Babadag (; tr, Babadağ, "Father Mountain"), formerly known as Babatag, is a town in

Tulcea County Tulcea County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Dobruja, with the capital city at Tulcea. It includes in its northeast corner the large and thinly-populated estuary of the Danube. Demographics In 2011, Tulcea Cou ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, located on a small lake formed by the river

Taița The Taița is a river in Tulcea County, Romania. North of the town Babadag it discharges into Lake Babadag, which is connected with Lake Razim, a former lagoon of the Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlant ...

, in the densely wooded highlands of

Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( ro, Dobrogea de Nord or simply ; bg, Северна Добруджа, ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, bordered in the south ...

. One of the several tombs of Sari Saltik is found in town. The is divided only by a strip of marshland from

Razim Lake Lake Razelm or Lake Razim (, ''Limanul Razelm'') is the name of a large freshwater lagoon on the shores of the Black Sea in Romania, south of the Danube Delta and part of its World Heritage Site. It is the largest liman in Romania. The name is a ...

, a broad landlocked sheet of water spilling into the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

History

The name of Babadag is connected with 13th century dervish Baba Sari Saltik, who is said to have led a number of

Turcomans Turkoman (Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: تُركْمانْ, ota, تركمن, Türkmen and ''Türkmân''; az, Türkman and ', tr, Türkmen, tk, Türkmen, Persian language, Persian: ترکمن sing. ''Turkamān'', pl. ''Tarākimah''), ...

to Dobruja and to have settled them in this area. The town was first mentioned by

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...

under the name Baba Saltuk, as the furthermost outpost of the "Turks" (i.e., the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...

). The town was conquered by Bayezid I,

sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, in his 1393 Danubian campaign. The construction of a fortress was begun here during the reign of

Murad IV Murad IV ( ota, مراد رابع, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; tr, IV. Murad, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad IV was born in Cons ...

, but by 1650 only the fortress's foundation walls and towers were standing. In the 17th century, it occasionally served as the winter headquarters for the Grand Vizier of the Turks during their wars with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The town's location near to the

made it a target for the Russian navy, the town was bombed by the Russians in 1854 during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. In the mid-19th century, Babadag formed part of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

(''sanjak'') of

Silistra Silistra ( bg, Силистра ; tr, Silistre; ro, Silistra) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Sil ...

within the "Bulgarian Government" ( Danube Vilayet). Following the 1877–1878 war between the Ottoman and Russian empires, Babadag became part of independent Romania. At Babadag, the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

operates a military training facility. With a total surface area of , this is one of the largest and most modern training firing ranges in Europe. In 2008,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

forces started to train at Babadag as part of Romania's integration into NATO. In 2022, units of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

(that has returned to Europe for the first time since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

) have been training at the Babadag base, near the border with

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Demographics

In 1900 Babadag population was 3,500. The 2011 census counted 8,940 inhabitants. Population distribution: *6,267

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...

(77.64%) *420 Turks (5.2%) *1248

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

(15.46%) *37

Lipovans , flag = Flag of the Lipovans.png , flag_caption = Flag of the Lipovans , image = Evstafiev-lipovane-slava-cherkeza.jpg , caption = Lipovans during a ceremony in front of the Lipovan church in the Romanian village of Slava Cercheză in 2004 ...

(0.45%) *98 Others 84.8% were Romanian Orthodox and 14.2%

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Economy

Before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Babadag served as the market for

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

and mutton from the

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

Natives

Laurențiu Iorga Laurențiu Cătălin Iorga (born 17 March 1988) is a former Romanian professional footballer who played as a winger or forward. Career Iorga started his career at Oțelul Galați, the club where he played as a junior. With Oțelul, Iorga ...

(born 1988), footballer * Kemal Karpat (1924–2019), historian and professor at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

Aurel Toma Aurel Toma (July 30, 1911 – August 25, 1980) was a Romanian professional boxer of Bulgarian origin who competed from 1931 to 1948. Career He held the European bantamweight title twice, firstly in 1936 and again from 1938 to 1939. After he won ...

(1911–1980), professional boxer

Notes

References

* . * .

External links

Official Site
{{Authority control Towns in Romania Populated places in Tulcea County Localities in Northern Dobruja Place names of Turkish origin in Romania