Békés is a historic administrative county (comitatus

Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary)

A county is the name of a type of administrative units in the Kingdom of Hungary and in Hungary from the 10th century until the present day....

) of the Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

. Its territory, which was smaller than that of present Békés county

Békés (county)

Békés County , is an administrative division in south-eastern Hungary, on the border with Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Csongrád, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok and Hajdú-Bihar. The capital of Békés county is Békéscsaba...

, is presently in southeastern Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

. The capital of the county was Gyula.

Geography

Békés county shared borders with the Hungarian counties Csongrád

Csongrád (former county)

Csongrád was a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory, which was smaller than that of present Csongrád county, is presently in southern Hungary and northern Serbia. The capital of the county was Szentes.-Name:Name Csongrád/Čongrad is Slavic by origin...

, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok

Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok (former county)

Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok is the name of an administrative county in the former Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory, which is presently in central Hungary, was slightly smaller than that of present Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county...

, Hajdú

Hajdú (county)

Hajdú, formerly known as Hajdúság, is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary in present-day eastern Hungary. The capital of the county was Debrecen...

, Bihar

Bihar (county)

Bihar is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently mostly in northwestern Romania, where it is administered as Bihor County, and a smaller part in eastern Hungary...

, Arad

Arad (Hungarian county)

Arad is a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in western Romania and south-eastern Hungary. The capital of the county was Arad.- Geography :...

 and Csanád. The river Körös/Criş flowed through the county. Its area was 3671 km² around 1910.

History

Békés county arose as one of the first comitatus of the Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

, in the 11th century. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the territory of Békés county was expanded with:

• the northeastern part of former Csanád-Arad-Torontál county (the Hungarian part of pre-1918 Arad
  Arad (Hungarian county)
  Arad is a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently in western Romania and south-eastern Hungary. The capital of the county was Arad.- Geography :...
  
   county and the north-eastern part of pre-1918 Csanád county)
• a part of former Bihar
  Bihar (county)
  Bihar is the name of a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is presently mostly in northwestern Romania, where it is administered as Bihor County, and a smaller part in eastern Hungary...
  
   county (the area around Sarkad
  Sarkad
  Sarkad may refer to:* Sarkad, Hungary, a town in Hungary* Sarkad·keresztúr* Sarkad·tanya, a village in Hungary...
  
   and Okány
  Okány
  Okány is a village in Békés County, in the Southern Great Plain region of south-east Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of 70.65 km² and has a population of 2993 people ....
  
  )
• a part of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok
  Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok (former county)
  Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok is the name of an administrative county in the former Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory, which is presently in central Hungary, was slightly smaller than that of present Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county...
  
   county (the area around Dévaványa
  Dévaványa
  Dévaványa is a town in northern Békés county, in the Southern Great Plain region of south-east Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of 216.73 km² and has a population of 8273 people ....
  
  )

Subdivisions

In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Békés county were:

Districts (járás)
District	Capital
Békés	Békés Békés Békés is a town in Békés county, Hungary. It lies about north of Békéscsaba and east of Budapest.- History :The area of the present town has been inhabited since ancient times, due to its good soil and proximity to rivers. After Hungarians conquered the area, Békés and its surroundings were the...
Békéscsaba	Békéscsaba Békéscsaba Békéscsaba is a city in Southeast Hungary, the capital of the county Békés.- Geography :According to the 2001 census, the city has a total area of .- Name :...
Gyoma	Gyoma
Gyula	Gyula Gyula, Hungary Gyula is a city in Békés county in south-eastern Hungary. It lies close to the border with Romania, on the river Fehér-Körös.-History:The first recorded reference to Gyula was in a document dated 1313 which mentions a monastery called Gyulamonostor . By 1332 the settlement around the monastery was...
Orosháza	Orosháza Orosháza Orosháza is a city situated in the westernmost part of Békés county, Hungary, on the Békés ridge bordered by the rivers Maros and Körös. Orosháza is an important cultural, educational and recreational centre of the region...
Szarvas	Szarvas Szarvas ----Szarvas is a town in Békés county in southeastern Hungary. The Hungarian placename Szarvas means 'deer' in English.- History :...
Szeghalom	Szeghalom Szeghalom Szeghalom is a town in Békés county, in southeastern Hungary. It is located at around .Szeghalom's football club is in the regional 1 league.It has a stadium with capicities over 500 people.-External links:*...
Urban districts (rendezett tanácsú város)
Gyula Gyula, Hungary Gyula is a city in Békés county in south-eastern Hungary. It lies close to the border with Romania, on the river Fehér-Körös.-History:The first recorded reference to Gyula was in a document dated 1313 which mentions a monastery called Gyulamonostor . By 1332 the settlement around the monastery was...