The Jász are an Iranian ethnic group that have lived in Hungary since the 13th century. They are sometimes known as Jassic. They originated from a nomadic Alanic people from the Pontic steppe. The Jász people settled in the Kingdom of Hungary with the Cumans following the Mongol invasions. King Béla IV Árpád admitted them, hoping they would help resist the Mongol-Tatar invasion. After the invasion, they settled in the central Pannonian Plain near the Zagyva and Tarna rivers.
The Jász primarily engaged in animal husbandry. Over time, they assimilated into the Hungarian population, and their language became extinct by the 16th century as they adopted Hungarian. However, they maintained a distinct Jász identity and were granted special privileges by Hungarian rulers, allowing them self-governance in the Jászság region, with Jászberény as the center. In 1745, after a period under the Teutonic Knights, the Jász people pooled their resources to buy back their privileges from Empress Maria Theresa. Today, the descendants of the Jász, though largely indistinguishable from other Hungarians, still take pride in their unique heritage and the Jászság region.
