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Romania Defense of Romanian Lands in Ancient Times and the Middle Ages
As early as 500 B.C., the Persians, Macedonians, and
Romans
threatened the Getae and Dacians, the two tribes from
which modern
Romanians descended
(see
Early History, from Prehistory to the Eleventh Century
, ch. 1). The Roman legions of Emperor
Trajan
(A.D. 98--117) conquered much of the region in the early
years of
the second century and occupied it for almost two
centuries.
During the Middle Ages, the forebears of today's
Romanians
depended on the protection of a local military leader
(
voivode--see Glossary),
who defended them in
exchange for
their allegiance and tribute. In times of danger, the free
peasantry provided soldiers for local voivodes to
command.
The principalities of Moldavia and Walachia staved off the
depredations of nomadic barbarians and avoided absorption
by more
powerful neighbors, but the Kingdom of Hungary and
Hungarian
noblemen ruled over the peasant descendants of the ancient
GetoDacians in Transylvania and the Banat. All peoples of
southeastern
Europe, including the early Romanians, were soon subjected
to
several centuries of domination by an external power.
Data as of July 1989
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