Тұран афоқы: Венгрия тарихындағы қайғы мен апаттар

Related to the misfortune(s) of Hungary and Hungarians

The Curse of Turan (Turáni átok) is a belief that Hungarians have been under the influence of a malicious spell for many centuries. The "curse" manifests itself as inner strife, pessimism, misfortune and several historic catastrophes.

There are different theories of origin. It is important to note, that the name for the imagined "turanian people" came into existence and spread due to the works of Max Müller in Hungary, and it became a popular hypothesis in the second half of the 19th century. The first written mention of the phrase: "Turáni átok" was found in the publications of Ferenc Herczeg.

Perhaps the most popular origin theory is that the curse resulted from Hungary's conversion to Christianity in the year AD 1000 under King Stephen. The vanquished adherents of the old Hungarian religion cast a curse upon Christian Hungary to last either forever or perhaps for 1,000 years.

Another theory is that the curse was created as legend during the 1850s in the aftermath of the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and reflected the overwhelming pessimism of this repressive decade.

The curse has also been blamed for causing many troubles on a personal level. Among them are Hungary's high rate of suicide. Currently, Hungary is 54th in the world in suicide rate. In the mid 1980s, Hungary led this indicator. Hungarians have the third shortest life expectancy in Europe outside the countries of the former USSR.

Turan (Hungarian: Turán) derives from the Persian توران and refers to the steppes of Central Asia, land of the Tur. This root word is likely derived from the name of an ancient king, and may also be the root of "Turk". Traditionally Magyars were considered Turkic people until the end of the 18th century. In the 19th century, when the Curse of Turan was a very popular concept, artists searched for Asian characteristics in Hungarian folk art and called them "Turanic motifs".