Etymology of Romania

The name of Romania (România) comes from Român (Romanian) which is a derivative of the word Romanus ("Roman") from Latin. The fact that Romanians call themselves a derivative of Romanus (Romanian: Român/Rumân) is mentioned as early as the 16th century by many authors among whom were Italian Humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia. The oldest surviving document written in the Romanian language is a 1521 letter (known as "Neacşu's Letter from Câmpulung") which notifies the mayor of Braşov about the imminent attack of the Ottoman Turks. This document is also notable for having the first occurrence of "Rumanian" in a Romanian written text, Wallachia being here named The Rumanian Land - Ţeara Rumânească (Ţeara < terra =" land).">

History of Romania

In 513 BC, south of the Danube, the tribal confederation of the Getae were defeated by the Persian Emperor Darius the Great during his campaign against the Scythians (Herodotus IV). Over half a millennium later, the Getae (also named Daci by Romans) were defeated by the Roman Empire under Emperor Trajan in two campaigns stretching from 101 AD to 106 AD, and the core of their kingdom was turned into the Roman province of Dacia. The Gothic and Carpic campaigns in the Balkans during 238–269 AD(from the beginning of the period of military anarchy to the battle of Naissus), forced the Roman Empire to reorganize a new Roman province of Dacia south of the Danube, inside former Moesia Superior.

The medieval city of Sighisoara

In either 271 or 275 the Roman army and administration left Dacia, which was invaded by the Goths. The Goths lived with the local people until the 4th century, when another nomadic people, the Huns, arrived. The Gepids and the Avars ruled Transylvania until the 8th century, after which the Bulgarians included the territory of modern Romania in their Empire until 1018. Transylvania was part of the Kingdom of Hungary from the 10-11th century until the 16th century, when the independent Principality of Transylvania was formed. The Pechenegs, the Cumans and Uzes were also mentioned by historic chronicles on the territory of Romania, until the founding of the Romanian principalities of Wallachia by Basarab I, and Moldavia by Dragoş during the 13th and 14th centuries respectively. Several competing theories have been generated to explain the origin of modern Romanians. Linguistic and geo-historical analyses tend to indicate that Romanians have coallesced as a major ethnic group both South and North of the Danube.

In the Middle Ages, Romanians lived in two distinct independent Romanian principalities: Wallachia (Romanian: Ţara Românească - "Romanian Land"), Moldavia (Romanian: Moldova) as well as in the Hungarian-ruled principality of Transylvania.

In 1475, Stephen the Great of Moldavia scored a temporary victory over the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui. However, Wallachia and Moldavia would come gradually under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire during the 15th and 16th centuries (1476 for Wallachia, 1514 for Moldavia). As vassal tributary states they had complete internal autonomy and an external independence which was finally lost in the 18th century. One of the greatest Hungarian kings, Matthias Corvinus (known in Romanian as Matei Corvin), who reigned from 1458-1490, was born in Transylvania. He is claimed by the Romanians because of his Romanian father, Iancu de Hunedoara (Hunyadi János in Hungarian), and by the Hungarians because of his Hungarian mother. Later, in 1541, Transylvania became a multi-ethnic principality under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire following the Battle of Mohács. Michael the Brave (Romanian: Mihai Viteazul) (1558-9 August 1601) was the Prince of Wallachia (1593-1601), of Transylvania (1599-1600), and of Moldavia (1600). During his reign the three principalities largely inhabited by Romanians were for the first time united under a single rule.

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Politics of Romania

The Palace of the Parliament, the seat of the Romania's bicameral parliament

Romania is a semi-presidential democratic republic where executive functions are shared between the president and the prime minister. The president is elected by popular vote, and resides at Cotroceni Palace. Since the constitutional amendment of 2003, the president's term is five years (previously it was four). The Romanian Government, which is based at Victoria Palace, is headed by a prime minister, who appoints the other members of his or her cabinet and who is nearly always the head of the party or coalition that holds a majority in the parliament. If, however, none of the parties hold 50% + 1 of the total seats in parliament, the president will appoint the prime minister. Before beginning its term, the government is subject to a parliamentary vote of approval.

The legislative branch of the government, collectively known as the Parliament (Parlamentul României), consists of two chambers – the Senate (Senat), which has 137 members, and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputaţilor), which has 332 members. The members of both chambers are elected every four years under a system of party-list proportional representation.

The justice system is independent of the other branches of government, and is made up of a hierarchical system of courts culminating in the High Court of Cassation and Justice, which is the supreme court of Romania. There are also courts of appeal, county courts and local courts. The Romanian judicial system is strongly influenced by the French model, considering that it is based on civil law and is inquisitorial in nature. The Constitutional Court (Curtea Constituţională) is responsible for judging the compliance of laws and other state regulations to the Romanian Constitution, which is the fundamental law of the country. The constitution, which was introduced in 1991, can only be amended by a public referendum; the last amendment was in 2003. The Romanian Constitutional Court structure is based on the Constitutional Council of France, being made up of nine judges who serve nine-year, non-renewable terms. Following the 2003 constitutional amendment, the court's decisions cannot be overruled by any majority of the parliament.

The country's entry into the European Union in 2007 has been a significant influence on its domestic policy. As part of the process, Romania has instituted reforms including judicial reform, increased judicial cooperation with other member states, and measures to combat corruption. In a recent Brussels report[citation needed], Romania along with Bulgaria were described as the two most corrupt countries in the EU.

Culture of Romania

The culture of Romania is rich and varied. Like Romanians themselves, it is fundamentally defined as the meeting point of three regions: Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, but cannot be fully included in any of them. The Romanian identity formed on a substratum of mixed Roman and quite possibly Dacian elements (although the latter is controversial), with many other influences. During late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the major influences came from the Slavic peoples who migrated and settled in nearby Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine and eventually Russia; from medieval Greeks and the Byzantine Empire; from a long domination by the Ottoman Empire; from the Hungarians; and from the Germans living in Transylvania. Modern Romanian culture emerged and developed over roughly the last 250 years under a strong influence from Western culture, particularly French and German culture.

Literature of Romania

The older classics of Romanian literature remain very little known outside Romania. Mihai Eminescu, a famous 19th century Romanian poet is still very much loved in Romania (especially his poems), along with several other classics like George Coşbuc and Ioan Slavici. The revolutionary year 1848 had its echoes in the Romanian principalities and in Transylvania, and a new elite from the middle of the 19th century emerged from the revolutions: Mihail Kogălniceanu (writer, politician and the first prime minister of Romania), Vasile Alecsandri (politician, playwright and poet), Andrei Mureşanu (publicist and the writer of the current Romanian National Anthem) and Nicolae Bălcescu (historian, writer and revolutionary). Other classic Romanian writers whose works are still widely read in their native country are playwright Ion Luca Caragiale (the National Theatre Bucharest is officially named in his honor) and Ion Creangă (best known for his children's stories).

In the period between the two world wars, authors like Tudor Arghezi, Lucian Blaga or Ion Barbu made efforts to synchronize Romanian literature with the European literature of the time. Gellu Naum was the leader of the surrealist movement in Romania. In the Communist era, valuable writers like Nichita Stănescu, Marin Sorescu or Marin Preda managed to escape censorship, broke with "socialist realism" and were the leaders of a small "Renaissance" in Romanian literature.

Romanian literature has recently gained some renown outside the borders of Romania (mostly through translations into German, French and English). Some modern Romanian authors became increasingly popular in Germany, France and Italy, especially Eugen Ionescu, Mircea Eliade, Emil Cioran, Constantin Noica, Tristan Tzara and Mircea Cărtărescu. Other literary figures who enjoy broad acclaim outside of the country include poet Paul Celan and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, both survivors of the Holocaust.

Sport in Romania

In the 1976 Summer Olympics, the gymnast Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast ever to score a perfect "ten". She also won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze, all at the age of fifteen. Her success continued in the 1980 Summer Olympics, where she was awarded two gold medals and two silver medals. Ilie Năstase, the tennis player, is another internationally known Romanian sports star. He won several Grand Slam titles and dozens of other tournaments; he also was a successful doubles player. Romania has also reached the Davis Cup finals three times. Virginia Ruzici was a successful tennis player in the 1970s. Football (soccer) is popular in Romania, the most internationally known player being Gheorghe Hagi, who played for Steaua Bucureşti (Romania), Real Madrid, FC Barcelona (Spain) and Galatasaray (Turkey), among others. In 1986, the Romanian soccer club Steaua Bucureşti became the first Eastern European club ever to win the prestigious European Champions Cup title. Other Romanian clubs are Dinamo Bucureşti, Rapid Bucureşti, Naţional Bucureşti, Universitatea Cluj, UTA Arad, FCU Politehnica Timişoara, Universitatea Craiova, Petrolul Ploieşti, CFR Cluj, Poli Iaşi, FC Braşov, Oţelul Galaţi, Bacău, Sportul, Bistriţa, Piteşti, Farul Constanţa, etc. Though maybe not the force they once were, the Romanian national rugby team has so far competed at every Rugby World Cup.

Hungary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország; IPA: [mɒɟɒrorsaːɡ]; listen (help·info)), officially in English the Republic of Hungary (Magyar Köztársaság listen (help·info), literally Magyar (Hungarian) Republic), is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary has been a member state of the European Union since May 1, 2004.