Mythologies of Romanian Tribes

Indigenous identity can be a source of pride, but it can also lead to social exclusion if not understood or respected by the broader society. Fostering social inclusion and promoting awareness about the cultural richness of indigenous communities is pivotal for building a harmonious and diverse Romania. The forces of modernization and globalization present both opportunities and challenges. While connectivity can facilitate cultural exchange and economic opportunities, it also brings the risk of cultural homogenization. Balancing the benefits of modernization with the preservation of indigenous identities requires thoughtful and inclusive approaches. Preserving the indigenous identity of communities like the Székelys involves a multi-faceted approach that addresses historical, cultural, and socio-economic dimensions. Initiatives that contribute to the preservation and celebration of indigenous identity. Integrating indigenous perspectives into educational curricula fosters a better understanding of the cultural richness of these communities. This includes acknowledging indigenous history, contributions, and the importance of preserving traditional knowledge. Ensuring legal recognition and protection of indigenous land rights is a fundamental step. This involves acknowledging historical ties to the land, addressing issues of autonomy, and providing mechanisms for indigenous communities to actively participate in decision-making processes. Economic empowerment initiatives that provide training, resources, and opportunities for sustainable livelihoods contribute to the well-being of indigenous communities. This can include supporting local businesses, promoting traditional crafts, and creating avenues for economic self-sufficiency.

The oldest traces of human habitation in Romania date from the paleolithic (stone age) period. Settled communities whose residents engaged in hunting, agriculture and stock breeding appeared ten thousand years ago. During the second millenium B.C., the Romanian area was inhabited by the autonomous Thracians, an Indo-European people, who merged with the native population to produce the Dacian people. Tribes arose, federations were formed and small kingdoms emerged. During the first century B.C. a strong independent Dacian Kingdom arose, centered in the Orastie Mountains of southern Transylvania, where it developed its political. economic and military center at Sarmisagetusa. It grew to include approximately the entire territory of modern Romania and established trading relations with the Greek cities founded on the Black Sea coast. An aristocratic class and a non-aristocratic, but free, class of citizens evolved, while slaves were used only on a small scale for domestic service. The religion of the Thraco-Dacians was monotheistic and centered on the worshop of Zalmoxes and in the belief in the immortality of the soul. There superior religious ideas allowed Christianity to be easily accepted by the people when the new religion was introduced to them. The Dacian Kingdom flourished from the first century B.C. to the first century A.D., under the leadership of a series of successful rulers, including King Burebista and Decebalus. Dacia entered into conflict with the expanding Roman Empire, engaging it in two fierce wars, 101-102 A.D. and 105-106 A.D., before being conquered by the Roman armies lead by Emperor Trajan. Dacia was integrated into the Roman Empire between 106 and 271 A.D. Under Roman administration, agriculture, mining, trade, crafts, arts and culture developed. The Dacian population adopted the vulgate Latin language of the Romans, fused with the colonists to from a Daco-Roman population which simultaneously received the Christian religion and formed the basis of the present day Romanian people. Emperor Aurelian, facing the onslaught of the barbarian invasions, withdrew the Roman military garrisons and civil administration south of the Danube in 271 A.D. The Daco-Roman population remained in village and territorial communities , which continued organized life during the eight centuries of barbarian migrations across their lands.

Romania has a long and heroic, but tragic history. The ancient historian Herodotus writes that the territory that comprises Romania today was inhabited by the Dacians and Getae as early as the 6th century bc. The ancestors of the Romanians organized a separate country known as Dacia, which developed and prospered to the time of King Decebalus (ad 87–106). Dacia increasingly became a menace to the expanding Roman Empire. After a few futile attempts to subdue the Dacians, the Roman emperor Trajan fought two fierce battles with them between ad 101–106 and finally conquered Dacia in ad 106. The victory over the Dacians was considered so important in Roman history that a monument was erected in the Forum at Rome to commemorate the event. Known as "Trajan's Column," it depicts battle scenes in bas-relief of Dacians in their native dress and habitat. It still exists today and is considered "the birth certificate of the Romanian nation." From 106 to 271, Dacia was a Roman province. Besides the indigenous Dacian population, a growing number of colonists from throughout the Roman Empire settled in this area. The province became one of the most prosperous in the Roman Empire and was known as "Dacia Felix" (happy and flourishing Dacia). As a border province, however, Dacia became increasingly difficult to defend against the barbaric invasions from the East. Therefore, Emperor Aurelian decided to retreat from Dacia with his armies in 271, ceding the country to the invading Goths. Most of the native population, which by this time was developing into a new nation, remained in Dacia. The use of the Latinized Daco-Roman language persisted in the region as a means of communication, commerce, and administration. This new language eventually evolved into the distinctive Romanian language. The language, religion, customs, dress, beliefs, behavior, techniques, tools, ideas, and many other vestiges of the early civilization prove without a doubt the Romanians' Latin origin. The drama of Romanian history is that of a people blessed with a beautiful and rich country, but also situated at the crossroads of invasion routes for the first millennium of its existence. Fortunately, most of the invaders came and left. After the Goths left in 375, and the Huns left in the 6th century, there was a slow but steady infiltration of Slavs among the Romanians. Though most of them proceeded on south of the Danube, some of them remained and were assimilated by the native Romanians, adding some of their linguistic, cultural, and social influences to the cultural mix.

Romanians (Romanian: români, pronounced [roˈmɨnʲ]; dated exonym Vlachs) are a Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Romanians share a common culture, history, ancestry and language and live primarily in Romania and Moldova. There is a debate regarding the ethnic categorisation of the Moldovans, concerning whether they constitute a subgroup of the Romanians or a completely different ethnic group. The origin of the Romanians is also fiercely debated, one theory suggests that the ancestors of Romanians are the Daco-Romans, while the other theory suggests that Romanians are mainly the Thraco-Romans and Illyro-Romans from the inner balkans, who later migrated north of the Danube. In one interpretation of the 1989 census results in Moldova, the majority of Moldovans were counted as ethnic Romanians as well.^[67]^[68] Romanians also form an ethnic minority in several nearby countries situated in Central, Southeastern, and Eastern Europe, most notably in Hungary, Serbia (including Timok), and Ukraine. Estimates of the number of Romanian people worldwide vary from 24 to 30 million, in part depending on whether the definition of the term "Romanian" includes natives of both Romania and Moldova, their respective diasporas, and native speakers of both Romanian and other Eastern Romance languages. Other speakers of the latter languages are the Aromanians, the Megleno-Romanians, and the Istro-Romanians (native to Istria), all of them unevenly distributed throughout the Balkan Peninsula, which may be considered either Romanian subgroups or separated but related ethnicities.