 The arrival of the Huns ended the dominance of Iranian peoples in the Eurasian steppes . Thereafter the Sabirs , Avars , <unk> , Khazars , and other Turkic peoples controlled the grasslands of Eastern Europe for centuries . Gardizi described the Magyars as " a branch of the Turks " ; Leo the Wise and Constantine Porphyrogenitus called them Turks . About 450 Hungarian words were borrowed from Turkic languages before around 900 . The oldest layer of Hungarian folk songs show similarities to Chuvash songs . These facts show the Magyars were closely connected to the Turks while they stayed in the Pontic steppes . 
