Hunyad (today mainly
Hunedoara) was an administrative county (
comitatus
''Comitatus'' was in ancient times the Latin term for an armed escort or retinue. The term is used especially in the context of Germanic warrior culture for a warband tied to a leader by an oath of fealty and describes the relations between a lo ...
) of 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 ...
, of the
Eastern Hungarian Kingdom and of the
Principality of Transylvania. Its territory is now in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
in
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 ...
. The capital of the county was Déva (present-day
Deva).
Geography
![Hunyad county map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Hunyad_county_map.jpg)
After 1876, Hunyad county shared borders with Romania and the Hungarian counties
Krassó-Szörény,
Arad,
Torda-Aranyos
Torda-Aranyos was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (central Transylvania). The capital of the county was Torda (present-day Turda).
Geography
Torda-Aranyos county shared b ...
,
Alsó-Fehér and
Szeben
Szeben was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (southern Transylvania). The capital of the county was Nagyszeben (present-day Sibiu).
Geography
Szeben County shared borders wit ...
. Its area was 7,809 km
2 around 1910.
Etymology
The toponym Hunyad most likely comes from the
Hungarian verb, meaning 'to close' or 'to die'. According to linguist
Géza Kuun, the name may keep the memory of the
Huns
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 ...
.
History
![Bethlen Gábor fejedelemsége](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Bethlen_G%C3%A1bor_fejedelems%C3%A9ge.png)
The first known civilization living on the territory were the
Scythian
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
Agathyrsi
The Agathyrsi ( Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a people belonging to the Scythian cultures. The Agathyrsi were a people of mixed Iranian Scythic and Geto-Thracian origin whose bulk were Thracian while their aristocracy was closely related to ...
and
Sigynnae
The Sigynnae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an obscure nomadic people of antiquity who were part of the Scythian cultures.
Location
The Sigynnae were a nomadic people of uncertain, but possibly Iranian or pre-Iranian origin, who lived north of t ...
. Later the
Dacians under their leader
Burebista established solid control over the territory, but were conquered and massacred by the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
. Hunyad was part of
Roman Dacia for a short time, but by the
3rd century
The 3rd century was the period from 201 ( CCI) to 300 ( CCC) Anno Domini (AD) or Common Era (CE) in the Julian calendar..
In this century, the Roman Empire saw a crisis, starting with the assassination of the Roman Emperor Severus Alexande ...
it was occupied by the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
, later by the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...
and
Gepids. The
nomad
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...
ic
Avars conquered
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 ...
in 567, and remained the ethnic majority even after the collapse of their khaganate. The Igech, Szerekes, Andos and Zeyk noble families are all of Avar origin, along with the name of the river
Zsil.
Hunyad county was formed in the Middle Ages. It was first attested in 1265 as ''Hungnod'' by the Papal
Quitrent
Quit rent, quit-rent, or quitrent is a tax or land tax imposed on occupants of freehold or leased land in lieu of services to a higher landowning authority, usually a government or its assigns.
Under feudal law, the payment of quit rent (Latin '' ...
Register. In 1876, when the administrative structure of Transylvania was changed, its territory was modified to include about two thirds of the former
Zaránd County (Brád/
Brad
Brad may refer to:
* Brad (given name), a masculine given name
Places
* Brad, Hunedoara, a city in Hunedoara County, Romania
* Brad, a village in Berești-Bistrița Commune, Bacău County, Romania
* Brad, a village in Filipeni, Bacău, Romania
* ...
and Körösbánya/
Baia de Criș
Baia de Criș (german: Altenburg; hu, Körösbánya) is a commune in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania, close to the small town of Brad. It is composed of nine villages: Baia de Criș, Baldovin (''Báldovin''), Căraci (''Karács''), Cărăs ...
districts) and the
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
seat
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.
Types of seat
The following are examples of different kinds of seat:
* Armchair (furniture), ...
of Broos/
Orăștie
Orăștie (; german: link=no, Broos, hu, Szászváros, la, Saxopolis) is a city in Hunedoara County, south-western Transylvania, central Romania.
History
7th–9th century – On the site of an old swamp was a human settlement, now ...
. In 1920, by the
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 ...
, the county became part of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the present Romanian county
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 ...
; a strip in the east is now part of
Alba
''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scottish people, Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed i ...
and a strip in the west is now part of
Caraș-Severin County
Caraș-Severin () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Serbia. The majority of its territory lies within the historical region of Banat, with a few northeastern villages considered part of Transylvania. The county seat is Reșița ...
(the commune
Băuţar).
Demographics
Subdivisions
![Hunyad_county_administrative_map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Hunyad_county_administrative_map.jpg)
In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Hunyad County were:
Notes
References
{{HUCountiesto1918
States and territories established in 1265
States and territories disestablished in 1920
Kingdom of Hungary counties in Transylvania