Banat Geography Hungarian Banat Romanian Banat Serbian Banat

The term Banat means generally a frontier province governed by a ban. There were several banats in Hungary, which disappeared during the Turkish wars, as the banat of Dalmatia, of SlavoniaSlavonia is a region in eastern Croatia. It is a fertile agricultural and forested lowland bounded, in part, by the Drava river in the north and the Sava river in the south. Wheat and corn are the major crops, and the leading industry is food processing., of Bosnia and of CroatiaThe Republic of Croatia is a country in Europe bordering the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb. In recent history, it was a republic of Yugoslavia. History Main article: History of Croatia The Croats are a largely Slavic. But when the word is used without any other qualification, it indicates the Timişoara banat, which strangely acquired this title after the peace of Passarowitz ( 1718Events May 15 James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun. July 21 Treaty of Passarowitz signed November 22 Off the coast of Virginia, English pirate Edward Teach (best known as " Blackbeard") is killed in battle when a British bo), though it was never governed by a ban.

1 Geography

1.1 Hungarian Banat

1.2 Romanian Banat

Map of Romania with Romanian Banat highlighted It is mountainous in the south and southeast, while in the north, west and south-west it is flat and in some places marshy. The climate, except in the marshy parts, is generally healthy. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, flax, hemp and tobacco are grown in large quantities, and the products of the vineyards are of a good quality. Game is plentiful and the rivers swarm with fish. The mineral wealth is great, including copper, tin, lead, zinc, iron and especially coal. Amongst its numerous mineral springs, the most important are those of Mehadia, with sulphurous waters, which were already known in the Roman period as the Termae Herculis ( Baile Herculane). (Note that a region of Romania that is called Banat includes some areas that are mountainous and are not parts of Banat as a whole nor of the Pannonian plain.)

1.3 Serbian Banat

The Serbian Banat was part of the old Torontál comitatus of the Kingdom of Hungary (with its center in Zrenjanin).

In Serbia, banat is mostly plain. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, hemp and sunflower are grown, and mineral wealth consists of oil and natural gas. A known tourist destination in Banat is Deliblatska Pescara .

The districts of Serbia in Banat are:

2 History

The Banat was inhabited since ancient times by Dacians, it was conquered by Romans in 106. Emperor Aurelian retracted the Empire's border to south of the Danube, leaving behind the local romanized population. It became part of the Kingdom of Hungary in the 11th century, and was divided into the counties Torontál, Temes, Krassó and Szörény .

It was conquered by the Turks in 1552, and became a Turkish sanjak (province). In the 17th century, parts of the Banat were captured by Austria. In 1716, Prince Eugene of Savoy liberated the last occupied parts from the Ottomans. It received the title of Banat after the peace of Passarowitz ( 1718), and remained under a military administration until 1751, when Maria Theresa introduced a civil administration. The southern part of the Banat remained part of the Military Frontier ( Banat Krajina) until it was abolished in 1871.

During the Turkish occupation the district was nearly depopulated, and allowed to lie almost desolate in marsh and heath and forest. Count Claudius Mercy (1666-1734), who was appointed governor of Temesvár in 1720, took numerous measures for the regeneration of the Banat. The marshes hear the Danube and Theiss were cleared, roads and canals were built at great expense of labour, German artisans and other settlers were attracted to colonize the district, and agriculture and trade encouraged. Maria Theresa also took a great interest in the Banat, colonized the land belonging to the crown with German peasants, founded many villages, encouraged the exploitation of the mineral wealth of the country, and generally developed the measures introduced by Mercy.

In 1779 the Banat was again incorporated into Hungary, and the three counties Torontál, Temes and Krassó were recreated. After the revolution of 1848- 1849, the Banat was separated from Hungary and made into a part of distinctive Austrian crown land known as the Vojvodina of Serbia and Tamiš Banat (German Woiwodschaft Serbien und Tamisch Banat), but in 1860 it was again incorporated with Hungary. After 1871, the former Military Frontier was reincorporated into the Banat. Krassó and Szörény were united into Krassó-Szörény in 1881.

In 1918 (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon 1920), most of the Banat became part of Romania ( Krassó-Szörény completely, 2/3 of Temes, a small part of Torontál). The southwestern part (most of Torontál, 1/3 of Temes) became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia). A small area near Szeged remained in Hungary. The territory of Banat is presently in the Romanian counties Timis, Arad and Caras-Severin, the Serbian autonomous province Vojvodina and the Hungarian county Csongrád.

Romanian historical regions:

Dobrogea : Cadrilater

Moldavia : Bessarabia | Bugeac | Bukovina

Transylvania : Banat | Crisana | Maramures

Wallachia : Muntenia | Oltenia

Romanian historical regions

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