Politics and society in Central and South-East Europe

The region described in the title – historically known as Banat (Hung. Temesköz or Bánság) – was in almost permanent change after the Mongol Invasion of 1241–1242. The area is characterised ith a special landscape including extended wetlands, meandering water courses and the sands of Alibunar on the one hand, and with important economic resources, such as the mines around Resica/Reşiţa and the fords of Haram/Banatska Palanka and Keve/Kovin, on the other. To these factors we can add the frontier zone between Latin and Orthodox Christianity and – from the late 14th century – the conflict zone between the Hungarian Kingdom and the expanding Ottoman Empire. All these factors had their impact on the region’s society. The main trends of ethnic and religious transformations can be traced partly through written evidence directly related to migration, partly through indicators referring to the above phenomena indirectly.   (Abstract from „POPULATIONS AND RELIGIONS: THE TRANS