Banat of Temeswar

Banat of Temeswar Temeswarer Banat Banatus Temesiensis Banatul Timişoarei Tamiški Banat Temesi Bánság
province of the Habsburg Monarchy
1718–1778
Capital	Temeswar (Timișoara)
History
• Established	1718
• Disestablished	1778
Preceded by Succeeded by Temeşvar Eyalet Military Frontier Kingdom of Hungary (1538–1867) Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar
Today part of	Romania Serbia Hungary

Banat of Temeswar, province of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1718-1739

Banat of Temeswar, province of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1739-1751

Banat of Temeswar in 1751–1778

The Banat of Temeswar (German: Temeswarer Banat, Romanian: Banatul Timișoarei, Serbian: Tamiški Banat or Тамишки Банат, Hungarian: Temesi Bánság, Template:Lang-la) was a Habsburg province that existed between 1718 and 1778. It was located in the present day region of Banat, which was named after this province. The province was abolished in 1778 and incorporated into the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary.

History

For the entire history of Banat region, please see that article.

Before the Habsburg province was established, several other entities had existed in the Banat region, including: the Voivodeship of Glad (9th century), the Voivodeship of Ahtum (11th century), the Banate of Severin frontier province of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary (from 1233 to the 16th century), the Ottoman province named Eyalet of Temeşvar (1552–1716), and the Banate of Lugos and Karansebes province within the Principality of Transylvania (16th–17th century), which was under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire as a whole.

Although after the Austro-Ottoman war (1683–1697) and before the treaty of Karlowitz (1699) most parts of Banat were temporarily controlled by the forces of Prince Eugene of Savoy; in consequence of the treaty, the Ottoman sovereignty was recognized over the region with the fort of Temeşvar. However, as a result of the Spanish Succession War and the Rákóczi's War for Independence, the Habsburgs were inclined to direct their attention elsewhere within their country, and there was no attempt on their part to gain any territories from the Ottomans until 1710.

In the Austro-Turkish War of 1716-18, Prince Eugene of Savoy conquered the Banat region from the Ottoman Empire, which was recognized by the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718). The Habsburg Monarchy then established a new military administrative region there under the name of Banat of Temeswar. The capital of the province became Temeswar. The province remained under military administration until 1751 when civil administration was introduced in northern parts of the region by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.

From 1718 to 1739, Banat of Temeswar included not only the Banat region, but also parts of present-day eastern Serbia along the southern bank of the Danube river. Following the Treaty of Belgrade (1739), areas along the southern bank of Danube returned under Ottoman control. In 1751, the southern parts of Banat were excluded from the province and the Banatian Military Frontier was established in that area.

The Banat of Temeswar was abolished in 1778, and in 1779, it was incorporated into the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary, while its former territory was divided into three counties: Torontál, Temes and Krassó-Szörény. The southern part of the Banat region, which was part of the Banat of Temeswar until 1751, remained part of the Military Frontier (Banat Krajina) until 1873.

Population

The province was bound to repopulate after the Habsburg conquest because it had a low population density on the grounds that the territory sustained a lot of adversity from the previous wars. The population density was among the lowest in Europe; some researchers suggest that it was around 1 person / square kilometres. According to the first census conducted by the Habsburg military authorities, the population of Banat numbered about 20,000 inhabitants, mostly Serbs. The former Muslim population of Banat had left the area immediately before and during the Habsburg conquest.

The low population density resulted in the territory being repopulated by German families coming from Austrian and southern German lands, Romanians coming from Wallachia and Transylvania, and by Serb refugees coming from the Ottoman Empire, while some Serbs arrived in the area from other parts of the Habsburg Monarchy. Colonization of various ethnic groups in the area lasted until the early 19th century. The government organized regimental districts which mostly had Serb population with special privileges in exchange for defending the borders. Until 1740s, Hungarians were not allowed to settle in the area because the Habsburgs regarded them as "politically unreliable". According to authors Károly Kocsis and Eszter Kocsisné Hodosi, the Hungarians were almost totally absent from Banat in this time. Same authors are using expression "the return of Hungarians" to describe the arrival of Hungarian settlers, presumably referring to the Medieval period when Hungarians lived in the area, although there is no evidence that 18th century Hungarian settlers were descendants of Hungarians who lived in Banat in the Middle Ages.

According to data from 1774, the population of the Banat of Temeswar was composed of:

• Romanians = 220,000
• Serbs and Greeks = 100,000
• Germans = 53,000
• Hungarians and Bulgarians = 2,400
• Jews = 340

The first official census took part during the rule of Joseph II, from the late 18th century. This shows Romanian majority in the east, Serbian in the west, and numerous German population in the whole area.

Governors of the Banat of Temeswar

• Claudius Mercy
• Franz Leopold Engelshofen

See also

• Banat
• Banat Krajina
• Ottoman Province of Temeşvar

References

• The Times History of Europe, Times Books, 2002.
• Denis Šehić – Demir Šehić, Istorijski atlas Sveta, Beograd, 2007.
• Milan Tutorov, Banatska rapsodija – istorika Zrenjanina i Banata, Novi Sad, 2001.
• Peter Rokai – Zoltan Đere – Tibor Pal – Aleksandar Kasaš, Istorija Mađara, Beograd, 2002.
• Dušan J. Popović, Srbi u Vojvodini, vol. 2, Novi Sad, 1990.
• J. H. Šviker, Politička istorija Srba u Ugarskoj, Novi Sad – Beograd, 1998.
• Miodrag Milin, Vekovima zajedno (Iz istorije srpsko-rumunskih odnosa), Temišvar, 1995.
• Dimitrije Boarov, Politička istorija Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 2001.

External links

• Map @zum.de/whkmla
• Map @conflicts.rem33.com
• The Banat, 1718–1778 @ zum.de/whkmla
• Some basic info on Banat @genealogy.ro