Date            Events  EARLY HISTORY  ca. A.D. 100-600       Magyar tribes, a pagan Finno-Ugric people, begin                   migration from Urals south onto Russian steppes and                continue west, to area between Don and lower Dnepr                 rivers, where they fall under the sway of the Bulgar-              Turkish people.  ca. A.D. 600-900       Magyars fall under the control of the Khazars but are              later freed from Khazar rule in the ninth century. Magyars         join Byzantine armies to fight the Bulgars in 895. Magyars         migrate farther west into the Danube-Tisza Basin, 895 or           896.  Árpád is chosen as chieftain  his male descendants           become hereditary heirs of this kingdom, which became              known as Hungary.  MEDIEVAL PERIOD   Árpád Dynasty ca. 900-1301       Magyars besiege Europe and the Byzantine Empire but are            defeated by Czech and German armies in 955. Chieftain Géza         (972-97) is baptized into Roman Catholic Church. Géza's            son, Stephen I (997-1038), is recognized by Pope Sylvester         II as king of Hungary, ensuring independence from                  Byzantium and the Holy Roman Empire. Latin alphabet is             devised for Hungarian language. Magyars occupy of                  Transylvania. László I (1077-95) occupies Slavonia in              1090, and Kálmán I (1095-1116) takes the title of king of          Croatia in 1103. Under Béla III (1173-96), Hungary becomes         one of the leading powers in southeastern Europe. Nobles           force Andrew II (1205-35) to sign Golden Bull (1222)               limiting crown's power. Mongols rout Hungarian army at             Mohi in (1241). Mongols withdraw in 1242. Árpád line               expires in 1301.  RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION 1301-1699       Charles Robert (1308-42) wins prolonged succession                 struggle. Dynastic marriages link Hungary to Naples and            Poland. Louis I (1343-82) reconfirms Golden Bull. First            university is founded in 1367. Hungary's fortunes begin to         decline under Sigismund (1387-1437). Social turmoil erupts         because of higher taxes and pressures from the magnates on         the lesser nobles. Wars against Ottoman Turks are waged in         reigns of Albrecht V (1437-39) and Ulászló I (1439-44).            János Hunyadi rules Hungary as regent for infant king,             László V. Hunyadi defeats the Turks in Transylvania in             1442 and in Serbia in 1443, is defeated at Varna in 1444,          and defeats the Turks again in 1456 near Belgrade. Nobles          crown Hunyadi's son Mátyás Corvinus (1458-90) king. Mátyás         enacts numerous reforms. After the death of Mátyás, an             oligarchy of magnates takes control, and the country               remains in a state of anarchy until 1526, when the Turks           defeat Hungary at Mohács. Hungary is partitioned between           the Turks and the Habsburgs in 1541. Habsburgs invade              Transylvania in 1591. Habsburgs rout a Turkish army 1000
 y in             1664 at St. Gotthard in Hungary. Hungarians rebel agsinst          Habsburg rule in 1681. Turks attack Habsburgs but are              routed near Vienna in 1683. Western campaign drives Turks          from Hungary, and Turks lose almost all Hungarian                  possessions in Peace of Karlowitz (1699), which ended              partition.  HUNGARY UNDER THE HABSBURGS, 1700-1867       Vienna assumes control of Hungary's foreign affairs,               defense, and tariffs, and it treats Transylvania as                separate from Hungary. Peasant rebellion in 1703 provokes          an eight-year uprising led by Ferenc Rákóczi against               Habsburg rule. Treaty of Szatmár (1711) ends rebellion.            Under Pragmatic Sanction (1723), Habsburg monarch agrees           to rule Hungary as a king subject to restraints of                 Hungary's constitution and laws. Under Charles VI (1711-           40) and Maria Theresa (1740-80), the economy declines.             Joseph II (1780-90), an enlightened despot, attempts               various changes, but the nobles resist and thus inspire a          renaissance of Hungarian culture. Leopold I (1790-92)              softens Habsburg policy. Under Francis I (1792-1835),              Hungary stagnates. Toward the end of Francis's rule,               liberal reformers István Széchenyi and Lajos Kossuth               emerge  they increasingly press their demands under                Ferdinand V (1835-48). In March 1848, a revolution against         the absolute monarchy breaks out in Vienna and quickly             spreads to Budapest. The Hungarians declare independence           in April 1849, but with the help of Russian troops the             Habsburgs reimpose control. Franz Joseph (1848-1916)               revokes the Hungarian constitution and assumes absolute            power. Austria is defeated by Sardinia and France in 1859          and by Prussia in 1866, resulting in the Compromise of             1867, which creates the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary,          also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  DUAL MONARCHY 1867-1918       Under the Dual Monarchy, the Habsburg emperor reigns as            king of Hungary. A Hungarian government administers                domestic affairs, while Vienna manages foreign policy,             defense, and finance. Croatia gains autonomy from Hungary          over its domestic affairs in 1868. Kálmán Tisza serves as          prime minister 1875-90. Economic modernization begins,             accompanied by rise of a middle class. István Tisza serves         as prime minister 1903-05 and 1912-17. The June 28, 1914,          assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand precipitates             World War I (1914-18). Bourgeois-democratic revolution in          Budapest, October 31, 1918. Mihály Károlyi, a liberal,             assumes power. Hungary loses territory to Yugoslavia,              Romania, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. A coalition of               Social Democrats and communists takes power. Hungarian             Soviet Republic is proclaimed under Béla Kun, March 21,            1919. Romanian forces occupy Budapest. Anticommunist               government seizes control and imposes "white terror."  TRIANON HUNGARY, 1920-45       Admiral Miklós Horthy is named regent of Hungary, March            21, 1920. Under Treaty of Trianon (June 4, 1920), Hungary          loses more than two-thirds of its prewar territory, 60             percent of its prewar population, and most of its natural-        resource base. Count István Bethlen serves as prime                minister 1921-31. Hungary joins League of Nations in 1922.         Bethlen promotes industrial development, but economic              progress is halted by Great Depression, 1929. Gyula                Gömbös, a right-wing dictator, is in power 1932-36. Gömbös         forges close ties with Germany and Italy. Right-wing               governments are in power under Kálmán Darányi (1936-38)            and Béla Imrédy (1938-39). Pál Teleki serves
 dd8 as primime              minister 1939-41. Hungary joins Hitler's invasion of the           Soviet Union in June 1941 and declares war against the             Western Allies in December 1941. László Bárdossy prime             minister 1941-42, followed by Miklós Kállay, 1942-43. Nazi         Germany occupies Hungary in April 1943. Pro-Nazi Döme              Sztójay serves as prime minister, April 1943-August 1944,          followed by Géza Lakatos August-October 1944. Leader of            fascist Arrow Cross Party, Ferenc Szálasi, serves as prime         minister October 1944-April 1945. Soviet troops drive all          German troops out of Hungary by April 4, 1945.  POSTWAR HUNGARY, 1945-        Allied Control Commission, with Soviet, American, and              British representatives, holds sovereignty in Hungary,             with Soviet chairman in absolute control. Second, expanded         Provisional National Assembly chosen in which communists           enjoy absolute majority, April 1945. Left-leaning                  coalition governments rule Hungary 1945-47. Treaty of              Paris (February 10, 1947) ended World War II for Hungary.          Social Democratic Party merges with Hungarian Communist            Party in June 1948 to form Hungarian Workers' Party.               Soviet-style Constitution is ratified and, Hungarian               People's Republic is proclaimed, August 1949. Stalinist            political, economic, and social system are imposed, 1949-          53. Imre Nagy becomes prime minister and implements New            Course in economy, 1953. Nagy loses power in 1955.                 Disaffection mounts in 1955-56, culminating in Revolution          of 1956 in October. János Kádár is installed in power by           Soviet invaders  Hungarian Workers' Party is renamed               Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (HSWP). Harsh                   repression is followed by pragmatic attempts at reform,            1956-66. New Economic Mechanism (economic reform) is put           in place, 1968-72. Opposition to reform mounts, and                economy is recentralized, 1971-78. Further economic                reforms take place, 1979-80. New electoral law is passed           in 1983. Hungary begins to establish semiindepent foreign          policy in 1984. Semicompetitive National Assembly and              local council elections are held in 1985. Thirteenth Party         Congress of the HSWP meets in 1985. Kádár loses party              leadership to Károly Grósz at Third Party Conference, May          1988. Laws are passed allowing multiparty system, 1988-89. 

Data as of September 1989