consolidated thesis.doc

8/13/2019 Consolidated Thesis.doc

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Banat and Baka: Geography, History and Ethnographic

Cartography

The present thesis sets out to examine the ways in which areas of complex

populations are illustrated by thematic, or ethnographic, maps, and to draw

attention to some of the techniques by which these maps achieve their effects. It

focuses primarily on ethnic cartography as practised in two adjacent territories

on the northern edge of the Balkans the Banat and Ba!ka.

It will trace the gradual improvement in technique until the mid "#th century,

and argue that some of these advances have been forgotten, so that the recent

revival of the discipline has been characterised by maps of a technically inferior

standard to some of those produced more than half a century ago.

It is felt however, that an appreciation of the ethnic cartography of the regions

will be impossible without a good grounding in their geographical and historical

background. The scene is therefore first set by a discussion of the geographical

and climactic characteristics of the two territories, and a summary of the history

that has been played out here, from the medieval $ungarian kingdom to recent

days. This is intended to create a rich backdrop against which some of the

disputes may be more clearly understood.

The next section examines the development of ethnographic thematic

cartography within general cartography and its growth, particularly within

%entral and &astern &urope as a political tool. The main methodologies will be

described and evaluated in turn. 'n examination of the application of the various

methodologies to the Banat and Ba!ka follows. ' representative selection of

mainly (erman, $ungarian and )omanian maps of various scales are referred to

and examined for evidence of tendentiousness in their design.

*


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There follows a discussion of local toponymy and an introduction to the

substantial +lace ame )egister, which forms a supplement to this work. The

(I-, which has been developed as a part of this research, and is the source formany of the maps herein, is not included in this presentation, but its nature,

limitations and future potential are discussed.

GEOGRAPHICAL AN ECONO!IC IN"L#ENCE$ ON

$E%%LE!EN% IN %HE BANA% AN BA&'A(

)*nction and o+erap

The Banat and and Ba!ka $ungarian, Bnt, Bcska/ (erman, Banat,

Batschka) are two adjoining but separate territories on the fringe of

south0central &urope which have, for most of the twentieth century, been

shared by )omania, 1ugoslavia and $ungary. Their geographical

boundaries are almost entirely natural, comprising principally of rivers,

but have frequently been in conflict with their administrative boundaries.

%onsequently, a range of territorial configurations and alternative names

are recognised, reflecting the historical ebb and flow of political power in

the region. Indeed, the interest of the Banat and Ba!ka resides

substantially in their being located at the junction and overlap of a

medley of different types of frontiers a fact, which has contributed to

their fluid and colourful histories. It has been conventional to treat the"


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Banat and and Ba!ka before *2"# as discrete units in their own right.

however, much of the literature passes over or obscures the point that

these territories have but rarely corresponded to political units, even

when entirely within the frontiers of a single state. Between *34" and

*2*2, for instance, when both regions were wholly inside $ungary, there

was indeed an exact correspondence between the megye county5 of

B6cs0Bodrog and the B6cska. There was also an exact match between

Toront6l, Temes and 7rass80-9:r;ny megyekpl.5 and the geographical

Banat, but the three did not have any special collective status see map

"5. Both the Banat and Ba!ka have more usually been broken up

between smaller units, or been incorporated into larger wholes. &ach

territory, however, has a particular history, and the sourcesconventionally identify each of the pair as discrete units and distinct

from each other.


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=ap Trianon

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Na-ing Con+entions in the %e.t

Banat, Baka

$ereinafter, except where specified, the term Banatshall be understood

to be coterminous with the whole territory of Temes, Toront6l and

7rass80-9:r;ny vrmegyek counties5, as defined in *2*#. +ost0Trianon,

the three parts shall be referred to as the Romanian Banat, Yugoslav

Banat, and Hungarian Banatrespectively. The term Baka-erbo0%roat

atin5 spelling5 is used in this dissertation as a general, non0political

term for the southern termination of the Canube 0 Tisa corridor. Dith

$ungarian spelling Bcska5 it will be used to refer to the historical$ungarian counties of B6cs and Bodrog, and their combination, B6cs0

Bodrog, until Trianon/ and the reconstituted county of *2@*0@@. The

Hungarian Bcskashall mean the part of the B6cska that remained with

$ungary after Trianon. The Yugoslav Baka will be used to refer to the

section of the B6cska detached from $ungary by the Treaty of Trianon

i.e. that portion of the Vojvodinalocated between the Canube and Tisa.

/o0+odina

The term Vojvodina, except where specifically noted, will be used to

cover the 1ugoslav Ba!kaand the 1ugoslav Banat jointly, but should not

be taken automatically to include the Sremdistrict -rijem, -9er;ms;g,

-yrmien, -irmium5, which has since the -econd Dorld Dar formed a part

of the 1ugoslav political unit, nor the Baranya triangle, which was only

associated with the Banat and Ba!ka between the world wars.

Pace1na-es+lace names will, as far as possible, be rendered in the administrative

language of the day, unless a standard form exists in the &nglish

language. The capital of the Banat, whose multiple name forms barelyE


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differ, will be referred to by a compromise standard, Temesvar.

>therwise we would have to refer to it as Temesv6r until the >ttoman

conquest, TimiFvar under Turkish administration, Temeswar between

*4*E and the incorporation of the Banat into $ungary *4E35. De would

then revert to Temesv6r until *2"# except during the existence of the

Wojodscha!t Ser"iens und #emeser Banat Temeswar5. 'fter Trianon

*2"#5 the )omanian version, TimiFoara, would prevail. In other cases

and where appropriate, a name will be accompanied by other0language

forms on its first appearance.

Dhere -tandard &nglish forms are available, river names will appearwithout diacritics. I shall refer throughout to the Canube Cunav G5,

Cunarea )5, Cuna =5, Conau C55/ the -ava -96va =5, -au C55 and

Crava Cr6va =5, Crau C55/ the Tisa Tis9a =5, TheiH C55, the =aros

=ure )5, =ariJ G5, =arosch C55, the Temes Timi )5, TimiJ G5,

Temesch C55/ and the Bega Begej 15 B;ga $55. =ore minor rivers, and

other physical geographical features mountains, marshes etc.5 shall be

referred to, so far as this is appropriate, in the majority language of the

country in which the feature is located today.

Basic Physica Geography

Bo*nds and Area

The Banat is a conventional label for a territorial entity whose existence,despite a remarkably chequered administrative history, is acknowledged

by -erb, )omanian, (erman and $ungarian, and there is close

agreement on its geographical bounds. The Canube, Tisa and =aros

embrace the Banat on three sides. Civided from the Ba!ka on the west

by the southward flow of the Tisa $ungarian, Tis9a5, the Banat is

separated KnaturallyL from -rem and -erbia, and Dallachia by the broad

stripe of the Canube as far as >rFova. Mrom here, the BanatLs boundary

runs north0eastward along the %erna valley, then among the +oiana04


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)usca mountains towards the Transylvanian Iron (ates +ass near Bistra

and thereafter northwards to +ojoga on the =aros. The BanatLs northern

border follows the river =aros from +ojoga downstream to 'rad and on

to its confluence with the Tisa by -9eged. Thus defined by Tisa, Canube,

%erna and =aros rivers, and +oiana0)usca =ountains, the Banat covers

"3,A## km", an area slightly smaller than Belgium


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indeed, never been so, as we shall see, and represent just one of many

historical territorial configurations. They also overlook the BanatLs

conflicting KnaturalL internal division into riparian lowland, heathland and

mountain, each of which tracts are distinct and have their corresponding

continuations beyond the historical Banat.

%he DlvidkConceptIn addition to the terms Banat, Ba!ka and Pojvodina in their various

spellings, there exists the regional $ungarian appellation (lvidk

-outhern )egion5, with a unique string of associations and a long,

complex history. In the =ediaeval $ungarian kingdom, the C;lvid;k,sometimes also referred to as the *lvidk or Vgvidk, included the

$ungarian counties of 7eve 7ovin5, Toront6l, B6cs Ba!5, -9er;m -rem5,

Palk8 Pukovar5, +o9sega +oQega5, and four KbanatesL of northern Bosnia

'ocsis, 23345. The $ungarian defeat at =oh6cs *A"E5 was succeeded

by the break0up of the kingdom, and until the +eace of +assarowit9

*4*35, imperial Turkish and $absburg frontiers would ebb and flow

across the centre and south of the country. 'fter its capture, the Banat

was held as a $absburg %rown territory until the late *3 thcentury. &ven

after this point, a $ungarian civil administration would not reach south to

the Canube until *34"0


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B6cska, and -9er;ms;g +o9sega, Per:ce and -9er;m counties5 until the

latter was transferred by act of +arliament in *3E3 to %roatia. o

mention is made of %san6d and 'rad. Mrom *3E3 until *2"#, there was

therefore a brief correspondence between C;lmagyarors96g and

TemesyLs narrow C;lvid;k 0 both comprised of just the B6n6t and

B6cska.

'fter Trianon, C;lmagyarors96g shifted northwards to within the new

borders, while C;lvid;k entered more common circulation as a general

label for the territories detached from $ungary to the 7ingdom of -erbs,

%roats and -lovenes 1ugoslav Banat, 1ugoslav Ba!ka, Baranja Triangle,=edjimurje, +rekmurje =urak:9, =uravid;k5. The )omanian Banat

dropped out of the frame, becoming absorbed into an Kexpanded

TransylvaniaL concept, which embraces all the territory acquired by

)omania from $ungary Transylvania, the )omanian Banat and the

%riFana 9one5.

Curing the -econd Dorld Dar, the 1ugoslav Banat 0 under (ermanoccupation 0 apparently also dropped out of the definition, which

concentrated for the duration on the territories actually recovered from

1ugoslavia Nyigri, ed.5 - viss+atrt (lvidk nem+etisgi k.e,

Budapest, *2@*. $a0ti(lvidk /01/2/0113Budapest, *2345. K(lvidkL,

like its northern equivalent K4elvidkL, became explicitly associated with

revisionist, expansionist policies NI II


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aftermath of the -econd Dorld Dar. The +aris peace treaties had

quashed $ungarian border revision, and %ommunist internationalist

sentiment theoretically rendered the whole question obsolete. In the

interests of co0operation, $ungarian sources therefore used the official

1ugoslav term, Pojvodina sometimes using the old $ungarian spelling,

Pajdas6g 7ocsis, *23


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'lthough they have been divided between three states since *2*2, the

traditional view of the Banat and to a lesser extent, that of the Ba!ka, as

discrete units has survived. Mor reasons that will become apparent, the

Banat has a strong tradition of particularism. &vidence that this has

survived until today is provided by the existence of a collaborative Study

:rou. !or the Banat Region between the Nniversities of TimiFoara

)omania5, ovi -ad M) 1ugoslavia5, -9eged $ungary5 and TRbingen

(ermany5, of which the present author is an associate member. The

presence of four main national groups each with distinguishable ethnic

territories has nevertheless fostered the emergence of divergent views of

history. The interest of these four groupsL respective specialists often

wanes beyond the geographical bounds of their own ethnic group. It is inan effort to bypass these limitations that we have chosen to treat the

Banat and Ba!ka in tandem. +airingBanat and Ba!ka also goes against

1ugoslav and )omanian visions of the regional community, as neither of

these visions includes all of both territories. 's detailed elsewhere, the

pairing of Banat and Ba!ka also does not correspond to a particular

$ungarian tradition. 'lthough all four nations recognise the terms and

agree on the territories they indicate, there is no nationalist viewpoint

that binds the two territories. 'cademics from any nationality can agree,however, that what links them is an extraordinary complexity of

populations, unsurpassed perhaps anywhere else in &urope. &ach of the

four main ethnic groups $ungarian, )omanian, -erb and (erman5 which

are represented in the Banat and Ba!ka has, or has had, near0absolute

dominance over certain parts of the regions. The extent of these areas,

the degree of group concentration, and of local ethnic dominance varies

both over the landscape and over time. The (ermans, for example, who

in the early decades of the twentieth century, accounted for

approximately a quarter of the population of the Banat and Ba!ka and

were highly concentrated in four main 9ones, are now reduced to a mere

sprinkling, even in the largest settlements of the )omanian Banat.

Landscape i+isions in the Banat and Baka

Banat

*"


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The Banat comprises several sub0units, each with their own

distinguishing features, and which are in some instances sharply

differentiated from one another. =any of these sub0units embrace parts

of the Banat and continue beyond its borders into neighbouring regions.

Topographically, the Banat may be divided into five basic land0types the

ower +lain, the Npper +lain, the &(eli"latska $e;ara'sand 9one, a hilly

9one and, lastly, the Banat $ighlands.

The lower plain about 3# to *## metres above sea level5, which runs mainly

alongside the =aros, Tisa and Canube, also extends inland along and

outward from the Temes and Bega rivers as far as MageO and %aransebeFrespectively. =ost of the lower plain was formerly a confusion of marshes

and choked watercourses. The majority of the land is extraordinarily

featureless S 7ohl, a nineteenth0century traveller remarked that &all is

smooth, unru!!led, and !lat as the ocean during a dead calm'. ' small

KbubbleL in this landscape just south of renjanin Be!kerek5, lies in the path

of the Temes and Bega rivers and, before effective canalisation, used to

form a significant barrier to drainage, a further cause of inundation in times

past.

Mrom north of renjanin, a barely perceptible rise to an altitude of ca. 2# 0

*"# metres5 brings one to the beginning of the Npper +lain, known in

(erman as theBanater Heideheathland5. This 9one, which runs in a broad

crescent north0eastwards via 7ikinda towards ugoj is almost equally

featureless, but is famed for the great fertility of its black soil, which permits

of several harvests a year, and commands a high price per hectare. =ost of

this land ended up in the hands of (erman colonist0farmers. -uccessive$absburg regulations reserved much of this region for (erman colonists,

whose loyalty to the crown was not in doubt, and who were deemed likely to

bring the best return from the high fertility of the land. >ften a pre0existing

non0(erman population was resettled to make room for the colonists, which

did little for harmony among the nationalities.

Gust west of PrJac in the southwest Banat is the only distinctly elevated part

of the western Banat. The (eli"latska $e;ara, a thinly inhabited region of*


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sandy desert formed during *3thcentury by Kirrational e


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andscape Civisions =ap

*A


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' narrow hilly belt in the central Banat, with its own distinct settlement0

pattern, is succeeded by densely wooded low mountains, rising quickly

towards the southeast. The slopes around the southern towns of PrJac and

Bela %rkva 1ugoslavia5 are cultivated with vines and herald the fringe of the

higher ground to the east.

The mineral0rich Banat $ighlands Banater Bergland5 climb to their highest

point *@@E m.5 at -emenic, near (VrWna Dolfsberg5, Brebu ou

Deidenthal5 and PVliug Mran9dorf5. The valleys of the Temes and %erna

rivers separate the Banat highlands from the -outhern %arpathians proper.

>n the borders of the Banat and Transylvania, the latter approach ","## m

in height.

%onsiderable precipitation is generated here, the runoff rapidly gathering in

the plain, but draining only slowly onward. The combination of high

precipitation in the mountain0districts and the broad inland extent of the

lower plain, with its very gradual gradient, expose wide areas to the

constant danger of inundation.

Baka

The Ba!ka consists geographically of two principal parts. The uplands

comprise the southernmost extremity of the sandy Canube0Tisa

interfluve, and extend from Baja 2# m above sea level, the nearby

>lomhegy being the highest point in the Ba!ka at *4@ m5 to -ubotica,

the principal town of the north Ba!ka, **@ m5 and south to the lineBe!ej0Prbas0-ivac. Below this line, the average elevation drops to 2#

metres, and as low as 3@ m in the southeast. The only higher ground

here is a small plateau around Titel *


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%he In5*ence o5 the Ri+ersIn any territory, the possibilities for locating new settlements are defined

by the quantity and quality of local water resources. Nnless

supplemented by more distant sources, local water resources also limit

the potential for population growth, for agriculture and for industry.either the Banat nor the Ba!ka can be described as arid, but both

territories suffer from great fluctuations in the spatial and seasonal

distribution of water, as well as major variations in water quality.

-ettlement along the major rivers has long been constrained by

extensive and regular flooding, while inhospitable mountains in the

eastern Banat have limited settlement there. The coincidence of the

historical borders of Banat and Ba!ka with of the Canube and Tisa has its

origin in the formerly untamed nature of those rivers and of their main

local tributaries Crava, -ava, =aros, Temes, Bega, Ber9ava etc.5. These

rivers were prone to rising regularly out of their beds and wandering over

wide and hence sparsely inhabited 0 but potentially extremely fertile 0

areas. 1et, while major rivers define their boundaries, their interiors are

criss0crossed by relatively weak rivers, prone to stagnation. arge areas

of both territories have only been made habitable by virtue of centuries

of works along these watercourses. owadays, the long0term viability ofsettlement is threatened by pollution of the rivers and of the shallow

phreatic5 aquifer, and by rapid depletion of the artesian aquifer.

The massive Canube and Tisa and their main tributaries have had a

particularly decisive effect upon the settlement0patterns in the Banat

and Ba!ka. 'pproaching -9eged from the north, the once tyrannically

meandering Tisa already carries almost the entire runoff from the -lovak

and -ub0%arpathian Nkrainian valleys, and has subsumed the -omeF

-9amos, -amosch5 from northern Transylvania and the %riF 7:r:s,

7reisch5 rivers from the Bihar =ountains. Its watershed extends over

*A4,*3E km", the fringe being defined by %arpathian, Tatra, =atra and

Bihar =ountains and the spine by some of the flattest country in &urope.

The river is therefore extremely susceptible to seasonal variations in its

flow, presenting the most serious problems in spring, when the alpine

*4


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snows melt. ' few minutes before it marches through the centre of

-9eged, it links arms with the =aros, which drains all -outhern

Transylvania except the >lt valley5.

The seasonal threat these two rivers posed to -9eged was greatly

exacerbated until the later *2th century by the fact that at their

confluence, the waters of the =aros and Tisa converged head0on.

&specially at times of high water, the smaller =aros, deprived of an

outlet, was forced back up its channel and had to find alternative routes.

The extent of the resulting marshland in *4


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)iver et

*2


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Before it subsumes the Tisa near Titel, the Canube has already been

swelled by the Crava and the great -ava and smaller Temes soon join in

at Belgrade. Thus within the space of a few do9ens of miles, between

'patin and Belgrade, the Canube gathers into itself the precipitation

from %roatia, -lovenia and almost the entire %arpathian Basin. The

valley of the Canube lies at an altitude of 32m at Baja in the Ba!ka, 4Am

at its junction with the Tisa, and before the building of the Iron (ates

Cam, the river at -viniOa was still at a level of EE metres. >nly here did

the gradient began to drop more markedly. The width of the river 0

again, before the Iron (ates construction 0 expanded and contracted

substantially over this distance, from *A# metres at the 7a9an (orge to

",*A# at (reben. Its path carries it over a number of shallows andnarrows 0 most noticeably in the 7a9an 0 Iron (ates (orge Nico6esc*1

Pop7or et a, The Iron (ate %omplex 'tlas, p. *A*5. The storage

capacity of the Canube valley down to the Iron (ates substantially

exceeds its capacity for discharge downstream. In ancient times, before

the Canube cut its way through, the +annonian +lain was one vast inland

sea 0 so at times of high water, it acts as a giant reservoir until the flood

can pass through the rapids. The very considerable potential for energy

generation offered by this natural phenomenon was exploited by thejoint 1ugoslav0)omanian Iron (ate project.

)eturning upstream, the average level of the Tis9a falls only @ metres

from 42 m to 4A m5 over the *A# km from =artonoJ to the Canube

8Petersen et a,*2


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historically congregated as close as considerations of safety allow to the

banks of the rivers. =artonoJ and Be!ej for example, were built within

tight meanders of the Tisa.

'round TimiFoara, between -9eged and 7ikinda, and between PrJac and

'libunar, there had been extensive permanent marshes since ancient

times. Curing the latter years of the Turkish occupation in the *3th

century, war damage and population decline resulted in wide expanses

of fertile land being simply abandoned. Dhen the $absburg armies

captured Temesvar in *4*E, the imperial administration extended to the

Banat a policy of colonisation and economic development already begunin the Ba!ka. Between *4*3 and *4"#, the modernisation of the fortress

of Temesv6r was the first priority. 's a means to this end, the choked

rivers of the surrounding area, which had degenerated into an incoherent

amalgam of marshland and watercourse and flowed along many shallow,

contorted channels, were separated, controlled and canalised. %hannels

flowing in and around Temesv6r were gathered northward to become the

Bega, while those to the south of the city were gathered yet further

south, to form the Temes. The Bega now flowed through Temesvar/ theTemischel, whose name had applied to the whole waterlogged valley,

disappeared, while several miles to the south, a new river, the Temes,

was created. ' second stage followed in *4"30


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flood plains continued to be fraught with danger until at least the late

nineteenth century and these remained more thinly inhabited than the

interiors of the regions. The problem of the entire Tisa watershed was

finally at last subjected to an overall strategy ith the !oundation o! the

&Society !or the Regulation o! the #isa' in /81?3 >ver the period *3A# to

*34A, under the auspices of %ount Istv6n -9;cheny, regulation shortened

the riverXs course by @E< kilometres


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another, between the Banat and Ba!ka on the Tisa. Important fortresses

were located at Belgrade, -emlin and +etrovaradin Banatska and Ba!ki

+alanka and >rsova. 7arlowit9 and +assarowit9, which commanded the

opening of the =orava valley, one of the principal historical routes to and

from the Balkan interior5, were venues for treaties of great significance

in *E22 and *4*3 respectively. Both were south of the Canube and thus

symbolised that control of major crossing0points had passed into the

hands of the $absburgs. 'fter defeat in the war of *4


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already been swept away. 'lbrechtsdorf, (yurgyevo, &lisenheim and

(iselahein were also all abandoned. =ariendorf had already had to be

abandoned in 'pril *3E2 due to flooding, and remained under water for

most of the year. )enewed flooding in =ay *34# decided the community

to apply to Pienna for a transfer to a higher location. This was eventually

accepted, but it was only in *34E that the last houses were abandoned

to the waters A*ssch*< der Ge-einde =oio;it>, 23?2@.

"@


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+ancevo

"A


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Gohannisfeld at 3* metres5, founded on some of the lowest0lying lands in

*3#E between Temesvar and Be!kerek., was situated in the narrow

corridor between the Temes and Bega rivers and, &like all other

communities in the Banat, has had to struggle against natural

catastro.hes and e.idemics'. In *3A@, the Bega overflowed its banks and

inundated all the fields. *3E


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Bodrogul ou, was \completely cut off from the outside world\.

&stimates of the total cost of the inundations in GudeOul 'rad where

**,@A" hectares "3,"3E acres5 were flooded5 ran to


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%hree $carce Reso*rces in the Lo;er Banat 1 $tone, =ood and"resh =ater

>ne of the peculiarities of the lower Banat and Ba!ka 0 and here thedistinction between lower lying ground and the Banat highlands must be

emphasised 0 is a great scarcity of stone. %elebi states that all streets

and lanes in Turkish Temesvar were built from wood, as &in this !ertile 333

land there as not a stone to "e !ound, not even the si+e o! a "eanE L

>nly the old $unyadi citadel 0 the tortoiseLs KheadL 0 was built of stone.

The rest of the fortress and city, including the streets, were built entirely

of wood F&vliya, - e y h ] a t n k m e P


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around was &one thick .udding o! mud'and 7ohl regretted the complete

absence of any stones one could use instead. $e reproduces an

anonymous otherLs characterisation of roads in the Banat as &stri.s o!

"og enclosed "eteen to ditches'3 $e then noted, however, that &the

tough slime o! a Banat .lain soon dries, and then "ecomes hard as

stone''oh,


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installed in the *2th century, these had to be pulled by hand. They

remained the principal source of water until _tuica was linked to the

main water supply in *24# Banater Post, Ath>ctober *22E5. Nntil this

century, the bad water was a constant source of cholera epidemics were

a regular occurrence, often arising as a consequence of floods.

Gohannisfeld *,E@E inhabitants in *3A* Hand"uch der Wojodscha!t

Ser"ien und des #emeser Banats*[email protected], lying between the Temes and

Bega rivers downstream from Temesvar, suffered both inundation and

cholera in *3


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A !ost Insa*9rio*s Ci-ateThe combination of regular, devastating floods, the marshes and the

shortage of solid building materials locally to the consequent detriment

of the quality of housing5, with the poor quality of drinking0water,induced a poor general standard of health among the population, amply

reflected by the widely0quoted colonist saying &dem Crsten den #od,

dem Jeiten die Kot, dem (ritten das Brot'. 7ohl reported that he

stench o! the stagnating aters, com"ined ith the sultry, heavy air o! a

hot Banat summer F&!or eeks together there is sometimes a .er!ect

calm333') could "ecome over.oering,particularly in Temesvar. Curing

his visit to the city in about *3@#, &the inner !ortress o! the ton !elt like

a "aker's oven333 there as not a "reath o! air to "e had3 A! the tothousand soldiers o! the garrison, nine hundred ere in hos.ital in one

eek333'7ohl, "435.

In the wake of the disastrous Turkish war of *4rsova in the *3@#s. &Kohere had @ heard the su"ject o! health so

constantly discussed as at Arsova, and indeed throughout the Banat'3 By*3A


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The Banat and Ba!ka have remained difficult environments, however. '

series of villages the 4ran+is+eische Waldsiedlungen Mran9dorf,

Dolfsberg, Dolfswiese, Deidental, indenfeld, Bu9iasch5 founded in the

*3"#s in the -emenic =ountains of the -outhern Banat, where timber

and fresh water did not present problems were soon abandoned and,

when re0established, barely survived, because of harsh winters and an

exceedingly short growing season $ch-idt, *22*5. >ne of the villages

indenfeld5 presently has a population of one. =ontenegrin colonists to

the 1ugoslav Ba!ka after the end of the -econd Dorld Dar experienced

the harsher side of that region. 'mong all the post0war colonists, they

suffered the most heavily from contagious diseases, tuberculosis and

gastric ailments. This was brought on by a Msura"ondance dMeau etdMhumiditMcombined with Xchangements e


33/270

municipal.


34/270

Bega are extremely polluted when they reach the CTC canal, and are

again subjected to heavy pollution by the renjanin area. The Temes,

dammed at its source Trei 'pe5 suffers from pollution on a similar scale

to the Bega. Mrom being an anglerLs paradise, it degraded badly between

*23A and *22#, and this degradation has accelerated since then. The

latica 'ranca5, which follows an old course of the =aros, by which it is

still influenced via subterranean streams, has a low volume of water

passing along a very wide bed at a very gradual gradient. ' couple of

canals have been built linking it to the =aros, and pumping is necessary

when the Tisa is high. The BWr9ava is in many ways typical for a Banat

river. Its swift upper course, steep and narrow, and dammed at several

points. gives way to a slower alluvial breadth in the plain. The %erna inthe south0east5 has been dammed twice for hydroelectric power.

Canas

In the 1ugoslav Banat, the KCTC Dater =anagement %o.L is responsible

for the maintenance of the major canals. Their remit covers drainage,irrigation, dilution of polluted streams and the supply of water for

industry and settlements. In several places, ox0bow lakes left behind by

the meandering rivers have been retained for fishing and tourism. Their

principal concern is the CTC canal, but also the 7ikinda %anal, controlled

sections of the 1ugoslav Banat rivers and related canals, along with

pumping stations, locks and dams. But many communes also maintain

extensive networks of dykes and canals +landiJte looks after A#* km

and ovi Be!ej, @24.A km.

The brackish nature of the rivers of the plains, combined with their high

levels of pollution, causes water for irrigation and domestic use to be

drawn principally from the ground waters. In the 1ugoslav Banat, the

best quality water is to be found in the extensive artesian aquifer which

is to be found at depths of between A# and A## metres. The quality of


35/270

water is not uniform throughout, and often contains methane and free

hydrogen sulphide, which gives it Kan unpleasant smell and odourX. Dater

from greater depths is warmer and shows a higher degree of

mineralisation.

Nntil the *24#s, the majority of wells deeper than *## metres had

sufficient natural pressure to bring water to the surface unaided. There

has been widespread drilling of artesian wells due the fact that the water

can usually be used without purification, and the majority of settlements

in the 1ugoslav Banat have A 0 *# or more artesian wells for water supply

and irrigation. This level of exploitation has led to a negative waterbalance in the aquifer, and it is currently dropping at an average rate of


36/270

%he Nat*ra Bessings o5 the Banat

The Banat does, however, have some redeeming features, and these are

of such magnitude as to have encouraged large0scale state programmesof colonisation and a constant stream of fortune0hunters. The fertility of

the lower0lying land is such that two or even three harvests a year can

be made without recourse to fertiliser, and an occasional disaster due to

storm, flood, drought or frost can thus be more readily borne. The

production0level of Banat and Ba!ka wheat became gradually more

significant during the *2thcentury and was priced highly due to having

had a higher gluten content than that grown in (ermany. Its importance

was undermined by the opening of the %anadian and N- prairies,although a high yield meant that it still remained competitive. The

region also supported significant oats, mai9e and pork production in

addition to the traditionally important raising of horses and cattle.

Dhile the Ba!ka and the lower Banat suffered from an almost total lack

of mineral ores, the Banat mountains, in contrast, were a veritable

treasure0house. =ining had been done in these mountains since the

time of the )omans 0 perhaps the Cacians. Bavarian and -tyrian miners

were operating in the XBanater BerglandX of the $ungarian kingdom as

early as the *


37/270

abandonment of mining in the Banat, the discovery of massive hard0coal

deposits later in the century again boosted the regionXs importance. By

the nineteenth century, the 'ustro0$ungarian

Staatseisen"ahngesellscha!t-T&(5 had acquired from the crown virtual

monopoly in area of "A square miles, stretching from Bogschan BocFa5

in the north to eu0=oldova =oldova ou5 by the Canube. Dhile

(ermans were the chief beneficiaries of the $absburg policies, acquiring

along the way the richest lands and the greatest capital assets, the

Banat was not colonised by (ermans alone. Indeed, without the

contributions of -erbs and )omanians, among others, the (ermansL

remarkable feats of river control and economic organisation would

certainly have been far harder to achieve.

The overwhelming majority of the population was )omanian the capital

and profit however, were firmly in (erman hands. By the Mirst Dorld

Dar, the Banater Bergland had become the most significant heavy

industry 9one in south0east &urope, with important centres at )esica

)eFiOa5, >ravica >raviOa5, -teierdorf, and jmold8va =oldova ou5.

The most important mineral deposits locally were coal, iron, sulphur,copper, and lead, gold and silver. ' late *2thcentury -T&( document lists

"A other minerals that were extracted commercially Beschrei"ung der

Banater (omLne O).


38/270

-T&(


39/270

+opulation growth in the industrial towns was powerfully stimulated by

the discovery of new deposits, and by advances in technology which it

possible to extract known deposits profitably. >raviOa boomed early in

the eighteenth century but was soon overtaken by )eFiOa, and

subsequently by -teierdorf in the mountains, once a tortuous mountain

railway had been built there and it became possible to exploit and

transport its enormous hard coal deposits.

The settlement geography of the Banat is dominated by water, mainly

because there is too much of it. Nntil the mid eighteenth century, about

a third of the western Banat was permanently flooded, due to thecoincidence of very gentle gradients and the confluence of many of

&uropeLs major rivers within a few miles of the BanatLs borders.

-ettlement near the rivers has thus historically been extremely

ha9ardous. Temesvar, the capital of the Banat, grew up at a convenient

and well0protected river0crossing, but being surrounded by marshes and

suffering from a dearth of fresh water and solid building materials, was

home to a sickly population. These conditions were widespread

throughout the lower Banat and reached even into the mountains.

In sum, characteristics of the physical environment have historically

determined the location, si9e, and rate of growth of settlements in Ba!ka

and Banat. Cespite several large waves of colonists, with the exception

of the (erman0)omanian mining towns, few onetime villages have

consequently been able to develop into significant poles of attraction.

=ost of the *3th century foundations have remained essentially rural

farming communities. Mew have even expanded much beyond the

bounds established at the time of their foundation. The earlier stages of

the planned settlement of the western Banat and the lower Ba!ka

resulted in a patchwork environment, with a number of large villages

usually generously spaced, but sometimes abutting an older

settlement5, each locally significant but none so regionally. 's the Banat

and Ba!ka were predominantly agricultural regions, later colonists 0


40/270

needing ready access to their allotted land 0 were mainly funnelled

towards new foundations which tended to be much smaller, and

squee9ed into lesser0used corners. Cespite the region being a

destination for hundreds of thousands of colonists since the beginning of

the eighteenth century, the net natural increase of the population has

remained low.< 'fter an initial burst associated with the first couple of

generations of the $absburg colonists, equilibrium was soon reached, set

by the limitations of the physical environment in combination with the

si9e of the original land holdings and by personal economic expectations.

-urplus population from the more populous villages migrated to newer

foundations, to the towns or abroad, southern )ussian being a common

destination. Indeed, by the late nineteenth century, the generallyprosperous (erman rural population in many of the larger villages was

facing a long0term decline, due to shortage of land and the prevalence of

a Xone0child0systemX. Nntil the later *2thcentury, the development of an

urban way of life was limited to the few old towns that had survived into

the $absburg period, and to the industrial 9one in the mountains.

. #ransylvania and the Banat3ondon, *2"#.@#


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A!INI$%RA%I/E HI$%ORD

In an area of conflicting territorial claims, the definition of where any

territory actually begins or ends is itself often a matter of dispute. >ne

need mention only =acedonia, where the rivalries of (reek, -erb and

Bulgar have served to cancel each other out and propagate the growth,

within an indeterminate territory, of a native =acedonian identity which

is neither (reek, nor -erb, nor yet Bulgar, and certainly not Turkish. The

present inquiry looks at a territory at the other end of 1ugoslavia, and

includes its historical extensions into )omania and $ungary. Dhile thereis little evidence of a specifically KPojvodinanL identity, the area is

another classic frontier 9one, and has historically been subject to

repeated changes of frontier and population. &ach successive change of

rule has brought in its train disastrous results for one part or another of

the population. PWe !ind ourselves here in a classic territory !or don!all

and ne starts3 Gonstruction and destruction succeed each other as

naturally as the seasonsP.@ipich, *2A"5 The area under consideration,

a battlefield for $ungarians, >ttomans, $absburgs and -lavs for two anda half centuries has, since *2*2, been an apple of discord between

1ugoslavia, )omania, $ungary and (ermany.

The ebb and flow of various administrations over the territory has given

rise to a number of conflicting viewpoints among the main protagonists

on what constitutes the regional KcommunityL. These include the

concepts of K-outhern $istorical $ungaryL that of Budapest5, Pojvodina

that of Belgrade5, K&xtended TransylvaniaL shared by $ungarians and

)omanians5 and that of the Canube -wabians. There are, of course, not

simply four main schools of thought, with minor ones representing the

viewpoints of the less numerous national groups. There is rather a great

&-Ja, hier sind wir im lassischen !ande der "nterg#nge und neuen $nf#nge% $uf&au und 'erstrungwechseln in nat)rlicher *olge wie die Jahres+eiten%QTranslation by Bru'e (it'hell .

@*


42/270

range of writing from the balanced to the outrageous and differing in

ethnic viewpoint, period and enlightenment. -ome differences in opinion

arise naturally between the various language0groups due to imperfect

communication, and to their witnessing similar chains of events from

different perspectives.

's the present author has no family involvement with any of the regionXs

national groups, whatever biases may be detected in the following can

safely be said to have arisen during the process of research itself. These

will have been nourished in proportion with the balance of the sources he

has been able to consult and understand, which, limited by availabilityand language knowledge, are proportionately first in (erman, then

$ungarian, with some in &nglish or Mrench and a very few in )omanian.

anguage difficulties unfortunately prevent the author from commenting

on -erbo0%roat and )omanian literature, except such as has been

published in &nglish or other translation. $istorians are always products

of their cultural environment, and this is true also of the present author.

But he may be able to avoid some of the pitfalls into which the authors

of some of his sources have plunged 0 whether wilfully or innocently, orin the blind service of the state. Dhere embittered territorial disputes are

concerned, it seems that few historians have been really able to

overcome or completely ignore the inherited romanticised traditions of

historical myth, or the pressures of patriotism, and emotions of conquest

or defeat confound objectivity and detachment.

P-s a rule, the victor had conNuered the Banat "ut recently and sought

to justi!y, or at least disguise, this act o! !orce through historical P!actsP3

#he de!eated, in contrast, had not yet overcome the .ain, and sought to

justi!y or !urther their e!!orts to recover the lost territory "y a similar use

o! historical P!actsP3 #he truth is o!ten miday "eteen these P!actsP,

ignored, as "eing Pjust not askedP FRieser *22", @A5

Translation y Bruce Mitchell. Taken in conte!t" This #uotation refers to the $ungarian %Romanian disputes" ut can e just as easily applied to any other situation.@"


43/270

!edie+a H*ngary

In the mediaeval $ungarian kingdom, two regions covered the territory

understood today as the Banat. The K#emesvidkL or K#emesk+L was an

ill0defined territory bounded by the Temes, Bega, =aros, 7:r:s and lower

Tis9a rivers, and comprised the counties Toront6l, Temes, 7rass8 and

7eve. Np until *


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base of %harles )obert until he was able to impose his rule over the

rebellious nobility. 'fter %harles )obert transferred his entourage to

Pisegrad, Temesvar and southern $ungary remained heavily militarised.

(radually increasing Turkish pressure in the southern Balkans stimulated

a northward flow of the Balkan peoples, especially after the collapse of

-tefan CuJanXs -erbian 7ingdom in *


45/270

took Belgrade. By *A"E, the kingdom was in turmoil again. 7ing udwig II

was unable to assemble an army sufficient to meet the threat posed by

the ambitious -ultan, and both he and the majority of his army were

killed at the Battle of =oh6cs. The two southernmost counties of

$ungary, -9er;m and Palk8, with the fortresses of -lankamen,

+etrovaradin, Ilok, >sijek and Pukovar, were annexed to the >ttoman

&mpire. The $ungarian disaster at =oh6cs left two rival claimants to the

crown, 6polya on the one hand and Merdinand of $absburg, 'rchduke of

'ustria on the other. This left $ungary at the mercy of both $absburgs

and >ttomans and by *A@*, the country was effectively divided between

them, with Transylvania playing an uncomfortable balancing act off to

the side.

Ha9s9*rg Otto-an Ri+ary

Dithin the Turkish territory, %entral $ungary was transformed into a

+ashalik, under a Beglerbeg. Transylvania became a -andjak under a

nominally independent prince, while the Banat was translated into a-andjak of TimiFvar. The Ba!ka was transformed into a -andjak of

-eged. 'll retained some independence, and while considerable military

forces were retained in the Banat, recruited substantially among -erb

refugees, support for the -ultanXs planned *A@@0A expeditions was

limited to logistics Berindei, /einstein, "@0A5. In *A@20A*, efforts to

unite the former $ungarian territories under the $absburg crown

provoked >ttoman military action. In *AA", having been repulsed the

previous year, the Turks returned in larger numbers, *E#,### men and

*E# guns arriving before Temesv6r in Gune. The garrison, of ","*# men,

consisting mainly of $ungarians, with the rest made up of -paniards,

(ermans and Bohemians Preyer, @@5 held on for a month before finally

succumbing on "2th Guly. The fortresses of ippa, %san6d, -9ent0=ikl8s,

and %sakov6r subsequently fell swiftly into Turkish hands. It is claimed

that whatever sedentary $ungarian population still remained in the

Banat at this date had disappeared by the end of the *AA#s 'ocsis*232

@A


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"#5. 't some point before the end of the *Eth century, a ugoji0

%aransebeFi Banat, with own Ban, was detached from the -anQak of

TimiFvar and subordinated to the rulers of Transylvania, thus being

placed under indirect Turkish authorityPreyer, Attoman influence prevailed over most of $ungary and throughoutTransylvania, and would continue to do so to a diminishing degree until

*E22. $ungarians nevertheless persevered in their attempts to break

free from both them and the $absburgs. Mrom *A2@03, for example,

B6thory sigmond, +rince of Transylvania, pursued the struggle for

independence substantially in the Banat. $e incited the Ban of ugos to

invade the TimiFvar Banat in *A2@ and raise local Bulgars, -erbs and

Plachs against the Beglerbeg. %apturing Becskerek, he repelled four

attacks before being overwhelmed. The next year, sigmond himselfinvaded the Banat and captured Bogs6n and Persec, Macset, 'rad, ippa

and %san6d. In both *A2E and *A24, he unsuccessfully besieged

TimiFvar, on the second occasion being frustrated by floods. In the

following year, he held %san6d against a Turkish siege and won a

significant victory before ugos.

Though the Beglerbeg of TimiFvar was always a senior official, the

(overnor -tadholder5 seems to have been of a different mettle, and in

*E#@ and *E#4, two unpopular (overnors were driven out by the cityXs

exasperated population 8Preyer, AE5.either was reinstated by the +orte,

which raises interesting questions about the relationship between the

rulers and the ruled. ' new series of wars, between various leading

$ungarian nobles, raged fitfully in and around the Banat from *E#" to

*E#3.@E


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Though recurrent devastation of parts of the Banat and Ba!ka was

wrought by all of the various combatants 0 including $ungarians 0 the

Turks took good care at least of TimiFvar. The city was a crucial staging0post for Turkish campaigns against Pienna and Transylvania, and

profited from trade with the several >ttoman armies which passed

through. It was the TurksX most secure possession in $ungary and their

most pivotal, as illustrated by their saying Kthey who capture Buda

acquire a city, but they who capture TimiFvar win a country Rieser, p. @@,

quoting from T. Trpcea/ #imivar 2 :hid #uristic, BucureFti *24A5. It served as

jumping0off point for any campaign against the +artium or Transylvania,

and protected communications with Buda. The garrison consisted of *#0

*",### men, with "## cannon, and the fortifications were constantly

modernised. Information on the condition of TimiFvar in the later

decades of the >ttoman administration rests substantially on the report

of &vlija %elebi, who stayed in TimiFvar between *EE# and *EE@.

'ccording to his report, the Ktortoise in the swampL was built entirely of

wood, with whitewashed oaken walls fifty to sixty feet thick whose

maintenance was entrusted to seventy villages. The circuit of walls could

be walked in an hour, so the city itself cannot have been very large,

however #imioara ?DD, TimiFoara, *2E2. 's reported by )ieser, @2. 'lso

excerpt printed in "asse, HorstF $ch-idt, )ose5:-n (onau und #hei>

Banater Tese"uch3 andsmannschaft der Banater -chwaben5 *E5. %elebiXs

report is confirmed by a description by $. >ttendorf from *EE4 A(P( Petri,

*2EE. 's reported by Rieser, @25)ieser quotes, without offering a date, an

assertion in KTimiFoara 4##X, that in the fortified part of the city, *,"##

houses were located in four quarters, along with baths, cafes, schools,mosques, monasteries, and over @## shops. Dood0clad streets linked the

city to ten suburbs with a further *A## houses #imioara ?DD, quoted in

Rieser, A#5.The same source describes TimiFvar as a Kcorner of +aradiseL

Rieser A#5. ' late >ttoman text describes the +rovince of TimiFvar,

before the KPienna 1earL *E3


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and villages.4The $ayducks, who inhabited some of them, were famous

for the quality and si9e of the herds they would drive to western

markets. It may also be pertinent to point out that fiscal records relating

to fishing on the Canube only begin during the Turkish period, with the

revenue going directly to the -ultan or -anQak0Beg iro0e+i, )eFiOa,

*22A5.

The reign of eopold I *EA30*4#A5 of $absburg saw the tide turn

decisively against the >ttoman &mpire The first major defeat of Turkish

land forces was inflicted at -9entgottard in *EE@, and in *E3ttomansL grand effort against Pienna ended in catastrophe. The siege,led by the (rand Pi9ier 7ara =ustafa, brought about an otherwise

unlikely coalition of %hristian princes an international relief army led by

the +olish king Gan -obiewski descended on Pienna. -hortly before

joining battle at the 7ahlenberg, 'hmedpasha, Beglerbeg of TimiFvar,

made himself infamous and his -ultan hated by leading the merciless

slaughter of ld -erbiaL i.e. 7osovo5. with the

retreating $absburg armies. Traditionally, he was accompanied by


49/270

@#,### families, but some authorities cast doubt on this figure

8$ch-idt, )ose5 23 J2@-erbs were accepted within the expanded

bounds of the $absburg &mpire and granted extensive liberties in return

for forming the &mpireLs first line of defence against the >ttomans.

)enewed hostilities resulted in a $absburg victory at the Battle of

-lankamen *2.3.*E2*5, where the (rand Pi9ier was killed, and another

further south, at iJ. The first (erman colonists, artisans, were settled in

+eterwardein fortress by *E2@ Die Donauschwaben.335. *E24 saw a

temporary conquest of -arajevo and, after initial Turkish successes in the

Banat, their crushing defeat at enta on the Tis9a5 by +rince &ugne of

-avoy +rin9 &ugen5, despite the $absburg armies being hampered by

limited revolts and even defections of whole units to the Turks. The+eace of 7arlowit9 now -remski 7arlovci5 of "Eth Ganuary *E22

formalised a still unstable situation, wherein the $absburgs were

confirmed in possession of the Ba!ka and central $ungary, Transylvania

and -lavonia, along with the peripheral towns of the Banat Petersen et

a(, *2


50/270

nevertheless re0established, and the 'rchbishop of 7alocsa reinstalled as

>bergespann $un. Misp6n eqv. ord ieutenant55 Petersen et a(

nly a few descendants of the original

$ungarian landowners were able to realise their claims, and most of the

land was in consequence taken over by the state, and distributed as

estates to loyal servants. The Tis9a and Canube banks were allocated to

various -lav0dominated =ilitary Mrontier units, facing -lavonia, -rem

-yrmia, -9er;ms;g5 and the Banat. The interior towns of -ombor and

-ubotica were considered exclaves of the military frontier in the county

lands. The development of the two countiesL civil administration wasthus hampered by denial of appropriate civic centres, proximity to the

border and the defining voice of the military authorities. Murthermore,

they were also dominated by the Pienna Ho!kriegsratand the privileges

of the -erb militia. Minally, the absence of a $ungarian nobility with local

tradition weakened the possibilities for a fully developed civil

administration. -erb militia were also established along the line of the

=aros, the northern limit of the Banat, partly to frustrate $ungarian 0

Turkish co0operation against the $absburgs. ' powerful fortress was builtat 'rad and garrisoned by (ermans. &fforts to introduce a new

administration for the parts of the Banat still under $absburg control

after the +eace of 7arlowit9 *E225 were frustrated by the continuing

Turkish hold over TimiFvar. evertheless, %atholic Bulgars were settled

in Pinga during the reign of eopold I d. *4#A5, some -erbs from

+atriarch IpekLs following were settled temporarily in the south. There

was additionally some settlement from across the Tisa, and a small

number of ex0military (erman invalids were also settled in Pinga.

The formerly flourishing economy of TimiFvar and its dependent villages

-ee K(er Te von #emeschar') collapsed during this period, due to

the heavy demands of the Turkish military for supplies, the depredations

of the various armies and militias disputing possession of the land, and

the flight of population. The campaigns of *E34024 were foughtA#


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substantially over the possession of the Banat and, consequently, the

population of the province virtually disappeared. The $absburg armies

applied K-corched &arthL tactics, particularly around TimiFvar, which they

had isolated between -eptember *E33 and >ctober *E2#. >sman 'ga,

an >ttoman interpreter from TimiFvar captured in -ummer *E33,

described the environs of the city thus Kabout three hours short of

TimiFvar we camped in a forest, as most of the )aXy non0=uslim

population5 of the province of TimiFvar had even at this early date fled in

all directions, and their villages lay there abandoned. The whole area

was as though extinct and also most unsafeL (er :e!angene der

:iauren.,


52/270

The recurrent warfare led to a gradual concentration of the population in

a few, fair0si9ed settlements, while the smaller, more vulnerable,

outlying settlements were progressively abandoned. &xtensive territories

thus came to be extremely thinly inhabited, and acquired over time the

$ungarian epithet Kpus9taL desolation5. andowners apparently initially

retained both title to and occasional use of their vulnerable lands, and

exercised these from the relative safety of the towns. -urviving

settlements thus became associated with pus9tas. In *4"#, for example,

Baja included twelve pus9tas within its bounds, of which only four were

cultivated =a>: 5. The limits (er., :emarkungen5 of these pus9tas,

while originating in a lost past, being set during the mediaeval period by

royal gift and purchase retained an influence over the later colonisations.Curing the *3thcentury process of colonisation, (emarkungen were often

amalgamated, as new the villages were larger than their mediaeval

forebears, but served nevertheless as a guide. >nly in the -chwbische

$eide in the north0west Banat5, where much land became available only

after the *3th century drainage0schemes, does one find regularised

bounds see Billed, -6ndorh69a5.

The end of the 7urut9 rising brought the full incorporation of

Transylvania into $absburg $ungary *4*ttoman successes against )ussia *4**5 and Penice

*4*A5, the -ultan refused to acquiesce in a $absburg demand to restore

the status quo ante. The war that followed ended disastrously for the

Turks. In early 'ugust *4*E, &ugne won a great victory at +eterwardein

and marched straight for TimiFvar. The siege began in mid0'ugust. It was

defended by *3,### men, including A,### $ungarians under the

command of Imre Th:k:ly, onetime leader of the 7urut9 rebels and the

TurksX increasingly unfortunate candidate for the +rincipality of

Transylvania Rieser, A*5. Initially, Kwhen requested to surrender, the

+asha who was defending the place replied that he knew perfectly well

that he couldnXt win, but that he felt it his duty to contribute to theA"


53/270

)enown of +rince &ugne by making his victory more arduous and

gloriousL. !agris:


54/270

Temesvar in *4*E

A@


55/270

reduced to matchwood.Rieser, A*5. Mive days later, the Turks were

permitted to leave the city. The ew 1ear saw a further $absburg victory

at Belgrade. The +eace of +assarowit9 +oQarevac5 that followed on "*

Guly *4*4 confirmed earlier $absburg gains and additionally detached

the whole of the Banat from the >ttoman &mpire. Mive districts of

northern -erbia and ittle Dallachia >ltenia5, also came under the

$absburg &mpire.

Nnlike the Ba!ka, the new province was extremely rich in minerals and

its key strategic position across several passes made its immediate re0

attachment to the restive $ungarian territory undesirable. >n Banat im Eahre #%2C)7BriffautTheatre "e la guerre "ans le Bannat "e Temesvar, #%C)AA


56/270

districts which would remain largely intact for the duration of the

%ameral Banat. ' KBanater BergenrichtungskommissionL was also set up

to further the exploitation of the mineral0rich highlands and was, in its

turn, replaced in *4"< by the Banater >berbergamt, based in >rawit9.

>n the instructions of the Pienna $ofkammer, =ercy was to repopulate

and cultivate the new province and stimulate manufacturing and mining.

$e was chiefly responsible for the first of the Scha"en+Ugeimmigrant

waves of (erman5, and thus for the introduction of about *"0*A,###

colonists between *4"" and *4"E. =any (erman settlements were

founded in the south of Banat see below5, and substantial progress was

made towards the drainage of the Banat through the building of the

Bega K-hipping %analL between *4"3 and *4


57/270

had persuaded most to desert. ' Turkish army broke into the Banat from

the south0west the Kdisaster of >rsova and =ehadiaL5, but declined to

venture forth in strength much beyond 7ar6nsebes, despite a brief foray

along the Canube towards +ancsova. 's the (erman villages founded

thus far had been so located as to secure the principal lines of

communications, denuded of defence, these were ravaged by Turkish

and associated principally Plach5 forces. 'lmost the entire (erman

population fled from the south most who did not were killed or enslaved.

' mild outbreak of plague further terrified all sections of the population.

Dhen the war was brought to an end with the +eace of Belgrade *4


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'aroinische Ansied*ng

A3


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-ubsequent to the disastrous Turkish war and with the accession of

=aria Theresa *4@# 0 *43#5, the $absburg military frontier was

reorganised. The west and south of the Ba!ka, being covered by the

continued 'ustrian possession of -lavonia and -rem, remained under

$ungarian county administration. 't the Tisa0Canube confluence, a -erb0

dominated military district the K#schaikistendistriktL5 was allocated to

the Canube flotilla. The dissolution of the obsolete Tis9a0=aros military

frontier, rendered obsolete already by +assarowit9, was begun in *4@*.

This stimulated a major -erb migration, partly into expanded military

districts along the Banat Canube frontier, where a large number of -erb

villages were founded, and partly to )ussia. 'gents of the %9ars,

recruiting for the colonisation of Kew )ussiaL, were particularlysuccessful competitors for the footloose frontiersmen. The migration of

the -erbs meant that the lower Tisa valley had to be substantially

re0settled.

*4A* brought the establishment of civil administration in the K%ameralL

Banat excluding the military 9ones along the Canube5 and the raising of

-ombor and jvid;k ovi -ad5 in the Ba!ka to the status of )oyal Mree%ities. -9abadka -ubotica5 under the name =aria0Theresiopel, acquired

a similar privilege only in *442. The last vestiges of the =aros military

frontier were dissolved in *4A", but it was not until *4E@03 that a new

-erb military frontier was formalised along the Canube. The mining

estates were still administered separately within the districts, and their

inhabitants referred to as 5ontanisten in contradistinction to the

=ameralistenelsewhere these labels had no bearing on nationality or

language. ' new -dministrations.rLsident, the -panish0%roat Pillana0

+erlas, was appointed in *4A


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=aria Theresa reigned alone Goseph II was appointed co0regent in *4EA5,

the $ofburg was unable to exert much influence in the Banat.

>ne result of the -ilesian Dar of *4A3 had been the mortgaging of the

%ameral province to the Diener -tadtbanco and the bank resisted any

longer0term initiative that might imperil the provinceLs present revenues.

's a great part of those revenues derived from the -erbsL extensive

pastoral economy, upon which the food economy of the $absburg

&mpire was coming to depend, the bank opposed colonisation on the

almost uninhabited praedien similar to the pus9tas of the Ba!ka and

inner $ungary5 where most of the cattle0rearing was practised. +raedienwere mainly located in the waterlogged western part of the Banat, and

included completely abandoned and derelict settlements from the pre0

$absburg period, settlements devastated during the more recent

fighting, and partly inhabited villages, as well as dairies, waterlogged

meadows and marshes. The reasons for abandonment of a settlement

might be varied and included the direct impact of war/ epidemic/ tax

evasion, or desertion. The bankLs insistence that the extensive cattle

pastures remain untouched by colonisation underlined the urgency ofcanalisation and drainage of the BanatLs substantial marshes completed

*4E4025, which increased the amount of land actually available. The

(erman colonisation of the -econd K-chwaben9ugL *4E


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%heresianische Ansied*ng

E*


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administration was dissolved and replaced by a &Gommissio Regia

@ncor.oratia'. Its function was to oversee the transfer of the cameral

Banat, excluding the Banat military frontier districts set up between

*4E@ and *4E3, to $ungarian county administration, guide its political

and legal integration and manage the sale of the %ameral estates. The

counties of Temes, Toront6l, and 7rass8 were resurrected in *442. The

reign of Gosef II *43#0*42#5 was characteised by the so0called

KIose.hinismus', which coloured and sought to strengthen the hand of

central authority against that of provincial administrators. This included

Goseph first elevating Temesv6r to the status of )oyal Mree %ity *43*5,

and then abrogating the counties and unifying the Banat and Ba!ka in a

KTemeswarer 7reisL *43A5 so as to benefit the %ameral colonisationmechanism. Gosef II is reported to have made several incognito tours

through the Banat $ch-idt&(as Banat und die Banater Scha"en'in

"asse, $ch-idt:-n (onau und #hei> *4A5. The new administration was

very unpopular with the $ungarian nobility and repealed in *42#, the

previous KTheresianL system being reintroduced. GosephLs reign also

brought the third and final K-chwaben9ugL *43"0*4335. Dhile the first

K-chwaben9ugL stimulated mining and industry and the second

concentrated on increasing the physical population, the main objective ofthis colonisation was the improvement of agriculture by introducing

colonists from areas where the most modern methods prevailed.

GosephLs centralist innovations so irritated the $ungarian nobility that

almost all had to be reversed during his reign, and his successor,

eopold II *42#0*42"5 abandoned the policy altogether and declared

$ungary to be a Kfree and independent kingdom under its own lawsL

NIII ""5.

In *434, a new 'ustro0)ussian war with the >ttoman &mpire broke out

and a rising organised among the northern -erbs. ' $absburg army was,

however, defeated at -latina in the eastern Banat. Turkish forces

advanced to near Temesv6r and *@< settlements were ravaged,

including the most important mining centres. The Turkish booty included


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evacuated in time, so a repeat of *4ttoman &mpire was increasingly caught up in

the -erbian struggle for independence, and gradually lost its hold over

the Canube frontier. >nly the preoccupation of )ussia with the

apoleonic invasion of *3*" permitted the -ultan to suppress the

7araore rising of *3#@0*3*brenoviU

rising may be attributed in part to the final defeat of apoleon *3*A5

liberating the %9arLs hand in dealings with the >ttoman &mpire. Dith theretreat of the Turks, the military frontier became less of a necessity, but

the SanitLtskordon,which had supplemented it along its length from

*44#, remained in place

)osephinische Ansied*ng

E


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despite its restrictive effect on trade. ' glimpse of the SanitLtskordonin

action at >rsova, and the real fear of the plague on both sides of the

frontier, may be grasped from the detailed description in 7ohl. Cespite

its effect, however, imports to the $absburg &mpire from the Balkans

exceeded imports by a factor of five to one ampe,


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imperatives, had themselves issued invitations of varying generosity for

colonists. The embroidered versions of these invitations broadcast by the

7aisersL agents, coupled with misery at home and supposedly greater

opportunities for land, farming and trade, had persuaded would0be

colonists to leave home in their thousands. It is worth noting that the

greater part of the *3thcentury (erman emigration came not from the

smaller kingdoms and the petty principalities of the central (erman

space, but from the medium0si9ed territories of Baden, DRrttemberg and

the )hineland +alatinate, where life was continually threatened by the

encroaching Mrench 7ingdom. This was particularly true during the

predatory reign of ouis ?IP 0 and from Bavaria, which had been a major

victim of the Thirty 1earsX Dar. The impossible confusion of ThRringen,which might be expected to have produced

eopoldinsche'nsiedlung

EA


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great numbers of colonists due to the impotence of the numerous petty

princes, barely figures in the list of source territories for Banat colonists.

The colonisation of the Banat was however far from mono0ethnic in

nature although $ungarians were initially held at armXs length for

political and partly confessional reasons, )omanians and -erbs were

major beneficiaries of $absburg policy besides the (ermans and both

played central roles in the Banat economy. Bulgars, (ypsies and other

more minor groups were also welcomed. This does not mean that there

were not frictions between the various ethnic groups. In (erman

literature, one often comes across recriminations against the major

population0groups 0 principally the -erbs and )omanians 0 for a lack of

enthusiasm for the major construction and mining works. But the$absburg way of life was in conflict with their pastoral ways, so they

could not be realistically expected to contribute to their own demise.

Mriction between (erman and -erb would strongly influence the process

of colonisation throughout the *3thand *2thcenturies.

The patchwork quality of the $absburg lands was accentuated by the

nationalisms stimulated by the Mrench )evolution. 'ustriaLspreoccupation with the )evolutionary Dars and her numerous defeats at

the hands of apoleon, permitted her constituent nationalities more

freedom to observe their own particularities. The short0lived Illyrian

+rovinces *3#20*"5, for example, stirred previously dormant awareness

of a common -outh -lav heritage and proclaimed the possibility of a

common political future.

The $ungarians had also benefited from the humbling of Pienna, and

$ungarian anguage aw of *3"4 served notice that this was henceforth

to be the official language of +arliament. 'fter decades of pressure on

Pienna, the $ungarian language finally replaced atin as the official

medium of communication in *3@# for all offices of state. 1et the

=agyars resisted any other national groupLs political aspirations, even

those of the %roats, their longest0serving allies. It was made a crime toEE


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mention Illyria in public and, in *3@rsova to Zmoldova along the

7a9an stretch of the Canube valley Hro-adka @A, Ba*-ann @*5. '

(erman civil guard was raised in )esica after its occupation by the

$ungarian honv;ds and sought vainly to resist )omanian counter0

insurgents. The (ermans of the plain, and particularly of Temesvar,

however, remained loyal to the $absburg crown, and the city withstood aE4


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*##0day siege before being relieved. The $ungarian KinsurgentsLK final

defeat was at eu0Beschenowa, a few kilometres distant. >n *" th'ugust

*3@2, the $ungarian surrender was signed at Pil6gos $ellburg5, just

outside 'rad. 7ossuth began his exile from $ungary on *E th 'ugust,

crossing the Canube near >rsova after concealing the crown of -t.

-tephen in the riverbank.

%he =o0;odscha5t $er9iens *nd %e-eser Banat'fter the $ungarian defeat, the new emperor Mran9 Goseph II in

ovember *3@2 acknowledged the services of the -erbs and %roats by

uniting Banat and Ba!ka with part of -irmium in a Dojodscha!tSer"iens und #emeser Banatsee map5. The =ilitary Mrontier, and thus a

large proportion of the &mpireLs -erb population, was still excluded, and

(erman was made the official language of administration. The large

)omanian population of the eastern Banat further diluted the -erbsL

influence within the Dojwodschaft. 'n enumeration of the population

was made in *3A@. The published data reveals the total population by

settlement, but not the linguistic or national breakdown. The closest

language0data was from *3@#, which reported linguistic majorities

M;nyes5. The two datasets may be compared on the following map, but

a note of caution is necessary. The two datasets, firstly, are fourteen

years apart and, secondly, are either side of the *3@302 revolution, which

brought great destruction and disruption to the population. There are

bound to have been great differences in the populations on which the

two surveys reported.

E3


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*3@# *3A@

E2


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The autonomy of the Dojwodschaft was severely restricted by Pienna

and even members of the local (erman communities were kept away

from positions of responsibility. The -erbsL political ambitions were in no

way satisfied by this political fiction, which served only to make the rule

of Pienna more direct La-pe, @E5. 'n imperial diploma of >ctober *3E#

abolished the Dojwodschaft -erbiens und Temeser Banat, restoring the

$ungarian county administrations of Temes, Toront6l, and 7rass8 in

*3E*, although they retained a K(ermanL administration until the

'usgleich of *3E4. (y:9 *2@", A35 terms the lifetime of the

Dojwodschaft as a period of Kforeign occupationL.

Cue in part to increasing defections of :ren+er, or :ranicari

frontiersmen5 to -erbia, the military frontier was abolished in *34*, with

the exception of the K#schaikistendistrikt', which was retained until *34"0


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0 i.e. within Balkan -erbia 0 ged+a =agris, (anu"e, "235, while they

themselves were known in the south as.reani0 Kthose from across the

riverL ampe @35. evertheless, more united the Pojvodina and Balkan

-erbs than divided them and many.reanimoved south and engaged

themselves in the construction of -erbia. There was, therefore,

considerable dismay among the -erbs as a whole when 'lexander

7araoreviU *3@"0A25 was compelled by the fears of both 'ustria and

)ussia to adopt a policy of neutrality in the 'ustro0$ungarian conflict of

*3@302. (rowing distrust between the 'ustro0$ungarian &mpire and

-erbia stemmed in great part from the relationship between the

Pojvodina and the Balkan -erbs, the intellectuals of the former

encouraging the martial exploits of the latter. $absburg efforts to impose%atholicism or the Nniate creed during periods of occupation, and

rapacious economic exploitation when Pienna had the upper hand e.g.

the =aidanpek copper mining complex5 undermined any trust the -erbs

may have had for the $absburgs. Irritation over the long failure to

provide the promised Pojvoda and the contrived fiction of the Wojodina

Ser"iens und #emeser Banatwas compounded by $absburg economic

domination of -erbia. The occupation of Bosnia0$er9egovina after the

%ongress of Berlin *3435 and its outright annexation in *2#3, togetherwith 'ustrian occupation of the -anQak of ovi +a9ar until *2#2

intensified these feelings. $absburg and -erbian economic needs ran

across each other, -erbia seeking access to the 'driatic because of a

crippling dependence on the $absburg market for her products mainly

cattle and pigs5, 'ustria the route to the deep Balkans. The outstanding

-erbian and =ontenegrin successes in the Mirst and -econd Balkan Dars

*2*"0


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military age ampe, *#45. The initial success of the Brusilov offensive in

Gune *2*E had persuaded )omania, despite the defeat of -erbia, and the

danger of Bulgaria, to throw in her lot with the 'llies and on *4 th'ugust

*2*E signed a secret treaty with the &ntente powers. The catastrophe of

the -omme had just begun, and the British and Mrench were desperate to

secure some relief from the deadlock on the Destern Mront by any

available means. In recognition of )omaniaLs desertion of the Triple

'lliance and declaration of war against the %entral +owers, the &ntente,

come the peace negotiations, would support their allyLs claim to

)omanian0inhabited territories of the $absburg &mpire. This was held to

include the whole of the Banat. )omania was required not to sign any

separate peace with the %entral +owers. Maced with total defeat andoccupation of )omania, however, Brtianu +rime =inister of )omania5

did just that in =ay *2*3. Ceclaring renewed war on the %entral +owers

ovember 2th5 on the grounds of their violation of this Treaty of

Bucharest unfortunately acknowledged that this was a valid instrument

of international law Nichoson, *2


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ampe, *#30**#5. The creation of the 7ingdom of -erbs, %roats and

-lovenes was declared on @thCecember *2*3, but federalist hopes were

soon dashed in the face of -erb centralism encouraged in part by border

disputes with Italy. The disintegration of the $absburg &mpire left

$ungary particularly vulnerable to territorial claims, as about half of the

population of Khistorical $ungaryL was non0=agyar. 's the first $ungarian

government was supplanted by a revolutionary %ommunist cabinet

under B;la 7un, at a time when the entente powers were involved in

intervention against Bolshevik )ussia, the chances of a fair hearing for

the $ungarians were diminished. 's it was, $ungary lost approximately

half its population and two0thirds of its territory to the Ksuccessor0statesL

0 %9echoslovakia, the 7ingdom of -erbs, %roats and -lovenes, and)omania. &ven 'ustria was rewarded with $ungarian territory. These

losses were to create of $ungary a nation0state, but considerable

$ungarian minorities would be left within her new neighbours.

-erbian forces reached Temesv6r on *2thovember *2*3, and had soon

occupied the entire Banat and begun to install a -erbian administration.

Mrench protests resulted in a -erbian withdrawal from the eastern Banat,which was then occupied Ganuary *2*25 by Mrench troops pending the

decision of the peace conference. 'lthough the )omanian case in +aris

was done no favours by the abrasive Brtianu, Tak; Inoescu leader of

the )omanian %onservative Cemocrats5 had met with +asiU, the 1ugoslav

+rime =inister, and negotiated a division of the Banat between the two

countries. BrtianuLs antipathy towards Inoescu, however he was not

included in the +aris delegation5, ensured that )omanian01ugoslav rivalry

over the Banat would continue, and even led to threats of renewed

hostilities. The Banat border with )omania was nevertheless one of

1ugoslaviaLs least problematic. -ubsequent condemnation of the +aris

+eace Treaties stemmed in part from dissatisfaction among the victors

about the new borders and how these were arrived at. Dhile the

defeated nations had no reason at all to cheer their new territorial

bounds, disputes between the victors 0 Italy and 1ugoslavia for example 0

showed up the pressures under which the Persailles diplomats were4


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working. icholson, a young diplomat at +aris, decries the conferencesL

&a..alling dis.ersal o! energy' Nichoson, A5, its &ama+ing

inconseNuence Fand) com.lete a"sence o! any consecutive method o!

negotiation or even im.osition'. In a letter to his father "A th Mebruary

*2*25, he also speaks of &the im.ossi"ility o! e9o9 'a. ,)4@


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Nltimately, the four counties, except for small remnants of B6cs0Bodrog

and Toront6l, were detached from $ungary. >f B6cs0Bodrog, twelve

settlements from Bajai j6r6s and ten from B6csalm6si j6r6s remained

with $ungary. %hief among these was the town of Baja Mrankenstadt5,

%s6talja and G6noshalma. The rest of the Ba!ka, including jvid;k ovi

-ad5, -9abadka -ubotica5 and ombor -ombor5, was transferred to the

7ingdom of -erbs, %roats and -lovenes 1ugoslavia5. ' small slice of the

Banat *Y5, comprising a compressed hinterland to the city of -9eged

Ces9k, 7Rbekh69a, Tis9as9iget, js9entiv6n, et al.5, was allowed to

$ungary. =ost of this territory was divided between )omania and the

7ingdom of -erbs, %roats and -lovenes *#,A## km ", rsova >rFova5, and the Banat uplands in

their entirety with the vital mining areas of )esica )eFiOa5 and >ravica

>raviOa5. )omania also acquired the whole of Transylvania and the

K+artiumL 'rad, Bihar and -9il6gy counties5 from $ungary. In total,

)omania acquired *#


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and, together with the settlements of 'rad v6rmegye, is excluded from

consideration in the present work. The satellite town of jarad 'radul

ou5, on the other hand, had developed more recently on the southern

bank, and formed the centre for an KjaradijrsL district5 within Temes

v6rmegye. In *2"A, this became $lasa district5 'radul0ou in GudeOul

'rad, with the addition of several settlements from the adjacent former

$ungarian lippai j6r6s, and was thus administratively detached from the

)omanian Banat. Mor the purposes this study, the border of the Banat

shall, however, continue to be viewed as the line of the =aros and, for

the period *2"A 0 *22", so far as possible, data for the settlements of

GudeOul 'rad south of the =aros shall be included and, of those in GudeOul

'rad, for these alone.

Dithin the 7ingdom of -erbs, %roats and -lovenes, the Banat, Ba!ka and

KBaranja TriangleL were informally considered as one unit the KBBBL5.

Though suggested by common political traditions, the poor

communications between the Baranya Triangle and the Ba!ka hindered

an integration of the territories. The wildly meandering and practically

uncontrolled Canube was unbridged and without even a ferry along thisstretch. (ermans from the port of 'patin fleeing the Ba!ka in *2@@ had

to pass northward and cross at Baja Mrankenstadt5, nearly @# km inside

Trianon $ungary.

't the time of the 1ugoslav census of *2"*, the 1ugoslav Banat was

divided into eleven sre+ovi districts5, plus the )oyal Mree Towns of

+an!evo and PrJac. The Ba!ka meanwhile fell into twelve districts and

three )oyal Mree Towns ovi -ad, -ombor and -ubotica5. ' decree of "E

'pril *2"" effective from *2"@5 divided the 1ugoslav Banat between

Belgrade oblast district5 and +adunavlje oblast 0 south of the Canube

and based on -mederevo. Petersen et aascribes this p. "3*5 simply

to a desire to place the (erman population of the 1ugoslav Banat within

an >rthodox -erb majority. The 1ugoslav Ba!ka was united with the

Baranja Triangle to form ovi -ad >blast. 'dministrative reforms4E


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accompanying the introduction of the )oyal Cictatorship in *2"2

established grand regions based on the major rivers of the 7ingdom in

place of the earlier KnationalL divisions i.e. -erbia, %roatia etc.5. This

arrangement was intended to

consolidated thesis.doc

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