Penchenegs, Cumans, Iasians. Steppe Peoples in Medieval Hungary. Hereditas

Budapest: Corvina,Budapest, 1989. Paperback. Pechenegs, Cumans, Iasians. Steppe Peoples in Medieval Hungary. Very slight crease to corner front and back cover. Translated by Timothy Wilkinson. In the tenth to the thirteenth centuries A.D. the last waves of nomad migrants arrived at the western fringes of the Eurasian Steppe and the Carpathian Basin. At the end of the ninth century the Pechenegs had set themselves up to the west of the Volga; by the middle of the eleventh century the Ghuzz had made their appearance, with the Cumans in their footsteps. In the first half of the thirteenth century the mighty Cuman-Kipchak tribal federation had been smashed by the great campaigns of the Mongols in the West. At the turn of the millennium the consolidating Hungarian state on several occasions received and settled various fragments of the disintegrating nomadic tribal federations and organized themselved from them the light cavalry of the king's standing army, fighting according to nomad tactics. Newly arrived in Hungary, these peoples enjoyed collective privileges and retained their way of life, customs and old pagan beliefs for a considerable time before gradually settling down, accepting Christianity and eventually becoming absorbed into Magyar Society. Their cultural heritage enriched the culture of the Magyar people, and study of their archaeology belongs to the early history of Hungary. The author's main field of research is medieval settlement reconstruction. He has published numerous articles in foreign languages. In this book the author draws on written sources, archaeological finds and the rich collection of contemporary illustrations to present the origins, history and cultural relics of the most important of the Oriental ethnic groups that entered medieval Hungary - the Turkic-speaking Pechenegs and Cumans and the Iranian-speaking Ias. Drawing on the results of recent archaeological research, including some of his own excavations, the author provides a picture of the settlement conditions, distinctive military art, dress, religion and art of these peoples, tracing the process of their assimilation. Illustrated. 142 pp. plus Plates. (We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. academic and scholarly books and Modern First Editions, Reference books ,and all types of Academic Literature.). 1st Paperback Edition. Soft Cover. Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall Octavo. Trade Paperback.