Banat, any district or territory under a Ban (q.v.), but specially applied since 1718 to a part of
Hungary which has no separate ban or governor. Bounded W. by the Theiss, S. by the Danube, and N. by the Maros, it consists of the three counties of Temesvár, Torontál, and Krassova. Population, 1½ million. It is partly mountainous and partly flat, is swampy and unhealthy in the west; but is eminently fertile and productive, yielding rich crops of wheat and other grain. The mines are valuable. The principal town is Temesvár. It was formed into an Austrian crown-land in 1849, but was incorporated with Hungary in 1860.