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also Khagan of Jewish Khazars between the rivers Theiss and Szamos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menumorut
Menumorut, or Menumorout (Bulgarian: ?????????; Hungarian: Ménmarót; Romanian: 
Menumorut), was the ruler of the lands between the rivers Mure?, Some? and Tisza at 
the time of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 900, according to 
the Gesta Hungarorum, a Hungarian chronicle written after 1150 by an unidentified 
author, referred to as Anonymus. Historians debate whether Menumorut was an actual 
ruler or a fictional character created by the author, since the Gesta tells of multiple 
figures, including Menumorut, who are not identified in any other primary sources, and 
does not name any of the enemies of the invading Hungarians written of in other 
contemporary accounts of the invasion. According to Anonymus, Menumorut's duchy 
was populated primarily with Khazars and Székelys, and he acknowledged the 
suzerainty of the (unnamed) ruling Byzantine Emperor at the time.

In Romanian historiography, the consensus describes Menumorut as one of the three 
Romanian rulers who attempted to resist the Magyar conquest of the intra-Carpathian 
regions of present-day Romania. According to the Gesta, the Magyars eventually 
besieged and seized Menumorut's fortress at Biharia, and forced him to give his 
daughter in marriage to Zoltán, the son of Árpád, the Grand Prince of the Hungarians. 
The chronicle states that Menumorut died around 906 and was succeeded by his son-
in-law.
Background[edit]

Early history of the Magyars[edit]

Further information: Gesta Hungarorum

The most important source of the Magyars' early history is a work known as De 
Administrando Imperio, written by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII around 952.
[1] According to the emperor, the Magyars "lived together with" the Khazars "for three 
years, and fought in alliance"[2] with them for an unspecified time.[3] The text 
suggests that the Magyars were once subjected to the Khazar Khaganate, the 
dominant power of the lands between the rivers Dnieper and Volga, but modern 
historians debate whether their subjection lasted only for a couple of years, as the 
emperor states, or for a longer period.[3][4] [5] In the same area, three or four local 
variants of the Saltovo-Mayaki archaeological culture, which represented semi-
nomadic groups, emerged in the western regions of the Eurasian steppes in the 
second half of the 8th century.[6][7]

Internal strife and attacks by neighboring tribes caused the decline of the Khaganate 
in the early 9th century.[8] The Magyars were among the Khazars' subject peoples 
who seceded, settling in the Pontic steppes to the north of the Black Sea.[9] 
According to Emperor Constantine VII, the Kabars, who "were of the race"[10] of the 
Khazars, also rebelled against the Khaganate and joined the Magyars.[11] This event 
occurred before 881, because in that year the Magyars and the Kabars invaded East 
Francia, according to the longer version of the Annals of Salzburg.[12] The Magyars 
also intervened in a war between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire on the latter's 
behalf in about 894.[13] The Bulgarians formed an alliance with the Pechenegs, who 
dwelled in the lands east of the Magyars, and they jointly invaded the Pontic steppes 
and defeated the Magyars, forcing them to move to the Carpathian Basin in search for 
a new homeland.[14][15]

Their conquest of the Carpathian Basin is the principal subject of the Gesta 
Hungarorum.[16] The Gesta was written after 1150 by an unidentified author, who is 
referred to as Anonymus in modern scholars' works.[16][17] He wrote primarily of the 
Magyars' battles with six local rulers, including Menumorut, who are not named in 
other annals and chronicles.[18][19] On the other hand, Anonymus did not write of 
Svatopluk I of Moravia, Luitpold of Bavaria, and other local rulers whose fights with 
the conquering Magyars were described in late 9th-century or early 10th-century 
sources.[20]

Cri?ana on the eve of the Hungarian Conquest[edit]

Further information: Crisana in the Middle Ages

Burial sites unearthed at Valea lui Mihai and other sites along the Ier River containing 
remains of horses show that the Avars settled in Cri?ana shortly after their arrival in 
the Carpathian Basin in 567.[21] However, few belt mounts decorated with griffins and 
tendrils or other such features of later Avar craftsmanship have been found in the 
same region.[22] A distinct group of barrow cemeteries, or tumuli—the so-called 
"Nusfalau-Someseni" cemeteries—appeared in the lands bordering on "Late Avar" 
cemeteries in the 8th century.[23] In contrast with the Avars, who practised 
inhumation, the populations using these cemeteries cremated their dead.[24] 
"Nusfalau-Someseni" cemeteries show similarities to some in the East Slavic 
territories, but they yielded items similar to examples unearthed in West Slavic sites 
and to "Late Avar" belt mounts.[25][26]

The Avars' power collapsed after Charlemagne and his commanders launched a series 
of campaigns against the western regions of the Carpathian Basin between 788 and 
803.[27][28] However, Avar groups survived the destruction of their empire: Regino of 
Prüm wrote that the Magyars first "roamed the wildernesses of the Pannonians and the 
Avars"[29] in the Carpathian Basin after their flight from the Pontic steppes.[30][31] 
According to historian András Róna-Tas, these wildernesses of the Avars (solitudo 
Avarorum) were situated in the plains along the rivers Tisza and Danube, including 
Crisana.[32]

The collapse of the Avar Khaganate enabled the development of "Great" Moravia, a 
Slavic polity which emerged in the region of the Middle Danube.[33] Svatopluk I of 
Moravia, who reigned from 870 to 894, expanded his authority over a large region.
[34][35] Svatopluk's empire included Crisana, according to historian Gyula Kristó, 
since Emperor Constantine's reference to "great Moravia, the unbaptized"[36] 
describes the rivers Timi?, Mure?, Cri?, Tisza and Toutis as within its territory.[37][38] 
Archaeologist Alexandru Madgearu rejects Kristó's theory, because no archaeological 
finds from the late 9th century evidence Moravian influence in Crisana.[39]

The Bulgarians also benefited from the fall of the Avar Khaganate.[40] One of the 
military commanders of Omurtag of Bulgaria drowned in the Tisza, showing that 
Omurtag, who ruled between 814 and 831, attempted to expand his authority towards 
this river.[41] The Bulgarians allied with the Franks and invaded Moravia in both 863 
and 883.[41] Based on sources from around 870, the Persian scholar Gardizi wrote of 
two peoples, the Nandarin and the Mirdat,[42] whose lands were ten days' journey 
apart.[41] Historians István Bóna and György Györffy identify the Nandarins as 
Bulgarians (because nándor was the Hungarian exonym for the Bulgarians), and the 
Mirdat as Moravians.[41][43] If their identifications are valid, the distance between 
Bulgaria and Moravia was about 250 to 300 kilometres (160 to 190 mi) circa 870.[43]

Anonymus's narration[edit]

Menumorut and his duchy[edit]

Menumorut ruled an area bordered by the rivers Tisza, Mure?, Some?, and the Igyfon 
Wood at the time of the Magyars' invasion, according to the Gesta Hungarorum.[44]
[45][46][16] Anonymus also wrote that "the peoples that are called Kozár",[45] 
identified by historians as Khazars, inhabited this realm, together with the Székelys.
[47][16][19] Menumorut's main fortress was located at Biharia, according to 
Anonymus.[48] An early medieval fortress was found here,[16] and some historians 
(including Salagean) have identified it as Menumorut's capital,[16] although others (for 
instance, Florin Curta) argue that nothing proves that the fortress was built before the 
10th century.[49][50] Anonymus wrote that Menumorut was the grandson of one 
"Prince Marót" (whose name was derived from the ancient Hungarian exonym for the 
Moravians), who he states was ruler of Cri?ana in the times of Attila the Hun.[51][47] 
According to the Gesta, Menumorut communicated "haughtily with a Bulgarian 
heart"[52] with the Magyars' envoys, informing them that "the emperor of 
Constantinople"[53] was his lord.[16][51]

The Gesta describes Menumorut as a polygamist, stating that he "had many 
concubines".[45][16] Anonymus even suggested that Menumorut's name was 
connected to the Hungarian word for stallion (mén) because of his womanizing 
nature.[54] According to historian Neagu Djuvara, Menumorut's name is a Hungarian 
form of a Turkic (possibly Bulgar) proper name.[55]

The Hungarian conquest[edit]

Further information: Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin

The Magyars entered the Carpathian Basin through the Northern Carpathians, 
according to the Gesta Hungarorum.[56][57] After conquering the northeastern region, 
their leader, Grand Prince Árpád, sent two envoys, Osbo and Velek, to Menumorut, 
demanding "the land from the Some? River to the border of Nyírség, up to the Mezes 
Gates".[58][48] Menumorut received Árpád's envoys amicably, but refused to yield, 
stating that the Byzantine Emperor guaranteed him rule over the land.[51] Osbo and 
Velek returned to Árpád and informed him of Menumorut's refusal.[59]

Árpád dispatched three commanders, Tas, Szabolcs, and Tétény, to invade 
Menumorut's duchy, according to Anonymus.[59] They crossed the Tisza "at the ford 
of Lád"[53] and marched towards the Some?.[59] They halted at a place near the 
future village of Szabolcs, where "almost all the inhabitants of the land surrendered of 
their own will",[53] giving their sons as hostages to them.[59] Menomorut did not dare 
to launch a counter-attack, since more and more of his subjects were voluntarily 
yielding to the Magyar leaders.[59] Upon Szabolcs's orders, an earthen fortress was 
built, which was named after him,[60] and the three Magyar commanders "appointed 
from among the inhabitants of the land many serving men to that castle"[61] and 
manned the fortress with Magyar warriors under the command of a lieutenant.[60]

After this, Anonymus continues, a division of the Magyar army advanced towards the 
Mezes Gates, under the command of Szabolcs and Tas, and occupied the fortress of 
Satu Mare, while a second division, led by Tétény, "conquered a great number of 
people"[62] in the Nyírség.[60] The two divisions rejoined at the Mezes Gates, where 
"the dwellers of the land built stone gateways and a great obstacle of trees"[62] in 
accordance with the Magyar leaders' orders to defend the borders of their newly 
conquered lands.[63] Anonymus emphasizes that the three Magyar commanders were 
very proud that "they had subjected almost all the nations"[64] of Menumorut's 
duchy.[63] Tas and Szabolcs decided to return to Árpád, "subduing the whole people 
from the Some? River to the Cri? River"[65] on their way.[63] Menumorut was at this 
point planning to escape to the Byzantine Empire, but his warriors prevented Szabolcs 
and Tas from crossing the Cris at Szeghalom, thus forcing the Magyars to temporarily 
retreat.[63]

After the first campaign against Menumorut, the Magyars fought with Salan (who was 
the lord of the lands between the Tisza and the Danube), with the Bohemians, and 
with Glad (the lord of the Banat), and conquered Pannonia, according to the Gesta.
[66] Árpád once again dispatched Osbo and Velek, at the head of a new army, against 
Menumorut's remaining lands after the birth of his son, Zoltán.[63] Osbo and Velek 
crossed the Tisza and halted at the river Kórógy, where the Székelys, "who were 
previously the peoples"[67] of Attila the Hun, according to Anonymus, voluntarily 
joined them.[68] Their united armies crossed the Cris River and encamped on the 
banks of one of its tributaries.[69] Their arrival frightened Menumorut, who left "a host 
of warriors" in Biharia and "betook himself and his wife and daughter to the 
groves"[70] of the Igyfon Wood.[69] Osbo and Velek laid siege to Biharia, which was 
defended by "warriors gathered from diverse nations", for twelve days.[70][69] During 
the siege, twenty Magyar, fifteen Székely warriors, and 125 of Menumorut's soldiers 
were killed.[69] On the 13th day, after the besiegers made preparations for putting 
ladders to the wall, the defenders decided to surrender, and opened the gates of the 
fortress.[71]

Having been informed of the fall of his capital, Anonymus continues, Menumorut 
surrendered and agreed to give his daughter in marriage to Zoltán.[71] Árpád 
accepted this offer, allowing Menumorut to continue his rule over Biharia till the end of 
his life.[71] Árpád "gave the county of Zaránd"[72] to Velek, and the fortress of 
Veszprém to Osbo, in reward for their services during the war against Menumorut.[71] 
Menumorut "died without a son" not long before 907, leaving "his whole kingdom in 
peace"[72] to his son-in-law, Zoltán.[71]

Historiography[edit]

See also: Daco-Romanian continuity

Menumorut is one of the opponents of the conquering Magyars only mentioned in the 
Gesta Hungarorum.[19] In Romanian historiography, he is considered to be one of the 
Vlach, or Romanian, dukes whose role in the Gesta proves the existence of Romanian 
polities in the Carpathian Basin at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries.[73] For 
instance, historians Ioan-Aurel Pop and Tudor Salagean write that Romanians and 
Slavs (and possibly Avars) inhabited Menumorut's duchy, as well as the Khazars and 
Székelys whom Anonymus explicitly mentions, because another chapter of the Gesta 
lists the "Slavs, Bulgarians, Vlachs, and the shepherds of the Romans"[74] among the 
peoples inhabiting the Carpathian Basin circa 900.[16][75] The two historians also 
agree that Menumorut accepted the suzerainty of the Byzantine Emperor.[16][51] Pop 
writes that the successful Byzantine campaigns in Asia Minor and South Italy show 
that the emperors of the Macedonian dynasty wished to restore the Roman Empire in 
the late 9th and early 10th century; and the Gesta also refers to a Byzantine 
intervention on behalf of Salan against the Magyars in the Carpathian Basin.[76] On 
the other hand, Victor Spinei states that any political links between Menumorut and 
the Byzantine emperors was impossible in the late 9th century, and that Anonymus' 
remark of Menumorut's subjection to the Byzantine emperor should instead be 
interpreted as a reference to Menumorut's Orthodox faith.[77] According to Salagean, 
Menumorut was "probably a Christian," even if the Gesta described him as a 
polygamist.[16] Instead of identifying Menumorut as a Romanian ruler, historian Kevin 
Alan Brook wrote that Menumorut was a Kabar ruler, from a dynasty established by his 
grandfather, Morut.[78]

Many historians debate the reliability of the reports of the Gesta concerning 
Menumorut and the other opponents of the Magyars who are not named in other 
primary sources.[19][79][80] Gyula Kristó writes that Anonymus, who had little 
information of the real conditions of the Carpathian Basin around 900, could only turn 
"to one thing when he outlined the history of the Hungarian conquest: his own 
imagination,"[79] and György Györffy says that Menumorut was one of the 
personalities whom Anonymus invented and named after a location.[81] The existence 
of two villages named "Morut's house" (Marótlaka in Hungarian) and a clan Morut in 
Bihar County in the 13th century is well-documented, proving that at least one Morut 
had settled in this region.[81] Carlile Aylmer Macartney writes that the majority of 
events that the Gesta mentions in connection with Menumorut are "a simple repetition, 
with variants" of the story of Salan in the same chronicle, showing that Anonymus 
"had little material on which to work" when writing about Menumorut.[82]


Marriage To ----- ----- ()
    m.  

Notes


Children by ----- ----- 
____ Men (ABT  900 - )

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