Nearly eight centuries ago, the Kingdom of Hungary experienced the most devastating catastrophe in its history up to that point, when the Mongol Empire – the largest contiguous land empire ever to have existed – invaded the Carpathian Basin from multiple directions, defeated the royal army, and laid waste to a substantial portion of the country. In Hungarian historical discourse, the defeat at Muhi is regarded as commensurate with the tragedies of the Treaty of Trianon and the Battle of Mohács (it is even alluded to in the national anthem), and consequently a wide range of questions, assumptions, and misconceptions continue to surround it.