Bela Kopeczi, ed.. History of . : Akademiai Kiado, 1994. 806 pp. $80.00, cloth, ISBN 978-963-05-6703-9.

Reviewed by Jim Niessen

Published on HABSBURG (April, 1995)

Contents: Part 1: Transylvania in Prehistoric ment is only partial) that some assertions be bet‐ and Ancient Times, 3-106 Part 2: Transylvania in ter documented, and sarcasm avoided. The chief the Mediaeval Hungarian Kingdom, 107-243 Part points of controversy in interpretation are the 3: The Principality of Transylvania, 247-411 Part continuity of the Daco-Roman population in the 4: Transylvania under the Habsburg Empire, territory, the relationship of Transylvania with 415-523 Part 5: From the Empire to Civic , Hungary proper, the causes of Transylvania's re‐ 527-661 Part 6: Transylvania since 1918, 665-692 assignment in 1918, and 's treatment of List of Abbreviations; Bibliography; List of Illus‐ its Hungarian minority thereafter. In these sub‐ trations; Chronology of the History of Transylva‐ stantive points of interpretation there is little nia; Index, 693-806 change from the frst edition to this one. The Hungarian project to write a new history The authors of the frst part and the frst of Transylvania, arising in the early 1980s, chapter of the second part (Gabor Vekony, Andras reached fruition with the publication of the three- Mocsy, Endre Toth, and Istvan Bona) present the volume synthesis in Hungarian in 1986. The hand‐ evolution of ancient and medieval Transyl‐ some, expensive volumes were rapidly sold out vania on the basis of archaeological and textual (and repeatedly reprinted) in Hungary, harshly at‐ data and of international scholarship. The results tacked in politically motivated Romanian reviews of Romanian archaeology on the Dacian kingdom (though rarely accessible to historians there), and (Constantin Daicoviciu) are presented sympatheti‐ sparsely, but positively reviewed in the West (by cally, but in contrast to Romanian historiography Gerhard Seewann, Martin Rady and Norman it is argued that the Romans largely exterminated Stone). Eager to reach an ever larger audience, the Dacian population in the area they occupied, the publishers brought out a one-volume version that subsequently the degree of Romanization of in 1989, then German, French, and fnally English the province was small, and at any rate negated versions based on it. Hopes for a constructive de‐ by the colonists' evacuation in the third century. bate on the work have been strengthened in re‐ Subsequent chapters examine Gothic, Carpic, cent years by the appearance of more substantive, Gepid, Hunnic, Avar, and Slavic domination. though generally critical, Romanian reviews. Bona's presentation of the earliest period of Hun‐ This version takes into account several of the garian rule (895-1172) difers from that of the late Western reviewers' concerns: that it be available Laszlo Makkai, who wrote this section in the origi‐ in Western languages, that the interpretations of nal edition, in that Bona attributes less reliability the authors be reconciled, and (here the improve‐ to the of Anonymus, a later H-Net Reviews account that is the principal support for those ar‐ sanyi's original analysis of population and reli‐ guing were present at the time of the gious movements in this century; there is due at‐ Hungarian conquest. Bona argues from archaeo‐ tention to the Habsburgs' perpetuation of Transyl‐ logical evidence that the occupied vania's separate status, enlightened absolutism, Transylvania from the east, before Hungary prop‐ and the noble resistance to it, but the section on er, while according to Makkai the occupation 1800-1830 is surprisingly brief. Miskolczy's treat‐ came from the west. ment of Hungarian, Romanian, and Saxon politics The second and third parts, by Makkai, Gabor before and during 1848 is lively, well documented, Barta, Katalin Peter, and Agnes Varkonyi, refect and usually fair. Still, one wonders, reading the the contrasting methodologies of their authors. words of a Romanian extremist (p. 493), why Makkai's treatment of the period through 1526, those of a Hungarian counterpart are not ofered while not neglecting archaeological sources, is far for comparison. The brief union of Hungary and more attentive to toponymic evidence of the pop‐ Transylvania is seen as a boost to the constitution‐ ulation as well as the now more numerous writ‐ alist forces, and special attention is given to the ten sources. In agreement with most Hungarian unsuccessful attempts at Hungarian-Romanian historians, he places the frst sizable settlement of cooperation against Austrian and Russian inter‐ not only the Saxons, but also the Romanians in vention in 1848-49. this period, and argues that Transylvania's vo‐ Part fve is the only one by a single author, evode (vajda) was an agent of the Hungarian king, Zoltan Szasz. The judgment on Austrian abso‐ not a sovereign. Barta's chapter on 1526-1606 lutism is milder than that of many Hungarian ac‐ gives more summary treatment than Makkai or counts, asserting (p. 531) that its positive initia‐ subsequent chapters to culture, but provides a de‐ tives were vitiated by the monarch's repeated ex‐ tailed account of the power struggles that gave perimentation. With the end of these experi‐ birth to a principality of Transylvania that was ments, the reunion with Hungary in 1867 brought forced to recognize Habsburg and Ottoman rule a constitutional framework that favored socioeco‐ over Hungary proper. The chapters by Peter and nomic development for all Transylvania's peoples. Varkonyi on the seventeenth century present a Unfortunately for their relations, the Hungarian survey of the many wars, original interpretations government retreated from the moderate nation‐ of internal policy and a colorful portrayal of soci‐ ality policy enunciated in 1868 even as Romanian ety, high culture, religion, and such modern political assertiveness found a truly broad social themes as the domestic environment (Peter, p. basis. Citing his research in Vienna, Szasz suggests 340) and costumes (Varkonyi, p. 407). Independent that Franz Ferdinand's coolness toward the Hun‐ Transylvania is not the romanticized "fairy gar‐ garian-Romanian negotiations in 1914 may have den" of some Hungarian accounts, but a diverse sealed their failure. Military and diplomatic cir‐ society that weathered periodic invasions to se‐ cumstances are made responsible for the fall of cure moderate prosperity through the mercantil‐ historic Hungary in 1918. The chapter's conclud‐ ism, diplomacy, accumulation of personal power, ing statement (p. 660) is controversial: "The an‐ even duplicity of its autocratic Hungarian princes. nexationist peace treaty, which also involved a se‐ Part Four's authors are the late Zsolt Troc‐ rious violation of the national principle, was con‐ sanyi, Ambrus Miskolczy, and Zoltan Szasz. Far demned equally by the revisionist of shorter than in the three-volume history is the the defeated countries and by the international section on the eighteenth century by Trocsanyi, working class movement." Part Six, by Bela here coauthored by Miskolczy. Missing is Troc‐ Kopeczi, is a relatively laconic survey of events through 1948, in which population fgures are cit‐

2 H-Net Reviews ed as evidence of assimilatory processes, with The use of Hungarian placenames throughout the equal attention given to Hungarian and Romani‐ work may not be the best solution, but readers an atrocities in World War II. The treatment of the will fnd their equivalents in the index. socialist period, present in the three-volume History of Transylvania is a work that de‐ work, is left out. serves to be taken seriously for its scholarly quali‐ The authors' comparative approach and care‐ ties, consulted for its wealth of historical and bib‐ ful assessment of the multilingual historiography liographic information, and debated for the many testify to their sincere intention to move the schol‐ complex issues that it presents with more or less arly discussion forward. Sadly, some passages thoroughness, but always with a frm grounding work against this intention. Unattributed rumors in the work of those who have preceded them in about the bribery of the Hungarians' rivals (by this difcult territory. General in 1600-1 (pp. 299-30); of Copyright (c) 1995 by H-Net, all rights re‐ the Transylvanian electorate in 1863 (p. 549) or al‐ served. This work may be copied for non-proft lies (some Romanian voters in 1910 (p. 631) seem educational use if proper credit is given to the au‐ to be accepted at face value; the alleged support thor and the list. For other permission, please con‐ of Transylvanian "public opinion" for the Hungar‐ tact [email protected]. ian position in 1848 (p. 516) and 1863 (p. 551) can‐ not be documented. More legitimate points of in‐ terpretation, but still controversial, are those based on the authors' more or less Marxist prefer‐ ence for economic development over ethnic sepa‐ ratism. Much could also be said about imperfect translations or use of terminology; among the lat‐ ter, there is no clear distinction in the use of the terms Konigsboden/kiralyfold and Sachsenland/ szaszfold. But for the most part the translation is fuid and clear. Among the volume's chief virtues, shared with earlier editions, is the remarkable selection of 154 illustrations: color photographs of artifacts and graphic arts, and (since the mid-nineteenth century) black and white photographs of Transyl‐ vanian people and localities. The most interesting of the latter are the many shots of urban scenes and ethnic types taken by Josef Fischer in the 1930s. The 26 excellent maps include two on the endpapers that librarians should take care not to obscure when processing the volume: please use the inside pages for name plates and date slips! Especially valuable are the bibliographic essays in the appendix, which address key historiographic controversies with the Romanians and introduce readers of English to much inacessible literature.

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Citation: Jim Niessen. Review of Kopeczi, Bela, ed. History of Transylvania. HABSBURG, H-Net Reviews. April, 1995.

URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=47

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