Editing Hungary (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Hungary}}

=== Before 895 ===
{{Main|Hungarian prehistory|Hungarian mythology}}
[[File:Pannonia térkép 2. század.jpg|thumb|Roman provinces and barbarian peoples in and near the [[Pannonian Basin|Carpathian Basin]] in the 2nd century AD|left]]

The [[Roman Empire]] conquered the territory between the [[Alps]] and the area west of the [[Danube]] River from 16 to 15 BC, the Danube being the frontier of the empire.<ref name="Kershaw">Kershaw, Stephen P. (2013). ''A Brief History of The Roman Empire: Rise and Fall. London.'' Constable & Robinson Ltd. {{ISBN|978-1-78033-048-8}}.</ref> In 14 BC, [[Pannonia]], the western part of the [[Pannonian Basin|Carpathian Basin]], which includes the west of today’s Hungary, was recognised by emperor [[Augustus]] in the ''[[Res Gestae Divi Augusti]]'' as part of the Roman Empire.<ref name="Kershaw" /> The area south-east of [[Pannonia]] was organised as the Roman province [[Moesia]] in 6 BC.<ref name="Kershaw" /> An area east of the river [[Tisza]] became the Roman province of [[Dacia]] in 106 AD, which included today's east Hungary. It remained under Roman rule until 271.<ref name="Scarre">Scarre, Chris (2012). ''Chronicle of the Roman Emperors: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Rome.'' London. Thames & Hudson Ltd. {{ISBN|978-0-500-28989-1}}.</ref>

{{History of Hungary}}
From 235, the Roman Empire went through troubled times, caused by revolts, rivalry and rapid succession of emperors. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th century under the stress of the migration of [[Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]] and [[Carpi people|Carpian]] pressure.<ref name="Scarre" /> This period brought many invaders into Central Europe, beginning with the [[Huns|Hunnic Empire]] ({{circa|370}}–469). The most powerful ruler of the Hunnic Empire was [[Attila]] the Hun (434–453), who later became a central figure in Hungarian mythology.<ref name="Kelly">Kelly, Christopher (2008). ''Attila The Hun: Barbarian Terror and The Fall of The Roman Empire.'' London. The Bodley Head. {{ISBN|978-0-224-07676-0}}.</ref> After the disintegration of the Hunnic Empire, the [[Gepids]], an Eastern Germanic tribe, who had been vassalised by the Huns, established their own kingdom in the Carpathian Basin.<ref name="Bona_The_Gepids_during_and_after_the_Hun_Period">{{cite book|last=Bóna|first=István|editor1-last=Köpeczi|editor1-first=Béla|editor2-last=Barta|editor2-first=Gábor|editor3-last=Makkai|editor3-first=László|editor4-last=Mócsy|editor4-first=András|editor5-last=Szász|editor5-first=Zoltán|title=History of Transylvania|publisher=Hungarian Research Institute of Canada|year=2001|chapter=From Dacia to Transylvania: The Period of the Great Migrations (271–895); The Kingdom of the Gepids; The Gepids during and after the Hun Period|chapter-url=http://mek.oszk.hu/03400/03407/html/34.html|isbn=0-88033-479-7}}</ref> Other groups which reached the Carpathian Basin during the Migration Period were the [[Goths]], [[Vandals]], [[Lombards]], and [[Early Slavs|Slavs]].<ref name="Scarre" />

In the 560s, the [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] founded the Avar Khaganate, a state that maintained supremacy in the region for more than two centuries. The [[Franks]] under [[Charlemagne]] defeated the Avars in a series of campaigns during the 790s.<ref name="Gubcsi">Lajos Gubcsi, [http://mek.oszk.hu/09100/09132/09132.pdf Hungary in the Carpathian Basin], MoD Zrínyi Media Ltd, 2011</ref> Between 804 and 829, the [[First Bulgarian Empire]] conquered the lands east of the Danube and took over the rule of the local Slavic tribes and remnants of the Avars.<ref name="Skutsch">Skutsch, Carl, ed. (2005). ''Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities.'' New York: Routledge. p. 158. {{ISBN|1-57958-468-3}}.</ref> By the mid-9th century, the [[Slavs in Lower Pannonia#Principality|Balaton Principality]], also known as Lower Pannonia, was established west of the Danube as part of the Frankish [[March of Pannonia]].<ref name="Luthar">Luthar, Oto, ed. (2008). ''The Land Between: A History of Slovenia.'' Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang GmbH. {{ISBN|9783631570111}}.</ref>

===Middle Ages (895–1526)===
{{Main|Principality of Hungary|Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages}}
[[File:Kalandozasok.jpg|thumb|[[Hungarian invasions of Europe|Hungarian raids in the 9–10th centuries]]: Between 899 and 970, the researchers count 47 (38 to West and 9 to East)<ref name="Szabados Augsburg 2005">{{Cite journal |last=Szabados |first=György |date=August 2005 |title=Vereség háttér nélkül? Augsburg, 955 |trans-title=Defeat without background? Augsburg, 955 |url=https://epa.oszk.hu/01300/01343/00044/nemzet.html |journal=Hitel – irodalmi, művészeti és társadalmi folyóirat [literary, artistic and social journal] |language=hu |issue=8}}</ref> raids in different parts of Europe. From these campaigns only 8 were unsuccessful and the others ended with success{{sfn|Nagy|2007|p=168}}]]

Foundation of the [[Principality of Hungary|Hungarian state]] is connected to the [[Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin|Hungarian conquerors]], who arrived from the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe|Pontic-Caspian steppe]] as a confederation of [[Seven chieftains of the Magyars|seven tribes]].<ref name="c194">{{cite journal | last1=Neparáczki | first1=Endre | last2=Maróti | first2=Zoltán | title=Mitogenomic data indicate admixture components of Central-Inner Asian and Srubnaya origin in the conquering Hungarians | journal=PLOS ONE | publisher=Public Library of Science (PLoS) | volume=13 | issue=10 | date=2018-10-18 | issn=1932-6203 | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0205920 | doi-access=free | page=e0205920| pmid=30335830 | pmc=6193700 | bibcode=2018PLoSO..1305920N }}</ref> The [[Hungarians]] arrived in the [[Pannonian Basin|Carpathian Basin]] as a frame of a strong centralised steppe-empire under the leadership of Grand Prince [[Álmos]] and his son [[Árpád]]: founders of the [[Árpád dynasty]], the Hungarian ruling dynasty and the Hungarian state. The [[Árpád dynasty]] claimed to be a direct descendant of [[Attila|Attila the Hun]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last1=Horváth-Lugossy|first1=Gábor|url=https://mki.gov.hu/assets/pdf/MKI_EN_006_kings_and_saints_B5_web.pdf|title=Kings and Saints – The Age of the Árpáds|last2=Makoldi|first2=Miklós|last3=Neparáczki|first3=Endre|publisher=Institute of Hungarian Research|year=2022|isbn=978-615-6117-65-6|location=Budapest, Székesfehérvár}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Neparáczki|first1=Endre|last2=Maróti|first2=Zoltán|last3=Kalmár|first3=Tibor|last4=Maár|first4=Kitti|last5=Nagy|first5=István|last6=Latinovics|first6=Dóra|last7=Kustár|first7=Ágnes|last8=Pálfi|first8=György|last9=Molnár|first9=Erika |last10=Marcsik |first10=Antónia|last11=Balogh|first11=Csilla|last12=Lőrinczy|first12=Gábor|last13=Tomka|first13=Péter|last14=Kovacsóczy|first14=Bernadett|last15=Kovács|first15=László|date=12 November 2019|title=Y-chromosome haplogroups from Hun, Avar and conquering Hungarian period nomadic people of the Carpathian Basin|journal=Scientific Reports|last16=Török|first16=Tibor|volume=9|issue=1|page=16569|doi=10.1038/s41598-019-53105-5|pmid=31719606|pmc=6851379|bibcode=2019NatSR...916569N|issn=2045-2322}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Neparáczki|first1=Endre|last2=Maróti|first2=Zoltán|last3=Kalmár|first3=Tibor|last4=Kocsy|first4=Klaudia|last5=Maár|first5=Kitti|last6=Bihari|first6=Péter|last7=Nagy|first7=István|last8=Fóthi|first8=Erzsébet|last9=Pap|first9=Ildikó |last10=Kustár |first10=Ágnes|last11=Pálfi|first11=György|last12=Raskó|first12=István|last13=Zink|first13=Albert|last14=Török|first14=Tibor|date=18 October 2018|title=Mitogenomic data indicate admixture components of Central-Inner Asian and Srubnaya origin in the conquering Hungarians|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=13|issue=10|pages=e0205920|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0205920|pmid=30335830|pmc=6193700|bibcode=2018PLoSO..1305920N|doi-access=free}}</ref> The Hungarians took possession of the area in a pre-planned manner, with a long move-in between 862 and 895.<ref name=":2822">{{Cite book|url=https://www.tankonyvkatalogus.hu/pdf/OH-TOR05TB__teljes.pdf|title=Történelem 5. az általános iskolások számára|publisher=Oktatási Hivatal (Hungarian Educational Authority)|year=2020|isbn=978-615-6178-37-4|pages=15, 112, 116, 137, 138, 141|language=Hungarian|trans-title=History 5. for primary school students|access-date=22 September 2023|archive-date=21 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221015211/https://www.tankonyvkatalogus.hu/pdf/OH-TOR05TB__teljes.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The rising Hungary conducted successful [[Hungarian invasions of Europe|fierce campaigns and raids]], from [[Constantinople]] to as far as today's Spain.<ref name="Stephen Wyley">{{cite web|author=Stephen Wyley|url=http://www.geocities.com/egfrothos/magyars/magyars.html|title=The Magyars of Hungary|publisher=Geocities.com|date=30 May 2001|access-date=20 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091021171416/http://geocities.com/egfrothos/magyars/magyars.html|archive-date=21 October 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Hungarians defeated [[Hungarian invasions of Europe|three major East Frankish imperial armies]] between 907 and 910.<ref>{{cite book|author=Peter Heather|title=Empires and Barbarians: Migration, Development and the Birth of Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iX_QNvxR4K0C&pg=PT227|year=2010|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-0-330-54021-6|page=227}}</ref> A defeat at the [[Battle of Lechfeld]] in 955 signaled a provisory end to most campaigns on foreign territories, at least towards the west.

====Age of Árpádian kings====
{{Main|Kingdom of Hungary (1000–1301)|Árpád dynasty}}
[[File:A Szent Korona elölről 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[Holy Crown of Hungary|Holy Crown]] (''Szent Korona''), one of the key symbols of Hungary. It was gifted to [[Stephen I of Hungary|Saint Stephen]], the first [[King of Hungary]], who converted the nation to Christianity]]

In 972, the ruling prince ({{langx|hu|fejedelem}}) [[Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians|Géza]] of the [[Árpád dynasty]] officially started to integrate Hungary into Christian Western Europe.<ref>Attila Zsoldos, [https://books.google.com/books?id=IgoiAQAAIAAJ Saint Stephen and his country: a newborn kingdom in Central Europe: Hungary], Lucidus, 2001, p. 40</ref> His son [[Stephen I of Hungary|Saint Stephen I]] became the first [[King of Hungary]] after defeating his [[paganism|pagan]] uncle [[Koppány]]. Under Stephen, Hungary was recognised as a Catholic [[Apostolic Majesty|Apostolic Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Asia Travel Europe|url=http://www.asiatravel.com/europe/hungaria/travelinfo.html|title=Hungaria Travel Information|work=Asiatravel.com|access-date=21 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905161209/http://asiatravel.com/europe/hungaria/travelinfo.html|archive-date=5 September 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Applying to [[Pope Sylvester II]], Stephen received the insignia of royalty (including probably a part of the [[Holy Crown of Hungary]]) from the papacy.

By 1006, Stephen consolidated his power and started sweeping reforms to convert Hungary into a Western-style [[Feudalism|feudal state]]. The country switched to using Latin for administration purposes, and until as late as 1844, Latin remained the official language of administration. King [[Ladislaus I of Hungary|Saint Ladislaus]] completed the work of King [[Stephen I of Hungary|Saint Stephen]], consolidating the Hungarian state's power and strengthening [[Christianity]]. His charismatic personality, strategic leadership and military talents resulted in the termination of internal power struggles and foreign military threats.<ref name="Saint Ladislaus DNA">{{Cite journal|last1=Varga|first1=Gergely I B|last2=Kristóf|first2=Lilla Alida|last3=Maár|first3=Kitti|last4=Kis|first4=Luca|last5=Schütz|first5=Oszkár|last6=Váradi|first6=Orsolya|last7=Kovács|first7=Bence|last8=Gînguță|first8=Alexandra|last9=Tihanyi|first9=Balázs |last10=Nagy |first10=Péter L|last11=Maróti|first11=Zoltán|last12=Nyerki|first12=Emil|last13=Török|first13=Tibor|last14=Neparáczki|first14=Endre|date=January 2023|title=The archaeogenomic validation of Saint Ladislaus' relic provides insights into the Árpád dynasty's genealogy|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35809778/|journal=Journal of Genetics and Genomics|volume=50|issue=1|pages=58–61|bibcode=|doi=10.1016/j.jgg.2022.06.008|pmc=|pmid=35809778}}</ref> The wife of the Croatian king [[Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia|Demetrius Zvonimir]] was Ladislaus's sister.<ref>{{The Early Medieval Balkans |page=283}}</ref> At [[Helen of Hungary, Queen of Croatia|Helen's]] request, Ladislaus intervened in the conflict and invaded Croatia in 1091.{{sfn|Fine|1991|pp=282, 284}} The [[Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102)|Kingdom of Croatia]] entered a [[Croatia in personal union with Hungary|personal union]] with the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1000–1301)|Kingdom of Hungary]] in 1102 with the coronation of King [[Coloman, King of Hungary|Coloman]] as "King of Croatia and Dalmatia" in 1102 in [[Biograd na Moru|Biograd]].<ref name="HR-HU-Heka">{{cite journal|journal=Scrinia Slavonica|issn=1332-4853|title=Hrvatsko-ugarski odnosi od sredinjega vijeka do nagodbe iz 1868. s posebnim osvrtom na pitanja Slavonije|trans-title=Croatian-Hungarian relations from the Middle Ages to the Compromise of 1868, with a special survey of the Slavonian issue|language=hr|url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=68144|author=Ladislav Heka|date=October 2008|volume=8|issue=1|pages=152–173|access-date=16 October 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Europe_mediterranean_1097.jpg|alt=1097, Europe, map|thumb|Europe in 1097]]

One of the most powerful and wealthiest king of the Árpád dynasty was [[Béla III of Hungary|Béla III]],<ref>{{cite book | last=Mass | first=K. |authorlink=
Robert K. Massie| title=History of Hungary: Details about the Hungarian Economy, Origins, and Background | publisher=Efalon Acies | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R_IoEQAAQBAJ&pg=PT15 }}</ref> who disposed of the equivalent of 23 tonnes of silver per year, according to a contemporary [[Income register of Béla III of Hungary|income register]]. This exceeded the income of the French king (estimated at 17 tonnes) and was double the receipts of the English Crown.<ref>{{cite book|author=Miklós Molnár|title=A Concise History of Hungary|url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00moln|url-access=registration|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-66736-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00moln/page/46 46]}}</ref> [[Andrew II of Hungary|Andrew II]] issued the ''[[Diploma Andreanum]]'' which secured the special privileges of the [[Transylvanian Saxons]] and is considered the first [[Autonomous administrative division|autonomy]] law in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hungarianhistory.com/lib/autonomy/komlossy.pdf|title=Hungarianhistory.com|access-date=25 November 2010}}</ref> He led the [[Fifth Crusade]] to the [[Holy Land]] in 1217, setting up the largest royal army in the history of Crusades. His [[Golden Bull of 1222]] was the first constitution in [[Continental Europe]]. The lesser nobles also began to present Andrew with grievances, a practice that evolved into the institution of the parliament (''parlamentum publicum'').

In 1241–1242, the kingdom received a major blow with the [[Mongolian invasion of Hungary|Mongol (Tatar) invasion]]. Up to half of Hungary's population of 2 million were victims of the invasion.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-34789/Hungary The Mongol invasion: the last Arpad kings], Encyclopædia Britannica – "The country lost about half its population, the incidence ranging from 60 percent in the Alföld (100 percent in parts of it) to 20 percent in Transdanubia; only parts of Transylvania and the northwest came off fairly lightly."</ref> King [[Béla IV of Hungary|Béla IV]] let [[Cumans]] and [[Jasz people|Jassic people]] into the country, who were fleeing the Mongols.<ref>[http://hungarianhistory.com/lib/hevizi/hevizi.pdf Autonomies in Europe and Hungary]. By Józsa Hévizi.</ref> Over the centuries, they were fully assimilated.<ref>{{cite web|author=cs|url=http://www.nemzetijelkepek.hu/onkormanyzat-jaszbereny_en.shtml|title=National and historical symbols of Hungary|publisher=Nemzetijelkepek.hu|access-date=20 September 2009|archive-date=29 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080729054659/http://www.nemzetijelkepek.hu/onkormanyzat-jaszbereny_en.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> After the Mongols retreated, King Béla ordered the construction of hundreds of stone castles and fortifications, to defend against a possible second Mongol invasion. The [[Second Mongol invasion of Hungary|Mongols returned to Hungary]] in 1285, but the newly built stone-castle systems and new tactics (using a higher proportion of heavily armed knights) stopped them. The invading Mongol force was defeated<ref>{{cite book|author=Pál Engel|title=Realm of St. Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vEJNBqanT_8C&pg=PA109|year=2005|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-85043-977-6|page=109}}</ref> near Pest by the royal army of King [[Ladislaus IV of Hungary|Ladislaus IV]]. As with later invasions, it was repelled handily, the Mongols losing much of their invading force.

==== Age of elected kings ====
{{Main|Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526)|Ottoman–Hungarian Wars}}

The [[Kingdom of Hungary]] reached one of its greatest extents during the Árpádian kings, yet royal power was weakened at the end of their rule in 1301. After a destructive period of [[interregnum]] (1301–1308), the first [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevin]] king, [[Charles I of Hungary]] – a bilineal descendant of the [[Árpád dynasty]] – successfully restored royal power and defeated oligarch rivals, the so-called "little kings". The second Angevin Hungarian king, [[Louis I of Hungary|Louis the Great]] (1342–1382), led many successful military campaigns from Lithuania to southern Italy ([[Kingdom of Naples]]) and was also [[List of Polish monarchs|King of Poland]] from 1370. After King Louis died without a male heir, the country was stabilised only when [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund of Luxembourg]] (1387–1437) succeeded to the throne, who in 1433 also became [[Holy Roman Emperor]].
The first Hungarian [[Bible translations|Bible translation]] was completed in 1439. For half a year in 1437, there was an antifeudal and anticlerical [[Transylvanian peasant revolt|peasant revolt in Transylvania]] which was strongly influenced by [[Hussite]] ideas. From a small noble family in Transylvania, [[John Hunyadi]] grew to become one of the country's most powerful lords, thanks to his capabilities as a mercenary commander. He was elected governor, then regent. He was a successful crusader against the [[Ottoman Turks]], one of his greatest victories being the [[Siege of Belgrade (1456)|siege of Belgrade]] in 1456.

[[File:Portrait of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary.jpg|alt=Portrait, Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, Hunyadi, relief|thumb|upright|Renaissance portrait of [[Matthias Corvinus]], King of Hungary and Croatia (1458–1490), King of Bohemia (1469–1490) and Archduke of Austria (1487–1490)]]

The last strong king of medieval Hungary was the [[Renaissance]] king [[Matthias Corvinus]] (1458–1490), son of John Hunyadi. His election was the first time that a member of the nobility mounted to the Hungarian royal throne without dynastic background. He was a successful military leader and an enlightened patron of the arts and learning.<ref name="britannica1">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/276730/Hungary#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=Hungary%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia|title=Hungary – Britannica Online Encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Britannica.com|access-date=21 November 2008}}</ref> His library, the [[Bibliotheca Corviniana]], was Europe's greatest collection of historical chronicles, philosophic and scientific works in the 15th century, and second only in size to the [[Vatican Library]]. Items from the Bibliotheca Corviniana were inscribed on [[UNESCO]]'s [[Memory of the World Programme|Memory of the World Register]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=15976&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html|title=Hungary – The Bibliotheca Corviniana Collection|work=Portal.unesco.org|access-date=21 November 2008|archive-url=https://archive.today/20080318044516/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=15976&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html|archive-date=18 March 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The serfs and common people considered him a just ruler because he protected them from excessive demands and other abuses by the magnates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/hungary/9.htm|title=Hungary&nbsp;– Renaissance And Reformation|work=Countrystudies.us|access-date=20 September 2009}}</ref> Under his rule, in 1479, the Hungarian army destroyed the Ottoman and Wallachian troops at the [[Battle of Breadfield]]. Abroad he defeated the Polish and German imperial armies of Frederick at Breslau ([[Wrocław]]). Matthias' mercenary standing army, the [[Black Army of Hungary]], was an unusually large army for its time, and it conquered [[Vienna]] as well as parts of Austria and [[Bohemia]].

King Matthias died without lawful sons, and the Hungarian magnates procured the accession of the Pole [[Vladislaus II of Hungary|Vladislaus II]] (1490–1516), supposedly because of his weak influence on Hungarian aristocracy.<ref name="britannica1" /> Hungary's international role declined, its political stability was shaken, and social progress was deadlocked.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/hutoc.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708070759/http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/hutoc.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 July 2012|title=A Country Study: Hungary|publisher=Geography.about.com|access-date=20 September 2009}}</ref> In 1514, the weakened old King Vladislaus II faced a major peasant rebellion led by [[György Dózsa]], which was ruthlessly crushed by the [[Hungarian nobility|nobles]], led by [[John Zápolya]]. The resulting degradation of order paved the way for Ottoman preeminence. In 1521, the strongest Hungarian fortress in the South, Nándorfehérvár (today's [[Belgrade]], Serbia), [[Siege of Belgrade (1521)|fell to the Turks]]. The early appearance of Protestantism further worsened internal relations in the country.

=== Ottoman wars (1526–1699) ===
{{Main|Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)|Ottoman Hungary|Eastern Hungarian Kingdom}}
{{See also|Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711)|Ottoman–Habsburg wars}}
[[File:Székely, Bertalan - The Women of Eger - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|"The Women of Eger", oil painting from 1867 commemorating the [[Siege of Eger (1552)|siege of Eger]], a major victory against the Ottomans]]

After some [[Ottoman wars in Europe|150 years of wars]] with the Hungarians and other states, the Ottomans gained a decisive victory over the Hungarian army at the [[Battle of Mohács]] in 1526, where King [[Louis II of Hungary|Louis II]] died while fleeing. Amid political chaos, the divided Hungarian nobility elected two kings simultaneously, [[John Zápolya]] and [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] of the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg dynasty]]. With the conquest of [[Buda]] by the Turks in 1541, Hungary was divided into three parts and remained so until the end of the 17th century. The north-western part, termed as [[Royal Hungary]], was annexed by the Habsburgs who ruled as kings of Hungary. The eastern part of the kingdom became independent as the [[Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711)|Principality of Transylvania]], under Ottoman (and later Habsburg) [[suzerainty]]. The remaining central area, including the capital Buda, was known as the Pashalik of Buda.

In 1686, the [[Holy League (1684)|Holy League's]] army, containing over 74,000 men from various nations, [[Siege of Buda (1686)|reconquered Buda]] from the Turks. After some more crushing [[Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718)|defeats of the Ottomans]] in the next few years, the entire Kingdom of Hungary was removed from Ottoman rule by 1718. The last raid into Hungary by the Ottoman vassals [[Crimean Khanate|Tatars]] from [[Crimea]] took place in 1717.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Géza Dávid|author2=Pál Fodor|title=Ransom Slavery Along the Ottoman Borders: (Early Fifteenth – Early Eighteenth Centuries)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=00ZuXUdx2GgC|year=2007|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-15704-0|page=203}}</ref> The constrained Habsburg Counter-Reformation efforts in the 17th century reconverted the majority of the kingdom to Catholicism. The ethnic composition of Hungary was fundamentally changed as a consequence of the prolonged warfare with the Turks. A large part of the country became devastated, population growth was stunted, and many smaller settlements perished.<ref>{{cite news|first=Gyorgy|last=Csepeli|title=The changing facets of Hungarian nationalism – Nationalism Reexamined|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2267/is_n1_v63/ai_18501094/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709161536/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2267/is_n1_v63/ai_18501094/|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 July 2012|publisher=Findarticles.com|date=2 June 2009|access-date=20 September 2009}}</ref> The Austrian-Habsburg government settled large groups of [[Serbs]] and other Slavs in the depopulated south, and settled [[Germans of Hungary|Germans]] (called [[Danube Swabians]]) in various areas, but Hungarians were not allowed to settle or re-settle in the south of the Carpathian Basin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hungarian-history.hu/lib/unmaking/part1-7.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204132452/http://www.hungarian-history.hu/lib/unmaking/part1-7.pdf|archive-date=4 February 2011|title=Ch7 A Short Demographic History of Hungary|access-date=20 September 2009}}</ref>

=== From the 18th century to World War I (1699–1918) ===
{{Main|Rákóczi's War of Independence|Hungarian Reform Era|Hungarian Revolution of 1848|4 = Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen|5 = Hungary in World War I}}
[[File:Mányoki, Ádam - Portrait of Prince Ferenc Rákóczi II - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Francis II Rákóczi]], leader of the war of independence against Habsburg rule (1703–1711)]]

Between 1703 and 1711, there was a large-scale [[Rákóczi's War of Independence|war of independence]] led by [[Francis II Rákóczi]], who after the dethronement of the Habsburgs in 1707 at the Diet of [[Ónod]], took power provisionally as the ruling prince for the wartime period, but refused the Hungarian crown and the title "king". The uprisings lasted for years. The Hungarian [[Kuruc]] army, although taking over most of the country, lost the main [[Battle of Trenčín|battle at Trencsén]] (1708). Three years later, because of the growing desertion, defeatism, and low morale, the Kuruc forces surrendered.<ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Lendvai|title=The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UtIr97n3tP0C&pg=PA152|year=2003|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-673-9|page=152}}</ref>

During the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and afterward, the Hungarian Diet had not convened for decades.<ref>Peter N Stearns, The Oxford encyclopedia of the modern world, Volume 4, Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 64</ref> In the 1820s, the emperor was forced to convene the Diet, which marked the beginning of a Reform Period (1825–1848, {{langx|hu|reformkor}}). The Hungarian Parliament was reconvened in 1825 to handle financial needs. A liberal party emerged and focused on providing for the peasantry. [[Lajos Kossuth]] emerged as a leader of the lower [[gentry]] in the Parliament. A remarkable upswing started as the nation concentrated its forces on modernisation even though the Habsburg monarchs obstructed all important liberal laws relating to [[civil and political rights]] and economic reforms. Many reformers ([[Lajos Kossuth]], [[Mihály Táncsics]]) were imprisoned by the authorities.

[[File:E. Poulton Portrait of Lajos Kossuth 1860s.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Lajos Kossuth]], Regent-President during the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]]]]

On 15 March 1848, mass demonstrations in Pest and Buda enabled Hungarian reformists to push through a list of [[12 points of the Hungarian Revolutionaries of 1848|12 demands]]. Under Governor and President [[Lajos Kossuth]] and Prime Minister [[Lajos Batthyány]], the House of Habsburg was dethroned. The Habsburg ruler and his advisors skillfully manipulated the Croatian, Serbian and Romanian peasantry, led by priests and officers firmly loyal to the Habsburgs, into rebelling against the Hungarian government, though the Hungarians were supported by the vast majority of the Slovak, German and [[Rusyns|Rusyn]] nationalities and by all the Jews of the kingdom, as well as by a large number of Polish, Austrian and Italian volunteers.<ref>[http://www.hungarianhistory.com/lib/jeszenszky/ethnic.pdf Géza Jeszenszky: From "Eastern Switzerland" to Ethnic Cleansing], address at Duquesne History Forum, 17 November 2000, The author is former Ambassador of Hungary to the United States and was Foreign Minister in 1990{{spaced ndash}}1994.</ref> In July 1849 the Hungarian Parliament proclaimed and enacted the first laws of ethnic and [[minority rights]] in the world.<ref>Laszlo Peter, Martyn C. Rady, Peter A. Sherwood: Lajos Kossuth sas word...: papers delivered on the occasion of the bicentenary of Kossuth's birth (page 101)</ref> Many members of the nationalities gained the coveted highest positions within the Hungarian Army, like [[János Damjanich]] and [[Józef Bem]]. The Hungarian forces (''[[Royal Hungarian Landwehr|Honvédség]]'') defeated Austrian armies. To counter the successes of the Hungarian revolutionary army, Habsburg Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Franz Joseph I]] asked for help from the "Gendarme of Europe", Tsar [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]], whose Russian armies invaded Hungary. This made [[Artúr Görgei|Artúr Görgey]] surrender in August 1849. The leader of the Austrian army, [[Julius Jacob von Haynau]], became governor of Hungary for a few months and ordered the execution of [[the 13 Martyrs of Arad]], leaders of the Hungarian army, and Prime Minister Batthyány in October 1849. Kossuth escaped into exile. Following the war of 1848–1849, the whole country was in "passive resistance".

Because of external and internal problems, reforms seemed inevitable, and major military defeats of Austria forced the Habsburgs to negotiate the [[Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867]], by which the dual monarchy of [[Austria-Hungary]] was formed. This empire had the second largest area in Europe (after the [[Russian Empire]]), and it was the third most populous (after Russia and the [[German Empire]]). The two realms were governed separately by two parliaments from two capital cities, with a common monarch and common external and military policies. Economically, the empire was a customs union. The old Hungarian Constitution was restored, and Franz Joseph I was crowned as [[King of Hungary]]. The era witnessed impressive economic development. The formerly backward Hungarian economy became relatively modern and industrialised by the turn of the 20th century, although agriculture remained dominant until 1890.<ref>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Ausgleich". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Feb. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Ausgleich. Accessed 10 April 2025</ref> In 1873, the old capital Buda and [[Óbuda]] were officially united with [[Pest, Hungary|Pest]],<ref>{{cite book|author=Kinga Frojimovics|title=Jewish Budapest: Monuments, Rites, History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-wUg6rlWS2kC&pg=PA67|year=1999|publisher=Central European University Press|isbn=978-963-9116-37-5|page=67}}</ref> creating the new metropolis of Budapest.<ref>Péter, László. "Budapest". Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Apr. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Budapest. Accessed 10 April 2025</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mancebo |first=Ivanka Garcia |title=History of Budapest - The history of Obuda, Buda and Pest |url=https://www.budapest.net/history |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=www.introducingbudapest.com |language=en}}</ref> Many of the state institutions and the modern administrative system of Hungary were established during this period.

[[File:Austria-Hungary map.svg|thumb|The [[Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen]] consisted of the territories of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]] (16) and the [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]] (17)]]

After the [[assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] in Sarajevo, Prime Minister [[István Tisza]] and his cabinet tried to avoid the outbreak and escalating of a war in Europe, but their diplomatic efforts were unsuccessful. Austria-Hungary drafted over 4&nbsp;million soldiers from the Kingdom of Hungary on the side of Germany, Bulgaria, and Turkey. The troops raised in the Kingdom of Hungary spent little time defending the actual territory of Hungary, with the exceptions of the [[Brusilov offensive]] in June 1916 and a few months later when the Romanian army made an attack into Transylvania,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwar2.ro/arme/?language=ro&article=114|title=WorldWar2.ro – Ofensiva Armatei 2 romane in Transilvania|website=Worldwar2.ro|access-date=3 August 2017}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=January 2021}} both of which were repelled. The [[Central Powers]] conquered Serbia. Romania declared war. The Central Powers conquered southern Romania and the Romanian capital [[Bucharest]]. In 1916 Franz Joseph died, and the new monarch [[Charles I of Austria|Charles IV]] sympathised with the pacifists. With great difficulty, the Central Powers stopped and repelled the attacks of the Russian Empire.

The [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]] of the Allied ([[Allies of World War I|Entente]]) Powers completely collapsed. The Austro-Hungarian Empire then withdrew from all defeated countries. Despite great success on the Eastern Front, Germany suffered complete defeat on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. By 1918, the economic situation had deteriorated (strikes in factories were organised by leftist and pacifist movements) and uprisings in the army had become common. In the capital cities, the Austrian and Hungarian leftist liberal movements and their leaders supported the separatism of ethnic minorities. Austria-Hungary signed a general armistice in [[Padua]] on 3 November 1918.<ref>{{cite book|author=François Bugnion|title=The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Protection of War Victims|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6K9IAAAAYAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Macmillan Education|isbn=978-0-333-74771-1}}</ref> In October 1918, Hungary's union with Austria was dissolved.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Archives |first=The National |date=2018-11-02 |title=The National Archives - Milestones to peace: the Armistice of Villa Giusti |url=https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/milestones-peace-armistice-villa-giusti/ |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=The National Archives blog |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== Between the World Wars (1918–1941) ===
{{Main|Hungary between the World Wars|Hungarian interwar economy|Treaty of Trianon}}{{More sources|subsection|date=April 2025}}[[File:Trianon consequences.png|left|thumb|With the [[Treaty of Trianon]], Hungary lost 72% of its territory, its sea ports, and 3,425,000 ethnic Hungarians.<ref>{{cite book|author=Miklós Molnár|title=A Concise History of Hungary|url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00moln|url-access=registration|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-66736-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00moln/page/262 262]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Western Europe: Challenge and Change|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVBB1a0rC70C&pg=RA1-PA360|year=1990|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-800-6|pages=359–360}}</ref>{{legend|#cd3318|Majority Hungarian areas (according to the 1910 census) detached from Hungary}}]]

Following the First World War, Hungary underwent a period of profound political upheaval, beginning with the [[Aster Revolution]] in 1918, which brought the social-democratic [[Mihály Károlyi]] to power as prime minister. The [[Royal Hungarian Honvéd|Hungarian Royal Honvéd army]] still had more than 1,400,000 soldiers<ref>{{cite book|author=Martin Kitchen|author-link=Martin Kitchen|title=Europe Between the Wars|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2014|page=190|isbn=9781317867531|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=36WsAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA190}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Ignác Romsics|title=Dismantling of Historic Hungary: The Peace Treaty of Trianon, 1920 Issue 3 of CHSP Hungarian authors series East European monographs|publisher=Social Science Monographs|year=2002|page=62|isbn=9780880335058}}</ref> when Károlyi was installed. Károlyi yielded to U.S. President [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s demand for [[pacifism]] by ordering the disarmament of the Hungarian army.<ref name="Dixon 1986">Dixon J. C. [https://books.google.com/books?id=OKDRvNHdraoC&pg=PA34 ''Defeat and Disarmament, Allied Diplomacy and Politics of Military Affairs in Austria, 1918–1922'']. Associated University Presses 1986. p.&nbsp;34.</ref><ref name="Sharp 2008">Sharp A. [https://books.google.com/books?id=NQodBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA156 ''The Versailles Settlement: Peacemaking after the First World War, 1919–1923'']{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. Palgrave Macmillan 2008. p.&nbsp;156. {{ISBN|9781137069689}}</ref> Disarmament meant that Hungary was to remain without a national defence at a time of particular vulnerability. During the rule of Károlyi's pacifist cabinet, Hungary lost control over approximately 75% of its pre-war territories ({{Convert|325411|km2|sqmi}}) without a fight and was subject to foreign occupation. The [[Little Entente]], sensing an opportunity, invaded the country from three sides—[[Hungarian-Romanian War|Romania invaded Transylvania]], Czechoslovakia annexed [[Upper Hungary]] (today's Slovakia), and a joint [[Kingdom of Serbia|Serb]]-[[French Army|French]] coalition annexed [[Vojvodina]] and other southern regions. In March 1919, communists led by [[Béla Kun]] ousted the Károlyi government and proclaimed the [[Hungarian Soviet Republic]] (''Tanácsköztársaság''), followed by a thorough [[Red Terror (Hungary)|Red Terror]] campaign. Despite some successes on the Czechoslovak front, Kun's forces were ultimately unable to resist the Romanian invasion; by August 1919, Romanian troops occupied Budapest and ousted Kun.

[[File:Portraits de Miklós Horthy.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Miklós Horthy]], Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1944)]]

In November 1919, rightist forces led by former Austro-Hungarian admiral [[Miklós Horthy]] entered Budapest; exhausted by the war and its aftermath, the populace accepted Horthy's leadership. In January 1920, parliamentary elections were held, and Horthy was proclaimed regent of the reestablished [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Kingdom of Hungary]], inaugurating the so-called "Horthy era" (''Horthy-kor''). The new government worked quickly to normalise foreign relations while turning a blind eye to a [[White Terror (Hungary)|White Terror]] that swept through the countryside; extrajudicial killings of suspected communists and Jews lasted well into 1920. On 4 June 1920, the [[Treaty of Trianon]] established new borders for Hungary. The country lost 71% of its territory and 66% of its pre-war population, as well as many sources of raw materials and its sole port at [[Rijeka|Fiume]].<ref name="Macartney37">{{cite book|last=Macartney|first=C. A.|title=Hungary and her successors: The Treaty of Trianon and Its Consequences 1919–1937|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1937}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Richard|last=Bernstein|title=East on the Danube: Hungary's Tragic Century|work=The New York Times|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E3D91531F93AA3575BC0A9659C8B63&pagewanted=2|date=9 August 2003|access-date=15 March 2008}}</ref> Though the revision of the treaty quickly rose to the top of the national political agenda, the Horthy government was not willing to resort to military intervention to do so.

The initial years of the Horthy regime were preoccupied with putsch attempts by [[Charles IV of Hungary|Charles IV]], the Austro-Hungarian [[pretender]]; continued suppression of communists; and a migration crisis triggered by the Trianon territorial changes. The government's actions continued to drift right with the passage of [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] laws and, because of the continued isolation of the Little Entente, economic and then political gravitation towards [[Kingdom of Italy#Fascist regime (1922–1943)|Italy]] and [[Nazi Germany|Germany]]. The [[Great Depression]] further exacerbated the situation, and the popularity of fascist politicians increased, such as [[Gyula Gömbös]] and [[Ferenc Szálasi]], promising economic and social recovery. Horthy's nationalist agenda reached its apogee in 1938 and 1940, when the Nazis rewarded Hungary's staunchly pro-Germany foreign policy in the [[First Vienna Award|First]] and [[Second Vienna Award]]s, peacefully restoring ethnic-Hungarian-majority areas lost after Trianon. In 1939, Hungary regained further territory from Czechoslovakia [[Slovak–Hungarian War|through force]]. Hungary [[Tripartite Pact|formally joined]] the [[Axis powers]] on 20 November 1940 and in 1941 participated in the [[invasion of Yugoslavia]], gaining some of its former territories in the south.

=== World War II (1941–1945) ===
{{Main|Hungary during World War II|Holocaust in Hungary|Soviet occupation of Hungary}}
[[File:Hungary 1941-44 Administrative Map.png|thumb|Kingdom of Hungary, 1941–1944]]

Hungary formally entered World War II as an Axis power on 26 June 1941, declaring war on the Soviet Union after unidentified planes bombed [[Košice|Kassa]], [[Munkacheve|Munkács]], and [[Rakhiv|Rahó]]. Hungarian troops fought on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] for two years. Despite early success at the [[Battle of Uman]],<ref name="J. Lee Ready 1995 page 130">J. Lee Ready (1995), ''World War Two. Nation by Nation'', London, Cassell, page 130. {{ISBN|1-85409-290-1}}</ref> the government began seeking a secret peace pact with [[Allies of World War II|the Allies]] after the [[Second Army (Hungary)|Second Army]] suffered catastrophic losses [[Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh offensive|at the River Don]] in January 1943. Learning of the planned defection, German troops [[Operation Margarethe|occupied Hungary]] on 19 March 1944 to guarantee Horthy's compliance.

In October, as the Soviet front approached, and the government made further efforts to disengage from the war, German troops ousted Horthy and installed a puppet government under Szálasi's fascist [[Arrow Cross Party]].<ref name="J. Lee Ready 1995 page 130" /> Szálasi pledged all the country's capabilities in service of the German war machine. By October 1944, the Soviets had reached the river Tisza, and despite [[Battle of Debrecen|some losses]], succeeded in encircling and [[Siege of Budapest|besieging Budapest]] in December.

On 13 February 1945, Budapest surrendered; by April, German troops left the country under Soviet military occupation. 200,000 Hungarians were expelled from Czechoslovakia in exchange for 70,000 Slovaks living in Hungary. 202,000 ethnic Germans were expelled to Germany,<ref>Alfred de Zayas "A Terrible Revenge" (Palgrave/Macmillan 2006)</ref> and through the 1947 [[Paris Peace Treaties, 1947|Paris Peace Treaties]], Hungary was again reduced to its immediate post-Trianon borders.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-680-8285A-08, Budapest, Festnahme von Juden.jpg|thumb|[[Jewish]] women being arrested on Wesselényi Street in [[Budapest]] during [[the Holocaust]], {{circa}} 20–22 October 1944]]

The war left Hungary devastated, destroying over 60% of the economy and causing significant [[World War II casualties#endnote Hungary|loss of life]]. In addition to the over 600,000 Hungarian Jews killed,<ref name="ind09/96">{{cite news|last=Bridge|first=Adrian|title=Hungary's Jews Marvel at Their Golden Future|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/hungarys-jews-marvel-at-their-golden-future-1361842.html|date=5 September 1996|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|access-date=20 April 2009}}</ref> as many as 280,000<ref name=EU38>{{cite web|url=http://cadmus.iue.it/dspace/bitstream/1814/2599/1/HEC04-01.pdf|title=The Expulsion of 'German' Communities from Eastern Europe at the end of the Second World War|last1=Prauser|first1=Steffen|last2=Rees|first2=Arfon|date=December 2004|series=EUI Working Paper HEC No. 2004/1|publisher=European University Institute|location=San Domenico, Florence|access-date=5 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001022039/http://cadmus.iue.it/dspace/bitstream/1814/2599/1/HEC04-01.pdf|archive-date=1 October 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> other Hungarians were raped, murdered and executed or deported for slave labour.<ref>University of Chicago. Division of the Social Sciences, Human Relations Area Files, inc, A study of contemporary Czechoslovakia, University of Chicago for the Human Relations Area Files, inc., 1955, Citation 'In January 1947 the Hungarians complained that Magyars were being carried off from Slovakia to Czech lands for forced labor.'</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Istvan S. Pogany|title=Righting Wrongs in Eastern Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BB4NAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA202|year=1997|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-3042-0|page=202}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Alfred J. Rieber|title=Forced Migration in Central and Eastern Europe, 1939–1950|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=it0-Zi2nEX0C&pg=PA90|year=2000|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7146-5132-3|page=50|quote=A presidential decree imposing an obligation on individuals not engaged in useful work to accept jobs served as the basis for this action. As a result, according to documentation in the ministry of foreign affairs of the USSR, approximately 50,000 Hungarians were sent to work in factories and agricultural enterprises in the Czech Republic.}}</ref><ref>Canadian Association of Slavists, Revue canadienne des slavistes, Volume 25, Canadian Association of Slavists., 1983</ref><ref>S. J. Magyarody, The East-central European Syndrome: Unsolved conflict in the Carpathian Basin, Matthias Corvinus Pub., 2002</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Anna Fenyvesi|title=Hungarian Language Contact Outside Hungary: Studies on Hungarian as a Minority Language|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y3JYwHGYn7MC&pg=PA50|year=2005|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|isbn=978-90-272-1858-2|page=50}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Norman M. Naimark|title=The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945–1949|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MVSjHNKUKoEC&pg=PA70|year=1995|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-78405-5|page=70}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=László Borhi|title=Hungary in the Cold War, 1945–1956: Between the United States and the Soviet Union|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IO-4TxlTaMAC&pg=PA57|year=2004|publisher=Central European University Press|isbn=978-963-9241-80-0|page=57}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Richard Bessel|author1-link=Richard Bessel|author2=Dirk Schumann|title=Life After Death: Approaches to a Cultural and Social History of Europe During the 1940s and 1950s|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NilW70Yol74C&pg=PA133|year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-00922-5|page=142}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Tibor Cseres|title=Titoist Atrocities in Vojvodina, 1944–1945: Serbian Vendetta in Bácska|url=https://archive.org/details/titoistatrocitie0000cser|url-access=registration|year=1993|publisher=Hunyadi Pub.|isbn=978-1-882785-01-8}}</ref> After German occupation, Hungary participated in [[the Holocaust]],<ref name="bbc-no-warning-to-hungary-jews">{{cite web |author=Mike Thomson |date=13 November 2012 |title=Could the BBC have done more to help Hungarian Jews? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20267659 |publisher=BBC (British broadcasting service) |quote=the BBC broadcast every day, giving updates on the war, general news and opinion pieces on Hungarian politics. But among all these broadcasts, there were crucial things that were not being said, things that might have warned thousands of Hungarian Jews of the horrors to come in the event of German occupation. A memo setting out policy for the BBC Hungarian Service in 1942 states: "We shouldn't mention the Jews at all". By 1943, the BBC Polish Service was broadcasting the exterminations. And yet his policy of silence on the Jews was followed until the German invasion in March 1944. After the tanks rolled in, the Hungarian Service did then broadcast warnings. But by then it was too late "Many Hungarian Jews who survived the deportations claimed that they had not been informed by their leaders, that no one had told them. But there's plenty of evidence that they could have known", said David Cesarani, professor of history at Royal Holloway, University of London.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007259|title=Auschwitz: Chronology|work=Ushmm.org|access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref> deporting nearly 440,000 Jews, mainly to [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]]; nearly all of them were murdered.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Herczl | first1=Moshe Y. | last2=Lerner | first2=Joel | title=Christianity and the Holocaust of Hungarian Jewry | publisher=NYU Press | year=1993 | jstor=j.ctt9qg6vj | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qg6vj }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-features/special-focus/the-holocaust-in-hungary|title=The Holocaust in Hungary|publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|encyclopedia=Holocaust Encyclopedia}}</ref> The Horthy government's complicity in the Holocaust remains a point of controversy and contention.

=== Communism (1945–1989) ===
{{Main|Hungarian Republic (1946–1949)|Hungarian People's Republic|Hungarian Revolution of 1956}}
{{See also|Goulash Communism}}
[[File:Szétlőtt harckocsi a Móricz Zsigmond körtéren.jpg|thumb|left|A destroyed Soviet tank in Budapest during the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|Revolution of 1956]]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''{{'}}s [[Time Magazine Person of the Year|Man of the Year]] for 1956 was the Hungarian freedom fighter<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Man of the Year, The Land and the People|magazine=Time|date=7 January 1957|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,808898-1,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017045908/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,808898-1,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 October 2007|access-date=9 October 2006}}</ref>]]

Following the defeat of Nazi Germany, Hungary became a [[satellite state]] of the Soviet Union. The Soviet leadership selected [[Mátyás Rákosi]] to front the [[Stalinism|Stalinisation]] of the country, and Rákosi ''[[de facto]]'' ruled Hungary from 1949 to 1956. His government's policies of militarisation, industrialisation, collectivisation, and war compensation led to a severe decline in living standards. In imitation of Stalin's [[KGB]], the Rákosi government established a secret political police, the [[State Protection Authority|ÁVH]], to enforce the regime; approximately 350,000 officials and intellectuals were imprisoned or executed from 1948 to 1956.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tamupress.com/product/First-Domino,4091.aspx|title=Granville/ frm|format=PDF|access-date=20 September 2009}}</ref> Many freethinkers, democrats, and Horthy-era dignitaries were secretly arrested and extrajudicially interned in domestic and foreign [[gulag]]s. Some 600,000 Hungarians were deported to Soviet labour camps, where at least 200,000 died.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8347146.stm|title=Hungary's 'forgotten' war victims|work=[[BBC News]]|date=7 November 2009|access-date=4 February 2010}}</ref>

After Stalin's death in 1953, the Soviet Union pursued a programme of [[De-Stalinization|de-Stalinisation]] that was inimical to Rákosi, leading to his deposition. The following political cooling saw the ascent of [[Imre Nagy]] to the premiership. Nagy promised market liberalisation and political openness. Rákosi eventually managed to discredit Nagy and replace him with the more hard-line [[Ernő Gerő]]. Hungary joined the [[Warsaw Pact]] in May 1955, as societal dissatisfaction with the regime swelled. Following the firing on peaceful demonstrations by Soviet soldiers and secret police, and rallies throughout the country on 23 October 1956, protesters took to the streets in Budapest, initiating the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|1956 Revolution]].

In an effort to quell the chaos, Nagy returned as premier, promised free elections, and took Hungary out of the Warsaw Pact. The violence nonetheless continued as revolutionary militias sprung up against the Soviet Army and the ÁVH; the roughly 3,000-strong resistance fought Soviet tanks using [[Molotov cocktail]]s and machine-pistols. Though the preponderance of the Soviets was immense, they suffered heavy losses, and by 30 October 1956, most Soviet troops had withdrawn from Budapest to garrison the countryside. For a time, the Soviet leadership was unsure how to respond but eventually decided to intervene to prevent a destabilisation of the Soviet bloc. On 4 November, reinforcements of more than 150,000 troops and 2,500 tanks entered the country from the Soviet Union.<ref>Findley, Carter V., and John Rothney. ''Twentieth Century World''. sixth ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. 278.</ref> Nearly 20,000 Hungarians were killed resisting the intervention, while an additional 21,600 were imprisoned afterward for political reasons. Some 13,000 were interned and 230 brought to trial and executed. Nagy was secretly tried, found guilty, sentenced to death, and executed by hanging in June 1958. Because borders were briefly opened, nearly a quarter of a million people fled the country by the time the revolution was suppressed.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6065398.stm "Hungary's 1956 brain drain"], BBC News, 23 October 2006</ref>

[[File:János Kádár 1962.jpg|thumb|upright|[[János Kádár]], General Secretary of the [[Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party]] (1956–1988)]]

After a second, briefer period of Soviet military occupation, [[János Kádár]], Nagy's former minister of state, was chosen by the Soviet leadership to head the new government and chair the new ruling [[Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party|Socialist Workers' Party]]. Kádár quickly normalised the situation. In 1963, the government granted a general amnesty. Kádár proclaimed a new policy line, according to which the people were no longer compelled to profess loyalty to the party if they tacitly accepted the socialist regime as a fact of life. Kádár introduced new planning priorities in the economy, such as allowing farmers significant plots of private land within the collective farm system (''háztáji gazdálkodás''). The living standard rose as consumer goods and food production took precedence over military production, which was reduced to one-tenth of prerevolutionary levels.

In 1968, the [[New Economic Mechanism]] introduced free-market elements into the socialist command economy. From the 1960s through the late 1980s, Hungary was often referred to as "the happiest barrack" within the Eastern bloc. During the latter part of the Cold War Hungary's [[Lists of countries by GDP per capita|GDP per capita]] was fourth only to [[East Germany]], [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic|Czechoslovakia]], and the Soviet Union.<ref name="madison185">*{{Cite book|last=Maddison|first=Angus|title=The world economy|publisher=OECD Publishing|year=2006|isbn=978-92-64-02261-4|page=185}}</ref> As a result of this relatively high [[standard of living]], a more liberalised economy, a less censored press, and less restricted travel rights, Hungary was generally considered one of the more liberal countries in which to live in Central Europe during communism. In 1980, Hungary sent a [[Cosmonaut]] into space as part of the [[Interkosmos]]. The first Hungarian astronaut was [[Bertalan Farkas]]. Hungary became [[Timeline of space travel by nationality|the seventh nation to be represented in space]] by him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://qubit.hu/2018/05/06/hogyan-lettunk-a-vilag-hetedik-urhajos-nemzete-nyolc-magyar-aki-nelkul-nem-tortenhetett-volna-meg|title=Hogyan lettünk a világ hetedik űrhajós nemzete? – Nyolc magyar, aki nélkül nem történhetett volna meg|last=Béres|first=Attila|date=2018-05-06|website=Qubit|language=hu|access-date=2019-12-14}}</ref> In the 1980s, however, living standards steeply declined again because of [[Early 1980s recession|a worldwide recession]] to which communism was unable to respond.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Watkins|first1=Theyer|title=Economic History and the Economy of Hungary|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/hungary.htm|website=sjsu.edu|publisher=San José State University Department of Economics|access-date=6 August 2014|archive-date=7 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207184439/http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/hungary.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> By the time Kádár died in 1989, the Soviet Union was in steep decline and a younger generation of reformists saw liberalisation as the solution to economic and social issues.

=== Third Republic (1989–present) ===
{{See also|Revolutions of 1989|2006 protests in Hungary|2015 European migrant crisis|COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary}}
[[File:Foundation of the Visegrád Group.tiff|thumb|The [[Visegrád Group]] signing ceremony, 15 February 1991]]

Hungary's transition from communism to capitalism (''rendszerváltás'', "regime change") was peaceful and prompted by economic stagnation, domestic political pressure, and changing relations with other Warsaw Pact countries. Although the [[Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party]] began [[Hungarian Round Table Talks|Round Table Talks]] with various opposition groups in March 1989, the reburial of Imre Nagy as a revolutionary martyr that June is widely considered the symbolic end of communism in Hungary. Free elections were held [[1990 Hungarian parliamentary election|in May 1990]], and the [[Hungarian Democratic Forum]], a major conservative opposition group, was elected to the head of a coalition government. [[József Antall]] became the first democratically elected prime minister since World War II.

With the removal of state subsidies and rapid privatisation in 1991, Hungary was affected by a severe economic recession. The Antall government's austerity measures proved unpopular, and the Communist Party's legal and political heir, the [[Hungarian Socialist Party|Socialist Party]], won the subsequent [[1994 Hungarian parliamentary election|1994 elections]]. This abrupt shift in the political landscape was repeated in [[1998 Hungarian parliamentary election|1998]] and [[2002 Hungarian parliamentary election|2002]]; in each electoral cycle, the governing party was ousted and the erstwhile opposition elected. Like most other post-communist European states, however, Hungary broadly pursued an [[European integration|integrationist]] agenda, [[Enlargement of NATO|joining NATO]] in 1999 and the European Union [[2003 Hungarian European Union membership referendum|in 2004]]. As a NATO member, Hungary was involved in the [[Yugoslav Wars]].

[[File:Police car at Hungary-Serbia border barrier.jpg|thumb|Police car at Hungary-Serbia border barrier]]In 2006, [[2006 protests in Hungary|major nationwide protests]] erupted after it was revealed that Prime Minister [[Ferenc Gyurcsány]] had claimed in [[Őszöd speech|a closed-door speech]] that his party "lied" to win the [[2006 Hungarian parliamentary election|recent elections]]. The popularity of left-wing parties plummeted in the ensuing political upheaval, and in 2010, [[Viktor Orbán]]'s national-conservative [[Fidesz]] party was [[2010 Hungarian parliamentary election|elected]] to a parliamentary [[supermajority]]. The legislature consequently approved a [[Constitution of Hungary|new constitution]], among other sweeping governmental and legal changes including the establishment of new parliamentary constituencies, decreasing the number of parliamentarians, and shifting to single-round parliamentary elections. Fidesz has won supermajorities in [[2014 Hungarian parliamentary election|every]] [[2018 Hungarian parliamentary election|subsequent]] [[2022 Hungarian parliamentary election|election]].

Since Orbán's election in 2010, Hungary has undergone [[democratic backsliding]]. It has been characterised as an [[illiberal democracy]],<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Abby |last1=Innes |title=Hungary's Illiberal Democracy |journal=Current History |year=2015 |volume=114 |issue=770 |doi=10.1525/curh.2015.114.770.95 |pages=95–100}}</ref>{{rp|95}} [[hybrid regime]], [[kleptocracy]], [[dominant-party system]], and [[mafia state]].<ref name="VDem2020">''[https://www.v-dem.net/media/filer_public/f0/5d/f05d46d8-626f-4b20-8e4e-53d4b134bfcb/democracy_report_2020_low.pdf Autocratization Surges–Resistance Grows: Democracy Report 2020] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330123413/https://www.v-dem.net/media/filer_public/f0/5d/f05d46d8-626f-4b20-8e4e-53d4b134bfcb/democracy_report_2020_low.pdf |date=30 March 2020 }}'', V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg (March 2020).</ref><ref>"[https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220909IPR40137/meps-hungary-can-no-longer-be-considered-a-full-democracy MEPs: Hungary can no longer be considered a full democracy | News | European Parliament]". www.europarl.europa.eu. 2022-09-15. Retrieved 2023-05-02.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=5 April 2018|title=The EU is tolerating – and enabling – authoritarian kleptocracy in Hungary|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2018/04/05/the-eu-is-tolerating-and-enabling-authoritarian-kleptocracy-in-hungary|access-date=5 July 2021|issn=0013-0613}}</ref> Orbán has publicly embraced illiberalism,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Plattner |first1=Marc F. |date=2019 |title=Illiberal Democracy and the Struggle on the Right |journal=Journal of Democracy |language=en |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=5–19 |doi=10.1353/jod.2019.0000 | url=https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/illiberal-democracy-and-the-struggle-on-the-right/}}</ref>{{Rp|page=9}} characterising Hungary as an "illiberal Christian democracy".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://budapestbeacon.com/full-text-of-viktor-orbans-speech-at-baile-tusnad-tusnadfurdo-of-26-july-2014/|title=Full text of Viktor Orbán's speech at Băile Tuşnad (Tusnádfürdő) of 26 July 2014|work=The Budapest Beacon|date=30 July 2014|access-date=11 November 2024|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728164958/https://budapestbeacon.com/full-text-of-viktor-orbans-speech-at-baile-tusnad-tusnadfurdo-of-26-july-2014/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hungarian PM sees shift to illiberal Christian democracy in 2019 European vote |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-orban/hungarian-pm-sees-shift-to-illiberal-christian-democracy-in-2019-european-vote-idUSKBN1KI0BK |publisher=[[Reuters]] |access-date=29 July 2020 |date=28 July 2018 |quote=Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday that European parliament elections next year could bring about a shift toward illiberal 'Christian democracy' in the European Union that would end the era of multiculturalism.}}</ref> As a result of these developments, Hungary's relationship with the [[United States]] and the [[European Union]] have entered a period of protracted strain. Past and ongoing areas of conflict include [[LGBT rights in Hungary|LGBT rights]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hungary's parliament passes anti-LGBT law ahead of 2022 election|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/15/europe/hungary-protests-lgbtq-law-intl/index.html|access-date=2021-06-25|website=CNN|date=15 June 2021|archive-date=2 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702152849/http://www.cnn.com/2021/06/15/europe/hungary-protests-lgbtq-law-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> migration,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-immigration-idUSKBN0OX17I20150617|title=Hungary to fence off border with Serbia to stop migrants|work=Reuters|access-date=28 August 2015|date=17 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/04/world/europe/hungary-train-station-migrant-crisis.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=a-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0|title=Hungary Defends Handling of Migrants Amid Chaos at Train Station|author1=Anemona Hartocollis|author2=Dan Bilefsky|author3=James Kanter|name-list-style=amp|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=3 September 2015|date=3 September 2015}}</ref> the ''[[lex CEU]],''<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-10-06 |title=Hungary broke EU law by forcing out university, says European Court |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54433398 |access-date=2025-01-12 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Hungary's decision to authorise [[Sputnik vaccine|Russian]] and [[CoronaVac|Chinese vaccines]] during the [[COVID-19 pandemic|coronavirus pandemic]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Shaun |date=2021-01-21 |title=Hungary breaks ranks with EU to license Russian vaccine |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/21/hungary-breaks-ranks-with-eu-to-license-russian-vaccine-sputnik-v |access-date=2025-01-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-28 |title='I'm vaccinated': Hungary's Orbán promotes Chinese coronavirus jab |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-viktor-orban-inoculated-with-chinese-vaccine-coronavirus/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=POLITICO |language=en-GB}}</ref> and [[International sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine|international sanctions against Russia]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Hungary's loyalties tested as Russia's war in Ukraine grinds on |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/14/hungarys-loyalties-tested-as-russias-war-in-ukraine-grinds-on |access-date=14 April 2023 |website=aljazeera.com}}</ref> The Orbán government has simultaneously come under increased international scrutiny over rule-of-law concerns. Hungary has and continues to dispute these allegations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rankin |first=Jennifer |date=12 September 2018 |title=MEPs vote to pursue action against Hungary over Orbán crackdown |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/12/eu-meps-vote-to-pursue-action-against-hungary-over-orban-crackdown |access-date=24 September 2018 |website=The Guardian |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In 2018, the [[European Parliament]] voted to act against Hungary under the terms of [[Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union]]. In March 2025, [[Estonia]] pushed for a suspension of Hungary's EU voting rights.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-03-14 |title=Minister: Hungary's EU voting rights must be suspended over sanctions block |url=https://news.err.ee/1609633469/minister-hungary-s-eu-voting-rights-must-be-suspended-over-sanctions-block |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=[[Eesti Rahvusringhääling]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-03-14 |title=Ungarn erzwingt Aufhebung von EU-Sanktionen gegen Russen |url=https://www.orf.at//stories/3387636/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=news.[[ORF.at]] |language=de-AT}}</ref>