Spanning a period of 2000 years from the Roman conquest of Dacia to the present day, A Concise History of Romania traces the development of a unique nation situated on the border between East and West. In this illuminating new history, Keith Hitchins explores Romania's struggle to find its place amidst two diverse societies: one governed by Eastern orthodox tradition, spirituality and agriculture and the other by Western rationalism, experimentation and capitalism. The book charts Romania's advancement through five significant phases of its history: medieval, early modern, modern and finally the nation's 'return to Europe'; evaluating all the while Romania's part in European politics, economic and social change, intellectual and cultural renewals and international entanglements. This is a fascinating history of an East European nation; one which sheds new light on the complex evolution of the Romanians and the identity they have successfully crafted from a unique synthesis of traditions.

A Concise History of Romania

The Romanians

This is not an ordinary history book. As readers will realise quite early on, Neagu Djuvara has the audacity to tackle some of the most delicate and controversial issues in Romanian history under the guise of light storytelling. With the addition of illustrations, the book becomes better and easier to understand: we are offered the chance to see how ancient artefacts discovered by archaeologists actually look like, or catch a glimpse of the world of barbarians and medieval warriors depicted in wonderful illuminated manuscripts. As we get nearer to the modern age, the imagery becomes even richer and we get to know Romania's princes and monarchs, their allies and their enemies, the politicians – good and bad – their triumphs, tribulations or even tragedies; and sometimes even the common people going about their daily lives. The photographic discourse focuses on the most important documents, even if their condition is not optimal. You will also find images of pottery, jewellery and weaponry, some of them from unexpected sources, often unknown to the public, accompanied by detailed captions that complement the information provided in the text itself. Together, the story and illustrations intertwine to form a new, enhanced historical account - and hopefully, one not lacking in originality.

A Brief Illustrated History of Romanians

The theoretical analyses and interpretations contained in the studies of this volume focus on key-concepts such as: politics, politician, democracy, Europe, liberalism, constitution, property, progress, kinship, nation, national character and specificity, homeland, patriotism, education, totalitarianism, democracy, democratic, democratization, transition. The essays unveil specific aspects belonging to Romania?s past and present. They also offer alternative perspectives on the Romanian culture through the relationship between the elite and society, and novel reflections on the delayed and unfinished modernization processes within the society and the state. The editors articulate the results coming from various sciences, such as history, linguistics, sociology, political sciences, and philosophy with the aim that the past and present profiles of Romania are better understood.

Key Concepts of Romanian History

History of Romania

Nicolae Iorga's A History of Romania: Land, People, Civilization is an intimate portrait of a land and its people written by its greatest historian. Much like Herodotus in antiquity, Iorga can be considered "the father of history" for his country. Like a true artist, he paints a portrait of Romania, bringing to life the complex history of this fascinating land. Iorga skillfully weaves together history, art, architecture, language, literature, and culture to give the reader an understanding of the fabric of Romanian society. The author presents the history of the Romanian lands from ancient times until the end of World War I, reflecting on the great personalities and events that shaped the nation, while examining the various threads that bind it together. The book includes a list of rulers, a bibliography, an index, and numerous illustrations. It includes a foreword by David Prodan, another great personality of Romanian historiography, discussing Iorga's contributions to Romanian scholarship. Nicolae Iorga's A History of Romania is essential reading for anyone interested in the story of this fascinating land.

A History of Romania

Although the earliest authentic records of Romania or, more correctly speaking, of Dacia, the Roman province which embraced Romania, Transylvania, and some adjoining territories of to-day, do not reach further back than about the century immediately preceding the Christian era, a good deal of information is to be gathered from the writings of Herodotus, Dion Cassius, and other early historians regarding the Getæ, the race from whom the Dacians sprang. The Getæ were in all probability a branch of the Thracians, who were amongst the earliest immigrants from the East; and for some time before they appeared in Dacia, which was situated on the northern side of the Danube (or Ister, as it was called by the Romans), they had settled between the south bank of that river and the Balkans (Mount Hæmus of the Romans). About the fourth century b.c., however, the Getæ had crossed the river, either driven north by an inimical neighbouring tribe, the Triballi, or in consequence of the growth of the nation itself. When they were first encountered by the Greeks, they occupied the eastern part of Dacia, reaching probably to one portion of the Black Sea; and some account of them is given by Ovid, who was exiled to their vicinity, but little is known of them until they came in contact with the Roman armies. The Getæ have little direct interest for us, but as we find associated with them the names of Philip of Macedon, Alexander the Great, and Lysimachus, a few words concerning their connection with those heroes may not be out of place, and will at least serve to fix a period in the history of the people...

A Short History of Romania

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 53. Chapters: History of the Romanian language, Religious history of Romania, Romanian folklore, Origin of the Romanians, Symbolist movement in Romania, Thraco-Roman, Balkan sprachbund, List of Romanian words of possible Dacian origin, Proto-Romanian language, Folklore of Romania, Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Neac u's letter, Latin-to-Romanian sound changes, C lu ari, Religious persecution during the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, Arcan, Eastern Romance substratum, Miori a, Kukeri, Jire ek Line, Bucharest Bible of 1688, Paparuda, Caloian, Romanian lexis, Santoaderi, Censorship in Communist Romania, Sarb . Excerpt: The origin of the Romanians - the ethnogenesis of the Romanian people (speakers of a Romance language in Southeastern Europe) - can be traced back to the region's Romanized inhabitants living, within the Roman Empire, in the lands north of the Jire ek Line (an imaginary line which had divided the influences of the Latin and Greek languages in Southeastern Europe before the 4th century). Besides the Romans and the Romanized autochthonous population (Dacians, Thracians or Illyrians), the Slavs also played a vital role in the formation of the Romanians. The early Romanian language, perhaps as early as the 10th century, began to split into four dialects which later tended to become languages in their own right. The principal one, in terms of numbers, is Daco-Romanian, with approximately 25 million speakers. The second largest division is called Aromanian. The other two divisions (Megleno-Romanian and Istro-Romanian) are quite limited in extent. All these peoples share the Vlach exonym (first recorded in the 11th century by Byzantine authors) which indicates that they have been perceived as speakers of a Romance language. The origin of the Romanians became subject to heated controversy, ..

Cultural History of Romania

The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was the most spectacularly violent and remains today the most controversial of all the East European upheavals of that year. Despite (or perhaps because of) the media attention the revolution received, it remains shrouded in mystery. How did the seemingly impregnable Ceausescu regime come to be toppled so swiftly and how did Ion Iliescu and the National Salvation Front come to power? Was it by coup d'état? Who were the mysterious "terrorists" who wreaked such havoc on the streets of Bucharest and the other major cities of Romania? Were they members of the notorious securitate? What was the role of the Soviet Union?Blending narrative with analysis, Peter Siani-Davies seeks to answer these and other questions while placing the events and their immediate aftermath within a wider context. Based on fieldwork conducted in Romania and drawing heavily on Romanian sources, including television and radio transcripts, official documents, newspaper reports, and interviews, this book is the most thorough study of the Romanian Revolution that has appeared in English or any other major European language.Recognizing that a definitive history of these events may be impossible, Siani-Davies focuses on the ways in which participants interpreted the events according to particular scripts and myths of revolution rooted in the Romanian historical experience. In the process the author sheds light on the ways in which history and the conflicting retellings of the 1989 events are put to political use in the transitional societies of Eastern Europe.

The Romanian Revolution of December 1989

The author of the present volume aims to investigate the relationships between Romanians and nomadic Turkic groups (Pechenegs, Uzes, Cumans) in the southern half of Moldavia, north of the Danube Delta, between the tenth century and the great Mongol invasion of 1241-1242. The Carpathian-Danubian area particularly favoured the development of sedentary life, throughout the millennia, but, at various times, nomadic pastoralists of the steppes also found this area favourable to their own way of life. Due to the basic features of its landscape, the above-mentioned area, which includes a vast plain, became the main political stage of the Romanian ethnic space, a stage on which local communities had to cope with the pressures of successive intrusions of nomadic Turks, attracted by the rich pastures north of the Lower Danube. Contacts of the Romanians and of the Turkic nomads with Byzantium, Kievan Rus, Bulgaria and Hungary are also investigated. The conclusions of the volume are based on an analysis of both written sources (narrative, diplomatic, cartographic) and archaeological finds.

The Romanians and the Turkic Nomads North of the Danube Delta from the Tenth to the Mid-Thirteenth Century

One of the first historical mentions of an armed conflict in what is now Romania dates back to 335 B.C., when, prior to launching his legendary Asian campaign, Alexander the Great organized an expedition over the Western shore of the Danube to deter the Gaets and secure the frontier of the Macedonian Kingdom. Since then, the land located on the Black Sea and nestled amongst the Carpathian Mountains has seen more than its fair share of military struggles. Whether referring to the country's fight for independence against the Ottoman Empire in the 14th Century or the December Revolution in the late 20th Century, Romania's military history has been long and varied. This book presents a chronological and detailed narrative of the significant events in the nation's military history, covering everything from the campaign of the Persian king Darius I against the Scythians in 514 B.C. to Romania's admission into NATO in April of 2004. Beginning with a full chronology of the country's most important and decisive military events, Brief Romanian Military History then presents a general overview of 2500 years of Romanian history. Complete with biographies of significant military leaders and entries on important battles, wars, military organizations, structures, fortresses, uniforms, and weapons for each of the historical eras chronicled, this book is an essential reference tool for scholars, historians, anthropologists, journalists, and all others interested in the history of Romania.

Brief Romanian Military History

This book presents captivating stories about Romania's past in the larger context of European and world history. Prof. Djuvara sets aside the academic tone to recount the story of Romanians, without taboos or prejudices. Common misunderstandings are brought to light and clarified, such as the story of Vlad the Impaler and the role played by Romania in World War II. Read about the wars between Dacia and Rome, barbarian invasions, the assimilation of other populations, the complex history of Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia and about great sacrifices made in defense of Christianity. This translation published by Cross Meridian (Canada) is dedicated to young people of Romanian descent who live in countries where English is spoken or understood.

A Concise History of Romanians

Romania and World War II is a collection of studies, in English and Romanian, by distinguished American, European, and Romanian historians on the situation of Romania during World War II presented at the First International Conference of the Center for Romanian Studies held in Ia?i on 25-26 May 1995, commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. This book reveals the results of research by leading specialists from around the world addressing many important aspects of Romania’s involvement in World War II.The papers published in this volume include Charles King, The Moldovan ASSR on the Eve of the War: Cultural Policy in 1930s Transnistria; Kurt W. Treptow, Alegerile din decembrie 1937si instaurarea dictaturii regale; Nicholas M. Nagy-Talavera, Reminiscences of Iorga’s Murderer: Traian Boeru; Florin Constantiniu, Un episod pu?in cunoscut al rela?iilor româno-sovietice (1941); Larry L. Watts, Incompatible Alliances: Small States of Central Europe during World War II; Mihai Retegan, The End of the War in Europe: Consequences for the States of Central and Eastern Europe, A Comparative Study; Valeriu Florin Dobrinescu, Unele considera?ii privind intrarea României în razboiul na?iunilor unite (1944-1945); Gheorghe Onisoru, Uniunea Sovietica si România: de la 1944 la 1947; Paul E. Michelson, Recent Historiography on Romania and the Second World War; and many others.Edited by Kurt W. Treptow, Romania and World War II will be of interest to students and scholars of twentieth century Romanian history, as well as World War II.

Romania and World War II

Chronological History of Romania

The volume provides a comprehensive, yet brief, analysis of the evolution of Romanian history and civilization from the first century BC to the present. Its principal attraction to readers is the conceptual and analytical approach designed to provide an intelligent, yet scholarly, overview of Romanian history, and a clear understanding of the problems facing the country, rooted in that history, in the post-communist period of transition of the 1990s and, most likely, also in the new millennium.

Romanians and Romania

Romania's Economic History

This book examines the US foreign policy of differentiation towards the socialist regimes of Eastern Europe as it was implemented by various administrations towards Ceausescu’s Romania from 1969 to 1980. Drawing from multi-archival research from both US and Romanian sources, this is the first comprehensive analysis of differentiation and shows that Washington’s Eastern European policy in the 1970s was more nuanced than the common East vs. West narrative suggests. By examining systemic Cold War factors such as the rise of détente between the two superpowers and the role of agency, the study deals with the dynamics that shaped the evolution of American-Romanian relations after Bucharest’s opening towards the West, and the subsequent embrace of this initiative by Washington as an instrument to undermine the unity of the Soviet bloc. Furthermore, it revises interpretations about Carter’s celebrated human rights policy based on the Romanian case, pointing towards a remarkable continuity between the three administrations under examination (Nixon, Ford and Carter). By doing so, this study contributes to the field by highlighting a largely neglected aspect of US foreign policy and uncovers the subtleties of Washington’s relations with one of the most vigorous actors of the Eastern European bloc. This book will be of much interest to students of Cold War Studies, US foreign policy, Eastern European politics and International Relations in general.

America and Romania in the Cold War

This book tells the little known story of Dacia, the powerful and rich land that became Transylvania and Romania. This kingdom was once the cornerstone of Eastern Europe. By A.D. 1, Dacia was the third largest military power in Europe, after the Romans and Germans. Most historians mistook the Dacians for Sarmatians, Scythians, even Slavs. This book revives the Dacian history and contributes to our understanding of the region as it is today. The wars, economy, and traditions of this Transylvanian land permeate the geopolitics of today's Balkan countries. To understand what is happening today in Modern Europe, we need to return to the study of this area. This book provides the context for the invasions that molded the Balkan and Eastern European nations that continue to redraw their borders and impose ethnic domination on each other.

Dacia

This latest volume in the acclaimed Oxford History of Modern Europe series looks at the collapse of Communist power which has once again focused attention on the processes of nation-building in central and eastern Europe. In this comprehensive study, Keith Hitchins focuses on how Rumania's political and intellectual elites attempted to establish an independent state before the advent of Communist rule in 1947. It traces the efforts of the country's leaders to create the institutions of a modern state, to "Europeanize" without losing national identity, and to find ways of preserving independence in the international political and economic order dominated by the great powers. In his study, Hitchins emphasizes how Rumania's past history is essential to a clear understanding of its complex present and future.

Romania

This book honors Cornelia Bodea, academician, scholar, professor, teacher, and, above all, friend and colleague to three generations of American and British students of the Romanian past and culture. The studies in this volume, apart from two contributions dedicated to the work of Cornelia Bodea, are arranged in chronological order. They range from an effort to elucidate the image of Napoleon, as seen by Polish participants in Napoleon’s failed Russia invasion, a study on the development of the Albanian national consciousness, in which Romania also played a role, an illuminating study of the image of Romania found in the classic eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, World War I, British cultural policy in Romania, post-World War II Romanian-American relations, and a study of the Transnistrian dispute. The scope of these studies reflects the range of Cornelia Bodea’s own work, which has dealt with grand themes of Romanian national development, cultural history, and Romanian diplomatic history. Academician Cornelia Bodea passed away in 2010. Contributors to this volume include Dennis Deletant, Radu R. Florescu, Richard Frucht, Joseph Harrington, Ernest H. Latham, Jr., Paul E. Michelson, and Kurt W. Treptow.

National Development in Romania and Southeastern Europe

This original and ground-breaking work examines the building of the European nation which became Romania in 1859. The evolution of the Romanians in the century between the 1770s and the 1860s was marked by a transition from long-established agrarian economic and social structures, locked into an essentially medieval political system, to a society moulded by urban and industrial values and held together by allegiance to the nation-state. This fascinating analysis of the building of a European nation-state is the first detailedf account of the Romanians during this dramatic period.

The Romanians, 1774-1866

Romania during World War I faced a unique situation. Although ruled by a German king, it had strong cultural and historical ties to France and the West. The young nation also had territorial ambitions that it hoped to satisfy. As a result, the country maintained a cautious neutrality in the early years of the war before ultimately deciding to enter the conflict on the side of the Allies in 1916. One of those who witnessed this situation was the American journalist John Reed. Internationally known for his famous account of the Bolshevik Revolution, Ten Days that Shook the World, John Reed’s writings about Romania are, until now, virtually unknown. As a journalist of great talent and a witness to the situation in Romania in 1915, on the eve of its entry into the war, John Reed’s accounts are insightful reading for anyone interested in this period of Romanian history or in the author himself. Edited, with an introduction by Dr. A.K. Brackob, this volume brings together these writings and reveals John Reed’s unique perspective on Romania.

Romania during World War I

Romania, a country with a rich and intricate history, has its roots deeply embedded in ancient times, marked by the Dacians, Romans, and the formation of the medieval principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. These principalities played a crucial role in defending Europe against Ottoman expansion, exemplified by figures like Vlad the Impaler. In the 19th century, Romania achieved independence and later united under King Carol I. The 20th century saw Romania's involvement in both World Wars, a period of communism under Nicolae Ceaușescu, and a significant revolution in 1989 that led to a democratic government. Today, Romania is a member of NATO and the European Union, showcasing its vibrant culture and history, while continually shaping its identity in the global arena.

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History of Romania

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