Romania Throughout the Historical Eras

Prehistory
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Settlement in what is now
Romania began in the Lower Paleolithic. 40.000-year-old remains of modern humans with a possible Neanderthalian
trait were discovered in present-day Romania when the "Cave with Bones" was uncovered in 2002. The Romanian fossils
are still among the oldest remains of Homo sapiens in Europe, so they may be representative of the first such people to
have entered Europe.

The Neolithic-Age Cucuteni area in northeastern Romania was the western region of European civilizations, known as
the Cucuteni–Trypillia culture.The Cucuteni-Tripoli culture is one of the earliest civilizations in Europe. It preceded by
several centuries the appearance of human settlements in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. The name comes from the
localities near which its vestiges were first discovered: Cucuteni, a village near Iași, and Tripolie, a town in Ukraine.

The Hamangia culture is a Late Neolithic archaeological culture of Dobruja (Romania and Bulgaria) between

the Danube and the Black Sea and Muntenia in the south. It is named after the site of Baia-Hamangia, discovered in
1952 along Golovița Lake. The Hamangia culture attracted and attracts the attention of many art historians because of
its exceptional clay figures.

Antiquity
The Antiquity in Romania spans the period between the foundation of Greek colonies in present-day Dobruja and the
withdrawal of the Romans from "Dacia Trajana" province. The earliest records of the history of the regions which now
form Romania were made after the establishment of three Greek towns — Histria, Tomis, and Callatis — on the Black
Sea coast in the 7th and 6th centuries BC. They developed into important centers of commerce and had a close
relationship with the natives. Confrontations between the natives and the Roman Empire began in the late 1st century
BC. Among the former, the Dacians—who were closely connected to the Getae—rose to eminence under King Burebista
(c. 80–44 BC). He unified the tribes dwelling between the Middle Danube, the Northern Carpathians, the Dniester and
the Balkan Mountains into a powerful, but ephemeral empire. The Romans occupied Banat, Oltenia and Transylvania
after the fall of Decebalus and the disintegration of his kingdom in 106. The three regions together formed the new
province of Dacia.

Middle Ages
The Middle Ages in Romania began with the withdrawal of the Roman troops and administration from the province of
Dacia in the 270s. The inhabitants of the principalities were divided into the following categories: dependent and free
peasants, craftsmen, merchants and the ruling class. In medieval Romanian society, the church was involved in almost all
aspects of daily life, the majority of the inhabitants of the two principalities being represented by Christians of the
Orthodox rite. In settlements considered urban, agriculture represented the main economic activity of the inhabitants.

Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave) was the lord of Wallachia between 1593-1600. For a period, he was the de facto
leader of the three medieval states that make up Romania today: Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldova. The voivode
became an important forerunner of the unification of the Romanians, which would take place in the 20th century. Mihai
Viteazul is the ruler who managed to rule for a short time, in 1599-1600, the three countries reunited.

Dimitrie Cantemir was the lord of Moldova twice and a great scholar of Romanian humanism. In his short reign, Dimitrie
Cantemir made some reforms, for certain poorer social groups. From the other privileges given by Dimitrie Cantemir, the
lack of princely favors given to the great boyars is noticeable, more deeds being given to poor people.
In 1710 he was put on the throne of Moldavia but, together with the Russian army, suffered a decisive defeat from the
Turks in the Battle of Stănilești. Cantemir was forced to take refuge in Russia, where he spent the rest of his life amidst
intellectual pursuits.

Modern Age
The modern Romanian state was formed by the union of Moldova with Wallachia due to the double election as ruler of
Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The reign of Cuza was characterized by a wide work of modernization of the Romanian state. King
Carol I was also an important ruler of this period. During his reign, the Constitution of 1866 was adopted and Romania
won its state independence. In the 19th century Romania also suffered many cultural changes. It is the century in which
the Cyrillic alphabet was replaced by the Latin alphabet and the foundations of modern Romanian education, national
history, and modern culture were established. During the reign of Carol I, personalities such as Mihai Eminescu and Ion
Luca Caragiale appeared.

Between the years 1877-1878, during the war of independence, Romania obtained its independence from the Ottoman
Empire.

On December 1, 1918, Moldavia, Romania and Transylvania united and formed Greater Romania.

Unfortunately during the Second World War Moldova was occupied by the Soviet Union which reclaimed it from
Romania. In 1991 it declared independence and now Romania and the Republic of Moldova are two separate countries.

Contemporary Age
For 40 years (1948-1989), the communist regime was in power in Romania. It masqueraded as democratic, patriotic and
dedicated to improving the lives of all Romanians, only to commit atrocities against the very people it swore to protect.
The silent war on minorities. Even though the communist regime claimed that everyone was equal, ethnic minorities
faced underestimation, if not discrimination at every turn. The Hungarian minority was severely affected, as its cultural
and political leaders faced persecution and imprisonment in a series of show trials. The Hungarian aristocracy, along
with the rest of the Romanian bourgeoisie and aristocracy, had their land and property confiscated, while they
themselves were sent to penitentiaries or labor camps.

In the 1989 revolution the people managed to overthrow the communist regime and slowly became the democratic
country that we know today.