Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós
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The Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós ( hu, Nagyszentmiklósi kincs; german: Schatz von Nagyszentmiklós; ro, Tezaurul de la Sânnicolau Mare) is an important hoard of 23
early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
gold vessels, in total weighing 9.945 kg (about 22 lbs), found in 1799 near Nagyszentmiklós,
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
(german: Groß-Sankt-Niklaus, today
Sânnicolau Mare Sânnicolau Mare (; hu, Nagyszentmiklós; german: Großsanktnikolaus; sr, Велики Семиклуш, Veliki Semikluš; Banat Bulgarian: ''Smikluš'') is a town in Timiș County, Romania, and the westernmost of the country. Located in the Ba ...
,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
), meaning "Great St Nicholas". After the excavation, the treasure was transferred to
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, the dynastic capital of the Habsburg Monarchy. Ever since, it has been in the possession of the Kunsthistorisches Museum there, where it is on permanent display. A wide range of views continue to be held as to the dating and the origins of the styles of the pieces, and the context in which they were made, which may well vary between the pieces. Unusually, the inscriptions on some pieces have increased the complexity of the arguments rather than reduced them. In 2008 Romanian officials asked the Austrian government for the treasure's
repatriation Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
. In the 19th century the treasure was widely regarded in
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
as originating with precursors of the
Hungarian people Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...
, and played a notable part as an icon of
Hungarian nationalism Hungarian nationalism developed in the late 18th century and early 19th century along the classic lines of scholarly interest leading to political nationalism and mass participation. In the 1790s, Hungarian nobles pushed for the adoption of Hungar ...
. In particular the gold cup with a bull's head facing back over the bowl was known as the "Cup of Attila" - Attila the Hun having died in 453. The treasure, consisting of 23 gold vessels and variously dated from the 6th to the 10th century, was found on 3 July 1799 by Neru Vuin, a Serbian peasant farmer, in the vicinity of Nagyszentmiklós (Sânnicolau Mare). The figure of the "victorious Prince" dragging a prisoner along by his hair (see figure on the right) and the mythological scene at the back of the golden jar, as well as the design of other ornamental objects, show close affinities with finds at
Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар, lit. "New Bazaar"; ) is a city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2011 census, the urban area has 66,527 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 100,410 inhabit ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
and at
Sarkel Sarkel (or Šarkel, literally ''white house'' in the Khazar language was a large limestone-and-brick fortress in the present-day Rostov Oblast of Russia, on the left bank of the lower Don River. It was built by the Khazars with Byzantine ass ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. Stylistically,
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
n, Persian-Sassanid and
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
influences are predominant.


Inscriptions

On one of the vessels in the hoard there is an inscription written in the
Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as w ...
which reads: :ΒΟΥΗΛΑ.ΖΟΑΠΑΝ.ΤΕΣΗ.ΔΥΓΕΤΟΙΓΗ.ΒΟΥΤΑΟΥΛ.ΖΩΑΠΑΝ.ΤΑΓΡΟΓΗ.ΗΤΖΙΓΗ.ΤΑΙΣΗ ::(Transliteration: ''bouēla zoapan tesē dygetoigē boutaoul zōapan tagrogē ētzigē taisē'') Today almost all scholars share the view that the text is written in a Turkic language, but it has not been deciphered and the exact classification of the language has been a subject of debate. It has been often compared with the Turkic
Bulgar language Bulgar (also known as Bulghar, Bolgar, or Bolghar) is an extinct Oghur Turkic language spoken by the Bulgars. The name is derived from the Bulgars, a tribal association that established the Bulgar state known as Old Great Bulgaria in the mid- ...
of the First Bulgarian Empire, attested on several 8th-9th century inscriptions written in Greek letters. More recently
Eugene Helimski Eugene Arnoľdovič Helimski (sometimes also spelled Eugene Khelimski, Russian: Евге́ний Арно́льдович Хели́мский; 15 March 1950 in Odessa, USSR – 25 December 2007 in Hamburg, Germany) was a Soviet and Russian l ...
argued the language is close to Proto-Tungusic, but this proposal was rejected by
Marcel Erdal Marcel Erdal (born July 8, 1945) is a linguist and Turkologist, professor and head of the Turcology department at the Goethe University in Frankfurt. He graduated from Robert College (Istanbul) in 1963. Publications * ''The Turkic Nagy-Szent-Mi ...
as far-fetched. There is another inscription in the
Greek language Greek ( el, label= Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy ( Calabria and Salento), southe ...
. Also, there are several other very short inscriptions in a runiform script which are also likely to be in a Turkic language, but these are very brief and also have not been deciphered.


Cultural context

The cultural milieu or milieux in which the objects in the treasure were created, assembled and deposited remains controversial, with the debate often influenced by nationalistic concerns.


Avar

Scholars have connected the treasure with the Avar Khaganate. The newest research shows it is closely related to the Avar culture.


Byzantin

According to a Greek text of a vessel, the treasure may have a
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
origin. In a study of a Romanian scientist, the text of a vessel has to be read as ΔEA ΔIAYΔATOC ANAΠΛYΣON APEITONOMAYLON. Meaning: "With water clean it he discin the neighboring acredstream". Also, he wrote the treasure belonged to Ahtum, a voivode of Banat.


Magyar or Bulgar

As noted above, close affinities have been recognized between the Nagyszentmiklós material and that found at Novi Pazar and in Khazaria. Archaeologists in both
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
and
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
consider these affinities to support theories of ancient migration between regions. Both were allied with Khazars for a period. The treasure gives some idea of the art of the First Bulgarian Empire, Hungarian and
Khazar The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
states. According to Professor Nykola Mavrodinov (based on
Vilhelm Thomsen Vilhelm Ludwig Peter Thomsen (25 January 1842 – 12 May 1927) was a Danish linguist and Turkologist. He successfully deciphered the Orkhon inscriptions which were discovered during the expedition of Nikolai Yadrintsev in 1889. Early life and ...
), the script on vessel number 21 is in
Bulgar Bulgar may refer to: *Bulgars, extinct people of Central Asia *Bulgar language, the extinct language of the Bulgars * Oghur languages Bulgar may also refer to: *Bolghar, the capital city of Volga Bulgaria *Bulgur, a wheat product * Bulgar, an Ash ...
, written in
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
letters, surrounding a cross, and reads, "Boyla Zoapan made this vessel. Butaul Zoapan intended it for drinking."


Khazar

One school of Hungarian archaeologists maintains that the tenth century gold- and
silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary grea ...
s working in
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
were
Khazar The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
. When the Magyars migrated to Pannonia in 896, some Khazar tribes, known as the Khavars, came with them to their new homes. The Khavars were skilled gold and silversmiths.


Persian

Khazar art is believed to be modelled on Persian-Sassanide art patterns. The
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
archaeologist O. H. Bader emphasized the role of the Khazars in the spread of Persian-style silverware towards the north. Some of these works may have been re-exported by the Khazars, as middlemen; others were imitations made in Khazar workshops, ruins of which have been found near the ancient Khazar fortress of Sarkel. The
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
archaeologist T. J. Arne mentions ornamental plates, clasps and buckles of Sassanide and Byzantine inspiration, manufactured in
Khazaria The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
or territories under their influence, being found as far afield as Sweden. Thus, the Khazars, Magyars and Bulgars could have been intermediaries in spreading Persian-Sassanide art in Eastern Europe.Bálint Cs. (2004): ''A nagyszentmiklósi kincs''. (Treasure of Nagyszentmiklos). Varia Archaeologica Hungarica c. series, XVIa, Budapest


See also

*
Scythian art Scythian art is the art associated with Scythian cultures, primarily decorative objects, such as jewellery, produced by the nomadic tribes of the area known as Scythia, which encompassed Central Asia, parts of Eastern Europe east of the Vistula Ri ...
* The Avar Treasure * Pereshchepina Treasure * Preslav Treasure *
Rhyton A rhyton (plural rhytons or, following the Greek plural, rhyta) is a roughly conical container from which fluids were intended to be drunk or to be poured in some ceremony such as libation, or merely at table. A rhyton is typically formed in t ...
* Griffin *
Simurgh Simurgh (; fa, سیمرغ, also spelled ''simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent, mythical bird in Persian mythology and literature. It is sometimes equated with other mythological birds such as the ...
/Simorgh *
Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda ...
*
Sasanian art Sasanian art, or Sassanid art, was produced under the Sasanian Empire which ruled from the 3rd to 7th centuries AD, before the Muslim conquest of Persia was completed around 651. In 224 AD, the last Parthian king was defeated by Ardashir I. Th ...
* Oxus Treasure *
Ganymede (mythology) In Greek mythology, Ganymede () or Ganymedes (; Ancient Greek: Γανυμήδης ''Ganymēdēs'') is a divine hero whose homeland was Troy. Homer describes Ganymede as the most beautiful of mortals and tells the story of how he was abducted b ...


References


External links


Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

THE GOLDEN TREASURE OF THE BULGARIAN KHANS FROM ATTILA TO SIMEON
(in English)
THE GOLDEN TREASURE OF THE BULGARIAN KHANS FROM ATTILA TO SIMEON
(in Bulgarian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Treasure Of Nagyszentmiklos Art and cultural repatriation Nagyszentmiklos, treasure of Nagyszentmiklos, treasure of History of Banat Nagyszentmiklos, treasure of Collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum 1799 archaeological discoveries