Hajdúság is a historical and geographical region in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

, located in the

Great Hungarian Plain The Great Hungarian Plain (also known as Alföld or Great Alföld, or ) is a plain occupying the majority of the modern territory of Hungary. It is the largest part of the wider Pannonian Plain (however, the Great Hungarian Plain was not par ...

around

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

. It consists of six ''hajdú towns'' (), named

Hajdúböszörmény Hajdúböszörmény is a town in northeastern Hungary with a population of approximately 30,000 people. History It is also home to one of the faculties of the University of Debrecen. It has a unique circular plan (like Paris) to the streets that ...

, Hajdúdorog, Hajdúnánás, Hajdúhadház, Hajdúszoboszló and

Vámospércs Vámospércs is a town in Hajdú-Bihar county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. Geography It covers an area of and has a population of 5362 people (2015). International relations Twin towns – Sister cities Vámospércs ...

History

The region was established by István Bocskai in the 17th century, who invited Hajdús to his domains. Hajdús were Hungarian

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...

s and cattle drovers in the

, during the Ottoman wartimes Hungarian peasants also joined to the group. After settling down they got collective

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

. It was an autonomous region (, means "Hajdú District") until 1876 when it became part of Hajdú County (now Hajdú-Bihar County). The region's name derives from the Hajdú (pronounced "haj-doo"), a group of mercenary foot-soldiers in Hungary’s 16th–17th centuries. The word hajdú originally meant a cattle driver (from hajtó, one who drives), as many of these soldiers had been drovers on the long-distance cattle trade routes between the Great Plain and Western Europe. During the prolonged wars at the end of the 16th century (including the

Long Turkish War The Long Turkish War (, ), Long War (; , ), or Thirteen Years' War was an indecisive land war between the Holy Roman Empire (primarily the Habsburg monarchy) and the Ottoman Empire, primarily over the principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania, ...

, 1593–1606), large bands of Hajdú mercenaries roamed the country. In 1604, a substantial contingent of these battle-hardened Hajdús joined the uprising of Prince István Bocskai of Transylvania against Habsburg rule. Bocskai, recognizing their value, rewarded the Hajdú troops for their service. In December 1605 he issued a decree (Charter of Korpona) granting some 9,000 Hajdú warriors "collective nobility" and settling them in towns on confiscated lands of his domain. He allocated them lands in the mainly depopulated area between the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

and Debrecen – this territory became known as Hajdúság. By 1608–1609, seven fortified Hajdú towns (the "Old Hajdú towns") had been established:

, Hajdúdorog, Hajdúhadház, Hajdúnánás, Hajdúszoboszló, Polgár, and

References

*Antal Papp: Magyarország (Hungary), Panoráma, Budapest, 1982, , p. 860, pp. 477–478 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hajdusag Historical regions in Hungary Geography of Hungary Geography of Hajdú-Bihar County