Question about Hungarian Peoples Origins

[Aaron17]

Hi !

My grandparents were born, and lived in Hungary, but fled to Australia to escape communism where my Father was born. I was hence born in Australia.

I am very interested in looking back into time into Hungary and the Origins of its people.

I'm a little comfused though, I am under the presumption that Attila the Hun came to eastern Europe and conquerered part of it and extended the Hunnic Empire into Eastern Europe. The Huns came from an area around Mongolia.

So why is it that Hungarian people dont look at least semi-asian ? Why do I have bright blue eyes and light brown hair ?

If someone here could please shed some light on this topic; the origins of the Hungarian People that would be much appreciated.

Thanks.
Aaron.

[Peti]

Hi, welcome to the forum. I'm not an expert on this issue so I suggest you take a look at the wikipedia entry on this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_people

Though you won't find any clear answers there either it should provide you with valuable information.

[BND]

Well Aaron you've asked a tough question

The origin of Hungarians can be found somewhere around the Ural mountains, together with other Finno-Ugric people. They don't have that much to do either with the Huns or Mongols. That's why you don't look Asian

Why you have light eyes and hair? Hungary is not an island, so people can be mixed easily. Anyway on their way here to the Carpathian Basin they met a lot of other peoples (Turks, Persians, Kazars, Bulgars, etc). Here we have Slavic, Germanic and Latin neighbours. Then the various wars of the history - Tatars, Turks, Germans, French, Russians, even Swedes fought here, which resulted mixing with these people too. In addition there were various settlers to empty lands after huge wars like German Schwabs, Armenians, Jews, Slovaks, etc... So Hungarian is a mixture of all these peoples mostly. It is possible that you are a descendant of someone with German origin

[Sieg]

This is all true, but I'd like to add a few things:

1.) it is not certain that the Huns were Asians. There is a distinction of the so-called White Huns who were European-looking.

2.) there IS a variety of people in Hungary who kinda look semi-asian. There are several sub-types within the Caucasian race (such as mediterranean, alpic etc.) and one of these varieties is called Turanian. These people were considered very typical Hungarians a few centuries ago and you can still find people who more or less match the criteria. Unfortunately I have not found any sources I could cite, but there is an excellent, though quite old book about human races in Hungary, it is part of a series, they also had it about plants, animals etc It can be found in every Hungarian library, if I ever find it I will post the title. Of course this is not really for you Aaron as you don't live in the country but just in case some Hungarians wouldn't believe me such a thing exists...

[RawLee]

We are not descendants of the Huns...the name of the country comes from turkish language,from which with a little french modification comes the "Hungary" name. Original turkish name is "onogur(or something similar)"(the german "Ungarn" reflects it more,than the english name).

We are descendants of the Magyars,part of the finn-ugric tribes,who originate at the Ural. Your blue eye and light hair indicates german(or nordic) ancestry at some point.

[talendon]

Originally Posted by Aaron17

So why is it that Hungarian people dont look at least semi-asian ?

Why should?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finno-Ugric_peoples

Do the Finns look like a semi-asian? Most of them has brown/blond hair as well.

[MagyarGyerek]

Originally Posted by Aaron17

If someone here could please shed some light on this topic; the origins of the Hungarian People that would be much appreciated.

Thanks.
Aaron.

Do extra-terrestrial beings exist? - the Nobel Prize winning Italian physicist, Enrico Fermi, was once asked by his disciples in California. Of course, Fermi answered - they are already here among us, they are called Hungarians...

so theres your answer - we are from a different planet hope this shedded some light on the topic 4 you

Oh and if you ever plan on going to Hungary - please don't go around asking people this same question and saying 'why aren't we semi asian, our ancestors are mongolians'... just for your own good

and BTW I have blue eyes and dirty blonde hair, too :P

[RawLee]

Wasnt that Ede Teller?

[MagyarGyerek]

I'm pretty sure it was Fermi, I've read many sources with this quote and it was always with his name

[RawLee]

Originally Posted by MagyarGyerek

I'm pretty sure it was Fermi, I've read many sources with this quote and it was always with his name

You are probably right,it was strange anyway that a hungarian would say something like that...

[Singidunum]

Yep Hungarians have got little to do with Huns but with Magyars.

[Mavey]

Do Hungarians know Parthians?

[Mavey]

Alot of Asians have blue eyes with light hair.

[RawLee]

Originally Posted by Mavey

Do Hungarians know Parthians?

Personally,I know none. There are theories that suggest that we have a common point in our history(there are certain words of iranian origin).

[Mavey]

Yeah I met a Hungarian women who knew alot about Persian history (Parthians,Scythians,Sassanians,Zoroaster,Zoroastrian etc etc)

[Aaron17]

Thanks for the decent replies that some of you submitted.

I have done reading on the Internet about it, so I didnt just come onto here and ask without researching first. It was just that the internet didnt really yield too many definite answers for me.

Obviously, having blue eyes means that I have german/nordic ancestry like alot of Europeans, and that Obviously becuase I dont look like I come from Asia, means that ofcourse I didnt.

I also obviously understand that Hungarians also have other origins besides the Huns specifically, but I still have the nagging question that, if over 1000 years ago the Huns came to eastern europe, there should still be, at least somewhere in Europe, decendents from them who are Asian looking...

This however, doesnt seem to be the case at all. So I guess that means that the Huns didnt look like typical people from the Mongolia.

Again, Thanks to those who answered!

I consider myself 100% Australian, yet I still like to learn about my Ancestry, I personally find it very fascinating.

[Mavey]

I have blue eyes and I'm Asian.

[Qtya]

Originally Posted by Aaron17

Hi !

My grandparents were born, and lived in Hungary, but fled to Australia to escape communism where my Father was born. I was hence born in Australia.

I am very interested in looking back into time into Hungary and the Origins of its people.

I'm a little comfused though, I am under the presumption that Attila the Hun came to eastern Europe and conquerered part of it and extended the Hunnic Empire into Eastern Europe. The Huns came from an area around Mongolia.

So why is it that Hungarian people dont look at least semi-asian ? Why do I have bright blue eyes and light brown hair ?

If someone here could please shed some light on this topic; the origins of the Hungarian People that would be much appreciated.

Thanks.
Aaron.

Hungarian people came from the Mars!

[ban Bank]

- The Hungarian is a Finno-Ugric language. It had influences of the Turkic and Iranian languages.

- Arpad or Turul House (house of the first Hungarian kings/princes, 890-1301) is of Hunno-Turkic origin.

- Hungarians are mixed people (like others): original Hungarians/Magyars, Kabars/Avars/Onogurs, Jazigs and other Iranians, Cumans, Pechenegs, Jews, Germans, Slavs, Russians/Vikings.

- Hungarian culture/folklore and music are of Turkic/Turanian origin.

- Sekler-Hungarian runic writing is of Turkic origin.

[gallopingmajor]

Aaron17, the most honest answer to your question is that the bona fide Magyar tribes are at least four to six thousand years old in history -- Hungarians are one of the most eduring peoples in the history of the world. We are as old as the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and Sumerians, there is deep research being put into these equations. The Finno-Ugrian people were prototypical six-thousand years ago long before Rome became a Kingdom, then a Republic and then an Empire, and longer in history than the Huns.

Here are the facts: when the Magyar tribes allied with a few Kabar, Turkic and intermingled with Viking tribes broken into the open into the Carpathians, we had extra-auxilliaries to carry out our enterprise. We were a deeply intermixed people, part Scythian, part northern European, part Turkic, part Asian -- but the bulk of our people were "European". Magna-Hungaria (the ancient homeland of the Magyars) was on the "European side" of the Ural mountains. Our closest relatives live in Finland and Estonia linguistically - they are our truest cousins, every few years our eldest cultural cousins, the Finns, Estonians and we celebrate a Finno-Ugric heritage between our people.

We cannot be classified as Asians, we are best defined as "far Europeans from the East"; we were Europeans who sought shelter, an abode, better grazing grounds and sanctuary from other invading Eastern foes pressing against us - that's one of the reasons we were so quick to acclimate ourselves to Western Christianity. The Huns didn't last nor were they very intelligent (we Hungarians are very intelligent). The Hungarians Conquest of the Carpathian Basin was a "[I]Home Coming[I]" to a magnificent land of flowing milk and honey to be welcomed by the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor and by all the Christian nations in Europe. It is best to classify us as Scythians, - we were the quasi-civilized Europeans on the fringe of the Western Christian battle-perimenter and marches (fronteirs). That's why we were welcomed by the European Christian nations as one of their own and so fond to accomodiate to Western feudalism and norms. The Hungarian tribes needed a place to settle down and put roots down for our cattle, horses, women, children and put up stock in a new homeland after a long soujourn. We found that the beautiful Carpathian Basin suited us very well. Areas of the Carpathian Basin besides it being a geo-political strategic central zone, the Hungarians found a an ecological Shangri-La, the lands of Saint Stephen were naturally and ecologically beautiful. The conquering Magyar tribes found a blessed land to settle down in.

Did you know, that King Andrew II of Hungary fielded the largest body of military men in the history of the Crusaders in the 5th Crusade, and led in person the largest body of knights into battle of any European King, prince, duke or any other principal commander in the Crusades? Hungary requistioned 20,000 men-at-arms (knights) from fuedal levies buttressed by 12,000 garrison-quality Hungarian infantry to supplant the flagging Christian defenses in the Holy Land. Hungary's forces were accompained in the 5th Crusades by Hermann von Salza's Teutonic Knights, Hermann von Salza was a big very European figure and a major founding father of the Tuetonic Knights:



In a dramatic showdown of Christian strength on Moslem strenght, the Hungarian royal forces of well-mounted knights came off victorious on November 10 1217 in a pitched battle with Al-Adil, a well-respected commander in Moslem history, by the Jordan river. England's King Richard the Lionhearted ought to have salivated over the weight of prowess of the Hungary's military command - 32,000 strong. The only problem Andrew II of Hungary had -- he became homesick after delivering a devestating blow against the Moslems, he left shortly thereafter to go back to Hungary after collecting alleged relics. Hungary brought the full deal European military potency to the Middle East, in Hungary he's revered as one of the twelve great leaders of Hungary in Budapest's Heroes Square. No man in the Crusades brought more men onto a unified field of battle in spirit and mould than Andrew II, not even King Richard the Lionhearted - Hungary's knights crashed their way into Egypt till the capricious young King decided he wanted to go home.

King Andrew II of Hungary:



Had Andrew II of Hungary stayed in the Middle East with his Hungarian legions for another two years, he could have turned the fortunes of war and the Crusades with that blistering war-machine. After Hungary overthrew and dismantled a mighty Moslem army in 1217, major
Moslem contigents were prudent to want to stay away from the Hungarians and sought shelter in their regional fortresses. On the battle-fields of the Holy Land, Hungary's fighting reputation was so formidable that the Sultanate of Rum (a Moslem power in Anatolia) agreed to fight on the Christian side and opened up a second-front in Syria to prevent the Crusaders (Hungarians and the Tuetonic Knights) from fighting on a single front, that's how influential the Hungarian fighting man was in the Crusaders. It was a first instance of Moslems fighting Moslems in the Crusades. The Sultanate of Rum put all their strategic chips down on the Hungarians delivering a decisive final victory over the Ayyubids (the rivals of the Sultante of Rum). Had Andrew II campaigned for another two years further down the line, with the Knights Templars and Tuetonic Knights as vanguard crack corps - the whole Crusadering enterprise might have been brought to a fruitful History epoc-making conclusion.

In 1242 the Asiatic Mongolian army asked the King of Hungary (Bela IV) to "join forces" to carry on further expeditions into Europe, the Mongol Khan believed the Hungarians were still Scythian quasi-civilized raiders. The great Khan miscalcuated. The Kingdom of Hungary was by then a strong bastion of Western Christendom and the King staunchly refused and marched in fully panoply against the invading pincer manouvers of the Mongols in person. In an sudden night attack by a river, the Hungarian army was practically annihiliated fighting to the thick against the invading Mongols. Within a year 80% of the Hungarian population of Hungary was decimated and liquidated by fire and sword. The ancient Magyar population was decimated and a new realization of birth had to be recognized, and Hungary gained a new more-European demographic.

-- to be continued Aaron17 --