Siculicidium
Encyclopedia
Székely
The Székelys or Székely , sometimes also referred to as Szeklers , are a subgroup of the Hungarian people living mostly in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, Romania...
s") was a mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
committed against Székelys by the Habsburg
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
army in 1764, under Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
.
History
In 1763, the Court of ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
entrusted general Adolf Buccow to set up two Székely and two Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
regiments to patrol the borders. However, the Székelys were unwilling to give up their hundred-year tradition of soldiering and their privilege
Privilege
A privilege is a special entitlement to immunity granted by the state or another authority to a restricted group, either by birth or on a conditional basis. It can be revoked in certain circumstances. In modern democratic states, a privilege is conditional and granted only after birth...
s and thus, they resisted the forced military draft and they organized a revolt against it. Maria Theresa appointed a new general, namely Josef Siskovics, who commanded his soldiers to attack Madéfalva
Siculeni
Siculeni is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. It is composed of a single village, Siculeni. The Siculicidium took place here.-Demographics:...
(present-day Siculeni
Siculeni
Siculeni is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. It is composed of a single village, Siculeni. The Siculicidium took place here.-Demographics:...
), where the Székely leaders were supposed to meet in a council. It was under the darkness of the snowy night of January 7, 1764 that the Habsburg mercenaries sneaked in the village and massacred about 400 unsuspecting people, including women and children.
Consequences
The following days, the Székely leaders were captured and impeached, while thousands of terrified Székelys started to migrate to MoldaviaMoldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
, where they took refuge in the villages of the Csángó
Csángó
The Csango people are a Hungarian ethnographic group of Roman Catholic faith living mostly in the Romanian region of Moldavia, especially in the Bacău County...
magyars who had been living there for centuries. In 1774, the Habsburg soldiers took control of an area of Moldavia that would eventually be named Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
and – after the intervention of Count Andreas Hadik
Andreas Hadik
Count András Hadik de Futak was a Hungarian Noble. He was Governor of Galicia and Lodomeria from January 1774 to June 1774, and the father of Karl Joseph Hadik von Futak...
– they pardoned the Székelys there and settled them down. Here the Székelys founded their settlements.
The five villages of the Székelys of Bukovina
Székelys of Bukovina
The Székelys of Bukovina are a small Hungarian ethnic community with a complex history. They live today in the Tolna and Baranya counties of Hungary, in Hunedoara County in Romania and in the Serbian province of Vojvodina.-Origins:...
were Istensegíts ("God help us!", now Ţibeni, 1776), Fogadjisten ("Accept God's will!", now Iacobeşti
Iacobesti
Iacobeşti may refer to:* Iacobeşti, a village in Roşia Montană commune, Alba County, Romania* Iacobeşti, a village in Grăniceşti commune, Suceava County, Romania...
), Józseffalva (now Vornicenii Mari, 1785), Hadikfalva (now Dorneşti
Dornesti
Dorneşti is a commune located in Suceava County, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Dorneşti and Iaz....
) and Andrásfalva (Măneuţi, 1786).
Commemorations
Turul
The Turul is the most important bird in the origin myth of the Magyars .It is a divine messenger, and perches on top of the tree of life along with the other spirits of unborn children in the form of birds...
with wings spread. At the bottom of the stone-pyramid there is a plate with the word SICVLICIDIVM on it (oddly enough, adding up the values of the letters as Roman numerals
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
, the result is exactly the year of the massacre).
Since the Székelys of Bukovina
Székelys of Bukovina
The Székelys of Bukovina are a small Hungarian ethnic community with a complex history. They live today in the Tolna and Baranya counties of Hungary, in Hunedoara County in Romania and in the Serbian province of Vojvodina.-Origins:...
came into existence as a consequence of the events of January 7, 1764, they celebrate this day as the community's birthday.