![]() ![]() Romania remained under Communist rule until 1990. Soviet troops remained in Romania until the late 1950s, after which the Communist party in Romania took over the government. ![]() Bulgaria and the Soviets kept their pieces, but Transylvania was returned to Romania. Fed up, Romania first sided with the Germans, then with the Allies. Bulgaria bit off a piece of Romanian territory in the south, the Soviets bit off a piece in the north, and Hungary grabbed back northern Transylvania. In World War II, Romania tried at first to remain neutral. Romania sided with the Allies in World War I and, at the end of the war, received back from Austria-Hungary the provinces of Transylvania, Bukovina, and Banat with largely Romanian citizens. In 1862, these two provinces were recognized by the rest of Europe as the Nation of Romania. When Russia defeated Turkey in 1829, the Romanian provinces of Moldavia and Walachia were liberated. The peasants, who were poor and hungry before, had to pay huge taxes to the Turks. The Walachians were conquered in 1476 and the Moldavians in 1504. Romania, like all the Balkan countries, suffered under the Turks. Finally, around the year 1300, the Walachians in the south and the Moldavians in the east formed principalities. For hundreds of years various groups invaded and fought for control of the region. Huns, Goths, Bulgars, Slavs, and Tartars – all marched back and forth across Romania all the way till the 1100s. Barbarians forced the Romans to abandon the country in the late 200s. The Dacians adopted Roman customs and the Latin language. ![]() The Romans, under Emperor Trajan, conquered Dacia in 106 AD. The country was called Dacia at this time. Romania was first settled by the Dacian people in 300 BC. Romania has fertile soil, vast forests, and mineral deposits, yet is one of the poorest countries in Europe. The Danube River flows along Romania’s southern border. And the sunny Black Sea coast has dozens of sandy beaches. Mountains of the Carpathian Ranges curve through Romania, providing beautiful scenery and hiking trails, as well as skiing in the winter. Bucharest is the capital and largest city. The Western alphabet is used, not the Cyrillic. They are the only Eastern European people to trace their ancestry back to the Romans and to speak a Romance language and not a Slavic one. Romania, meaning land of Romans, lies in Eastern Europe. At the end, take some time to compare and contrast these interesting countries. Try to spend a bit of time on each country, maybe with a student preparing each section in 5 minutes as before. WEEK 3: ROMANIA, BULGARIA, SERBIA, ALBANIA ![]()
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