Oltenia

For the place of the same name in Greece, seeLittle Wallachia.

Oltenia
Historical region
Olt Defile,Vâlcea County
Coat of arms
Nickname: "Lesser Wallachia"
Oltenia within the Regions of Romania
Coordinates:44°30′N23°30′E
Country	Romania
Largest city	Craiova
Area
• Total	24,095 km2(9,303 sq mi)
Demonym	Oltenian
Time zone	UTC+2(EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3(EEST)

Oltenia(Romanian pronunciation:[olˈteni.a],also calledLesserWallachiain antiquated versions, with the alternativeLatinnamesWallachia Minor,Wallachia Alutana,Wallachia Caesareabetween 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region ofRomaniain western Wallachia. It is situated between theDanube,theSouthern Carpathiansand theOlt river.

History

Ancient times

Main articles:Getae,Dacians,Dacia,Domitian's Dacian War,Trajan's Dacian Wars,andRoman Dacia

Sucidava- ancient Roman citadel atCorabia

Initially inhabited byDacians,Oltenia was incorporated in theRoman Empire(106, at the end of theDacian Wars;seeRoman Dacia). In 129, duringHadrian's rule, it formedDacia Inferior,one of the two divisions of the province (together withDacia Superior,in today'sTransylvania);Marcus Aurelius' administrative reform made Oltenia one of the three new divisions (tres Daciae) asDacia Malvensis,its capital and chief city being namedRomula.It was colonized withveteransof theRoman legions.The Romans withdrew their administration south of the Danube at the end of the 3rd century and Oltenia was ruled by thefoederatiGermanicGoths.In the late 4th century Oltenia came under the rule of theTaifalsbefore invasion by theHuns.

Middle Ages

Main articles:Origin of the Romanians,Romania in the Early Middle Ages,Romania in the Middle Ages,andFoundation of Wallachia

Horezu Monastery- UNESCO World Heritage

From 681, with some interruptions, it was part of theBulgarian Empire(seeBulgarian lands across the Danube).

Banate of Severin

In 1233, theKingdom of Hungaryformed theBanate of Severinin the western part of the region that would persist until the 1526Battle of Mohács.

Around 1247, a polity emerged in Oltenia under the rule ofLitovoi.The rise of the medieval state ofWallachiafollowed in the 14th century, and thevoivode(Prince of Wallachia) was represented in Oltenia by aban- "theGreat Ban of Craiova"(with seat inCraiovaafter it was moved fromStrehaia). This came to be considered the greatest office in Wallachian hierarchy, and one that was held most by members of theCraioveștifamily, from the late 15th century to about 1550. The title would continue to exist up until 1831.

During the 15th century, Wallachia had to accept theOttomansuzeraintyand to pay an annualtributeto keep its autonomy as a vassal. From the Craiovești family, many bans cooperated with the Turks. However, many rulers, including the Oltenian-bornMichael the Brave,fought against the Ottomans, giving Wallachia brief periods of independence.

Modern times

Main articles:Early Modern Romania,History of the Russo-Turkish wars,Phanariotes,andNational awakening of Romania

After 1716, the Ottomans decided to cease choosing the voivodes from among the Wallachian boyars, and to appoint foreign governors. As the governors were Orthodox Greeks living inPhanar,Constantinople, this period is known as thePhanarioteregime.

Oltenia under theAustrian Empireas theBanat of Craiovain the 18th century

Two years later, in 1718 under the terms of theTreaty of Passarowitz,Oltenia was split from Wallachia and annexed by theHabsburg monarchyas theBanat of Craiova(de facto,it was under Austrian occupation by 1716); in 1737, it was returned to Wallachia under PrinceConstantine Mavrocordatos(seeAustro-Turkish War of 1716–1718andAustro-Russian–Turkish War (1735–1739)). Under the occupation, Oltenia was the only part of theDanubian Principalities(with the later exception ofBukovina) to experienceEnlightened absolutismand Austrian administration, although these were met by considerable and mounting opposition fromconservativeboyars.While welcomed at first as liberators, the Austrians quickly disenchanted the inhabitants by imposing rigid administrative, fiscal, judicial and political reforms which were meant to centralize and integrate the territory (antagonizing both ends of the social spectrum: withdrawingprivilegesfrom the nobility and enforcing taxes for peasants).

In 1761, the residence of Bans was moved toBucharest,in a move towardscentralism(akaymakamrepresented the boyars in Craiova). It remained there until the death of the last Ban,Barbu Văcărescu,in 1832.

In 1821, Oltenia andGorj Countywere at the center ofTudor Vladimirescu's uprising (seeWallachian uprising of 1821). Vladimirescu initially gathered hisPandursinPadeșand relied on a grid of fortified monasteries such asTismanaand Strehaia.

Symbols

The traditional heraldic symbol of Oltenia, also understood to representBanat,is part of thecoat of arms of Romania(lowerdexter): ongulesfield, anorlionrampant, facingdexter,holding a sword, and standing over anorbridge (Apollodorus of Damascus Bridge at Drobeta Turnu Severin) and stylised waves.

Since its promulgation on 13 April 2017,Oltenia Dayis officially celebrated on 21 March.

Geography

The counties which comprise Oltenia

TheOlt Riverseparates Oltenia from Muntenia

Suspension bridge inCraiova'sNicolae Romanescu Park

Oltenia is part of theSud - Vest development region.It entirely includes thecountiesofGorjandDoljand parts of the counties ofMehedinți(mainly in Oltenia, but the western part belongs toBanat),Vâlcea(part east of the Olt river is inMuntenia,a small part in the north-east lies inTransylvania),Olt(the western half, the formerRomanați county) andTeleorman(only the communeIslaz).

Oltenia's main city and seat for a majority of the lateMiddle AgesisCraiova.The first medieval seat of Oltenia wasTurnu Severin,anciently called Drobeta, in theBanate of Severin.That city is located near the site ofTrajan's Bridge,built byApollodorus of DamascusforEmperor Trajanin his conquest of the region.

Towns

City	County	Population
Craiova	Dolj	302,601
Râmnicu Vâlcea	Vâlcea	107,656
Drobeta-Turnu Severin	Mehedinți	92,617
Târgu Jiu	Gorj	82,504
Slatina	Olt	63,487
Caracal	Olt	34,603
Motru	Gorj	25,860
Balș	Olt	23,147
Drăgășani	Vâlcea	22,499
Băilești	Dolj	22,231
Corabia	Olt	21,932
Calafat	Dolj	21,227
Filiași	Dolj	20,159
Dăbuleni	Dolj	13,888
Rovinari	Gorj	12,603
Strehaia	Mehedinți	12,564
Bumbești-Jiu	Gorj	11,882
Băbeni	Vâlcea	9,475
Târgu Cărbunești	Gorj	9,338
Călimănești	Vâlcea	8,923
Segarcea	Dolj	8,704
Turceni	Gorj	8,550
Brezoi	Vâlcea	7,589
Tismana	Gorj	7,578
Horezu	Vâlcea	7,446
Vânju Mare	Mehedinți	7,074
Piatra Olt	Olt	6,583
Novaci	Gorj	6,151
Bălcești	Vâlcea	5,780
Baia de Aramă	Mehedinți	5,724
Berbești	Vâlcea	5,704
Țicleni	Gorj	5,205
Băile Olăneşti	Vâlcea	4,814
Bechet	Dolj	3,864
Ocnele Mari	Vâlcea	3,591
Băile Govora	Vâlcea	3,147

Sources

• Vlad Georgescu,Istoria ideilor politice românești (1369–1878),Munich, 1987
• Neagu Djuvara,Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne,Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995
• Constantin C. Giurescu,Istoria Bucureștilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre,Ed. Pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1966, p. 93
• Șerban Papacostea,Oltenia sub stăpânirea austriacă (1718–1739),Bucharest, 1971, p. 59
• Ingrao, Charles; Samardžić, Nikola; Pešalj, Jovan, eds. (2011).The Peace of Passarowitz, 1718.West Lafayette: Purdue University Press.ISBN9781557535948.