How Moldavia became “Romanian”

The Principality of Moldova was a historical state in south-eastern Europe whose foundation dates back to the 14th century. It existed until 1859. Today, its territory is divided between Moldova (excluding Transnistria) and the parts of northern Romania and southern Ukraine to the west of Moldova. For centuries, the Principality thus lay at the intersection of the spheres interests of neighboring great powers, initially Hungary and Poland, in the later centuries above all the Habsburg Monarchy in the northwest, the Russian Empire in the northeast, and the Ottoman Empire in the south, which exercised sovereignty over the Principality from 1512.

In 1859, the Principality of Moldavia was united with the Principality of Wallachia, initially through the personal union of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuzas (1820-1873) and under the title of the “United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia”. In 1861, both were merged into the new “Principality of Romania”, from which the Kingdom of Romania would emerge twenty years later.

The Principality of Wallachia was a state in the south of present-day Romania. At the height of its expansion, it also included Dobruja and thus parts of the Black Sea coast. At the beginning of the 14th century, the principality was under Hungarian suzerainty. By the end of the century, it had fallen under Ottoman influence. As early as 1600, it was briefly united with the principalities of Transylvania and Moldavia. In 1659, the capital of the Principality of Wallachia was moved from Târgoviște to Bucharest. In 1859, the principality was once again united with the Principality of Moldavia, and together they formed the Principality of Romania in 1861.

Romania (population in 2024: 19,043,151) is a country in Southeast Europe with an area of 238,397 km². The capital of the country is Bucharest. The state is situated directly on the Black Sea, the Carpathian Mountains and borders Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Ukraine and Moldova. Romania was established in 1859 from the merger of Moldova and Wallachia. Romania is home to Transylvania, the central region for the German minority there.

Bucharest (population in 2024: 1,709,458) is the capital of Romania. In 1659 Bucharest replaced Târgoviște as the capital of the Principality of Wallachia. After the unification of the Danubian principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia) under Ion Cuza in 1861, Bucharest became the capital of Romania in 1862. Within a short time, it had become by far the largest city in the Southeast European region between Budapest and Istanbul. Under King Carol I. (1866-1914) Bucharest underwent urban planning changes following Western trends, with palaces, boulevards, parks, Art Nouveau villas and electric lighting. Towards the end of the 19th century, the city also developed into an industrial and financial center. In 1916, during World War I, it was occupied by the Central Powers, with whom a peace treaty was signed in 1918. Between 1936 and 1940, a Parisian-style boulevard was built in Bucharest, which also earned the city the nicknames "Micul Paris" ("Little Paris") or "Paris of the East." In World War II, after a brief period of neutrality, Romania sided with the Germans after General Ion Antonescu and the fascist "Iron Guard" turned Romania into a "national-legionary state." When Antonescu was arrested by King Mihai 1944, this resulted in air raids by the Germans, which destroyed large parts of Bucharest. In 1977, an earthquake caused widespread damage. Beginning in 1984, communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu had parts of the historic old city demolished in order to build a large socialist center, but this was never completed after his execution and the fall of the communist regime in 1989. Bucharest is now the seventh largest city in the EU, of which Romania has been a member since 2007.

The Ottoman Empire was the state of the Ottoman dynasty from about 1299 to 1922. The name derives from the founder of the dynasty, Osman I. At its peak, the empire encompassed Asia Minor and parts of Arabia, Egypt, and the entire Balkans. In addition, it brought many other countries and territories in Eastern Europe, East Asia, and North Africa under its control. Its last capital was Constantinople (now Istanbul). The successor state of the Ottoman Empire is the Republic of Turkey.