View source for Romania in the Early Middle Ages

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{{History of Romania}}

The '''Early Middle Ages in Romania''' started with the withdrawal of the [[Military of ancient Rome|Roman troops]] and [[Political institutions of ancient Rome|administration]] from [[Roman Dacia|Dacia]] province in the 270s. In the next millennium a series of peoples, most of whom only controlled two or three of the [[Historical regions of Romania|nearly ten historical regions]] that now form [[Romania]], arrived. During this period, society and culture underwent fundamental changes. Town life came to an end in Dacia with the Roman withdrawal, and in [[Scythia Minor (Roman province)|Scythia Minor]]{{spaced ndash}}the other [[Roman province]] in the territory of present-day Romania{{spaced ndash}}400 years later. Fine vessels made on fast potter's wheels disappeared and hand-made pottery became dominant from the 450s. Burial rites changed more than once from [[cremation]] to [[inhumation]] and ''vice versa'' until inhumation became dominant by the end of the 10th&nbsp;century.

The [[Germanic peoples|East Germanic]] [[Goths]] and [[Gepids]], who lived in sedentary communities, were the first new arrivals. The Goths dominated [[Moldavia]] and [[Wallachia]] from the 290s, and parts of [[Transylvania]] from the 330s. Their power collapsed under attacks by the nomadic [[Huns]] in 376. The Huns controlled [[Eastern Europe|Eastern]] and [[Central Europe]] from around 400, but [[Huns#Unified Empire under Attila|their empire]] disintegrated in 454. Thereafter the regions west of the [[Carpathian Mountains]]{{spaced ndash}}[[Banat]], [[Crişana]], and [[Transylvania]]{{spaced ndash}}and [[Oltenia]] were dominated by the [[Gepids]]. Within a century, the lands east of the mountains became important centers of the [[Antes people|Antes]] and [[Sclavenes]]. [[Hydronym]]s and [[place name]]s of [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] origin also prove the one-time presence of [[Early Slavs]] in the regions west of the Carpathians.

The nomadic [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] subjugated the Gepids in 568 and dominated the [[Carpathian Basin]] up until around 800. The [[Bulgars]] also established [[First Bulgarian Empire|a powerful empire]] in the 670s which included [[Dobruja]] and other territories along the [[Lower Danube]]. [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]] officially adopted the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] variant of [[Christianity]] in 864. An armed conflict between Bulgaria and the nomadic [[Hungarians]] forced the latter to depart from the [[Pontic steppes]] and began the [[Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin|conquest of the Carpathian Basin]] around 895. Their invasion gave rise to the earliest reference, recorded some centuries later in the ''[[Gesta Hungarorum]]'', to a polity ruled by a [[Romanians|Romanian]] duke named [[Gelou]]. The same source also makes mention of the presence of the [[Székelys]] in Crişana around 895. The first contemporaneous references to Romanians{{spaced ndash}}who used to be known as [[Vlachs]]{{spaced ndash}}in the regions now forming Romania were recorded in the 12th and 13th centuries. References to Vlachs inhabiting the lands to the south of the Lower Danube abound in the same period.

Banat, Crişana, and Transylvania were integrated into the [[Kingdom of Hungary]] in the 11th century. These regions were subject to plundering raids by the nomadic [[Pechenegs]] and [[Cumans]], who dominated the lowlands east of the mountains. [[Kings of Hungary|Hungarian monarchs]] promoted the immigration of [[Western Europe]]an settlers to Transylvania from the 1150s. The settlers' descendants, who were known as [[Transylvanian Saxons]] from the early 13th century, received collective privileges in 1224. Because of the settlement of the Saxons in their former territories, the Székelys were moved to the easternmost zones of the kingdom. The emergence of the [[Mongol Empire]] in the [[Eurasian Steppes]] in the first decades of the 13th century had lasting effects on the history of the region. The [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]]  subjugated the Cumans in the 1230s and destroyed many settlements throughout the Kingdom of Hungary in 1241 and 1242, bringing the [[Early Middle Ages]] to an end.

== Background ==
===Roman provinces and native tribes===
{{Main|Romania in Antiquity}}
[[File:Roman province of Dacia (106 - 271 AD).svg|190px|thumb|right|alt=Map of Roman Dacia|[[Roman province]]s in the regions now forming [[Romania]] in the 2nd&nbsp;century&nbsp;AD]]

Contacts between the Roman Empire{{spaced ndash}}which developed into the largest empire in the history of [[Europe]]{{spaced ndash}}{{sfn|Heather|2006|p=''xi''}}and the natives of the regions now forming Romania commenced in the 2nd&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=59}} These regions were inhabited by [[Dacians]], [[Bastarnae]] and other peoples{{sfn|Bolovan|Constantiniu|Michelson|Pop|1997|pp=11-13}} whose  incursions posed a threat to the empire.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|pp=59-60}} The Romans initially attempted to secure their frontiers by various means, including the creation of buffer zones.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|pp=59-60}} Finally, they decided that the annexation of the lands of these fierce "[[barbarian]]s" was the best measure.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=60}} The territory of the [[Getae]] between the river [[Danube]] and the [[Black Sea]] (modern [[Dobruja]]) was the first region to be incorporated into the empire.{{sfn|Bolovan|Constantiniu|Michelson|Pop|1997|pp=28-29}} It was attached to the Roman province of [[Moesia]] in 46&nbsp;AD.{{sfn|Bolovan|Constantiniu|Michelson|Pop|1997|pp=28-29}}

The Lower Danube marked the boundary between the empire and "Barbaricum"{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|pp=60, 67}} until Emperor [[Trajan]] decided to expand the [[Limes (Roman Empire)|frontiers]] over territories controlled by the [[Dacian Kingdom]].{{sfn|Bolovan|Constantiniu|Michelson|Pop|1997|p=24}} He achieved his goal through [[Trajan's Dacian Wars|two military campaigns]], the second of which ended with the annihilation of the Dacian state and the establishment of the province of Dacia in 106.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=4}}{{sfn|Treptow|Popa|1996|p=87}} It included [[Oltenia]] and large portions of [[Banat]], [[Transylvania]], and [[Wallachia]].{{sfn|Haynes|Hanson|2004|pp=12, 19-21}} Many settlers "from all over the Roman world"<ref>''Eutropius: Breviarium'' (8.6.), p. 50.</ref> arrived and settled in the new province in the following decades.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=6}}{{sfn|Haynes|Hanson|2004|pp=15-16}}

Dacia was situated over the empire's natural borders.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=102}} Dacia was surrounded by native tribes inhabiting the regions of [[Crișana]], [[Maramureș]], and [[Moldavia]], which are now part of Romania.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=6}}  Dacia province was plundered by neighboring tribes, including the [[Carpians]] and [[Sarmatians]] from the 230s, and by the [[Goths]] from the 250s.{{sfn|Bolovan|Constantiniu|Michelson|Pop|1997|p = 42}}{{sfn|Tóth|1994|p = 52}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|pp = 44-45}} As the frontiers were to be shortened for defensive purposes,{{sfn|Heather|2010|p = 112}} the withdrawal of the Roman legions from Dacia began in the 260s.{{sfn|Tóth|1994|p = 54}} The province officially ceased to exist under Emperor [[Aurelian]] (270&ndash;275){{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p = 8}} who "withdrew the Romans from the cities and countryside of Dacia".<ref>''Eutropius: Breviarium'' (9.15.), p. 59.</ref>{{sfn|Tóth|1994|pp = 55-56}} Garrisons stationed in [[Drobeta-Turnu Severin|Drobeta]] and [[Sucidava]] remained on the northern bank of the river.{{sfn|MacKendrick|1975|p=163}}

===Origin of the Romanians===
{{Main|Origin of the Romanians}}
{{See also|History of Romania}}
[[File:Language influence border between Latin and Hellenic.png|190px|thumb|right|alt=Jireček Line|The "[[Jireček Line]]"]]

Romanians speak a language originating from the dialects of the Roman provinces north of the "[[Jireček Line]]".{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=128}} This line divided, in Roman times, the predominantly Greek-speaking southern provinces from those where Latin was the principal language of communication.{{sfn|Hall|1974|p=70}} The emergence of [[Proto-Romanian language|Proto-Romanian]] from [[Vulgar Latin]] is first demonstrated by the words ''"torna, torna, frater"'' ("turn around, turn around, brother") recorded in connection with an [[Eastern Roman Empire|Eastern Roman]] military action in 587 or 588.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=13}}{{sfn|Vékony|2000|pp=206-207}} The soldier shouting them "in his native tongue"<ref>''The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor'' (258.10-21.), p. 381.</ref> spoke an [[Eastern Romance languages|Eastern Romance dialect]] of the [[Balkan Mountains]].{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=129}}

Grigore Nandris writes that the [[Romanian vocabulary]] suggests that the Romanians' ancestors were "reduced to a pastoral life in the mountains and to agricultural pursuits in the foothills of their pasture lands" following the collapse of the Roman rule.{{sfn|Nandris|1951|p=13}} A great number of Romanian words of uncertain origin{{sfn|Mallinson|1998|p=413}} are related to animal husbandry: ''baci'' ("chief shepherd"), ''balegă'' ("dung"), and ''[[brânză]]'' ("cheese"), for instance, belong to this group.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=228}} Many words related to a more settled form of animal husbandry were borrowed from Slavic, including ''coteţ'' ("poultry house"), ''grajd'' ("stable"), and ''stână'' ("fenced pasture").<ref name='Kopecký'>{{Citation | last = Kopecký | first = Peter | title = Caractéristique lexicale de l'élément slave dans le vocabulaire roumain: Confrontation historique aux sédiments lexicaux turcs et grecs [=Lexical characteristics of the Slavic elements of the Romanians language: A historical comparison with the Turkic and Greek lexical layers] | journal = Ianua: Revista Philologica Romanica | volume = 5 | year = 2004–2005 | pages = 43–53 | url = http://www.romaniaminor.net/ianua/Ianua05/ianua05_04.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160505100719/http://romaniaminor.net/ianua/Ianua05/ianua05_04.pdf | archive-date = 2016-05-05 }}</ref>{{sfn|Petrucci|1999|pp=142-143}} Romanian has preserved Latin terms for agriculture{{sfn|Nandris|1951|p=12}} and the Latin names of certain crops, but a significant part of its agricultural lexis originates from a Slavic-speaking population.<ref name="Kopecký"/>{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=224}} The first group includes ''a ara'' ("to plough"), ''a semăna'' ("to sow"), ''a culege'' ("to harvest"), ''a secera'' ("to reap"), ''grâu'' ("wheat"), ''in'' ("flax"), and ''furcă'' ("pitchfork"), while ''a croi'' ("to cut out"), ''a plivi'' ("to weed"), ''brazdă'' ("furrow"), ''cobilă'' ("plow line"), ''coasă'' ("scythe"), ''lopată'' ("shovel") and many others are Slavic loanwords.<ref name='Kopecký'/>{{sfn|Petrucci|1999|pp=142-144}}

The Romanian religious vocabulary is also divided, with a small number of basic terms preserved from Latin{{sfn|Nandris|1951|p=12}} and a significant number of borrowings from [[Old Church Slavonic]].{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|pp=142-143}} Romanian did not preserve Latin words connected to urbanized society.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=202}}

The Romanians' [[ethnogenesis]] cannot be understood based exclusively on written sources, because the earliest records on their ancestors were made by 11th-century [[Byzantine literature#Genres#Historians and annalists|Byzantine historians]].{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|pp=8, 13}} When referring to the Romance-speaking population of [[Southeastern Europe]], early medieval sources used the [[Vlachs|Vlach]] [[exonym]] or its [[cognate]]s, which all derived from the [[Common Slavic]] term for speakers of the Latin language.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=14}}{{sfn|Vékony|2000|p=209}} The [[Origin of the Romanians#Written sources#Sources on the Balkan Vlachs|earliest sources]] write of the Vlachs of the central territories of the [[Balkan Peninsula]].{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=14}}{{sfn|Vékony|2000|p=209}}

==Late Roman Age==
===Scythia Minor and the ''limes'' on the Lower Danube (''c.''&nbsp;270&ndash;''c.''&nbsp;700)===
[[File:Scythia Minor map.jpg|190px|thumb|right|alt=Map of Scythia Minor|[[Scythia Minor (Roman province)|Scythia Minor]]: a [[List of Late Roman provinces|Late Roman province]] formed through the division of the former province of [[Lower Moesia]] around 293]]

The territory between the Lower Danube and the Black Sea remained a fully integrated part of the Roman Empire, even after the abandonment of Trajan's Dacia.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|pp=110-111}} It was transformed into a separate province under the name of [[Scythia Minor (Roman province)|Scythia Minor]]{{sfn|MacKendrick|1975|pp=55-56, 221}} around 293.{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|pp=17-18}} Before 300, the Romans erected small forts at [[Dierna (castra)|Dierna]] and in other places on the northern bank of the Danube in modern-day Banat.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=185}}{{sfn|Curta|2005|p=178}} In their wider region, Roman coins from the period{{mdash}}mostly of bronze{{mdash}}have been found.{{sfn|Ellis|1998|pp=231-232}}

The existence of Christian communities in Scythia Minor became evident under Emperor [[Diocletian]] (284&ndash;305).{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=115}} He and [[Tetrarchs|his co-emperors]] ordered the persecution of Christians throughout the empire, causing the death of many between 303 and 313.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=115}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=33}} Under Emperor [[Constantine the Great]] (306&ndash;337), a [[Constantine's Bridge (Danube)|bridge across the Danube]] was constructed at [[Sucidava]], a new fort ([[Constantiana Daphne]]) was built, and ancient roads were repaired in Oltenia.{{sfn|MacKendrick|1975|pp=165, 221}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|p=61}} The Lower Danube again became the empire's northern boundary in 369 at the latest, when Emperor [[Valens]] met [[Athanaric]]{{mdash}}the head of the Goths{{mdash}}in a boat in the middle of the river because the latter had taken an oath "never to set foot on Roman soil".{{sfn|Heather|2010|pp=72, 75}}<ref>''Ammianus Marcellinus: The Later Roman Empire'' (27.5.), p. 337.</ref>

The Huns destroyed Drobeta and Sucidava in the 440s, but the forts were restored under Emperor [[Justinian I]] (527&ndash;565).{{sfn|MacKendrick|1975|pp=165-166, 222}} [[Eastern Roman Empire|Eastern Roman]] coins from the first half of the 6th&nbsp;century suggest a significant military presence in Oltenia{{mdash}}a region also characterized by the predominance of pottery with shapes of Roman tradition.{{sfn|Teodor|2005|pp=216, 223-224}} Although [[Eastern Roman emperors]] made annual payments to the neighboring peoples in an attempt to keep the peace in the Balkans, the Avars regularly invaded Scythia Minor from the 580s.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=54-55, 64-65}} The Romans abandoned Sucidava in 596 or 597,{{sfn|MacKendrick|1975|p=166, 222}} but [[Constanța|Tomis]], which was the last town in Scythia Minor to resist the invaders, only fell in 704.{{sfn|MacKendrick|1975|pp=178, 222}}

===North of the ''limes'' (c.&nbsp;270 – c.&nbsp;330) ===
Transylvania and northern Banat, which had belonged to Dacia province, had no direct contact with the Roman Empire from the 270s.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=181}} There is no evidence that they were invaded in the following decades.{{sfn|Haynes|Hanson|2004|p=24}} Towns, including [[Apulum (castra)|Apulum]] and [[Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa]], and the surrounding areas{{sfn|Haynes|Hanson|2004|p=24}} continued to be inhabited but the urban areas diminished.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=183}} The existence of local Christian communities can be assumed in [[Porolissum]], [[Potaissa]] and other settlements.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|pp=186-187}} On the other hand, evidence{{spaced ndash}}mainly pottery with "[[Chi (letter)|Chi]]-[[rho]]" ''(Χ-Ρ)''  signs and other Christian symbols{{spaced ndash}}is "shadowy and poorly understood", according to archaeologists Haynes and Hanson.{{sfn|Haynes|Hanson|2004|pp=22-24}}

Urns found in late 3rd-century cemeteries at [[Bezid]], [[Mediaş]], and in other Transylvanian settlements had clear analogies in sites east of the Carpathians, suggesting that the [[Carpians]] were the first new arrivals in the former province from the neighboring regions.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=185}}{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=65}} Other Carpian groups, pressured by the Goths, also departed from their homeland and sought refuge in the Roman Empire around 300.{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|pp=56-57}} Nevertheless, "[[Carpo-Dacians]]" were listed among the peoples "mixed with the Huns"<ref>{{Citation|last = Zosimus|title = The History |year = 2002 |url = http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/zosimus04_book4.htm | access-date = 18 July 2012}}</ref> as late as 379.{{sfn|Heather|2010|pp=166, 660}}{{sfn|Thompson|2001|p=30}} The [[Sarmatians]] of the Banat{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=185}} were allies of the empire, demonstrated by a Roman invasion in 332 against the Goths, their enemies.{{sfn|Heather|2010|p=168}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|p=61}} Sarmatians were admitted into the empire in 379, but other Sarmatian groups remained in the Tisa plains up until the 460s.{{sfn|Heather|2006|p=330}}{{sfn|Heather|2010|p=151}}

===''Gutthiuda:'' land of the Goths (c.&nbsp;290 – c.&nbsp;455)===
{{Main|Thervingi}}
{{See also|Gothic Christianity}}
[[File:Gutthiuda.jpg|190px|thumb|right|alt=Gutthiuda|''Gutthiuda'', the country of [[Thervingi]]]]

The Goths started penetrating into territories west of the river [[Dniester]] from the 230s.{{sfn|Heather|2010|pp=112, 117}}{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=142}} Two distinct groups separated by the river, the [[Thervingi]] and the [[Greuthungi]], quickly emerged among them.{{sfn|Heather|2010|p=61}} The one-time province of Dacia was held by "the [[Taifals|Taifali]], [[Victohali]], and Thervingi"<ref>''Eutropius: Breviarium'' (8.2.), p. 48.</ref> around 350.{{sfn|Heather|2010|p=112}}{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=67}}

The Goths' success is marked by the expansion of the multiethnic "[[Sântana de Mureş-Chernyakhov culture]]".{{sfn|Heather|2010|p=112}} Settlements of the culture appeared in Moldavia and Wallachia at the end of the 3rd&nbsp;century,{{sfn|Heather|Matthews|1991|pp=51-52}} and in Transylvania after 330.{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|p=61}} These lands were inhabited by a sedentary population engaged in farming and cattle-breeding.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=129}} Pottery, comb-making and other handicrafts flourished in the villages.{{sfn|Heather|Matthews|1991|pp=64, 79}} Wheel-made fine pottery is a typical item of the period; hand-formed cups of the local tradition were also preserved.{{sfn|Ellis|1998|p=230}}{{sfn|Heather|Matthews|1991|pp=65, 79}} [[Plowshare]]s similar to those made in nearby Roman provinces and Scandinavian-style brooches indicate trade contacts with these regions.{{sfn|Curta|2005|pp=188-191}} "Sântana de Mureş-Chernyakhov" villages, sometimes covering an area exceeding {{convert|20|ha|acre}}, were not fortified{{sfn|Heather|Matthews|1991|p=53}} and consisted of two types of houses: [[Pit-house|sunken huts]] with walls made of [[wattle and daub]] and surface buildings with plastered timber walls.{{sfn|Heather|Matthews|1991|p=53}} Sunken huts had for centuries been typical for settlements east of the Carpathians,{{sfn|Heather|2010|p=118}} but now they appeared in distant zones of the Pontic steppes.{{sfn|Heather|Matthews|1991|p=54}}

[[File:Tezaur MNIR IMG 7326.JPG|190px|thumb|left|alt=Gothic treasure from Pietroasele|Pieces of the [[Pietroasele Treasure]]]]

The multiethnic ''Gutthiuda'' was divided into smaller political units or ''kuni'', each headed by tribal chiefs or ''reiks''.{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|pp=94, 96}} In case of emergency, the tribal chiefs' council elected a supreme leader who was known as ''iudex regum'' ("judge of kings")<ref>{{Citation|title = Ambrose: On the Holy Spirit (Preface 17) | url = http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf210.iv.ii.ii.i.html | access-date = 23 July 2013}}</ref> by [[St Ambrose]].{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|pp=94, 416}} Christian prisoners of war were the first missionaries among the Goths.{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=119}} [[Ulfilas]], himself a descendant of a [[Cappadocian]] captive, was ordained bishop "of the Christians in the land of the Goths"<ref>''Philostorgius: Church History'' (2.5.), p. 20.</ref> in 341.{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=119}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|pp=75-78}} Expelled from ''Gutthiuda'' during a persecution of Christians, Ulfilas settled in Moesia in 348.{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|pp=79-80}}

Gothic dominance collapsed when the Huns arrived{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=75}} and attacked the Thervingi in 376.{{sfn|Thompson|2001|p=28}} Most of the Thervingi sought asylum in the Roman Empire,{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|pp=71-72}} and were followed by large groups of Greuthungi and Taifali.{{sfn|Heather|2010|p=151}} All the same, significant groups of Goths stayed in the territories north of the Danube.{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=164}} For instance, [[Athanaric]] "retired with all his men to ''[[Caucaland]]a''"{{mdash}}probably to the valley of the river Olt{{mdash}} from where they "drove out the Sarmatians".{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|p=73}}<ref name='Ammianus Marcellinus'>''Ammianus Marcellinus: The Later Roman Empire'' (31.4.), p. 418.</ref> A hoard of Roman coins issued under Valentinian I and Valens suggests that the gates of the amphitheatre at Ulpia Traiana were blocked around the same time.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=182}} The [[Pietroasele Treasure]] which was hidden around 450 also implies the presence of a Gothic tribal or religious leader in the lands between the Carpathians and the Lower Danube.{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=125-126}} It contains a [[torc]] bearing the inscription ''GUTANI O WI HAILAG'', which is interpreted by Malcolm Todd as "God who protects the Goths, most holy and inviolate".{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=126}}

===''Gepidia:'' land of the Gepids (c.&nbsp;290 – c.&nbsp;630)===
{{Main|Gepids}}
[[File:Gepid kingdom 6th century.png|190px|thumb|right|alt=Map of Gepidia|''[[Gepidia]]'' at its largest territorial extent]]

The earliest reference to Gepids{{spaced ndash}}an [[Germanic peoples|East Germanic tribe]] closely related to the Goths{{spaced ndash}}is found in a [[Panegyric|formal speech]] of 291.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|pp=57-59, 246, 401}}<ref>''Genethliacus of Maximian Augustus'', p. 76.</ref> The anonymous author wrote that the Thervingi joined "battle with the Vandals and Gepids"<ref>''Genethliacus of Maximian Augustus'', p. 100.</ref> at that time.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|pp=57-59}} The center of an early ''Gepidia'', on the plains northwest of the [[Meseş Mountains]],  appears to have been located around [[Şimleu Silvaniei]], where early 5th-century precious objects of Roman provenance have been unearthed.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|pp=190-191}}{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=77}}

The Huns imposed their authority over the Gepids by the 420s,{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=77}} but the latter remained united under the rule of their king named [[Ardaric]].{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=220}} Although he was one of the favorites of [[Attila the Hun|Attila, king of the Huns]],{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=220, 223}} he initiated an uprising against the Huns when Attila died in 453.{{sfn|Heather|2006|p=354}}{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=223}} The Gepids regained their independence{{sfn|Heather|2010|p=224}} and "ruled as victors over the extent of all Dacia".{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=80}}<ref>''The Gothic History of Jordanes'' (50:264), p. 126.</ref>

[[File:Tesoro di principe gepidico di apahida (1889), anello con 4 croci, 480-500 ca..JPG|190px|thumb|left|alt=Ring from the Apahida necropolis|Golden ring with crosses found at [[Apahida Necropolis]]]]

Three [[Apahida Necropolis|sumptuous tombs]] found at [[Apahida]] evidence the wealth accumulated by Gepid royals through their connections with the Eastern Roman Empire.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=191}}{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=223}} A golden ring with crosses found in one of the graves implies its owner's Christian faith.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=84}} [[John of Biclar]] refers to an [[Arianism|Arian]] bishop of the Gepids which suggests that they adopted Christianity through their connection with the Arian Goths.{{sfn|Curta|2008|pp=87, 205}}

New settlements appearing along the rivers Mureş, [[Someş River|Someş]], and [[Târnava River|Târnava]] reflects a period of tranquility in ''Gepidia'' until around 568.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|pp=86, 89}} The common people in [[Biharia]], [[Cenad]], [[Moreşti]], and other villages lived in sunken huts covered with gabled roofs but with no hearths or ovens.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|pp=86-87}}{{sfn|Curta|2001|p=194}} They were primarily farmers, but looms, combs, and other products evidence the existence of local workshops.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|pp=86, 89}} Trading contacts between ''Gepidia'' and faraway regions is evidenced by finds of amber beads and brooches manufactured in the [[Crimea]], [[Mazovia]] or [[Scandinavia]].{{sfn|Curta|2001|pp=195, 201}}

The Avar invasion of 568 ended the independent ''Gepidia''.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=63}} Written sources evidence the survival of Gepid groups within the Avar Empire.{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=221}} For instance, Eastern Roman troops "encountered three Gepid settlements"<ref>''The History of Theophylact Simocatta'' (viii. 3.11.), p. 213.</ref> on the Tisa plains in 599 or 600.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=62}}{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=221}}

===Hunnic Empire (c.&nbsp;400 – c.&nbsp;460)===
{{Main|Huns}}
[[File:Huns450.png|190px|thumb|right|alt=Map of the Hunnic Empire|The [[Huns#Unified Empire under Attila|Hunnic Empire]] around 450]]

The Huns, a people of uncertain origin,{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|p=123}} were nomadic and wandered "with the wagons"<ref>''Ammianus Marcellinus: The Later Roman Empire'' (31.2.), p. 412.</ref> in the 370s.{{sfn|Thompson|2001|pp=47, 50}} They were eminent mounted archers who imposed their authority over an increasing number of neighboring peoples.{{sfn|Thompson|2001|pp=30, 40-41}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|pp=123-124}} Their first ruler whose seat was located in the Lower Danube region was [[Uldin]], initially an important ally and later an enemy of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] between 401 and 408.{{sfn|Heather|2006|p=196}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|p=126}}

The Eastern Roman government paid an annual tribute to the Huns from the 420s.{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|pp=127-128}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|pp=93-94}} Gold flowing from the empire transformed the Hun society.{{sfn|Heather|2006|p=329}} The introduction of a centralized monarchy is evidenced in a report written by [[Priscus of Panium]], an Eastern Roman envoy sent to the ruler of the Huns, [[Attila the Hun|Attila]], in 448.{{sfn|Heather|2006|pp=325-329, 485}} At that time, Gothic was widely spoken in the royal court since "the subjects of the Huns" spoke "besides their own barbarous tongues, either [[Hunnic language|Hunnic]] or Gothic, or{{mdash}}as many as have commercial dealings with the [[Western Roman Empire|western Romans]]{{mdash}}Latin".{{sfn|Heather|2006|p=329}}<ref name='Priscus'>{{Citation|last = Bury|first = J. B.|title = Priscus at the court of Attila |url = http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/jod/texts/priscus.html | access-date = 15 July 2012}}</ref>

The Huns imposed their authority on a sedentary population.{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=177}} Priscus of Panium refers to a village where he and his retinue were supplied "with millet instead of corn" and "[[mead|medos]] (mead) instead of wine".<ref name='Priscus'/>{{sfn|Wolfram|1997|p=131}} Attila's sudden death in 453{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=143}} caused a civil war among his sons.{{sfn|Heather|2006|pp=353-354}} The subject peoples revolted and emerged the victors at the [[Battle of Nedao]] in 454.{{sfn|Heather|2006|p=354}}{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1973|p=144}} The remnants of the Huns withdrew to the Pontic steppes.{{sfn|Heather|2006|p=356}} One of their groups was admitted to settle in Scythia Minor in 460.{{sfn|Heather|2006|pp=359-360}}

==After the first migrations==
===Between Huns and Avars (c.&nbsp;45 – c.&nbsp;565)===
{{Main|Antes people|Sclaveni}}
{{See also|Early Slavs}}

The last "Sântana de Mureş-Chernyakhov" objects once widespread in ''Gutthiuda''{{spaced ndash}}such as fine wares and weapons{{spaced ndash}}are dated to the period ending around 430.{{sfn|Heather|2010|p=200}} According to Coriolan H. Opreanu, the same period is characterized by "population shifts" which caused the abandonment of many villages and the appearance of new settlements.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=119}} [[Botoşana]], [[Dodeşti]], and other sites east of the Carpathians demonstrate the simplification of pottery forms and a decline in the use of the fast potter's wheel from the 450s.{{sfn|Teodor|1980|p=19}} Around the same time, semi-sunken huts with stone or clay ovens appeared in Moldavia and Wallachia,{{sfn|Curta|2001|p=285}}{{sfn|Teodor|1980|p=7}}{{sfn|Barford|2001|p=48}} forming ephemeral settlements with an area smaller than {{convert|5|ha|acre}}.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=57}} The locals practiced an "itinerant form of agriculture", instead of manuring the soil.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=57}} Differences in local pottery indicate the coexistence of communities isolated from each other by marshes, forests or hills.{{sfn|Teodor|2005|pp=216-222}} For instance, contemporary [[Cândeşti, Dâmboviţa|Cândeşti]] produced a significant quantity of wheel-made pottery, [[Târgşoru Vechi|Târgşor]] was characterized by crushed-shard tempered vessels, and a sample of the most common "[[Penkovka culture|Kolochin]]" vessels was found in the Budureasca Valley.{{sfn|Teodor|2005|pp=221-222}}

There are few known cemeteries from the second half of the 5th&nbsp;century,{{sfn|Teodor|1980|p=11}} pointing to common use of cremation without the use of urns or pits.{{sfn|Barford|2001|pp=201, 402}} On the other hand, a huge biritual necropolis at [[Sărata-Monteoru]] produced more than 1,600 cremation burials, either in wheel-made urns or in pits without urns.{{sfn|Teodor|2005|pp=234-235}}{{sfn|Barford|2001|p=202}} Small cemeteries with inhumation graves have been found at [[Nichiteni]] and [[Secuieni, Neamţ|Secuieni]].{{sfn|Teodor|1980|p=11}}

Jordanes, [[Procopius]] and other 6th-century authors used the terms "[[Sclavenes]]" and "[[Antes people|Antes]]" to refer to the peoples inhabiting the territory north of the Lower Danube.{{sfn|Curta|2008|p=201}} The Antes launched their first campaign over the Lower Danube in 518.{{sfn|Curta|2001|pp=81, 115}} After they concluded a treaty with the Eastern Roman Empire in 545, the Sclavenes started to plunder the Balkan provinces.{{sfn|Curta|2001|p=81}} Both ethnic groups seized many prisoners of wars during their raids, but they were ready to integrate them "as free men and friends".{{sfn|Barford|2001|p=58}}<ref>''Maurice's Strategikon'' (11.4.4-5), p. 120.</ref>

The names of early 6th-century leaders of the Sclavenes or Antes are unknown.{{sfn|Curta|2005|p=184}} This  supports ancient authors' claims that both ethnic groups lived "under a democracy".{{sfn|Curta|2005|p=332}}<ref>''Procopius: History of the Wars'' (7.14.22.), p. 269.</ref> The same conclusion can be drawn from [[Procopius of Caesarea|Procopius]]'s report of the "phoney Chilbudius"{{spaced ndash}}a young Antian serf who "spoke the Latin tongue"<ref>''Procopius: History of the Wars'' (7.14.33.), p. 275.</ref>{{spaced ndash}}who was dispatched by his fellow tribesmen to negotiate with the Eastern Roman Empire in 545.{{sfn|Curta|2001|pp=79-80, 331-332}}

The disappearance of bronze and gold coins from sites north of the Lower Danube demonstrates an "economic closure of the frontier" of the Eastern Roman Empire between 545 and 565.{{sfn|Curta|2005|pp=186, 196}}{{sfn|Barford|2001|p=52}} The same period is characterized by a tendency towards cultural unification in Moldavia, Oltenia and Wallachia.{{sfn|Curta|2001|p=309}} Handmade pots with very similar incised designs evidence the "existence of a cross-regional set of symbols shared" by either potters or consumers.{{sfn|Curta|2008|pp=185, 309}} Pots, [[spindle whorl]]s and other objects decorated with crosses or swastikas have been unearthed at Cândeşti, [[Lozna, Botoşani|Lozna]], and other sites.{{sfn|Teodor|2005|pp=221-222}}{{sfn|Curta|2008|p=185}} The use of handmade clay pans for baking bread was spreading from the regions south and east of the Carpathians towards lands over the Dniester and the Lower Danube.{{sfn|Curta|2001|pp=295-297, 309}}

===Avar Empire (c.&nbsp;565 – c.&nbsp;800)===
{{Main|Avar Khaganate}}

The [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] occupied ''Gepidia'' in 567, less than a decade after their arrival in Europe.{{sfn|Heather|2010|pp=213, 401}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|pp=220-221}} They were nomadic pastoralists,{{sfn|Engel|2001|pp=2-3}} who settled in the lowlands.{{sfn|Urbańczyk|2005|p=144}} Stirrups found at [[Secusigiu|Sânpetru German]] are among the earliest finds in Romania attributed to the Avars.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=93}} They received agricultural products from farming communities settled in their domains and neighboring peoples subjected to their authority.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=65}} Emperor [[Justin II]] hired, in 578, the Avars to attack the Sclavenes{{sfn|Barford|2001|p=57}} who resumed their plundering raids against the empire around that time.{{sfn|Curta|2001|p=115}} The names of some of the Sclavene leaders were first recorded in the following period.{{sfn|Barford|2001|pp=60-61}} One of them, [[Musocius]], "was called ''rex'' in the barbarian tongue".{{sfn|Curta|2001|p=101}}<ref>''The History of Theophylact Simocatta'' (vi. 9.1.), p. 172.</ref>

Graves of males interred together with horses found at [[Aiud]] and [[Mezőbánd|Band]] prove the Avars' settlement in Transylvania in the early 7th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=93}} Their cemeteries are centered around salt mines.{{sfn|Madgearu|2005a|pp=103, 117}} Spurs{{mdash}}never found in Avar context but widely used in [[Western Slavs|Western Slav]] territories{{sfn|Barford|2001|pp=79, 84}}{{mdash}} were unearthed in [[Şura Mică]] and [[Medişoru Mare]], suggesting the employment of non-Avar horsemen in the 8th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Madgearu|2005a|p=106}}

Large "[[Late Avar]]" cemeteries used by several generations between ''c.''&nbsp;700 and ''c.''&nbsp;800 imply "an advanced degree of sedentization" of the entire society.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=92}} The Avar Empire collapsed after the [[Franks]] launched  [[Avar Wars|three campaigns]] against the westernmost Avar territories between 791 and 803.{{sfn|Engel|2001|pp=2-3}} Soon afterwards the [[Bulgars]] attacked the Avars from the southeast,{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=78}} and [[Charlemagne]] settled Avar groups in [[Pannonia]].{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=78}}

===Emergence of new powers (c.&nbsp;600 – c.&nbsp;895)===
The Lower Danube region experienced a period of stability after the establishment of the Avar Empire.{{sfn|Bolovan|Constantiniu|Michelson|Pop|1997|p=52}} Archaeological sites in Moldavia, Oltenia and Wallachia became characterized by the growing popularity of hand-made vessels with finger impressions{{sfn|Curta|2001|p=291}} and by a decline in detectable cemeteries.{{sfn|Teodor|1980|pp=63-64}} [[Ananias of Shirak]], a 7th-century Armenian geographer described the "large country of Dacia" as inhabited by Slavs who formed "twenty-five tribes".{{sfn|Spinei|2009|pp=80-81}}{{sfn|Bóna|1994|pp=98-99}}<ref>''The Geography of Ananias of Şirak (L1881.3.9)'', p. 48.</ref>

[[File:Balkans850.png|alt=A map of the Bulgarian Empire and the Balkans in the ninth century|thumb|The [[Bulgarian lands across the Danube]] in the ninth century, after the territorial expansion under Krum, Omurtag and Presian|left|190x190px]]

Villages of sunken huts with stone ovens{{sfn|Curta|2001|p=285}} appeared in Transylvania around 600.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=197}}{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=99}}{{sfn|Barford|2001|p=76}} Their network was expanding along the rivers Mureş, Olt and Someş.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=197}}{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=99}} The so-called "Mediaş group" of cremation or mixed cemeteries emerged in this period near salt mines.{{sfn|Madgearu|2005a|pp=105, 119}} The Hungarian and the Romanian vocabulary of salt mining was taken from Slavic, suggesting that Slavs were employed in the mines for centuries.{{sfn|Madgearu|2005a|p = 104}}{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p = 36}} [[Bistriţa River (disambiguation)|Bistriţa]] ("swift"), [[Crasna (disambiguation)|Crasna]] ("nice" or "red"), [[Sibiu]] ("dogwood"), and many other rivers and settlements with names of Slavic origin also evidence the presence of Slavs in Transylvania.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p = 98}}{{sfn|Kristó|2003|pp = 37-38}}

The Turkic-speaking Bulgars arrived in the territories west of the river Dniester around 670.{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=43}}{{sfn|Fiedler|2008|p=152}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|pp=165-166}} At the [[Battle of Ongal]] they defeated the [[Eastern Roman Emperor|Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Emperor]] [[Constantine IV]] in 680 or 681, occupied [[Dobruja]] and founded the [[First Bulgarian Empire]].{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=80}}{{sfn|Fiedler|2008|pp=153-154}} They soon imposed their authority over some of the neighboring tribes.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=81}}{{sfn|Fiedler|2008|p=154}} The great variety in burial rites evidences the multi-ethnic character of the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]].{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=68}} Even the Bulgars were divided in this respect; some of them practiced inhumation and others cremation.{{sfn|Fiedler|2008|p=157}} Initially, a sharp distinction existed between the Bulgars and their subjects, but the [[Slavicization]] of the Bulgars soon began.{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=69}}

Opreanu writes that the "new cultural synthesis" known as the "[[Dridu culture]]" developed in the Lower Danube region around 680.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|pp = 50, 87}}{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p = 127}} New settlements{{sfn|Fiedler|2008|p = 200}} and large cemeteries show that the region experienced a steady demographic rise in the 8th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p = 89}} The large, unfortified "Dridu" settlements were characterized by traditional semi-sunken huts, but a few houses with ground-level floors have also been unearthed in Dodeşti, Spinoasa, and other places.{{sfn|Teodor|1980|pp=60-61}}

[[File:Alba Iulia National Museum of the Union 2011 - Native Ceramics and Objects from Alba Iulia Area, 9th-11th Century AD.JPG|190px |thumb |right |alt=9th-11th-century objects from the Alba Iulia region |9th-11th-century ceramics and objects from [[Alba Iulia]] area, in display at the [[National Museum of the Union]]]]
[[File:KoutragonChristiansBGhistory.jpg|190px|thumb|right|alt=Persecution of Christians in Bulgaria|[[Omurtag of Bulgaria|Omurtag]] orders the persecution of Christians in his empire]]

"Dridu" communities produced and used gray or yellow fine pottery,{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p = 236}} but hand-made vessels were still predominant.{{sfn|Teodor|1980|p = 68}} Fine, gray vessels were also unearthed in the 9th-century "Blandiana A"{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p = 122}} cemeteries in the area of [[Alba Iulia|Alba-Iulia]], which constitutes a "cultural enclave" in Transylvania.{{sfn|Fiedler|2008|p = 159}}{{sfn|Madgearu|2005b|p = 68}} Near these cemeteries, necropolises of graves with west&ndash;east orientation form the distinct "Ciumbrud group".{{sfn|Fiedler|2008|p = 161}}{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p = 122}}{{sfn|Madgearu|2005b|p = 134}} Female dress accessories from "Ciumbrud graves" are strikingly similar to those from Christian cemeteries in Bulgaria and [[Great Moravia|Moravia]].{{sfn|Fiedler|2008|p = 161}}{{sfn|Madgearu|2005b|p = 134}} From an earlier date are the cremation cemeteries of the "Nuşfalau-Someşeni group" in northwestern Transylvania, with their 8th- and 9th-century ''[[tumuli]]'',{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p = 197}}{{sfn|Bóna|1994|pp = 101-102}}{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p = 35}} similar to the ''[[kurgan]]s'' of [[East Slavs|East Slavic]] territories.{{sfn|Barford|2001|p = 76}}

Contemporaneous authors rarely dwelled on early medieval Southeastern Europe.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=17-20}} For instance, the ''[[Royal Frankish Annals]]'' makes a passing reference to [[Abodrites]] living "in Dacia adjacent to the Danube near the Bulgarian border"<ref>''Royal Frankish Annals'' (year 824), p. 116.</ref> on the occasion of their envoys' arrival in [[Aachen]] in 824.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=157}} Bulgaria's territory increased under [[Krum]] (''c.''&nbsp;803&ndash;814),{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=149}}{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=99}} who took [[Adrianople]] and forced at least 10,000 of the town's inhabitants to settle north of the Lower Danube in 813.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=56}} The ambitions of his son [[Omurtag]] (814&ndash;831) in the regions of the rivers Dnieper and Tisa are attested by two columns erected in the memory of Bulgar military leaders who drowned in these rivers during military campaigns.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=57}}{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=154, 156-157, 159}} Emperor [[Arnulf of Carinthia|Arnulf]] sent envoys, in 894, to the Bulgarians to "ask that they should not sell salt to the Moravians",{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=178}}{{sfn|Madgearu|2005b|p=132}}<ref>''Annals of Fulda'' (year 892), p. 124.</ref> suggesting a Bulgarian control over either the Transylvanian salt mines{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=178}} or the roads to Moravia.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=59}}

In the same year, the nomadic Hungarians{{spaced ndash}}who had arrived in the Lower Danube region from the [[Pontic steppes|steppes of Eastern Europe]] in 837 or 838{{sfn|Spinei|2009|pp=58, 64}}{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=145}}{{spaced ndash}}became involved in a [[Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars#Simeon I's Imperial ambitions|conflict between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire]] on the latter's behalf.{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=138}}{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|p=39}}  The Bulgarians incited another nomadic tribe, the [[Pechenegs]], to invade the Hungarians from the east, while the [[Bulgarian–Hungarian Wars#Hungarian conquest (War of 894–896)|Bulgarians also attacked them]] from the south.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=178}} The two synchronized attacks forced the Hungarians to cross the Carpathian Mountains in search for a new homeland.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=178}}

[[File:Gesta hungarorum map.jpg|190px|thumb|left|alt=Map of the Carpathian Basin|The [[Carpathian Basin]] on the eve of the "[[Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin|Hungarian Land-taking]]": a map based primarily on the narration of the ''[[Gesta Hungarorum]]'']]

About 300 years later, [[Bele Regis Notarius|Anonymus]], the author of ''[[Gesta Hungarorum]]'', wrote a comprehensive list of polities and peoples of the Carpathian Basin at the turn of the 9th&nbsp;and&nbsp;10th&nbsp;centuries.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=11}} He wrote about the [[Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin|Hungarian conquest of the territory]] but did not mention [[Simeon I of Bulgaria]], [[Svatopluk I|Svatopluk of Moravia]] and the conquerors' opponents known from contemporary sources.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=11}} Instead, he wrote of a number of personalities unknown by other chroniclers.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=11}}{{sfn|Madgearu|2005b|p=39}} In ''Gesta Hungarorum'', [[Menumorut]] ruled over "the peoples that are called [[Khazars|Kozár]]"<ref name='Anonymous 33'>''Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians'' (ch. 11.), p. 33.</ref> in Crişana.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=11}}{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=140}} Anonymus also wrote of the [[Székelys]] ("previously the peoples of King Attila")<ref>''Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians'' (ch. 50.), p. 109.</ref> living in the territory for centuries who joined the invading Hungarians.{{sfn|Macartney|1953|p=81}} Banat, according to Anonymus, was ruled by [[Glad (duke)|Glad]] who had come "from the castle of [[Vidin]]."<ref name='Anonymous 33'/>{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=141}} Glad is described to employ "Cumans, Bulgarians and Vlachs"<ref>''Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians'' (ch. 44.), p. 97.</ref> in his army.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=141}} Anonymous also wrote of Gelou, "a certain Vlach"<ref name='Anonymous 59'>''Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians'' (ch. 24.), p. 59.</ref> ruling in Transylvania, a land inhabited by "Vlachs and Slavs".{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=141}}<ref>''Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians'' (ch. 25.), p. 61.</ref> Gelou's subjects are portrayed as having "suffered many injuries from the Cumans and Pechenegs".{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=142}}<ref name='Anonymous 59'/>

==Formation of new states and the last waves of migrations==
===First Bulgarian Empire after conversion (864–1018)===
{{Main|First Bulgarian Empire|Christianization of Bulgaria}}

[[Boris I of Bulgaria|Boris I]], the ruler of Bulgaria, converted to Orthodox Christianity in 864.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=168}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=452}} He promoted vernacular worship services, thus [[Old Church Slavonic]] was declared the language of liturgy in the [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]] in 893.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=177}} One of the earliest examples of [[Cyrillic script]]{{mdash}}an alphabet strongly associated with Slavonic liturgy{{mdash}}was found in [[Mircea Vodă, Constanţa|Mircea Vodă]] in Romania.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=221-222}} The Cyrillic inscription from 943 refers to a "''[[župan]]'' Dimitrie".{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=143}}

Traces of Bulgarian influence in the territory of modern Romania are found mostly in the area of Wallachia. For example in sites from [[Bucov]], [[Căscioarele]], or [[Mărăcinele]], water pipe fragments have been found dating to the 9th or 10th century. No building in the region from the time is known to have used them and the evidence gathered points more likely at production centres destined for exporting their goods to the Bulgarian rising urban centres of [[Pliska]] and [[Veliki Preslav|Preslav]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Curta |first=Florin |title=Christianization in Early Medieval Transylvania |publisher=Brill |year=2022 |isbn=978-90-04-51586-4 |editor-last=Marcu Istrate |editor-first=Daniela |pages=57–78 |language=en |chapter=Bulgaria beyond the Danube: Water under the bridge, or is there more in the pipeline? |editor-last2=Mureșan |editor-first2=Dan Ioan |editor-last3=Rustoiu |editor-first3=Gabriel Tiberiu}}</ref>

Byzantine troops occupied large portions of Bulgaria, including modern [[Dobruja]], under Emperor [[John I Tzimiskes]] (969&ndash;976).{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|pp=51-58}} After his death an anti-Byzantine uprising led by [[Cometopuli dynasty|four brothers]] broke out.{{sfn|Fine|1991|pp=187-189}}{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|pp=51-58}} One of the brothers, [[David (noble)|David]], was killed by Vlachs in the present-day border region between [[Greece]] and [[North Macedonia]].{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=152}} In 1018, the Byzantines conquered the whole territory of the Bulgarian Empire{{sfn|Fine|1991|pp=198-199}} and the [[Archbishop of Ohrid]] acquired ecclesiastic jurisdiction in 1020 over the Vlachs living there.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=102-103}}{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|p=75}}

===Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin (c. &nbsp;895 – c.&nbsp;1000)===
{{Main|Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin}}
{{See also|Hungarian prehistory|Origin of the Székelys|Simeon I of Bulgaria}}
[[File:Chronicon Pictum P21.jpg|190px|thumb|right|alt=Decoration from the Illuminated Chronicle|The [[Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin|Hungarian Conquest]] depicted in the ''[[Illuminated Chronicle]]'']]

The way taken by the Hungarians across the [[Carpathian Mountains]] when they started the [[Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin|conquest of the Carpathian Basin]] varies from source to source.{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=55}} According to ''Gesta Hungarorum'', the Hungarians descended through the northern passes to the lowlands, bypassing Transylvania,{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=188}}{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=146}} and only began the invasion of the regions east of the Tisa after the conquest of the western regions.{{sfn|Madgearu|2005b|pp=21-22}} ''Gesta Hungarorum'' says the Vlach [[Gelou (duke)|Gelou of Transylvania]] died fighting the Hungarians,{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=15}} while his subjects chose "for themselves as lord Tétény",<ref>''Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians'' (ch. 27.), p. 65.</ref> one of the Hungarian leaders.{{sfn|Madgearu|2005b|p=92}} Anonymus also wrote of Menumorut's defeat, but said he preserved his rule in Crişana until his death by giving his daughter in marriage to [[Zoltán of Hungary|Zolta]], heir to [[Árpád]], the head of the Hungarians.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=15}}{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=146}} In a contrasting account, the ''[[Illuminated Chronicle]]'' writes of Hungarians fleeing through the eastern passes of the Carpathian Mountains to Transylvania{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=146}} where they "remained quietly" and "rested their herds"<ref>''The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle'' (ch. 28), p. 98.</ref> for a while before moving further west.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|pp=114-115}} The so-called "Cluj group"{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p = 122}} of small inhumation cemeteries{{mdash}}graves with west&ndash;east orientation, often containing remains of horses{{mdash}}{{sfn|Madgearu|2005b|pp = 108-109}} appeared on both sides of the [[Apuseni Mountains]] around 900.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p = 52}} Their military character evidences that the people using them formed a "double defensive line" organized against the Pechenegs.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p = 52}} Transylvanian cemeteries of the "Cluj group" cluster around salt mines.{{sfn|Madgearu|2005a|pp = 103, 117}}

Emperor [[Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus]] identified "the whole settlement"<ref>''Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio'' (ch. 40), p. 177.</ref> of Hungary with the lands where the rivers [[Criş River|Criş]], Mureş, [[Timiș River|Timiş]], Tisa and ''Toutis''{{ndash}}possibly the [[Bega River, Romania and Serbia|Bega]]{{mdash}}ran around 950.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|pp = 114-115}} The concentration of objects of Byzantine provenance at the confluence of the Mureş and Tisa shows that this territory was a regional center of power.{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|pp=43-44}} Accordingly, the seat of [[Gyula II|Gyula]], a Hungarian chieftain baptized in [[Constantinople]] around 952, most probably existed in this region.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=190}} On the other hand, Hungarian chronicles associate Gyula's family with Transylvania.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|pp=61-62}} Place names from the nomadic stratum of Hungarian toponymy{{mdash}}those corresponding to proper names or [[Magyar tribes|Hungarian tribal names]], including [[Decea]], [[Hotoan]], and [[Ineu]]{{mdash}}<ref>{{Citation |last = Vistai |first = András János |title = Tekintő: Erdélyi helynévkönyv, Második kötet, I&ndash;P (""Tekintő": Book on Transylvanian Toponymy, Volume II, I&ndash;P ") |url = http://www.fatornyosfalunk.com/helynevkonyv_-_2._kotet_I-P.pdf |access-date = 22 July 2012 |archive-date = 10 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110710230835/http://www.fatornyosfalunk.com/helynevkonyv_-_2._kotet_I-P.pdf |url-status = dead }}</ref> also evidence that major Hungarian groups settled in Transylvania from the 950s.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=118}}{{sfn|Kristó|2003|pp=58-59}} An early "[[Bijelo Brdo culture|Bijelo Brdo]]" cemetery belonging to a 10th- and 11th-century archaeological culture with finds from all over the Carpathian Basin was found at [[Deva, Romania|Deva]].{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=250}}

===''Patzinakia:'' land of the Pechenegs (c.&nbsp;895 – c.&nbsp;1120)===
{{Main|Pechenegs|Blakumen}}
[[File:Europe mediterranean 1097.jpg|alt=|thumb|190x190px|Europe in 1097]]

The Turkic-speaking{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=138}} Pechenegs took the control of the territories east of the Carpathians from the Hungarians around 895.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=90}}{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=180, 183}} Emperor Constantine VII wrote that two Pecheneg "provinces" or "clans" ("Kato Gyla" and "Giazichopon")<ref>''Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio'' (ch. 37), p. 169.</ref> were located in Moldavia and Wallachia around 950.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=182-183}} The change of dominion had no major effect on the sedentary "Dridu"{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=120}} villages in the region.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=185-186}} The settlements in Moldavia and Wallachia, most of them built on river banks or lake shores, remained unfortified.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=200}} Sporadic finds of horse brasses and other "nomadic" objects evidence the presence of Pechenegs in "Dridu" communities.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=186}} [[Snaffle bit]]s with rigid mouthpieces and round stirrups{{mdash}}novelties of the early 10th&nbsp;century{{mdash}}were also unearthed in Moldavia and Wallachia.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=184}} Cemeteries of the locals show that inhumation replaced cremation by the end of the 10th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=186-187}}

The ''[[Eymund's saga]]'' narrates that Pechenegs ''(Tyrkir)'' with ''[[Blakumen#Blökumenn in the Flatey Book|Blökumen]]'' "and a good many other nasty people"<ref>''Eymund's Saga'' (ch. 8.), pp.&nbsp;79–80.</ref> were involved in the [[Yaroslav the Wise#Rise to the throne|disputes for the throne]] of [[Kievan Rus']] in 1019.{{sfn|Spinei|2003|pp=105, 125}} An [[Varangian runestones#Gotland|11th-century runic inscription]] on a stone from [[Gotland]] narrates that a [[Varangian]] man was murdered "on a voyage abroad" by ''[[Blakumen#Blakumen on runestone G134|Blakumen]]''.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=54}}{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=303}}{{sfn|Jesch|2001|pp=257-258}} Both ''Blökumen'' and ''Blakumen'' may refer to Vlachs inhabiting the regions east of the Carpathians,{{sfn|Spinei|2009|pp=54-55}} although their translation to "black men" cannot be excluded.{{sfn|Jesch|2001|p=258}} Graffiti depicting ships and dragons in Scandinavian style were found in the [[Basarabi Cave Complex]] at [[Murfatlar]].{{sfn|Spinei|2009|pp=52-53}}

Large groups of Pechenegs pressured from the east by the [[Ouzes]] received asylum in the Byzantine Empire in 1046 and 1047.{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|pp=89-90}} All the same, Pecheneg populations remained in the regions north of the Lower Danube even thereafter.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=117}} Some of them were admitted into the Kingdom of Hungary in the next decades, where they were settled in southern Transylvania and other regions.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|pp=126-127}}

===Byzantine revival and the Second Bulgarian Empire (970s – c.&nbsp;1185)===
{{Main|Paristrion|Second Bulgarian Empire}}
[[File:PacuiulLuiSoareConstanta.JPG|190px |thumb |right |alt=A Byzantine pendant |A pendant discovered at the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] fortress from [[Păcuiul lui Soare]]]]

Around 971, Emperor [[John I Tzimiskes]] established the ''[[Theme (Byzantine district)|theme]]'' or "district" of [[Paristrion]] in the territories occupied between the Balkan Mountains and the Lower Danube.{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=187}}{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|p=55}} Naval bases were built at Capidava, Noviodunum, and [[Păcuiul lui Soare]] on the river.{{sfn|Stephenson|2000|p=57}} Bulgarians and Vlachs living in the annexed territories often expressed their hostility towards imperial rule.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|pp=121-122}} [[Anna Comnena]] relates how local Vlachs showed "the way through the passes"<ref>''Anna Comnena: The Alexiad'' (10.3.), p. 299.</ref> of the Balkan Mountains to invading Cumans in 1094.{{sfn|Vékony|2000|p=212}} All the same, Vlachs served in the imperial army,{{sfn|Vékony|2000|p=215}} for instance during an imperial campaign against the Kingdom of Hungary in 1166.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=132}} New taxes imposed by imperial authorities caused a [[Vlach-Bulgarian Rebellion|rebellion of Vlachs and Bulgarians]] in 1185,{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=168}} which led to the establishment of the [[Second Bulgarian Empire]].{{sfn|Treptow|Popa|1996|p=''xv''}} The Vlachs' eminent status within the new state is evidenced by the writings of [[Robert of Clari]] and other western authors,{{sfn|Vékony|2000|pp=27-29}} who refer either to the new state or to its mountainous regions as "Vlachia" until the 1250s.{{sfn|Vékony|2000|pp=27-29}}

=== Kingdom of Hungary (c.&nbsp;1000 – 1241) ===
{{main|Kingdom of Hungary (1000–1301)}}
{{see also|Székely Land|Transylvanian Saxons}}
[[File:Hungary 11th cent.png|190px|thumb|right|alt=Map of the Kingdom of Hungary|The [[Kingdom of Hungary]] at the end of the 11th&nbsp;century]]

[[Stephen I of Hungary|Stephen I]], the first crowned king of Hungary whose reign began in 1000 or 1001, unified the Carpathian Basin.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=27}} Around 1003, he launched a campaign against "his maternal uncle, King [[Gyula III|Gyula]]" and occupied Transylvania.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p=66}}{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|pp=150-151}} Stephen I later turned against [[Ahtum]], "who had been baptised in the Orthodox faith in Vidin", and conquered Banat.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=248-250}} [[Hartvik]], Stephen I's [[Legenda Hartviciana|hagiographer]], wrote that the monarch "divided his territories in ten [[Diocese#Catholic Church|bishoprics]]".{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p=42}}<ref>''Hartwick, Life of King Stephen of Hungary'' (8), p. 383.</ref> In the territory of modern Romania, three Roman Catholic dioceses were established with their seats in [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Transylvania|Alba Iulia]], [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Oradea Mare|Biharea]] (from the last decades of the 11th&nbsp;century in [[Oradea]]), and [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Szeged–Csanád|Cenad]].{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=432}}

Royal administration in the entire kingdom was based on [[County (Kingdom of Hungary)|counties]] organized around royal fortresses.{{sfn|Engel|2001|pp=40-41}} In modern Romania's territory, references to an ''[[ispán]]'' or count of [[Alsó-Fehér County|Alba]]{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=355}} in 1097, and to a [[Bihar County|count of Bihor]] in 1111 evidence the appearance of the county system.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=160}} The counties in Banat and Crişana remained under direct royal authority, but a great officer of the realm, the ''[[Voivode of Transylvania|voivode]]'', supervised the ''ispáns'' of the Transylvanian counties from the end of the 12th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|pp=97-98}}

Eastward expansion of "Bijelo Brdo" villages along the Mureş continued in the 11th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=250}} Cauldrons and huts with hearths carved into the soil were the characterizing items of the period.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=169}} Nevertheless, semi-sunken huts with stone ovens from [[Sfântu Gheorghe]], [[Şimoneşti]] and other villages evidence the survival of the local population.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=169}} The lands between the Carpathians and the Tisa were plundered by Pechenegs in the 1010s{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p=99}} and in 1068, by Ouzes in 1085,{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p=100}} and by Cumans in 1091.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=250-252}} Cluj, [[Dăbâca]] and other royal forts built of earth and timber were strengthened after the 1068 attack.{{sfn|Bóna|1994|pp=162-163}} In these forts appeared the so-called "Citfalău cemeteries", dependent upon late 11th-century royal legislation forcing commoners to set up their graveyards around churches.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=250-251, 351}}

The early presence of Székelys at [[Tileagd]] in Crişana, and at [[Gârbova]], [[Saschiz]], and [[Sebeş]] in Transylvania is attested by royal charters.{{sfn|Engel|2001|pp=116-117}} Székely groups from Gârbova, Saschiz, and Sebeş were moved around 1150 into the easternmost regions of Transylvania, when the monarchs granted these territories to new settlers arriving from Western Europe.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=162}} The Székelys were organized into "[[Seat (territorial-administrative unit)|seats]]" instead of counties,{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=115}} and a royal officer, the "[[Count of the Székelys]]" became the head of their community from the 1220s.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p=133}} The Székelys provided military services to the monarchs and remained exempt of royal taxes.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|pp=136-137}}

[[File:Carta dec2004 039.jpg|190px|thumb|left|alt=Cârța Abbey|Ruins of the [[Cistercian]] [[Cârța Monastery|Abbey at Cârța]]]]

A great number of [[Flemish people|Flemish]], German, and [[Walloons|Walloon]] "guest settlers" arrived in Transylvania around 1150.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=352}} Wheel-made fine vessels with analogies in [[Thuringia]] found at [[Şelimbăr]] demonstrate the advanced technology they introduced to their new home.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=353}} An account of royal revenues from the 1190s shows that almost one-tenth of all royal income derived from taxes they paid.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p=122}} In 1224, King [[Andrew II of Hungary|Andrew II]] granted collective privileges to those inhabiting the region between [[Orăștie]] and [[Baraolt]].{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=163}} The ''[[Diploma Andreanum]]'' confirmed the custom of freely electing their priests and local leaders; only the right to appoint the head of their community, the "[[Count of Sibiu]]", was preserved for the monarchs.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=164}} The Transylvanian Saxons{{mdash}}as they were collectively mentioned from the early 13th&nbsp;century{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=353}}—also received the right to "use the forests of the Romanians and the Pechenegs" along with these peoples.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=164}}

The earliest royal charter referring to Romanians in Transylvania is connected to the foundation of the [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] [[Cârța Monastery|abbey at Cârța]] around 1202,{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=354}} which was granted land, up to that time possessed by Romanians.{{sfn|Makkai|1994|p=189}} Another royal charter reveals that Romanians fought for Bulgaria along with Saxons, Székelys and Pechenegs under the leadership of the Count of Sibiu in 1210.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p=140}} The Orthodox Romanians remained exempt from the [[tithe]] payable by all Catholic peasants to the Church.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=119}} Furthermore, they only paid a special in kind tax, the "fiftieth" on their herds.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=119}}

Organized settling continued with the arrival of the [[Teutonic Knights]] in Ţara Bârsei in 1211.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|pp=171-172}} They were granted the right to freely pass through "the land of the Székelys and the land of the Vlachs" in 1222.{{sfn|Makkai|1994|p=189}} The knights tried to free themselves from the monarch's authority, thus King Andrew II expelled them from the region in 1225.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=147}} Thereafter, the king appointed his heir, [[Béla IV of Hungary|Béla]],{{sfn|Makkai|1994|p=193}} with the title of [[duke of Transylvania|duke]], to administer Transylvania.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=95}}{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=173}} Duke Béla occupied Oltenia and set up a new province, the [[Banate of Severin]], in the 1230s.{{sfn|Engel|2001|p=95}}{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=173}}

===''Cumania:'' land of the Cumans (c.&nbsp;1060–1241)===
{{Main|Cumans}}
[[File:Baba 0084.JPG|190px|thumb|right|alt=Cuman stone statue|[[Cumans|Cuman]] stone statue from the 11th century in [[Luhansk]], [[Ukraine]]]]

The arrival of the [[Cumans]] in the Lower Danube region was first recorded in 1055.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=246}} A 17th-century version of the Turkic chronicle ''[[Oghuzname]]''{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=257}} relates that Qipchaq, the ancient Cuman hero, fought against the ''Ulak'' (Romanians), along with other nations.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=117}} Cuman groups assisted the rebelling Bulgarians and Vlachs against the Byzantines between 1186 and 1197.{{sfn|Vásáry|2005|pp=42-47}}

[[Dridu culture|Dridu]] villages of the lowlands east of the Carpathians were abandoned between 1050 and 1080,{{sfn|Curta|2006|p = 306}} around which time new settlements appeared on higher land on both banks of the Prut.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p = 306}} A sharp decrease from 300 to 35 in the number of archaeological sites{{mdash}}settlements, cemeteries and coin hords{{mdash}}evidences a population decline which continued well into the 13th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|pp = 193-194}} Byzantine troops marching towards Transylvania through the territory east of the Carpathians encountered "a land entirely bereft of men"<ref>''Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos'' (6.3.261), p. 196.</ref> in 1166.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p = 317}}

A coalition of [[List of early East Slavic states#Council of Liubech and after (1097-1237)|Rus' princes]] and Cuman tribes suffered a sound defeat by the Mongols in the [[Battle of the Kalka River]] in 1223.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=298}} Shortly thereafter [[Bortz (chieftain)|Boricius]], a Cuman chieftain,{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=406}} accepted baptism and the supremacy of the king of Hungary.{{sfn|Makkai|1994|p=193}} The [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Cumania]] was set up in his territories in 1228.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=406}} A letter of 1234{{sfn|Makkai|1994|p=193}} written by [[Pope Gregory IX]] refers to a "certain people within the Cuman bishopric called ''Walati''" (Vlachs) who even persuaded Catholic Hungarians and Germans to accept the ecclesiastic authority of Orthodox prelates.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=408}}

===Mongol invasion (1241–1242)===
{{Main|Mongol invasion of Europe}}
[[File:Thuróczy Tatárjárás.JPG|190px |thumb |right |alt=Mongol invasion |The [[Mongol invasion of the Kingdom of Hungary]] depicted in ''[[Chronica Hungarorum]]'' by [[Johannes de Thurocz]]]]

The [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]], who had decided to invade Europe in 1235,{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=409}} attacked the Cumans in 1238.{{sfn|Vásáry|2005|p=64}} Masses of Cumans sought refuge in Bulgaria and Hungary.{{sfn|Vásáry|2005|pp=64-65}} The Mongols crossed the Carpathians in March 1241,{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=410}} and soon afterwards they destroyed "the rich village of the Germans" ([[Rodna]]),<ref>''Master Roger's Epistle'' (ch. 20), p. 167.</ref> and took [[Bistrița]], Cluj,{{sfn|Makkai|1994|p=195}} and Oradea.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=410}} Another Mongol army "proceeded by way of the ''Qara-Ulagh''" ("Black Vlachs"),<ref name="Rashid">''The Successors of Genghis Khan'' (ch. 1.), p. 70.</ref> and defeated their leader named "[[Bezerenbam and Mişelav|Mishlav]]".{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=410}}<ref name="Rashid"/> They also entered Transylvania, sacked Alba Iulia, Sibiu, the abbeys at Cârța and [[Igriș Abbey|Igriș]], and Cenad.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=410}}

The Mongol invasion lasted for a year, and the Mongols devastated huge swathes of territory of the kingdom before their unexpected withdrawal in 1242.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|pp=436-442}} [[Matthew Paris]] and other contemporaneous scholars considered the Mongol invasion as a "sign of apocalypse".{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=447}}{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=413-414}} Whole villages were destroyed, and many were never rebuilt.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=414}} According to a royal charter of 1246, Alba Iulia, [[Harina]], [[Gilău, Cluj|Gilău]], [[Mărişelu]],<ref name='Tekinto_A_H'>{{Citation |last = Vistai |first = András János |title = Tekintő: Erdélyi helynévkönyv, Első kötet, A&ndash;H (""Tekintő": Book on Transylvanian Toponymy, Volume II, A&ndash;H ") |url = http://www.fatornyosfalunk.com/helynevkonyv_-_1._kotet_A-H.pdf |access-date = 27 July 2012 |archive-date = 10 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110710230653/http://www.fatornyosfalunk.com/helynevkonyv_-_1._kotet_A-H.pdf |url-status = dead }}</ref> [[Tășnad]] and [[Zalău]] were almost depopulated.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|pp=156-157}} Another charter from 1252 evidences that ''Zec'',<ref>{{Citation |last = Vistai |first = András János |title = Tekintő: Erdélyi helynévkönyv, Harmadik kötet, Q&ndash;Zs (""Tekintő": Book on Transylvanian Toponymy, Volume II, Q&ndash;Zs") |url = http://www.fatornyosfalunk.com/helynevkonyv_-_3._kotet_Q-Zs.pdf |access-date = 27 July 2012 |archive-date = 10 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110710230724/http://www.fatornyosfalunk.com/helynevkonyv_-_3._kotet_Q-Zs.pdf |url-status = dead }}</ref> a village on the Olt, was totally deserted.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p=157}}

{{Blockquote|After the devastation of the region, they [the Mongols] surrounded the great village with a combined force of some [[Tatars]] together with [[Russians]], Cumans and their Hungarian prisoners. They sent first the Hungarian prisoners ahead and when they were all slain, the Russians, the [[Böszörmény|Ishmaelites]], and Cumans went into battle. The Tatars, standing behind them all at the back, laughed at their plight and ruin and killed those who retreated from the battle and subjected as many as they could to their devouring swords, so that after fighting for a week, day and night, and filling up the moat, they captured the village. Then they made the soldiers and ladies, of whom there were many, stand in a field on one side and the peasants on the other. Having robbed them of their money, clothing and other goods, they cruelly executed them with axes and swords, leaving only some of the ladies and girls alive, whom they took for their entertainment.|''[[Roger of Torre Maggiore|Master Roger]]'s Epistle''<ref>''Master Roger's Epistle'' (ch. 37), p. 213.</ref>}}

==Aftermath==
{{Main|Romania in the Middle Ages}}
{{See also|Founding of Wallachia}}
[[File:Viennese Illuminated Chronicle Posada.jpg|190px |thumb |right |alt=Battle of Posada |The army of [[Charles Robert Anjou]] ambushed by [[Basarab I of Wallachia|Basarab]]'s army at 1330 [[Battle of Posada|Posada]] (from the ''[[Illuminated Chronicle]]'' manuscript)]]
A new period of intensive settlements began in Banat, Transylvania and other regions within the Kingdom of Hungary after the withdrawal of the Mongols.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p=2003}} King Béla IV was also considering settling the [[Knights Hospitallers]] in the lands between the Carpathians and the Lower Danube.{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=408}} His diploma of 1247 for the Knights evidences the existence of four Romanian polities in the region.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=163}} They were under the rule of ''voivodes'' [[Litovoi]] and [[Seneslau]], and of ''knezes'' [[Farcaș]] and [[John (knez)|John]].{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=163}}

Internal conflicts characterized the last decades of the 13th century in the Kingdom of Hungary.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|pp=179-183}} For instance, a feud between King Béla and his son, [[Stephen V of Hungary|Stephen]] caused a civil war which lasted from 1261 to 1266.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|pp=177-178}} Taking advantage of the emerging anarchy, Voivode Litovoi attempted to get rid of the Hungarian monarchs' suzerainty in the 1270s, but he fell in a battle while fighting against royal troops.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=192}}{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=17}} One of his successors, [[Basarab I of Wallachia]] was the first Romanian monarch whose sovereignty was internationally recognized after his victory over King [[Charles I of Hungary]] in the [[Battle of Posada]] of 1330.{{sfn|Georgescu|1991|p=17}}

==See also==
* [[Balkan–Danubian culture]]
* [[Banat in the Middle Ages]]
* [[Bulgarian lands across the Danube]]
* [[History of the Székely people]]

== Citations ==
{{Reflist|15em}}

==Sources==
===Primary sources===
{{Refbegin}}
*''Ammianus Marcellinus: The Later Roman Empire (AD&nbsp;354&ndash;378)'' (Selected and translated by Walter Hamilton, With an Introduction and Notes by Andrew Wallace-Hadrill) (2004). Penguin Books. {{ISBN|978-0-14-044406-3}}.
*''Anna Comnena: The Alexiad'' (Translated by E. R. A. Sewter) (1969). Penguin Books. {{ISBN|978-0-14-044958-7}}.
*''Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians'' (Edited, Translated and Annotated by Martyn Rady and László Veszprémy) (2010). In: Rady, Martyn; Veszprémy, László; Bak, János M. (2010); ''Anonymus and Master Roger''; CEU Press; {{ISBN|978-963-9776-95-1}}.
*''Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio'' (Greek text edited by Gyula Moravcsik, English translation b Romillyi J. H. Jenkins) (1967). Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies. {{ISBN|0-88402-021-5}}.
*''Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus by John Kinnamos'' (Translated by Charles M. Brand) (1976). Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|0-231-04080-6}}.
*''Eymund's Saga'' (1989). In ''Vikings in Russia: Yngvar's Saga and Eymund's Saga'' (Translated and Introduced by Hermann Palsson and Paul Edwards). Edingburgh University Press. pp.&nbsp;69–89. {{ISBN|0-85224-623-4}}.
*''Eutropius: Breviarium'' (Translated with an introduction and commentary by H. W. Bird) (1993). Liverpool University Press. {{ISBN|0-85323-208-3}}.
*''Genethliacus of Maximian Augustus by an Anonymous Orator (291)'' (Translation and Notes by Rodgers) (1994). In: ''In Praise of Later Roman Emperors: The Panegyrici Latini'' (Introduction, Translation, and Historical Commentary with the Latin Text of R. A. B. Mynors by C. E. V. Nixon and Barbara Saylor Rodgers) (1994); University of California Press; {{ISBN|0-520-08326-1}}.
*''Hartvic, Life of King Stephen of Hungary'' (Translated by Nora Berend) (2001). In: Head, Thomas (2001); ''Medieval Hagiography: An Anthology''; Routledge; {{ISBN|0-415-93753-1}}.
*''Master Roger's Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Tatars'' (Translated and Annotated by János M. Bak and Martyn Rady) (2010). In: Rady, Martyn; Veszprémy, László; Bak, János M. (2010); ''Anonymus and Master Roger''; CEU Press; {{ISBN|978-963-9776-95-1}}.
*''Maurice's Strategikon: Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy'' (Translated by George T. Dennis) (1984). University of Pennsylvania Press. {{ISBN|0-8122-1772-1}}.
*''Philostorgius: Church History'' (Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Philip R. Amidon, S. J.) (2007). Society of Biblical Literature. {{ISBN|978-1-58983-215-2}}.
*''Procopius: History of the Wars (Books VI.16&ndash;VII.35.)'' (With an English Translation by H. B. Dewing) (2006). Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|0-674-99191-5}}.
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*''The Annals of Fulda (Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II)'' (Translated and annotated by Timothy Reuter) (1992). Manchester University Press. {{ISBN|0-7190-3458-2}}.
*''The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD&nbsp;284&ndash;813'' (Translated with Introduction and Commentary by Cyril Mango and Roger Scott with the assistance of Geoffrey Greatrex) (2006). Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-822568-3}}.
*''The Geography of Ananias of Širak (AŠXARHAC’OYC’): The Long and the Short Recensions'' (Introduction, Translation and Commentary by Robert H. Hewsen) (1992). Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. {{ISBN|3-88226-485-3}}.
*''The Gothic History of Jordanes'' (in English Version with an Introduction and a Commentary by Charles Christopher Mierow, Ph.D., Instructor in Classics in Princeton University) (2006). Evolution Publishing. {{ISBN|1-889758-77-9}}.
*''The History of Theophylact Simocatta'' (An English Translation with Introduction and Notes: Michael and Mary Whitby) (1986). Clarendon Press. {{ISBN|0-19-822799-X}}.
*''The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle:'' Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum (Edited by Dezső Dercsényi) (1970). Corvina, Taplinger Publishing. {{ISBN|0-8008-4015-1}}.
*''The Successors of Genghis Khan'' (Translated from the Persian of Rashīd Al-Dīn by John Andrew Boyle) (1971). Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|0-231-03351-6}}.
{{Refend}}

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{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
*Brezeanu, Stelian (2001). ''History and Imperial Propaganda in Rome during the 4th Century a. Chr, A Case Study: the Abandonment of Dacia''. ''In:'' Annuario 3; Istituto Romano di cultura e ricerca umanistica.
*Pop, Ioan Aurel (1999). ''Romanians and Romania: A Brief History''. Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|0-88033-440-1}}.
*{{in lang|fr}} Durandin, Catherine (1995). ''Historie des Roumains'' [=History of the Romanians]. Librairie Artheme Fayard. {{ISBN|978-2-213-59425-5}}.
*{{in lang|ro}} Madgearu, Alexandru (2008). ''Istoria Militară a Daciei Post Romane, 275&ndash;376'' [=Military History of Post-Roman Dacia, 275&ndash;376]. Editura Cetatea de Scaun. {{ISBN|978-973-8966-70-3}}.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Refbegin}}
*[http://mek.oszk.hu/03400/03407/html/21.html "FROM DACIA TO ERDŐELVE: TRANSYLVANIA IN THE PERIOD OF THE GREAT MIGRATIONS (271–896) (István Bóna)"]
*[http://mek.oszk.hu/03400/03407/html/57.html "TRANSYLVANIA IN THE MEDIEVAL HUNGARIAN KINGDOM (896–1526) (László Makkai)"]
*[http://www.rotravel.com/History/Romanian-Principalities/ Romanian history: Romanian Principalities]
{{Refend}}

{{Romanian topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romania In The Early Middle Ages}}
[[Category:Romania in the Early Middle Ages| ]]