Banat

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For another use, see Ban (title)

The Banat (Romanian: Banat, Serbian: Банат or Banat, Hungarian: Bánát or Bánság, German: Banat, Slovak: Banát, Banat Bulgarian: Banát) is a geographical and historical region of Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in Romania (the counties of Timiş, Caraş-Severin, Arad, and Mehedinţi), the western part in Serbia (the Serbian Banat, mostly included in the Vojvodina region, except for a small part included in Central Serbia), and a small northern part in Hungary (Csongrád county).

The Banat is a part of the Pannonian plain bordered by the River Danube to the south, the River Tisza (Theiss, Tissa, Tisa) to the west, the River Mureş to the north, and the Southern Carpathian mountains to the east. Its historical capital was Timişoara (Hungarian: Temesvár, Serbian: Temišvar), now in Timiş county in Romania.

Contents 1 Name 2 Geography 2.1 Romanian Banat 2.2 Serbian Banat 2.3 Hungarian Banat 3 History 4 Demographics 4.1 1660-1666 4.2 1743-1753 4.3 1774 4.4 1910 4.5 1921 4.6 1971 4.7 2002 4.8 Historical population 5 Symbols 6 Cities 7 Gallery 8 References 9 Notes 10 External links

[edit] Name

The term Banat designated a frontier province governed by a ban. The -at suffix is Latinate (from Romanian, cf. Voievod/Voievodat and Cneaz/Cnezat or from Medieval Latin -atus).

There were several banats in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, such as the banats of Dalmatia, of Slavonia, of Bosnia and of Croatia; these disappeared during the course of the Turkish Wars. But when the word is used without any other qualification, it indicates the Timişoara Banat, which strangely acquired this title after the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718), though it was never governed by a ban.

[edit] Geography

[edit] Romanian Banat

In 1938, the counties of Timiş-Torontal, Caraş, Severin, Arad, and Hunedoara were joined to form Ţinutul Timiş, which encompassed the Romanian Banat.

On 6 September 1950, the province was replaced by the Timişoara Region (formed by the present-day counties of Timiş and Caraş-Severin).

In 1956, the southern half of the existing Arad Region was incorporated to the Timişoara Region.

In December 1960, the Timişoara Region was named the Banat Region.

On 17 February 1968, a new territorial division was made and today's Timiş, Caraş-Severin and Arad counties were formed.

Since 1998, Romania has been split into eight development regions, which act as a form of territorial autonomy divisions. The Vest development region is composed of four counties: Arad, Timiş, Hunedoara, and Caraş-Severin; thus it has almost same borders as the Timiş Province of 1929. The Vest development region is also a part of the Danube-Kris-Mures-Tisa Euroregion.

The Romanian Banat 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 (Băile Herculane). The present "Banat Region" of Romania includes some areas that are mountainous and were not part of the historical Banat or of the Pannonian plain.

[edit] Serbian Banat

The Serbian Banat (Western Banat) was part of Serbian Vojvodina (1848-1849) and part of the Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat (1849-1860). After 1860, the Serbian Banat was part of Torontál and Temes counties of Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. The center of Torontál county was Veliki Bečkerek (Hungarian: Nagybecskerek, Romanian: Becicherecul Mare), the current Zrenjanin.

The region was a county of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes between 1918 and 1922, and from 1922 to 1929 it was divided between Belgrade oblast and Podunavlje oblast. In 1929, most of the region was incorporated into the Danube Banovina (Danubian Banat), a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, while the city of Pančevo was incorporated into self-governed Belgrade district.

Between 1941 and 1944, the Serbian Banat was occupied by the Axis powers. Formally it was part of Serbia, but it actually was a virtually separate autonomous region ruled by its German minority. Since 1945 the Serbian Banat (together with Bačka and Syrmia), has been part of the Serbian Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.

In Serbia, the Banat is mostly plains. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, hemp and sunflower are grown, and mineral wealth consists of oil and natural gas. A popular tourist destination in the Banat is Deliblatska Peščara.

The districts of Serbia in Banat are:

• North Banat okrug (excluding municipalities of Ada, Senta and Kanjiža, which are situated in the region of Bačka)
• Central Banat okrug
• South Banat okrug

Serbian Banat also include area known as Pančevački Rit, which belong to Belgrade municipality of Palilula.

See also: Geographical regions in Serbia

[edit] Hungarian Banat

This consists of a small northern part of the region, which is part of the Csongrád County of Hungary. Here (e.g. in Deszk, Szőreg) live some Serbs besides Hungarians as well.

[edit] History

Before the Roman Empire under Trajan conquered the region of the Banat in 106, the land was inhabited by Dacians. Roman rule was eventually overextended, however, and Emperor Aurelian (270-275) withdrew Roman forces to south of the Danube, leaving behind a Romanized population.

During the early medieval migrations, Slavs settled today's Banat in the 6th century. The region was incorporated into the First Bulgarian Empire at the beginning of the 9th century. The Hungarian historical chronicle Gesta Hungarorum speaks of a duke called Glad, a ruler of territory of Banat who came from Vidin and was a vassal of Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria. His descendant was Ahtum, the last ruler, who was opposed to the establishment of the Hungarian Kingdom. Ahtum was an Orthodox Christian.

The region was incorporated into the feudal Kingdom of Hungary in the early 11th century (around 1008 or 1028) by Stephen I forming the prime-Csanad county which was divided latter into the counties Arad, Keve, Temes, Krassó and Csanád.

The Banat was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1552, and became an Ottoman eyalet (province) named the Eyalet of Temeşvar. Since the 16th century, the Banat was mainly populated by Serbs (Rascians) and Romanians (Vlachs); thus in some historical sources it was mentioned under name Rascia and in some other as Wallachia. In 1594 Serbs in Banat started a large uprising against Ottoman rule. The Romanians also participated in this uprising.

In the 17th century, parts of the Banat were incorporated into the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria. In 1716, Prince Eugene of Savoy took the last parts of the Banat from the Ottomans. It received the title of the Banat of Temeswar after the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718), and remained a separate province of Habsburg Monarchy under military administration until 1751, when Empress Maria Theresa of Austria introduced a civil administration. The Banat of Temeswar province was abolished in 1778. The southern part of the Banat region remained within the Military Frontier (Banat Krajina) until the Frontier was abolished in 1871.

During the Ottoman rule, parts of Banat had a low population density after years of warfare, and much of the area was left almost desolate in marsh, heath, and forest. Count Claudius Mercy (1666-1734), who was appointed governor of the Banat of Temeswar in 1720, took numerous measures for the regeneration of the Banat. The marshes near the Danube and Tisza rivers 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; she colonized the region with large numbers of German peasants, encouraged the exploitation of the mineral wealth of the country, and generally developed the measures introduced by Mercy. German settlers arrived from Swabia, Alsace and Bavaria, as well as people from Austria. Many settlements in the eastern Banat thus were mostly German-inhabited. The ethnic Germans in the Banat region became known as the Danube Swabians, or Donauschwaben. Hungarians were not allowed to settle down in Banat after the colonization for a long time.

In 1779 the Banat region was incorporated into Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary, and the three counties Torontál, Temes and Krassó were created. In 1848, the western Banat became part of the Serbian Vojvodina, a Serbian autonomous region within the Habsburg Monarchy. During the 1848/1849 revolution, the Banat was respectively held by Serbian and Hungarian troops.

After the Revolution of 1848-1849, the Banat (together with Srem and Bačka) was made into a separate Austrian crownland known as the Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat (German: Woiwodschaft Serbien und Temescher Banat), but in 1860 this province was abolished and incorporated again into Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary.

After 1871, the former Military Frontier located in southern parts of the Banat came under civil administration and was incorporated into the Banat counties. Krassó and Szörény were united into Krassó-Szörény in 1881.

In 1918, the Banat Republic was proclaimed in Timişoara in October, and the government of Hungary recognized its independence. However, it was short-lived. After just two weeks, Serbian troops entered into the Banat region, and that was the end of the Banat Republic.

In 1918-1919 (confirmed by the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 and Treaty of Trianon of 1920), most of the Banat became part of Romania (Krassó-Szörény completely, 2/3 of Temes, and 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 (which became Yugoslavia). A small area near Szeged became part of newly independent Hungary.

The territory of the Banat is presently in the Romanian counties Timiş, Caraş-Severin, Arad and Mehedinţi, the Serbian autonomous province of Vojvodina and Belgrade City District, and the Hungarian Csongrád County.

[edit] Demographics

[edit] 1660-1666

In 1660-1666, Serbs lived in western (flat) part of the Banat, while Romanians lived in the eastern (mountainous) part. ^[1]

[edit] 1743-1753

In 1743-1753, ethnic composition of Banat looked as follows: ^[2]

• 3 eastern districts had a Romanian population: Lugoj, Caransebeş, and Orşova.
• 3 western districts had a Serbian population: Veliki Bečkerek, Pančevo, and Velika Kikinda.
• 6 central districts had a mixed Serb-Romanian population: Timişoara, Lipova, Vršac, Nova Palanka, Ciacova, and Cenad.

[edit] 1774

According to 1774 data, the population of the Banat of Temeswar numbered 375,740 people and was composed of: ^[3]

• Romanians = 220,000 (58.55%)
• Serbs and Greeks = 100,000 (26.61%)
• Germans = 53,000 (14.11%)
• Hungarians and Bulgarians = 2,400 (0.64%)
• Jews = 340 (0.09%)

[edit] 1910

According to the 1910 census, the population of the Banat region (counties of Torontál, Temes, and Krassó-Szörény) numbered 1,582,133 people, including: ^{[4] [5] [6]}

• 592,049 (37.42%) Romanians
• 387,545 (24.50%) Germans
• 284,329 (17.97%) Serbs
• 242,152 (15.31%) Hungarians
• a smaller numbers of other ethnic groups such as the Slovaks, Croats, Rusyns, Bulgarians, etc.

In Serbia the German population mostly fled or was expelled from the region after World War II, as a consequence of war time events. In Romania they mostly migrated after 1989 from economic reasons.

[edit] 1921

According to the 1921 census, the population of Serbian Banat numbered 561,958 people, including 240,213 (42.75%) Serbs and Croats, 126,530 (22.52%) Germans, 98,471 (17.52%) Hungarians, and 67,897 (12.08%) Romanians. By religion, the population included 306,414 (54.53%) Orthodox Christians, 209,370 (37.26%) Roman Catholics, 39,226 (6.98%) Protestants, and 6,948 (1.24%) others. ^[7]

Of the 169 communes in the Serbian Banat, 61 were predominantly South Slav-speaking, 29 German, 27 Magyar, 24 Romanian, 3 Slovak-Czech and 25 mixed.

[edit] 1971

In 1971, the population of Serbian Banat numbered 666,559 inhabitants, including: ^[8]

• Serbs = 434,810 (65.23%)
• Hungarians = 103,090 (15.47%)
• Romanians = 49,455 (7.42%)
• Slovaks = 22,173 (3.33%)
• Macedonians = 12,683 (1.90%)
• Yugoslavs = 10,795 (1.62%)
• Croats = 7,896 (1.18%)
• Montenegrins = 3,882 (0.58%)
• Slovenians = 1,521 (0.23%)
• others.

[edit] 2002

According to 2002 census, the population of Serbian Banat (excluding its part near Belgrade) was composed of Serbs (70.69%), Hungarians (10.21%), Romanians, Slovaks, and others.

According to the 2002 census, in the Romanian Banat (the Timiş ^[9] and Caraş-Severin ^[10] counties) the ethnic composition was as following:

Ethnicity	Population	Percentage
Romanians	859,690	85.02%
Hungarians	56,380	5.58%
Roma	23,998	2.37%
Germans	20,323	2%
Serbs	19,355	1.91%
Ukrainians	10,847	1.07%
Others	20,552	2.03%
TOTAL	1,011,145	100%

[edit] Historical population

Population of Banat in various time periods:

• 1717: 85,166
• 1743: 125,000
• 1753: 210,992
• 1774: 375,740
• 1797: 667,912
• 1910: 1,582,133

[edit] Symbols

The traditional heraldic symbol of the Banat is a lion, which is nowadays present in both the Coat of Arms of Romania and the Coat of Arms of Vojvodina.

[edit] Cities

The largest cities in the Banat are:

• Romania:
  • Timişoara (317,651)
  • Reşiţa (83,985)
  • Lugoj (44,571)
  • Caransebeş (28,294)
• Serbia:
  • Zrenjanin (79,545)
  • Pančevo (76,110)
  • Kikinda (41,825)
  • Vršac (36,001)

[edit] Gallery

Timişoara, Romania, the Orthodox Cathedral	Timişoara, Romania, a fountain in the city centre	Timişoara, Romania, the Catholic Cathedral	Zrenjanin, Serbia, City Hall and monument of king Petar I of Serbia
Vršac, Serbia	Orşova, Romania	Oţelu Roşu, Romania, Town center	Kikinda, Serbia
Skorenovac, Serbia	Lugoj, Romania	Jimbolia, Romania	Pančevo, Serbia

[edit] References

• Miodrag Milin, Vekovima zajedno (Iz istorije srpsko-rumunskih odnosa), Temišvar, 1995.
• Milan Tutorov, Mala Raška a u Banatu, istorika Zrenjanina i Banata, Zrenjanin, 1991.
• Milan Tutorov, Banatska rapsodija, istorika Zrenjanina i Banata, Novi sad, 2001.
• Dr. Branislav Bukurov, Bačka, Banat i Srem, Novi Sad, 1978.
• Milojko Brusin, Naša razgraničenja sa susedima 1919-1920, Novi Sad, 1998.
• Jovan M. Pejin, Iz prošlosti Kikinde, Kikinda, 2000.
• Dušan Belča, Mala istorija Vršca, Vršac, 1997.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• banatul.com (English)/(Romanian)
• backabanat.com (Serbian)