The Magyars of the Po

OK, let me create a secenario here.
In 900, the Byazantines invite th Magyars to N.Italy in order to smash the Lombards. they conqure Italy from The Papal stats to the alps, from Milan to the sea. Verona is their capital. Lets say that hungarian remain their language (but with romance influance). Bulgaria controls Panonia.
What then happens? would they follow the pop or the empror in the great schim?

As for the language, they would most likely shift not beyond a couple centuries to a Romance language, probably a Northern dialect of the Lombard or Venetic type rather than Tuscan. They would find themeselves among a Romance-speaking majority, and would also Christianize pretty quickly - unless they go straight for Rome to crush the Papacy, which the Byzantines definitely would not find funny, despite all their animosity.
 
Well in OTL Magyars found themselves settling in predominatly Slav area surrounded by Slavs on all sides and still retained their language, considering what little we know of Magyar medieval mentality I can't really see them converting to Romance speaking population.
 
Well in OTL Magyars found themselves settling in predominatly Slav area surrounded by Slavs on all sides and still retained their language, considering what little we know of Magyar medieval mentality I can't really see them converting to Romance speaking population.

I can. It's pretty much inevitable.
 
Why? What makes Romance languages superior to Slavic ones?

Nothing. In fact, I'd be interested in knowing why Hungarian prevailed over Slavic in Pannonia. I'd assume because it was relatively sparsely populated.

Northern Italy, on the other had, would have been densely populated by people speaking a Romance language, which would have been extremely prestigious. The Magyars would be outnumbered and their language would have much less prestige, so they would eventually pick up Romance, like the Lombards, Goths, Franks, etc.
 
Though there is no definite anwser why, it is strongly suggested that the reason Magyar prevailed was not due to population density but due to the fact you had to speak Hungarian to take part in the military which was in the begining exclusivly Magyar speaking. In order to take part in the main economy of the first 60 years of Magyar state you would have been compeled to learn at least enough to be able to join the raids on western Europe. As far Lingusitics are concerned the Magyar case is a very interesting one and far from solved.
 
Nothing. In fact, I'd be interested in knowing why Hungarian prevailed over Slavic in Pannonia. I'd assume because it was relatively sparsely populated.

Northern Italy, on the other had, would have been densely populated by people speaking a Romance language, which would have been extremely prestigious. The Magyars would be outnumbered and their language would have much less prestige, so they would eventually pick up Romance, like the Lombards, Goths, Franks, etc.

This.

On the other hand, if the Magyars invade, conquer and settle in the Italian peninsula instead of settling down in the Pannonian Plain, perhaps the Pannonian-Romance Keszthely culture could had survived and prospered around Lake Balaton in western Hungary.
 
The Keszthely people were by the time of Magyar migration Slavicised. The material culture was a mix of things atributed to Slavs and local developments of early Byzantine stuff but their customs and burials suggest they have become Slavs in most ways we do recognise Slavs in addition to "pure" Slav inhabitants that surrounded them.
 
The Keszthely people were by the time of Magyar migration Slavicised. The material culture was a mix of things atributed to Slavs and local developments of early Byzantine stuff but their customs and burials suggest they have become Slavs in most ways we do recognise Slavs in addition to "pure" Slav inhabitants that surrounded them.
I think they might had merged with OTL Daco-Romans as well forming the Romanians..
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
Let's see who was in Hungary before the Magyars arrived. We had a Frankish vassal state in the west (inhabited by Slavs), Great Moravia in northwest, mostly covering areas now belonging to Slovakia and finally much of the east was under the Bulgarian Empire.
 
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