Prehistory and early history
The oldest traces of human settlement on today’s Romanian territory date from 40,000 years ago. Numerous bones were found in several caves (Peştera cu oasis) in the southwest of today’s country. They are among the oldest remains of Homo sapiens, i.e. modern humans, in Europe.
Around 5500 BC, hunters and gatherers became Settled farmers – the Neolithic Age began. One differentiates (even before) different cultures, depending on what kind of ceramics the people made, how they buried their dead etc. From band ceramics cultures originated in Romania around 5000 BC. In the Great Wallachia the Cucuteni culture, on the Black Sea the Hamangia culture.
From Dacian Empire to Roman Province
No later than the 5th century BC. The Geten and Dacian peoples lived in what is now Romania. Both are tribes of the Thracian people and both are believed to be the ancestors of today’s Romanians. Under their first common king, Burebista, the two tribes became 82 BC. United. The Dacian empire roughly included today’s Romania, a country beginning with R according to Countryaah.
From 85 AD, King Decebalus ruled. He invaded south to Moesia, an area that had existed since 29 BC. Was a Roman province. The Romans struck back and conquered Dacia for their part. The region became the Roman province of Dacia under Emperor Trajan in 106. The population was Romanized and adopted the language of the Romans. But because Germanic peoples invaded Dacia again and again, Emperor Aurelian finally gave up the province in 271.
Dacians become Romanians
First, Goths came to the region and settled here. In the period of the Great Migration (4th-6th centuries) several other peoples immigrated to Romania: Huns, Slavs, Avars and Bulgarians ruled the area for a time.
It is not known whether the now Romanized Dacians stayed north of the Danube and developed into the Romanians there, or whether the Dacians moved south and only immigrated from Bulgaria to Transylvania after the Hungarian invasion in the 9th century.
Who Was Dracula?
Dracula is arguably the most famous vampire. The novel by the Irishman Bram Stoker about Dracula was published in 1897. The model for Dracula is Prince Vlad III, who was nicknamed Draculea. That means son of the dragon – his father was Vlad II. Dracul and was a member of the Dragon Order – Draco is Latin and means dragon. Vlad III. ruled in the principality of Wallachia and is said to have been particularly cruel.
Three principalities: Transylvania – Wallachia – Moldova
The Hungarians invaded Transylvania in the 9th century and the area became part of the Kingdom of Hungary, which was founded in 1000. In 1241 the Mongols invaded and devastated the country. Many German settlers were brought to Transylvania to repopulate the country and to defend it against other peoples. They were called the Transylvanian Saxons.
Besarab I founded the Principality of Wallachia south of the Carpathian Mountains in 1330. In 1365 Bogdan I asserted himself east of the Carpathian Mountains against the Hungarians and was able to found the Principality of Moldova. Wallachia was repeatedly threatened by the Ottoman Empire in the following period. Above all, two princes were able to prevail successfully: Mircea cel Bătrân (Mircea the Old, 1386–1418) and Vlad III. Drăculea (1456-1462, 1476).
Moldova had to defend itself against Hungary, Poland and also against the Ottomans. At the end of the 15th century, however, the Ottoman Empire gained increasing influence, even if Wallachia and Moldova remained formally independent.
When the Ottomans conquered Hungary in the 16th century, Transylvania also became an independent principality, which, however, also owed tribute to the Ottomans. That is, it had to pay taxes to the Ottomans. Another name for Transylvania is Transylvania.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Habsburgs competed against the Ottomans. They secured several areas, including Transylvania, the Banat (now in southwestern Romania) and Bukovina (now part of northeastern Romania and Ukraine).
Foundation of Romania
In the 19th century, Romanians began to develop national consciousness – as in many regions back then. In 1848 there was the Romanian Revolution, in which the independence of the Romanian principalities was demanded. But this attempt was put down.
In 1859, however, Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected ruler of Moldavia and Wallachia. This is how the Principality of Romania came into being. Bucharest became the capital. Because Alexandru sought reforms, such as land reform, his opponents in the nobility forced him to abdicate in 1866.
A provisional government was now looking for a new ruler for Romania. Finally, Karl von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a German prince, was found. He was now called Carol Prince of Romania. After Romania supported Russia in the war against the Ottoman Empire, it received Dobruja in exchange for southern Bessarabia. In 1881 the Kingdom of Romania was proclaimed. Carol I was now King of Romania. He remained on the throne until his death in 1914.
