A short history of the hungarian people [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION In the great basin of the Carpathian valley, through which some sixteen centuries ago ran the north-east frontier of the Roman Empire, the strong, united Magyar nation has existed for over a thousand years, and throughout the centuries this part of Europe has formed the link between East and West and the highway for the exchange of ideas and goods. In this region, previous to the advent of the Magyars, no one race had been able to maintain itself for any length of time, and the only nation which survived and successfully organised a State were the Magyars, who, reahsing the advantages offered by nature, adapted themselves to the perfect geographical unit outlined by the mountains of the Carpathians. Relying on that natural wall, they formed, though Eastern themselves, a strong bulwark against incursion from the East and thus became the defenders of Europe. It was against that bastion that the last Tartar wave vainly spent itself in 1241. It was the same Magyar nation 7