TheRomanian Old Kingdom (Romanian:Vechiul Regat or justRegat;German:Regat orAltreich) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independentRomaniannation state, which was composed of theRomanian Principalities:Wallachia andMoldavia. The union of the two principalities was achieved when, under the auspices of theTreaty of Paris (1856), thead hoc Divans of both countries, which were then underOttoman Empiresuzerainty, voted forAlexander Ioan Cuza as their prince. This process achieved ade facto unification under the name of theUnited Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The region itself is defined by the result of that political act, followed by theRomanian War of Independence, the inclusion ofNorthern Dobruja and the transfer of the southern part ofBessarabia to theRussian Empire in 1878, the proclamation of theKingdom of Romania in 1881, and the annexation ofSouthern Dobruja in 1913.
The term came into use afterWorld War I, when the Old Kingdom becameGreater Romania, after includingTransylvania,Banat,Bessarabia, andBukovina. The term now has mainly a historical relevance and is otherwise used as a common term for all regions in Romania included in both the Old Kingdom and the present borders (Wallachia, Moldavia, and Northern Dobruja).
.svg)
  | ThisRomanian history-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |