Settlement in what is now Romania began in the 

Lower Paleolithic followed by written records

attesting the kingdom of Dacia, its conquest, and subsequent Romanization by the Roman
Empire during late antiquity. The modern Romanian state was formed in 1859 through a personal
union of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The new state, officially named
Romania since 1866, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. During World War
I, after declaring its neutrality in 1914, Romania fought together with the Allied Powers from
1916. In the aftermath of the war, Bukovina, Bessarabia, Transylvania, and parts
of Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș became part of the Kingdom of Romania.[11] In June–
August 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and Second Vienna Award,
Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet
Union and Northern Transylvania to Hungary. In November 1940, Romania signed the Tripartite
Pact and, consequently, in June 1941 entered World War II on the Axis side, fighting against the
Soviet Union until August 1944, when it joined the Allies and recovered Northern Transylvania.
Following the war and occupation by the Red Army, Romania became a socialist republic and a
member of the Warsaw Pact. After the 1989 Revolution, Romania began a
transition towards democracy and a market economy.