Oltenia

Oltenia (Romanian pronunciation: [olˈteni.a], also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternate Latin names Wallachia Minor, Wallachia Alutana, Wallachia Caesarea between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Danube, the Southern Carpathians and the Olt river.

History

Ancient times

Initially inhabited by Dacians, Oltenia was incorporated in the Roman Empire (106, at the end of the Dacian Wars; see Roman Dacia). In 129, during Hadrian's rule, it formed Dacia Inferior, one of the two divisions of the province (together with Dacia Superior, in today's Transylvania); Marcus Aurelius' administrative reform made Oltenia one of the three new divisions (tres Daciae) as Dacia Malvensis, its capital and chief city being named Romula. It was colonized with veterans of the Roman legions. The Romans withdrew their administration south of the Danube at the end of the 3rd century and Oltenia was ruled by the foederati Germanic Goths. In the late 4th century Oltenia came under the rule of the Taifals before invasion by the Huns.

Wallachia

Wallachia or Walachia (Romanian: Țara Românească pronounced [ˈt͡sara romɨˈne̯askə] or Valahia pronounced [vaˈlahi.a]; archaic: Țeara Rumânească, Cyrillic: Цѣра Румѫнѣскъ / Цѣра Рȣмѫнѣскъ / Землѧ Ѹгровлахїиска, Old East Slavic: Земля Угровлахийская, Угровлашская Земля, Влашская Земля, Власское, Latin: Transalpina, Valachia) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia is traditionally divided into two sections, Muntenia (Greater Wallachia) and Oltenia (Lesser Wallachia). Wallachia as a whole is sometimes referred to as Muntenia through identification with the larger of the two traditional sections.

Wallachia was founded as a principality in the early 14th century by Basarab I, after a rebellion against Charles I of Hungary, although the first mention of the territory of Wallachia west of the river Olt dates to a charter given to the voivode Seneslau in 1246 by Béla IV of Hungary. In 1417, Wallachia accepted the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire; this lasted until the 19th century, albeit with brief periods of Russian occupation between 1768 and 1854. In 1859, Wallachia united with Moldavia to form the United Principalities, which adopted the name Romania in 1866 and officially became the Kingdom of Romania in 1881. Later, in 1918, Transylvania was ceded by the Treaty of Trianon from Hungary to the Kingdom of Romania, forming the modern Romanian state.

Wallachia (disambiguation)

Wallachia (Walachia, Valachia, Valahia) is a historical and geographical region of Romania.

Wallachia may also refer to:

Geography

Generally regions inhabited by the Wallachs or Vlachs: