Crișana ( hu, Körösvidék, german: Kreischgebiet) is a geographical and

historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that ...

in north-western

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, named after the Criș (Körös) River and its three tributaries: the

Crișul Alb The Crișul Alb (Romanian), ( Hungarian: Fehér-Körös) is a river in western Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, and in south-eastern Hungary (Békés County). Its source is in the southern Apuseni Mountains (Romanian: Munții A ...

Crișul Negru The Crișul Negru (Black Criș) (Romanian), ( hu, Fekete-Körös) is a river in western Romania (Transylvania) and south-eastern Hungary (Békés County). The river has its source in the western Apuseni Mountains. It flows through the towns Ștei ...

, and

Crișul Repede The Crișul Repede (Romanian Crișul Repede ("the rapid Criș"); Hungarian Sebes-Körös) is a river in Bihor County, Crișana, Romania and in southeastern Hungary (Körösvidek). Together with the rivers Crișul Alb ("the white Criș") and Crișu ...

. In Romania, the term is sometimes extended to include areas beyond the border, in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

; in this interpretation, the region is bounded to the east by the

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains ( ro, Munții Apuseni, hu, Erdélyi-középhegység) is a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians, also called ''Occidentali'' in Romanian. Their name translates from Rom ...

, to the south by the

Mureș River Mureș may refer to: * Mureș County, Romania * Mureș (river) in Romania and Hungary (''Maros'') * Mureș culture, a Bronze Age culture from Romania See also * Târgu Mureș, the capital of Mureș County * Ocna Mureș Ocna Mureș (; la, Salina ...

, to the north by the

Someș River The Someș (; hu, Szamos; german: Somesch or ''Samosch'') is a left tributary of the Tisza in Hungary and Romania. It has a length of (including its source river Someșul Mare), of which 50 km are in Hungary.Tisza River The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

, the Romanian-Hungarian border cutting it in two. However, in Hungary, the area between the Tisza River and the Romanian border is usually known as

Tiszántúl Tiszántúl or Transtisza (literal meaning: "beyond Tisza") is a geographical region of which lies between the Tisza river, Hungary and the Apuseni Mountains, Romania, bordered by the Maros (Mureș) river. Alongside Kiskunság, it is a part of Gre ...

History

Ancient history

ancient times Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

, this area was settled by

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

Dacians The Dacians (; la, Daci ; grc-gre, Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often consid ...

Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...

, and

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

. In the first century BC, it was part of the

Dacian Kingdom Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...

under

Burebista Burebista ( grc, Βυρεβίστας, Βοιρεβίστας) was the king of the Getae and Dacian tribes from 82/61BC to 45/44BC. He was the first king who successfully unified the tribes of the Dacian kingdom, which comprised the area locat ...

Middle Ages

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, it was ruled by the

Hunnic Empire The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

, the

Kingdom of the Gepids Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, the

Avar Empire The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars ...

, the

Bulgarian Empire In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...

and the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. Hungarian maps based on the

Gesta Hungarorum ''Gesta Hungarorum'', or ''The Deeds of the Hungarians'', is the earliest book about Hungarian history which has survived for posterity. Its genre is not chronicle, but ''gesta'', meaning "deeds" or "acts", which is a medieval entertaining li ...

call it Kazárország. According to

Simon of Keza Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

's 13th C.

Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum The ''Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum'Reader's encyclopedia of Eastern European literature'', 1993, Robert B. Pynsent, Sonia I. Kanikova, p. 529. (Latin: "Deeds of the Huns and Hungarians") is a medieval chronicle written mainly by Simon of Kéz ...

, the same area was ruled (under Zvataplug son of Morout), by Morout's grandson Menumorout (Stallion of Morout) in the 10th century. Morout was a

Prince of Poland The princely houses of Poland and Lithuania differed from other princely houses in Europe. Most importantly, Polish nobility (''szlachta'') could not be granted nobility titles by the Polish kings in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Therefore, ...

who had supposedly subdued Bractari and ruled as Emperor of the Bulgars and Moravians. Prince Morout occupied Crișana and the people that are called Cozar inhabited that land in reference to the Cozlones. Prince Morout's son Zvataplug appears to have been the father of Prince Morout's grandson Menumorout who succeeded Zvataplug and wed his daughter to

Árpád Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or ''kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' gy ...

's son

Zoltán of Hungary Zoltánhttp://acta.bibl.u-szeged.hu/2733/1/historica_084_011-021.pdf (; 880 or 903 – 950), also Zolta, Zsolt, Solt or Zaltas is mentioned in the ''Gesta Hungarorum'' as the third Grand Prince of the Hungarians who succeeded his father Á ...

father of

Taksony of Hungary Taksony (, also Taxis or Tocsun; before or around 931 – early 970s) was the Grand Prince of the Hungarians after their catastrophic defeat in the 955 Battle of Lechfeld. In his youth he had participated in plundering raids in Western Euro ...

.''Anonymous Notary of King Bela: The Deeds of the Hungarians'', edited translated and anotated by Martyn Rady and László Veszprémy. CEU Press, 2010. p. 33. The largest city in the region,

Oradea Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The county seat, seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the ...

( hu, Nagyvárad), was most probably established during the early years of Hungarian rule. It is first mentioned in 1113 under the name "Varadinum" in a diploma belonging to

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Zobor Abbey The Zobor Abbey was a Benedictine monastery established at Zobor (today part of Nitra, Slovakia) in the Kingdom of Hungary. The abbey was first mentioned by royal charters issued in 1111 and 1113, during the rule of Coloman, King of Hungary Co ...

. The Romanian name ''Oradea'' originates from the Hungarian name ''Várad'', meaning "fortified place". The city was one of the most important cultural centres of the medieval Hungarian state: two Hungarian kings, Ladislaus I (1077-1095) and

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

(1387-1437) were buried there. After the canonization of Ladislaus I in 1192, his shrine at Várad became a Catholic pilgrimage site.

Modern History

After the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and thos ...

(1526), the region became part of the

Eastern Hungarian Kingdom The Eastern Hungarian Kingdom ( hu, keleti Magyar Királyság) is a modern term coined by some historians to designate the realm of John Zápolya and his son John Sigismund Zápolya, who contested the claims of the House of Habsburg to rule the ...

. In 1552, the Ottoman Empire occupied the southern part of Crișana and included it in the newly established

Temeşvar Eyalet The Province of Temeşvar ( ota, ;ایالت طمشوار Eyālet-i Tımışvār), known as Province of Yanova after 1658, was a first-level administrative unit (eyalet) of the Ottoman Empire located in the Banat region of Central Europe. B ...

. According to the

Treaty of Speyer (1570) The Treaty of Speyer, signed at the Diet of Speyer in 1570, was a peace agreement between the two Hungarian Kingdoms, Royal Hungary led by Maximilian II, and the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, ruled by John Sigismund Zápolya, which lead to the est ...

, the rest of Crișana became part of the Principality of Transylvania, a successor state of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.

John Sigismund Zápolya John Sigismund Zápolya or Szapolyai ( hu, Szapolyai János Zsigmond; 7 July 1540 – 14 March 1571) was King of Hungary as John II from 1540 to 1551 and from 1556 to 1570, and the first Prince of Transylvania, from 1570 to his death. He was ...

abdicated as King of Hungary and in return, Maximilian II of Habsburg recognized John Sigismund's authority over the eastern territories of the Kingdom of Hungary. John Sigismund became ''princeps Transsylvaniae et partium regni Hungariae dominus'' – Prince of Transylvania and of a part of the Kingdom of Hungary (Partium). Crișana was included in the Partium. The Ottoman

Varat Eyalet Varat Eyalet (also known as Pashaluk of Varat or Province of Varat; ota, ایالت وارد; Eyālet-i Vārad) was an administrative territorial entity of the Ottoman Empire formed in 1660. Varat Eyalet bordered Ottoman Budin Eyalet in the west, ...

that was formed in the second half of the 17th century was centered on Crișana. Since the end of the 17th century, the whole region became part of the lands of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

and was administratively divided between the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary, the Habsburg Principality of Transylvania and the Habsburg

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and l ...

. Following the abolition of the

Theiß The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza b ...

- Muresch section of the Habsburg Military Frontier (in 1750) and the abolition of the Principality of Transylvania in 1867, the whole area was included again into the

, which was then part of the dual monarchy of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. During Habsburg administration, Crișana did not, on the whole, have special status such as that of

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

or the

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

; briefly, from 1850 to 1860, it was organized as the Military District of Großwardein. After disintegration of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

in 1918, Crișana was divided between

(eastern part) and

(western part).

Geography

Romanian Crișana is located within the

Pannonian basin The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large Sedimentary basin, basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The Geomorphology, geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewh ...

and bounded in Romania by

Maramureș Maramureș or Marmaroshchyna ( ro, Maramureș ; uk, Мармарощина, Marmaroshchyna; hu, Máramaros) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpath ...

to the north,

proper to the east,

to the south, and Hungary to the west. The region consists of the current Romanian counties of Arad (most of it), Bihor and some parts of Sălaj,

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; hu, Szatmárnémeti ; german: Sathmar; yi, סאטמאר or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the ...

, parts of

Maramureș County Maramureș County () is a county (județ) in Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Máramaros megye'', in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian as Мараморо́щ� ...

(Codru, Chioar) and

Hunedoara Hunedoara (; german: Eisenmarkt; hu, Vajdahunyad ) is a municipiu, city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southwestern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boș (''Bós''), Groș ...

counties. Nowadays it is sometimes considered part of the historical region

, although it did not fall fully within the boundaries of the historical principality. Hungarian Körösvidék is covered by the areas of

Hajdú-Bihar County Hajdú-Bihar ( hu, Hajdú-Bihar megye, ) is an administrative county (comitatus or megye) in eastern Hungary, on the border with Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Jász-Nag ...

and

Békés County Békés (, , ro, Județul Bichiș) is an administrative division (county or ''megye'') in south-eastern Hungary, on the border with Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Csongrád, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, and Hajdú-Bihar. The ...

. The southern part of Crișana, near the Mureș River, was called

Pomorišje Pomorišje (Serbian Cyrillic: Поморишје) is a historical geographical region on the banks of the river Mureș (Serbian: ''Moriš'') that in the past has had a sizable ethnic Serb population. The region is mostly divided between Romania an ...

by the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

Cities

The most important cities are: *

Zalău Zalău (, unofficial and former official name: ro, Zălau (; german: Zillenmarkt or , hu, Zilah, tr, Zile) is the seat of Sălaj County, Romania. In 2011, its estimated population was 56,202. History Ancient times Zalău is situated in the a ...

, Arad,

Salonta Salonta (; hu, Nagyszalonta, italic=no, colloquially , ; ger, Grosssalontha, italic=no; tr, Salanta, italic=no) is a municipiu, city in Bihor County, in the geographical region of Crișana, north-western Romania, near the Hungarian border. Po ...

, and

Beiuș Beiuș (; hu, Belényes) is a city in Bihor County, Romania near the Apuseni Mountains. The river Crișul Negru flows through Beiuș, and the city administers a single village, Delani (''Gyalány''). Between the late 18th and very early 20th c ...

(in Romania) *

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...

Békéscsaba Békéscsaba (; sk, Békešská Čaba; see also #Name, other alternative names) is a City with county rights, city with county rights in southeast Hungary, the capital of Békés County. Geography Békéscsaba is located in the Great Hungarian ...

, and Gyula (in Hungary)

Gallery

File:Biserici-si-manastiri-sfanta-treime-centru-arad-small.jpg, Arad - Orthodox Cathedral File:TheaterArad.jpg, Arad - Ioan Slavici - Classic Theatre File:Arad- Belvaros.jpg, Arad - Administration Palace File:Piata Ferdinand.jpg,

- The Ferdinand Square File:Medicina Oradea.jpg,

- The Faculty of Medicine File:Oradea (Nagyvárad) - piaţa Unirii.JPG,

- The Black Eagle Palace File:Catedrala Catolica.jpg,

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

Roman Catholic cathedral File:Oradea-Nagyvárad - Crişul Repede and synagogue.jpg,

- The Crişul Repede river Image:RO BH Salonta Parcul din centru.JPG,

- Orthodox Church File:ScoalaSalonta.JPG,

- Arany Janos High School File:RO BH Salonta Alee parc.JPG,

- The central park File:Bradet.peste sat.jpg, Wooden church in File:Kossuth_Lajos_Tudományegyetem_épülete_(5228._számú_műemlék).jpg,

File:Békéscsaba_Jókai_színház.JPG, Bekescsaba theater File:Hungary-gyula-var3.jpg , Gyula castle

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crisana Historical regions of Transylvania Historical regions in Hungary Historical regions in Romania