The Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, also Hungarian conquest or Hungarian land-taking (Hungarian: honfoglalás: "conquest of the homeland"), is an umbrella term that refers to a series of historical events ending with the settlement of the Hungarian people in Central Europe at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries.
Before the arrival of the Hungarians, three early medieval powers, the First Bulgarian Empire, East Francia and Moravia had fought each other for control of the Carpathian Basin.
They occasionally hired Hungarian horsemen as soldiers.
Therefore, the Hungarians who dwelled in the eastern regions of the Pontic steppes were familiar with their future homeland when their "land-taking" started.The Hungarian conquest starts in the context of a "late or 'small' migration of peoples".
Contemporary sources attest that the Hungarians crossed the Carpathian Mountains following a joint attack in 894 or 895 by the Pechenegs and Bulgarians against them.
They first take control over the lowlands east of the river Danube and attack and occupy Pannonia (the region to the west of the river) in 900.
They exploit internal conflicts in Moravia and annihilate this state sometime between 902 and 906.The Hungarians strengthen their control over the Carpathian Basin by defeating a Bavarian army in a battle fought at Brezalauspurc on July 4, 907.
They launch a series of plundering raids between 899 and 955 and also target the Byzantine Empire between 943 and 971.
However, they gradually settle in the Basin and establish a Christian monarchy, the Kingdom of Hungary, around 1000.
