Territorial Evolution Of Romania
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The territorial evolution of Romania ( ro, Evoluția teritorială a României) includes all the changes in the country's borders from its formation to the present day. The precedents of
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 ...
as an independent state can be traced back to the 14th century, when the
principalities A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...
of
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 ...
and
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 ...
were founded. Wallachia during its history lost several portions of its territory, either to the
Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
or the
Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
. However, this land would be later essentially recovered in its entirety. Moldavia, on the other hand, suffered great territorial losses. In 1774, the Habsburgs invaded
Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...
and annexed it one year later, and in 1812, 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. ...
took control of Bessarabia. Both territories were later exposed to powerful colonization policies. The principalities declared unification in 1859 as the
Principality of Romania 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, ...
. This new state sought independence from the Ottoman Empire's
vassalage A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...
, and in 1878, it fought
a war ''A War'' () is a 2015 Danish war drama film written and directed by Tobias Lindholm, and starring Pilou Asbæk and Søren Malling. It tells the story of a Danish military company in Afghanistan that is fighting the Taliban while trying to pro ...
against it alongside Russia. However, the latter would annex
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 ...
, which was recovered decades before. Romania received
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 ...
as compensation, and would wage
a war ''A War'' () is a 2015 Danish war drama film written and directed by Tobias Lindholm, and starring Pilou Asbæk and Søren Malling. It tells the story of a Danish military company in Afghanistan that is fighting the Taliban while trying to pro ...
for the southern part against
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 ...
in 1913. The now
kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...
had great territorial ambitions which, once they were promised by the Entente, dragged Romania to
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 ...
in 1916. Initially, it suffered a defeat leading to the loss of its
Carpathian The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...
es and
Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
in 1918. During this period, 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 t ...
was achieved. As 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 ...
weakened and pressure from the Entente (especially from
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
) increased, Romania reentered the war the same year. The Entente turned out to be the winner and Romania regained its lost territories after its initial defeat, as well as Bukovina and
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
. During this period, the country reached its maximum territorial extension, being known as
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 ...
. However, Romania's neighbors were not satisfied with the new borders. Romania relied on regional alliances and protection from France and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
at the west. However, soon
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
defeated Defeated may refer to: * "Defeated" (Breaking Benjamin song) * "Defeated" (Anastacia song) *"Defeated", a song by Snoop Dogg from the album ''Bible of Love'' *Defeated, Tennessee, an unincorporated community *''The Defeated ''The Defeated'', al ...
France, causing great concern in the country. Since it was already apparent that the West could no longer protect Romania, the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...
Bessarabia,
Northern Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berger ...
and the
Hertsa region The Hertsa region, also known as the Hertza region ( uk, Край Герца, Kraj Herca; ro, Ținutul Herța), is a region around the town of Hertsa within Chernivtsi Raion in the southern part of Chernivtsi Oblast in southwestern Ukraine, ne ...
in 1940 after an
ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series o ...
that Romania was forced to accept. The
king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
,
Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of th ...
, was alarmed and sought the help of Germany to protect Romania's territory, but it forced the country to cede
Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...
to
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
and Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria. The king lost all his popularity, causing
Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II. A Romanian Army career officer who made ...
's rise to power. He officially joined
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-coordinat ...
and demanded territories from
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
after its
invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
, specifically
Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
and the
Timok Valley The Timok Valley ( sr, Тимочка Крајина, Timočka Krajina; bg, Тимошко, Timoshko; ro, Valea Timocului) is a geographical region in east-central Serbia around the Timok River. The Timok Valley corresponds to parts of two Serbi ...
. This, however, never happened. In 1941, the Axis
invaded An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
the Soviet Union, allowing the recovery by Romania of its lost territories plus
Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...
, which was placed under civilian administration. Nevertheless, this operation failed, and after the overthrow of Antonescu, Romania changed sides in 1944 and fought against the Axis, thus losing Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina once again to the Soviet Union. This made possible the recovery of Northern Transylvania by the country. A
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
government with Soviet backing was fully installed in the country in 1947. The Soviet Union had occupied several Romanian islands in 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 ...
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 ...
, being this a territorial change which was made official in 1948. One of these islands was the Snake Island, which caused a dispute over the maritime borders between the now democratic Romania 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 ...
in 2009 in which Romania gained 80% of the disputed zone. Nowadays,
nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
and other Romanian groups seek the territorial expansion of their country, especially through Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina.


Background

The
Principality of Romania 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, ...
appeared in 1859 after the unification of the
principalities A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...
of
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 ...
and
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 ...
. However, these countries were founded in the 14th century, and their borders changed repeatedly throughout history. Wallachia, which had obtained
Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
during the reign 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 t ...
, lost the territory to the
Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
at the end of it (around 1418). In the same period, the Ottomans annexed two ports north 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 ...
,
Giurgiu Giurgiu (; bg, Гюргево) is a city in southern Romania. The seat of Giurgiu County, it lies in the historical region of Muntenia. It is situated amongst mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city ...
and
Turnu Măgurele Turnu Măgurele () is a city in Teleorman County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. Developed nearby the site once occupied by the medieval port of Turnu, it is situated north-east of the confluence between the Olt River and the Dan ...
. In the middle of the 16th century, Wallachia also lost the city of
Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2011 Romanian census there were 180,302 pe ...
. During the year 1600,
Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...
, ruler of Wallachia, unified the three Romanian principalities (Wallachia, Moldavia and
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
), although this union would be dismembered shortly after. The Austro-Turkish War that ended in 1718 was won by the Austrian
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
, which, among other lands, annexed
Oltenia Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...
(the western part of Wallachia). However, the
Treaty of Belgrade The Treaty of Belgrade, also known as the Belgrade Peace, was the peace treaty signed on September 18, 1739 in Belgrade, Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia (today Serbia), by the Ottoman Empire on one side and the Habsburg monarchy on the other, that e ...
of 1739 again yielded Oltenia to Wallachia. In 1826, as a result of the
Akkerman Convention The Akkerman Convention was a treaty signed on October 7, 1826, between the Russian and the Ottoman Empires in the Budjak citadel of ''Akkerman'' (present-day Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Ukraine). It imposed that the ''hospodars'' of Moldavia and Wall ...
, Wallachia reclaimed the three ports north of the Danube, drawing the Ottoman-Wallachian border across the Danube again. On the other hand, there is the principality of Moldavia. It emerged as a state after the defeat of the
Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different
by the
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
of
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
,
Louis I Louis I may refer to: * Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor * Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140) * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois ...
. The area remained under Hungarian influence and was formally established as a Hungarian fiefdom in 1347 under Dragoș. He was succeeded by Sas, who would be defeated by Bogdan I finishing the Hungarian
suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...
over Moldavia and starting its independence. It is argued, however, that for most (or all) of his reign and on its aftermath, Moldavia remained a Hungarian vassal (or Hungarian-Polish during the union of both from 1370 to 1382). The first Moldavian territorial change would take place a few years later. In 1388,
Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło ()He is known under a number of names: lt, Jogaila Algirdaitis; pl, Władysław II Jagiełło; be, Jahajła (Ягайла). See also: Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło. w ...
wanted money to wage a war against the
Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
, so he asked
Petru II of Moldavia Petru (Peter) Mușat (d. 1391) was Voivode (prince) of Moldavia from 1375 to 1391, the maternal grandson of Bogdan I, the first ruler from the dynastic House of Bogdan, succeeding Lațcu, Bogdan's son and successor who converted to Catholi ...
for a loan (4,000 rubles). Pokuttya was used as a pledge, and it was ceded to it. This loan was probably never paid. The territory would become a place of dispute between
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and Moldavia for the next two centuries, and was finally lost by the latter one in 1531 after the
Battle of Obertyn The Battle of Obertyn (August 22, 1531) was fought between Moldavian Voivode Petru Rareş and Polish forces under hetman Jan Tarnowski, in the town of Obertyn, south of the Dniester River, now in Ukraine. The battle ended with a Polish victory and ...
. Meanwhile, it lost the ports of
Kiliya Kiliia or Kilia ( uk, Кілія́, translit=Kiliia, ; ro, Chilia Nouă) is a town in Izmail Raion, Odesa Oblast of southwestern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Kiliia urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Kiliia is located in t ...
and
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi ( uk, Бі́лгород-Дністро́вський, Bílhorod-Dnistróvskyy, ; ro, Cetatea Albă), historically known as Akkerman ( tr, Akkerman) or under different names, is a city, municipality and port situated on ...
in 1484 to the Ottomans, followed by the annexation of the entire Moldavian coast (
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 ...
) by them in 1538. In 1711, due to the strategic importance of the town of
Khotyn Khotyn ( uk, Хотин, ; ro, Hotin, ; see other names) is a city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of t ...
and the area around it, the Ottomans annexed it from Moldavia, settled it with
Lipka Tatars The Lipka Tatars (Lipka – refers to ''Lithuania'', also known as Lithuanian Tatars; later also – Polish Tatars, Polish-Lithuanian Tatars, ''Lipkowie'', ''Lipcani'', ''Muślimi'', ''Lietuvos totoriai'') are a Turkic ethnic group who origina ...
and made it a
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 ...
(a province).
Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...
would later be invaded by the Habsburgs in 1774 and annexed one year later, undertaking a strong process of
Ukrainization Ukrainization (also spelled Ukrainisation), sometimes referred to as Ukrainianization (or Ukrainianisation) is a policy or practice of increasing the usage and facilitating the development of the Ukrainian language and promoting other elements of ...
. Moldavia's last major territorial loss took place in 1812. The Ottomans and 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. ...
would wage
a war ''A War'' () is a 2015 Danish war drama film written and directed by Tobias Lindholm, and starring Pilou Asbæk and Søren Malling. It tells the story of a Danish military company in Afghanistan that is fighting the Taliban while trying to pro ...
between 1806 and 1812, which ended with the Treaty of Bucharest that ceded to the latter
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 ...
, the eastern part of the principality. This region, just like Bukovina, suffered severe Russian colonization. Nevertheless, following the Russian defeat in 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 ...
, Moldavia recovered
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 ...
in 1856. After the devastation of the Kingdom of Hungary at Ottoman hands and its subsequent partition, Transylvania also became its own nearly independent state which included not only the geographic region of
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
, but also parts of
Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
and the "Western Parts" ( Bereg,
Crișana Crișana ( hu, Körösvidék, german: Kreischgebiet) is a geographical and historical region in north-western Romania, named after the Criș (Körös) River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru, and Crișul Repede. In Roma ...
,
Maramureș Maramureș or Marmaroshchyna ( ro, Maramureș ; uk, Мармарощина, Marmaroshchyna; hu, Máramaros) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpath ...
, parts of
Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, wh ...
,
Ung Ung or UNG may refer to: People * Woong, a Korean given name also spelled Ung * Ung (surname), a Cambodian and Norwegian surname * Ung Thị (full name Nguyễn Phúc Ung Thị; 1913–2001), Vietnamese-born American businessman * Franz Unger ( ...
and others; sometimes collectively known as
Partium Partium (from Latin ''partium'', the genitive of '' pars'' "part, portion") or ''Részek'' (in Hungarian) was a historical and geographical region in the Kingdom of Hungary during the early modern and modern periods. It consisted of the eastern a ...
). However, the principality was not led by
Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...
and it was conquered by the Habsburgs in 1699.


History


Formation and independence

In 1859, the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia declared unification under a hereditary prince, in this case,
Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 Januar ...
.
Carol I Carol I or Charles I of Romania (20 April 1839 – ), born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He w ...
was later elected as prince in 1866 after a referendum was approved. This new state was still an Ottoman vassal, and was not fully independent. Therefore, as "reluctant" allies, both Romania and Russia fought
a war ''A War'' () is a 2015 Danish war drama film written and directed by Tobias Lindholm, and starring Pilou Asbæk and Søren Malling. It tells the story of a Danish military company in Afghanistan that is fighting the Taliban while trying to pro ...
against the Ottoman Empire, which was defeated. However, in the aftermath, Russia attempted to retrieve Southern Bessarabia from Romania, which was repeatedly rejected. After a series of negotiations, Russia promised to respect Romania's territorial integrity with a treaty in 1877. This was broken just a year later, when Russian represented Romania in 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 1877-18 ...
of 1878, took
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 ...
and the Snake Island and offered it to Romania in exchange for Southern Bessarabia. This treaty was later revised by the Western powers in 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 ...
, ending in the loss of Southern Bessarabia anyway. Thus, in 1878, Romania lost the territory but gained independence from the Ottomans and Northern Dobruja (including 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 ...
). During the negotiations, the Danubian island of
Ada Kaleh Ada Kaleh (; from tr, Adakale, meaning "Island Fortress"; hu, Újorsova or ; Serbian and Bulgarian: Адакале, ''Adakale'') was a small island on the Danube in what is modern Romania, that was submerged during the construction of the ...
was not discussed. Hungarian journalist Emil Lengyel declared "the island belonged to Turkey, but the peacemakers forgot about it at the Berlin Congress in 1878". According to the articles of this congress, the Danube had to be a neutral zone. Therefore, Austria-Hungary interpreted the island as being
no man's land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...
. Members of the
Hungarian Parliament The National Assembly ( hu, Országgyűlés, lit=Country Assembly) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-propo ...
called for annexation of the island and contacted the Ottoman Empire to find out if they had their consent to do this, nevertheless the annexation was carried out in 1913. The island remained with Austro-Hungarian troops but also a Turkish civil administrator, a vague situation that would last for several decades. In 1881, the
Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...
was proclaimed. The
First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
at the beginning of the 20th century presented an imbalance of the power in the region, as
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
supported a powerful
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 ...
state and a weak and devastated
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
. Romania did not support this, and after unfruitful negotiations, Romania joined 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 ...
in 1913 against Bulgaria. Ending in its victory, Romania gained
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 ...
, including
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 ...
, which was promised in 1878.


World War I

When
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 ...
began in 1914, Romania initially maintained a policy of neutrality. However, after secret negotiations with the
Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...
, the Treaty of Bucharest of 1916 was signed. This treaty promised Romania the regions of Transylvania, Bukovina, Banat and other Hungarian territories along the
Tisza River The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...
(Crișana).
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Ion I. C. Brătianu, in charge of the Romanian foreign policy after Carol I's death in 1914, was highly suspicious of whether the Entente would deliver on its promises due to the event of Southern Bessarabia decades earlier. Therefore, he insisted on various clauses and conditions in the treaty to ensure that it would be fulfilled. In August 1916, Romania entered the war and invaded Transylvania, but an attack by 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 ...
from the south ruined its actions. The Romanian army was courageous and enthusiastic, but it was poorly equipped and inexperienced. In December, the Central Powers had already occupied Wallachia and Dobruja. This raised doubts for the Entente as to whether Romanian claims had to be accomplished, and they did not invite Romania to participate in following conferences about the war. This changed after a visit to
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
from Brătianu complaining about this and in which he convinced the Entente of the importance of Romania in the region. Eventually, the Russian army collapsed and Russia would be forced to abandon the war. Romania, although it had managed to repudiate an offensive towards Moldavia, was left alone on the Eastern Front and was now worried about the threat of the Russian revolutionary forces. Thus, it signed the
Armistice of Focșani The Armistice of Focșani ( ro, Armistițiul de la Focșani, also called the Truce of Focșani) was an agreement that ended the hostilities between Romania (member of the Allied Powers) and the Central Powers in World War I. It was signed on 9 ...
with the Central Powers on 9 December 1917. Meanwhile, Bessarabia, which had declared itself as the
Moldavian Democratic Republic The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; ro, Republica Democratică Moldovenească, ), also known as the Moldavian Republic, was a state proclaimed on by the ''Sfatul Țării'' (National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October–Novembe ...
on 15 December, united with Romania on 9 April 1918. This was ratified by
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Ferdinand I on 17 April. Eventually Romania would end up signing a formal
peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...
with the Central Powers, the Treaty of Bucharest of 1918, almost three months after the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace, separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russian SFSR, Russia and the Central Powers (German Empire, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Kingdom of ...
with which Russia left the war. The conditions were harsh: Romania was to cede the
Carpathian The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...
es to Austria-Hungary and Dobruja under the administration of the Central Powers (everything below
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 ...
was annexed by Bulgaria). Furthermore, Romania had to lease its
oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...
s to
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
for 90 years and almost unlimited rights to export grain and other Romanian raw materials. This left the country almost indefensible. As compensation, the Central Powers recognized the union of Bessarabia with Romania. However, Ferdinand I refused to ratify the treaty, which he could easily do due to the changes in the Western Front that distracted Germany. In the autumn of 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed, making possible Romanian claims easier to fulfill. The Entente, and especially
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, were seeking Romanian assistance to defeat the rest of the enemy troops in southeastern Europe and to cooperate with the pro-Allied Russian troops. The French general
Henri Mathias Berthelot Henri Mathias Berthelot (7 December 1861 – 29 January 1931) was a French general during World War I. He held an important staff position under Joseph Joffre, the French commander-in-chief, at the First Battle of the Marne, before later commandi ...
, who had left Romania 6 months earlier, was sent to
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
(
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
) to encourage it to rejoin the war from there. This was accomplished on November 10, when Romania declared war once again.


Interwar period

The Romanians of Bukovina declared union with the country on 28 November and those of Transylvania on 1 December. During the Paris Peace Conference, Brătianu did everything possible to secure Romania's new borders. Transylvania was the most important topic for him, so much so that he sent the Romanian army to Hungary despite the prohibitions from the Supreme Council of the Allied powers. The Romanian offensive was successful and the
Hungarian Soviet Republic The Socialist Federative Republic of Councils in Hungary ( hu, Magyarországi Szocialista Szövetséges Tanácsköztársaság) (due to an early mistranslation, it became widely known as the Hungarian Soviet Republic in English-language sources ( ...
was disbanded on 1 August 1919. After severe diplomatic pressure, Romania signed the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine with Bulgaria on 27 November (leaving the border the same) and the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919), Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye with Republic of German-Austria, Austria and treaties regarding Minorities of Romania, ethnic minorities on 9 December 1919. Romania did not receive all of Banat, but two thirds, almost everything else going to Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The Treaty of Trianon signed on 4 June 1920 defined the border between Romania and
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, the former receiving all of Transylvania and other lands in eastern Hungary (parts of Crișana and Maramureș). Romanian diplomats had also claimed the island of Ada Kaleh to protect the port of Orșova, and Romania received it after the signing of the treaty. This was confirmed by Turkey in 1923 in the Treaty of Lausanne. Finally, the Supreme Council recognized Bessarabia's union with Romania without detailing too much, since it would leave the issue for negotiations between Romania and Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russia. By the end of 1920, the Romanian borders were settled. Romania gained (making a total area of ) and 8,500,000 inhabitants (with a total of 16,250,000). The Romanian national ideal was fulfilled, thus appearing
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 ...
. Further, in 1931, Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga received a donation in the Adriatic port of Sarandë from King of the Albanians, King Zog I of Albania, Zog I of Albanian Kingdom (1928–39), Albania as gratitude for his support in obtaining and recognizing the independence of the Albanian state.
Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of th ...
, King of Romania, issued in 1934 a royal decree creating a scientific mission in Albania. The same year, Iorga donated the land to the Romanian state, on the condition that a Romanian Institute in Albania, scientific institute would be established and that a space reserved for him would be left. Albania was Italian invasion of Albania, invaded in April 1939 by Kingdom of Italy, Italy, hampering the Romanian institute's activities. Iorga decided to stop research on it, and he was killed a year later. All this led the Romanian government to abolish the institute. It was later demolished after receiving extensive damage during World War II in 1945. The land, on the other hand, was converted into patrimony of the Albanian state under Enver Hoxha's regime. During the interwar period, Romania's greatest goal was to defend the country's new borders against the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and Germany, as well as the revisionist Bulgaria and Hungary. Romanian politicians saw the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and especially France as the defenders of peace that made this possible. The country also supported the establishment of the League of Nations and other regional alliances (Balkan Pact and Little Entente) to counter its enemies. However, Romania never managed to improve its relations with Hungary and the Soviet Union. The former insisted on the return of Transylvania, while the latter never accepted the loss of Bessarabia. Romanian leaders trusted the assumed hostility between
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the Soviet Union that maintained a balance of power. That is why the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, non-aggression pact signed on 23 August 1939 between the two shocked them, causing great insecurity in the country. In addition, under the secret terms of the pact, Nazi Germany had already recognized the Soviet interest in Bessarabia.


World War II

World War II began in September 1939, and the German victory on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front and the subsequent defeat of France in June 1940 seriously alarmed Carol II. He was convinced that the allies could no longer defend Romania, so he decided that the only way to keep the country together was by relying on Germany. However, this did not prevent the Soviet
ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series o ...
of 26 June 1940. In it, the cession within 24 hours of Bessarabia was ordered, as well as
Northern Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berger ...
as compensation for the "suffering of the Bessarabians under Romanian rule". In the ultimatum it was said that Bessarabia was "for the most part (ethnically) Ukrainians, Ukrainian" and that Northern Bukovina was "linked to Soviet Ukraine". Further, the map of the ultimatum was drawn with a red thick pencil that allowed the Soviet Union to also occupy the
Hertsa region The Hertsa region, also known as the Hertza region ( uk, Край Герца, Kraj Herca; ro, Ținutul Herța), is a region around the town of Hertsa within Chernivtsi Raion in the southern part of Chernivtsi Oblast in southwestern Ukraine, ne ...
even if it was not mentioned in the text. Since the Allies of World War II, Allies had fallen and Germany and Italy were urging him to accept the claims, Carol II accepted the ultimatum. Thus, on 28 June, the Soviet Union
occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...
the mentioned territories. After this, Carol II desperately tried to integrate with Adolf Hitler's Germany as quickly as possible to avoid claims from Bulgaria and Hungary. On July 4, he brought in a pro-German government that immediately declared Romanian withdrawal from the League of Nations and adhesion to the Axis powers. Carol II also called for Germany to respect Romanian borders and cooperation between the armies of both countries, but Hitler stated that this would only be possible after resolving territorial disputes with its neighbors. The Transylvania dispute was difficult to negotiate, with the Romanian public completely opposed to its ceding. Negotiations with Hungary started on 16 August did not reach an agreement, and Hitler decided to resolve the dispute. He saw it necessary to somewhat satisfy Hungary and not cripple Romania, but also to keep both of them dissatisfied to ensure their cooperation with Germany. In Vienna, Hitler showed his proposal and gave the option to either accept or fight with Axis-backed Hungary. Following a Crown Council of Romania, Crown Council on 30 August, the Second Vienna Award was accepted and Hungary was given
Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...
. Further, after negotiations, the Treaty of Craiova that returned Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria was signed on 7 September. Romania lost a third of its territory () and population (6,161,317 inhabitants). Carol II thus lost all his prestige, and upon reflection, he chose General
Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II. A Romanian Army career officer who made ...
to rule the country. He was an authoritarian Romanian nationalism, nationalist with links to the Iron Guard who did not even favor Germany. He demanded the abdication and flight of Carol II from the country, which he did on 7 September. His son Michael I of Romania, Michael I, now King, issued a decree the same day and he made Antonescu leader (''Conducător'') of Romania and gave him full powers. The Italian Greco-Italian War, failure in Greece and worsening German-Soviet relations increased Hitler's trust towards Romania, which formally joined the Axis on 23 November. Antonescu insisted several times on the reversal of the Second Vienna Award, being convinced that the only way to regain the territory would be to cooperate with Germany. The Axis needed to secure all borders before an attack on the Soviet Union. Thus, Yugoslavia was Invasion of Yugoslavia, invaded on 6 April 1941. Hitler had already announced how the Yugoslav territories would be partitioned, including the Serbian Banat, which was to become Hungarian. Although Romania was not included in the operation, the Romanian Government was already suspicious of a possible invasion of Yugoslavia and of the possibility that Hungary could annex the Serbian Banat. At that time, tensions between the two countries were high due to the conflict in Northern Translyvania and the massacres carried against the Romanian population by the Hungarians. Antonescu, seeing himself forced to act, announced during a meeting with a German commander on 3 April that a Hungarian occupation of the region would outrage the Romanian public and force him to intervene, causing a possible war between Hungary and Romania. After this, Hungarian troops were prohibited from operating east of the Tisza River (in Banat), and on 12 April, the Serbian Banat was placed Banat (1941–44), under German military administration. This was seen by Hitler as "preparation" for the Hungarian rule. During a meeting between the Italian Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, foreign minister Galeazzo Ciano and his German Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), counterpart Joachim von Ribbentrop, Ciano declared his wish to give the Serbian Banat (apart from Bačka and Baranya (region), Baranya) to Hungary. This is probably what triggered the Romanian Government's official claim to the territory sent on 23 April. Romanian officials, national newspapers and the population itself had already demanded this. For them, this request was rightful based on ethnic and historic grounds. Antonescu said that an annexation of the Serbian Banat would increase his popularity and strengthen his position as leader, being after all the territorial losses of 1940 the ones that forced Carol II to flee the country. Antonescu later wrote a memorandum on 11 June and sent it to von Ribbentrop. On it, he reaffirmed the loyalty of Romania and the need to yield not only Banat, but also the
Timok Valley The Timok Valley ( sr, Тимочка Крајина, Timočka Krajina; bg, Тимошко, Timoshko; ro, Valea Timocului) is a geographical region in east-central Serbia around the Timok River. The Timok Valley corresponds to parts of two Serbi ...
, which had a large Romanian population. This memorandum also claimed that "the region from Timok to Thessaloniki was Romanian". To support this, Antonescu attempted to persuade Hitler by showing him the wish of the Romanians of Banat, Timok and also
Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...
to be incorporated into Romania and the situation of the Aromanians in the Balkans. At the end, the Germans never found a solution that satisfied both Hungary and Romania, and the Serbian Banat remained under military administration until 1944. On 12 June, Hitler revealed to Antonescu his plans to Operation Barbarossa, invade the Soviet Union. Antonescu promised him full economic and military participation. The population strongly supported the idea, as it was seen as the opportunity to eliminate the Russian threat once and for all. A few hours before the invasion began, Antonescu and Michael I declared a "holy war" for the liberation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. The invasion began on 22 June, but Romanian military operations began on 2 July. After several battles, both regions were reintegrated into the Romanian state on 25 July. A meeting between Hitler and Antonescu on 6 August determined that the area between the Dniester and the Southern Bug rivers (Transnistria) would be placed under Romanian civil administration. Further, Romanian troops would occupy the area between the Southern Bug and Dnieper River and a few others would cross the Dnieper and continue the invasion. On 19 August, the Transnistria Governorate was established, which was not formally annexed to Romania unlike Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Many Romanian troops participated in the German offensives in southern Russia and Battle of the Caucasus, the Caucasus. The defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad convinced Antonescu that a German victory was impossible, and he began to protect the east of Romania, although he continued to support Germany with troops and material. Several Romanian political figures tried to get Romania out of the war, their leader being Iuliu Maniu. He had communicated to the British Government that the Romanian public was not interested in war beyond the Dniester (the border between Bessarabia and Transnistria) and that they only wanted to defend Romanian territorial integrity, including Northern Transylvania. However, in January 1943, the United Kingdom reported that the borders of post-war Romania had to be negotiated with the Soviet Union. In March 1944, Soviet troops entered Romanian territory (Northern Moldavia). Barbu Știrbey, Maniu's representative, began negotiating with the Allies and the Soviet Union in early 1944 in Cairo. The Soviet representative presented on 12 April the minimum conditions for an armistice. These included a breakdown of Germany–Romania relations, relations with Germany and switching to the Allied side to fight against it, the restoration of the 1940 Romanian-Soviet border and the nullification of the Second Vienna Award (thus giving Northern Transylvania back to Romania). After unsuccessful attempts to soften these conditions, Maniu accepted on 10 June 1944. Opposition against the war and Antonescu's dictatorship grew greatly, and on 23 August, while Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive, a Soviet offensive continued to take place, King Michael I and others performed a 1944 Romanian coup d'état, coup that ended in Antonescu's arrest. That same day, he announced that Romania had officially joined the Allies and that the army was being mobilized for the liberation of Northern Transylvania. An official armistice was signed on 13 September. A struggle for power began between the various Romanian political parties, and the communist leaders traveled to Moscow, where they were promised full support for seize power. After strong Soviet pressure, Petru Groza, leader of the communist-allied Ploughmen's Front, First Groza cabinet, took power. On 10 February 1947, the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947, Paris Peace Treaties that confirmed Romanian sovereignty over Northern Transylvania were signed. A Second Groza cabinet, new government with Groza again as leader which was predominantly communist was established in December 1946. It began to dominate all aspects of the Romanian economy in early 1947. Its intention was to remove all political opponents such as Maniu, and on 29 October 1947, they were tried. The last step for communist domination over Romania was made on 30 December 1947. King Michael I was forced to abdicate, and afterwards, the Romanian People's Republic was proclaimed. Although the Paris Peace Treaties reaffirmed the border between Romania and the Soviet Union, the latter had occupied in 1944 a group of islands that had not been included in the ultimatum of 1940. The Soviet Union insisted on signing a protocol defining the border between both countries, which was fulfilled on 4 February 1948. According to this protocol, the Soviet Union would annex the Danubian islands of Tătaru Mic Island, Tătaru Mic, Daleru Mic Island, Daleru Mic, Daleru Mare Island, Daleru Mare, Maican Island, Maican and Limba Island, Limba, as well as the Snake Island in 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 ...
. On the other side, Romania would keep the Danubian islands of Tătaru Mare Island, Tătaru Mare, Cernovca Island, Cernovca and Babina Island, Babina.


Postwar period

After the fall of communism in Romania with the Romanian Revolution of December 1989, Romania tried to regain the small Snake Island. Since it is located on the Black Sea, it has access to the sea's continental shelf rich in petroleum and natural gas resources. The owner of it was now
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 ...
, as the Soviet Union had collapsed in 1991. Romania later gave up on the island and in 1997, Ukraine and it signed a good neighborliness and cooperation treaty. It was specified on it that both countries had to define the maritime boundary between them. All rounds of negotiations failed. Therefore, Romania requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to solve the dispute, thus starting a Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea case, case. Romania argued that in the 1997 treaty, both countries agreed to a declaration saying that the island cannot support a permanent population or an economic life on its own, so it should not affect the maritime borders of both countries. Ukraine responded by saying that there is a difference between a declaration and a reservation and that this does not change the legal status of the treaty. The ICJ was therefore under no obligation to take this into account. After examining old treaties between Romania and the Soviet Union, it was determined that Snake Island should have an arc of as delimitation. In addition, the previous Romanian declaration was later applied, and the ICJ determined that Snake Island was not an island, but a rock without the ability to change the maritime borders between the two countries. The ICJ also said that Ukraine's delimitation claim was too close to the Romanian coast for no apparent reason, affecting the security interests of the country. At the end, the ICJ concluded the case on 3 February 2009 by drawing a boundary line that gave 80% of the disputed area to Romania.


Aftermath

Nowadays, there are several supporters of the idea of expanding the current borders of Romania. Most of them are nationalists, extremists and far-right parties like Greater Romania Party or Noua Dreaptă. These focus specially on the recovery of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina (a restoration of Greater Romania), now in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. They also oppose strongly territorial claims against Romania, namely Hungarian nationalism, Hungarian ones regarding Transylvania.


See also

* Administrative divisions of Romania *
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 ...
* Principality of the Pindus * Romanianization * Székely autonomy movement


References


Citations


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External links

* {{Territorial evolution of the world Territorial evolution of Romania, Geographic history of Romania, Borders of Romania History of Romania