A country of central Europe. The area was successively under Roman, Hunnish, Gothic, and Slavic rule before being conquered by Magyars in the late ninth century. Saint Stephen converted them to Christianity and subsequently established the first Hungarian state c. 997. Ruled by the Ottoman Turks after 1526, it later passed to Hapsburg control, under which it became part of Austria-Hungary in 1867. In 1918 it achieved independence again. A Communist regime was established in 1949 and was replaced in 1989 by a democratic republic. Budapest is the capital and the largest city. Population: 9,960,000.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
