Ancient times - ancient Roman citadel at
Corabia Initially inhabited by
Dacians, Oltenia was incorporated in the
Roman Empire (106, at the end of the
Dacian Wars;
see Roman Dacia). In 129, during
Hadrian's rule, it formed
Dacia Inferior, one of the two divisions of the province (together with
Dacia Superior, in today's
Transylvania);
Marcus Aurelius' administrative reform made Oltenia one of the three new divisions (
tres Daciae) as
Dacia Malvensis, its capital and chief city being named
Romula. It was colonized with
veterans of the
Roman legions. The Romans withdrew their administration south of the Danube at the end of the 3rd century and Oltenia was ruled by the
foederati Germanic Goths. In the late 4th century Oltenia came under the rule of the
Taifals before invasion by the
Huns.
Middle Ages - UNESCO World Heritage From 681, with some interruptions, it was part of the
Bulgarian Empire (see
Bulgarian lands across the Danube). In 1233, the
Kingdom of Hungary formed the
Banate of Severin in the western part of the region that would persist until the 1526
Battle of Mohács. Around 1247, a polity emerged in Oltenia under the rule of
Litovoi. The rise of the medieval state of
Wallachia followed in the 14th century, and the
voivode (
Prince of Wallachia) was represented in Oltenia by a
ban - "the
Great Ban of Craiova" (with seat in
Craiova after it was moved from
Strehaia). This came to be considered the greatest office in Wallachian hierarchy, and one that was held most by members of the
Craiovești family, from the late 15th century to about 1550. The title would continue to exist up until 1831. During the 15th century, Wallachia had to accept the
Ottoman suzerainty and to pay an annual
tribute to keep its autonomy as a vassal. From the Craiovești family, many bans cooperated with the Turks. However, many rulers, including the Oltenian-born
Michael the Brave, fought against the Ottomans, giving Wallachia brief periods of independence.
Modern times After 1716, the Ottomans decided to cease choosing the voivodes from among the Wallachian boyars, and to appoint foreign governors. As the governors were Orthodox Greeks living in
Phanar, Constantinople, this period is known as the
Phanariote regime. as the
Banat of Craiova in the 18th century Two years later, in 1718 under the terms of the
Treaty of Passarowitz, Oltenia was split from Wallachia and annexed by the
Habsburg monarchy as the
Banat of Craiova (
de facto, it was under Austrian occupation by 1716); in 1737, it was returned to Wallachia under Prince
Constantine Mavrocordatos (
see Austro-Turkish War of 1716–1718 and Austro-Russian–Turkish War (1735–1739)). Under the occupation, Oltenia was the only part of the
Danubian Principalities (with the later exception of
Bukovina) to experience
Enlightened absolutism and Austrian administration, although these were met by considerable and mounting opposition from
conservative boyars. While welcomed at first as liberators, the Austrians quickly disenchanted the inhabitants by imposing rigid administrative, fiscal, judicial and political reforms which were meant to centralize and integrate the territory (antagonizing both ends of the social spectrum: withdrawing
privileges from the nobility and enforcing taxes for peasants). In 1761, the residence of Bans was moved to
Bucharest, in a move towards
centralism (a
kaymakam represented the boyars in Craiova). It remained there until the death of the last Ban,
Barbu Văcărescu, in 1832. In 1821, Oltenia and
Gorj County were at the center of
Tudor Vladimirescu's uprising (
see Wallachian uprising of 1821). Vladimirescu initially gathered his
Pandurs in
Padeș and relied on a grid of fortified monasteries such as
Tismana and Strehaia. == Symbols ==