One Version of Romania's History

Romania - Myth - Legend - Cultures - Genealogy - Misfits - And More

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History of Victors

Topics covered in this section:

Introduction

As an old cliché tells us, history is often written — or rewritten — by the victors. Sometimes, for various political reasons, the version of history written by the victors results in little more than a national mythology. The same holds true for much of Romanian history.

Foreign Authors

It's the historians from conquering, or at least the more powerful, countries — Greece, Rome, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Turkey, Russia, and a host of others, plus foreign journalists — who tell us about much of Romania's past. As expected, these "foreign" authors focused primarily on the powerful and rich nobility — often their own countrymen — who immigrated to Romania and subjugated the native peasants.

As with most histories, often the truth got "enhanced" and enlarged over the years to fit hidden political agendas. Soon it was difficult to judge the truth from the fiction.

In other words, not surprisingly, Romania's history is mostly about everyone but the Romanians themselves. Foreign-born nobles and landowners were inclined, far too often, to keep the native peasants out of the spotlight and conveniently crushed beneath their political and economic boots.

Of course, there have been a number of Romanian historians who have tried to document their country's past. But since I don't read Romanian, their words are lost to me. Unfortunate, but true.

Romanians in the Background

So as you read these documents, remember the many faceless, nameless people in the background — the Romanians — who slaved to make a great life for their overlords. Remember, too, that while the nobility ate and drank and danced to excess in their castles on the hillsides, the Romanian peasants huddled in their small homes, hoping for a better day.