The Birth of Romania

1. The Birth of Romania Dacia

2. With justice and in the name of justice and with utter determination, the Romanian people completed their political, national and state unity at the end of the First World War. It was an objective historical action that came into being through the declaration in Alba Iulia on December 1st 1918, after all the citizens of the country had expressed their agreement to it. All Romanians wanted to be united in one country and this union was an objective, necessary and legal step towards a “whole” Romania. In its entire history, the Romanian people has never wandered by the “gates” of a foreign people with the intention to declare war against it. The Romanians have only defended the gates of their citadels – either Sarmizegetusa or Bihaira, Suceava or Târgoviște. They used their bodies as fortified walls to protect them, to defend the land and integrity of the country.

3. OUR ANCESTORS Decebal, the Dacian King, was very skilled at making war plans and carrying them out: he knew when to attack the enemy and when to retreat; he set them clever traps; he was a good warrior and he knew how to take advantage of a victory, and how to get well out of a defeat. For that reason, he was a feared enemy of the Romans for a long time. Trajan was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy on September 13th 53 in the province of Baetica, in the south of Spain. His father was a Roman citizen, the Governor of that province. He entered the Roman army at the age of 17 and he served for 10 years, as a military tribune ( deputy commander) with his father in Syria.

4. The Dacian-Roman Wars The first battles between the Dacians and the Romans took place during the first century before Christ, when the Roman Empire was expanding and new Roman provinces were established in Pannonia, Dalmatia, Moesia and Thracia. The Danube border ran along 1500 km and the river separated the Roman Empire from Dacia. Dobrogea, a present day Romanian region, was under Roman rule starting with the reign of Augustus, and it was there that the Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso spent the last years of his life, “among Greeks and Gets”, as he had been exiled in Tomis (present day Constanța) between 8 – 17 A.D., from the order of the same Emperor. The high point of Dacia`s might was under the rule of King Decebal(87-106 A.D.). After a first confrontation with the Romans, under Emperor Domitian (87-89A.D.), the Roman Empire needed to fight two wars against the Dacians(101-102and 105-106) before Trajan(98-117 A.D.), at the peak of his glory, could finally defeat Decebal and make his kingdom a Roman province called Dacia. Trajan`s Column, in Rome, and the Mausoleum at Adamclisi (in Dobrogea) tell the story of this military clash that was followed by a massive and systematic colonization of the newly-attached Roman territories.

5. The Dacians suffered severe losses but they remained, even after the new order had been installed, the main element in Dacia; the province underwent a complex Romanization process, its main purpose being to impose on and make the Dacians adopt Latin, the Romans` language. Today, the Romanians are the only descendants of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Romanian language, together with French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, carries on the legacy of Latin. Romania is an “oasis of Latin legacy” in this part of Europe.

6. The birth of the Romanian People and Language The birth of the Romanian people and language is an essential aspect of the history of our country.Their birth is also a complex process which started with the Dacian-Roman wars.We have information about this process mainly from Trajan`s Column. The birth of the Romanian people and language is similar to the birth of the other Latin peoples of Europe. Two processes of assimilation took place: 1. the assimilation of the native people by the Romans 2. the assimilation of the migrating people by the Romanized population inhabiting Dacia We must take into account the following aspects of the birth of the Romanian people and language: 1. the continuity of the Dacians - the fact that they remained here after the Roman conquest 2. the Romanization process of the local population 3. the continuity of the Daco-Romans 4. the addition of the Slavonic element as a secondary one that did not influence the Latin character of the language

7. The Continuity of the Dacians As to the continuity of the Dacians on this territory, the immigration theories start with Eutropius who said that “after the conquest of Dacia, Trajan brought here people form all corners of the Roman world, as there were no men left in Dacia after the wars against Decebal”. This theory will prove not to be true, as most Dacians continued inhabiting these lands. The Romanization process The most part of the occupied territory undergoes a Romanization process. This process implies the spread of the Roman material and spiritual cultural aspects such as: language, religion, customs, knowledge, buildings, tools, pottery and jewels, among the Geto-Dacians. We can conclude that the Romanization process represents an ethno-linguistic and cultural symbiosis of the local people and the newcomers. The Continuity of the Daco-Roman people Some historians say that the Roman Emperor Aurelian left Trajan`s Province of Dacia and retreated his army and the native people from the north of the Danube to the south of the big river in 271, being unable to keep these territories under Roman rule. The introduction of the Slavonic element as a secondary one, that did not influence, however, the Latin character of our people The Slavs arrived in the VI century. Some of them remained here, but most of them went south of the Danube, especially after 602, when the Eastern Roman Empire crumbled. Their settlement to the south of the Danube led to our isolation from the rest of the Roman world. Slavic traces on our territory were found in Iași, Suceava, Sărata-Monteoru (Buzău County), București, Bratei (Sibiu County). Of all migrating people, the Slavs are the ones who influenced the Romanian people the most. They influenced our language, introducing words such as: boier (boyard), voievod (ruler), Bistrița, Dâmbovița, Târgoviște, Zlatna, Dan (the one who gives), Radu (merry), Pârvu (the first) and the socio-political organization of the country. Nevertheless, they could not change the Latin character of the Romanian language and people. The Latin character of our people can be seen in the main body of Latin words – over 60% of the main body of Romanian words are of Latin origin; about 20% of the main body of words come from the Slavonic and about 100 words and 2200 proper names from the Geto-Dacians, along with words from Turkish, Hungarian, French, Greek that add to the above. The Romanians are mentioned in historical writings starting with the VII century. The military treaty called “Strategicon”, written by the Emperor Mauricius, mentions their existence in the VII century. In the VIII century, they are named “Vlaho-Rinchi” in a writing from Costamonitu Monastery.

8. The Foundation of Prestate Political Formations A new stage in the history of the people inhabiting the Carpato-Danubiano-Pontic area (the land of the Carpathians, the Danube and the Black Sea) began once the formation of the Romanian people and language was completed – the foundation of the Romanian Medieval States. The foundation of the Romanian Medieval States is the result of the action of several internal agents: the appearance of feudal relations, the necessity to protect the fortune gathered by different social strata, the regulation of the relationships between these social strata, the existence of international trading routes that crossed the Romanian territory and of local commercial centres (burghsandother settlements) as well as the economic exploitation of the new lands. Certain external agents favoured the internal ones. Therefore, the invasion of the Tatars in 1241 stopped for a while the supremacy of the Hungarian Kingdom to the south and east of the Carpathians, which allowed the Romanian state formations in the area to evolve, to strengthen their internal organization and to expand their territories. The Romanian Medieval States formed in stages: the unification of the territories, the formation of social structures and state central institutions of government, as well as gaining their independence, recognized by neighbouring countries.

9. The first information on the Romanian kingdoms (voievodate) referred to Transylvania. After 896, the Hungarians migrated from the prairies north of the Black Sea to Pannonia, where they met the Romans. As they expanded they territories towards Transylvania, they clashed with the local Romanian political formations. According to the Hungarian Chronicle “GestaHungarorum” (XII century), there were three Romanian kingdoms: the Kingdom of Menumorut (in Crisana, with the capital Biharea), the Kingdom of Gelu (in Transylvania Highlands, with its possible capital,Dabaca)and the Kingdomn of Glad (in Banat, between River Mureș and the Danube, with the capital Cuvin). Some historians believe that the details of the battles between the Hungarians and the native Romanians told in that Chronicle are imaginary. But it is certain that the Hungarians met the resistance of the Romanians organized in “voievodate” when they came to Transylvania. Although these kingdoms were subdued by the Hungarians, a century later, there were two new state formations in Transylvania: the first with the capital at Alba Iulia (Bălgrad) ruled by Gyla, and the second in Banat, ruled by Antum, a descendent of Glad, a vassal of the Byzantine Empire. In time, both kingdoms were conquered by the Hungarian Kingdom as well. The presence of the Romanians in Transylvania made the Hungarian kings want to win the loyalty of the local chiefs called “voievod” that ruled over a kingdom called “voievodat”. That`s why they enjoyed internal autonomy in Transylvania. Even after the appearance of “voievodate”, the Romanian form of political organization into regions still remained (Făgăraș, Maramureș, Hațeg, Bârsa). Between 1211 – 1225, the Hungarian King brought the JoanitesKnights – a religious order, from Palestine to Bârsa. But the Teutonic Knights refused to obey the king and, by order of the Pope, they moved again to the Baltic lands. If the Joanites didn`t help the Hungarian King consolidate his domination in Transylvania, the Secui, colonists of Turanic origin, and Sași, colonists of Germanic origin (meaning Saxons, as most of them originated in Saxony), did. They enjoyed administrative autonomy and supported the king`s policy in the “voievodat”. If the Romanian regions in Transylvania were faced with the Hungarian expansion, the state formations to the south and east of the Carpathians were faced with a new wave of migrating people. In the XIcentury, the Pecenegi and then the Cumani of Turanic origin came to these parts of the world. The Romanians always tried to maintain good relationships with the migrating people. The rulers of the state formations to the east and south of the Carpathians mediated the relationships between the Romanians and the Turanic people, collecting the gifts for the invaders.

10. The Formation of the MedievalRomanianStates The foundation of the Romanian States follows the evolution of the Romanian society from the village (sat) to the state (stat). This process that focused on the strengthening of the village property as an initial form of social and administrative organization after the Roman legions retreated from Dacia. The Medieval Romanian States: Transylvania, Wallachia, Moldavia and Dobrogeawere formed this way. You can see below the coats of arms of the three Medieval Romanian States

11. The Fight against the OttomanEmpire MIRCEA THE ELDER (1386-1418) Mircea`s conflict with the Ottoman Empire started because he supported the Christian peoples south of the Danube. In 1395, Sultan Bayezid I (called Yıldırım or “Thunderbolt”) led a huge army (about 40.000 soldiers) across the Danube. Mircea, having a smaller army of around 12.000 soldiers, couldn`t confront him in open battle, so he chose a harassment tactics. On 17th May 1395, in the Battle of Rovine, on forested and swampy terrain, the Wallachians defeated the Ottoman avant-garde. It was not the decisive battle as, after a battle near River Argeș, Mircea the Elder was defeated, lostthe throne and fled to Transylvania. The Ottomans appointed Vlad as the ruler of Wallachia, but Mircea, with the military help of Sigismund of Luxembourg, took back the throne in 1397. As Christian king and vassal of the Hungarian King, Mircea participated in the 1396 anti-Ottoman campaign started by some of the kings and noblemen of the Western World, which was theoretically led by the Hungarian King. After a few minor victories, the crusade was defeated in Nikopol on September 25th. The Wallachian army, consisting in light cavalry, was not asked to join the charge of the heavy cavalry, and retreated without fighting.

12. IANCU OF HUNEDOARA(1441-1456) Iancu of Hunedoaraplayed an important role , in Central and Eastern Europe in the first half of the XV century, preventing the Ottomans to advance in Europe along the Danube. His reign was characterized by military confrontations between the Christian world, represented by Hungary, Poland and the Romanian kingdoms, supported by the Pope, and the Muslims, represented by the Ottoman Empire. The Byzantine Empire was not powerful enough to oppose the Turks and it was gradually reduced to Constantinople and its surroundings, and, in 1453, it was conquered by the Ottomans. England, France and the Italian States (Venice, Milan, Florence and Naples) were engaged in battle against each other and did not answer the Pope`s request to organise an anti-Ottoman crusade. The most important of his many victories was that of Belgrade in 1456, when he defeated Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, a victory that delayed the Ottoman expansion towards the Centre of Europe by almost 100 years.

13. VLAD THE IMPALER Following Mircea the Elder`s death, Wallachia had 9 rulers between 1418 – 1456 and a total of 18 reigns. The Ottomans took advantage of the internal political struggle and appointed rulers that were faithful to them. Ascending to the throne in August 1456 (after reigning for a short time in 1448), Vlad the Impaler`s(1456-1462, 1476) main goal was to prepare the country for the decisive battle against the Turks. Therefore, he took steps to strengthen the king`s authority and stop the internal fights between the noblemen. His authoritarian rule and strictness against all those who broke the law gave him the nickname “the Impaler”, as he used to torture and execute people by impaling them. Because of his authoritarian rule, the noblemen who had supported him before, deserted him and supported his brother, Radu the Handsome, to take the throne. Vlad fled to Transylvania, but MateiCorvin, imprisoned him in Buda, because of some letters written by the Sași traders. He would be brought on the throne 13 years later by Stephen the Great and the King of Hungary, who wanted a king faithful to the anti-Ottoman cause to rule Wallachia. But, with the Turks` help, the noblemen plotted to murder him in battle and they did in 1477. Vlad the Impaler is known in our history as a freedom-loving ruler that fought for the independence of Wallahia. His internal policy to strengthen the king`s power and his external policy to organize the resistance against the Ottoman expansion, using skillfully the little resources he had, were meant to reach his goal of a free Wallahia.

14. STEPHEN THE GREAT Stephen III, also known as Stephen the Great  (1433 – 1504), ruled Moldavia between 1457 – 1504. He ruled for almost 50 years, the longest reign in the history of Moldavia. During his reign, he fought a lot of battles for the independence of the country against the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Poland and that of Hungary. Several of the churches and monasteries that were built by his order now belong to the world cultural patrimony. Mehmed II wanted to punish Stephen for interfering in Wallachia`s problems. Therefore, in 1474, he sent BeylerbeyHadim Suleiman Pasha with 120.000 soldiers to Moldavia to subdue the king and destroy his army. Stephen set his camp outside Vaslui, in a place called PodulÎnalt, and, on Jnuary 10th 1475, before dawn, he attacked suddenly. The great Ottoman army was ravaged. The swampy and unknown terrain, the fog, scared the Turks that scattered away. After the victory, Stephen sent a letter to all Christian princes, telling them about the victory and asking them for help in the future battles. But, apart from congratulations from the Pope and the Republic of Venice, nobody offered him any help. The Turks marched on Moldavia again. Mehmed II led the Ottoman army along the River Siret to Suceava, Stephen`s capital, and the Tatars came from River Nistru. The Turks defeated the Moldavians on July 26th 1476 in the forest of ValeaAlbă. Mehmed II attacked the fortified cities of Suceava, Neamţ and Hotin, but he couldn`t conquer them. Hearing that Stephen was raising a new army, that Hungarian and Polish soldiers were approaching the Moldavian bordersand seeing that his food supplies were low and that his soldiers were ill, Mehmed decided to retreat. He left Moldavia, his army harassed by Stephen`s groups of soldiers, without subduing the country or its ruler.

15. 1600 –MICHAEL THE BRAVE – THE FIRST UNION In May 1600, Michael the Brave banished IeremiaMovilă from the throne of Moldavia, defeating him at Bacău, and he accomplished the first union of the three Romaniankingdoms. In a document from July 6th 1600, he entitled himself “King of Wallachia and Transylvania and of the whole Moldavia”. But the international context was not favourable to Michael. The powerful neighbouring countries saw his political ambitions as a barrier against their wishes to expand. His union threatened the Habsburgs` plans to maintain Transylvania under their influence, Poland`s wish to keep control of Moldavia and the Ottomans` determination not to lose Wallachia. Moreover, Michael`s union was strong enough to change the balance of powers in the region. There were internal conflicts as well, as the Hungarian noblemen in Transylvania did not accept the terms of the new ruler. The Saşi were hostile to Michael because of the plunderhis soldiers hadcaused to their towns and villages. Michael could not defeat the uprising of the Hungarian noblemen, helped by General Basta, in the battle of Mirăslău in September 1600 and he lost Transylvania. Moldavia would soon fall under the rule of the Movilă family, Polish sympathizers. Michael tried to fight back the Polish attack on Wallachia, but he was defeated again and another member of Movilă family, Simion, would rule this region as well.

16. THE UNION OF 1859 – ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA AlexandruIoanCuza, who united Wallachia and Moldavia on January 24th 1859, came from an old Moldavian noble family. He was born on March 20th 1820. He studied in Iaşi until 1831 where he was a colleague of his future collaborators, among whom VasileAlecsandri. Then he went to Paris where he took his Baccalaureate in Letters. In 1859 AlexandruIoanCuza unified the two Romanian Principalities: Moldavia and Wallachia. One morning NicolaeGrigorescu told Al. Vlahuţă “We were told that Cuza was elected ruler in both capitals. I abandoned everything I was doing, I saddled my horse and left for the burgh. It was then that I experienced the joy of a people. They sang and danced and shouted everywhere. People greeted each other with jugs of wine in their hands, all they talked about was Cuza and the union, they hugged and danced “hora” (a traditional dance in circles) in the middle of the road. It was freezing outside, but no one stayed inside. I saw old people crying with joy.” On January 5th he was elected ruler of Moldavia by the unanimous vote of the Moldavian deputies. On January 24th 1859 Cuza was also elected ruler of Wallachia. His election was met with enthusiasm by the whole country. This new political situation of the two principalities generated discussions at the International Conference in Paris. France, Russia, England, Prussia and Sardinia recognized the double election of Cuza as a ruler ever since 1859. The Ottoman Empire and Austria recognized it in September 1859, but only during Cuza`s reign.

17. 1877 – The Independence – Dobrogea Joined Romania In 1877 Romania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire and, as a result of the Russian-Romanian-Turkish war, the independence of our country was recognised in the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. Thus Romania became the first independent national state in Eastern Europe. On an internationally favourable background, in 1875, the Eastern crisis deepened and, in 1877, the Russian-Turkish war started. Romania declared its whole independence on May 9th 1877. The Government, its head, Ion C. Bratianu, and the Minister of External Affairs, MihailKogalniceanu, decided to answer Russia`s request for help and join the Russian forces that operated in Bulgaria. The Romanian army, under the command of Prince Charles I, crossed the Danube and participated in the siege of Pleven; the joint forces succeeded in surrounding the Ottoman army led by Osman Pasha (December 10th 1877). Romania`s independence, that of Serbia and Montenegro, as well as the annexation of Dobrogea to Romania, were recognized in the Peace Treaty of San Stefano (March 3rd 1878). The powers of Europe insisted on keeping a Peace Congress in Berlin (June-July 1878) where the statute that Romania had proclaimed a year before, was recognised and maintained. Romania`s right over Dobrogeawas reasserted when it was annexed to Romania after a long period of Ottoman domination. But Russia violated the convention signed on April 4th 1877 and forced Romania to give back Kahul, Ismail and Bolgrad Counties.

18. 1918 – Bessarabia and Bucovina Joined Romania On March 27th, Bessarabia joined Romania. It was the beginning of a historical “right” done to our country, which would continue with Bucovina joining Romania on November 21st 1918 and it would be completed on December 1st 1918 when Transylvania, Banat and Crișana became part of a “whole” Romania. Romania was in a difficult political situation at the beginning of 1918. Although the Romanian army had won the battles of Mărăști, Mărășești and Oituz during the summer of 1917, our country had to retreat from World War I, especially under the circumstances of the Russian Revolution and counterrevolution that started on October 25th 1917. The Bolshevik government had already signed the agreement in Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers. Against this background of anarchy, the tsarist provinces were seeking their independence. Ukraine had become a republic and it had announced that Bessarabia was part of it. Romania`s territory was reduced to Moldavia , where the government, the king and the Parliament had fled to. A collaborationist government led by AlexandruMarghiloman had been appointed in Bucharest. The treaties of Paris-Versailles in 1919-1920 recognized the union of Transylvania, Banat, Maramureș, Crișana and Bucovina to Romania. Bessarabia was a different thing and it was the subject of a protocol signed in 1920, but it was mentioned that a further agreement between Romania and Soviet Russia needed to be signed. Russian had stopped the relation with Romania at the beginning of 1918, seizing Romania`s treasure that had been sent to Russia for safekeeping during the war.

19. December 1st 1918 – Transylvania Joined Romania The union on December 1st 1918 represents the main event in Romania`s history and a dream come true for the inhabitants within the borders of ancient Dacia, the union of all Romanians in a free and independent state. December 1st became the National Day of Romania after the revolution in 1989. For the Romanians, 1918 was a great year. On March 27th 1918, Bessarabia returned to “mother” Romania; on November 28th 1918 it was followed by Bucovina and, on December 1st 1918, the dream of our people, the completion of a unitary national state, was accomplished in Alba Iulia by the joining of Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș. Alba Iulia, the great city in Transylvania, had been the scene for many historical and cultural events in Romanian history. It was there that Michael the Brave had done the first political union of the three Romanian provinces on October the 21st 1599, where Horia and Cloșca had become martyrs of the Romanain people on February 28th 1785 and where King Ferdinand and Queen Maria would be crowned the first sovereigns of Romania. “Romania cannot be complete without Transylvania” said NicolaeTitulescu. “Romania cannot be whole without sacrifices. Transylvania is the cradle that watched it growing, it is the school that educated its people … it is the spark that drives its energy, …it is the sadness that keeps the enemy away, it is life that calls life.” (NicolaeTitulescu, Advocay for Peace, Bucharest, 1996)

20. THIS IS THE “WHOLE” ROMANIA

21. Students that worked on the presentation: • Bianca Stancu – VIII grade • MarinelaPetre – VIII grade • RalucaPopa – VIII grade • AlexandraRaica – VIII grade • SorinaPopa – VIII grade Coordinators: RalucaPodeanu CosminFloricel