TRANSYLVANIA
(German: Siebenbürgen)
Transylvania
is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and
south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in
the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses
not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical regions of Crisana, Maramures,
and (Romanian) Banat. The German name (and the meaning behind the seven towers
on the region's later arms) is derived from the seven Ethnic German Saxon cities
in the region: Kronstadt (Brasov), Schäßburg (Sighisoara), Mediasch
(Medias), Hermannstadt (Sibiu), Mühlbach (Sebes), Bistritz (Bistrita) and
Klausenburg (Cluj-Napoca).
Transylvania was once the nucleus of the Kingdom of Dacia (82
BC - 106 AD). In 106 AD the Roman Empire conquered the territory and after that
its wealth was systematically exploited. Transylvania formed the nucleus of
the Dacian (Getic) kingdom and of the Roman province of Dacia. After the Roman
legions withdrew in 271 AD, it was overrun by a succession of barbarian tribes,
which subjected it to various temporary influences and migrations, and areas
of it were under the control of these peoples (Visigoths, Huns, Gepids, Avars).
Thereafter the Romanized Dacian inhabitants either moved into the mountains
and preserved their culture or migrated southward. It is likely that elements
of the mixed Daco–Roman population held out in Transylvania or in the
adjoining mountain fastness. There is an ongoing scholarly debate over the population
of Transylvania before the Hungarian conquest.
The Magyars conquered the area at the end of the 9th century
and firmly established their control over it in 1003, when their king Stephen
I, according to legend, defeated the native prince entitled or named Gyula.
Between the 1003 and 1526, Transylvania was a voivodeship of the Kingdom of
Hungary, led by a voivod appointed by the Hungarian King. After the Battle of
Mohács (1526) Transylvania effectively became an independent principality
ruled by mostly Calvinist Hungarian princes. Afterward Hungary was divided between
the Habsburgs and the Turks, and Transylvania was transformed into an autonomous
principality that was subject to Ottoman Empire's suzerainty (1566).
Habsburg Monarchy overran the territory shortly after the Battle
of Vienna in 1683. The Habsburgs recognized the Hungarian sovereignty over Transylvania,
while the Transylvanians recognized the suzerainty of the Habsburg emperor Leopold
I (1687), and the region was officially attached to Habsburg controlled Hungary,
although within the Kingdom of Hungary it was separated administratically since
it was subjected to the direct rule of the emperor’s governors. In 1699
the Turks legally conceded their loss of Transylvania (Treaty of Karlowitz);
while the anti-Habsburg elements within the principality submitted to the emperor
in 1711 (Peace of Szatmár). After the Ausgleich of 1867 the region was
fully reabsorbed into Hungary (1867), part of the newly established Austro-Hungarian
empire.
From 1711 onward, the princes of Transylvania were replaced
with Austrian governors and in 1765 Transylvania was declared a Grand Principality.
The proclamation of Transylvania as a Grand Principality was a mere formality.
Transylvania was attached to the Habsburg controlled Hungary starting at the
end of the 17th century, however, was subjected to the direct rule of the emperor's
governers governors. Within the Habsburg-controlled Kingdom of Hungary there
was a separate administrative Hungary and Transylvania.
When Austria-Hungary was defeated in World War I, the Romanians
of Transylvania in late 1918 proclaimed the land united with Romania. In 1920,
the Allies confirmed the union in the Treaty of Trianon. Hungary regained about
two-fifths of Transylvania during World War II (Vienna Award; August 1940),
but the entire region was ceded to Romania after Paris Peace Treaties, 1947.
Greschl (local word for Groschen)
