Banat

Banat, literally county, a term now specially applied to a district in S. Hungary, with an area of some 7,600 square miles, bounded by the river Theiss on the W. and Transylvania and Wallachia on the E. Formerly occupied by marshes and forests, it is now populous and thriving, and produces maize, wheat, cotton, silk, horses, and cattle. In the mountains to the E. are found iron, copper, lead, tin, coal, and small quantities of gold. It is divided into the counties of Thorontal, Temesvar, and Krassova, and the chief town is Temesvar. The population consists of settlers of various nationalities, who have immigrated for the purpose of reclaiming the soil.