Romania

==History==
<!---PLEASE stop expanding this section, ESPECIALLY without adding references. It is already too large. Expand the sub-articles instead.---->
{{Main|History of Romania}}

===Prehistory===
[[File:Oase 2 skull (Homo sapiens).jpg|thumb|alt=A partially reconstructed skull|Skull from the [[Peștera cu Oase]] (the oldest known remains of ''Homo sapiens'' in Europe){{sfn|Price|2013|pp=60–61}}]]

Human remains found in [[Peștera cu Oase]] ("Cave with Bones"), radiocarbon date from circa 40,000 years ago, and represent the oldest known ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' in Europe.{{sfn|Price|2013|pp=60–61}} [[Neolithic]] agriculture spread after the arrival of a mixed group of people from [[Thessaly]] in the 6th&nbsp;millennium BC.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=1–2}}{{sfn|Price|2013|pp=125–127}} Excavations near a [[salt spring]] at [[Vânători-Neamț|Lunca]] yielded the earliest evidence for salt exploitation in Europe; here salt production began between the 5th and 4th millennium BC.<ref>{{cite web|first=Patrick |last=Gibbs |url=http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/weller/ |title=Antiquity Vol 79 No 306 December 2005 The earliest salt production in the world: an early Neolithic exploitation in Poiana Slatinei-Lunca, Romania Olivier Weller & Gheorghe Dumitroaia |publisher=Antiquity.ac.uk |access-date=12 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430145935/http://antiquity.ac.uk/ProjGall/weller/ |archive-date=30 April 2011 }}</ref> The first permanent settlements developed into "proto-cities",{{sfn|Price|2013|p=149}} which were larger than {{convert|800|acre|ha|order=flip}}.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/science/01arch.html |title=A Lost European Culture, Pulled From Obscurity |author= John Noble Wilford |publisher= [[The New York Times]] (30 November 2009)|date=1 December 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170423023342/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/science/01arch.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date= 23 April 2017 }}</ref>{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=2}} The [[Cucuteni–Trypillia culture]]—the best known [[archaeological culture]] of [[Old Europe (archaeology)|Old Europe]]—flourished in [[Muntenia]], southeastern Transylvania and northeastern Moldavia in the 3rd&nbsp;millennium&nbsp;BC.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=2}}
The first fortified settlements appeared around 1800&nbsp;BC, showing the militant character of [[Bronze Age]] societies.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=2}}

===Antiquity===
{{Main|Romania in Antiquity}}
{{See also|Legacy of the Roman Empire}}
[[File:Dacia 82 vChr.png|left|thumb|Maximum territorial extent of the [[Dacia|Kingdom of Dacia]] during [[Burebista]]'s reign (early 40s BC)]]

Greek colonies established on the [[Black Sea]] coast in the 7th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC became important centres of commerce with the local tribes.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=3}}{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=3}} Among the native peoples, [[Herodotus]] listed the [[Getae]] of the Lower Danube region, the [[Agathyrsi]] of Transylvania and the [[Syginnae]] of the plains along the river [[Tisza]] at the beginning of the 5th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC.{{sfn|Rustoiu|2005|pp=32, 35–36}} Centuries later, [[Strabo]] associated the Getae with the [[Dacians]] who dominated the lands along the southern [[Carpathian Mountains]] in the 1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=7}} [[Burebista]] was the first Dacian ruler to unite the local tribes.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=7}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=14}} He also conquered the Greek colonies in [[Dobruja]] and the neighbouring peoples as far as the Middle Danube and the [[Balkan Mountains]] between around 55&nbsp;and&nbsp;44 BC.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=7}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=14–15}} After Burebista was murdered in 44&nbsp;BC, his kingdom collapsed.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=7}}{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=4}}
[[File:Sarmizegetusa Regia.JPG|thumb|alt=Remains of circular buildings in a glade|Ruins of sanctuaries at [[Sarmizegetusa Regia]] (Dacia's capital during the reigns of Burebista and Decebalus)]]

The Romans reached [[Dacia]] during Burebista's reign and conquered Dobruja in 46&nbsp;AD.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=4}} [[Dacia]] was again united under [[Decebalus]] around 85&nbsp;AD.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=7}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=15}} He resisted the Romans for decades, but the Roman army defeated his troops in 106&nbsp;AD.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=9–10}} Emperor [[Trajan]] transformed [[Banat]], [[Oltenia]] and the greater part of Transylvania into a new [[Roman province|province]] called [[Roman Dacia]], but Dacian, [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] and [[Sarmatians|Sarmatian]] tribes continued to dominate the lands along the Roman frontiers.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=6}}{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|pp=68–69, 97–98}} The Romans pursued an organised colonisation policy, and the provincials enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity in the 2nd&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=22–23}}{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=13–14}} Scholars accepting the Daco-Roman continuity theory—one of the main theories about the [[origin of the Romanians]]—say that the cohabitation of the native Dacians and the Roman colonists in Roman Dacia was the first phase of the Romanians' [[ethnogenesis]].{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=10}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=19–20}} The [[Carpians]], [[Goths]] and other neighbouring tribes made regular raids against Dacia from the&nbsp;210s.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=14}} The Romans could not resist, and Emperor [[Aurelian]] ordered the evacuation of the province [[Dacia Trajana]] in the 270s.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|pp=105–107}} Scholars supporting the continuity theory are convinced that most Latin-speaking commoners stayed behind when the army and civil administration was withdrawn.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=8, 10}} The Romans did not abandon their fortresses along the northern banks of the Lower Danube for decades, and Dobruja (known as [[Scythia Minor (Roman province)|Scythia Minor]]) remained an integral part of the Roman Empire until the early 7th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=10}}{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=108, 110–111}}

=== Middle Ages ===

{{Main|Romania in the Early Middle Ages|Romania in the Middle Ages|Founding of Wallachia|Founding of Moldavia}}
[[File:Gutthiuda.jpg|thumb|left|Gutthiuda, or the land of the [[Gothic language|Gothic]]-speaking [[Thervingi]], and the neighbouring tribes (370s AD)]]

The Goths were expanding towards the Lower Danube from the&nbsp;230s, forcing the native peoples to flee to the Roman Empire or to accept their [[suzerainty]].{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=16}}{{sfn|Heather|2010|pp=116–117, 165}}{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|pp=117–118}} The Goths' rule ended abruptly when the [[Huns]] invaded their territory in&nbsp;376, causing new waves of migrations.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=16}}{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|pp=117–118}}{{sfn|Heather|2010|p=151}} The Huns forced the remnants of the local population into submission, but their empire collapsed in&nbsp;454.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=16}}{{sfn|Heather|2010|pp=151, 207–208}} The [[Gepids]] took possession of the former Dacia province.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|pp=66–67}}{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=54}} Place names that are of [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] origin abound in Romania, indicating that a significant Slavic-speaking population lived in the territory.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=131}} The first [[Early Slavs|Slavic]] groups settled in Moldavia and Wallachia in the 6th&nbsp;century,{{sfn|Heather|2010|pp=395–397}} in Transylvania around&nbsp;600.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|pp=97–99}} The nomadic [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] defeated the Gepids and established a powerful empire around&nbsp;570.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=16}}{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=62–63}} The [[Bulgars]], who also came from the European [[Pontic steppe]], occupied the Lower Danube region in&nbsp;680.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=16}}

[[File:Balkans850.png|thumb| [[First Bulgarian Empire]] (681–1018) around 850]]
After the [[Avar Khaganate]] collapsed in the&nbsp;790s, the [[First Bulgarian Empire]] became the dominant power of the region, occupying lands as far as the river [[Tisa]].{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=16}} The [[First Bulgarian Empire]] had a mixed population consisting of the Bulgar conquerors, [[Slavs]] and [[Vlachs]] (or Romanians) but the [[Slavicisation]] of the Bulgar elite had already begun in the 9th century. Following the conquest of southern [[Transylvania]] around 830, people from the Bulgar Empire mined salt at the local salt mines.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bóna |first=István |editor1-last=Köpeczi |editor1-first=Béla |editor2-last=Barta |editor2-first=Gábor |editor3-last=Bóna |editor3-first=István |editor4-last=Makkai |editor4-first=László |editor5-last=Szász |editor5-first=Zoltán |editor6-last=Borus |editor6-first=Judit |title=History of Transylvania |publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó |year=2001 |chapter=Southern Transylvania under Bulgar Rule |isbn=0-88033-479-7 |url=https://mek.oszk.hu/03400/03407/html/49.html}}</ref> The [[Council of Preslav]] declared [[Old Church Slavonic]] the language of liturgy in the country in&nbsp;893.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=168, 177}} The Vlachs also adopted Old Church Slavonic as their liturgical language.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=37}}

The [[Hungarians|Magyars]] (or Hungarians) took control of the steppes north of the Lower Danube in the&nbsp;830s, but the Bulgarians and the [[Pechenegs]] jointly forced them to abandon this region for the [[Great Hungarian Plain|lowlands along the Middle Danube]] around&nbsp;894.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=123, 178}} Centuries later, the ''[[Gesta Hungarorum]]'' wrote of the invading Magyars' wars against three dukes—[[Glad (duke)|Glad]], [[Menumorut]] and the Vlach [[Gelou]]—for Banat, Crișana and Transylvania.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=20}}{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=14–15}} The ''Gesta'' also listed many peoples—Slavs, Bulgarians, Vlachs, [[Khazars]], and [[Székelys]]—inhabiting the same regions.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=140}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=36}} The reliability of the ''Gesta'' is debated. Some scholars regard it as a basically accurate account, others describe it as a literary work filled with invented details.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=15–16 (note 41)}}{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|pp=140–141}}{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=111}} The Pechenegs seized the lowlands abandoned by the Hungarians to the east of the Carpathians.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=182–183}}

[[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] missionaries proselytised in the lands east of the Tisa from the&nbsp;940s{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=189–190}} and Byzantine troops occupied Dobruja in the&nbsp;970s.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=152}} The first [[king of Hungary]], [[Stephen I of Hungary|Stephen&nbsp;I]], who supported Western European missionaries, defeated the local chieftains and established [[Catholic Church in Romania|Roman Catholic bishoprics]] (office of a bishop) in Transylvania and Banat in the early 11th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=248–250}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=40–41}} Significant Pecheneg groups fled to the Byzantine Empire in the&nbsp;1040s; the [[Oghuz Turks]] followed them, and the nomadic [[Cumans]] became the dominant power of the steppes in the&nbsp;1060s.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=304–305}} Cooperation between the Cumans and the Vlachs against the Byzantine Empire is well documented from the end of the 11th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=157}} Scholars who reject the Daco-Roman continuity theory say that the first Vlach groups left their [[Balkan Peninsula|Balkan]] homeland for the mountain pastures of the eastern and southern Carpathians in the 11th&nbsp;century, establishing the Romanians' presence in the lands to the north of the Lower Danube.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=183}}

[[File:Vlad_Tepes_002.jpg|thumb|[[Vlad III of Wallachia]] (also known as Vlad the Impaler), medieval ruler of Wallachia]]

Exposed to nomadic incursions, Transylvania developed into an important border province of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]].{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|pp=158–159}}{{sfn|Bóna|1994|pp=144–145}} The Székelys—a community of free warriors—settled in central Transylvania around&nbsp;1100 and moved to the easternmost regions around&nbsp;1200.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=43}} Colonists from the [[Holy Roman Empire]]—the [[Transylvanian Saxons]]' ancestors—came to the province in the&nbsp;1150s.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=43}}{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=21}} A high-ranking royal official, styled [[Voivode of Transylvania|voivode]], ruled the Transylvanian [[Counties of Hungary (before 1920)|counties]] from the&nbsp;1170s, but the Székely and Saxon [[Seat (territorial administrative unit)|seats]] (or districts) were not subject to the voivodes' authority.{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=41–43}} Royal charters wrote of the "[[Vlachs]]' land" in southern Transylvania in the early 13th&nbsp;century, indicating the existence of [[Romanian district|autonomous Romanian communities]].{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=189}} Papal correspondence mentions the activities of Orthodox prelates among the Romanians in Muntenia in the&nbsp;1230s.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=408}} Also in the 13th&nbsp;century, the [[Republic of Genoa]] started establishing [[Genoese colonies|colonies]] on the Black Sea, including [[Calafat]], and [[Constanța]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Heyd|first=Guglielmo|title=Le Colonie Commerciali Degli Italiani in Oriente Nel Medio Evo|publisher=HardPress Publishing|pages=97|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Iliescu|first=Octavian|title=Revue Roumaine d'Histoire (Contributions à l'histoire des colonies génoises en Roumanie aux XIIIe – XVe siècles)|publisher=Editions de l'Académie de la République socialiste de Roumanie|pages=25–52}}</ref>

The Mongols destroyed large territories during [[Mongol invasion of Europe|their invasion of Eastern and Central Europe]] in&nbsp;1241 and&nbsp;1242.{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=43–44}} The Mongols' [[Golden Horde]] emerged as the dominant power of Eastern Europe, but [[Béla&nbsp;IV]] of Hungary's land grant to the [[Knights Hospitallers]] in Oltenia and Muntenia shows that the local [[Vlach]] rulers were subject to the king's authority in&nbsp;1247.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=407, 414}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=44}} [[Basarab&nbsp;I of Wallachia]] united the Romanian polities between the southern Carpathians and the Lower Danube in the&nbsp;1310s.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=45}} He defeated the Hungarian royal army in the [[Battle of Posada]] and secured the independence of [[Principality of Wallachia|Wallachia]] in&nbsp;1330.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=46}}{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=17}} The second Romanian principality, [[Principality of Moldavia|Moldavia]], achieved full autonomy during the reign of [[Bogdan I of Moldavia|Bogdan&nbsp;I]] around&nbsp;1360.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=17}} A local dynasty ruled the [[Despotate of Dobruja]] in the second half of the 14th&nbsp;century, but the [[Ottoman Empire]] took possession of the territory after&nbsp;1388.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=202}}

Princes [[Mircea I of Wallachia|Mircea&nbsp;I]] and [[Vlad the Impaler|Vlad&nbsp;III of Wallachia]], and [[Stephen the Great|Stephen&nbsp;III of Moldavia]] defended their countries' independence against the Ottomans. Most Wallachian and Moldavian princes paid a regular tribute to the Ottoman sultans from&nbsp;1417 and&nbsp;1456, respectively.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=26–29}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=60–61, 63–66}} A military commander of Romanian origin, [[John Hunyadi]], organised the defence of the Kingdom of Hungary until his death in&nbsp;1456.{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=61–62}} Increasing taxes outraged the Transylvanian peasants, and [[Transylvanian peasant revolt|they rose up in an open rebellion]] in&nbsp;1437, but the Hungarian nobles and the heads of the Saxon and Székely communities jointly suppressed their revolt.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=30–31}} The formal alliance of the Hungarian, Saxon, and Székely leaders, known as the [[Unio Trium Nationum|Union of the Three Nations]], became an important element of the self-government of Transylvania.{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=52–53}} The Orthodox Romanian ''[[Knez (Vlach leader)|knezes]]'' ("chiefs") were excluded from the Union.{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=52–53}}

=== Early Modern Times and national awakening ===

{{Main|Early Modern Romania|Romanian War of Independence}}

The Kingdom of Hungary collapsed, and the Ottomans occupied parts of Banat and Crișana in 1541.{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=52–53}} Transylvania and [[Maramureș]], along with the rest of Banat and Crișana developed into a new state under Ottoman suzerainty, the [[Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711)|Principality of Transylvania]].{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=41}} Reformation spread and four denominations—[[Reformed Church in Romania|Calvinism]], [[Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession in Romania|Lutheranism]], [[Unitarian Church of Transylvania|Unitarianism]], and Roman Catholicism—were officially acknowledged in 1568.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=69}} The Romanians' Orthodox faith remained only tolerated,{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=69}} although they made up more than one-third of the population, according to 17th-century estimations.{{sfn|Trócsányi|Miskolczy|1994|p=419}}{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=71}}
{{multiple image|perrow=2|align=left|total_width=400
|image1=Mihai 1600.png
|image2=MihaiViteazul.jpg|footer=During the [[Long Turkish War]], [[List of rulers of Wallachia|Wallachian Prince]] [[Michael the Brave]] (portrayed to the right) reigned briefly over the three medieval principalities of [[Wallachia]], [[Moldavia]], and [[Transylvania]], covering most of the present-day territory of Romania.
}}

The princes of Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia joined the [[Holy League (1594)|Holy League]] against the Ottoman Empire in 1594.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=54}} The Wallachian prince, [[Michael the Brave]], united the three principalities under his rule in May&nbsp;1600.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=35}}{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=55–56}} The neighboring powers forced him to abdicate in September, but he became a symbol of the unification of the Romanian lands in the 19th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=35}} Although the rulers of the three principalities continued to pay tribute to the Ottomans, the most talented princes—[[Gabriel Bethlen]] of Transylvania, [[Matei Basarab]] of Wallachia, and [[Vasile Lupu]] of Moldavia—strengthened their autonomy.{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=75–76}}

The united armies of the [[Holy League (1684)|Holy League]] expelled the Ottoman troops from Central Europe between 1684 and 1699, and the Principality of Transylvania was integrated into the [[Habsburg monarchy]].{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=79}} The Habsburgs supported the Catholic clergy and persuaded the Orthodox Romanian prelates to accept the [[church union|union with the Roman Catholic Church]] in 1699.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=42}} The Church Union strengthened the Romanian intellectuals' devotion to their Roman heritage.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=60}} The Orthodox Church was restored in Transylvania only after Orthodox monks stirred up revolts in 1744 and 1759.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=61}} The organisation of the [[Transylvanian Military Frontier]] caused further disturbances, [[Siculicidium|especially among the Székelys in 1764]].{{sfn|Trócsányi|Miskolczy|1994|pp=432–434}}

Princes [[Dimitrie Cantemir]] of Moldavia and [[Constantin Brâncoveanu]] of Wallachia concluded alliances with the Habsburg Monarchy and Russia against the Ottomans, but they were dethroned in 1711 and 1714, respectively.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=44–45}} The sultans lost confidence in the native princes and appointed Orthodox merchants from the [[Fener|Phanar]] district of Istanbul to rule Moldova and Wallachia.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=55–56}}{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=73–74}} The [[Phanariotes|Phanariot]] princes pursued oppressive fiscal policies and dissolved the army.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=74–75, 78}} The neighboring powers took advantage of the situation: the Habsburg Monarchy annexed the northwestern part of Moldavia, or [[Bukovina]], in 1775, and the [[Russian Empire]] seized the eastern half of Moldavia, or [[Bessarabia]], in 1812.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=92}}{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=75–76}}

A census revealed that the Romanians were more numerous than any other ethnic group in Transylvania in 1733, but legislation continued to use contemptuous adjectives (such as "tolerated" and "admitted") when referring to them.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=87}}{{sfn|Trócsányi|Miskolczy|1994|pp=427–428}} The [[Romanian Greek Catholic Church|Uniate bishop]], [[Inocențiu Micu-Klein]] who demanded recognition of the Romanians as the fourth privileged nation was forced into exile.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=89–90}}{{sfn|Trócsányi|Miskolczy|1994|pp=427–428}} Uniate and Orthodox clerics and laymen jointly signed a [[Supplex Libellus Valachorum|plea for the Transylvanian Romanians' emancipation]] in 1791, but the monarch and the local authorities refused to grant their requests.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=73–74}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=87}}[[File:RomaniaBorderHistoryAnnimation 1859-2010.gif|thumb|right|Animated map depicting the territorial changes of Romania from 1859 to 2010]]

The [[Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca]] authorised the Russian ambassador in Istanbul to defend the autonomy of Moldavia and Wallachia (known as the [[Danubian Principalities]]) in 1774.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=68}} Taking advantage of the [[Greek War of Independence]], a Wallachian lesser nobleman, Tudor Vladimirescu, stirred up a revolt against the Ottomans in January&nbsp;1821, but he was murdered in June by Phanariot Greeks.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=103–104}} After a [[Russo-Turkish War (1828–29)|new Russo-Turkish War]], the [[Treaty of Adrianople (1829)|Treaty of Adrianople]] strengthened the autonomy of the Danubian Principalities in&nbsp;1829, although it also acknowledged the sultan's right to confirm the election of the princes.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=81}}

[[Mihail Kogălniceanu]], [[Nicolae Bălcescu]] and other leaders of the [[Moldavian Revolution of 1848|1848 revolutions in Moldavia]] and [[Wallachian Revolution of 1848|Wallachia]] demanded the emancipation of the peasants and the union of the two principalities, but Russian and Ottoman troops crushed their revolt.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=99}}{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=96–97}} The Wallachian revolutionists were the first to adopt the blue, yellow and red [[Tricolour (flag)|tricolour]] as the [[Flag of Romania|national flag]].{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=100}} In Transylvania, most Romanians supported the imperial government against the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848|Hungarian revolutionaries]] after the Diet passed a law concerning the union of Transylvania and Hungary.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=100}} Bishop [[Andrei Șaguna]] proposed the unification of the Romanians of the Habsburg Monarchy in a separate duchy, but the central government refused to change the internal borders.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=99}}

[[File:Alexander Johann Cuza Kriehuber (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|[[Alexandru Ioan Cuza]], the first [[Domnitor]] (i.e. Prince) of Romania (at that time the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia) between 1862 and 1866]]

=== Independence and monarchy ===

{{Main|Unification of Moldavia and Wallachia|United Principalities|4 = Kingdom of Romania}}

The [[Treaty of Paris (1856)|Treaty of Paris]] put the Danubian Principalities under the collective guardianship of the [[International relations of the Great Powers (1814–1919)|Great Powers]] in&nbsp;1856.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=96–97}} After [[Ad hoc Divans|special assemblies]] convoked in Moldavia and Wallachia urged [[Unification of Moldavia and Wallachia|the unification of the two principalities]], the Great Powers did not prevent the election of [[Alexandru Ioan Cuza]] as their collective ''[[domnitor]]'' (or ruling prince) in January 1859.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=108}} The [[United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia|united principalities]] officially adopted the name Romania on 21&nbsp;February 1862.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=105–106}} Cuza's government carried out a series of reforms, including the secularisation of the property of monasteries and agrarian reform, but a coalition of conservative and radical politicians forced him to abdicate in February&nbsp;1866.{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=109–111}}{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=109–111}}

Cuza's successor, a German prince, [[Carol I of Romania|Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] (or Carol&nbsp;I), was elected in May.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=111}} The parliament adopted the [[1866 Constitution of Romania|first constitution of Romania]] in the same year.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=112}} The Great Powers acknowledged Romania's full independence at the [[Congress of Berlin]] and Carol&nbsp;I was crowned king in 1881.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=118}} The Congress also granted the Danube Delta and Dobruja to Romania.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=118}} Although Romanian scholars strove for the unification of all Romanians into a [[Greater Romania]], the government did not openly support their [[Irredentism|irredentist]] projects.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=166}}

The Transylvanian Romanians and Saxons wanted to maintain the separate status of Transylvania in the Habsburg Monarchy, but the [[Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867|Austro-Hungarian Compromise]] brought about the union of the province with Hungary in&nbsp;1867.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=157}} Ethnic Romanian politicians sharply opposed the Hungarian government's attempts to transform Hungary into a national state, especially the laws prescribing the obligatory teaching of Hungarian.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=118}} Leaders of the [[Romanian National Party]] proposed the federalisation of [[Austria-Hungary]] and the Romanian intellectuals established a cultural association to promote the use of Romanian.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=145}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=118–119}}

===World Wars and Greater Romania===
{{Main|Romania in World War I|Greater Romania|Romania in World War II}}
[[File:Austria-Hungary (ethnic).jpg|thumb|left|Late 19th century ethnic map of Central Europe depicting predominantly Romanian-inhabited territories in blue. [[Hungarians]] are marked in yellow and [[Germans]] in pink.]]

Fearing Russian expansionism, Romania secretly joined the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]] of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in&nbsp;1883, but public opinion remained hostile to Austria-Hungary.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=149–150}}{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=165}} Romania seized [[Southern Dobruja]] from Bulgaria in the [[Second Balkan War]] in 1913.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=150}} German and Austrian-Hungarian diplomacy supported Bulgaria during the war, bringing about a rapprochement between Romania and the [[Triple Entente]] of France, Russia and the United Kingdom.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=150}} The country remained neutral when [[World War&nbsp;I]] broke out in&nbsp;1914, but Prime Minister [[Ion I. C. Brătianu]] started negotiations with the Entente Powers.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=122}} After they promised Austrian-Hungarian territories with a majority of ethnic Romanian population to Romania in the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1916)|Treaty of Bucharest]], Romania entered the war against the [[Central Powers]] in 1916.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=122}}{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=151}} The German and Austrian-Hungarian troops defeated the Romanian army and occupied three-quarters of the country by early&nbsp;1917.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=169–170}} After the [[October Revolution]] turned Russia from an ally into an enemy, Romania was forced to sign a [[Treaty of Bucharest (1918)|harsh peace treaty]] with the Central Powers in May&nbsp;1918,{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=155}} but the collapse of Russia also enabled the [[union of Bessarabia with Romania]].{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=170–171}} [[Ferdinand I of Romania|King Ferdinand]] again mobilised the Romanian army on behalf of the Entente Powers a day before [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|Germany capitulated]] on 11&nbsp;November 1918.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=155}}

[[File:King Carol I of Romania with his nephew and great nephew.jpg|thumb|right|upright|King [[Carol I of Romania]] with his nephew [[Ferdinand I of Romania]] and great-nephew [[Carol II of Romania]]]]

Austria-Hungary quickly disintegrated after the war.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=155}} The [[General Congress of Bukovina]] proclaimed [[Union of Bukovina with Romania|the union of the province with Romania]] on 28&nbsp;November 1918, and the [[1918 Romanian National Assembly election|Grand National Assembly]] proclaimed [[Union of Transylvania with Romania|the union of Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș with the kingdom]] on 1&nbsp;December.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=156}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=124–125}} Peace treaties with Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary delineated the new borders in 1919 and 1920, but the [[Soviet Union]] did not acknowledge the loss of Bessarabia.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=125}} Romania achieved its greatest territorial extent, expanding from the pre-war {{convert|137000|to|295000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=189}} A new electoral system granted [[voting rights]] to all adult male citizens, and a series of radical agrarian reforms transformed the country into a "nation of small landowners" between 1918 and 1921.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=167}} [[Gender equality]] as a principle was enacted, but women could not vote or be candidates.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=180}} [[Calypso Botez]] established the National Council of Romanian Women to promote feminist ideas.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=180}} Romania was a multiethnic country, with ethnic minorities making up about 30%&nbsp;of the population, but the [[1923 Constitution of Romania|new constitution]] declared it a unitary national state in 1923.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=189}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=127}}{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=158, 183}} Although minorities could establish their own schools, Romanian language, history and geography could only be taught in Romanian.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=183}}

[[Agriculture in Romania|Agriculture]] remained the principal sector of economy, but several branches of industry—especially the production of coal, oil, metals, synthetic rubber, explosives and cosmetics—developed during the [[interwar period]].{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=128}}{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=179}} With oil production of 5.8&nbsp;million tons in 1930, Romania ranked sixth in the world.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=179}} Two parties, the [[National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875)|National Liberal Party]] and the [[National Peasants' Party]], dominated political life, but the [[Great Depression in Romania]] brought about significant changes in the 1930s.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=129}}{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=167–169}} The democratic parties were squeezed between conflicts with the fascist and [[anti-Semitic]] [[Iron Guard]] and the authoritarian tendencies of [[Carol II of Romania|King Carol&nbsp;II]].{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=167–168}} The King promulgated a [[1938 Constitution of Romania|new constitution]] and dissolved the political parties in 1938, replacing the parliamentary system with a royal dictatorship.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=174–175}}{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=207}}

[[File:PérdidasTerritorialesRumanas1940-ro.svg|thumb|left|upright=1|Romania's territorial losses in the summer of 1940. Of these territories, only [[Northern Transylvania]] was regained after the end of World War II.]]

The 1938 [[Munich Agreement]] convinced King Carol&nbsp;II that France and the United Kingdom could not defend Romanian interests.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=198}} German preparations for a new war required the regular supply of Romanian oil and agricultural products.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=198}} The two countries concluded a treaty concerning the coordination of their economic policies in 1939, but the King could not persuade [[Adolf Hitler]] to guarantee Romania's frontiers.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=198–199}} Romania was forced to [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina|cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union]] on 26&nbsp;June 1940, [[Northern Transylvania]] to Hungary on 30&nbsp;August, and Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria in September.{{sfn|Pop|1999|pp=131–132}} After the territorial losses, the King was forced to abdicate in favour of his minor son, [[Michael I of Romania|Michael&nbsp;I]], on 6&nbsp;September, and Romania was transformed into a [[National Legionary State|national-legionary state]] under the leadership of General [[Ion Antonescu]].{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=133}} Antonescu signed the [[Tripartite Pact]] of Germany, Italy and Japan on 23&nbsp;November.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=213}} The Iron Guard staged a coup against Antonescu, but he crushed the riot with German support and introduced a military dictatorship in early 1941.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=214–215}}

[[File:Operation Tidal Wave in 1943.jpg|thumb|right|American [[B-24 Liberator]] flying over a burning oil refinery at [[Ploiești]], as part of [[Operation Tidal Wave]] on 1&nbsp;August 1943. Due to its role as a significant supplier of oil to the [[Axis powers|Axis]], Romania was a prime target of [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] strategic bombing in 1943 and 1944.]]

Romania entered [[World War&nbsp;II]] soon after the [[Operation Barbarossa|German invasion of the Soviet Union]] in June 1941.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=208}} The country regained Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, and the Germans placed [[Transnistria Governorate|Transnistria]] (the territory between the rivers Dniester and Dnieper) under Romanian administration.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=216–217}} Romanian and German troops massacred at least 160,000 local Jews in these territories; more than 105,000 Jews and about 11,000 Gypsies died during their deportation from Bessarabia to Transnistria.<ref name="Commission">{{cite web |author=International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania |title=Executive Summary: Historical Findings and Recommendations |work=Final Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania |publisher=[[Yad Vashem]] (The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority) |date=28 January 2012 |url=http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/about/events/pdf/report/english/EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.pdf |access-date=28 January 2012 |author-link=Wiesel Commission |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112184554/http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/about/events/pdf/report/english/EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.pdf |archive-date=12 January 2012 }}</ref> Most of the Jewish population of Moldavia, Wallachia, Banat and Southern Transylvania survived,{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=222}} but their fundamental rights were limited.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=210}} After the September 1943 [[Armistice of Cassibile|Allied armistice with Italy]], Romania became the second Axis power in Europe in 1943–1944.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=VMk-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA78 David Stahel, Cambridge University Press, 2018, ''Joining Hitler's Crusade'', p. 78]</ref><ref>Mark Axworthy, London: Arms and Armour, 1995, ''Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945'', p. 9</ref> After the [[Operation Margarethe|German occupation of Hungary]] in March 1944, about 132,000 Jews – mainly Hungarian-speaking – were deported to [[extermination camp]]s from Northern Transylvania with the Hungarian authorities' support.<ref name="Commission"/>{{sfn|Köpeczi|1994|p=689}}

After the Soviet victory in the [[Battle of Stalingrad]] in 1943, [[Iuliu Maniu]], a leader of the opposition to Antonescu, entered into secret negotiations with British diplomats who made it clear that Romania had to seek reconciliation with the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=211–212}} To facilitate the coordination of their activities against Antonescu's regime, the National Liberal and National Peasants' parties established the National Democratic Bloc, which also included the [[Romanian Social Democratic Party (1927–48)|Social Democratic]] and [[Romanian Communist Party|Communist]] parties.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=219}} After a successful Soviet offensive, the young [[King Michael's Coup|King Michael&nbsp;I ordered Antonescu's arrest]] and appointed politicians from the National Democratic Bloc to form a new government on 23&nbsp;August 1944.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|p=215}} Romania switched sides during the war, and nearly 250,000 Romanian troops joined the Red Army's military campaign against Hungary and Germany, but [[Joseph Stalin]] regarded the country as an occupied territory within the Soviet sphere of influence.{{sfn|Hitchins|2014|pp=215, 221}} Stalin's deputy instructed the King to make the Communists' candidate, [[Petru Groza]], the prime minister in March 1945.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=223–224}}{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=138}} The Romanian administration in Northern Transylvania was soon restored, and Groza's government carried out an agrarian reform.{{sfn|Pop|1999|p=138}} In February 1947, the [[Paris Peace Treaties, 1947|Paris Peace Treaties]] confirmed the return of Northern Transylvania to Romania, but they also legalised the presence of units of the Red Army in the country.{{sfn|Köpeczi|1994|p=692}}{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=224}}

=== Communism ===

{{Main|Socialist Republic of Romania}}

[[File:Mihai I.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|King [[Michael&nbsp;I of Romania]] was forced to [[Abdication|abdicate]] by the communists in late December 1947, simultaneously with the [[Soviet occupation of Romania|Soviet occupation]] of the country.]]

During the [[Soviet occupation of Romania]], the communist-dominated government called for new [[1946 Romanian general election|elections]] in 1946, which they [[Electoral fraud|fraudulently won]], with a fabricated 70%&nbsp;majority of the vote.<ref>Giurescu, "'Alegeri' după model sovietic", p.17 (citing Berry), 18 (citing Berry and note); Macuc, p.40; Tismăneanu, p.113</ref> Thus, they rapidly established themselves as the dominant political force.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/rotoc.html#ro0037|publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress|title=Romania: Country studies – Chapter 1.7.1 "Petru Groza's Premiership"|access-date=31 August 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914061032/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/rotoc.html#ro0037|archive-date=14 September 2008}}</ref> [[Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej]], a communist party leader imprisoned in 1933, escaped in 1944 to become Romania's first communist leader. In February 1947, he and others forced [[King Michael&nbsp;I]] to [[Abdication|abdicate]] and leave the country and proclaimed Romania a [[people's republic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/romania/|publisher=CIA – The World Factbook|title=Romania|access-date=31 August 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ed-u.com/ro.html|title=Romania – Country Background and Profile|publisher=ed-u.com|access-date=31 August 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210194350/http://www.ed-u.com/ro.html|archive-date=10 December 2008}}</ref> Romania remained under the direct military occupation and economic control of the USSR until the late 1950s. During this period, Romania's vast natural resources were drained continuously by mixed Soviet-Romanian companies ([[SovRom]]s) set up for unilateral exploitative purposes.<ref>{{cite web|first=Carmen|last=Rîjnoveanu|title=Romania's Policy of Autonomy in the Context of the Sino-Soviet Conflict|year=2003 |page=1|publisher=Czech Republic Military History Institute, Militärgeschichtliches Forscheungamt |url=http://www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr/07autredossiers/groupetravailhistoiremilitaire/pdfs/2003-gthm.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624195137/http://www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr/07autredossiers/groupetravailhistoiremilitaire/pdfs/2003-gthm.pdf|archive-date=24 June 2008|access-date=31 August 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Roper|first=Stephen D.|title=Romania: The Unfinished Revolution|place=London|publisher=Routledge|year=2000|isbn=978-90-5823-027-0|page=18}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Cioroianu|first=Adrian|author-link=Adrian Cioroianu|title=On the Shoulders of Marx. An Incursion into the History of Romanian Communism|language=ro|publisher=Editura Curtea Veche|year=2005|location=Bucharest|pages=68–73|isbn=978-973-669-175-1}}</ref>

In 1948, the state began to [[nationalization in Romania|nationalise]] private firms and to [[collectivization in Romania|collectivise]] agriculture.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Stan|last=Stoica|title=Dicționar de Istorie a României|publisher=Editura Merona|location=Bucharest|year=2007|pages=77–78; 233–34|language=ro|isbn=978-973-7839-21-3}}</ref> Until the early 1960s, the government severely curtailed political liberties and vigorously suppressed any dissent with the help of the [[Securitate]]—the Romanian secret police. During this period the regime launched several campaigns of [[purges]] during which numerous "[[enemies of the state]]" and "parasite elements" were targeted for different forms of punishment including: deportation, internal exile, internment in forced labour camps and prisons—sometimes for life—as well as [[extrajudicial killing]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Cicerone|last=Ionițoiu|title=Victimele terorii comuniste. Arestați, torturați, întemnițați, uciși. Dicționar|publisher=Editura Mașina de scris|location=Bucharest|year=2000|isbn=978-973-99994-2-7|language=ro}}{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}</ref> Nevertheless, [[Romanian anti-communist resistance movement|anti-communist resistance]] was one of the most long-lasting and strongest in the Eastern Bloc.<ref>Consiliul National pentru Studierea Ahivelor Securității, ''Bande, bandiți si eroi; Grupurile de rezistență și Securitatea (1948–1968)'', Editura Enciclopedica, București, 2003</ref> A [[Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania|2006 commission]] estimated the number of direct victims of the Communist repression at two million people.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite report|title=Raportul Comisiei Prezidențiale pentru Analiza Dictaturii Comuniste din România|publisher=Comisia Prezidențială pentru Analiza Dictaturii Comuniste din România|date=15 December 2006|url=http://old.presidency.ro/static/rapoarte/Raport_final_CPADCR.pdf|pages=215–217}}</ref>

[[File:Ceausescu Anul Nou.jpg|thumb|left|[[Nicolae Ceaușescu]], who ruled Romania as its communist leader from 1965 until 1989]]

In 1965, [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] came to power and started to conduct the country's foreign policy more independently from the Soviet Union. Thus, communist Romania was the only [[Warsaw Pact]] country which refused to participate in the Soviet-led [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia|1968 invasion]] of [[Czechoslovakia]]. Ceaușescu even [[Ceaușescu's speech of 21 August 1968|publicly condemned the action]] as "a big mistake, [and] a serious danger to peace in Europe and to the fate of Communism in the world".<ref>{{cite AV media|language=ro|url=http://www.britishpathe.com/video/political-tension/query/nicolae|title=Political Tension 1968|publisher=British Pathé|date=21 August 1968|location=Bucharest|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821235945/http://www.britishpathe.com/video/political-tension/query/nicolae|archive-date=21 August 2014}}</ref> It was the only Communist state to maintain diplomatic relations with Israel after 1967's [[Six-Day War]] and established diplomatic relations with [[West Germany]] the same year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/romania/75.htm|publisher=Country Studies.us|title=Romania: Soviet Union and Eastern Europe|access-date=31 August 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705191547/http://countrystudies.us/romania/75.htm|archive-date=5 July 2009}}</ref> At the same time, close ties with the [[Arab world|Arab countries]] and the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO) allowed Romania to play a key role in the Israel–[[Egypt]] and Israel–PLO peace talks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/romania/80.htm|publisher=Country Studies.us|title=Middle East policies in Communist Romania|access-date=31 August 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705191645/http://countrystudies.us/romania/80.htm|archive-date=5 July 2009}}</ref>

[[File:Revolutia Bucuresti 1989 000.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1|The [[Romanian Revolution]] of 1989 was one of the few violent revolutions in the [[Iron Curtain]] that brought an end to communist rule.]]

As Romania's foreign debt increased sharply between 1977 and 1981 (from US$3&nbsp;billion to $10&nbsp;billion),<ref>{{cite web |last=Deletant|first=Dennis|title=New Evidence on Romania and the Warsaw Pact, 1955–1989|publisher=Cold War International History Project e-Dossier Series|url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/ACF368.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117154720/http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/ACF368.pdf|archive-date=17 January 2012}}</ref> the influence of international financial organisations—such as the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) and the [[World Bank]]—grew, gradually conflicting with Ceaușescu's [[autocracy|autocratic]] rule. He eventually initiated a policy of total reimbursement of the foreign debt by imposing [[1980s austerity policy in Romania|austerity steps]] that impoverished the population and exhausted the economy. The process succeeded in repaying all of Romania's foreign government debt in 1989. At the same time, Ceaușescu greatly extended the authority of the Securitate secret police and imposed a severe [[Nicolae Ceaușescu's cult of personality|cult of personality]], which led to a dramatic decrease in the dictator's popularity and culminated in his overthrow in the violent [[Romanian Revolution]] of December 1989 in which thousands were killed or injured.

After a trial, [[Trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu|Ceaușescu and his wife were executed by firing squad]] at a military base outside Bucharest on 25 December 1989.<ref>{{cite news |title=EVOLUTION IN EUROPE; Ceausescu Wept as He Faced Firing Squad, Footage Shows |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/23/world/evolution-in-europe-ceausescu-wept-as-he-faced-firing-squad-footage-shows.html |newspaper=The New York Times | date=23 April 1990 |access-date=10 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Upheaval in the East; Report on Ceausescus' Burial |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/27/world/upheaval-in-the-east-report-on-ceausescus-burial.html |website=New York Times | date=27 January 1990 |access-date=10 August 2022}}</ref> The charges for which they were executed were, among others, genocide by starvation.

=== Contemporary period ===

{{Main|History of Romania since 1989}}

[[File:RO B University square rally.jpg|thumb|right|An anti-communist and anti-[[National Salvation Front (Romania)|National Salvation Front]] (FSN) rally in Bucharest (1990)]]

After the 1989 revolution, the [[National Salvation Front (Romania)|National Salvation Front]] (FSN), led by [[Ion Iliescu]], took partial and superficial multi-party democratic and free market measures after seizing power as an ad interim governing body.<ref>{{cite web|last=Carothers|first=Thomas|title=Romania: The Political Background|url=http://www.idea.int/publications/country/upload/Romania,%20The%20Political%20Background.pdf|quote=This seven-year period can be characterised as a gradualistic, often ambiguous transition away from communist rule towards democracy.|access-date=31 August 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827222957/http://www.idea.int/publications/country/upload/Romania,%20The%20Political%20Background.pdf|archive-date=27 August 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Hellman|first=Joel|title=Winners Take All: The Politics of Partial Reform in Postcommunist|journal=Transitions World Politics|volume=50|issue=2|date=January 1998|pages=203–234|doi=10.1017/S0043887100008091|s2cid=55115094}}</ref> In March 1990, [[Ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș|violent outbreaks went on in Târgu Mureș]] as a result of Hungarian oppression in the region. In April 1990, a sit-in protest contesting the results of [[1990 Romanian general election|that year's legislative elections]] and accusing the FSN, including Iliescu, of being made up of former Communists and members of the Securitate grew rapidly to become what was called the [[Golaniad]]. Peaceful demonstrations degenerated into violence, prompting the intervention of coal miners summoned by Iliescu. This episode has been documented widely by both local<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mineriade.iiccr.ro/vocile_presei/presa_interna/|title=Institutul de Investigare a Crimelor Comunismului și Memoria Exilului Românesc|publisher=mineriade.iiccr.ro|access-date=14 March 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822013205/http://mineriade.iiccr.ro/vocile_presei/presa_interna/|archive-date=22 August 2011}}</ref> and foreign media,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mineriade.iiccr.ro/vocile_presei/presa_internationala/|title=Institutul de Investigare a Crimelor Comunismului și Memoria Exilului Românesc|publisher=mineriade.iiccr.ro|access-date=14 March 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822013250/http://mineriade.iiccr.ro/vocile_presei/presa_internationala/ |archive-date=22 August 2011}}</ref> and is remembered as the [[June 1990 Mineriad]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Bohlen|first=Celestine |title=Evolution in Europe; Romanian miners invade Bucharest|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html|quote=Responding to an emergency appeal by President Ion Iliescu, thousands of miners from northern Romania descended on the capital city today|access-date=31 August 2008|work=The New York Times|date=15 June 1990}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mineriade.iiccr.ro/cronologie_evenimente/1990/|title=Institutul de Investigare a Crimelor Comunismului și Memoria Exilului Românesc|publisher=mineriade.iiccr.ro|access-date=14 March 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822011847/http://mineriade.iiccr.ro/cronologie_evenimente/1990/|archive-date=22 August 2011}}</ref>

The subsequent disintegration of the Front produced several political parties, including most notably the [[Social Democratic Party (Romania)|Social Democratic Party]] (PDSR then PSD) and the [[Democratic Party (Romania)|Democratic Party]] (PD and subsequently PDL). The former governed Romania from 1990 until 1996 through several coalitions and governments, with Ion Iliescu as head of state. Since then, there have been several other democratic changes of government: in 1996 [[Emil Constantinescu]] was elected president, in 2000 Iliescu returned to power, while [[Traian Băsescu]] was elected in 2004 and narrowly re-elected in 2009.<ref>[http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-international-6689374-presa-internationala-despre-alegerile-din-romania-traian-basescu-castigat-limita-romanii-mici-sperante-dezghete-ajutorul-fmi.htm Presa internationala despre alegerile din Romania: Traian Basescu a castigat la limita; Romanii au mici sperante sa se dezghete ajutorul de la FMI – International] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002223/http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-international-6689374-presa-internationala-despre-alegerile-din-romania-traian-basescu-castigat-limita-romanii-mici-sperante-dezghete-ajutorul-fmi.htm |date=4 March 2016}}. HotNews.ro. Retrieved on 21 August 2010.</ref>

In 2009, the country was bailed out by the [[International Monetary Fund]] as an aftershock of the [[Great Recession in Europe]].<ref name="igber">{{cite news|last1=Reguly|first1=Eric|title=In Gold Blood|url=https://www.newsweek.com/gold-blood-251438 |publisher=Newsweek|date=20 May 2014}}</ref> In November 2014, [[Sibiu]] former [[Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania|FDGR/DFDR]] mayor [[Klaus Iohannis]] was elected president, unexpectedly defeating former Prime Minister [[Victor Ponta]], who had been previously leading in the opinion polls. This surprise victory was attributed by many analysts to the implication of the [[Romanian diaspora]] in the voting process, with almost 50% casting their votes for Klaus Iohannis in the first round, compared to only 16% for Ponta.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17776564|title=Romania profile – Leaders – BBC News-GB|work=BBC News |date=20 April 2012 |access-date=28 June 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160717161427/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17776564|archive-date=17 July 2016}}</ref> In 2019, Iohannis was re-elected president in a landslide victory over former Prime Minister [[Viorica Dăncilă]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/24/romania-centrist-president-re-elected-by-a-landslide-klaus-iohannis|title=Romanian centrist president re-elected by a landslide|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=24 November 2019|website=The Guardian}}</ref>

[[File:Protest against corruption - Bucharest 2017 - Piata Universitatii - 5.jpg|thumb|Romania saw large waves of protests against judicial reforms of the [[Social Democratic Party (Romania)|PSD]]-[[Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (Romania)|ALDE]] government during the [[2017–2019 Romanian protests]].]]

The post–1989 period is characterised by the fact that most of the former industrial and economic enterprises which were built and operated during the communist period were closed, mainly as a result of the policies of privatisation of the post–1989 regimes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rtsa.ro/tras/index.php/tras/article/download/97/93|title=Deindustrialization and Urban Shrinkage in Romania. What Lessons for the Spatial Policy?|first=Claudia|last=Popescu|access-date=8 October 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231182636/http://rtsa.ro/tras/index.php/tras/article/download/97/93|archive-date=31 December 2016 }}</ref>

Corruption has been a [[Corruption in Romania|major issue]] in contemporary Romanian politics.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-romania-corruption-mayors/romanias-powerful-mayors-tumble-in-corruption-crackdown-idUKKCN0RV3IO20151001|title=Romania's powerful mayors tumble in corruption crackdown|first=Luiza|last=Ilie|newspaper=[[Reuters]]|date=October 2015}}</ref> In November 2015, massive [[2015 Romanian protests|anti-corruption protests]] which developed in the wake of the [[Colectiv nightclub fire]] led to the resignation of Romania's Prime Minister Victor Ponta.<ref>"[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34720183 Romania PM Ponta resigns over Bucharest nightclub fire] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115091112/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34720183|date=15 November 2015}}". [[BBC News]]. 4 November 2015.</ref> During 2017–2018, in response to measures which were perceived to weaken the fight against corruption, some of the [[2017–2018 Romanian protests|biggest protests since 1989]] took place in Romania, with over 500,000 people protesting across the country.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38876134|title=Huge Romania rally despite decree repeal|date=6 February 2017|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-romania-protests/thousands-of-romanians-rally-against-ruling-partys-judicial-overhaul-idUSKBN1DQ0T3|title=Thousands of Romanians rally against ruling party's judicial overhaul|first=Radu-Sorin|last=Marinas|newspaper=Reuters|date=26 November 2017}}</ref> Nevertheless, there have been significant reforms aimed at tackling corruption. A [[National Anticorruption Directorate]] was formed in the country in 2002, inspired by similar institutions in [[Belgium]], [[Norway]] and [[Spain]].<ref>[http://www.pna.ro/about_us.xhtml Direcția Națională Anticorupție]</ref> Since 2014, Romania launched an anti-corruption effort that led to the prosecution of medium- and high-level political, judicial and administrative offenses by the [[National Anticorruption Directorate]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/e/eb/rls/othr/ics/2015/241712.htm|title=2015 Investment Climate Statement - Romania|work=The US Department of State|access-date=17 August 2015}}</ref>

==== NATO and EU integration ====
[[File:Tratado de Lisboa 13 12 2007 (081).jpg|thumb|left|Romania joined the [[European Union]] in 2007 and signed the [[Treaty of Lisbon]].]]

After the end of the [[Cold War]], Romania developed closer ties with Western Europe and the United States, eventually joining [[NATO]] in 2004, and hosting the [[2008 Bucharest summit|2008 summit]] in Bucharest.<ref>{{cite news|title=NATO update: NATO welcomes seven new members|url=http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2004/04-april/e0402a.htm|publisher=[[NATO]]|access-date=31 August 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911134550/http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2004/04-april/e0402a.htm|archive-date=11 September 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The country applied in June 1993 for membership in the [[European Union]] and became an Associated State of the EU in 1995, an Acceding Country in 2004, and a [[2007 enlargement of the European Union|full member]] on 1&nbsp;January 2007.<ref>{{cite news |title=EU approves Bulgaria and Romania|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5380024.stm|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=31 August 2008|date=26 September 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203223404/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5380024.stm|archive-date=3 December 2008}}</ref>

During the 2000s, Romania had one of the highest economic growth rates in Europe and has been referred at times as "the Tiger of Eastern Europe".<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.adevarul.ro/articole/romania-tigrul-estului/354061 |title=Adevarul|publisher=Adevarul.ro|access-date=25 September 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920030429/http://www.adevarul.ro/articole/romania-tigrul-estului/354061|archive-date=20 September 2008}}</ref> This has been accompanied by a significant improvement in living standards as the country successfully reduced domestic poverty and established a functional democratic state.<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org">[http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_ROM.html Human Development Report 2009 – Country Fact Sheets – Romania] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101131652/http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_ROM.html |date=1 November 2013}}. Hdrstats.undp.org. Retrieved on 21 August 2010.</ref><ref>[http://www.mdgmonitor.org/factsheets_00.cfm?c=ROM&cd=642# Tracking the Millennium Development Goal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126063611/http://www.mdgmonitor.org/factsheets_00.cfm?c=ROM&cd=642 |date=26 November 2013}}. MDG Monitor. Retrieved on 21 August 2010.</ref> However, Romania's development suffered a major setback during the [[Great Recession|late 2000s' recession]] leading to a large gross domestic product contraction and a budget deficit in 2009.<ref name=wsj4dec09>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125988241065975639|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|title=Romania Faces Crucial Vote|date=4 December 2009|author=Joe Parkinson|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710033758/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125988241065975639|archive-date=10 July 2017}}</ref> This led to Romania borrowing from the International Monetary Fund.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/ROU|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409084621/https://www.imf.org/external/country/ROU/index.htm|url-status=dead|title=Romania and the IMF|archive-date=9 April 2015|website=IMF}}</ref> Worsening economic conditions led to [[2012 Romanian constitutional crisis|unrest]] and triggered a political crisis in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seejps.ro/volume-i-number-iii-ideologies-and-patterns-of-democracy/38-romanian-politics-in-2012-intra-cabinet-coexistence-and-political-instability.html|title=Romanian Politics in 2012: Intra-Cabinet Coexistence and Political Instability|work=South-East European Journal of Political Science|author1=Gheorghe Stoica|author2=Lavinia Stan|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224152657/http://www.seejps.ro/volume-i-number-iii-ideologies-and-patterns-of-democracy/38-romanian-politics-in-2012-intra-cabinet-coexistence-and-political-instability.html |archive-date=24 February 2014}}</ref>

[[File:2008 Bucharest summit (5).JPG|thumb|right|Romania joined [[NATO]] in 2004 and hosted [[2008 Bucharest summit|its 2008 summit]] in Bucharest.]]

Near the end of 2013, ''[[The Economist]]'' reported Romania again enjoying "booming" economic growth at 4.1% that year, with wages rising fast and a lower unemployment than in Britain. Economic growth accelerated in the midst of government liberalisations in opening up new sectors to competition and investment—most notably, energy and telecoms.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty/2013/12/what-britain-forgets|title=Romania is booming|newspaper=The Economist|date=17 December 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701164338/http://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty/2013/12/what-britain-forgets|archive-date=1 July 2017}}</ref> In 2016, the [[Human Development Index]] ranked Romania as a nation of "Very High Human Development".<ref name="UNDP2016">{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2016_human_development_report.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2016 – "Human Development for Everyone"|publisher=[[Human Development Report|HDRO (Human Development Report Office)]] [[United Nations Development Programme]]|access-date=22 March 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825175902/http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2016_human_development_report.pdf|archive-date=25 August 2017}}</ref>

Following the experience of economic instability throughout the 1990s, and the implementation of a free travel agreement with the EU, a great number of [[Romanian diaspora|Romanians emigrated]] to Western Europe and North America, with particularly large communities in Italy, Germany, and Spain. In 2016, the Romanian diaspora was estimated to be over 3.6&nbsp;million people, the fifth-highest emigrant population in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.romania-insider.com/oecd-romanian-diaspora-july-2019|title=Report: Romanian diaspora, fifth largest in the world|website=Romania Insider|date=16 July 2019}}</ref>