Attila Exhibition in Budapest
Attila Exhibition in Budapest
Although the Hungarian royal house, the Árpáds, descends from Attila is part of Hungarian historical tradition, the Hun prince and people, and their relationship with the Hungarians, remain a topic that stirs up emotions in Hungary still nowadays. Following Attila's appearance in the Carpathian Basin in the 5th century and the rapid disintegration of the Hun Empire, the conquering Hungarians took possession of the Carpathian Basin at the end of the 9th century and established their state. However, Attila, the Hun prince, appeared from time to time in Hungarian noble identity as a historical ancestor. Clarity is also clouded by the fact that Western and Byzantine sources often regarded the conquering Hungarians as Turks or identified them with the ’barbarian’ Huns.
The names used for Hungarians in the West (Hungarian, Ungarn, hongrois, venger, etc.) are very similar to the name form ’hun’, which is misleading for many reasons again. Although science tends to give more credence to the theory that the Western name for the Hungarians derives from the name of the Onogur (presumably Turkic-speaking) tribal confederation, the Hun origin myth persists around the world. It is not a coincidence that the name ’Macar’ given to the Hungarians who migrated from the eastern steppes to Central Europe is closer in the Turkish world used for the Hungarians’ self-designation, that is ’magyar.’
Later on, in the 19th century, when the European nationalism reached Central Europe, the mixing of the early Magyars with Turkic peoples also occured in other important sources, including the 19th-century Hungarian national anthem, in which the author, Ferenc Kölcsey, refers to Bendegúz, the father of Attila. It is also a popular theory among the Székely people living in present-day Transylvania that they joined the conquering Hungarians as a separate, presumably Turkish-speaking tribe. The lines of the so-called ’Székely Anthem,’ written at the beginning of the 20th century, also contain references to Attila, as Prince Csaba appears in the text as the savior of the Székely people.
It is therefore worth knowing all this in order to understand the Hungarian connections and historical and cultural background of the Attila exhibition that opened in Budapest in January.
The exhibition, which was created with the collaboration of numerous Western European and Turkic countries and will be open to visitors until mid-July, is unique in its kind, as it not only presents some of the archaeological finds, but also touches on Attila's role in memory politics and the legends and myths that have accumulated around him. The largest work of art in the exhibition is Antal Haan's painting entitled The Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila under the Walls of Rome, which depicts the mythical moment when Attila turns back from the walls of Rome after meeting Pope Leo I.
The exhibition also shows in detail where, how, and when Attila, as a symbol of the sovereign Hungarian nation, played a prominent role in relation to Hungarian identity. In a European context, with a few exceptions, such as the Niebelungenlied, which was written in the 1200s, Attila was synonymous with barbaric destruction and brutality.
Although it is difficult to prove a direct connection between the Huns and the Hungarians based on historical and linguistic sources, the Hun traditions found among the Hungarians and the strong Turkish influence that appeared during ethnogenesis are undeniable facts. The latest research in archaeogenetics and partiality may serve as an important addition to clarifying the pending questions of Hungarian prehistory, but in the meantime, Attila Exhibition is Budapest is absolutely worth to visit.
Author: Péter Kövecsi-Oláh, advisor - LCTS, LUPS
Image source: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum