Romania
History
Prehistory
Some 42,000-year-old human remains were discovered in the “Cave With Bones”, and being Europe’s oldest remains of Homo sapiens, they may represent the first modern humans to have entered the continent.[23]
Among the oldest traces of human existence and activity found in Romania include those dating from the Paleolithic. These remains were found at Bugiuleşti (Vâlcea County), Ohaba-Ponor (Hunedoara County) or Valea Dârjovului (Olt County), belonging to some of the more distant human ancestors (Homo habilis and Homo sapiens). According to studies of historical anthropology, these hominids used carved stone tools, were gatherers, fishermen and hunters, lived organized in bands and were sheltered in caves and hollows.
The first manifestations of prehistoric art on current Romanian territory are the cave drawings from Lăpuş (Maramureş County) and Cuciulat (Sălaj County). Statues, such as those from Baia (Tulcea County) for example, are representations of male and female deities, expressions of the cult of fecundity predominantly in the Stone Age.
Antiquity
The earliest written evidence of people living in the territory of the present-day Romania, the Geto-Dacians, comes from Herodotus, in his 440 BCE book IV of his Histories.[24] Dacians, considered a part of the Getae tribes mentioned by Herodotus, were a branch of Thracians who inhabited Dacia (corresponding mostly to present-day Romania). He describes the Getae as “the most brave and honest amongst all Thracians”. The Dacian kingdom reached its peak between 82–44 BC during the reign of Burebista.
Over the next century, relations between the Dacian tribes and Rome were relatively peaceful, however the ascent to the throne of Rome of emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus (81 AD) damaged relations between the Roman Empire and Dacia. He led military campaigns in the region between 87–88 AD at Tapae. Roman incursions continued in 101–102 and 105–106 under Trajan, who successfully defeated Dacia and annexed it to the vast Roman Empire. The Dacian population subsequently underwent ethno-linguistic Romanization and Dacia itself became an imperial province.
Due to Dacia’s rich ore deposits (especially gold and silver),[25] Rome brought colonists from all over the empire.[26] This brought Vulgar Latin and started a period of intense romanization that would give birth to the Proto-Romanian language.[27][28] During the 3rd century AD, with the invasions of migratory populations, the Roman Empire was forced to pull out of Dacia around 271 AD, making it the first province to be abandoned.[29][30]
After the Roman army and administrati left Dacia, the territory was invaded by various migratory populations including Goths,[31] Huns,[32] Gepids,[33] Avars,[34] Bulgars,[33] Pechenegs,[35] and Cumans.[36] Several competing theories have been generated to explain the origin of modern Romanians. Linguistic and geo-historical analysis tend to indicate that Romanians have coalesced as a major ethnic group both South and North of the Danube in the regions previously colonized by Romans.[37]
Middle Ages
Gesta Hungarorum, also known as the Chronicle of Anonymus, mentioned the existence of three voivodeships in Transylvania in the 9th century: the Voivodeship of Gelou, the Voivodeship of Glad (originally from Vidin, then inhabited by Proto-Romanians[citation needed]) and the Voivodeship of Menumorut. The anonymous author describes the first as Vlach.[38] Another voivodeship, ruled by Gyula, was mentioned in the 11th century. It was mentioned as being large and prosperous (“Jatissimum et opulentisimum”).[citation needed] It is known to have included the strongholds of Dăbâca, MoreÈ™ti (on the MureÈ™ River), Moigrad and Bălgrad (near Alba Iulia). Gyula was described as being an Orthodox Christian, therefore he was very probably either Romanian or Slav. A 1176 Slavonic inscription attests the existence of a župan Dimitri that ruled over Dobrogea in 943. In the Alexiad, Byzantine princess Anna Komnene mentioned the political entities led by Sesthlav, Satza and Tatos, all in Southern Dobrogea, in 1086.[39]
In the Middle Ages, Romanians lived in three distinct principalities: Wallachia (Romanian: Èšara Românească – “Romanian Land”), Moldavia (Romanian: Moldova) and Transylvania (Romanian: Transilvania). By the 11th century, Transylvania became a largely autonomous part of the Kingdom of Hungary,[40] and became independent as the Principality of Transylvania from the 16th century,[41] until 1711.[42] In Wallachia and Moldavia many small local states with varying degrees of independence developed, but only in the 14th century did the larger principalities of Wallachia (1310) and Moldavia (around 1352) emerge to fight the threat of the Ottoman Empire. Both territories inhabited by Romanians have achieved the independence from the Hungarian Crown after military conflicts (Battle of Posada, 1330) or social conflicts (Moldavian boyars revolt against Hungary, 1364), these historical events being initiated by Basarab I of Wallachia (1310–1352) and Bogdan I of Moldavia (1359–1365).[43][44]
By 1541, the entire Balkan peninsula and most of Hungary became Ottoman provinces. Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania were under Ottoman suzerainty, preserving partial-full internal autonomy until middle of the 19th century (Transylvania to 1699). During this period the Romanian lands were characterised by the slow disappearance of the feudal system. A few rulers of present-day Romanian territories distinguished themselves: these rulers include Stephen the Great, Vasile Lupu, and Dimitrie Cantemir in Moldavia; Matei Basarab, Vlad III the Impaler, and Constantin Brâncoveanu in Wallachia; and John Hunyadi (Ioannes Corvinus) and Gabriel Bethlen in Transylvania.
In 1600, the principalities of Wallachia, Moldova and Transylvania were simultaneously headed by the Wallachian prince Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul), Ban of Oltenia, but the chance for a unity dissolved after Mihai was killed, only one year later, by the soldiers of Austrian army general Giorgio Basta. After his death, as vassal tributary states, Moldova and Wallachia had complete internal autonomy and external independence, which was finally lost in the 18th century. In 1699, Transylvania became a territory of the Habsburgs’ Austrian empire following the Austrian victory over the Turks in the Great Turkish War. The Habsburgs in turn expanded their empire in 1718 to include an important part of Wallachia, called Oltenia (which was only returned in 1739) and in 1775 over the north-western part of Moldavia, later called Bukovina. The eastern half of the Moldavian principality (called Bessarabia) was occupied in 1812 by Russia.[45]
Geography
With a surface area of 238,391 square kilometres (92,043 sq mi), Romania is the largest country in southeastern Europe and the twelfth-largest in Europe.[108] It lies between latitudes 43° and 49° N, and longitudes 20° and 30° E.
Romania’s terrain is distributed roughly equally between mountainous, hilly and lowland territories. The Carpathian Mountains dominate the centre of Romania, with 14 mountain ranges reaching above 2,000Â m/6,600Â ft, and the highest point at Moldoveanu Peak (2,544Â m/8,346Â ft).[108] These are surrounded by the Moldavian and Transylvanian plateaus and Pannonian and Wallachian plains. Romania’s geographical diversity has led to an accompanying diversity of flora and fauna.[108]
A large part of Romania’s border with Serbia and Bulgaria is formed by the Danube. The Prut River, one of its major tributaries, forms the border with the Republic of Moldova.[108] The Danube flows into the Black Sea within Romania’s territory forming the Danube Delta, the second largest and best preserved delta in Europe, and also a biosphere reserve and a biodiversity World Heritage Site.[109] Other major rivers are the Siret (596Â km), the Olt (614Â km), the Prut (742Â km), the SomeÅŸ (388Â km), and the MureÅŸ (761Â km).[108]
Lakes and lake complexes have a low share throughout Romania, occupying only 1.1% of total land area. The largest lake complex in size is Razelm-Sinoe (731 km²), located on the Black Sea seaside. Glacial lakes exist in the Făgăraş Mountains, a result of quaternary glaciation, of which the largest are: Lake Avrig (14,700 m²), Bâlea Lake (46,500 m²), Capra Lake (18,000 m²), etc. Other notable lakes are Lake Sfânta Ana, the only volcanic lake in Romania, and Red Lake, a natural dam lake, both situated in Harghita County.[110]
Climate
Owing to its distance from the open sea and position on the southeastern portion of the European continent, Romania has a climate that is transitional between temperate and continental, with four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is 11 °C (52 °F) in the south and 8 °C (46 °F) in the north.[111] The extreme recorded temperatures were 44.5 °C (112.1 °F) at Ion Sion in 1951 and −38.5 °C (−37.3 °F) at Bod in 1942.[112]
Spring is pleasant with cool mornings and nights and warm days. Summers are generally very warm to hot, with summer (June to August) average maximum temperatures in Bucharest rising to 28 °C (82 °F), and temperatures over 35 °C (95 °F) fairly common in the lower-lying areas of the country. Minima in Bucharest and other lower-lying areas are around 16 °C (61 °F). Autumn is dry and cool, with fields and trees producing colorful foliage. Winters can be cold, with average maxima even in lower-lying areas reaching no more than 2 °C (36 °F) and below −15 °C (5 °F) in the highest mountains.[113] Precipitation is average with over 750 mm (30 in) per year only on the highest western mountains—much of it falling as snow, which allows for an extensive skiing industry. In the south-central parts of the country (around Bucharest) the level of precipitation drops to around 600 mm (24 in),[114] while in the Danube Delta, rainfall levels are very low, and average only around 370 mm.
Because of Romania’s geographic location, respectively the regional orographic peculiarities, there exists a varied range of local winds. Humid winds from the northwest are most common, but often the drier winds from the northeast are strongest. A hot southwesterly wind, the austru (cf. lat. Auster), blows over western Romania, particularly in summer. In winter, cold and dense air masses encircle the eastern portions of the country, with the cold northeasterly known as the crivăţ blowing in from the Russian Plain, and oceanic air masses from the Azores, in the west, bring rain and mitigate the severity of the cold. Other wind types present locally are nemirul, black wind, foehn, băltăreÅ£ul, zephyr, cosava etc. Romania enjoys four seasons, though there is a rapid transition from winter to summer. Autumn is frequently longer, with dry warm weather from September to late November.[115]
Economy
With a GDP of around $254Â billion and a GDP per capita (PPP) of $11,860[152] for the year 2010, Romania is an upper-middle income country economy[153] and has been part of the European Union since 1 January 2007.
After the Communist regime was overthrown in late 1989, the country experienced a decade of economic instability and decline, led in part by an obsolete industrial base and a lack of structural reform. From 2000 onwards, however, the Romanian economy was transformed into one of relative macroeconomic stability, characterised by high growth, low unemployment and declining inflation. In 2006, according to the Romanian Statistics Office, GDP growth in real terms was recorded at 7.7%, one of the highest rates in Europe.[154] Growth dampened to 6.1% in 2007,[155] but was expected to exceed 8% in 2008 because of a high production forecast in agriculture (30–50% higher than in 2007). The GDP grew by 8.9% in the first nine months of 2008, but growth fell to 2.9% in the fourth quarter and stood at 7.1% for the whole 2008 because of the financial crisis.[156] Thereafter, the country fell into a recession in 2009 and 2010, where the GDP contracted −7.1% and −1.3% respectively. It is estimated by the IMF that the GDP will grow again by 1.5% in 2011 and 4.4% in 2012.[152]
According to Eurostat data, the Romanian PPS GDP per capita stood at 45% of the EU average in 2010.[157] Inflation in 2010 was 6.1%.[152] Unemployment in Romania was at 7.6% in 2010,[152] which is very low compared to other middle-sized or large European countries such as Poland, France and Spain. General government gross debt is also comparatively low, at 34.8% of GDP.[158] Exports have increased substantially in the past few years, with a 13% annual rise in exports in 2010. Romania’s main exports are cars, software, clothing and textiles, industrial machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, metallurgic products, raw materials, military equipment, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, and flowers). Trade is mostly centred on the member states of the European Union, with Germany and Italy being the country’s single largest trading partners. The current account balance in 2010 held a deficit of $6.842 billion.[152]
After a series of privatisations and reforms in the late 1990s and early 2000s, government intervention in the Romanian economy is somewhat lower than in other European economies.[159] In 2005, the government replaced Romania’s progressive tax system with a flat tax of 16% for both personal income and corporate profit, resulting in the country having the lowest fiscal burden in the European Union,[160] a factor which has contributed to the growth of the private sector. The economy is predominantly based on services, which account for 51.2% of GDP, even though industry and agriculture also have significant contributions, making up 36% and 12.8% of GDP, respectively. Additionally, 29.6% of the Romanian population was employed in 2006 in agriculture and primary production, one of the highest rates in Europe.[158]
Since 2000, Romania has attracted increasing amounts of foreign investment, becoming the single largest investment destination in Southeastern and Central Europe. Foreign direct investment was valued at €8.3 billion in 2006.[161] According to a 2006 World Bank report, Romania currently ranks 55th out of 175 economies in the ease of doing business, scoring higher than other countries in the region such as the Czech Republic.[162] Additionally, the same study judged it to be the world’s second-fastest economic reformer (after Georgia) in 2006.[163]
The average gross wage per month in Romania was 1855 lei in May 2009,[164] equating to €442.48 (US$627.70) based on international exchange rates, and $1110.31 based on purchasing power parity.[165] In 2009 the Romanian economy contracted as a result of the global economic downturn. Gross domestic product contracted 7.2% in the fourth quarter of 2009 from the same period a year earlier,[166] and the budget deficit for 2009 reached 7.2% of GDP.[167] Industrial output growth however reached 6.9% year-on-year in December 2009, the highest in the EU-27.
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June 08 2011 12:29 am | Europe