ROMANIA : HISTORY
Most of Romania was the Roman province of
Dacia from about A.D. 100 to 271. From the 3rd to the 12th century, wave
after wave of barbarian conquerors overran the native Daco-Roman
population. Subjection to the first Bulgarian empire (8th–10th century)
brought Eastern Orthodox Christianity to the Romanians.
Little is known of Romania until about the 10th century. At that time
Hungarians arrived from the east and settled in the province known as
Transylvania. For centuries thereafter Transylvania was a disputed
territory with both Romanians and Hungarians claiming possession.
Transylvania became part of the Hungarian state, and Romanian states
were established in Walachia, south of the Carpathians, and in Moldavia
to the east. These states suffered during the Turkish invasion and
occupation of southeastern Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. One of
the Turkish-appointed rulers of Walachia, Michael the Brave (Mihai
Viteazul), revolted against the Turks and defeated them in 1595. He
crossed into Transylvania and defeated a Hungarian army. In 1600 he
declared himself ruler of Walachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania and was
thus the first ruler of a united Romania. The following year he was
murdered, and the Turks resumed control.
By the 16th century, the main Romanian principalities of Moldavia and
Walachia had become satellites within the Ottoman Empire, although they
retained much independence. After the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829,
they became Russian protectorates. The nation became a kingdom in 1881
after the Congress of Berlin.
Romania joined the Allied Powers in World War I and acquired new
territories following the conflict. In 1940, it allied with the Axis
powers and participated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three
years later, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. The
post-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a Communist "people's
republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king
For more than 40 years Romania was a socialist republic controlled by
the Romanian Communist party, led by the general secretary, Nicolae
Ceausescu. His regime was overthrown in December 1989.
After a bloody revolution in 1989, former communist party officials
dominated the government until 1996 and for four years as of 2000. The
country applied for membership in the EU in June 1995, but it is
doubtful that Romania will be able to join the Union before at least
2007. Economic reform has proceeded at a glacial pace, and growing
dissatisfaction with the government's inefficiencies and economic
policies led to a wave of protests by workers, students, and others that
peaked in 1997, and again in 1999, when coal miners striked.
Romania joined NATO in 2004, and in 2005 the EU approved the entry of
Romania in 2007. Final acceptance into the EU will require a number of
reforms, including increased law enforcement and environmental measures,
and the protection of the rights of the Roma (Gypsy) minority.
