HISTORY
Archaeological remains bear
witness to the existent and development of various cultures on Romania's
present territory, dating back to remotest times. Favorable natural conditions
as well as a rich fauna and flora, encouraged the continuity of human
settlement from the early Paleolithic period (2,000,000 years s ago).
Herodotus, who wrote the earliest record of the people living north of the
Danube, notes that this area was thickly populated by Thracian tribes; amongst
the mass of related tribes the Gasto‑Dacians gradually achieved an
individuality of their own until they were united under King Burebista in the
1st century B.C. The slave‑owning date attained its maximum power in the reign
of King Decebal, in the second half of the 1st century, when Roman expansion
Turned towards Dacia.
The Romans led by Trajan in
101 A.D., finally defeated the Dacians, and turned the country into a Roman
province, in 106 C.E. The intensive process of Romanization that followed, brought
about the formation of the Dato‑Roman population, who spoke Latin and after
formed the nucleus for the Romanian people and language. In the gear 271 A.D.,
after 165 years of Roman subjugation, the increasing pressure of the barbarians
against the frontiers of the empire, led to the withdrawal of the Roman legions
and administration. With the progressive assimilation of various groups, and
especially of Slav elements, the Romanian people and language carne into being
in the country north of the Danube Valley.
About the year 1000, the
first Romanian feudal states coalesced around the mountain and hill regions
(Transyliania, Oltenia and Northern Wallachia) which were less exposed to the
final waves of invasion.
In the 10th and 12th centuries,
the Magyar kings of Hungary, coveting the rich natural resources, launched
armed campaigns against these voivodates (principalities). Because of the
fierce resistance of the Romanian population, the conquest of Transylvania was
carried out in stages over a period of nearly three centuries. Colonies of
Saxon settlers and Teuton knights helped rule the land, which remained under
Hungarian domination. In 1541, the Ottoman Empire and Áustria swallowed up the
Hungarian state.
In the 14th century two larger
feudal states were formed south and east of the Carpathians ‑ Tzara Romaneasca
(Wallachia) and Moldova. Despite the constant conflict with both Hungary and
the raiding Mongols from Asia, these two states gradually consolidated their
position and played an important political, military, economic and cultural
role in this part of Europe.
The history of Romania in the
Middle Ages is a long succession of defensive actions against Ottoman attempts
to extend their empire over the whole continent, beginning with the Balkans.
This struggle, headed by
voivodes or princes, such as Mircea the Old, Stephen the Great, Vlad the
Impaler, loan of Hunedoara, and several others, checked the advance of the
Turks towards the heart of Europe. Though finally forced to accept Ottoman
sovereignty ‑ a form of Vassalage between states ‑ the Romanian principalities
maintained their autonomy and were not formed into Turkish provinces. However,
the systematic plundering of the country by the Turks delayed for several
centuries the appearance and development of modern society in Romania.
The reign of Michael the
Brave (1593‑1601), the first prince to succeed, after several great battles, in
temporarily uniting the three Romanian feudal principalities into a single
state, is an important chapter in the history of the Romanian people.
Unfortunately, Transylvania passed back into Turkish control, until 1699 when
it fell into the hands of the Hapsburgs.
During the Middle Ages, which
lasted in Romania until the middle of the 19th century because of continua.
struggles, hardship and exploitation, several peasant revolts took place
against the feudal system. The revolution of 1848 set as its aim to achieve the
national unity of Romania and this goal found expression in concrete form when
Alexandru loan Cuza was elected Prince of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859. Thus
the two principalities were merged into a single national state which received
the name of Romania. In 1877, Romania proclaimed her independence which was
confirmed on the battlefields against the Turks, and recognized by the Congress
of Berlin in 1878.
In the 1st. World War,
Romania declared itself on the side of the allies, against Germany and Austria
Hungary. In the conditions created by the Allied victory, the Grand Popular
Assembly proclaimed the union of Transylvania with Romania at Alba lulia in
1918, thus closing the process which has formed modern Romania.
On the outbreak of the 2nd.
World War, the Axis forced Romania to cede northern Transylvania to Hungary and
the country was dominated by a fascist dictatorship (the Iron Guard) aligned
with Germany and Italy. Dragged into the war against Russia in 1941, the army
suffered defeats from 1943 onwards, and discontent grew, creating favorable
conditions for an armed insurrection.
Powerful anti‑Fascist
feelings found expression in the organization of an active resistance movement
and the establishment, in June 1944, of the Democratic National Bloc. On 23rd August
1944, the progressive forces, together with patriotic elements in the army,
under the leadership of the Romanian Communist Party, overthrew the military
dictatorship of Antonescu, turning their arms against Hitlerite Germany until
the 1945 victory. The peace treaty returned North Transylvania to Romania.
This "National
Front" revolution was followed early in 1945 by a second revolution which
established on 6th March, a Popular Democratic regime. In the years that
followed, a new era began in the history of the country, marked by the
abolition of the monarchy, proclamation of the Romanian People's Republic, and
the establishment of a socialist order. In August 1965, Romania became a
socialist republic.
Today, Romania can present a
fine record of achievements and shows a high rate of industrial growth. Her
agriculture is rapidly being modernized and she has important scientific and
cultural successes to her credit.