How climate helped the conquering Hungarians settle in Central Europe

According to climate history research, the climate and natural environment of the Eurasian steppe may also have contributed to the success of the conquering Hungarians in taking possession of the Carpathian Basin.

Climate historian Lajos Rácz spoke to Népszava about how the natural environment can influence the course of human history and what we know about the climatic conditions during the time of the Hungarian conquest.

When nature shapes history

Environmental history is a relatively young field of research that gained real importance in the second half of the twentieth century, when historians increasingly recognised how often nature plays a decisive role in shaping historical events.

According to climate historian Lajos Rácz, one of the fundamental ideas of environmental history is that the natural environment acts as an active participant in the history of humanity.

This approach can also be important in the study of early Hungarian history, as the lives and migrations of the conquering Hungarians were likely strongly influenced by the natural environment of the steppe.

The world of the steppe where the ancestors of the Hungarians lived

As Lajos Rácz explained in his interview, it is worth examining Eurasia from a broader geographical perspective when analysing Hungarian prehistory from a climate history standpoint.

Across Eurasia, a clear north–south natural zone can be observed. Moving southwards from the Arctic Ocean, the tundra appears first, followed by the taiga, the belt of coniferous forests. Further south lie the deciduous forests, then the forest-steppe, and finally the vast grasslands stretching from Mongolia all the way to the Carpathian Basin.

After the Ugrian–Hungarian split, the ancestors of the Hungarians continued to live in this steppe environment. Their economy was based primarily on large-scale animal husbandry, which required constant movement, as communities had to find new grazing lands for their livestock.

Why the Hungarian tribes may have moved westwards

The climate of the steppe is largely shaped by cyclones arriving from the Atlantic Ocean. As these move eastwards, the western regions of the steppe generally receive more precipitation and tend to have more stable climatic conditions and better grazing lands.