History of Romania
The Dacians and the Roman Empire
Romania's history begins with the Dacians — a Thracian people who established a powerful kingdom in the Carpathians in the 1st century BC under King Decebalus. The Dacians were cultured, built stone fortresses (the ruins of Sarmizegetusa Regia are a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and resisted the Roman Empire.
Emperor Trajan needed two bloody campaigns (101–102 and 105–106 AD) to subdue Dacia. The famous Trajan's Column in Rome tells the story of these wars in 155 scenes. The Roman province of Dacia was intensely colonized — and it is precisely this Romanization that is why Romanian is a Romance language today: a Latin island amid Slavic and Hungarian neighbors. Romanians are proud to be descendants of the Romans and Dacians.
Middle Ages: Three Principalities
In the Middle Ages, three Romanian principalities emerged:
- Wallachia (Țara Românească) — In the south, between the Carpathians and the Danube. Most famous ruler: Vlad III Drăculea (the Impaler).
- Moldavia (Moldova) — In the northeast. Under Ștefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great, 1457–1504), Moldavia experienced its golden age: 34 battles, 32 won, and the establishment of painted monasteries.
- Transylvania (Siebenbürgen) — Under Hungarian, then Habsburg rule, with three "privileged nations" (Hungarians, Székelys, Saxons), while the Romanian majority had few rights for centuries.
Ottoman Era and Independence
Wallachia and Moldavia were for centuries Ottoman vassal states — never directly occupied (like the Balkan states), but tributary. The princes (voivodes) were often appointed by the Sultan. It was not until 1859 that Moldavia and Wallachia united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza — the birth of modern Romania. In 1878, Romania gained full independence after the Russo-Turkish War.
Greater Romania and the World Wars
In 1918, after World War I, Greater Romania (România Mare) was formed: Transylvania, Bukovina, and Bessarabia were annexed — the country doubled its size. The interwar period was a cultural bloom (Bucharest as the "Paris of the East"), but also marked by political instability. In World War II, Romania initially fought alongside the Axis powers, switched sides in 1944, and fell under Soviet control after the war.
