Romania History, Language and Culture

The territory of modern Romania has been inhabited since prehistoric times, but the foundations of Romanian identity are often linked to the ancient Dacians, who lived in the region before the Roman conquest in the 2nd century AD. After defeating the Dacians, the Romans established the province of Dacia, leaving a lasting linguistic and cultural influence that is still reflected in the Romanian language today, which developed from Latin.

Following the Roman withdrawal in the 3rd century, the region experienced centuries of invasions and migrations by Goths, Huns, Slavs, Magyars and other peoples. Over time, several medieval principalities emerged, most notably Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania. These territories were frequently influenced or controlled by larger neighbouring powers, including the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary and later the Habsburgs.

Wallachia and Moldavia gradually gained greater autonomy during the 19th century, and in 1859 the two principalities united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza, forming the basis of the modern Romanian state. Romania later gained full independence from the Ottoman Empire following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, and became a kingdom in 1881.

After the First World War, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia joined Romania, creating what became known as "Greater Romania". However, the country faced major territorial losses and political upheaval during the Second World War. Romania initially allied with Nazi Germany before switching sides in 1944 as Soviet forces advanced into the country.

Following the war, Romania became a communist state under Soviet influence. Nicolae Ceaușescu rose to power in 1965 and established an increasingly authoritarian regime marked by political repression, economic hardship and widespread surveillance. His rule ended violently during the Romanian Revolution of 1989, one of the few violent uprisings in Eastern Europe during the collapse of communism.

Since the fall of communism, Romania has undergone major political and economic transformations. The country joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union in 2007, while cities such as Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca have developed rapidly as centres of business, technology and culture.

Did You Know?

• Romania is home to Europe's largest population of brown bears outside Russia.
• The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, weighing over 4.1 million metric tons, is the heaviest building in the world.
• The Romanian language is a Romance language closely related to Italian, French and Spanish, despite Romania being surrounded largely by Slavic-speaking countries.