The Curse of

Turan Turan ( ae, Tūiriiānəm, pal, Tūrān; fa, توران, Turân, , "The Land of Tur") is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical re ...

( hu, Turáni átok) is a belief that

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

have been under the influence of a malicious spell for many centuries. The "curse" manifests itself as inner strife, pessimism, misfortune and several historic catastrophes.

Origin

There are different theories of origin. It is important to note, that the name for the imagined " turanian people" came into existence and spread due to the works of

Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic disciplines of Indian ...

in Hungary, and it became a popular hypothesis in the second half of the 19th century. The first written mention of the phrase: "Turáni átok" was found in the publications of

Ferenc Herczeg Ferenc Herczeg (born ''Franz Herzog'', 22 September 1863 in Versec, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire – 24 February 1954 in Budapest, Hungary) was a Hungarian playwright and author who promoted conservative nationalist opinion in his coun ...

Saint Stephen and Christianity

Perhaps the most popular origin theory is that the curse resulted from Hungary's conversion to Christianity in the year AD 1000 under King Stephen. The vanquished adherents of the old Hungarian religion cast a curse upon Christian Hungary to last either forever or perhaps for 1,000 years.

1848 revolution

Another theory is that the curse was created as legend during the 1850s in the aftermath of the failed

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although th ...

, and reflected the overwhelming pessimism of this repressive decade.

National catastrophes

Some tragic events of Hungarian history are traditionally seen as national catastrophes, manifestations of the Curse of Turan: *

Battle of Mohi The Battle of Mohi (11 April 1241), also known as Battle of the Sajó River''A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East'', Vol. I, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 279; "Although Mongol losses in t ...

(1241) Devastating loss to invading

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

leading to severe population depletion. *

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) Decisive loss to invading Turks leading to around 150 years (until 1686) of Ottoman rule in central parts of the country. * Transfer of sovereignty from the Ottoman Empire to the Habsburg Austrian Empire (1699) * Crushing of the 1848 Revolution (1849) Loss to

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n forces led to 15 years of severe repression. *

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in ...

(1920) Redefinition of borders after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

; Hungary loses about 72% of its territory. *

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(1939–45) Catastrophic alliance with

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

. *

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

Crushed by

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

military, led to severe reprisals and mass exodus of many Hungarians.

Personal troubles

The curse has also been blamed for causing many troubles on a personal level. Among them are Hungary's high rate of

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Currently, Hungary is 25th in the world in suicide rate. In the mid 1980s, Hungary led this indicator. Hungarians have the third shortest life expectancy in Europe outside the countries of the former USSR.

Etymology

Turan (Hungarian: ''Turán'') derives from the Persian توران and refers to the steppes of

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

, land of the Tur. This root word is likely derived from the name of an ancient king, and may also be the root of "Turk". Traditionally Magyars were considered

Turkic people The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose memb ...

until the end of the 18th century. In the 19th century, when the Curse of Turan was a very popular concept, artists searched for Asian characteristics in Hungarian folk art and called them "Turanic motifs".

Literature

The curse became a favourite

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

Hungarian literature Hungarian literature is the body of written works primarily produced in Hungarian,

. A poem written in 1832 by the great 19th century Romantic poet,

Mihály Vörösmarty Mihály Vörösmarty (archaically English: Michael Vorosmarthy 1 December 180019 November 1855) was an important Hungarian poet and dramatist. Biography He was born at Puszta-Nyék (now Kápolnásnyék), of a noble Roman Catholic family. H ...

, explains the origin of the curse as the bloody wars fought for the territory of

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 ancient times: The Curse ''“Men!” said the Pannon god of bane in olden times
'' ''“I bestow to you a happy land; you should fight for, if you want her.”
'' ''So great, brave nations fought dauntlessly for her,
'' ''And the Magyar won a bloody victory at last.
'' ''Oh, but contention remained on the souls of the peoples: the land
'' ''Can never become happy under this curse.
'' ''Az átok'' ''"Férfiak!" így szólott Pannon vészistene hajdan,
'' ''"Boldog földet adok, víjatok érte, ha kell."
'' ''S víttanak elszántan nagy bátor nemzetek érte,
'' ''S véresen a diadalt végre kivítta magyar.
'' ''Ah de viszály maradott a népek lelkein: a föld
'' ''Boldoggá nem tud lenni ez átok alatt.
''

References

External links

"The Gloomiest Nation" by Krisztina Fenyő
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curse Of Turan Hungarian culture Disasters in Hungary Curses