Ancient times In the
Second Dacian War (AD 105) western Oltenia became part of the
Roman province of
Dacia, with parts of later Wallachia included in the
Moesia Inferior province. The Roman
limes was initially built along the
Olt River in 119 before being moved slightly to the east in the second century, during which time it stretched from the
Danube up to
Rucăr in the Carpathians. The Roman line fell back to the Olt in 245 and, in 271, the Romans pulled out of the region. The area was subject to
Romanization also during the
Migration Period, when most of present-day
Romania was also invaded by
Goths and
Sarmatians known as the
Chernyakhov culture, followed by waves of other
nomads. In 328, the Romans built a
bridge between
Sucidava and
Oescus (near
Gigen) which indicates that there was a significant trade with the peoples north of the Danube. A short period of Roman rule in the area is attested under Emperor
Constantine the Great, after he attacked the Goths (who had settled north of the Danube) in 332. The period of Goth rule ended when the
Huns arrived in the
Pannonian Basin and, under
Attila, attacked and destroyed some 170 settlements on both sides of the Danube.
Early Middle Ages Byzantine influence is evident during the fifth to sixth century, such as the site at
Ipotești–Cândești culture, but from the second half of the sixth century and in the seventh century,
Slavs crossed the territory of Wallachia and settled in it, on their way to Byzantium, occupying the southern bank of the Danube. In 593, the Byzantine commander-in-chief
Priscus defeated Slavs,
Avars and
Gepids on future Wallachian territory, and, in 602, Slavs suffered a crucial defeat in the area;
Flavius Mauricius Tiberius, who ordered his army to be deployed north of the Danube, encountered his troops' strong opposition. in the ninth century, after the territorial expansion under Krum, Omurtag and Presian From its establishment in 681 to approximately the
Hungarians' conquest of
Transylvania in the middle of the tenth century, the
First Bulgarian Empire controlled the territory of Wallachia. With the decline and subsequent
Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria (from the second half of the tenth century up to 1018), Wallachia came under the control of the
Pechenegs,
Turkic peoples who extended their rule west through the tenth and 11th century, until they were defeated around 1091, when the
Cumans of southern Ruthenia took control of the lands of Wallachia. Beginning with the tenth century, Byzantine, Bulgarian, Hungarian, and later Western sources mention the existence of small polities, possibly peopled by, among others,
Vlachs led by
knyazes and
voivodes. When the
Latin empire was established in 1204, the territories in the northern borders of this Venetian creation were named "Wallachia & Bulgaria" or "
Second Bulgarian Empire". An alternative name used in connection with the pre-mid 13th century period is the
Empire of Vlachs and Bulgarians. Variant names include the
Vlach–Bulgarian Empire and the
Bulgarian–Wallachian Empire. In 1241, during the
Mongol invasion of Europe, Cuman domination was ended—a direct Mongol rule over Wallachia was not attested. Part of Wallachia was probably briefly disputed by the
Kingdom of Hungary and
Bulgarians in the following period,
Establishment of state in the
Chronicon Pictum Throughout the 13th century, numerous records of
Vlach political entities on both sides of the
Carpathians had begun to emerge. One of the first written pieces of evidence in correlation to local Vlach voivodes concerns the ruler
Litovoi, who was first mentioned in the
Diploma of the Joannites in 1247. Litvoi ruled over the
Țara Litua, corresponding to modern day northern
Oltenia. By 1272, Litvoi had gained control over more land on each side of the Carpathians, specifically further along the northern
Wallachian Plain and
Hațeg Country in
Transylvania. Litvoi refused to pay
tribute to
King Ladislaus IV of Hungary, and in 1277 war broke out with the Hungarians, where he died in battle before 1280. His successor was his brother
Bărbat, who ruled until 1288. The continuing weakening of the Hungarian state by further Mongol invasions in the late 13th and early 14th century, as well as the fall of the
Árpád dynasty, further paved the way for the gradual unification of Wallachian polities and the assertion of independence from Hungarian rule. from 1390, depicting the coat of arms of Wallachia Wallachia's creation is held by local traditions and folk tale to have been the work of
Radu Negru, a legendary figure who according to tradition, crossed the Carpathians from Transylvania to the Wallachian Plain in 1290 alongside a large following of fellow Vlachs in order to establish the nation. Radu Negru is typically connected with
Basarab I of Wallachia, who was first mentioned in a Hungarian charter in 1324, as a voivode who held lands south of the Carpathians and paid tribute to Hungary. Throughout the rest of the 1320s, Basarab expanded his influence, seizing control of the
Banate of Severin and launching raids into Transylvania. By 1330, Basarab had established his rule over both sides of the river
Olt as well as come into ownership of
fiefs in Transylvania, establishing his residence in
Câmpulung as the first ruler of the
House of Basarab. Basarab refused to grant Hungary the lands of
Făgăraș,
Almaș and Severin and pay tribute to
Charles I of Hungary, who invaded Wallachia but was decisively defeated at the
Battle of Posada, which led to the consolidation of the Wallachian state. According to historian
Ștefan Ștefănescu, Basarab extended his lands to the east, to briefly comprise lands as far as
Chillia Nouǎ in the
Bugeac - reportedly providing the origin of
Bessarabia. There is evidence that the
Second Bulgarian Empire ruled at least nominally the Wallachian lands up to the Rucăr–
Bran corridor as late as the late 14th century. In a charter by
Radu I, the Wallachian voivode requests that
tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria order his customs officers at Rucăr and the
Dâmboviţa River bridge to collect tax following the law. The presence of Bulgarian customs officers at the
Carpathians indicates a Bulgarian suzerainty over those lands, though Radu's imperative tone hints at a strong and increasing Wallachian autonomy. The medieval structure of Wallachia was modelled after the Bulgarian one, including the adoption of Old Church Slavonic feudal terminology such as - inherited land. Under
Radu I and his successor
Dan I, the realms in Transylvania and Severin continued to be disputed with Hungary. Basarab was succeeded by
Nicholas Alexander, followed by
Vladislav I. Vladislav attacked Transylvania after
Louis I occupied lands south of the
Danube, conceded to recognize him as overlord in 1368, but rebelled again in the same year; his rule also witnessed the first confrontation between Wallachia and the
Ottoman Empire (a battle in which Vladislav was allied with
Ivan Shishman).
1400–1600 Mircea the Elder to Radu the Great As the entire
Balkans became an integral part of the growing Ottoman Empire (a process that concluded with the
fall of Constantinople to Sultan
Mehmed the Conqueror in 1453), Wallachia became engaged in frequent confrontations in the final years of the reign of
Mircea I (r. 1386–1418). Mircea initially defeated the Ottomans in several battles, including the
Battle of Rovine in 1394, driving them away from
Dobruja and briefly extending his rule to the
Danube Delta, Dobruja and
Silistra (c. 1400–1404). He swung between alliances with
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, and
Jagiellon Poland (taking part in the
Battle of Nicopolis), and accepted a peace treaty with the Ottomans in 1417, after
Mehmed I took control of
Turnu Măgurele and
Giurgiu. The two ports remained part of the Ottoman state, with brief interruptions, until 1829. In 1418–1420,
Michael I defeated the Ottomans in Severin, only to be killed in battle by the counter-offensive; in 1422, the danger was averted for a short while when
Dan II inflicted a defeat on
Murad II with the help of
Pippo Spano. '' The peace signed in 1428 inaugurated a period of internal crisis, as Dan had to defend himself against
Radu II, who led the first in a series of
boyar coalitions against established princes. Victorious in 1431 (the year when the boyar-backed
Alexander I Aldea took the throne), boyars were dealt successive blows by
Vlad II Dracul (1436–1442; 1443–1447), who nevertheless attempted to compromise between the Ottoman Sultan and the
Holy Roman Empire. in
Târgoviște The following decade was marked by the conflict between the rival houses of
Dănești and
Drăculești. Faced with both internal and external conflict,
Vlad II Dracul reluctantly agreed to pay the
tribute demanded of him by the Ottoman Empire, despite his affiliation with the
Order of the Dragon, a group of independent noblemen whose creed had been to repel the Ottoman invasion. As part of the tribute, the sons of
Vlad II Dracul (
Radu cel Frumos and
Vlad III Dracula) were taken into Ottoman custody. Recognizing the Christian resistance to their invasion, leaders of the Ottoman Empire released Vlad III to rule in 1448 after his father's assassination in 1447. (
Vlad Țepeș),
Voivode of Wallachia Known as Vlad III the Impaler or Vlad III Dracula, he immediately put to death the boyars who had conspired against his father, and was characterized as both a national hero and a cruel
tyrant. He was cheered for restoring order to a destabilized principality, yet showed no mercy toward thieves, murderers or anyone who plotted against his rule. Vlad demonstrated his intolerance for criminals by utilizing
impalement as a form of execution. Vlad fiercely resisted Ottoman rule, having both repelled the Ottomans and been pushed back several times. , one of the royal seats of
Vlad III Dracul The
Transylvanian Saxons were also furious with him for strengthening the borders of Wallachia, which interfered with their control of trade routes. In retaliation, the Saxons distributed grotesque poems of cruelty and other propaganda, demonizing Vlad III Dracula as a drinker of blood. These tales strongly influenced an eruption of vampiric fiction throughout the West and, in particular, Germany. They also inspired the main character in the 1897 Gothic novel
Dracula by
Bram Stoker. In 1462, Vlad III was defeated by Mehmed the Conqueror during his offensive at the
Night Attack at Târgovişte before being forced to retreat to
Târgoviște and accepting to pay an increased tribute. Meanwhile, Vlad III faced parallel conflicts with his brother, Radu cel Frumos, (r. 1437/1439–1475), and
Basarab Laiotă cel Bătrân. This led to the conquest of Wallachia by Radu, who would face his own struggles with the resurgent Vlad III and Basarab Laiotă cel Bătrân during his 11-year reign. Subsequently,
Radu IV the Great (Radu cel Mare, who ruled 1495–1508) reached several compromises with the boyars, ensuring a period of internal stability that contrasted his clash with
Bogdan III the One-Eyed of Moldavia.
Mihnea cel Rău to Petru Cercel The late 15th century saw the ascension of the powerful
Craiovești family, virtually independent rulers of the
Oltenian
banat, who sought Ottoman support in their rivalry with
Mihnea cel Rău (1508–1510) and replaced him with
Vlăduț. After the latter proved to be hostile to the bans, the House of Basarab formally ended with the rise of
Neagoe Basarab, a Craioveşti. Neagoe's peaceful rule (1512–1521) was noted for its cultural aspects (the building of the
Curtea de Argeş Cathedral and
Renaissance influences). It was also a period of increased influence for the
Saxon merchants in
Brașov and
Sibiu, and of Wallachia's alliance with
Louis II of Hungary. Under
Teodosie, the country was again under a four-month-long Ottoman occupation, a military administration that seemed to be an attempt to create a Wallachian
Pashaluk. This danger rallied all boyars in support of
Radu de la Afumaţi (four rules between 1522 and 1529), who lost the battle after an agreement between the Craiovești and Sultan
Süleyman the Magnificent; Prince Radu eventually confirmed Süleyman's position as suzerain and agreed to pay an even higher tribute. Conflicts between boyar families became stringent after the rule of
Pătrașcu the Good, and boyar ascendancy over rulers was obvious under
Petru the Younger (1559–1568; a reign dominated by
Doamna Chiajna and marked by huge increases in taxes),
Mihnea Turcitul, and
Petru Cercel. The Ottoman Empire increasingly relied on Wallachia and Moldavia for the supply and maintenance of its
military forces; the
local army, however, soon disappeared due to the increased costs and the much more obvious efficiency of
mercenary troops.
17th century , 1595 Initially profiting from Ottoman support,
Michael the Brave ascended to the throne in 1593, and attacked the troops of
Murad III north and south of the Danube in an alliance with Transylvania's
Sigismund Báthory and Moldavia's
Aron Vodă (see
Battle of Călugăreni). He soon placed himself under the suzerainty of
Rudolf II, the
Holy Roman Emperor, and, in 1599–1600, intervened in
Transylvania against
Poland's
king Sigismund III Vasa, placing the region under his authority; his brief rule also extended to
Moldavia later in the following year. For a brief period, Michael the Brave ruled (in a personal, but not formal, union) most of the territories where Romanians lived, rebuilding the base of the ancient Kingdom of
Dacia. The rule of Michael the Brave, with its break with Ottoman rule, tense relations with other European powers and the leadership of the three states, was considered in later periods as the precursor of a modern Romania, a thesis which was argued with noted intensity by
Nicolae Bălcescu. Following Michael's downfall, Wallachia was occupied by the Polish–Moldavian army of
Simion Movilă (see
Moldavian Magnate Wars), who held the region until 1602, and was subject to
Nogai attacks in the same year. The last stage in the
Growth of the Ottoman Empire brought increased pressures on Wallachia: political control was accompanied by Ottoman economical hegemony, the discarding of the capital in
Târgoviște in favour of
Bucharest (closer to the Ottoman border, and a rapidly growing trade center), the establishment of
serfdom under Michael the Brave as a measure to increase
manorial revenues, and the decrease in the importance of low-ranking boyars (threatened with extinction, they took part in the
seimeni rebellion of 1655). Furthermore, the growing importance of appointment to high office in front of land ownership brought about an influx of
Greek and
Levantine families, a process already resented by locals during the rules of
Radu Mihnea in the early 17th century.
Matei Basarab, a boyar appointee, brought a long period of relative peace (1632–1654), with the noted exception of the 1653
Battle of Finta, fought between Wallachians and the troops of Moldavian prince
Vasile Lupu—ending in disaster for the latter, who was replaced with Prince Matei's favourite,
Gheorghe Ștefan, on the throne in
Iași. A close alliance between Gheorghe Ștefan and Matei's successor
Constantin Șerban was maintained by Transylvania's
George II Rákóczi, but their designs for independence from Ottoman rule were crushed by the troops of
Mehmed IV in 1658–1659. The reigns of
Gheorghe Ghica and
Grigore I Ghica, the sultan's favourites, signified attempts to prevent such incidents; however, they were also the onset of a violent clash between the
Băleanu and
Cantacuzino boyar families, which was to mark Wallachia's history until the 1680s. The Cantacuzinos, threatened by the alliance between the Băleanus and the
Ghicas, backed their own choice of princes (
Antonie Vodă din Popești and
George Ducas) before promoting themselves—with the ascension of
Șerban Cantacuzino (1678–1688).
Russo-Turkish Wars and the Phanariotes and
Southeastern Europe (including the
Balkan peninsula) from the 15th to the 18th century Wallachia became a target for
Habsburg incursions during the last stages of the
Great Turkish War around 1690, when the ruler
Constantin Brâncoveanu secretly and unsuccessfully negotiated an anti-Ottoman coalition. Brâncoveanu's reign (1688–1714), noted for its late
Renaissance cultural achievements (see
Brâncovenesc style), also coincided with the rise of
Imperial Russia under Tsar
Peter the Great—he was approached by the latter during the
Russo-Turkish War of 1710–1713, and lost his throne and life sometime after sultan
Ahmed III caught news of the negotiations. Despite his denunciation of Brâncoveanu's policies,
Ștefan Cantacuzino attached himself to Habsburg projects and opened the country to the armies of
Prince Eugene of Savoy; he was himself deposed and executed in 1716. Immediately following the deposition of Prince Ștefan, the Ottomans renounced the purely nominal
elective system (which had by then already witnessed the decrease in importance of the
Boyar Divan over the sultan's decision), and princes of the two
Danubian Principalities were appointed from the
Phanariotes of
Constantinople. Inaugurated by
Nicholas Mavrocordatos in Moldavia after
Dimitrie Cantemir, Phanariote rule was brought to Wallachia in 1715 by the very same ruler. The tense relations between boyars and princes brought a decrease in the number of taxed people (as a
privilege gained by the former), a subsequent increase in total taxes, and the enlarged powers of a boyar circle in the Divan. in Bucharest (1789) In parallel, Wallachia became the battleground in a succession of wars between the Ottomans on one side and Russia or the Habsburg monarchy on the other. Mavrocordatos himself was deposed by a boyar rebellion, and arrested by Habsburg troops during the
Austro-Turkish War of 1716–1718, as the Ottomans had to concede
Oltenia to
Charles VI of Austria (the
Treaty of Passarowitz). The region, organized as the
Banat of Craiova and subject to an
enlightened absolutist rule that soon disenchanted local boyars, was returned to Wallachia in 1739 (the
Treaty of Belgrade, upon the close of the
Austro-Russian–Turkish War). Prince
Constantine Mavrocordatos, who oversaw the new change in borders, was also responsible for the effective abolition of
serfdom in 1746 (which put a stop to the exodus of peasants into
Transylvania); during this period, the
ban of Oltenia moved his residence from
Craiova to
Bucharest, signalling, alongside Mavrocordatos' order to merge his personal
treasury with that of the country, a move towards
centralism. during the
Austro-Turkish War, 1790 In 1768, during the
Fifth Russo-Turkish War, Wallachia was placed under its first Russian occupation (helped along by the rebellion of
Pârvu Cantacuzino). The
Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) allowed Russia to intervene in favour of
Eastern Orthodox Ottoman subjects, curtailing Ottoman pressures—including the decrease in sums owed as
tribute—and, in time, relatively increasing internal stability while opening Wallachia to more Russian interventions. Habsburg troops, under
Prince Josias of Coburg, again entered the country during the
Russo-Turkish-Austrian War, deposing
Nicholas Mavrogenes in 1789. A period of crisis followed the Ottoman recovery: Oltenia was devastated by the expeditions of
Osman Pazvantoğlu, a powerful rebellious
pasha whose raids even caused Prince
Constantine Hangerli to lose his life on suspicion of treason (1799), and
Alexander Mourousis to renounce his throne (1801). In 1806, the
Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812 was partly instigated by the
Porte's deposition of
Constantine Ypsilantis in Bucharest—in tune with the
Napoleonic Wars, it was instigated by the
French Empire, and also showed the impact of the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (with its permissive attitude towards Russian political influence in the
Danubian Principalities); the war brought the invasion of
Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich. After the
Peace of Bucharest, the rule of
Jean Georges Caradja, although remembered for a major
plague epidemic, was notable for its cultural and industrial ventures. During the period, Wallachia increased its strategic importance for most European states interested in supervising Russian expansion; consulates were opened in Bucharest, having an indirect but major impact on Wallachian economy through the protection they extended to
Sudiți traders (who soon competed successfully against local guilds).
From Wallachia to Romania Early 19th century The death of prince
Alexander Soutzos in 1821, coinciding with the outbreak of the
Greek War of Independence, established a boyar
regency which attempted to block the arrival of
Scarlat Callimachi to his throne in Bucharest. The parallel
uprising in Oltenia, carried out by the
Pandur leader
Tudor Vladimirescu, although aimed at overthrowing the ascendancy of
Greeks, compromised with the Greek revolutionaries in the
Filiki Eteria and allied itself with the regents, while seeking Russian support (see also:
Rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire). of Wallachia in 1837 On 21 March 1821 Vladimirescu entered Bucharest. For the following weeks, relations between him and his allies worsened, especially after he sought an agreement with the Ottomans; Eteria's leader
Alexander Ypsilantis, who had established himself in Moldavia and, after May, in northern Wallachia, viewed the alliance as broken—he had Vladimirescu executed, and faced the Ottoman intervention without Pandur or Russian backing, suffering major defeats in Bucharest and
Drăgășani (before retreating to
Austrian custody in
Transylvania). These violent events, which had seen the majority of Phanariotes siding with Ypsilantis, made
Sultan Mahmud II place the Principalities under its occupation (evicted by a request of several European powers), and sanction the end of Phanariote rules: in Wallachia, the first prince to be considered a local one after 1715 was
Grigore IV Ghica. Although the new system was confirmed for the rest of Wallachia's existence as a state, Ghica's rule was abruptly ended by the devastating
Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829. The 1829
Treaty of Adrianople placed Wallachia and Moldavia under Russian military rule, without overturning Ottoman
suzerainty, awarding them the first common institutions and semblance of a
constitution (see
Regulamentul Organic). Wallachia was returned ownership of
Brăila,
Giurgiu (both of which soon developed into major trading cities on the
Danube), and
Turnu Măgurele. The treaty also allowed Moldavia and Wallachia to freely trade with countries other than the Ottoman Empire, which signalled substantial economic and urban growth, as well as improving the peasant situation. Many of the provisions had been specified by the 1826
Akkerman Convention between Russia and the Ottomans, but it had never been fully implemented in the three-year interval. The duty of overseeing of the Principalities was left to Russian general
Pavel Kiselyov; this period was marked by a series of major changes, including the reestablishment of a
Wallachian Army (1831), a
tax reform (which nonetheless confirmed
tax exemptions for the
privileged), as well as major urban works in Bucharest and other cities. In 1834, Wallachia's throne was occupied by
Alexandru II Ghica—a move in contradiction with the Adrianople treaty, as he had not been elected by the new
Legislative Assembly; he was removed by the suzerains in 1842 and replaced with an elected prince,
Gheorghe Bibescu.
1840s–1850s . The text on the flag can be translated as: "Justice, Brotherhood". Opposition to Ghica's arbitrary and highly
conservative rule, together with the rise of
liberal and
radical currents, was first felt with the protests voiced by Ion Câmpineanu (quickly repressed); subsequently, it became increasingly
conspiratorial, and centered on those
secret societies created by young officers such as
Nicolae Bălcescu and
Mitică Filipescu.
Frăția, a clandestine movement created in 1843, began planning a revolution to overthrow Bibescu and repeal
Regulamentul Organic in 1848 (inspired by the
European rebellions of the same year). Their pan-Wallachian ''
coup d'état was initially successful only near Turnu Măgurele, where crowds cheered the Islaz Proclamation (9 June); among others, the document called for political freedoms, independence, land reform, and the creation of a national guard. On 11–12 June the movement was successful in deposing Bibescu and establishing a Provisional Government, which made Dreptate, Frăție'' ("Justice, Brotherhood") the
national motto. Although sympathetic to the anti-Russian goals of the revolution, the Ottomans were pressured by Russia into repressing it: Ottoman troops entered Bucharest on 13 September. '' in 1857 After an intense campaign, a formal union was ultimately granted: nevertheless, elections for the
Ad hoc Divans of 1859 profited from a legal ambiguity (the text of the final agreement specified two thrones, but did not prevent any single person from simultaneously taking part in and winning elections in both Bucharest and
Iași).
Alexander John Cuza, who ran for the unionist
Partida Națională, won the elections in Moldavia on 5 January; Wallachia, which was expected by the unionists to carry the same vote, returned a majority of anti-unionists to its
divan. Those elected changed their allegiance after a mass protest of Bucharest crowds, and Cuza was voted prince of Wallachia on 5 February (24 January
Old Style), consequently confirmed as
Domnitor of the
United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (
of Romania from 1862) and
effectively uniting both principalities. Internationally recognized only for the duration of his reign, the union was irreversible after the ascension of
Carol I in 1866 (coinciding with the
Austro-Prussian War, it came at a time when Austria, the main opponent of the decision, was not in a position to intervene). ==Society==