Hungary (Battle of Manzikert)

Kingdom of Hungary
Magyar Királyság
Timeline: Battle of Manzikert
OTL equivalent: Hungary

Flag Coat of Arms Motto Istenem, kívánj nekünk nagyságot ("God, wish us greatness")
Anthem	"Himnusz "
Capital	Buda
Largest city	Pest
Language   official	Hungarian/Magyar
others	Romanian, Slovak, Ruthenian
Religion   main	65.7% Eastern Orthodox
others	13.6% Catholic, 17.5% Protestant
Ethnic Groups   main	Hungarian/Magyar (56%)
others	Romanian 26.5%, Slovak (13.6%), Ruthenian (0.1%)
Demonym	Hungarian/Magyar
Government	Monarchy
Legislature	Hungarian Court
King	Stephen VIII
Royal house:	House of Auersperg
Prime Minister	Jakab Hunyadi
Population	26 million people
GDP   Total:	$900 billion
per capita	$34,615.38
Independence	from 1879
Currency	Hungarian Pengő
Time Zone	(GMT+2)
summer	May-September
Driving Side	right
Calling Code	27
Internet TLD	.mag

The Kingdom of Hungary is a sizable, landlocked monarchy located near the heart of Europe. It stretches from the Danube River to Slovakia and from the Alps to the Carpathians. The country is a quiet but quite wealthy nation and is located at the crossroads between Western and Eastern Europe.

History

From the steppes of Central Asia came a myriad of nomadic invaders that thundered westward into the fragmented continent of Europe following the collapse of the Göktürk Khaganate in the 7th century. Among these people were the Magyars, who were known for their fierce and fearsome raids throughout Europe. Capitalizing on the decline of the Avar Khanate following their humiliating defeat at the hands of Emperor Charlemange, the nomadic Magyars arrived in the Carpathian Basin in 895, settling in Pannonia and forming the Kingdom of Hungary.

Initially, the rising Principality of Hungary ("Western Tourkia" in medieval Greek sources) was a state created by a semi-nomadic people. It accomplished an enormous transformation into a Christian realm during the 10th century.

This state was well-functioning and the nation's military power allowed the Hungarians to conduct successful fierce campaigns and raids, from Constantinople to as far as today's Iberia. The Hungarians defeated no fewer than three major East Frankish imperial armies between 907 and 910.  A later defeat at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955 signaled a provisory end to most campaigns on foreign territories, at least towards the West.

The year 972 marked the date when the ruling prince (Hungarian: fejedelem) Géza of the Árpád dynasty officially started to integrate Hungary into Christian Western Europe. His first-born son, Saint Stephen I, became the first King of Hungary after defeating his pagan uncle Koppány, who also claimed the throne. Under Stephen, Hungary was recognized as the Catholic Apostolic Kingdom. Applying to Pope Sylvester II, Stephen received the insignia of royalty (including probably a part of the Holy Crown of Hungary, currently kept in the Hungarian Parliament) from the Papacy.

By 1006, Stephen consolidated his power and started sweeping reforms to convert Hungary into a Western feudal state. The country switched to using the Latin language, and until as late as 1844, Latin remained the official language of Hungary. Around this time, Hungary began to become a powerful kingdom.