Ismail County was a county (
județ) of
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
between 1925 and 1938 and between 1941 and 1944, in
Bessarabia, with the capital city at
Ismail
Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
.
Geography
The county was located in the eastern part of
Greater Romania
The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea.
As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...
, in the south of the historical region of
Bessarabia, north of the Chilia branch 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 , p ...
.
The county neighboured the counties of
Cetatea-Albă and
Cahul to the north,
Covurlui to the west,
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
The ...
to the south 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, Rom ...
to the south-east. Today, the territory of the former county is primarily in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, with a smaller part in the west belonging to
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...
.
Administration
The county comprised four districts (''
plăși''):
#Plasa Bolgrad, headquartered at
Bolgrad
Bolhrad ( uk, Болгра́д, Bolhrad, ; bg, Болград, Bolgrad; ro, Bolgrad, Gagauz: ''Bolgrad''), is a small city in Odesa Oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Budjak. It is the administrative center o ...
#Plasa Chilia Nouă, headquartered at
Chilia Nouă
#Plasa Fântâna Zânelor, headquartered at
Fântâna-Zânelor
#Plasa Reni, headquartered at
Reni
There were five cities in the county:
Ismail
Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
(capital),
Bolgrad
Bolhrad ( uk, Болгра́д, Bolhrad, ; bg, Болград, Bolgrad; ro, Bolgrad, Gagauz: ''Bolgrad''), is a small city in Odesa Oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Budjak. It is the administrative center o ...
,
Chilia Nouă,
Reni, and
Vâlcov.
Population
According to the Romanian census of 1930 the population of Ismail County was 225,509, of which 31.9% were ethnic Romanians, 29.7% Russians, 19.2% Bulgarians, 6.9% Gagauz, 4.7% Ukrainians, 2.8% Jews, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the county population consisted of 87.9% Eastern Orthodox, 7.6% Old Rite Orthodox (Lipoveni), 2.9% Jewish, as well as other minorities.
Urban population
According to the Romanian census of 1930 the urban population of Ismail County was 75,860, of which 44.7% were ethnic Russians, 24.6% Romanians, 12.4% Bulgarians, 8.1% Jews, 5.0% Ukrainians, 0.7% Greeks, as well as other minorities. From the religious point of view, the urban population consisted of 80.7% Eastern Orthodox, 9.3% Old Rite Orthodox (Lipoveni), 8.2% Jewish, 0.7% Roman Catholic, as well as other minorities.
History
At the end of 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 ...
, by the
Treaty of Paris (1856)
The Treaty of Paris of 1856 brought an end to the Crimean War between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom, the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia.
The treaty, signed on 30 March 1856 at ...
,
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 ...
was returned by the Russian Empire to
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...
. Southern Bessarabia was administratively organized into 2 counties:
Cahul and Ismail, and it was part of Moldavia and, after 1859, part of the
United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia
The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia ( ro, Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești), commonly called United Principalities, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia, ...
(called Romania after 1866). The Ismail county was split in the 1864 administrative reform, with most of its territory organised into a new
Bolgrad
Bolhrad ( uk, Болгра́д, Bolhrad, ; bg, Болград, Bolgrad; ro, Bolgrad, Gagauz: ''Bolgrad''), is a small city in Odesa Oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Budjak. It is the administrative center o ...
county. The rump county remained part of Romania until 1878, when by the
Treaty of Berlin (1878)
The Treaty of Berlin (formally the Treaty between Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire for the Settlement of Affairs in the East) was signed on 13 July 1878. In the aftermath of the ...
all three counties were ceded back to the Russian Empire in exchange for
Northern Dobruja.
After the
Union of Bessarabia with Romania
The union of Bessarabia with Romania was proclaimed on by Sfatul Țării, the legislative body of the Moldavian Democratic Republic. This state had the same borders of the region of Bessarabia, which was annexed by the Russian Empire following ...
in 1918, Ismail County returned to Romania, being formally re-established in 1925.
After the 1938 Administrative and Constitutional Reform, this county merged with the counties of
Brăila,
Cahul,
Covurlui,
Fălciu
Fălciu is a commune in Vaslui County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Bogdănești, Bozia, Copăceana, Fălciu, Odaia Bogdana, and Rânzești.
The commune is a border crossing between Moldova and Romania. The Fălciu ...
,
Putna,
Râmnicu Sărat
Râmnicu Sărat (also spelled ''Rîmnicu Sărat'', , german: Rümnick or ''Rebnick''; tr, Remnik) is a municipiu, city in Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It was first attested in a document of 1439, and raised to the ...
,
Tecuci
Tecuci () is a municipiu, city in Galați County, Romania, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. It is situated among wooded hills, on the right bank of the Bârlad River, and at the junction of railways from Galați, Bârlad, and Mără ...
,
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
The ...
, and
Tutova to form
Ținutul Dunării.
The county (and the whole of Bessarabia) was
occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940 and became part of the
Moldavian SSR
The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 194 ...
and the
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
. The area returned to Romanian administration as the
Bessarabia Governorate
The Bessarabia Governorate (, ) was a part of the Russian Empire from 1812 to 1917. Initially known as Bessarabia Oblast (Бессарабская область, ''Bessarabskaya oblast'') as well as, following 1871, a governorate, it included ...
following the
Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in July 1941. A military administration was established and the region's Jewish population was either executed on the spot or deported to Transnistria, where further numbers were killed. As the Soviet Union's
offensive pushed the Axis powers back, the area again was under Soviet control. On September 12, 1944, Romania signed the Moscow Armistice with the
Allies. The Armistice, as well as the subsequent
Paris Peace Treaty of 1947, confirmed the Soviet-Romanian border as it was on January 1, 1941.
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
. Foreign relations of the United States, 1946
Paris Peace Conference: documents Volume IV (1946)
/ref> The areas of the county, along with the rest of the Moldavian SSR and the Ukrainian SSR, became part of the independent countries of Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...
and Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, respectively.
Gallery
File:Romania administrative divisions, 1864.svg, Ismail County as part of the Principality of Romania (1864–1878)
File:Județul Ismail (interbelic).jpg, Map of Ismail County as constituted in 1925
File:1938 map of interwar county Ismail.jpg, Map of Ismail County as of 1938
File:Ethnic map of Ismail County 1930.png, Ethnic map of Ismail County per the 1930 census
References
External links
*
Ismail County on memoria.ro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail County
Former counties of Romania
Counties of Bessarabia
1925 establishments in Romania
1938 disestablishments in Romania
1941 establishments in Romania
1944 disestablishments in Romania
States and territories established in 1925
States and territories disestablished in 1938
States and territories established in 1941
States and territories disestablished in 1944