The western part of Hungary was a part of the Roman province of Pannonia in the first century. At least a form of Christianity was present by the time of Constantine. Matters changed with the invasion of the Huns into the Carpathian Basin in the latter half of the fourth century.

The Romans called Attila the Hun “the scourge of God.” His reputation for savagery in our culture is largely undeserved. He was no worse in terms of cruelty than any of his “Christian” adversaries, and better than some. To Hungarians, he is a national hero. Attila is a popular Hungarian name.

After the death of Attila in the middle of the fifth century, the alliance of Hunnish tribes disintegrated and the Huns disappear from history having married in with the native population. The next major invaders, the Magyars, came from the area of the Ural mountains. Their reputation for archery on horseback was so great that Western Europeans used to pray, “God save us from the arrows of the Hungarians.”

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