Romania

A BRIEF HISTORY
Regarding history as it pertains to this nation, one must page back through centuries in order to begin to understand the course of events that affect it today.
On the Romanian territory, evidence has been found of human settlements dating back to the Paleolitic Age (about two million years B.C.), making them some of the oldest traces in Europe. A stable population was foundonly in the Neolithic Age (6-5,000 years B.C.) But we can verify the historical trails of this land only since the VI century B.C., when, according to Herodus, the "father of history," Geto-Dacian tribes started to organize in the Danubian-Carpathian-Pontic area.
Before being conquered by the Roman Empire, Dacia, the country formed under the leadership of Burebista (82-44 B.C.), was much larger thanit is today. The Dacians were Thracian people and renowned warriors.
During 101-106 A.D., the Roman army, lead by Marcus Ulpius Traianus, defeated Decebal, the leader of Dacia. Visitors to Rome can view the Column of Traianus, depicting through sculpture, the wars between the Dacians and the Romans. A replica of the column exists in Bucharest at the Museum of History.
The Roman invadersintermingled with native inhabitants and thus created the Romanian people and culture. Linguistically, Romanian is a Romance language, formed from a group of languages rooted in spoken Latin. French, Italian, and Spanish are part of this group.
Dacian and Roman ruins remain visible in the mountains and on the sea coast, whereupon a famous Roman poet, Publius Ovidius Naso, was exiled from the Rome. Hismajor works, "The Metamorphoses," "The Sadness," and "The Pontices" express long, mournful descriptions focused on the beauty of the land.
When the Roman army departed from Romania in 271 A.D., a new period of unrest began, with numerous bands of migratory people traversing the territory. Among them were Slavic people in the VII century. The X - XII centuries are known for the Turkish andMongolian invasions .
In terms of religion, the pervasion of Christianty in Romania is founded in the VI and VII century when Christian teachers began to arrive on its soil. Ultimately, the Church followed the Slavic faith, and today Romania is mainly an Eastern Orthodox country.
A noteworthy occurrence between the X and XIII century was the Hungarian (Magyar Kingdom) conquest of Transylvania. At theend of this period, the Hungarians, to assimilate the local culture, colonized Transylvania with groups of Szecklers and Saxons.
By the XIV century, three countries (Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia) had come into full existence and together encircled Romanian territory. In essence, they blocked three major Empires: the Russian to the east, the Austria-Hungarian to the west and the Turkish tothe south.
During the following centuries, many wars were fought by the small but courageous armies of Romanian people, and the country produced many great leaders. Among them were:
Mircea the Old (1386-1418), who fought the Turkish--the Nicopolis war being one war where the courage and bravery of the Romanian people surpassed all expectations.
Vlad the Impaler, who during the fifteenth century,proved to be a rugged, brave and fair leader of Wallachia. He was also called "Dracula." (And need I point out the recognizability of that name?!) The Sultan of the Turkish Empire sent his men to collect monetary tribute from Wallachia, and Vlad impaled all the Sultan's men at the gates of the city; he did the same in order to alleviate bad morals, theft and lies. Those interested in Dracularhistory may enjoy reading "Dracula, Myth and Reality." He ruled the country twice, and in the interim, he sought refuge in Transylvania. For a short while he stayed at Bran Castle, the castle now known as "Dracula's castle."
Michael the Brave, who was the first prince to forge the Romanians' dream of living united in a country of their own. He united Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia for a...