The Hungarian expansion (13th-15th c.)
At that time the Hungarian kingdom extended over a large territory,
including a significant part of the Balkans, and subsequently uniting with
Poland and Lithuania. The rule of the Hungarian Crown extended from the Baltic
to the Adriatic Sea. The Hungarian kings established a highly centralized
authority. While the German region of Europe was breaking up into small
principalities in the late Middle Ages, a strong Hungarian empire was unfolding
on the eastern side of Central Europe. Buda, the centre of the empire, was also
a major urban settlement in political, as well as economic cultural terms.