![Dobrogea COA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Dobrogea_COA.svg)
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea,
or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and
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 ...
. It is situated between the lower
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
River and 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 ...
, and includes the
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...
, Romanian coast, and the northernmost part of the
Bulgarian coast. The territory of Dobruja is made up 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 ...
, which is part of Romania, and
Southern Dobruja
Southern Dobruja, South Dobruja or Quadrilateral (Bulgarian: Южна Добруджа, ''Yuzhna Dobrudzha'' or simply Добруджа, ''Dobrudzha''; ro, Dobrogea de Sud, or ) is an area of northeastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra ...
, which is part of Bulgaria.
The territory of the Romanian region Dobrogea is organised as the counties of
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
and
Tulcea
Tulcea (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 73,707 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city.
Names
Th ...
, with a combined area of and a population of slightly less than 900,000. Its main cities are
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
,
Tulcea
Tulcea (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 73,707 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city.
Names
Th ...
,
Medgidia
Medgidia ( or ; historical Turkish names: ''Karasu'' or ''Carasu'', ''Mecidiye'' or ''Megidie'') is a city in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, south-eastern Romania.
History
Archaeological findings show that Dobruja was inhabited since th ...
and
Mangalia
Mangalia (, tr, Mankalya), ancient Callatis ( el, Κάλλατις/Καλλατίς; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern D ...
. Dobrogea is represented by
dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
s in the
coat of arms of Romania
The coat of arms of Romania was adopted in the Parliament of Romania, Romanian Parliament on 10 September 1992 as a representative coat of arms for Romania. It is based on the Lesser Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Romania (used between 1922 and ...
.
The Bulgarian region Dobrudzha is divided among the administrative regions of
Dobrich
Dobrich ( bg, Добрич ; ro, Bazargic, tr, Hacıoğlu Pazarcık) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, 9th most populated city in Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Dobrich Province and the capital of the region of Southern Dobr ...
and
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 ...
; the following villages of
Razgrad Province
Razgrad Province ( bg, Област Разград (''Oblast Razgrad''), former name Razgrad okrug) is a province in Northeastern Bulgaria, geographically part of the Ludogorie region. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre ...
: Konevo, Rainino, Terter and Madrevo; and the village General Kantardzhievo (
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
). This section has a total area of , with a combined population of some 310,000 people, the main towns being
Dobrich
Dobrich ( bg, Добрич ; ro, Bazargic, tr, Hacıoğlu Pazarcık) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, 9th most populated city in Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Dobrich Province and the capital of the region of Southern Dobr ...
and
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 ...
(regional seats).
Geography
![Yaylata](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Yaylata.jpg)
Except for the
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...
, a marshy region located in its northeastern corner, Dobruja is hilly, with an average altitude of about 200–300 metres. The highest point is the Țuțuiatu (Greci) Peak in the
Măcin Mountains
The Măcin Mountains () is a mountain range in Tulcea County, Romania. Part of the Northern Dobruja Massif, they are located between Danube River to the north and west, Taița River and ''Culmea Niculițelului'' to the east and Casimcea Platea ...
, having a height of 467 m. The
Dobruja Plateau The Dobruja Plateau or Dobrogea Plateau ( ro, Podișul Dobrogei) is a plateau in eastern Romania located in the Dobruja ( ro, Dobrogea) region, surrounded to the north and west by the Danube and to the east by the Danube Delta and the Black Sea.
...
covers most of the Romanian part of Dobruja. The
Ludogorie Plateau
The Ludogorie ( bg, Лудогорие, usually used with a definite article, Лудогорието, ''Ludogorieto'') or Deliorman (''Делиорман'', tr, Deli Orman, lit=mad forest and Bulgarian: lud - "mad", "crazy" and gora - "forest"), ...
is found in Bulgaria.
Lake Razelm
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 ...
is one of the most important lakes in Northern Dobruja.
Dobruja lies in the temperate
continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' (al ...
climatic area; the local
climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...
is determined by the influx of oceanic air from the northwest and northeast and continental air from the
East European Plain
The East European Plain (also called the Russian Plain, "Extending from eastern Poland through the entire European Russia to the Ural Mountaina, the ''East European Plain'' encompasses all of the Baltic states and Belarus, nearly all of Ukraine, a ...
. Dobruja's relatively level terrain and its bare location facilitate the influx of humid, warm air in the spring, summer, and autumn from the northwest, as well as that of northern and northeastern polar air in the winter. The Black Sea also exerts an influence over the region's climate, particularly within 40–60 kilometres from the coast. The average annual temperatures range from 11 °C inland and along the Danube, to 11.8 °C on the coast and less than 10 °C in the higher parts of the plateau. The coastal region of Southern Dobruja is the aridest part of Bulgaria, with an annual
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
of 450 millimetres.
Dobruja is a windy region once known for its
windmill
A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...
s. There is wind during about 85–90% of all days; it usually comes from the north or northeast. The average wind speed is about twice higher than the average in Bulgaria. Due to the limited precipitation and the proximity to the sea, rivers in Dobruja are usually short and with low discharge. The region has several shallow seaside lakes with
brackish water
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estua ...
.
Etymology
The most widespread opinion among scholars is that the origin of the term ''Dobruja'' is to be found in the Turkish rendition of the name of a 14th‑century Bulgarian ruler,
despot Dobrotitsa
Dobrotitsa ( bg, Добротица, ; ro, Dobrotici or ; in contemporaneous Byzantine documents; ''Dobrodicie'' in contemporaneous Genoese documentsM. Balard, ''Actes de Kilia du notaire Antonio di Ponzo, 1360'' in ''Genes et l'Outre-Mer'', II ...
. It was common for the Turks to name countries after one of their early rulers (for example, nearby
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
was known as ''Bogdan
Iflak'' by the Turks, named after
Bogdan I
Bogdan I, or Bogdan the Founder ( ro, Bogdan Întemeietorul), was the first independent ruler, or voivode, of Moldavia in the 1360s. He had initially been the voivode, or head, of the Vlachs in the Voivodeship of Maramureș in the Kingdom of Hun ...
). Other etymologies have been considered, but never gained widespread acceptance.
Abdolonyme Ubicini
Jean-Henri-Abdolonyme Ubicini (20 October 1818 – 28 October 1884) was a French historian, journalist and honorary member of the Romanian Academy.
He was born in Issoudun, Indre in a middle-class family originating in Lombardy. After studying in ...
believed the name meant "good lands", derived from
Slavic ''dobro'' ("good"), an opinion that was adopted by several 19th‑century scholars. This derivation appears to contrast with the usual 19th‑century description of Dobruja as a dry barren land; it has been explained as expressing the point of view of
Ruthenes
Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sourc ...
, who considered the Danube delta in the northern Dobruja as a significant improvement over the
steppes
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grasslands, ...
to the North.
I. A. Nazarettean combines the Slavic word with the
Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different ''budjak'' ("corner"), thus proposing the etymology "good corner".
A version matching contemporaneous descriptions was suggested by
Kanitz, who associated the name with the
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
''dobrice'' ("rocky and unproductive terrain"). According to
Gheorghe I. Brătianu
Gheorghe (George) I. Brătianu (January 28 1898 – April 23–27, 1953) was a Romanian politician and historian. A member of the Brătianu family and initially affiliated with the National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875), National Liberal Par ...
, the name is a Slavic derivation from the Turkic word ''Bordjan'' or ''Brudjars'', which referred to the Turkic
Proto-Bulgarians
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...
; this term was also used by Arabic writers.
One of the earliest documented uses of the name can be found in the
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
''Oghuz-name'' narrative, dated to the 15th century, where it appears as ''Dobruja-éli''. The
possessive suffix
In linguistics, a possessive affix (from la, affixum possessivum) is an affix (usually suffix or prefix) attached to a noun to indicate its possessor, much in the manner of possessive adjectives.
Possessive affixes are found in many languages o ...
''el-i'' indicated that the land was considered as belonging to Dobrotitsa ("" in the original Ottoman Turkish). The loss of the final particle is not unusual in the Turkish world, a similar evolution being observed in the name of
Aydın
Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar'', Ancient and Modern Greek: Τράλλεις /''Tralleis''/) is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of B ...
, originally ''Aydın-éli''. Another early use is in the 16th‑century
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
translation of
Laonicus Chalcondyles
Laonikos Chalkokondyles, Latinized as Laonicus Chalcocondyles ( el, Λαόνικος Χαλκοκονδύλης, from λαός "people", νικᾶν "to be victorious", an anagram of Nikolaos which bears the same meaning; c. 1430 – c. 1470; ...
' ''Histories'', where the term ''Dobroditia'' is used for the original
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
"Dobrotitsa's country" (). In the 17th century, the region was referred to in more accounts, with renditions such as ''Dobrucia'', ''Dobrutcha'', ''Dobrus'', ''Dobruccia'', ''Dobroudja'', ''Dobrudscha'', and others being used by foreign authors.
Initially, the name meant just the steppe of the southern region, between the forests around
Babadag
Babadag (; tr, Babadağ, "Father Mountain"), formerly known as Babatag, is a town in Tulcea County, Romania, located on a small lake formed by the river Taița, in the densely wooded highlands of Northern Dobruja. One of the several tombs ...
in the north and the
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 ...
–
Dobrich
Dobrich ( bg, Добрич ; ro, Bazargic, tr, Hacıoğlu Pazarcık) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, 9th most populated city in Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Dobrich Province and the capital of the region of Southern Dobr ...
–
Balchik
Balchik ( bg, Балчик ; ro, Balcic) is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Southern Dobruja area of northeastern Bulgaria. It is in Dobrich Province, 35 km southeast of Dobrich and 42 km northeast of Varna. It spra ...
line in the south. Eventually, the term was extended to include the northern part and the
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...
. In the 19th century, some authors used the name to refer just to the territory between the southernmost branch of the Danube (St. George) in the north and the Karasu Valley (nowadays the
Danube-Black Sea Canal) in the south.
History
Prehistory
The territory of Dobruja has been inhabited by humans since
Middle and
Upper Palaeolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...
, as the remains at
Babadag
Babadag (; tr, Babadağ, "Father Mountain"), formerly known as Babatag, is a town in Tulcea County, Romania, located on a small lake formed by the river Taița, in the densely wooded highlands of Northern Dobruja. One of the several tombs ...
,
Slava Rusă
Slava may refer to:
Ships
* ''Slava'' class cruiser, a modern Russian warship
** Soviet cruiser Slava (1979), now Russian cruiser ''Moskva'', a ''Slava'' class guided missile cruiser sunk during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
* Russian b ...
and
Enisala
Sarichioi (russian: Сарикёй, from tr, Sarıköy, "Yellow Village" ) is a commune in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is composed of five villages: Enisala, Sabangia, Sarichioi, Zebil, and Visterna. Besides the ethnic Romanian ma ...
demonstrate. Paleolithic people made tools of
silex
Silex is any of various forms of ground stone. In modern contexts the word refers to a finely ground, nearly pure form of silica or silicate.
In the late 16th century, it meant powdered or ground up "flints" (i.e. stones, generally meaning the cl ...
and ate fruits, fish, and other hunted animals. In this period fire was discovered, and at its end, the bow with arrows and the boat sculpted from a trunk tree was invented. There were found tools in caves, inclusive
Gura Dobrogei. In the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
, the territory was occupied by members of the
Hamangia culture
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 Lak ...
(named after a village on the Dobrujan coast),
Boian culture
The Boian culture (dated to 4300–3500 BC), also known as the Giulești–Marița culture or Marița culture, is a Neolithic archaeological culture of Southeast Europe. It is primarily found along the lower course of the Danube in what is now Ro ...
, and
Karanovo V culture. At the end of the fifth millennium BC, under the influence of some Aegeo-Mediterranean tribes and cultures, the
Gumelniţa culture appeared in the region. In the
Eneolithic
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
, populations migrating from the north of the Black Sea, of the
Kurgan
A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central Asi ...
culture, mixed with the previous population, creating the
Cernavodă I culture. Under Kurgan II influence, the Cernavodă II culture emerged. Through the combination of the Cernavodă I and
Ezero culture
The Ezero culture, 3300—2700 BC, was a Bronze Age archaeological culture occupying most of present-day Bulgaria. It takes its name from the Tell-settlement of Ezero.
Ezero follows the copper age cultures of the area ( Karanovo VI culture, ...
, the Cernavodă III culture developed. The region had commercial contact with the Mediterranean world since the 14th century BC, as proven by a
Mycenae
Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. Th ...
a sword discovered at
Medgidia
Medgidia ( or ; historical Turkish names: ''Karasu'' or ''Carasu'', ''Mecidiye'' or ''Megidie'') is a city in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, south-eastern Romania.
History
Archaeological findings show that Dobruja was inhabited since th ...
, but under the reserve demanded by lack of hard evidence in what concerns the provenience/manufacturer of such armours.
Mikra Skythia
Ancient history
![Cetatea Histria Constanta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Cetatea_Histria_Constanta.jpg)
During the early
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
(8th–6th centuries BC), there was increased differentiation of the local
Getic
The Getae ( ) or Gets ( ; grc, Γέται, singular ) were a Thracian-related tribe that once inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania. Both the singular form ''Get'' an ...
tribes from the
Thracian
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...
mass. In the second part of the 8th century BC, the first signs of commercial relations between the indigenous population and the Greeks appeared on the shore of the Halmyris Gulf (now the
Sinoe Lake
Lake Sinoe is a lagoon in Northern Dobruja, Romania, close to the Black Sea. Its name derives from Slavic (''Blue Lake''). The ruins of the ancient Greek colony
Greek colonization was an organised colonial expansion by the Archaic Greeks into ...
).
In 657/656 BC
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
colonists from
Miletus
Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...
founded a colony in the region:
Histria. In the 7th and 6th centuries BC, more
Greek colonies
Greek colonization was an organised colonial expansion by the Archaic Greeks into the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea in the period of the 8th–6th centuries BC.
This colonization differed from the migrations of the Greek Dark Ages in that it ...
were founded on the Dobrujan coast (
Callatis
Mangalia (, tr, Mankalya), ancient Callatis ( el, Κάλλατις/Καλλατίς; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern D ...
,
Tomis,
Mesembria
Mesembria ( grc, Μεσημβρία; grc-x-doric, Μεσαμβρία, Mesambria) was an important Greek city in ancient Thrace. It was situated on the coast of the Euxine and at the foot of Mount Haemus; consequently upon the confines of Moesi ...
,
Dionysopolis, Parthenopolis, Aphrodisias, Eumenia etc.). In the 5th century BC these colonies were under the influence of the
Delian League
The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pl ...
, passing in this period from
oligarchy
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
to
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
. In the 6th century BC, the first
Scythian
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
groups began to enter the region. Two
Getic
The Getae ( ) or Gets ( ; grc, Γέται, singular ) were a Thracian-related tribe that once inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania. Both the singular form ''Get'' an ...
tribes, the ''Crobyzi'' and ''Terizi'', and the town of Orgame (
Argamum
Argamum was a fort
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("st ...
) were mentioned on the territory of present Dobruja by
Hekataios of Miletus (540–470 BC).
In 514/512 BC King
Darius I of Persia
Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his d ...
subdued the
Getae
The Getae ( ) or Gets ( ; grc, Γέται, singular ) were a Thracian-related tribe that once inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania. Both the singular form ''Get'' an ...
living in the region during his expedition against Scythians living north of the Danube. At about 430 BC, the
Odrysian kingdom
The Odrysian Kingdom (; Ancient Greek: ) was a state grouping many Thracian tribes united by the Odrysae, which arose in the early 5th century BC and existed at least until the late 1st century BC. It consisted mainly of present-day Bulgaria and ...
under
Sitalkes
Sitalces (Sitalkes) (; Ancient Greek: Σιτάλκης, reigned 431–424 BC) was one of the great kings of the Thracian Odrysian state. The Suda called him Sitalcus (Σίταλκος).
He was the son of Teres I, and on the sudden death of ...
extended its rule to the mouths of the Danube. In 429 BC, Getae from the region participated in an Odrysian campaign in
Macedonia. In the 4th century BC, the Scythians brought Dobruja under their sway. In 341–339 BC, one of their kings,
Atheas, fought against Histria, which was supported by a ''Histrianorum rex'' (probably a local Getic ruler). In 339 BC, King Atheas was defeated by the
Macedonians under King
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
, who afterwards extended his rule over Dobruja.
![Scythia Minor map-en](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Scythia_Minor_map-en.svg)
In 313 BC and again in 310–309 BC, the Greek colonies led by Callatis, supported by
Antigonus I Monophthalmus
Antigonus I Monophthalmus ( grc-gre, Ἀντίγονος Μονόφθαλμος , 'the One-Eyed'; 382 – 301 BC), son of Philip from Elimeia, was a Macedonian Greek nobleman, general, satrap, and king. During the first half of his life he serv ...
, revolted against Macedonian rule. The revolts were suppressed by
Lysimachus
Lysimachus (; Greek: Λυσίμαχος, ''Lysimachos''; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessalian officer and successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became King of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon.
Early life and career
Lysimachus was b ...
, the
diadochus of
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
, who also began a military expedition against
Dromichaetes
Dromichaetes ( grc, Δρομιχαίτης, Dromichaites) was king of the Getae on both sides of the lower Danube (present day Romania and Bulgaria) around 300 BC.
Background
The Getae had been federated in the Odrysian kingdom in the 5th ce ...
, the ruler of the Getae north of the Danube, in 300 BC. In the 3rd century BC, colonies on the Dobrujan coast paid tribute to the
basilei Zalmodegikos and
Moskon
Moskon was a Getic king who ruled in the 3rd century BC the northern parts of Dobruja, probably being the head of a local tribal union, which had close relations with the local Greek colonies and adopted the Greek style of administration.
His exi ...
, who probably also ruled northern Dobruja. In the same century,
Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
settled in the north of the region. In 260 BC,
Byzantion
Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
lost the war with Callatis and Histria for the control of Tomis. At the end of the 3rd century BC and the beginning of the 2nd century BC, the
Bastarnae
The Bastarnae (Latin variants: ''Bastarni'', or ''Basternae''; grc, Βαστάρναι or Βαστέρναι) and Peucini ( grc, Πευκῖνοι) were two ancient peoples who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited areas north of the Roman fronti ...
settled in the area of the Danube Delta. Around 200 BC, the Thracian king
Zoltes
Zoltes was a chief of the southern Thracians, living in the Haemus mountains area. Leading small groups, he often made incursions into the Pontic cities and within their territories. He attacked the city of Histria, calling off the siege only a ...
invaded the province several times, but was defeated by
Rhemaxos
Rhemaxos was an ancient king who ruled to the north of Danube around 200 BC and who was the protector of the Greek colonies in Dobruja, receiving a tribute from them in exchange of protection against outside attacks. It appears that the links with ...
, who became the protector of the Greek colonies.
Early Greek scholars such as
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
appear to have regarded the region as the south-western extension of
Scythia
Scythia (Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe.
His ...
– a practice also followed in a 2nd-century BC inscription, recording a decree made in Histria, which refers to the region surrounding the Greek city as ''Scythia''. However, the
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
Μικρά Σκυθία (''Mikra Skythia''), usually translated as
Scythia Minor
Scythia Minor or Lesser Scythia (Greek: , ) was a Roman province in late antiquity, corresponding to the lands between the Danube and the Black Sea, today's Dobruja divided between Romania and Bulgaria. It was detached from Moesia Inferior by t ...
or Lesser Scythia appears to have become the name for the specific region later known as Dobruja. The earliest known usage of the name "Scythia Minor" (''Mikra Skythia'') is found in
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
's early ''Geography'' (1st century AD). The Greeks thus apparently distinguished it from ''Scythia Major'', which lay north of the Danube delta.
Around 100 BC King
Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...
extended his authority over the Greek cities in Dobruja. However, in 72–71 BC, during the
Third Mithridatic War
The Third Mithridatic War (73–63 BC), the last and longest of the three Mithridatic Wars, was fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. Both sides were joined by a great number of allies dragging the entire east of the ...
, these cities were occupied by the forces of
Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus
Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus (116 – soon after 56 BC), younger brother of the more famous Lucius Licinius Lucullus, was a supporter of Lucius Cornelius Sulla and consul of ancient Rome in 73 BC. As proconsul of Macedonia in 72 BC, he defea ...
, the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
proconsul
A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority.
In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...
of
Macedonia. A
foedus
''Foederati'' (, singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the ''socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign stat ...
was signed between the Greek colonies and the Roman Republic, but in 62–61 BC the colonies revolted.
Gaius Antonius Hybrida
Gaius Antonius Hybrida (flourished 1st century BC) was a politician of the Roman Republic. He was the second son of Marcus Antonius and brother of Marcus Antonius Creticus; his mother is unknown. He was also the uncle of the famed triumvir Mark ...
intervened, but was defeated by Getae and Bastarnae near Histria. After 55 BC the
Dacian Kingdom
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...
under King
Burebista
Burebista ( grc, Βυρεβίστας, Βοιρεβίστας) was the king of the Getae and Dacian tribes from 82/61BC to 45/44BC. He was the first king who successfully unified the tribes of the Dacian kingdom, which comprised the area locat ...
conquered Dobruja and all the Greek colonies on the coast. Their rule ended in 44 BC.
Roman rule
In 28/29 BC
Rholes Rholes or Roles (Ancient Greek Ῥώλης) was a Getae chieftain in Scythia Minor (modern Dobruja) mentioned by Cassius Dio in his ''Roman History''. According to Dio, he helped Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus defeat the Bastarnae, and when h ...
, a
Getic
The Getae ( ) or Gets ( ; grc, Γέται, singular ) were a Thracian-related tribe that once inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania. Both the singular form ''Get'' an ...
ruler from Southern Dobruja, supported the proconsul of Macedonia,
Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...
, in his action against the Bastarnae. Declared ''friend and ally of the Roman people'' by
Octavian
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
, Rholes helped Crassus in conquering the states of
Dapyx Dapyx was a 1st-century BC chieftain of a Getae tribe or a tribe union in Scythia Minor (nowadays in Dobruja). Cassius Dio talks about him in the campaigns of Marcus Licinius Crassus on the Lower Danube region, being said to be a king on the region ...
(in central Dobruja) and
Zyraxes
Zyraxes was a Getae king who ruled the northern part of what is today Dobrogea in the 1st century BC. He was mentioned in relation with the campaigns of Marcus Licinius Crassus (grandson of the triumvir). His capital, Genucla, was besieged by ...
(in the north of the region). Dobruja became part of the
client kingdom
A client state, in international relations, is a State (polity), state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as ...
of the
Odrysians
The Odrysian Kingdom (; Ancient Greek: ) was a state grouping many Thracian tribes united by the Odrysae, which arose in the early 5th century BC and existed at least until the late 1st century BC. It consisted mainly of present-day Bulgaria and ...
, while the Greek cities on the coast came under direct rule of the governor of
Macedonia. In 12 AD and 15 AD, Getic armies succeeded in conquering the cities of
Aegyssus and
Troesmis
Troesmis was an ancient Roman legionary fortress, a major site situated on the Danube and forming a key part of the Limes Moesiae frontier system. Around this fortress the Geto-Dacian town later developed.TOCILESCU 1883a, p. 101http://www.turc ...
for a short time, but Odrysian king
Rhoemetalces I
Rhoemetalces I (Sapaean) ( grc, Ῥοιμητάλκης) was king of the Sapaean kingdom of Thrace from 15 BC to 12 AD. He was king of Odrysian kingdom of Thrace in succession to his nephew Rhescuporis II (Astaean).
Rhoemetalces I was a loyal ...
defeated them with the help of the Roman army.
![Cetatea Tropaeum Traiani - vedere laterală](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Cetatea_Tropaeum_Traiani_-_vedere_lateral%C4%83.jpg)
In 15 AD the Roman province of
Moesia
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...
was created, but Dobruja, under the name ''Ripa Thraciae'', remained part of the Odrysian kingdom. The Greek cities on the coast formed a ''
praefectura orae maritimae''. In 46 AD
Thracia
Thracia or Thrace ( ''Thrakē'') is the ancient name given to the southeastern Balkan region, the land inhabited by the Thracians. Thrace was ruled by the Odrysian kingdom during the Classical and Hellenistic eras, and briefly by the Greek ...
became a Roman province and the territories of present Dobruja were absorbed into the province of Moesia. The
Geto–Dacians invaded the region several times in the 1st century AD, especially between 62 and 70. In the same period, the base of the
Roman Danube fleet (''classis Flavia Moesica'') was moved to
Noviodunum {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
Noviodunum is a name of Celtic origin, meaning "new fort": It comes from '' nowyo'', Celtic for "new", and ''dun'', the Celtic for "hillfort" or "fortified settlement", cognate of English ''town''.
Several places ...
. The ''praefectura'' was annexed to Moesia in 86 AD. In the same year
Domitian
Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...
divided Moesia, Dobruja being included in the eastern part, ''
Moesia Inferior
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...
''.
In the winter of 101–102 the Dacian king
Decebalus
Decebalus (), sometimes referred to as Diurpaneus, was the last Dacians, Dacian king. He is famous for fighting three wars, with varying success, against the Roman Empire under two emperors. After raiding south across the Danube, he defeated a Rom ...
led a coalition of Dacians,
Carpians
The Carpi or Carpiani were a Dacian tribe that resided in the eastern parts of modern Romania in the historical region of Moldavia from no later than c. AD 140 and until at least AD 318.
The ethnic affiliation of the Carpi remains disputed, as ...
,
Sarmatians
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...
and
Burs in an attack against Moesia Inferior. The invading army was defeated by the Roman legions under Emperor
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
on the
Yantra river
The Yantra ( bg, Янтра ) is a river in northern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube. It is long (the third longest Bulgarian tributary of the Danube, after Iskar and Osam), and has a watershed of . Its average discharge at the mouth ...
. (Later
Nicopolis ad Istrum
Nicopolis ad Istrum ( el, Νικόπολις ἡ πρὸς Ἴστρον) or Nicopolis ad Iatrum was a Roman and Early Byzantine town.
Its ruins are located at the village of Nikyup, 20 km north of Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria. The t ...
was founded there to commemorate the victory.) The invaders were also defeated near the modern village of
Adamclisi
Adamclisi () is a commune in Constanța County, in the Dobrogea region of Romania.
History
In ancient times, a Roman castrum named Civitas Tropaensium was settled here and in 109 AD a monument named Tropaeum Traiani was built to commemorate the ...
, in the southern part of Dobruja. The latter victory was commemorated by the
a monument, built in 109 at the site, and the founding of the city of Tropaeum. After 105,
Legio XI Claudia
Legio XI Claudia ("Claudius' Eleventh Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The legion was levied by Julius Caesar for his campaign against the Nervii. XI ''Claudia'' dates back to the two legions (the other was the XIIth) recruited b ...
and
Legio V Macedonica
''Legio V Macedonica'' (the Fifth Macedonian Legion) was a Roman legion. It was probably originally levied in 43 BC by consul Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus and Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus (later known as the Emperor Augustus). It was bas ...
were moved to Dobruja, at
Durostorum and Troesmis, respectively.
In 118
Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
intervened in the region to calm a Sarmatian rebellion. In 170
Costoboci
The Costoboci (; lat, Costoboci, Costobocae, Castabocae, Coisstoboci, grc, Κοστωβῶκοι, Κοστουβῶκοι or Κοιστοβῶκοι) were a Dacian tribe located, during the Roman imperial era, between the Carpathian Mountains an ...
invaded Dobruja, attacking
Libida
Libida or Ibida was an ancient settlement in Scythia Minor, today's Dobruja region of modern Romania. It is within the commune of Slava Cercheză, in the village of Slava Rusă.
The settlement existed in Getic times (4th century BC). Its growing ...
,
Ulmetum and
Tropaeum
''Tropaeum'' is an extinct genus of ammonites found throughout the oceans of the world during the Early Cretaceous. As with many other members of the family Ancyloceratidae, there was a trend among species within this genus to uncoil somewhat, ...
. The province was generally stable and prosperous until the
crisis of the Third Century
The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis (AD 235–284), was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed. The crisis ended due to the military victories of Aurelian and with the ascensi ...
, which led to the weakening of defences and numerous barbarian invasions. In 248 a coalition of
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
, Carpians,
Taifali
The Taifals or Tayfals ( la, Taifali, Taifalae or ''Theifali''; french: Taïfales) were a people group of Germanic or Sarmatian origin, first documented north of the lower Danube in the mid third century AD. They experienced an unsettled and fra ...
, Bastarnae and
Hasdingi The Hasdingi were one of the Vandal peoples of the Roman era. The Vandals were Germanic peoples, who are believed to have spoken an East Germanic language, and were first reported during the first centuries of the Roman empire in the area which is n ...
, led by Argaithus and Guntheric, devastated Dobruja. During the reign of
Trajan Decius
Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251.
A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procla ...
the province suffered greatly from the attack of Goths under King
Cniva
Cniva ( mid-3rd century AD) was a Gothic king who invaded the Roman Empire. He successfully captured the city of Philippopolis (Plovdiv in Bulgaria) in 250 and killed Emperor Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus at the Battle of Abritus as he w ...
. Barbarian attacks followed in 258, 263 and 267. In 269 a fleet of allied Goths,
Heruli
The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several "Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking b ...
,
Bastarnae
The Bastarnae (Latin variants: ''Bastarni'', or ''Basternae''; grc, Βαστάρναι or Βαστέρναι) and Peucini ( grc, Πευκῖνοι) were two ancient peoples who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited areas north of the Roman fronti ...
and Sarmatians attacked the cities on the coast, including Tomis. In 272
Aurelian
Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited t ...
defeated the Carpians north of the Danube and settled a part of them near
Carsium. The same emperor put an end to the crisis in the Roman Empire, thus helping the reconstruction of the province.
During the reign of
Diocletian
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
, Dobruja was organized administratively as a separate province, called
Scythia
Scythia (Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe.
His ...
, part of the
Diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
of Thracia. Its capital city was Tomis. Diocletian transferred
Legio II Herculia
Legio II ''Herculia'' (''devoted to Hercules'') was a Roman legion, levied by Emperor Diocletian (284–305), possibly together with I ''Iovia'', to guard the newly created province of Scythia Minor. It was stationed at Capidava. The ''cognomen'' ...
to Troesmis and
Legio I Iovia
Legio I ''Iovia'' ( First Legion "Jovian", "devoted to Jupiter") was a Roman legion, levied by Emperor Diocletian (284–305), possibly together with II ''Herculia'', to guard the newly created province of Scythia Minor. The ''cognomen'' of this ...
to Noviodunum. In 331–332
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
defeated the Goths who attacked the province. But Dobruja was devastated again by
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...
in 384–386. Under the Roman emperors
Licinius
Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan, AD 313, that granted official toleration to C ...
,
Julian the Apostate
Julian ( la, Flavius Claudius Julianus; grc-gre, Ἰουλιανός ; 331 – 26 June 363) was Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplato ...
, and
Valens
Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...
, the cities of the region were repaired or rebuilt.
Byzantine rule
After the division of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
, Dobruja was absorbed into the
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. Between 513 and 520, the region participated in a revolt against
Anastasius I. Its leader,
Vitalian, native of
Zaldapa
Zaldapa (''Zeldepa'', grc, Ζάλδαπα, Ζέλδεπα) was a large Late Roman fortified city in Scythia Minor/Moesia, located near today's Abrit, Bulgaria.
It was originally an ancient Thracian settlement from around the 8th century BC. The ...
in Southern Dobruja, defeated the Byzantine general
Hypatius near
Kaliakra
Kaliakra ( bg, Калиакра; ro, Caliacra) is a cape in the Southern Dobruja region of the northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, which ends with a long and narrow headland east of Kavarna, northeast of Varna and southwest of Mangalia. The ...
. During
Justin I
Justin I ( la, Iustinus; grc-gre, Ἰουστῖνος, ''Ioustînos''; 450 – 1 August 527) was the Eastern Roman emperor from 518 to 527. Born to a peasant family, he rose through the ranks of the army to become commander of the imperial ...
's rule,
Antes and
Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
invaded the region, but
Germanus Justinus
Germanus ( el, Γερμανός; died 550) was an East Roman (Byzantine) general, one of the leading commanders of Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565). Germanus was Emperor Justinian's cousin, and a member of the ruling dynasty. He held commands i ...
defeated them. In 529, the
Gepid
The Gepids, ( la, Gepidae, Gipedae, grc, Γήπαιδες) were an East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary and Serbia, roughly between the Tisza, Sava and Carpathian Mountains. They were said to share the religion a ...
commander
Mundus repelled a new invasion by
Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...
and Antes.
Kutrigurs
Kutrigurs were Turkic Eurasian nomads, nomadic equestrians who flourished on the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the 6th century AD. To their east were the similar Utigurs and both possibly were closely related to the Bulgars. They warred with the Byza ...
and
Avars invaded the region several times, until 561–562, when the Avars under
Bayan I
Bayan I reigned as the first khagan of the Avar Khaganate between 562 and 602.
As the Göktürk Empire expanded westwards on the Eurasian Steppe during the 6th century, peoples such as the Avars (also known as the ''Pseudo-Avars'', ''Obri'' ...
were settled south of the Danube as
foederati
''Foederati'' (, singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the ''socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign stat ...
. During the rule of
Mauricius Tiberius, the Slavs devastated Dobruja, destroying the cities of
Dorostolon
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 ...
, Zaldapa, and Tropaeum. In 591/593, Byzantine general
Priscus
Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life generall ...
tried to stop invasions, attacking and defeating the Slavs under
Ardagast
Ardagast or Radogost was a 6th-century ('' Antes'') monarch that ruled around 592, during Maurice's Balkan campaigns.
Menander Protector writes a ..., who just heard about the attack on Ardagast.''History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to ...
in the north of the province. In 602 during the mutiny of the Byzantine army in the Balkans under
Phocas
Phocas ( la, Focas; grc-gre, Φωκάς, Phōkás; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially, a middle-ranking officer in the Eastern Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers ...
, a large mass of Slavs crossed the Danube, settling south of the Danube. Dobruja remained under loose Byzantine control, and was reorganised during the reign of
Constantine IV
Constantine IV ( la, Constantinus; grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantînos; 650–685), called the Younger ( la, iunior; grc-gre, ὁ νέος, ho néos) and sometimes incorrectly the Bearded ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, Πωγων ...
as ''
Thema Scythia''.
First Bulgarian Empire rule
The results of archaeological research indicate that the Byzantine presence on Dobruja's mainland and the banks of the Danube were reduced at the end of the 6th century, under the pressure of the
Migration Period
The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...
. In the coastal fortifications on the southern bank of the Danube, the latest Byzantine coin found dates from the time of the emperors
Tiberius II Constantine
Tiberius II Constantine ( grc-gre, Τιβέριος Κωνσταντῖνος, Tiberios Konstantinos; died 14 August 582) was Eastern Roman emperor from 574 to 582. Tiberius rose to power in 574 when Justin II, prior to a mental breakdown, procl ...
(574–582) and
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
(610–641). After that period, all inland Byzantine cities were demolished by the invaders and abandoned.
Some of the
earliest Slavic settlements to the south of Danube have been discovered in Dobruja, near the villages of
Popina
The ''popina'' (''plural: popinae'') was an ancient Roman wine bar, where a limited menu of simple foods (olives, bread, stews) and selection of wines of varying quality were available. The ''popina'' was a place for plebeians of the lower clas ...
,
Garvăn and
Nova Cherna. They have been dated to the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th centuries. These lands became the main zone of compact
Bulgar
Bulgar may refer to:
*Bulgars, extinct people of Central Asia
*Bulgar language, the extinct language of the Bulgars
* Oghur languages
Bulgar may also refer to:
*Bolghar, the capital city of Volga Bulgaria
*Bulgur, a wheat product
* Bulgar, an Ash ...
settlement in the end of the 7th century.
According to the peace treaty of 681, signed after the Bulgarian victory over Byzantines in the
Battle of Ongala
The Battle of Ongal took place in the summer of 680 in the Ongal area, an unspecified location in and around the Danube delta near the Peuce Island, present-day Tulcea County, Romania. It was fought between the Bulgars, who had recently invade ...
, Dobruja became part of the
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europ ...
. Shortly after, the Bulgar founded the city of
Pliska
Pliska ( , cu, Пльсковъ, translit=Plĭskovŭ) was the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire during the Middle Ages and is now a small town in Shumen Province, on the Ludogorie plateau of the Danubian Plain, 20 km northeast o ...
, which became the first Bulgarian capital, near the southern border of Dobruja. They rebuilt
Madara as a major Bulgar pagan religious centre. According to the ''
Bulgarian Apocryphal Chronicle
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
'', from the 11th century, Bulgarian Tsar
Ispor
ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research, better known as ISPOR (formerly, the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research), is a nonprofit global professional organization in health economi ...
"accepted the Bulgarian tsardom", created "great cities,
Drastar
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 ...
on the Danube", a "great wall from Danube to the sea", "the city of
Pliska
Pliska ( , cu, Пльсковъ, translit=Plĭskovŭ) was the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire during the Middle Ages and is now a small town in Shumen Province, on the Ludogorie plateau of the Danubian Plain, 20 km northeast o ...
" and "populated the lands of
Karvuna
Kavarna ( bg, Каварна ; ro, Cavarna), is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Dobruja region of northeastern Bulgaria. It lies northeast of Varna, from Dobrich on the international road E87 and south of the border with ...
".
According to Bulgarian historians, during the 7th–10th centuries, the region was fortified by construction of a large network of earthen and wooden strongholds and ramparts. Around the end of the 8th century, widespread building of new stone fortresses and defensive walls began. Romanian historians dispute attributing these walls to the Bulgarians, based on their interpretation of the construction system and archaeological evidence. The Bulgarians also reconstructed some of the ruined Byzantine fortresses (Kaliakra and Silistra in the 8th century, Madara and
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
in the 9th). According to Barnea, among other historians, during the following three centuries of Bulgarian domination, Byzantines still controlled the Black Sea coast and the mouths of Danube, and for short periods, even some cities. But Bulgarian archaeologists note that the last Byzantine coins found, which are considered a proof of Byzantine presence, date in
Kaliakra
Kaliakra ( bg, Калиакра; ro, Caliacra) is a cape in the Southern Dobruja region of the northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, which ends with a long and narrow headland east of Kavarna, northeast of Varna and southwest of Mangalia. The ...
from the time of Emperor
Justin II
Justin II ( la, Iustinus; grc-gre, Ἰουστῖνος, Ioustînos; died 5 October 578) or Justin the Younger ( la, Iustinus minor) was Eastern Roman Emperor from 565 until 578. He was the nephew of Justinian I and the husband of Sophia, the ...
(565–578), in
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
from the time of Emperor
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
(610–641), and in Tomis from
Constantine IV
Constantine IV ( la, Constantinus; grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantînos; 650–685), called the Younger ( la, iunior; grc-gre, ὁ νέος, ho néos) and sometimes incorrectly the Bearded ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, Πωγων ...
's rule (668–685).
At the beginning of the 8th century,
Justinian II
Justinian II ( la, Iustinianus; gr, Ἰουστινιανός, Ioustinianós; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" ( la, Rhinotmetus; gr, ὁ Ῥινότμητος, ho Rhinótmētos), was the last Eastern Roman emperor of the H ...
visited Dobruja to ask Bulgarian
Khan
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
Tervel
Khan Tervel ( bg, Тервел) also called ''Tarvel'', or ''Terval'', or ''Terbelis'' in some Byzantine sources, was the khan of Bulgaria during the First Bulgarian Empire at the beginning of the 8th century. In 705 Emperor Justinian II named ...
for military help. Khan
Omurtag
Omurtag (or Omortag) ( bg, Омуртаг; original gr, Μορτάγων and Ομουρτάγ', Inscription No.64. Retrieved 10 April 2012.) was a Great Khan (''Kanasubigi'') of Bulgaria from 814 to 831. He is known as "the Builder".
In the very ...
(815–831) built a "glorious home on the Danube" and erected a mound in the middle of the distance between Pliska and his new building, according to his inscription kept in
SS. Forty Martyrs Church in
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
. The location of this edifice is unclear; the main theories place it at Silistra or at
Păcuiul lui Soare. Many early medieval Bulgar stone inscriptions were found in Dobruja, including historical narratives, inventories of armament or buildings, and commemorative texts. During this period Silistra became an important Bulgarian ecclesiastical centre—an episcopate after 865 and seat of the Bulgarian Patriarch at the end of the 10th century. In 895,
Magyar tribes from
Budjak
Budjak or Budzhak (Bulgarian and Ukrainian: Буджак; ro, Bugeac; Gagauz and Turkish: ''Bucak''), historically part of Bessarabia until 1812, is a historical region in Ukraine and Moldova. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube ...
invaded Dobruja and northeastern Bulgaria. An old Slavic inscription, found at
Mircea Vodă, mentions
Zhupan Dimitri (Дѣимитрѣ жѹпанѣ), a local feudal landlord prominent in the south of the region in 943.
Return of Byzantine rule and late migrations
With financial encouragement from the Byzantine emperor,
Nikephoros II Phocas,
Sviatoslav I of Kiev
; (943 – 26 March 972), also spelled Svyatoslav, was Grand Prince of Kiev famous for his persistent campaigns in the east and south, which precipitated the collapse of two great powers of Eastern Europe, Khazars, Khazaria and the First Bulgarian E ...
agreed to assist the Byzantines in their war with the Bulgarians. Sviatoslav defeated the Bulgarians (led by
Boris II
Boris II ( cu, Борисъ В҃; bg, Борис II; c. 931 – 977) was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 969 to 977 (in Byzantine captivity from 971).
Boris II was the eldest surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria and Maria (renamed Eiren ...
) and proceeded to occupy the whole of northern Bulgaria. He occupied Dobruja in 968 and moved the capital of
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
to
Pereyaslavets
Pereyaslavets ( East Slavic: ) or Preslavets ( bg, Преславец) was a trade city located near mouths of the Danube. The city's name is derived from that of the Bulgarian capital of the time, Preslav, and means Little Preslav (). In Greek i ...
, in the north of the region. Sviatoslav refused to turn his Balkan conquests over to the Byzantines, and the parties fell out as a result. So the Byzantines under
John I Tzimisces
John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general, he strengthened the Empire and expanded its borders during his short reign.
Background
John I Tzimiskes ...
reconquered Dobruja in 971 and included it in the theme 'Mesopotamia of the West' (Μεσοποταμια της Δυσεον).
According to some historians, soon after 976 or in 986, the southern part of Dobruja was included in the Bulgarian state then ruled by
Samuel
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
. The northern part remained under Byzantine rule, being reorganised in an autonomous ''klimata''. Other historians are of the view that Northern Dobruja was reconquered by Bulgarians as well. In 1000, a Byzantine army commanded by
Theodorokanos reconquered the whole of Dobruja, organizing the region as the
Strategia of
Dorostolon
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 ...
and, after 1020, as ''
Paristrion
Paristrion ( el, Παρίστριον, lit=beside the Ister), or Paradounabon/Paradounabis (), which is preferred in official documents, was a Byzantine province covering the southern bank of the Lower Danube (Moesia Inferior) in the 11th and 12t ...
'' (Paradounavon).
To prevent mounted attacks from the north, the Byzantines constructed three
ramparts from the Black Sea down to the Danube, in the 10th–11th centuries. According to Bulgarian archaeologists and historians, these fortifications may have been built much earlier and were erected by the First Bulgarian Empire in response to the threat of
Khazars
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
' raids.
From the 10th century, Byzantines accepted small groups of
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა ...
settling in Dobruja. In the spring of 1036, an invasion of the Pecheneg devastated large parts of the region, destroying the forts at
Capidava
Capidava (''Kapidaua'', ''Cappidava'', ''Capidapa'', ''Calidava'', ''Calidaua'') was an important Geto-Dacian center on the right bank of the Danube. After the Roman conquest, it became a civil and military center, as part of the province of ...
and
Dervent, and burning the settlement of
Dinogeţia. In 1046 the Byzantines accepted the Pecheneg under
Kegen
Kegen ( kk, Кеген, ''Kegen'') is a selo and seat of Raiymbek District in Almaty Region of south-eastern Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia an ...
settling in Paristrion as foederati. The Pecheneg dominated the region until 1059, when
Isaac I Komnenos
Isaac I Komnenos or Comnenus ( grc-gre, Ἰσαάκιος Κομνηνός, ''Isaakios Komnēnos''; – 1 June 1060) was Byzantine emperor from 1057 to 1059, the first reigning member of the Komnenian dynasty.
The son of the gene ...
reconquered Dobruja.
In 1064, an invasion by the
Oghuz Turks
The Oghuz or Ghuzz Turks (Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: ٱغُز, ''Oγuz'', ota, اوغوز, Oġuz) were a western Turkic people that spoke the Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages, Turkic language family. In th ...
affected the region. During 1072 to 1074, when Nestor (the new
strategos
''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...
of Paristrion) was in Dristra, he found that the Pecheneg ruler, Tatrys, was leading a rebellion. In 1091, three autonomous, probably Pecheneg, rulers were mentioned in the
Alexiad
The ''Alexiad'' ( el, Ἀλεξιάς, Alexias) is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial ...
: Tatos (''Τατοῦ'') or Chalis (''χαλῆ''), in the area of
Dristra
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 ...
(probably the same person as Tatrys), and Sesthlav (''Σεσθλάβου'') and Satza (''Σατζά'') in the area of
Vicina. The
Cumans
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
moved into Dobruja in 1094 and were influential in the region until the advent 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) ...
.
Second Bulgarian Empire and Mongol domination
![Bulgaria-second half of the 13th century](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Bulgaria-second_half_of_the_13th_century.png)
In 1187 the Byzantines lost control of Dobruja to the restored Bulgarian Empire. In 1241, the first
Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different groups, under
Kadan
Kadan (also Qadan) was the son of the second Great Khan of the Mongols Ögedei and a concubine. He was the grandson of Genghis Khan and the brother of Güyük Khan. During the Mongol invasion of Europe, Kadan, along with Baidar (son of Chagata ...
, invaded Dobruja starting a century long history of turmoil in the region.
[A. Rădulescu, I. Bitoleanu, ''Istoria Dobrogei'', p. 194] Around 1263–64, Byzantine Emperor
Michael VIII Palaeologus
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...
gave permission to
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 ...
Kaykaus II
Kaykaus ibn Kaykhusraw or Kayka'us II ( fa, عز الدين كيكاوس بن كيخسرو, ''ʿIzz ad-Dīn Kaykāwus ibn Kaykhusraw'') was the sultan of the Seljuqs of Rûm from 1246 until 1262. Life
Kaykaus was the eldest of three sons of Kaykh ...
to settle in the area with a group of
Seljuk Turks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
from
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. A missionary
Turkish mystic,
Sarı Saltuk Sarı () is the Turkish word for "yellow" or "blond". It may refer to:
Surname
* Adem Sarı (born 1985), Turkish footballer
* Ali Sarı (born 1986), Turkish taekwondo practitioner
* Hasan Ahmet Sarı (born 1992), Turkish footballer
* Hızır Sarı ...
, was the spiritual leader of this group. His tomb in
Babadag
Babadag (; tr, Babadağ, "Father Mountain"), formerly known as Babatag, is a town in Tulcea County, Romania, located on a small lake formed by the river Taița, in the densely wooded highlands of Northern Dobruja. One of the several tombs ...
(which was named after him) is still a place of pilgrimage for Muslims.
Arab chronicles of the 13th century mentioned Dobrogea under the name "Şakji" and the Vlachs inhabitants under the names "al-Awalak" and "ulaqut".
In 1265, the Bulgarian Emperor
Constantine Tikh Asen hired 20,000 Tatars to cross the Danube and attack Byzantine
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
. On their way back, the Tatars forced most of the Seljuk Turks, including their chief Sarı Saltuk, to resettle in Kipchak (Cumania).
In the second part of the 13th century, the Turco–Mongolian
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 ...
Empire continuously raided and plundered Dobruja. The inability of the Bulgarian authorities to cope with the numerous raids became the main reason for the uprising, led by
Ivailo
Ivaylo (died 1281), also spelled Ivailo ( bg, Ивайло), was a rebel leader who ruled briefly as tsar of Bulgaria. In 1277, he spearheaded a peasant uprising and forced the Bulgarian nobility to accept him as emperor. He reigned as emperor fr ...
(1277–1280), that broke out in eastern Bulgaria. Ivailo's army defeated the Tatars, who were forced to leave the Bulgarian territory; he next outed Constantine Tikh's army, and Ivailo has crowned Emperor of Bulgaria.
The war with the Tatars continued. In 1278, after a new Tatar invasion in Dobruja, Ivailo was forced to retreat to the strong fortress of Silistra, where he withstood a three-month siege. In 1280 the Bulgarian nobility, which feared the growing influence of the peasant emperor, organised a coup. Ivailo had to flee to his enemy the Tatar
Nogai Khan
Nogai, or Noğay (; also spelled Nogay, Nogaj, Nohai, Nokhai, Noqai, Ngoche, Noche, Kara Nokhai, and Isa Nogai; died 1299/1300) was a general and kingmaker of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Bo'al/ ...
, who later killed him. In 1300
Toqta
Tokhta (Toqta, Toktu, Tokhtai, Tochtu or Tokhtogha) (died ) was a khan of the Golden Horde, son of Mengu-Timur and great-grandson of Batu Khan.
His name "Tokhtokh" means "hold/holding" in the Mongolian language.
Early reign under Nogai
In 1 ...
, the new Khan of the Golden Horde, ceded
Bessarabia
Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...
to Emperor
Theodore Svetoslav
Theodore Svetoslav ( bg, Тодор Светослав, ''Todor Svetoslav'' and also Теодор Светослав, ''Teodor Svetoslav'') ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He expanded the ter ...
.
Autonomous Dobruja
In 1325, the
Ecumenical Patriarch
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
nominated Methodius as Metropolitan of Varna and Carvona. After this date,
Balik/Balica is mentioned as a local ruler in Southern Dobruja. In 1346, he supported
John V Palaeologus
John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōánnēs Palaiológos''; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions.
Biography
John V was the son of E ...
in his
dispute for the Byzantine throne with
John VI Cantacuzenus
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Ángelos Palaiológos Kantakouzēnós''; la, Johannes Cantacuzenus; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under And ...
. He sent an army corps under his son
Dobrotitsa/Dobrotici and his brother, Theodore, to help the mother of John Palaeologus, Anna of Savoy. For his bravery, Dobrotitsa received the title of ''strategos'' and married the daughter of
megadux Apokaukos. After the reconciliation of the two pretenders, a territorial dispute broke out between the Dobrujan polity and the Byzantine Empire for the port of
Midia
''Midia'' is a monotypic taxon, monotypic genus of Linyphiidae, dwarf spiders containing the single species, ''Midia midas''. It was first described by Michael Saaristo, Michael I. Saaristo & J. Wunderlich in 1995.
See also
* List of Linyphiida ...
. In 1347, at John V Palaeologus' request,
Emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
Bahud-din Umur,
Bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
of
Aydın
Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar'', Ancient and Modern Greek: Τράλλεις /''Tralleis''/) is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of B ...
, led a naval expedition against Balik, destroying Dobruja's seaports. Balik and Theodore died during the confrontation, and Dobrotitsa became the new ruler.
![DobrXIV](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/DobrXIV.png)
Between 1352 and 1359, with the collapse of Golden Horde rule in Northern Dobruja, a new state appeared. It was controlled by
Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different prince
Demetrius
Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter".
Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumit ...
, who claimed to be the protector of the river mouths of the Danube.
[I. Barnea, Şt.Ştefănescu, ''Bizantini, romani și bulgari la Dunărea de Jos'', p. 351]
In 1357 Dobrotitsa was mentioned as a ''
despot'' ruling over a large territory, including the fortresses of
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
, Kozeakos (near
Obzor
Obzor ( bg, Обзор ) is a small town and seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. It is part of Nesebar Municipality, Burgas Province. On February 28th, 2021, the citizens of Obzor and six nearby villages voted in a referendum to sepa ...
), and
Emona
Emona (early gkm, Ἤμονα) or Aemona (short for ) was a Roman castrum, located in the area where the navigable Ljubljanica river came closest to Castle Hill, . In 1366, John V Palaeologus visited Rome and
Buda
Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
, trying to gather military support for his campaigns. On his return, he was captured at Vidin by
Ivan Alexander,
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
of
Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
, who believed that the new alliances were directed against his realm. An anti-Ottoman crusade under
Amadeus VI of Savoy
Amadeus VI (4 January 1334 – 1 March 1383), nicknamed the Green Count ( it, Il Conte Verde) was Count of Savoy from 1343 to 1383. He was the eldest son of Aymon, Count of Savoy, and Yolande Palaeologina of Montferrat. Though he started unde ...
, supported by the republics of
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
and
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
, was diverted to free the Byzantine emperor. Dobrotitsa collaborated with the crusaders, and after the allies conquered several Bulgarian forts on the Black Sea, Ivan Alexander freed John and negotiated a peace agreement. Dobrotitsa's role in this conflict brought him numerous political advantages: his daughter married one of John V's sons, Michael, and his principality extended its control over some of the forts lost by the Bulgarians (
Anchialos and
Mesembria
Mesembria ( grc, Μεσημβρία; grc-x-doric, Μεσαμβρία, Mesambria) was an important Greek city in ancient Thrace. It was situated on the coast of the Euxine and at the foot of Mount Haemus; consequently upon the confines of Moesi ...
).
In 1368, after the death of prince Demetrius, Dobrotitsa was recognised as ruler by
Pangalia and other cities on the right bank of the Danube. In 1369, together with
Vladislav I of Wallachia
Vladislav I or Vladimareïo/ Vila·Dumas of the Basarab dynasty, also known as Vlaicu or Vlaicu-Vodă, was the Voivode of Wallachia between 1364 and 1377. He was the son of Nicholas Alexander of Wallachia and Clara Dobokai.
In February 1369, V ...
, Dobrotitsa helped Prince
Stratsimir to win back the throne of
Vidin
Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as o ...
.
Between 1370 and 1375, allied with Venice, Dobritsia challenged Genoese power in the Black Sea. In 1376, he tried to impose his son-in-law, Michael, as Emperor of
Trebizond, but was unsuccessful. Dobrotitsa supported John V Palaeologus against his son
Andronicus IV Palaeologus
Andronikos IV Palaiologos or Andronicus IV Palaeologus ( gr, Ἀνδρόνικος Παλαιολόγος; 11 April 1348 – 25/28 June 1385) was the eldest son of Emperor John V Palaiologos. Appointed co-emperor since 1352, he had a troubled rel ...
. In 1379, the Dobrujan fleet participated in the blockade of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, fighting with the Genoese fleet.
In 1386, Dobrotitsa died and was succeeded by
Ivanko/Ioankos. That same year he accepted a peace agreement with
Murad I
Murad I ( ota, مراد اول; tr, I. Murad, Murad-ı Hüdavendigâr (nicknamed ''Hüdavendigâr'', from fa, خداوندگار, translit=Khodāvandgār, lit=the devotee of God – meaning "sovereign" in this context); 29 June 1326 – 15 Jun ...
and in 1387 signed a commercial treaty with Genoa. Ivanko was killed in 1388 during the expedition of
Ottoman Grand Vizier Çandarli Ali Pasha against
Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
and
Dristra
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 ...
. The expedition brought most of the Dobrujan forts under Turkish rule.
Wallachian rule
In 1388/1389 Dobruja (''Terrae Dobrodicii''—as mentioned in a document from 1390) and Dristra (''Dârstor'') came under the control of
Mircea the Elder
Mircea the Elder ( ro, Mircea cel Bătrân, ; c. 1355 – 31 January 1418) was the Voivode of Wallachia from 1386 until his death in 1418. He was the son of Radu I of Wallachia and brother of Dan I of Wallachia, after whose death he inherited th ...
, ruler of
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
, who defeated the
Ottoman Grand Vizier
Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
.
Ottoman Sultan
The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its hei ...
Bayezid I
Bayezid I ( ota, بايزيد اول, tr, I. Bayezid), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt ( ota, link=no, یلدیرم بايزيد, tr, Yıldırım Bayezid, link=no; – 8 March 1403) was the Ottoman Sultan from 1389 to 1402. He adopted ...
conquered the southern part of the territory in 1393, attacking Mircea one year later, but without success. In the spring of 1395
Mircea
Mircea is a Romanian masculine given name, a form of the South Slavic name Mirče (Мирче) that derives from the Slavic word ''mir'', meaning 'peace'. It may refer to:
People Princes of Wallachia
* Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418), a ...
regained the lost Dobrujan territories, with the help of his
Hungarian allies.
The Ottomans recaptured Dobruja in 1397 and ruled it to 1404, although in 1401 Mircea strongly defeated an Ottoman army.
The defeat of Sultan Beyezid I by
Tamerlane
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
at
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
in 1402 opened a period of anarchy in the Ottoman Empire. Mircea took advantage of it to organise a new anti-Ottoman campaign: in 1403, he occupied the Genoese fort of
Kilia at the mouths of the Danube. Thus in 1404, he could impose his authority on Dobruja. In 1416, Mircea supported the revolt against
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 ...
Mehmed I
Mehmed I ( 1386 – 26 May 1421), also known as Mehmed Çelebi ( ota, چلبی محمد, "the noble-born") or Kirişçi ( el, Κυριτζής, Kyritzis, "lord's son"), was the Ottoman sultan from 1413 to 1421. The fourth son of Sultan Bayezid ...
, led by
Sheikh Bedreddin
Sheikh Bedreddin (1359–1420) ( ota, شیخ بدرالدین), full name Sheikh Bedreddin Mahmud bin Israel bin Abdulaziz was an influential mystic, scholar, theologian, and revolutionary. He is best known for his role in a 1416 revolt against t ...
in the area of Deliorman, in Southern Dobruja.
After Mircea died in 1418, his son
Mihail I fought against the amplified Ottoman attacks, eventually being killed in a battle in 1420. That year, Sultan Mehmed I conducted the definitive conquest of Dobruja by the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
.
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
kept only the mouths of the Danube, but not for a long duration.
In the late 14th century, German traveller
Johann Schiltberger
Johann (Hans) Schiltberger (1380) was a German traveller and writer. He was born of a noble family, probably at Hollern near Lohhof halfway between Munich and Freising.
Travels
Schiltberger joined the suite of Lienhart Richartinger in 1394, a ...
described these lands as follows:
Ottoman rule
![Danube mouths 1867](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Danube_mouths_1867.JPG)
Occupied by the Turks in 1420, the region remained under Ottoman control until the late 19th century. Initially, it was organised as an ''u
dj'' (border province), included in the
sanjak
Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ)
* Armenian language, Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province")
* Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region")
* el, Διοίκησι ...
of Silistra, part of the
Eyalet of Rumelia. Later, under
Murad II
Murad II ( ota, مراد ثانى, Murād-ı sānī, tr, II. Murad, 16 June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1444 and again from 1446 to 1451.
Murad II's reign was a period of important economic deve ...
or
Suleiman I, the sanjak of Silistra and surrounding territories were organised as a separate
eyalet
Eyalets ( Ottoman Turkish: ایالت, , English: State), also known as beylerbeyliks or pashaliks, were a primary administrative division of the Ottoman Empire.
From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Ottoman local government ...
. In 1555, a revolt led by the "false" (''düzme'') Mustafa, a pretender to the Turkish throne, broke out against Ottoman administration in
Rumelia
Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...
and rapidly spread to Dobruja, but was repressed by the
beylerbey
''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit=bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks ...
of
Nigbolu.
In 1603 and 1612, the region suffered from the forays of
Cossack
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
s, who burnt down
Isaķči and plundered
Küstendje. The Russian Empire occupied Dobruja several times during the
Russo-Turkish wars
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...
— in 1771–1774, 1790–1791, 1809–1810, 1829, and 1853. The most violent invasion was that of 1829, which resulted in the depopulation of numerous villages and towns. The
Treaty of Adrianople of 1829 ceded the
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...
to the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. However, Russia was forced to return it to the Ottomans in 1856, after 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 1864 Dobruja was included in the
Vilayet of Danube.
On account of the
Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)
The Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 was a major armed conflict that saw Russian arms largely victorious against the Ottoman Empire. Russia's victory brought parts of Moldavia, the Yedisan between the rivers Bug and Dnieper, and Crimea into the ...
, one of the greatest migration events of the region occurred where an estimated 200,000 Tatars emigrated to the Dobruja region between 1770 and 1784. Whereas, a large group of Christians (likely Greeks and Slavs) moved the other direction into the
Tatar's recently-loss region of
Azov
Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak,
is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population:
History
Early settlements in the vicinity
The mo ...
in 1778.
During Ottoman rule, groups of
Turk,
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
,
Muslim Romani people
Xoraxane Roma in Balkan Romani language, are non-Vlax Romani people, who adopted Sunni Islam of Hanafi madhab at the time of the Ottoman Empire. Some of them are Derviş of Sufism belief, and the biggest Tariqa of Jerrahi is located at the l ...
and
Crimean Tatars
, flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg
, flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars
, image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg
, caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace
...
settled in the region, the latter, especially between 1512 and 1514. During the reign of
Peter I of Russia
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
and
Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
,
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 ...
immigrated to the region of the Danube Delta. After the destruction of
Zaporozhian Sich
The Zaporozhian Sich ( ua, Запорозька Січ, ; also uk, Вольностi Вiйська Запорозького Низового, ; Free lands of the Zaporozhian Host the Lower) was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of Cos ...
in 1775,
Cossacks
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
were settled in the area north of Lake Razim by the Turkish authorities (where they founded the
Danubian Sich
The Danubian Sich ( uk, Задунайська Сiч, translit=Zadunaiska Sich) was an organization of the part of former Zaporozhian Cossacks who settled in the territory of the Ottoman Empire (the Danube Delta, hence the name) after their pre ...
). They were forced to leave Dobruja in 1828.
In the second part of the nineteenth century,
Ruthenians
Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sourc ...
from the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
also settled in the Danube Delta. After 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 ...
, a large number of
Tatars
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different were forcibly driven away from
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
, immigrating to then-Ottoman Dobruja and settling mainly in the Karasu Valley in the centre of the region and around Bābā Dāgh. In 1864,
Circassians
The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia in ...
fleeing from the Russian invasion and genocide of the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
were settled in the wooded region near Babadag, forming
a community there.
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
from
Bessarabia
Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...
also founded colonies in Dobruja between 1840 and 1892.
![Dobrogea-Bugeac harta etnica (1861)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Dobrogea-Bugeac_harta_etnica_%281861%29.JPG)
According to Bulgarian historian
Lyubomir Miletich
Lyubomir Miletich ( bg, Любомир Милетич) (14 January 1863 – 1 June 1937) was a leading Bulgarian linguist, ethnographer, dialectologist and historian, as well as the chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences from 1926 to ...
, most Bulgarians living in Dobruja in 1900 were nineteenth-century settlers or their descendants. In 1850, the scholar
Ion Ionescu de la Brad
Ion Ionescu de la Brad (June 24, 1818 – December 16, 1891), born Ion Isăcescu, was a Moldavian, later Romanian revolutionary, agronomist, statistician, scholar, and writer.
Born in Roman, Romania, Roman, he was the son of a Moldavian Romani ...
, wrote in a study on Dobruja, ordered by the Ottoman government, that Bulgarians came to the region "in the last twenty years or so". According to his study, there were 2,285 Bulgarian families (out of 8,194 Christian families) in the region, 1,194 of them in Northern Dobruja.
Lyubomir Miletich puts the number of Bulgarian families in Northern Dobruja in the same year at 2,097. According to the statistics of the
Bulgarian Exarchate
The Bulgarian Exarchate ( bg, Българска екзархия, Balgarska ekzarhiya; tr, Bulgar Eksarhlığı) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and th ...
, before 1877 there were 9,324 Bulgarian families out of a total 12,364 Christian families in the Northern Dobruja.
According to Russian
knyaz
, or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...
Vladimir Cherkassky, chief of the Provisional Russian government in Bulgaria in 1877–1878, the Bulgarian population in Dobruja was larger than the Romanian one.
However, count Shuvalov, the Russian representative to the
Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...
, stated that Romania deserved Dobruja "more than anybody else, because of its population". In 1878, the statistics of the Russian governor of Dobruja, Bieloserkovitsch, showed a number of 4,750 Bulgarian "family chiefs" (out of 14,612 Christian family chiefs) in the northern half of the region.
The Christian religious organisation of the region was put under the authority of the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...
by a
firman
A firman ( fa, , translit=farmân; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods they were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The word firman com ...
of the
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 ...
, promulgated on February 28, 1870. However, the ethnic Greeks and most Romanians in Northern Dobruja remained under the authority of the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
Archdiocese of
Tulça (founded in 1829).
After 1878
![Histdob](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Histdob.png)
After the 1878 war, the
Treaty of San Stefano
The 1878 Treaty of San Stefano (russian: Сан-Стефанский мир; Peace of San-Stefano, ; Peace treaty of San-Stefano, or ) was a treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-187 ...
awarded Dobruja to
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 ...
and the newly established
Principality of Bulgaria
The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878.
After the Russo-Turkish War ende ...
. The northern portion, held by Russia, was ceded to Romania in exchange for Russia obtaining territories in
Southern Bessarabia
Southern Bessarabia or South Bessarabia is a territory of Bessarabia which, as a result of the Crimean War, was returned to the Moldavian Principality in 1856. As a result of the unification of the latter with Wallachia, these lands became part ...
, thereby securing direct access to the mouths of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
. In Northern Dobruja, Romanians were the plurality. The population included a Bulgarian ethnic enclave in the northeast (around
Babadag
Babadag (; tr, Babadağ, "Father Mountain"), formerly known as Babatag, is a town in Tulcea County, Romania, located on a small lake formed by the river Taița, in the densely wooded highlands of Northern Dobruja. One of the several tombs ...
), as well as an important Muslim community (mostly Turks and Tatars) scattered around the region.
The southern portion, held by Bulgaria, was reduced the same year by the
Treaty of Berlin. At the advice of the French envoy, a strip of land extended inland from the port of
Mangalia
Mangalia (, tr, Mankalya), ancient Callatis ( el, Κάλλατις/Καλλατίς; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern D ...
(shown orange on the map) was ceded to Romania, since its southwestern corner contained a compact area of ethnic Romanians. The town 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 ...
, located at the area's most southwestern point, remained Bulgarian due to its large Bulgarian population. Romania subsequently tried to occupy the town as well, but in 1879 a new international commission allowed Romania to occupy only the fort ''Arab Tabia'', which overlooked Silistra, but not the town itself.
![Dobroudja_(carte_ethnographique)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Dobroudja_%28carte_ethnographique%29.JPG)
At the beginning of the
Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, most of Dobruja's population was composed of ethnic Tatars, Turks, Romanians, and Bulgarians. During the war, a large part of the Muslim population was evacuated to Bulgaria and Turkey. After 1878, the Romanian government encouraged Romanians from other regions to settle in Northern Dobruja and accepted the return of some Muslim population displaced by the war.
According to Bulgarian historians, after 1878 the Romanian church authorities took control over all local churches, with the exception of two in the towns of Tulcea and Constanţa, which managed to retain use of their Bulgarian Slavonic liturgy. Between 1879 and 1900, Bulgarians built 15 new churches in Northern Dobruja. After 1880,
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, region2 ...
from
Friuli
Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giulia ...
and
Veneto
Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona.
Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...
settled in Greci, Cataloi and
Măcin
Măcin () is a town in Tulcea County, in the Northern Dobruja region of Romania.
Location
Măcin is located in the north-western part of the Northern Dobruja region, in Tulcea County. The city is located at the intersection of the DN22 ( E87) an ...
in Northern Dobruja. Most of them worked in the granite quarries in the
Măcin Mountains
The Măcin Mountains () is a mountain range in Tulcea County, Romania. Part of the Northern Dobruja Massif, they are located between Danube River to the north and west, Taița River and ''Culmea Niculițelului'' to the east and Casimcea Platea ...
, while some became farmers. The Bulgarian authorities encouraged the settling of ethnic Bulgarians in the territory of Southern Dobruja.
In May 1913, the
Great Powers
A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power in ...
awarded Silistra and the area in a 3 km radius around it to Romania, at the
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
Conference. In August 1913, after the
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...
, Bulgaria lost
Southern Dobruja
Southern Dobruja, South Dobruja or Quadrilateral (Bulgarian: Южна Добруджа, ''Yuzhna Dobrudzha'' or simply Добруджа, ''Dobrudzha''; ro, Dobrogea de Sud, or ) is an area of northeastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra ...
(''Cadrilater'') to Romania (See
Treaty of Bucharest, 1913
The Treaty of Bucharest ( ro, Tratatul de la București; sr, Букурештански мир; bg, Букурещки договор; gr, Συνθήκη του Βουκουρεστίου) was concluded on 10 August 1913, by the delegates of ...
). With Romania's entry in
World War I
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 ...
on the side of France and Russia, the
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
occupied all of Dobruja and gave the Cadrilater, as well as the southern portion of Northern Dobruja, to Bulgaria in the
Treaty of Bucharest of 1918. This situation lasted for a short period. As the
Allied Powers emerged victorious at the end of the war, Romania regained the lost territories in the
Treaty of Neuilly
The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (french: Traité de Neuilly-sur-Seine) required Bulgaria to cede various territories, after Bulgaria had been one of the Central Powers defeated in World War I. The treaty was signed on 27 November 1919 at Neuilly ...
of 1919. Between 1926 and 1938, about 30,000
Aromanians
The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Alba ...
from Bulgaria,
Macedonia, and Greece, were resettled in Southern Dobruja. Some
Megleno-Romanians
The Megleno-Romanians, also known as Meglenites ( ruq, Miglinits), Moglenite Vlachs or simply Vlachs ( ruq, Vlaș), are a small Eastern Romance people, originally inhabiting seven villages in the Moglena region spanning the Pella and Kilkis reg ...
also emigrated to the region.
In 1923 the
Internal Dobrujan Revolutionary Organisation
The Internal Dobrujan Revolutionary Organisation ( bg, Вътрешна добруджанска революционна организация; ro, Organizația Revoluționară Internă Dobrogeană) or IDRO was a Bulgarian nationalist and revolu ...
(IDRO), a Bulgarian nationalist organisation, was established. Active in Southern Dobruja under different forms until 1940, the IDRO detachments fought against the widespread brigandage in the region, as well as the Romanian administration. Thus, while considered "a terrorist organisation" by the Romanian authorities, the IDRO was regarded by ethnic Bulgarians as a liberation movement. In 1925, part of the Bulgarian revolutionary committees formed the Dobrujan Revolutionary Organisation (DRO), which later became subordinated to the
Communist Party of Romania
The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that woul ...
. In contrast with the IDRO, which fought for the inclusion of the region in the Bulgarian state, the DRO requested the independence of Dobruja and its inclusion in a projected
Federative Republic of the Balkans. The means used by DRO to attain its goals were also more peaceful.
During
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 ...
, Bulgaria regained Southern Dobruja in the September 1940
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
*Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...
-sponsored
Treaty of Craiova
The Treaty of Craiova ( bg, Крайовска спогодба, Krayovska spogodba; ro, Tratatul de la Craiova) was signed on 7 September 1940 and ratified on 13 September 1940 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Romania. Under its te ...
, despite Romanian negotiators' insistence that
Balchik
Balchik ( bg, Балчик ; ro, Balcic) is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Southern Dobruja area of northeastern Bulgaria. It is in Dobrich Province, 35 km southeast of Dobrich and 42 km northeast of Varna. It spra ...
and other towns should remain in Romania. As part of the treaty, the
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
inhabitants (Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. -
settler
A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area.
A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...
s, settlers from other regions of Romania, and the Romanians indigenous to the region) were forced to leave the regained territory, while the Bulgarian minority in the north was expelled to go to Bulgaria in a
population exchange
Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration, often imposed by state policy or international authority and most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion but also due to economic development. Banishment or exile is a ...
. The post-war
Paris Peace Treaties
The Paris Peace Treaties (french: Traités de Paris) were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945.
The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (princi ...
of 1947 reaffirmed the 1940 border.
In 1948 and again in 1961–1962, Bulgaria proposed a border rectification in the area of Silistra, consisting mainly of the transfer of a Romanian territory containing the water source of that city. Romania made an alternative proposal that did not involve a territorial change and, ultimately, no rectification took place.
In Romania, 14 November is a holiday observed as the
Dobruja Day
The Dobruja Day ( ro, Ziua Dobrogei) is a public holiday of Romania celebrated every 14 November that commemorates the incorporation of the region of Northern Dobruja into Romania on 14 November 1878.
Background
The Principality of Romania ga ...
.
Demographic history
In 1913, Dobruja was all made part of Romania in the aftermath of the
1913 Treaty of Bucharest which ended the
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...
. Romania acquired Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria, a territory with a population of 300,000 from which only 6,000 (2%) were Romanians. In 1913, Romanian-held Northern Dobruja had a population of 380,430, from which 216,425 (56.8%) were Romanians.
Thus, when Dobruja was unified within Romania in 1913, there were over 222,000 Romanians in the region out of a total population of 680,000, or nearly 33% of the population. By 1930, the Romanian population within Dobruja had increased to 44.2%.
[Lucian Boia, Central European University Press, 2001, ''History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness'', p. 182]
Northern Dobruja
:
1According to the 1926–1938 Romanian administrative division (counties of
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
and
Tulcea
Tulcea (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 73,707 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city.
Names
Th ...
), which excluded a part of today's Romania (chiefly the communes of
Ostrov and
Lipnița
Lipnița is a commune in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania.
The commune includes seven villages:
* Lipnița
* Canlia (historical name: tr, Kanlı)
* Carvăn (historical names: ''Kervan'') - established in 1968 from the merger of ''Car ...
, now part of
Constanța County
Constanța () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the Dobruja region. Its capital city is also named Constanța.
Demographics
In 2011, it had a population of 684,082 and the population density was 96/km2. The deg ...
) and included a part of today's Bulgaria (parts of
General Toshevo
General Toshevo ( bg, Генерал Тошево ; ro, Casim) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Dobrich Province. Located in the historic region of Southern Dobruja, it is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and w ...
and
Krushari
Krushari ( bg, Крушари, ) is a village in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Dobrich Province. It is the administrative centre of Krushari Municipality, which lies in the northwestern part of the province. Krushari is located 32 kilometres fro ...
municipalities)
:
2Only Russians. (Russians and Lipovans counted separately)
Southern Dobruja
:
1According to the 1926–1938 Romanian administrative division (counties of Durostor County, Durostor and Caliacra County, Caliacra), which included a part of today's Romania (chiefly the communes of
Ostrov and
Lipnița
Lipnița is a commune in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania.
The commune includes seven villages:
* Lipnița
* Canlia (historical name: tr, Kanlı)
* Carvăn (historical names: ''Kervan'') - established in 1968 from the merger of ''Car ...
, now part of
Constanța County
Constanța () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the Dobruja region. Its capital city is also named Constanța.
Demographics
In 2011, it had a population of 684,082 and the population density was 96/km2. The deg ...
) and excluded a part of today's Bulgaria (parts of
General Toshevo
General Toshevo ( bg, Генерал Тошево ; ro, Casim) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Dobrich Province. Located in the historic region of Southern Dobruja, it is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and w ...
and
Krushari
Krushari ( bg, Крушари, ) is a village in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Dobrich Province. It is the administrative centre of Krushari Municipality, which lies in the northwestern part of the province. Krushari is located 32 kilometres fro ...
municipalities)
:
2Including persons counted as Vlachs in Bulgarian Census
:
3Only includes persons who answered the optional question on ethnic identity. The total population was 309,151.
Area, population and cities
The entire region of Dobruja has an area of around and a population of around 1.2 million, of which just over two-thirds of the former and nearly three-quarters of the latter lie in the Romanian part.
Major cities are
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
,
Tulcea
Tulcea (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 73,707 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city.
Names
Th ...
,
Medgidia
Medgidia ( or ; historical Turkish names: ''Karasu'' or ''Carasu'', ''Mecidiye'' or ''Megidie'') is a city in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, south-eastern Romania.
History
Archaeological findings show that Dobruja was inhabited since th ...
and
Mangalia
Mangalia (, tr, Mankalya), ancient Callatis ( el, Κάλλατις/Καλλατίς; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern D ...
in Romania, and
Dobrich
Dobrich ( bg, Добрич ; ro, Bazargic, tr, Hacıoğlu Pazarcık) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, 9th most populated city in Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Dobrich Province and the capital of the region of Southern Dobr ...
and
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 ...
in Bulgaria.
File:Cazinoul din Constanta vedere laterala.jpg, Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
File:Administrația Pescăriei Statului.jpg, Tulcea
Tulcea (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 73,707 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city.
Names
Th ...
File:Medgidia station.jpg, Medgidia
Medgidia ( or ; historical Turkish names: ''Karasu'' or ''Carasu'', ''Mecidiye'' or ''Megidie'') is a city in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, south-eastern Romania.
History
Archaeological findings show that Dobruja was inhabited since th ...
File:Portul Turistic Masngalia - panoramio - Andrei Dan Suciu (3).jpg, Mangalia
Mangalia (, tr, Mankalya), ancient Callatis ( el, Κάλλατις/Καλλατίς; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern D ...
File:Dobrich - 1.jpg, Dobrich
Dobrich ( bg, Добрич ; ro, Bazargic, tr, Hacıoğlu Pazarcık) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, 9th most populated city in Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Dobrich Province and the capital of the region of Southern Dobr ...
File:Silistra-art-gallery-Svik.jpg, 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 ...
See also
* Bulgaria during World War I
* Romania during World War I
Notes
References
*
*
* . Subscription needed for online access.
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
* Iordachi, Constantin (2001)
"The California of the Romanians": The Integration of Northern Dobrogea into Romania, 1878-1913'' in ''Nation-Building and Contested Identities Romanian & Hungarian Case Studies''
*
*
{{Coord, 44, 27, N, 28, 20, E, display=t
Dobruja,
Divided regions
Historical regions in Bulgaria
Historical regions in Romania