Dobruja orDobrudja (US:/ˈdoʊbrʊdʒə/;^[1]Bulgarian:Добруджа,romanized: Dobrudzha orDobrudža;Romanian:Dobrogea,pronounced[ˈdobrodʒe̯a]^ⓘor[doˈbrodʒe̯a];Turkish:Dobruca;Dobrujan Tatar:Tomrîğa;Ukrainian andRussian:Добруджа,romanized: Dobrudzha) is ageographical andhistorical region inSoutheastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories ofBulgaria andRomania. It is situated between the lowerDanube River and theBlack Sea, and includes theDanube Delta, the Romanian coast, and the northernmost part of theBulgarian coast. The territory of Dobruja is made up ofNorthern Dobruja, which is a part of Romania, andSouthern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria.

The territory of the Romanian regionDobrogea is organised as the counties ofConstanța andTulcea, with a combined area of 15,588 km² (6,019 sq mi) and, as of 2021^[update], a population of slightly less than 850,000. Its main cities areConstanța,Tulcea,Medgidia, andMangalia. Dobrogea is represented bydolphins in thecoat of arms of Romania.

The Bulgarian regionDobrudzha is divided among the provinces ofDobrich andSilistra; the following villages ofRazgrad Province: Konevo, Rainino, Terter and Madrevo; and the village General Kantardzhievo (Varna). The region has a total area of 7,566 km² (2,921 sq mi), with a combined population as of 2021^[update] of some 250,000 people. The main towns areDobrich andSilistra, the administrative centers of the two provinces.

Except for theDanube Delta, a marshy region located in its northeastern corner, Dobruja is hilly, with an average altitude of about 200–300  metres. The highest point is the Țuțuiatu (Greci) Peak in theMăcin Mountains, having a height of 467 m. TheDobruja Plateau covers most of the Romanian part of Dobruja. TheLudogorie Plateau is found in Bulgaria.Lake Razelm is one of the most important lakes in Northern Dobruja.

Dobruja lies in the temperatecontinental climatic area; the localclimate is determined by the influx of oceanic air from the northwest and northeast and continental air from theEast European Plain. Dobruja's relatively level terrain and its bare location facilitate the influx of humid, warm air in the spring, summer, and autumn from the northwest, as well as that of northern and northeastern polar air in the winter. The Black Sea also exerts an influence over the region's climate, particularly within 40–60  kilometres from the coast. The average annual temperatures range from 11 °C inland and along the Danube, to 11.8 °C on the coast and less than 10 °C in the higher parts of the plateau. The coastal region of Southern Dobruja is the most arid part of Bulgaria, with an annualprecipitation of 450  millimetres.

Dobruja is a windy region once known for itswindmills. There is wind during about 85–90% of all days; it usually comes from the north or northeast. The average wind speed is about twice higher than the average in Bulgaria. Due to the limited precipitation and the proximity to the sea, rivers in Dobruja are usually short and with low discharge. The region has several shallow seaside lakes withbrackish water.^[2]

The most widespread opinion among scholars is that the origin of the termDobruja is to be found in the Turkish rendition of the name of a 14th‑century Bulgarian ruler,despotDobrotitsa.^[3][4][5] It was common for the Turks to name countries after one of their early rulers (for example, nearbyMoldavia was known asBogdanIflak by the Turks, named afterBogdan I). Other etymologies have been considered, but never gained widespread acceptance.

Abdolonyme Ubicini believed the name meant "good lands", derived fromSlavicdobro ("good"), an opinion that was adopted by several 19th‑century scholars. This derivation appears to contrast with the usual 19th‑century description of Dobruja as a dry barren land; it has been explained as expressing the point of view ofRuthenes, who considered the Danube delta in the northern Dobruja as a significant improvement over thesteppes to the North.^[6]I. A. Nazarettean combines the Slavic word with theTatarbudjak ("corner"), thus proposing the etymology "good corner".

A version matching contemporaneous descriptions was suggested byKanitz, who associated the name with theBulgariandobrice ("rocky and unproductive terrain").^[7] According toGheorghe I. Brătianu, the name is a Slavic derivation from the Turkic wordBordjan orBrudjars, which referred to the TurkicProto-Bulgarians; this term was also used by Arabic writers.

One of the earliest documented uses of the name can be found in theTurkishOghuz-name narrative, dated to the 15th century, where it appears asDobruja-éli. Thepossessive suffixel-i indicated that the land was considered as belonging to Dobrotitsa ("دوبرجه" in the original Ottoman Turkish).^[8] The loss of the final particle is not unusual in the Turkish world, a similar evolution being observed in the name ofAydın, originallyAydın-éli.^[9] Another early use is in the 16th‑centuryLatin translation ofLaonicus Chalcondyles'Histories, where the termDobroditia is used for the originalGreek "Dobrotitsa's country" (Δοβροτίκεω χώρα).^[10] In the 17th century, the region was referred to in more accounts, with renditions such asDobrucia,Dobrutcha,Dobrus,Dobruccia,Dobroudja,Dobrudscha, and others being used by foreign authors.^[11]

Initially, the name meant just the steppe of the southern region, between the forests aroundBabadag in the north and theSilistra–Dobrich–Balchik line in the south.^[12] Eventually, the term was extended to include the northern part and theDanube Delta.^[13] In the 19th century, some authors used the name to refer just to the territory between the southernmost branch of the Danube (St. George) in the north and the Karasu Valley (nowadays theDanube-Black Sea Canal) in the south.^[14]

The territory of Dobruja has been inhabited by humans sinceMiddle andUpper Palaeolithic,^[15] as the remains atBabadag,Slava Rusă andEnisala demonstrate. Paleolithic people made tools ofsilex and ate fruits, fish, and other hunted animals. In this period fire was discovered, and at its end, the bow with arrows and the boat sculpted from a trunk tree was invented. There were found tools in caves, inclusiveGura Dobrogei. In theNeolithic, the territory was occupied by members of theHamangia culture (named after a village on the Dobrujan coast),Boian culture, andKaranovo V culture. At the end of the fifth millennium BC, theGumelniţa culture appeared in the region under the influence of Aegeo-Mediterranean tribes and cultures. In theEneolithic, populations migrating from the north of the Black Sea, of theKurgan culture, mixed with the previous population, creating theCernavodă I culture. Under the influence of Kurgan II , the Cernavodă II culture emerged. Through the combination of the Cernavodă I andEzero culture, the Cernavodă III culture developed. The region had commercial contact with the Mediterranean world by the 14th century BC, as proven by aMycenaean sword discovered atMedgidia,^[16] but under the reserve demanded by lack of hard evidence in what concerns the provenience/manufacturer of such armours.^{[clarification needed]}

During the earlyIron Age (8th–6th centuries BC), there was increased differentiation of the localGetic tribes from theThracian mass. In the second part of the 8th century BC, the first signs of commercial relations between the indigenous population and the Greeks appeared on the shore of the Halmyris Gulf (now theSinoe Lake).

In 657/656 BCancient Greek colonists fromMiletus founded a colony in the region:Histria.^[17] In the 7th and 6th centuries BC, moreGreek colonies were founded on the Dobrujan coast (Callatis,Tomis,Dionysopolis, Parthenopolis, Aphrodisias, Eumenia etc.). In the 5th century BC these colonies were under the influence of theDelian League, passing in this period fromoligarchy todemocracy.^[18] In the 6th century BC, the firstScythian groups began to enter the region. TwoGetic tribes, theCrobyzi andTerizi, and the town of Orgame (Argamum) were mentioned on the territory of present Dobruja byHekataios of Miletus (540–470 BC).^[19]

In 514/512 BC KingDarius I of Persia subdued theGetae living in the region during his expedition against Scythians living north of the Danube.^[20] At about 430 BC, theOdrysian kingdom underSitalkes extended its rule to the mouths of the Danube.^[21] In 429 BC, Getae from the region participated in an Odrysian campaign inMacedonia.^[22] In the 4th century BC, the Scythians brought Dobruja under their sway. In 341–339 BC, one of their kings,Atheas, fought against Histria, which was supported by aHistrianorum rex (probably a local Getic ruler). In 339 BC, King Atheas was defeated by theMacedonians under KingPhilip II, who afterwards extended his rule over Dobruja.^[23]

In 313  BC and again in 310–309  BC, the Greek colonies led by Callatis, supported byAntigonus I Monophthalmus, revolted against Macedonian rule.^{[citation needed]} The revolts were suppressed byLysimachus, thediadochus ofThrace, who also began a military expedition againstDromichaetes, the ruler of the Getae north of the Danube, in 300 BC. In the 3rd century BC, colonies on the Dobrujan coast paid tribute to thebasileiZalmodegikos andMoskon, who probably also ruled northern Dobruja.^{[citation needed]} In the same century,Celts settled in the north of the region. In 260  BC,Byzantion lost the war with Callatis and Histria for the control of Tomis. At the end of the 3rd century BC and the beginning of the 2nd century BC, theBastarnae settled in the area of the Danube Delta. Around 200  BC, the Thracian kingZoltes invaded the province several times, but was defeated byRhemaxos, who became the protector of the Greek colonies.^{[citation needed]}

Early Greek scholars such asHerodotus appear to have regarded the region as the south-western extension ofScythia – a practice also followed in a 2nd-century BC inscription, recording a decree made in Histria, which refers to the region surrounding the Greek city asScythia. However, thetoponym Μικρά Σκυθία (Mikra Skythia), usually translated asScythia Minor appears to have become the name for the region later known as Dobruja.^{[citation needed]} The earliest known usage ofMikra Skythia is found inStrabo's earlyGeography (1st century AD). The Greeks thus apparently distinguished it fromScythia Major, which lay north of the Danube delta.

Around 100 BC KingMithridates VI of Pontus extended his authority over the Greek cities in Dobruja.^[24] However, in 72–71 BC, during theThird Mithridatic War, these cities were occupied by the forces ofMarcus Terentius Varro Lucullus, theRomanproconsul ofMacedonia. Afoedus was signed between the Greek colonies and the Roman Republic, but in 62–61 BC the colonies revolted.^[25]Gaius Antonius Hybrida intervened, but was defeated by Getae and Bastarnae at theBattle of Histria. After 55 BC theDacian Kingdom under KingBurebista conquered Dobruja and all the Greek colonies on the coast.^[26]

In 28/29 BCRholes, aGetic ruler from Southern Dobruja, supported the proconsul of Macedonia,Marcus Licinius Crassus, in his action against the Bastarnae. Declaredfriend and ally of the Roman people byOctavian,^[27] Rholes helped Crassus in conquering the states ofDapyx (in central Dobruja) andZyraxes (in the north of the region).^[28] Dobruja became part of theclient kingdom of theOdrysians,^{[citation needed]} while the Greek cities on the coast came under direct rule of the governor ofMacedonia.^{[citation needed]}

In 6 AD the Roman province ofMoesia was created when mention is made of its governor,Caecina Severus.,^[29] but Dobruja, under the nameRipa Thraciae, remained part of the Odrysian kingdom.^{[citation needed]} The Greek cities on the coast formed apraefectura orae maritimae.

In 12 AD and 15 AD, Getic armies succeeded in conquering the cities ofAegyssus andTroesmis for a short time, but Odrysian kingRhoemetalces I defeated them with the help of the Roman army.^{[citation needed]}

In 46 ADThracia became a Roman province and the territories of present Dobruja were absorbed into the province of Moesia.^{[citation needed]} TheGeto–Dacians invaded the region several times in the 1st century AD, especially between 62 and 70.^{[citation needed]} In the same period, the base of theRoman Danube fleet (classis Flavia Moesica) was moved toNoviodunum. Thepraefectura was annexed to Moesia in 86  AD. In the same yearDomitian divided Moesia, Dobruja being included in the eastern part,Moesia Inferior.^{[citation needed]}

In the winter of 101–102 the Dacian kingDecebalus led a coalition of Dacians,Carpians,Sarmatians andBurs in an attack against Moesia Inferior. The invading army was defeated by the Roman legions under EmperorTrajan on theYantra river. (LaterNicopolis ad Istrum was founded there to commemorate the victory.) The invaders were also defeated near the modern village ofAdamclisi, in the southern part of Dobruja. The latter victory was commemorated by theTropaeum Traiani monument built in 109 at the site and the founding of the city of the same name. After 105,Legio XI Claudia andLegio V Macedonica were moved toDurostorum andTroesmis, respectively.

In 118Hadrian intervened in the region to calm a Sarmatian rebellion.^{[citation needed]} In 170Costoboci invaded Dobruja, attackingLibida,Ulmetum andTropaeum.^{[citation needed]} The province was generally stable and prosperous until thecrisis of the Third Century, which led to the weakening of defences and numerous barbarian invasions. In theGothic War (248-253) a coalition ofGoths under KingCniva devastated Dobruja.^[30] Barbarian attacks followed in 258, 263 and 267. In 269 a fleet of allied Goths,Heruli,Bastarnae and Sarmatians attacked the cities on the coast, including Tomis.^[31] In 272Aurelian defeated the Carpians north of the Danube and settled a part of them nearCarsium.^{[citation needed]} The same emperor put an end to the crisis in the Roman Empire, thus helping the reconstruction of the province.

During the reign ofDiocletian, Dobruja was organized administratively as a separate province, calledScythia, part of theDiocese of Thracia. Its capital city was Tomis. Diocletian createdLegio II Herculia andLegio I Iovia and installed them at Troesmis and Noviodunum respectively. In 331–332Constantine the Great defeated the Goths who attacked the province.^{[citation needed]} But Dobruja was devastated again byOstrogoths in 384–386. Under the Roman emperorsLicinius,Julian the Apostate, andValens, the cities of the region were repaired or rebuilt.

After the division of theRoman Empire, Dobruja was absorbed into theEastern Roman Empire. Between 513 and 520, the region participated in a revolt againstAnastasius I. Its leader,Vitalian, native ofZaldapa in Southern Dobruja, defeated the Byzantine generalHypatius nearKaliakra. DuringJustin I's rule,Antes andSlavs invaded the region, butGermanus Justinus defeated them. In 529, theGepid commanderMundus repelled a new invasion byBulgars and Antes.Kutrigurs andAvars invaded the region several times, until 561–562, when the Avars underBayan I were settled south of the Danube asfoederati. During the rule ofMauricius Tiberius, the Slavs devastated Dobruja, destroying the cities ofDorostolon, Zaldapa, and Tropaeum. In 591/593, Byzantine generalPriscus tried to stop invasions, attacking and defeating the Slavs underArdagast in the north of the province. In 602 during the mutiny of the Byzantine army in the Balkans underPhocas, a large mass of Slavs crossed the Danube, settling south of the Danube. Dobruja remained under loose Byzantine control, and was reorganised during the reign ofConstantine IV asThema Scythia.^[32]

The results of archaeological research indicate that the Byzantine presence on Dobruja's mainland and the banks of the Danube were reduced at the end of the 6th century, under the pressure of theMigration Period. In the coastal fortifications on the southern bank of the Danube, the latest Byzantine coin found dates from the time of the emperorsTiberius II Constantine (574–582) andHeraclius (610–641). After that period, all inland Byzantine cities were demolished by the invaders and abandoned.^[33]

Some of theearliest Slavic settlements to the south of Danube have been discovered in Dobruja, near the villages ofPopina,Garvăn andNova Cherna. They have been dated to the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th centuries.^[34] These lands became the main zone of compactBulgar settlement in the end of the 7th century.^[35]

According to the peace treaty of 681, signed after the Bulgarian victory over Byzantines in theBattle of Ongala, Dobruja became part of theFirst Bulgarian Empire.^[36] Shortly after, the Bulgar founded the city ofPliska, which became the first Bulgarian capital, near the southern border of Dobruja.^[37] They rebuiltMadara as a major Bulgar pagan religious centre.^[38] According to theBulgarian Apocryphal Chronicle, from the 11th century, Bulgarian TsarIspor "accepted the Bulgarian tsardom", created "great cities,Drastar on the Danube", a "great wall from Danube to the sea", "the city ofPliska" and "populated the lands ofKarvuna" (nowadaysBalchik).^[39]

According to Bulgarian historians, during the 7th–10th centuries, the region was fortified by construction of a large network of earthen and wooden strongholds and ramparts.^[40] Around the end of the 8th century, widespread building of new stone fortresses and defensive walls began.^[41] The Bulgarians also reconstructed some of the ruined Byzantine fortresses (Kaliakra andSilistra in the 8th century, Madara andVarna in the 9th).^[42] According to Barnea, among other historians, during the following three centuries of Bulgarian domination, Byzantines still controlled the Black Sea coast and the mouths of Danube, and for short periods, even some cities.^[43] But Bulgarian archaeologists note that the last Byzantine coins found, which are considered a proof of Byzantine presence, date inKaliakra from the time of EmperorJustin II (565–578),^[44] inVarna from the time of EmperorHeraclius (610–641),^[45] and in Tomis fromConstantine IV's rule (668–685).^[46]

At the beginning of the 8th century,Justinian II visited Dobruja to ask BulgarianKhanTervel for military help. KhanOmurtag (815–831) built a "glorious home on the Danube" and erected a mound in the middle of the distance between Pliska and his new building, according to his inscription kept inSS. Forty Martyrs Church inVeliko Tarnovo. The location of this edifice is unclear; the main theories place it at Silistra or atPăcuiul lui Soare.^[47] Many early medieval Bulgar stone inscriptions were found in Dobruja, including historical narratives, inventories of armament or buildings, and commemorative texts.^[48] During this period Silistra became an important Bulgarian ecclesiastical centre—an episcopate after 865 and seat of the Bulgarian Patriarch at the end of the 10th century.^[49] In 895,Magyar tribes fromBudjak invaded Dobruja and northeastern Bulgaria. An old Slavic inscription, found atMircea Vodă, mentionsZhupan Dimitri (Дѣимитрѣ жѹпанѣ), a local feudal landlord prominent in the south of the region in 943.^[50]

With financial encouragement from the Byzantine emperor,Nikephoros II Phocas,Sviatoslav I of Kiev agreed to assist the Byzantines in their war with the Bulgarians. Sviatoslav defeated the Bulgarians (led byBoris II) and proceeded to occupy the whole of northern Bulgaria. He occupied Dobruja in 968 and moved the capital ofKievan Rus' toPereyaslavets, in the north of the region. Sviatoslav refused to turn his Balkan conquests over to the Byzantines, and the parties fell out as a result. So the Byzantines underJohn I Tzimisces reconquered Dobruja in 971 and included it in the theme 'Mesopotamia of the West' (Μεσοποταμια της Δυσεον).^[51]

According to some historians, soon after 976^[52] or in 986, the southern part of Dobruja was included in the Bulgarian state then ruled bySamuel. The northern part remained under Byzantine rule, being reorganised in an autonomousklimata.^[53][54] Other historians are of the view that Northern Dobruja was reconquered by Bulgarians as well.^[55] In 1000, a Byzantine army commanded byTheodorokanos reconquered the whole of Dobruja,^[56] organizing the region as theStrategia ofDorostolon and, after 1020, asParistrion (Paradounavon).

To prevent mounted attacks from the north, the Byzantines constructed threeramparts from the Black Sea down to the Danube, in the 10th–11th centuries.^[57][58] According to Bulgarian archaeologists and historians, these fortifications may have been built much earlier and were erected by the First Bulgarian Empire in response to the threat ofKhazars' raids.^[59][60]

From the 10th century, Byzantines accepted small groups ofPechenegs settling in Dobruja.^[61] In the spring of 1036, an invasion of the Pecheneg devastated large parts of the region,^[62] destroying the forts atCapidava andDervent, and burning the settlement ofDinogeţia. In 1046 the Byzantines accepted the Pecheneg underKegen settling in Paristrion as foederati.^[63] The Pecheneg dominated the region until 1059, whenIsaac I Komnenos reconquered Dobruja.

In 1064, an invasion by theOghuz Turks affected the region. During 1072 to 1074, when Nestor (the newstrategos of Paristrion) was in Dristra, he found that the Pecheneg ruler, Tatrys, was leading a rebellion. In 1091, three autonomous, probably Pecheneg,^[64] rulers were mentioned in theAlexiad: Tatos (Τατοῦ) or Chalis (χαλῆ), in the area ofDristra (probably the same person as Tatrys),^[65] and Sesthlav (Σεσθλάβου) and Satza (Σατζά) in the area ofVicina.^[66] TheCumans moved into Dobruja in 1094 and were influential in the region until the advent of theOttoman Empire.^[67]

In 1187 the Byzantines lost control of Dobruja to the restored Bulgarian Empire. In 1241, the firstTatar groups, underKadan, invaded Dobruja starting a century long history of turmoil in the region.^[68] Around 1263–64, Byzantine EmperorMichael VIII Palaeologus gave permission toSultanKaykaus II to settle in the area with a group ofSeljuk Turks fromAnatolia.^[69] A missionaryTurkish mystic,Sarı Saltuk, was the spiritual leader of this group.^[70] His tomb inBabadag (which was named after him)^[71] is still a place of pilgrimage for Muslims.^[72]Arab chronicles of the 13th century mentioned Dobrogea under the name "Şakji" and the Vlachs inhabitants under the names "al-Awalak" and "ulaqut".^[73]In 1265, the Bulgarian EmperorConstantine Tikh Asen hired 20,000 Tatars to cross the Danube and attack ByzantineThrace.^[74][75] On their way back, the Tatars forced most of the Seljuk Turks, including their chief Sarı Saltuk, to resettle in Kipchak (Cumania).^[76][77]

In the second part of the 13th century, the Turco–MongolianGolden Horde Empire continuously raided and plundered Dobruja.^[78] The inability of the Bulgarian authorities to cope with the numerous raids became the main reason for the uprising, led byIvailo (1277–1280), that broke out in eastern Bulgaria.^[79] Ivailo's army defeated the Tatars, who were forced to leave the Bulgarian territory; he next outed Constantine Tikh's army, and Ivailo has crowned Emperor of Bulgaria.

The war with the Tatars continued. In 1278, after a new Tatar invasion in Dobruja, Ivailo was forced to retreat to the strong fortress of Silistra, where he withstood a three-month siege.^[80] In 1280 the Bulgarian nobility, which feared the growing influence of the peasant emperor, organised a coup. Ivailo had to flee to his enemy the TatarNogai Khan, who later killed him.^[81] In 1300Toqta, the new Khan of the Golden Horde, cededBessarabia to EmperorTheodore Svetoslav.^[82]

In 1325, theEcumenical Patriarch nominated Methodius as Metropolitan of Varna and Carvona.^[83] After this date,Balik/Balica^[84] is mentioned as a local ruler in Southern Dobruja. In 1346, he supportedJohn V Palaeologus in hisdispute for the Byzantine throne withJohn VI Cantacuzenus. He sent an army corps under his sonDobrotitsa/Dobrotici and his brother, Theodore, to help the mother of John Palaeologus, Anna of Savoy. For his bravery, Dobrotitsa received the title ofstrategos and married the daughter ofmegaduxApokaukos.^[85] After the reconciliation of the two pretenders, a territorial dispute broke out between the Dobrujan polity and the Byzantine Empire for the port ofMidia.^[86] In 1347, at John V Palaeologus' request,EmirBahud-din Umur,Bey ofAydın, led a naval expedition against Balik, destroying Dobruja's seaports. Balik and Theodore died during the confrontation, and Dobrotitsa became the new ruler.^[87]

Between 1352 and 1359, with the collapse of Golden Horde rule in Northern Dobruja, a new state appeared. It was controlled byTatar princeDemetrius, who claimed to be the protector of the river mouths of the Danube.^[88]

In 1357 Dobrotitsa was mentioned as adespot ruling over a large territory, including the fortresses ofVarna, Kozeakos (nearObzor), andEmona.^[89] In 1366, John V Palaeologus visited Rome andBuda, trying to gather military support for his campaigns. On his return, he was captured at Vidin byIvan Alexander,Tsar ofTarnovo, who believed that the new alliances were directed against his realm. An anti-Ottoman crusade underAmadeus VI of Savoy, supported by the republics ofVenice andGenoa, was diverted to free the Byzantine emperor. Dobrotitsa collaborated with the crusaders, and after the allies conquered several Bulgarian forts on the Black Sea, Ivan Alexander freed John and negotiated a peace agreement. Dobrotitsa's role in this conflict brought him numerous political advantages: his daughter married one of John V's sons, Michael, and his principality extended its control over some of the forts lost by the Bulgarians (Anchialos andMesembria).

In 1368, after the death of prince Demetrius, Dobrotitsa was recognised as ruler byPangalia and other cities on the right bank of the Danube. In 1369, together withVladislav I of Wallachia, Dobrotitsa helped PrinceStratsimir to win back the throne ofVidin.

Between 1370 and 1375, allied with Venice, Dobritsia challenged Genoese power in the Black Sea. In 1376, he tried to impose his son-in-law, Michael, as Emperor ofTrebizond, but was unsuccessful. Dobrotitsa supported John V Palaeologus against his sonAndronicus IV Palaeologus. In 1379, the Dobrujan fleet participated in the blockade ofConstantinople, fighting with the Genoese fleet.

In 1386, Dobrotitsa died and was succeeded byIvanko. That same year he accepted a peace agreement withMurad I and in 1387 signed a commercial treaty with Genoa. Ivanko was killed in 1388 during the expedition ofOttoman Grand VizierÇandarli Ali Pasha againstTarnovo andDristra. The expedition brought most of the Dobrujan forts under Turkish rule.

In 1388/1389 Dobruja (Terrae Dobrodicii—as mentioned in a document from 1390) and Dristra (Dârstor) came under the control ofMircea the Elder, ruler ofWallachia, who defeated theOttomanGrand Vizier.

Ottoman SultanBayezid I conquered the southern part of the territory in 1393, attacking Mircea one year later, but without success. In the spring of 1395Mircea regained the lost Dobrujan territories, with the help of hisHungarian allies.

The Ottomans recaptured Dobruja in 1397 and ruled it to 1404, although in 1401 Mircea strongly defeated an Ottoman army.

The defeat of Sultan Beyezid I byTamerlane atAnkara in 1402 opened a period of anarchy in the Ottoman Empire. Mircea took advantage of it to organise a new anti-Ottoman campaign: in 1403, he occupied the Genoese fort ofKilia at the mouths of the Danube. Thus in 1404, he could impose his authority on Dobruja. In 1416, Mircea supported the revolt againstSultanMehmed I, led bySheikh Bedreddin in the area of Deliorman, in Southern Dobruja.^[90]

After Mircea died in 1418, his sonMihail I fought against the amplified Ottoman attacks, eventually being killed in a battle in 1420. That year, Sultan Mehmed I conducted the definitive conquest of Dobruja by theTurks.Wallachia kept only the mouths of the Danube, but not for a long duration.

In the late 14th century, German travellerJohann Schiltberger described these lands as follows:^[91]

I was in three regions, and all three were called Bulgaria. ... The third Bulgaria is there, where theDanube flows intothe sea. Its capital is called Kaliakra.

Annexed by theOttoman Empire in 1420, the region remained under Ottoman control until the late 19th century. Initially, it was organised as anudj (border province), included in thesanjak of Silistra, part of theEyalet of Rumelia. Later, underMurad II orSuleiman I, the sanjak of Silistra and surrounding territories were organised as a separateeyalet.^[92] In 1555, a revolt led by the "false" (düzme) Mustafa, a pretender to the Turkish throne, broke out against Ottoman administration inRumelia and rapidly spread to Dobruja, but was repressed by thebeylerbey ofNigbolu.^[93][94] In 1603 and 1612, the region suffered from the forays ofCossacks, who burnt downIsaķči and plunderedKüstendje.

The Russian Empire occupied Dobruja several times during theRusso-Turkish wars — in 1771–1774, 1790–1791, 1809–1810, 1829, and 1853. The most violent invasion was that of 1829, which resulted in the depopulation of numerous villages and towns. TheTreaty of Adrianople of 1829 ceded theDanube Delta to theRussian Empire. However, Russia was forced to return it to the Ottomans in 1856, after theCrimean War. In 1864 Dobruja was included in theVilayet of Danube.

After the 1878 war, theTreaty of San Stefano awarded Dobruja toRussia and the newly establishedPrincipality of Bulgaria. The northern portion, held by Russia, was ceded to Romania in exchange for Russia obtaining territories inSouthern Bessarabia, thereby securing direct access to the mouths of theDanube. The population included a Bulgarian ethnic enclave in the northeast (aroundBabadag), as well as an important Muslim majority (mostly Turks and Tatars) scattered around the region.

The southern portion, held by Bulgaria, was reduced the same year by theTreaty of Berlin. At the advice of the French envoy, a strip of land extended inland from the port ofMangalia (shown orange on the map) was ceded to Romania, since its southwestern corner contained a compact area of ethnic Romanians. The town ofSilistra, located at the area's most southwestern point, remained Bulgarian due to its large Bulgarian population. Romania subsequently tried to occupy the town as well, but in 1879 a new international commission allowed Romania to occupy only the fortArab Tabia, which overlooked Silistra, but not the town itself.

At the beginning of theRusso-Turkish War of 1877–1878, most of Dobruja's population was composed of ethnic Tatars, and Turks, with minorities of Romanians, and Bulgarians. During the war, a large part of the Muslim population was evacuated to Bulgaria and Turkey.^[95] After 1878, the Romanian government encouraged Romanians from other regions to settle in Northern Dobruja and accepted the return of some Muslim population displaced by the war.^[96]

According to Bulgarian historians, after 1878 the Romanian church authorities took control over all local churches, with the exception of two in the towns of Tulcea and Constanţa, which managed to retain use of their Bulgarian Slavonic liturgy.^[97] Between 1879 and 1900, Bulgarians built 15 new churches in Northern Dobruja.^[98] After 1880,Italians fromFriuli andVeneto settled in Greci, Cataloi andMăcin in Northern Dobruja. Most of them worked in the granite quarries in theMăcin Mountains, while some became farmers.^[99] The Bulgarian authorities encouraged the settling of ethnic Bulgarians in the territory of Southern Dobruja.^[100]

In May 1913, theGreat Powers awarded Silistra and the area in a 3  km radius around it to Romania, at theSaint Petersburg Conference. In August 1913, after theSecond Balkan War, Bulgaria lostSouthern Dobruja (Cadrilater) to Romania (SeeTreaty of Bucharest, 1913). With Romania's entry inWorld War I on the side of France and Russia, theCentral Powers occupied all of Dobruja and gave the Cadrilater, as well as the southern portion of Northern Dobruja, to Bulgaria in theTreaty of Bucharest of 1918. This situation lasted for a short period. As theAllied Powers emerged victorious at the end of the war, Romania regained the lost territories in theTreaty of Neuilly of 1919. Between 1926 and 1938, about 30,000Aromanians from Bulgaria,Macedonia, and Greece, were resettled in Southern Dobruja. SomeMegleno-Romanians also emigrated to the region.

In 1923 theInternal Dobrujan Revolutionary Organisation (IDRO), a Bulgarian nationalist organisation, was established. Active in Southern Dobruja under different forms until 1940, the IDRO detachments fought against the widespread brigandage in the region,^[101] as well as the Romanian administration. Thus, while considered "a terrorist organisation" by the Romanian authorities, the IDRO was regarded by ethnic Bulgarians as a liberation movement. In 1925, part of the Bulgarian revolutionary committees formed theDobrujan Revolutionary Organisation (DRO), which later became subordinated to theCommunist Party of Romania. In contrast with the IDRO, which fought for the inclusion of the region in the Bulgarian state, the DRO requested the independence of Dobruja and its inclusion in a projectedFederative Republic of the Balkans.^[102] The means used by DRO to attain its goals were also more peaceful.

DuringWorld War II, Bulgaria regained Southern Dobruja in the September 1940Axis-sponsoredTreaty of Craiova, despite Romanian negotiators' insistence thatBalchik and other towns should remain in Romania. As part of the treaty, theRomanian inhabitants (Aromanian and Megleno-Romanianrefugee-settlers, settlers from other regions of Romania, and the Romanians indigenous to the region) were forced to leave the regained territory, while the Bulgarian minority in the north was expelled to go to Bulgaria in apopulation exchange. The post-warParis Peace Treaties of 1947 reaffirmed the 1940 border.

In 1948 and again in 1961–1962, Bulgaria proposed a border rectification in the area of Silistra, consisting mainly of the transfer of a Romanian territory containing the water source of that city. Romania made an alternative proposal that did not involve a territorial change and, ultimately, no rectification took place.^[103]

In Romania, 14 November is a holiday observed asDobruja Day.^[104]

During Ottoman rule, groups ofTurk,Arab,Muslim Romani people andCrimean Tatars settled in the region, the latter, especially between 1512 and 1514. During the reign ofPeter I of Russia andCatherine the Great,Lipovans immigrated to the region of the Danube Delta. On account of theRusso-Turkish War (1768–1774), one of the greatest migration events of the region occurred where an estimated 200,000 Tatars emigrated to the Dobruja region between 1770 and 1784. Whereas, a large group of Christians (likely Greeks and Slavs) moved the other direction into theTatars' recently-loss region ofAzov in 1778.^[105] After the destruction ofZaporozhian Sich in 1775,Cossacks were settled in the area north of Lake Razim by the Turkish authorities (where they founded theDanubian Sich). They were forced to leave Dobruja in 1828.

In the second part of the nineteenth century,Ruthenians from theAustrian Empire also settled in the Danube Delta. After theCrimean War, a large number ofTatars were forcibly driven away fromCrimea, immigrating to then-Ottoman Dobruja and settling mainly in the Karasu Valley in the centre of the region and around Bābā Dāgh. In 1864,Circassians fleeing from the Russian invasion and genocide of theCaucasus were settled in the wooded region near Babadag, forminga community there.Germans fromBessarabia also founded colonies in Dobruja between 1840 and 1892.

According to Bulgarian historianLyubomir Miletich, most Bulgarians living in Dobruja in 1900 were nineteenth-century settlers or their descendants.^[106][107] In 1850, the scholarIon Ionescu de la Brad, wrote in a study on Dobruja, ordered by the Ottoman government, that Bulgarians came to the region "in the last twenty years or so".^[108] According to his study, there were 2,285 Bulgarian families (out of 8,194 Christian families) in the region,^[109] 1,194 of them in Northern Dobruja.^[110] Lyubomir Miletich puts the number of Bulgarian families in Northern Dobruja in the same year at 2,097.^[111] According to the statistics of theBulgarian Exarchate, before 1877 there were 9,324 Bulgarian families out of a total 12,364 Christian families in the Northern Dobruja.^[112] According to Russianknyaz Vladimir Cherkassky, chief of the Provisional Russian government in Bulgaria in 1877–1878, the Bulgarian population in Dobruja was larger than the Romanian one.^[112] However, count Shuvalov, the Russian representative to theCongress of Berlin, stated that Romania deserved Dobruja "more than anybody else, because of its population".^[113] In 1878, the statistics of the Russian governor of Dobruja, Bieloserkovitsch, showed a number of 4,750 Bulgarian "family chiefs" (out of 14,612 Christian family chiefs) in the northern half of the region.^[110]

The Christian religious organisation of the region was put under the authority of theBulgarian Orthodox Church by afirman of theSultan, promulgated on February 28, 1870.^[114] However, the ethnic Greeks and most Romanians in Northern Dobruja remained under the authority of theGreek Archdiocese ofTulça (founded in 1829).^[115][116]

In 1913, Dobruja was all made part of Romania in the aftermath of the1913 Treaty of Bucharest which ended theSecond Balkan War. Romania acquired Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria, a territory with a population of 300,000 from which only 6,000 (2%) were Romanians.^[117] In 1913, Romanian-held Northern Dobruja had a population of 380,430, from which 216,425 (56.8%) were Romanians.^[118] Thus, when Dobruja was unified within Romania in 1913, there were over 222,000 Romanians in the region out of a total population of 680,000, or nearly 33% of the population. By 1930, the Romanian population within Dobruja had increased to 44.2%.^[119]

¹According to the 1926–1938 Romanian administrative division (counties ofConstanța andTulcea), which excluded a part of today's Romania (chiefly the communes ofOstrov andLipnița, now part ofConstanța County) and included a part of today's Bulgaria (parts ofGeneral Toshevo andKrushari municipalities)

²Only Russians. (Russians and Lipovans counted separately)

¹According to the 1926–1938 Romanian administrative division (counties ofDurostor andCaliacra), which included a part of today's Romania (chiefly the communes ofOstrov andLipnița, now part ofConstanța County) and excluded a part of today's Bulgaria (parts ofGeneral Toshevo andKrushari municipalities)

²Including persons counted asVlachs in Bulgarian Census

³Only includes persons who answered the optional question on ethnic identity. The total population was 309,151.

⁴Only includes persons who answered the optional question on ethnic identity. The total population was 247,916.

The entire region of Dobruja has an area of around 23,100 km² (8,919 sq mi) and a population of around 1.2 million, of which just over two-thirds of the former and nearly three-quarters of the latter lie in the Romanian part.

Major cities areConstanța,Tulcea,Medgidia andMangalia in Romania, andDobrich andSilistra in Bulgaria.

•  
  Constanța
•  
  Tulcea
•  
  Medgidia
•  
  Mangalia
•  
  Dobrich
•  
  Silistra

• Bulgaria during World War I
• Romania during World War I

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