Kingdom of Romania

History

Descendants of Dacia and Trajan's Rome

Romanian national tradition traces the people's origins to the fusion of the ancient Dacians under King Decebalus and the Roman legions of Emperor Trajan—giving Romania its name, 'Land of the Romans.' According to legend, the capital Bucharest was founded by a shepherd named Bucur, whose flute playing brought joy (bucurie) to the plains along the Dâmbovița River. Following the union of Wallachia and Moldavia in 1859 and independence from the Ottoman Empire, Carol I was crowned King of Romania in 1881.

Greater Romania and the Ploiești Oil Fields

After fighting on the Allied side in World War I, the kingdom united with Transylvania, Bessarabia, and Bukovina to form 'Greater Romania.' Its vast oil reserves around Ploiești made Romania the largest petroleum producer in Europe outside the Soviet Union - The world's first socialist federal state (1922–1991), which bore the brunt of the land war against Nazi Germany and emerged as a Cold War superpower., turning the country into a critical strategic prize in the age of mechanized warfare.

World War II: From Axis Campaign to Allied Turn

Forced in 1940 to cede Bessarabia to the Soviet Union and Northern Transylvania to Hungary, Romania under Prime Minister Ion Antonescu joined the Axis powers alongside Nazi Germany - The totalitarian German state ruled by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party from 1933 to 1945, which initiated World War II in Europe. in 1941 to recover its eastern territories. Romania fielded the largest Axis contingent after Germany on the Eastern Front, suffering heavy losses at Stalingrad. In August 1944, young King Michael I led a royal coup that overthrew Antonescu and switched Romania to the Allied side, depriving Germany of vital oil supplies and accelerating the collapse of the Axis front in Southeastern Europe.