After Alexander Aldea died in 1436, Vlad seized Wallachia with Hungarian support. Following the death of Sigismund of Luxembourg in 1437, Hungary's position weakened, causing Vlad to pay homage to Murad II, which included participating in Murad II's invasion of Transylvania in the summer of 1438. John Hunyadi, Voivode of Transylvania, came to Wallachia to convince Vlad to join a crusade against the Ottomans in 1441. After Hunyadi routed an Ottoman army in Transylvania, the sultan ordered Vlad to come to Edirne where he was captured in 1442. Hunyadi invaded Wallachia and made Vlad's cousin, Basarab II, voivode. (Full article...)
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"Colors" is a song by Romanian group Morandi intended to be the lead single off the group's fourth studio album, Zebra. However, it was later included in their compilation album, Best Of (2011). The supposed Zebra's mix of club and British rock served as inspiration for the track. Written by the group, the song was first released on 16 June 2009 in Romania and on 6 August 2009 for digital download and streaming in the United States through Universal Music Romania.
Commercially, the song topped the charts in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Slovakia, and reached the top five in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. A music video directed by Marius Moga and Giuliano Bekor was released to promote the song, which premiered on Romanian radio station Radio 21's website and was aired on MTV in late September 2009. The song was nominated at the 2010 Balkan Music Awards and at the 2010 Radio România Actualităţi Awards for Best Song from Romania and Best Pop/Dance Song, respectively. The video also received a nomination in the former ceremony for Best Video in the Balkans 2009. (Full article...)
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"Eu cred" (English: "I believe") is a song recorded by Romanian singer Mălina Olinescu. It was recorded at the TVR Music Studio in Bucharest, and was released as a CD single in 1998 by Mega Music in Romania. The release also contained "You Live", the English-language version of the song. "Eu cred" was written by Liliana Ștefan, while production was handled by Adrian Romcescu [ro].
The track represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 in Birmingham, United Kingdom after winning the pre-selection show Selecția Națională. In Birmingham, Romania automatically qualified to the final due to their relegation in the previous year and finished in 22nd place with six points. This remains one of Romania's worst results ever in the contest. Commercially, "Eu cred" failed to impact any national chart. (Full article...)
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The Kingdom of Hungary (Latin: Regnum Hungariae, Hungarian: Magyar Királyság) came into existence in Central Europe when Stephen I, Grand Prince of the Hungarians, was crowned king in 1000 or 1001. He reinforced central authority and forced his subjects to accept Christianity. Although all written sources emphasize only the role played by German and Italian knights and clerics in the process, a significant part of the Hungarian vocabulary for agriculture, religion, and state matters was taken from Slavic languages. Civil wars and pagan uprisings, along with attempts by the Holy Roman emperors to expand their authority over Hungary, jeopardized the new monarchy. The monarchy stabilized during the reigns of Ladislaus I (1077–1095) and Coloman (1095–1116). These rulers occupied Croatia and Dalmatia with the support of a part of the local population. Both realms retained their autonomous position. The successors of Ladislaus and Coloman—especially Béla II (1131–1141), Béla III (1176–1196), Andrew II (1205–1235), and Béla IV (1235–1270)—continued this policy of expansion towards the Balkan Peninsula and the lands east of the Carpathian Mountains, transforming their kingdom into one of the major powers of medieval Europe.
Rich in uncultivated lands, silver, gold, and salt deposits, Hungary became the preferred destination of mainly German, Italian, and French colonists. These immigrants were mostly peasants who settled in villages, but some were craftsmen and merchants, who established most of the cities of the Kingdom. Their arrival played a key role in the shaping of an urban lifestyle, habits, and culture in medieval Hungary. The location of the kingdom at the crossroads of international trade routes favored the coexistence of several cultures. Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance buildings and literary works written in Latin prove the predominantly Roman Catholic character of the culture; but Orthodox, and even non-Christian ethnic minority communities also existed. Latin was the language of legislation, administration and the judiciary, but "linguistic pluralism" contributed to the survival of many tongues, including a great variety of Slavic dialects. (Full article...)
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A 19th-century copy of a portrait attributed to Martin Kober representing Stephen Báthory in decorative Sarmatian attire
The 99th Military Base Deveselu (Baza Militară 99 Deveselu), or the Deveselu Military Base, is a RomanianNATO base hosting the United States NavyAegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System. The base consists of three military units: The Romanian 99th Military Base, which hosts two American bases: the Naval Support Facility Deveselu and the Aegis Ashore Defense System Romania. Located in Deveselucommune, Olt County, the base has an area of 900 ha (2,200 acres); of those, 170 ha (420 acres) are used by the U.S. forces.
The Deveselu base is operated by about 500 Romanian soldiers, 250 U.S. troops, and other personnel. The base is subordinated to the Romanian Joint Logistics Command. The current base commander is Colonel Marius Chiriță. (Full article...)
The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches had coexisted in the southern and eastern territories of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary for centuries. However, ideas that the Catholic Church regarded as heresy were not tolerated: the Hungarian Hussites were expelled from the country in the 1430s and the 1523 Diet of Hungary passed a decree that ordered the persecution of Lutherans. The latter decree was in practice ignored during the civil war that followed the Ottoman victory against the Hungarian army in the Battle of Mohács in 1526. After the Ottomans occupied the central regions of the medieval kingdom in 1541, they allowed the infant John Sigismund to rule the lands to the east of the river Tisza under the regency of his mother, Isabella Jagiellon. In the early 1540s the Diets acknowledged the right of the Three Nations to freely regulate their internal affairs. The Saxons regarded religion as an internal affair and ordered the introduction of the Lutheran Reformation in their settlements in 1544–1545. The Diet sanctioned the coexistence of the Catholic and Lutheran denominations only in 1557. (Full article...)
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Peony during an interview in 2019
Ester Alexandra Crețu (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈesteralekˈsandraˈkret͡su]; born 21 July 1993), known professionally as Ester Peony (formerly only Ester), is a Romanian singer and songwriter. She represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "On a Sunday" after winning the selection show Selecția Națională 2019. However, she failed to qualify for the Grand Final in Tel Aviv. Peony started to compose music for Romanian artists before gaining recognition for posting covers on YouTube in 2015. Later that year, she attained commercial success in Romania with her single "Sub aripa ta" featuring Vescan. (Full article...)
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"The Moon" is a song recorded by Romanian group Taxi. It was released as a CD single in 2000 by Intercont Music in Romania, containing its Romanian-language version "Luna" as a B-side. "The Moon" was written and produced solely by Teodorescu. It represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 in Stockholm, Sweden, after "Luna" won the pre-selection show Selecția Națională. In Stockholm, Romania automatically qualified to the final due to their relegation in the previous year and finished in 17th place with 25 points. (Full article...)
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Alexandra Stan (pictured in 2011) initiated the lawsuit against Marcel Prodan.
According to the singer, the incident occurred after she asked Prodan for her earnings, to which he reacted violently. Several hearings in Constanța Court were scheduled as part of the lawsuit; during one, Prodan testified that he had acted in self-defense after Stan hit him in his car and threatened to commit suicide. While Stan's accusations of blackmail and bodily harm were deemed groundless by the judges in 2014, Prodan received a seven-month suspended sentence for common assault in February 2016 and was fined damages. (Full article...)
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"Mami" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Alexandra Stan for her fourth studio album of the same name (2018), independently released as its third single on 4 April 2018. It was written by Stan and Katie DiCicco, while production was handled by DiCicco and Simon Says. A trilingual recording, "Mami" explores femininity. An accompanying music video was filmed by Bogdan Păun of NGM Creative and was uploaded onto Stan's official YouTube channel on 14 February 2018. Inspired by Mexican culture, it portrays the machismo idealism of a Latinagirl next door daydreaming of her love interest. (Full article...)
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Ajtony, Ahtum or Achtum (Hungarian: Ajtony, Bulgarian: Охтум, Romanian: Ahtum, Serbian: Ахтум) was an early-11th-century ruler in the territory now known as Banat in present Romania and Serbia. His primary source is the Long Life of Saint Gerard, a 14th-century hagiography. Ajtony was a powerful ruler who owned many horses, cattle and sheep and was baptised according to the Orthodox rite in Vidin. He taxed salt which was transferred to King Stephen I of Hungary on the Mureș River. The king sent Csanád, Ajtony's former commander-in-chief, against him at the head of a large army. Csanád defeated and killed Ajtony, occupying his realm. In the territory, at least one county and a Roman Catholicdiocese were established.
Historians disagree on the year of Ajtony's defeat; it may have occurred in 1002, 1008 or between 1027 and 1030. His ethnicity is also a subject of historical debate; he may have been Hungarian, Kabar, Pecheneg or Romanian. In Romanian historiography, Ajtony and Glad, the ruler of Banat during the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin according to the 13th century Gesta Hungarorum are viewed as members of a Romanian ruling dynasty. (Full article...)
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The relationship between the Romanian Orthodox Church and the Iron Guard was one of ambivalence. The Romanian Orthodox Church promoted its own version of nationalism which highlighted the role of Orthodoxy in preserving the Romanian identity. Starting with the 1920s, the Church became entangled with fascist politics and antisemitism. In this context, the Iron Guard, also known as the Legion of the Archangel Michael, a fascist movement founded in 1927, became very influential with church grassroots. Numerous rank-and-file priests joined the Iron Guard ranks and actively supported its policies; so did a minority of influential high-ranking clergymen such as Nicolae Bălan or Vartolomeu Stănescu.
Patriarch Miron Cristea, on the other hand, felt threatened by the Iron Guard's anti-establishment rhetoric and so did his successor Nicodim Munteanu. Thus, when the National Legionary State was proclaimed in 1940, Munteanu showed little enthusiasm. The insurrection of 1941 ended with Marshal Ion Antonescu crushing the Guard and taking full control of the country. The Holy Synod [ro] of the Romanian Orthodox Church was quick to condemn the Rebellion but, at the same time, numerous priests who had actively taken part in it were protected from repercussions by their respective bishops. (Full article...)
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The Romanian Air Corps or Aviation Corps (RAC) (Romanian: Corpul de Aviație) was the air arm of the Romanian army until the formation of the Romanian Air Force. It was established on 1 April 1913 as the Military Aeronautics Service (Serviciul de Aeronautică Militară) and subordinated to the Engineer Inspectorate, being organized in two branches – the aviation and the balloon branch. On 23 August 1915, the RAC was formed as an independent military arm and operated until 1 January 1924 when it became an equal to the Army and Navy, being redesignated as the Royal Romanian Air Force (Aeronautica Regală Română).
Romania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece. They selected their entry, "Tornerò" (meaning: "I Will Return"), by Romanian singer Mihai Trăistariu through the national selection competition Selecția Națională 2006 in February 2006. Controversy surrounded the event, as seventh-placed duo Indiggo accused the organising broadcaster, Romanian Television (TVR), of vote rigging. Prior to the 2006 contest, Romania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest eight times since its first entry in 1994. Its highest placing in the contest had been third place, which the nation achieved in 2005.
Prior to Eurovision, "Tornerò" was promoted by a music video, live performances, radio submissions and fellow endeavours in several countries. Romania ultimately reached fourth place in the contest's final on 20 May, achieving 172 points. This remained the country's highest score until 2017. During Romania's show, Trăistariu was accompanied by dance group Big Bounce who performed a mixture of ballet and contemporary dance onstage. Following Eurovision, "Tornerò" achieved commercial success, reaching the top ten in Finland and Greece. (Full article...)
The founding of Wallachia (Romanian: descălecatul Țării Românești), that is the establishment of the first independent Romanian principality, was achieved at the beginning of the 14th century, through the unification of smaller political units that had existed between the Carpathian Mountains, and the Rivers Danube, Siret and Milcov.
Prior to the consolidation of Wallachia, waves of nomadic peoples – the last of them being the Cumans and the Mongols – rode across the territory. The territory became a frontier area between the Golden Horde (the westernmost part of the Mongol Empire) and the Kingdom of Hungary after 1242. The Romanians in Muntenia, east of the Olt River, had to pay tribute to the Mongols; and west of the river, in Oltenia, they were oppressed by the Bans of Severin, appointed by the Kings of Hungary. The Golden Horde's domination decreased in the region at the end of the 13th century, and at that time the Kingdom of Hungary also underwent a strong political crisis. These events enabled the incipient states of the territory to consolidate their autonomy. (Full article...)
The rock sculpture of Decebalus, made between 1994–2004, is a carving in rock of the face of Decebalus (r. AD 87–106), the last king of Dacia, who fought against the Roman emperors Domitian and Trajan to preserve the independence of his country, which corresponded to modern Romania.
... that film critic and censor D. I. Suchianu wanted Romanian moviegoers to cease "falling asleep whenever they're not shown a naked breast [or] a hip that's getting some action"?
... that Soviet politician Pavel Chioru wanted "Moldovan", which he developed from a dialect of Romanian, to serve as a language of the "exploited" against the supposedly upper-class Romanian?
... that the tanker MV Millennial Spirit sailed under a Moldovan flag, was crewed entirely by Russians, and was mistaken for a Romanian ship?
... that Caloian, a ritual once practiced in southern and eastern Romania, involved the burial of a figurine by young girls, one of whom acted as a priest?
Image 4Romania has seen its largest waves of protests against judicial reform ordinances of the PSD-ALDE coalition during the 2017–2019 Romanian protests. (from History of Romania)
Image 91941 stamp depicting a Romanian and a German soldier in reference to the two countries' common participation in Operation Barbarossa. The text below reads the holy war against Bolshevism. (from History of Romania)
Image 13Romania after the territorial losses of 1940. The recovery of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina was the catalyst for Romania's entry into the war on Germany's side. (from History of Romania)
Image 14A 19th century depiction of Dacian women (from History of Romania)
Image 15One of the greatest existence of Dacia (from History of Romania)
Image 17Ethnic map of Greater Romania according to the 1930 census. Sizeable ethnic minorities put Romania at odds with Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union throughout the interwar period. (from History of Romania)
Image 69Lieutenant Emil Rebreanu was awarded the Medal for Bravery in gold, the highest military award given by the Austrian command to an ethnic Romanian; he would later be hanged for desertion while trying to escape to Romania. (from History of Romania)
Image 71Bran Castle (German: Törzburg, Hungarian: Törcsvár) built in 1212, is commonly known as Dracula's Castle and is situated in the centre of present-day Romania. In addition to its unique architecture, the castle is famous because of persistent myths that it was once the home of Vlad III Dracula. (from History of Romania)
Image 87The Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1786, Italian map by G. Pittori, since the geographer Giovanni Antonio Rizzi Zannoni (from History of Romania)
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