Early Hungarian history is not merely an internal Hungarian matter, nor is it an emotional issue; rather, it is a scientifically significant problem of international relevance, attracting increased attention both from Hungarian society and from scholarly communities in Eastern Europe. Its intensive study is therefore of outstanding importance for Hungarian scholarship.
In the past 15 years, research has gained renewed momentum, primarily due to new archaeological discoveries in Eastern Europe. It is essential for both Hungarian society—interested in its origins—and the international academic community to recognize that this is a continuously renewing, modern field of study.
We have launched an interdisciplinary program that provides an opportunity for significant advancement and creates a database that can be analyzed over the long term and repeatedly reinterpreted.
Research Focus
Our program concentrates on four main scientific fields:
- Archaeology:
New archaeological results represent the most dynamically developing area of Hungarian prehistory research. In evaluating eastern parallels of Conquest-period finds, it is crucial to clarify the relationships between skeletal remains discovered abroad and those found in Hungary, which we aim to examine within a comprehensive bioarchaeological framework. - Bioarchaeology:
The connections between populations are studied through full bioarchaeological analysis, integrating anthropological and scientific data. - Historical Research:
Many written sources are now ready for modern scholarly processing. Our program undertakes the full translation, analysis, and (re-)evaluation of key Latin and Greek sources that have not yet been comprehensively studied. - Linguistics:
Within the linguistic subproject, we examine modern sociolinguistic approaches to bilingualism and explore their historical implications.
The research group brings together Hungarian and international scholars at different stages of their academic careers. The results of the research are directly integrated into education, thereby contributing to the training of future specialists.
Our work creates an unprecedented level of international scholarly collaboration: in addition to Hungarian experts, specialists from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Germany, and the United States participate in the project, strengthening the international network of Hungarian scholarship.
Ultimately, the results of the research contribute to a scientifically grounded understanding of Hungarian origins and to the strengthening of national identity.
Project leader: Attila Türk
