Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was a principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the senior Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. The Swabian Hohenzollerns were elevated to princes in 1623. The small sovereign state with the capital city of Sigmaringen was annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1850 following the abdication of its sovereign in the wake of the revolutions of 1848, then became part of the newly created Province of Hohenzollern.
Alexandru Ioan Cuza was the first domnitor (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 January 1859 and prince of Wallachia on 24 January 1859, which resulted in the unification of the two states. He was a prominent figure of the Revolution of 1848 in Moldavia. Following his double election, he initiated a series of reforms that contributed to the modernization of Romanian society and of state structures.
Moldavia is a historical region and former principality in Central and Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially independent and later autonomous state, it existed from the 14th century to 1859, when it united with Wallachia as the basis of the modern Romanian state; at various times, Moldavia included the regions of Bessarabia, all of Bukovina and Hertsa. The region of Pokuttya was also part of it for a period of time.
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Muntenia and Oltenia. Dobruja could sometimes be considered a third section due to its proximity and brief rule over it. Wallachia as a whole is sometimes referred to as Muntenia through identification with the larger of the two traditional sections.
The King of Romania or King of the Romanians was the title of the monarch of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when the Romanian Workers' Party proclaimed the Romanian People's Republic following Michael I's forced abdication.
Ion Constantin Brătianu was one of the major political figures of 19th-century Romania. He was the son of Dincă Brătianu and the younger brother of Dimitrie, as well as the father of Ionel, Dinu, and Vintilă Brătianu. He also was the grandfather of poet Ion Pillat.
The Middle Ages in Romania began shortly after the withdrawal of the Roman legions from the former Roman province of Dacia in the late 3rd century and with the start of the Early Middle Ages and the Migration Period that followed afterwards respectively. It subsequently came to an end with the reign of Domn Michael the Brave (1593–1601) who managed, for a short time between 1599 and 1600, to rule Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania together, the three principalities whose territories were to be united some three centuries later to form modern and contemporary Romania.
The coat of arms of Romania was adopted in the Romanian Parliament on 10 September 1992 as a representative coat of arms for Romania. The current coat of arms is based on the lesser coat of arms of interwar Kingdom of Romania, which was designed in 1921 by the Transylvanian Hungarian heraldist József Sebestyén from Cluj, at the request of King Ferdinand I of Romania, it was redesigned by Victor Dima. As a central element, it shows a golden aquila holding a cross in its beak, and a mace and a sword in its claws. It also consists of the three colors which represent the colors of the national flag. The coat of arms was augmented on 11 July 2016 to add a representation of the Steel Crown of Romania.
The Romanian Old Kingdom is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia and Moldavia. The union of the two principalities was achieved when, under the auspices of the Treaty of Paris (1856), the ad hoc Divans of both countries, which were then under Ottoman Empire suzerainty, voted for Alexander Ioan Cuza as their prince. This process achieved a de facto unification under the name of the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The region itself is defined by the result of that political act, followed by the Romanian War of Independence, the inclusion of Northern Dobruja and the transfer of the southern part of Bessarabia to the Russian Empire in 1878, the proclamation of the Kingdom of Romania in 1881, and the annexation of Southern Dobruja in 1913.
The Danubian Principalities was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) in order to designate an area on the lower Danube with a common geopolitical situation. The term was largely used then by foreign political circles and public opinion until the union of the two principalities in 1859. Alongside Transylvania, the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia became the basis for the Kingdom of Romania, and by extension the modern nation-state of Romania.
Io is the contraction of a title used mainly by the royalty in Moldavia and Wallachia, preceding their names and the complete list of titles. First used by the Asenid rulers of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the particle is the abbreviation of theophoric name Ioan (John), which comes from the original Hebrew Yohanan, meaning "God has favored". Io appeared in most documents, as issued by their respective chancelleries, since the countries' early history, but its frequency and relative importance among the princely attributes varied over time. Its usage probably dates back to the foundation of Wallachia, though it spread to Moldavia only in the 15th century. In more informal contexts, Romanians occasionally applied the title to benefactors or lieges from outiside the two countries, including John Hunyadi and George II Rákóczi.
The Royal Palace of Bucharest, known as Palace of the Republic between 1948 and 1990, is a monumental building situated in the capital of Romania, on Calea Victoriei. The palace in its various incarnations served as official residence for the kings of Romania until 1947, when the communist regime was installed after Michael I of Romania's forced abdication. Since 1950, the palace hosts the National Museum of Art of Romania. The Romanian royal family currently uses Elisabeta Palace as its official residence in Bucharest. In addition, the Romanian government allows the royal family to use the Royal Palace different occasions.
The Romanian government is the armiger in Romania. It exercises this right under the mandatory advice of the National Committee of Heraldry, Genealogy and Sigillography. The committee is subordinate to the Romanian Academy. All the coats of arms of Romanian institutions must be approved by this committee with two exceptions. The Romanian military is subject to the Ministry of National Defense Heraldric Committee, and Romanian law enforcement institutions are subject to the Ministry of Administration and Interior Heraldric Committee. Both of these committees may share members with the National Committee of Heraldry, Genealogy and Sigillography.
The Order of the Star of Romania is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the President of Romania, and has six grades, from lowest to the highest: Knight, Officer, Commander, Grand Officer, Grand Cross, and Grand Cross with Collar.
Alexandru is the Romanian form of the name Alexander. Common diminutives are Alecu, Alex, and Sandu.
Freemasonry in Romania traces its origins to the 18th century. Following an intricate history, all organised Freemasonry in the country ceased during the Communist era, although some lodges continued to operate in exile overseas. Freemasonry returned to Romania in the 1990s.
The colors of the national flag of Romania has a long history, though the association of the three colors only dates to the 18th century. Red, yellow and blue were found on late 16th-century royal grants of Michael the Brave, as well as shields and banners. Thus, the late 13th century Wijnbergen armorial shows the coat of arms of the Wallachian ruler Litovoi as consisting of a shield of ten vertically alternating gold-and-red bands,. The same two colors, gules and or, also appeared on the late 15th century flag and coat of arms of Moldavia, during the reign of Stephen the Great. Then, from the late 16th century until the mid-17th century, the historical coat of arms of Transylvania gradually developed as a shield party per fess, consisting of a black eagle on blue background in the upper field, a dividing red band in the middle, and seven red towers on golden background in the lower field. Finally, in the last quarter of the 18th century, Bukovina gets its own coat of arms from the Habsburg Empire, a blue-and-red shield party per pale with a black aurochs' head in the middle, and three golden six-pointed stars surrounding it. During the Wallachian uprising of 1821, these three colors were present, along others, on the canvas of the revolutionaries' flag and its fringes; for the first time a meaning was attributed to them: "Liberty (blue-sky), Justice, Fraternity ( blood)".
The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, commonly called United Principalities or Wallachia and Moldavia, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia. The union was formed 5 February [O.S. 24 January] 1859 when Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected as the Domnitor of both principalities. Their separate autonomous vassalage in the Ottoman Empire continued with the unification of both principalities. On 3 February [O.S. 22 January] 1862, Moldavia and Wallachia formally united to create the Romanian United Principalities, the core of the Romanian nation state.
