Hungary in 1941 with territories annexed in 1938-1941

''Délvidék'' (, "southern land" or "southern territories") is a historical political term referring to varying areas in the southern part of what was 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 ...

. In present-day usage, it often refers to the

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

region of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. In the Middle Ages, like the names ''Alvidék'' ("lower land") and ''Végvidék'' ("borderland"), ''Délvidék'' referred to the Hungarian counties ( Verőce, Pozsega, Szerém, Bács, Torontál, Temes,

Keve Keve, the son of Csele of the Zemény clan, was a legendary Hun leader in the 4th century. Keve was captain of a group of soldiers who headed west into Pannonia in the late 4th century. They fought against the armies of Prince Macrinus from Lomb ...

) and vassal

banate Ban () was a noble title used in several states in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century. The most common examples have been found in Croatia. Sources The first known mentio ...

s ( Macsó, Ózora, Só, Szörény) beyond the Danube and the Sava. By the 18th and 19th centuries, ''Délvidék'' referred only to Bácska and

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 ...

. After the 1920 dismemberment of Hungary, the meaning was further narrowed to only those areas of the former Kingdom of Hungary attached to the newly formed

Yugoslav state Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. In the

Second World War 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 ...

, the Yugoslav areas occupied and annexed by Hungary (

Bačka Bačka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska () is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary ...

, part of Baranja, Međimurje, and

Prekmurje Prekmurje (; dialectically: ''Prèkmürsko'' or ''Prèkmüre''; hu, Muravidék) is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region of Slovenia, settled by Slovenes and a Hungarian minority, lying between the Mur Ri ...

) were in some Hungarian sources called ''"az anyaországhoz visszatért délvidéki területek"'' ("the southern territories returned to the motherland"). Banat, divided between Romania and German-occupied Serbia was no longer considered part of the concept. In contemporary usage, ''Délvidék'' has several uses. It can refer to the imprecisely defined area of Serbia's northern

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 ...

including Vojvodina, the

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

region, and the

Mačva Mačva ( sr-Cyrl, Мачва, ; hu, Macsó) is a geographical and historical region in the northwest of Central Serbia, on a fertile plain between the Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is name ...

plain as well as eastern Croatia ( Baranja and western

Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...

). Sometimes the term is used (especially by irredentist) in the narrow sense of Vojvodina, although it has largely been replaced by ''Vajdaság'', the Hungarian name for Vojvodina. "''Délvidék'' Hungarians" ''(délvidéki magyarok)'' can refer to

Hungarians in Vojvodina Hungarians ( hu, Szerbiai magyarok, sr, Мађари у Србији, Mađari u Srbiji) are the second-largest ethnic group in Serbia. According to the 2011 census, there are 253,899 ethnic Hungarians composing 3.5% of the population of Serbia. ...

or, in a larger sense, to both the Vojvodina Hungarians and

Hungarians of Croatia Hungarians are a recognized ethnic minority in Croatia. According to the 2011 census there are 14,048 people of Hungarian ethnicity living in Croatia (or 0.33% of total population). Around two thirds of them (8,249) live in Osijek-Baranja County i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delvidek Historical regions in Croatia Historical regions in Hungary Historical regions in Serbia Historical regions in Romania Medieval history of Vojvodina Vojvodina under Habsburg rule

See also

References