Across eighteenth-century Europe, political power resided overwhelmingly with absolute monarchs, with notable exceptions including the much-studied British Parliament as well as the frequently overlooked Hungarian Diet, which placed serious constraints on royal power and broadened opportunities for political participation. Estates and Constitution provides a rich account of Hungarian politics during this period, restoring the Diet to its rightful place as one of the era’s major innovations in government. István M. Szijártó traces the religious, economic, and partisan forces that shaped the Diet, putting its historical significance in international perspective.

Originally published in 1910, this book presents a detailed history of Hungary during the eighteenth century. Emphasis is placed on an exploration of the 'economic, intellectual and moral qualities' of the country, rather than the struggle between various political factions. Areas covered include the economy, social system, nationality, the church, royal power and the governance of the state. Detailed notes are incorporated throughout and an introductory essay on the early development of Hungary is also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Hungarian history.

The stormy and often war-torn history of Hungary has been the background for a flourishing industry of gold and silversmith's work. Unfortunately, Hungarian silver is little known outside Hungary, but the outstanding collection of pieces acquired in the West over the last three decades by Nicolas Salgo and spanning more than four centuries of the goldsmith's craft provides a highly representative survey of the remarkable work of the Hungarian craftsmen. More than one hundred and twenty works have been brought together and illustrated in this book; maker's marks are identified whenever possible and reproduced alongside the pieces on which they appear. Provenance and literature are also provided. An outline history of Hungary, followed by a brief survey of the goldsmith's craft and of the guild system, set the pieces in their historical context, while notes on the goldsmiths represented in the collection and an appendix of makers' and town marks complete this invaluable book.

The Hungarian defeat to the Ottoman army at the pivotal Battle of Mohács in 1526 led to the division of the Kingdom of Hungary into three parts, altering both the shape and the ethnic composition of Central Europe for centuries to come. Hungary thus became a battleground between the Ottoman and Habsburg empires. In this sweeping historical survey, Géza Pálffy takes readers through a crucial period of upheaval and revolution in Hungary, which had been the site of a flowering of economic, cultural, and intellectual progress—but battles with the Ottomans lead to over a century of war and devastation. Pálffy explores Hungary's role as both a borderland and a theater of war through the turn of the 18th century. In this way, Hungary became a crucially important field on which key debates over religion, government, law, and monarchy played out. Reflecting 25 years of archival research and presented here in English for the first time, Hungary between Two Empires 1526–1711 offers a fresh and thorough exploration of this key moment in Hungarian history and, in turn, the creation of a modern Europe.

Despite its relatively small size, Hungary has shown remarkable resilience in its long and difficult history, resisting hostile neighbors and the pressures of two massive neighboring empires. Subjected to invasion, occupation, and frequent historical tragedy, the country has nevertheless survived and even flourished, becoming a stable, sovereign democratic republic with a seat in the European Union. Drawing on his experiences as ambassador to Hungary during the declining years of János Kádár's communist regime, Bryan Cartledge recreates a rich portrait of the country's political, economic, and cultural development. Spanning eleven hundred years, his account begins with the arrival of the Magyars in the ninth century and concludes with the acceptance of Hungary into NATO and the EU. Cartledge recounts Hungary's medieval greatness and its defeats at the hands of the Mongols, Turks, and Nazis. He revisits the nation's unsuccessful struggle for independence and the massive deprivations it suffered after the First World War. He also investigates Hungary's disastrous alliance with the Nazis, motivated by a hope for political redress. Cartledge provides startling insight into the experience of Soviet-imposed communism, which culminated in the brutally suppressed revolution of 1956. Exploiting his intimate knowledge of Hungary and its rich archival sources, he explains how a country can lose almost every war it has engaged in and still forge ahead stronger than before.

Eva H. Balazs, one of the foremost living authorities on eighteenth century Central Europe, examines a crucial period in the co-existence of the Austrian hereditary provinces and Hungary. In a Europe torn by wars and revolutions, in the last third of the eighteenth century, political, economic and personal factors interwined to determine the fortunes of the Austrian rulers and the subjects of the Hungarian crown who collaborated with them in a subordinated status. Rejecting commonplaces of the centre-periphery approach, the author argues that the Habsburg monarchy was a 'centre' whose reforms in this period inspired all subsequent movements for reform in Eastern and Central Europe. Professor Balazs's skill in combining great wealth of archival material -- not only from Austria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, but (unprecedented in this field) also from France, gives the reader a near-contemporary proximity to the figures and developments discussed.

This unique, comparative description of the Hungarian, Habsburg, and Ottoman military frontiers in the fifteenth-seventeenth centuries provides fascinating reading to those interested in military history. It concentrates on the administration, finance, manpower problems, and aspects of the military revolution in the marches.