Romania, located in southeast Europe, has an area of 91,699 sq. mi. (237,500 sq. km.) and a population of 22.5 million. Capital: Bucharest. Machinery, foodstuffs, raw minerals and petroleum products are exported. The area of Romania, generally referred to as Dacia, was inhabited by Dacians or Getae, a people of Thracian stock. The kingdom of Dacia existed as early as 200 B.C. After military campaigns in 105-106 A.D. the Roman Emperor Trajan conquered Dacia and converted it into a Roman province. During the third century A.D., raids by the Goths became such a menace that the Roman legions were withdrawn across the Danube in 271 A.D. Successive waves of invaders, including the Goths, Huns, Gepidae, Avars and Slavs, made the country a battleground although the Romanized population preserved a Latin speech and identity. Through gradual assimilation of the Slavonic tribes, these people developed into a distinct ethnic group called Wallachians (Valachs or Vlachs). ,With defeat in 1526, Hungary came under Turkish rule. Transylvania became a separate principality under the protection of the Sultan (1541).,, ,At the close of the sixteenth century, the three principalities were united (Transylvania in 1599 and Moldavia in 1600) by Prince Mihai Viteazul of Wallachia, who made continual war on the Turks in an attempt to gain and maintain independence. The Ottomans restored their control of the principalities after Michael?s death. The last Turkish vassal was eliminated in 1699 and Austria obtained the possession of Transylvania by the Treaty of Karlowitz. Under Hapsburg?s administration, the region was made into a grand principality in 1765.,, ,Because of the decline of Turkish power during the eighteenth century, the Austrians and later Russian influence became preeminent in the area.,, ,After 1821 Romanian rulers were reestablished. The principalities, although remaining under Sultan control, were more autonomous. In 1829, the Turkish monopoly of commerce was abolished. Important institutional reforms were adopted.,, ,The results of the European insurrectionist movements of 1848 saw the Moldovaian and Wallachian provisional revolutionary governments put down by Russo-Turkish military intervention. In 1867, Transylvania was incorporated under Hungarian administration. The question of the union of Wallachia and Moldavia was resolved in 1859. The two assemblies elected a single prince, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, establishing the fruition of Romania. Prince Cuza was deposed in 1866. A provisional government then elected Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who as Carol I was vested as hereditary prince. A rapid modernization of the country was perceived. Romania was successful in a war against Turkey (1877-78) and proclaimed itself to be independent. The Congress of Berlin (1878) recognized this fact. In 1881, Carol I became king. In 1888, Romania became a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature.,, ,A new constitution was adopted in 1923. During this time the government struggled with domestic problems, agrarian reform and economic reconstruction.,, ,The government was recognized along Fascist lines between September 14, 1940 ? January 23, 1941. A military dictatorship followed. Marshal Ion Antonescu installed himself as chief of state. When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, Romania also became involved in recovering the regions of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina annexed by Stalin in 1940.,, ,On August 23, 1977, King Mahai I proclaimed an armistice with the Allied Forces. The Romanian army drove out the Germans and Hungarians in northern Transylvania, but the country was subsequently occupied by the Soviet army. That monarchy was abolished on December 30, 1947, and Romania became a ?People?s Republic? based on the Soviet regime. With the accession of N. Ceausescu to power, Romania began to exercise a considerable degree of independence, refusing to participate in the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. In 1965, it was proclaimed a ?Socialist Republic.? After 1977, an oppressed and impoverished domestic scene worsened. ,On December 17, 1989, an anti-Communist revolt began in Timisoara. On December 22, 1989 the Communist government was overthrown by organized freedom fighters in Bucharest. Ceausescu and his wife were arrested and later executed. The new government has established a republic. Rulers:, ,Carol I (as Prince), 1866-81 (as King) 1881-1914 ,Ferdinand I, 1914-1927 ,Mihai I, 1927-1930 ,Carol II, 1930-1940 ,Mihai II, 1940-1947 Monetary System:, ,1 Leu = 100 Bani