Brief History

Welcome to Romania
Why should you choose Romania for your studies?
The straight answer is because it is one of the most beautiful countries of Central-Eastern Europe. No journey to this region would be complete without visiting Romania as well.

Romanian History at a Glance
Stretching over the Carpathians Mountains and as far as the Black Sea, Romania has the only population of Latin origin in this area. Due to its geographical location, Romania was always the meeting point of political and territorial interests. The Romans, and later the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires tried in turn to take over this land. This makes Romanian history particularly interesting, as the local people always stood up against foreign occupation, managing to preserve its culture and traditions.

The ancient history is characterized by the Roman conquest of the Dacians. The Roman emperor Trajan celebrated this victory for 123 days and in its honor he also erected a column covered with marble reliefs to tell the story of the conquest. Trajan's column still stands in Rome. The Latin led to the birth of the Romanian people and language.
The period between the Roman retreat in 271 A.D. and the 10th century A.D. represented dark times for Eastern Europe, when countless warrior tribes roamed the land destroying everything on their way. The three historical regions that form Romania today – to the West of the mountains lies Transylvania, the Southern plains are called Wallachia, and the North-Eastern plateau is Moldavia – were first mentioned as states in the 14th century. They all had to fight the oppression of their neighbours. Yet, great commanders such as Mircea cel Bătrân, Vlad Ţepeş, Mihai Viteazul, and Ştefan cel Mare made it possible for the three provinces to resist all attempts of subjection.

Modern Romanian history is marked by the reformers’ struggle to redefine a nation. The revolution in 1848 called for the union of all the Romanian people in the three provinces, for the
cease of foreign domination and abuse (by the Ottoman, Russian and Austrian Empires), for equal justice under law and human rights in the tradition of the French Revolution.
In 1859 Moldavia and Wallachia, who were allowed by the European powers to elect their own princes, chose the same person: Alexandru Ioan Cuza, thus forming a new state called Romania. In 1866, Cuza abdicates and Prince Carol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen ascends the throne. Under his reign, Romania became independent (1877), a new constitution was passed, and the country entered a period of great economic development.
On December the 1st, 1918, Transylvania united with the other two regions under the reign of King Ferdinand. This is Romania’s National Day.

After the WWII, the Soviet Army set up a communist regime in Romania, and forced the King to abdicate. During the 50's Romania was ruled with an iron fist by communist hardliners, a situation common throughout Eastern Europe. The wind of change that was sweeping through Eastern Europe during the 80s, reached Romania in December 1989, when a nationwide upheaval led to the overthrow of the Ceauşescu regime.
Today, Romania is a multi-party democracy and human rights have been restored. The economy is on its way to shift to a free market system.

Romania is member of the European Union since 2007.

source: http://www.unibuc.ro/uploads_en/images/71/ERASMUS2.pdf