The Mongol Campaign in Hungary, 1241–1242: The Archaeology and History of Nomadic Conquest and Massacre

Contemporaneous narrative sources described the Mongol conquest of the Hungarian Kingdom in 1241–1242 as extremely devastating, characterized by extensive and indiscriminate massacres. Measuring the reality of any ancient massacre, however, tends to be difficult in the absence of sufficient archaeological or documentary data. This article integrates conquest process theory, literary evidence, and data from substantial new archaeological work to explore the motivation and nature of Mongol invasion and the consequences for rural settlements on the Great Hungarian Plain.