Eastern Europe · ROU

Romania

The story · 13 chapters

How it was drawn

Dacians conquered by Rome, then Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania, fought over for centuries by Hungary, the Ottomans, the Habsburgs and Russia, united step by step between 1859 and 1918.

Play the story Take the first lesson

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Romania fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Roman Empire85 to 106
Dacian raids across the Danube brought war with Rome under Domitian and then Trajan. After two campaigns, in 101 to 102 and 105 to 106, Trajan took the capital Sarmizegetusa and King Decebalus took his own life.
Kingdom of Hungary1330 to 1526
Hungarian kings claimed overlordship of the lands beyond the Carpathians. Basarab I of Wallachia ambushed King Charles I's army at Posada in 1330, and Bogdan of Moldavia broke away around 1359. Transylvania stayed Hungarian until the Ottoman victory at Mohacs in 1526.
Ottoman Empire1390 to 1878
Five centuries of war and vassalage: Mircea the Elder at Rovine, Vlad III's night attack in 1462, Stephen the Great's victory at Vaslui in 1475 and Michael the Brave's revolt of 1594. Romania won full independence fighting beside Russia in 1877 and 1878.
Habsburg Monarchy and Austria-Hungary1699 to 1918
Austria took Transylvania from the Ottomans by 1699 and Bukovina in 1775, ruling many Romanians who had few political rights. In 1916 Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary to win Transylvania, and gained it, with Bukovina, when the empire collapsed in 1918.
Russian Empire1812 to 1918
Russia occupied the principalities in several wars against the Ottomans, annexed Bessarabia in 1812 and took back its southern part in 1878, even though Romania had fought on its side. Bessarabia voted to join Romania in 1918, during the Russian civil war.
Kingdom of Bulgaria1913 to 1940
Romania took Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War of 1913. Bulgaria won it back during the First World War, lost it again in 1919, and regained it for good by the Treaty of Craiova in 1940.
Kingdom of Hungary1919 to 1944
Hungary never accepted the loss of Transylvania. Romanian troops fought the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919 and occupied Budapest. In 1940 the Second Vienna Award gave northern Transylvania to Hungary until Romanian and Soviet troops took it back in 1944.
Soviet Union1940 to 1989
The Soviet Union seized Bessarabia and northern Bukovina in June 1940. Romania fought it from 1941 to 1944, then was occupied by the Red Army, which helped impose a communist regime. Soviet troops left in 1958, and Romania later followed a more independent line.
Ukraine1991 to 2009
After the Soviet breakup, Romania and Ukraine disagreed over their sea boundary around Snake Island in the Black Sea, an area thought to hold oil and gas. The International Court of Justice drew the line in 2009, giving Romania most of the disputed waters.

Today

Romania now

The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia -- for centuries under the control of the Turkish Ottoman Empire -- secured their autonomy through the Treaty of Paris in 1856. They were de facto linked in 1859 and formally united in 1862 under the new name of Romania. The country joined the Allied Powers in World War I and subsequently acquired new territories -- most notably Transylvania -- that more than doubled its size.

Capital: Bucharest
Government: semi-presidential republic
Head of government: Luca Niculescu
Head of state: Nicușor Dan
Languages: Romanian
Area: 238,397 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population19.1 million2023 · 16.4 million in 1950
Life expectancy75.9 years2023 · 60.5 years in 1950
GDP per person$26,1972022 · $1,883 in 1950
Living in cities52%2025 · 25% in 1950
Literacy99%2021 · 78% in 1950
Political regimeElectoral democracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNATO2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending2.3% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
France
Germany
Poland

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Romania fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Roman Empire85 to 106

Dacian raids across the Danube brought war with Rome under Domitian and then Trajan. After two campaigns, in 101 to 102 and 105 to 106, Trajan took the capital Sarmizegetusa and King Decebalus took his own life.

Kingdom of Hungary1330 to 1526

Hungarian kings claimed overlordship of the lands beyond the Carpathians. Basarab I of Wallachia ambushed King Charles I's army at Posada in 1330, and Bogdan of Moldavia broke away around 1359. Transylvania stayed Hungarian until the Ottoman victory at Mohacs in 1526.

Ottoman Empire1390 to 1878

Five centuries of war and vassalage: Mircea the Elder at Rovine, Vlad III's night attack in 1462, Stephen the Great's victory at Vaslui in 1475 and Michael the Brave's revolt of 1594. Romania won full independence fighting beside Russia in 1877 and 1878.

Habsburg Monarchy and Austria-Hungary1699 to 1918

Austria took Transylvania from the Ottomans by 1699 and Bukovina in 1775, ruling many Romanians who had few political rights. In 1916 Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary to win Transylvania, and gained it, with Bukovina, when the empire collapsed in 1918.

Russian Empire1812 to 1918

Russia occupied the principalities in several wars against the Ottomans, annexed Bessarabia in 1812 and took back its southern part in 1878, even though Romania had fought on its side. Bessarabia voted to join Romania in 1918, during the Russian civil war.

Kingdom of Bulgaria1913 to 1940

Romania took Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War of 1913. Bulgaria won it back during the First World War, lost it again in 1919, and regained it for good by the Treaty of Craiova in 1940.

Kingdom of Hungary1919 to 1944

Hungary never accepted the loss of Transylvania. Romanian troops fought the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919 and occupied Budapest. In 1940 the Second Vienna Award gave northern Transylvania to Hungary until Romanian and Soviet troops took it back in 1944.

Soviet Union1940 to 1989

The Soviet Union seized Bessarabia and northern Bukovina in June 1940. Romania fought it from 1941 to 1944, then was occupied by the Red Army, which helped impose a communist regime. Soviet troops left in 1958, and Romania later followed a more independent line.

Ukraine1991 to 2009

After the Soviet breakup, Romania and Ukraine disagreed over their sea boundary around Snake Island in the Black Sea, an area thought to hold oil and gas. The International Court of Justice drew the line in 2009, giving Romania most of the disputed waters.

Romania now

Capital

Bucharest

Government

semi-presidential republic

Head of government

Luca Niculescu

Head of state

Nicușor Dan

Languages

Romanian

Area

238,397 km²

Then and now

Population19.1 million2023 · 16.4 million in 1950

Life expectancy75.9 years2023 · 60.5 years in 1950

GDP per person$26,1972022 · $1,883 in 1950

Living in cities52%2025 · 25% in 1950

Literacy99%2021 · 78% in 1950

Political regimeElectoral democracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNATO2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending2.3% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025