Crișana on the eve of the Hungarian Conquest

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Further information:Crișana § Middle_Ages

Burial sites unearthed atValea lui Mihaiand other sites along theIer Rivercontaining remains of horses show that theAvarssettled inCrișanashortly after their arrival in the Carpathian Basin in 567.[21]However, few belt mounts decorated with griffins and tendrils or other such features of later Avar craftsmanship have been found in the same region.[22]A distinct group of barrow cemeteries, ortumuli—the so-called "Nușfalău–Someșeni"cemeteries—appeared in the lands bordering on"Late Avar"cemeteries in the 8th century.[23]In contrast with the Avars, who practised inhumation, the populations using these cemeteriescremated their dead.[24]"Nușfalău–Someșeni" cemeteries show similarities to some in theEast Slavicterritories, but they yielded items similar to examples unearthed in West Slavic sites and to "Late Avar" belt mounts.[25][26]

The Avars' power collapsed afterCharlemagneand his commanders launched a series of campaigns against the western regions of the Carpathian Basin between 788 and 803.[27][28]However, Avar groups survived the destruction of their empire:Regino of Prümwrote that the Magyars first "roamed the wildernesses of the Pannonians and the Avars"[29]in the Carpathian Basin after their flight from the Pontic steppes.[30][31]According to historianAndrás Róna-Tas,these wildernesses of the Avars(solitudo Avarorum)were situated in the plains along the rivers Tisza and Danube, including Crișana.[32]

The collapse of theAvar Khaganateenabled the development of"Great" Moravia,a Slavic polity which emerged in the region of theMiddle Danube.[33]Svatopluk I of Moravia, who reigned from 870 to 894, expanded his authority over a large region.[34][35]Svatopluk's empire included Crişana, according to historian Gyula Kristó, since Emperor Constantine's reference to "great Moravia, the unbaptized"[36]describes the riversTimiș,Mureș,Criș,Tisza and Toutis as within its territory.[37][38]ArchaeologistAlexandru Madgearu[ro]rejects Kristó's theory, because no archaeological finds from the late 9th century evidence Moravian influence in Crișana.[39]

The Bulgarians also benefited from the fall of the Avar Khaganate.[40]One of the military commanders ofOmurtag of Bulgariadrowned in the Tisza, showing that Omurtag, who ruled between 814 and 831, attempted to expand his authority towards this river.[41]The Bulgarians allied with theFranksand invaded Moravia in both 863 and 883.[41]Based on sources from around 870, the Persian scholarGardiziwrote of two peoples, the Nandarin and the Mirdāt,[42]whose lands were ten days' journey apart.[41]Historians István Bóna andGyörgy Györffyidentify the Nandarins as Bulgarians (becausenándorwas theHungarianexonymfor the Bulgarians), and the Mirdāt as Moravians.[41][43]If their identifications are valid, the distance between Bulgaria and Moravia was about 250 to 300 kilometres (160 to 190 mi) circa 870.[43]

Anonymus's narration

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Menumorut's duchy
Menumorut's duchy ("Kazárország"orKhazars' Land) on a Hungarian map (from the 1890s) based on theGesta Hungarorum

Menumorut ruled an area bordered by the rivers Tisza, Mureș,Someș,and theIgyfon Woodat the time of the Magyars' invasion, according to theGesta Hungarorum.[44][45][46][16]Anonymus also wrote that "the peoples that are called Kozár",[45]identified by historians as Khazars, inhabited this realm, together with theSzékelys.[47][16][19]Menumorut's main fortress was located atBiharia,according to Anonymus.[48]An early medieval fortress was found here,[16]and some historians (including Sălăgean) have identified it as Menumorut's capital,[16]although others (for instance,Florin Curta) argue that nothing proves that the fortress was built before the 10th century.[49][50]Anonymus wrote that Menumorut was the grandson of one "Prince Marót" (whose name was derived from the ancient Hungarian exonym for the Moravians), who he states was ruler of Crișana in the times ofAttila the Hun.[51][47]According to theGesta,Menumorut communicated "haughtily with a Bulgarian heart"[52]with the Magyars' envoys, informing them that "the emperor of Constantinople"[53]was his lord.[16][51]

TheGestadescribes Menumorut as apolygamist,stating that he "had manyconcubines".[45][16]Anonymus even suggested that Menumorut's name was connected to the Hungarian word for stallion(mén)because of his womanizing nature.[54]According to historianNeagu Djuvara,Menumorut's name is a Hungarian form of aTurkic(possiblyBulgar) proper name, but he does not give a suggestion.[55]

The Hungarian conquest

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Further information:Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin

The Magyars entered the Carpathian Basin through theNorthern Carpathians,according to theGesta Hungarorum.[56][57]After conquering the northeastern region, their leader,Grand PrinceÁrpád,sent two envoys, Ősbő and Velek, to Menumorut, demanding "the land from the Someș River to the border ofNyírség,up to theMeseș Gates".[58][48]Menumorut received Árpád's envoys amicably, but refused to yield, stating that the Byzantine Emperor guaranteed him rule over the land.[51]Ősbő and Velek returned to Árpád and informed him of Menumorut's refusal.[59]

Árpád dispatched three commanders, Tas, Szabolcs, and Tétény, to invade Menumorut's duchy, according to Anonymus.[59]They crossed the Tisza "at the ford of Lád"[53]and marched towards the Someș.[59]They halted at a place near the future village ofSzabolcs,where "almost all the inhabitants of the land surrendered of their own will",[53]giving their sons as hostages to them.[59]Menomorut did not dare to launch a counter-attack, since more and more of his subjects were voluntarily yielding to the Magyar leaders.[59]Upon Szabolcs's orders, an earthen fortress was built, which was named after him,[60]and the three Magyar commanders "appointed from among the inhabitants of the land many serving men to that castle"[61]and manned the fortress with Magyar warriors under the command of a lieutenant.[60]

After this, Anonymus continues, a division of the Magyar army advanced towards the Meseș Gates, under the command of Szabolcs and Tas, and occupied the fortress ofSatu Mare,while a second division, led by Tétény, "conquered a great number of people"[62]in the Nyírség.[60]The two divisions rejoined at the Meseș Gates, where "the dwellers of the land built stone gateways and a great obstacle of trees"[62]in accordance with the Magyar leaders' orders to defend the borders of their newly conquered lands.[63]Anonymus emphasizes that the three Magyar commanders were very proud that "they had subjected almost all the nations"[64]of Menumorut's duchy.[63]Tas and Szabolcs decided to return to Árpád, "subduing the whole people from the Someș River to the Criș River"[65]on their way.[63]Menumorut was at this point planning to escape to the Byzantine Empire, but his warriors prevented Szabolcs and Tas from crossing the Criş atSzeghalom,thus forcing the Magyars to temporarily retreat.[63]

After the first campaign against Menumorut, the Magyars fought withSalan(who was the lord of the lands between the Tisza and the Danube), with theBohemians,and withGlad(the lord of the Banat), and conqueredPannonia,according to theGesta.[66]Árpád once again dispatched Ősbő and Velek, at the head of a new army, against Menumorut's remaining lands after the birth of his son,Zoltán.[63]Ősbő and Velek crossed the Tisza and halted at the river Kórógy, where the Székelys, "who were previously the peoples"[67]of Attila the Hun, according to Anonymus, voluntarily joined them.[68]Their united armies crossed the Criş River and encamped on the banks of one of its tributaries.[69]Their arrival frightened Menumorut, who left "a host of warriors" in Biharia and "betook himself and his wife and daughter to the groves"[70]of the Igyfon Wood.[69]Ősbő and Velek laid siege to Biharia, which was defended by "warriors gathered from diverse nations", for twelve days.[70][69]During the siege, twenty Magyar, fifteen Székely warriors, and 125 of Menumorut's soldiers were killed.[69]On the 13th day, after the besiegers made preparations for putting ladders to the wall, the defenders decided to surrender, and opened the gates of the fortress.[71]

Having been informed of the fall of his capital, Anonymus continues, Menumorut surrendered and agreed to give his daughter in marriage to Zoltán.[71]Árpád accepted this offer, allowing Menumorut to continue his rule over Biharia till the end of his life.[71]Árpád "gave the county of Zaránd"[72]to Velek, and the fortress ofVeszprémto Ősbő, in reward for their services during the war against Menumorut.[71]Menumorut "died without a son" not long before 907, leaving "his whole kingdom in peace"[72]to his son-in-law, Zoltán.[71]

Assesment of Historians

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Many historians debate the reliability of the reports of theGestaconcerning Menumorut and the other opponents of the Magyars who are not named in other primary sources.[19][73][74]Kristó writes that Anonymus, who had little information of the real conditions of the Carpathian Basin around 900, could only turn "to one thing when he outlined the history of the Hungarian conquest: his own imagination,"[73]andGyörgy Györffysays that Menumorut was one of the personalities whom Anonymus invented and named after a location.[75]The existence of two villages named "Morut's house" (Marótlakain Hungarian) and a clan Morut inBihar Countyin the 13th century is well-documented, proving that at least one Morut had settled in this region.[75]Carlile Aylmer Macartneywrites that the majority of events that theGestamentions in connection with Menumorut are "a simple repetition, with variants" of the story of Salan in the same chronicle, showing that Anonymus "had little material on which to work" when writing about Menumorut.[76]HistorianRyszard Grzesik[pl]says that Menumorut "never existed and never ruled over Bihar", but "it was not an invented person".[77]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^Róna-Tas 1999,pp. 52–53.
  2. ^Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio(ch. 38), p. 171.
  3. ^abKristó 1996,p. 131.
  4. ^Róna-Tas 1999,pp. 321–322.
  5. ^Spinei 2009,pp. 47–49.
  6. ^Spinei 2009,p. 49.
  7. ^Róna-Tas 1999,p. 139.
  8. ^Spinei 2009,p. 50.
  9. ^Pop 1996,pp. 55–57.
  10. ^Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio(ch. 39), p. 175.
  11. ^Kristó 1996,p. 149.
  12. ^Kristó 1996,p. 150.
  13. ^Róna-Tas 1999,p. 331.
  14. ^Kristó 1996,pp. 187–189.
  15. ^Spinei 2009,p. 66.
  16. ^abcdefghSălăgean 2005,p. 140.
  17. ^Madgearu 2005,pp. 16–20.
  18. ^Györffy 1988,pp. 68–72.
  19. ^abcEngel 2001,p. 11.
  20. ^Györffy 1988,p. 39.
  21. ^Bóna 1994,pp. 92–93.
  22. ^Bóna 1994,p. 93.
  23. ^Barford 2001,p. 76.
  24. ^Barford 2001,p. 89.
  25. ^Barford 2001,p. 206.
  26. ^Bóna 1994,p. 101.
  27. ^Róna-Tas 1999,p. 263.
  28. ^Barford 2001,p. 263.
  29. ^TheChronicleof Regino of Prüm(year 889), p. 205.
  30. ^Kristó 1996,p. 180.
  31. ^Róna-Tas 1999,p. 264.
  32. ^Róna-Tas 1999,pp. 264–265.
  33. ^Barford 2001,p. 109.
  34. ^Barford 2001,pp. 110, 399.
  35. ^Engel 2001,p. 4.
  36. ^Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio(ch. 40), p. 177.
  37. ^Kristó 1996,p. 192.
  38. ^Madgearu 2005,p. 126.
  39. ^Madgearu 2005,p. 127.
  40. ^Sălăgean 2005,p. 133.
  41. ^abcdBóna 1994,p. 103.
  42. ^Macartney 1968,p. 207.
  43. ^abGyörffy 1988,p. 68.
  44. ^Georgescu 1991,p. 14.
  45. ^abcAnonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(ch. 11.), p. 33.
  46. ^Pop 1996,p. 95.
  47. ^abGyörffy 1988,p. 84.
  48. ^abPop 1996,p. 104.
  49. ^Curta 2001,p. 149.
  50. ^Gáll 2013,p. 51.
  51. ^abcPop 1996,p. 105.
  52. ^Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(ch. 51.), p. 113.
  53. ^abcAnonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(ch. 20.), p. 53.
  54. ^Kordé 1994,p. 451.
  55. ^Djuvara 2012,pp. 21–22.
  56. ^Pop 1996,p. 67.
  57. ^Spinei 2009,pp. 71–72.
  58. ^Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(ch. 19.), p. 51.
  59. ^abcdePop 1996,p. 106.
  60. ^abcPop 1996,p. 107.
  61. ^Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(ch. 21.), p. 55.
  62. ^abAnonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(ch. 22.), p. 57.
  63. ^abcdePop 1996,p. 108.
  64. ^Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(ch. 23.), p. 59.
  65. ^Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(ch. 28.), p. 65.
  66. ^Madgearu 2005,p. 22.
  67. ^Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(ch. 50.), p. 109.
  68. ^Pop 1996,pp. 108–109.
  69. ^abcdPop 1996,p. 109.
  70. ^abAnonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(ch. 51.), p. 111.
  71. ^abcdePop 1996,p. 110.
  72. ^abAnonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(ch. 52.), p. 115.
  73. ^abKristó 2003,p. 32.
  74. ^Róna-Tas 1999,p. 59.
  75. ^abGyörffy 1988,pp. 83–84, 94.
  76. ^Macartney 1953,p. 78.
  77. ^Grzesik 2016,p. 28.

Sources

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Primary sources

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  • Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians(Edited, Translated and Annotated by Martyn Rady and László Veszprémy) (2010). In: Rady, Martyn; Veszprémy, László; Bak, János M. (2010);Anonymus and Master Roger;CEU Press;ISBN978-963-9776-95-1.
  • Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio(Greek text edited by Gyula Moravcsik, English translation b Romillyi J. H. Jenkins) (1967). Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies.ISBN0-88402-021-5.
  • TheChronicleof Regino of Prüm(2009). In:History and Politics in Late Carolingian and Ottonian Europe: TheChronicleof Regino of Prüm and Adalbert of Magdeburg(Translated and annotated by Simon MacLean);Manchester University Press;ISBN978-0-7190-7135-5.

Secondary sources

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Further reading

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