Wallachia is the "original" home region
of Romania.
Stretching from the jagged peaks of the Carpathian mountains across the
wide alluvial plains down to the Danube River, Wallachia is Romanian "home
territory" since it's incept in the late 1200s.
Alexandru Ioan Cuza
United Wallachia with Moldova, 1859
Wallachia: The "Real" Romania!
The historical and notional region known as Wallachia is given the nostalgic term
"Ţara Românească" (Romanian Country, more like
"Heartland" in this sense)and includes Muntenia,
Dobrogea, most of Oltenia , and parts of Moldova. The terms "Vlahia"
or "Valahia" are also used by Romanian historians.
Wallachia since the middle ages has been inhabited by the people who
became today's modern Romanians, termed "Vlachs" by their Slavic and Saxon
neighbours.
About 80% of this traditional Romanian region which at least those
living there consider to be the "real" Romanian territory, is still within
Romania's national borders. Wallachia today is represented by an
eagle in Romania's coat of arms.
The Wallachian people generally were bounded by the Carpathian
mountains in the north and inhabited mainly the great sweep of alluvial
plains going from the mountains down to the Danube.
What's in a Name?
The name Wallachia is derived from Valachs a german word for Romanians
who was taken by the Slavs and used as Vlach. For long periods before the
14th century, Wallachia was referred to as 'Vlashko' by Bulgarian sources
(and 'Vlashka' by Serbian sources).
The traditional Hungarian name for Wallachia is Havasalföld, or
literally 'Snowy Lowlands'. The name Ungrovlahia, "Hungarian Wallachia",
denotes the neighbourhood position towards the Hungarian Kingdom, meaning
Wallachia near Hungarian Kingdom. In Turkish, Eflak, a word derived from "Vlach"
is used. As noted above, Vlahia or Valahia are also used by Romanian
historians.
Below: The Olt River cut through the
southern Carpathian Mountains, allowing early access from Wallachia
to form outposts in Transilvania at Răşinari
and then Sibiu.
This website is a
general tourist guide, designed to help English-speaking tourists
understand Romania, and as such, provides historical
information for the interest of our traveller readers. History
can be a contentious issue, and we welcome input where readers think
clarification or correction is advisable. Please
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if you have questions or comments about anything in this history
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Wallachia from the
1300s to the
1800s
The Land of the Vlachs become Wallachia
The incept of Romanian princes in the mid 1200s is
marked by Litovoi, who in 1272 ruled over land in the southern
Carpathians, including land as far north as the Olt River Valley on
the northern side of the mountain chain.
With the Hungarian crown greatly weakened by
repeated invasions by the Huns in the late 1200s, the new Wallachian
principality was given some breathing room.
Early Wallachia 1310 - 1396
The event which is considered the real start of the Romanian state
happened when Basarab I (1310-1352) united the various Vlach princes
on either side of the Olt River running from the north in Transilvania
down to the Danube.
With their capitol in the high foothills at Câmpulung, the new
Wallachian state quickly combined with those of the Banat of Severin,
Făgăraş, southern Moldavia, the Danube Delta, and the lands between
the Prut and Dniester which were to be later known as Basarabia
(counties of Cahul, Ismail and Cetatae Albă).
For the next half century the Hungarian king repeatedly tried to
regain control of the Romanian lands and force suzerainty (control
over) the new Romanian princes.
Wallachia Under Siege
In the second half of the 14th century, a new threat appeared - the
Ottoman Empire. After having first gained a foothold in Europe in
1354, the Ottoman Turks defeated the weakened Bulgarian states of
Tarnovo, Vidin and the principality of Dobrogea, and in 1396 reached
the south bank of the Danube.
The whole Balkan Peninsula south of the Danube would soon become
integral Turkish territory, a process which was concluded with the
fall of Constantinople to Sultan Mehmed II in 1453.
For approximately 150 years, Wallachia withstood numerous Turkish
attacks. Alone or allied with the neighboring Christian countries,
successful voivodes like Mircea the Elder (1386-1418) and Vlad Tepes
(1456-1462) fought many defensive battles against the Ottomans,
preventing them from expanding into Central Europe.
Below: Wallachia (shown as "Valaquie") on
this French Map from the 1700s
See the Full Map Here
Ottoman Wallachia 1535 - 1821
From the late 1300s to the early 1600s, Wallachia was dominated by
the expanding Turkish empire.
Wallachia had to accept the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire for
more than three centuries, though there were a few attempts to regain
independence: in particular Michael the Brave who in 1600 managed to
unite for a short period of time the three principalities of
Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania.
The Wallachian Golden Eagle of the Romanian Coat of
Arms
Click on Coat of Arms for Full-Sized Version
During the Ottoman rule, members of the ruling classes in Wallachia
were appointed to rule in an always uneasy power balance. The
conflicts of the boyars and powerful families of Wallachia with their
kings led to the eventual surrender to the Turks.
United with Moldova 1712
By the early 1700s, the rule from Constantinopole was enforced by
Greek transplants such as Nicolae Mavrocordat (Nicholas Mavrocordato
in Greek), who was the first ruler in 1712 to jointly rule both
Wallachia and Moldova, followed in 1730 by his son, who ruled until
1769.
In 1718, the Treaty of Passarowitz gave the Banat and Oltenia to
the Habsburg Empire which lasted until the Russian-Austrian-Turkish
war which returned Oltenia to Wallachia in 1739.
The rule of the Greek officials ended only after the uprising of
1821 of
Tudor Vladimirescu.
A Nearly Free Wallachia, 1821 - 1859
For almost 40 years from 1821 to 1859, Wallachia operated mostly
autonomously, albeit with a Russian Occupation period from 1828 to
1934 under Pavel Kiseleff under an agreement after the Turko-Russian
war of 1828.
Grigore IV Ghica
r. 1822 - 1828
Grigore IV Ghica ruled from 1822 through the arrival of the
Russians, when in 1831 an act resembling a constitution was adopted.
Succession after the end of the Russian Occupation was again in the
Ghica family, this time under Grigore's younger brother, Alexandru II
Ghica, who ruled 8 years from 1834 through to 1842.
Unification with Moldova, 1859
In 1859, Wallachia voted to unite with Moldova to form the state of
Romania, under the rule of Alexandru Ioan Cuza/Alexander John Cuza.
Although the name Wallachia as a principality was important between
the early 1300s and the late 1800s, it's use as an administrative
region waned as Romania became a nation.
Today, the two main parts of old Wallachia, Muntenia and Oltenia
have more currency in common parlance.
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Wallachia was situated north of the Danube and south of the
Carpathian Mountains. It's modern borders are generally
identical to modern Oltenia and Muntenia.
Its neighbours were Bulgaria, after that the Ottoman Empire to
the south, Transylvania to the north-west and Moldavia to the
north-east. The capital city changed over time, from Curtea
de Argeş to Târgovişte and finally Bucharest.
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