Dobruja in the context of "Constanța"

The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defeated it, in the process stripping the Ottomans of their European provinces, leaving only Eastern Thrace under Ottoman control. In the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria fought against the other four combatants of the first war. It also faced an attack from Romania from the north. The Ottoman Empire lost the bulk of its territory in Europe. Although not involved as a combatant, Austria-Hungary became relatively weaker as a much enlarged Serbia pushed for union of the South Slavic peoples. The war set the stage for the July crisis of 1914 and as a prelude to the First World War.

By the early 20th century, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia had achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large elements of their ethnic populations remained under Ottoman rule. Over the course of the Macedonian Struggle these states fought for influence between themselves and the Ottoman government within Ottoman Macedonia, during which their governments came under the control of nationalists. In 1912, these countries united to formed the Balkan League. The First Balkan War began on 8 October 1912, when the League member states attacked the Ottoman Empire, and ended eight months later with the signing on 30 May 1913 of the Treaty of London negotiated together with the Great Powers. The Great Powers - particularly Italy and Austria-Hungary -- included independence for Albania in the Treaty. The Second Balkan War began on 16 June 1913, when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its allotment of territory from Macedonia, attacked its former Balkan League allies. The combined forces of the Serbian and Greek armies, with their superior numbers repelled the Bulgarian offensive and counter-attacked by invading Bulgaria from the west and the south. Romania, having taken no part in the first conflict, had intact armies to strike with and invaded Bulgaria from the north in violation of a peace treaty between the two states. The Ottoman Empire also attacked Bulgaria and advanced in Thrace, regaining Adrianople. In the resulting Treaty of Bucharest, Bulgaria managed to retain most of the territories it had gained in the First Balkan War. However, it was forced to cede the ex-Ottoman south part of Dobruja province to Romania.

Turks (Turkish: Türkler), or Turkish people, are the largest Turkic ethnic group, comprising the majority of the population of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. They generally speak the various Turkish dialects. In addition, centuries-old ethnic Turkish communities still exist across other former territories of the Ottoman Empire. Article 66 of the Constitution of Turkey defines a Turk as anyone who is a citizen of the Turkish state. While the legal use of the term Turkish as it pertains to a citizen of Turkey is different from the term's ethnic definition, the majority of the Turkish population (an estimated 70 to 75 percent) are of Turkish ethnicity. The vast majority of Turks are Sunni Muslims, with a notable minority practicing Alevism.

The ethnic Turks can therefore be distinguished by a number of cultural and regional variants, but do not function as separate ethnic groups. In particular, the culture of the Anatolian Turks in Asia Minor has underlain and influenced the Turkish nationalist ideology. Other Turkish groups include the Rumelian Turks (also referred to as Balkan Turks) historically located in the Balkans; Turkish Cypriots on the island of Cyprus, Meskhetian Turks originally based in Meskheti, Georgia; and ethnic Turkish people across the Middle East, where they are also called Turkmen or Turkoman in the Levant (e.g. Iraqi Turkmen, Syrian Turkmen, Lebanese Turkmen, etc.). Consequently, the Turks form the largest minority group in Bulgaria, the second largest minority group in Iraq, Libya, North Macedonia, and Syria, and the third largest minority group in Kosovo. They also form substantial communities in the Western Thrace region of Greece, the Dobruja region of Romania, the Akkar region in Lebanon, as well as minority groups in other post-Ottoman Balkan and Middle Eastern countries. The mass immigration of Turks also led to them forming the largest ethnic minority group in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. There are also Turkish communities in other parts of Europe as well as in North America, Australia and the Post-Soviet states. Turks are the 13th largest ethnic group in the world.

The Dobruja Plateau or Dobrogea Plateau (Romanian: Podișul Dobrogei) is a plateau in eastern Romania located in the Dobruja (Romanian: Dobrogea) region, surrounded to the north and west by the Danube and to the east by the Danube Delta and the Black Sea.

Its average altitude is around 200–300 metres, higher in the northern part. The highest point is the Țuțuiatu/Greci Peak in the Măcin Mountains, at a height of 467 m.

Wallachia is a geographical region of modern-day Romania, as well as one of the two historical Romanian principalities that laid the foundation for the establishment of the modern Romanian state. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Muntenia (Greater Wallachia) and Oltenia (Lesser Wallachia). 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.

Wallachia began to form as a principality around the 13th century, following the gradual unification of several smaller Romanian political entities. By 1330, the state had consolidated following Basarab I's victory in the Battle of Posada against the Kingdom of Hungary, ushering in a period of relative independence. In 1417, Wallachia was forced to accept the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire for the first time; this suzerainty lasted until the mid-19th century. However in general Wallachia was able to preserve autonomy within the Empire as well as experience interruptions to Ottoman rule brought about by local rulers such as Vlad the Impaler and Michael the Brave and later external powers such as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Empire.

Paristrion (Greek: Παρίστριον, lit. 'beside the Ister'), or Paradounabon/Paradounabis (Παραδούναβον / Παραδούναβις), which is preferred in official documents, was a Byzantine province covering the southern bank of the Lower Danube (Moesia Inferior) in the 11th and 12th centuries.

Although Byzantine authors use the term to describe the lands along the Danube in general, the province of Paristrion seems to have comprised mostly modern Dobruja. It is not certain exactly when the province was established: the Romanian scholar Nicolae Bănescu considered that it was established immediately after the end of the Rus'–Byzantine War of 970–971, while others, such as Vasil Zlatarski, thought it a later, mid-11th century creation. It was governed by a katepano or a doux, and was probably based at Dorostolon (modern Silistra), where a Byzantine strategia ("generalcy") is indeed attested in the 970s. In the aftermath of his victory over the Rus', Emperor John I Tzimiskes (r. 969–976) appointed general Leo Sarakenopoulos as commander over north-eastern Bulgaria, based at Pereyaslavets/Ioannopolis. Sarakenopoulos and his subordinates engaged in major fortification activities in the region of the Dobruja over the next few years, where abandoned Roman-era forts were rebuilt and re-occupied.

43°30′N 26°45′E / 43.500°N 26.750°E / 43.500; 26.750

The Ludogorie (Bulgarian: Лудогорие) or Deliorman (Делиорман; Turkish: Deli Orman, lit. 'mad forest' and Bulgarian: lud - "mad", "crazy" and gora - "forest"), is a region in northeastern Bulgaria stretching over the plateau of the same name. Major cities in the region are Targovishte, Razgrad, Dulovo, Novi Pazar, Pliska, Preslav, and Isperih. Part of the Danubian Plain, the region is hilly in the east, reaching up to 485.70 metres (1,593.5 ft) in height near the village of Samuil, but merges with the plains of Dobruja and the Danube to the north, with the lowest point near Yuper (39.14 m (128.4 ft)). The region is bordered to the west by the Provadiya River and the Beli Lom; to the east it transitions into the Dobruja plateau. The region has a significant ethnic Turkish minority.

Southern Dobruja or South Dobruja (Bulgarian: Южна Добруджа, romanized: Yuzhna Dobrudzha or simply Добруджа, Dobrudzha; Romanian: Dobrogea de Sud or Dobrogea Nouă, lit. 'New Dobruja'), also the Quadrilateral (Romanian: Cadrilater), is an area of north-eastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra provinces, part of the historical region of Dobruja. It has an area of 7,412 square km and a population of 358,000.

It is historically noteworthy as a point of contention in Bulgarian-Romanian relations. Part of Bulgaria between 1878 and 1913, the region was annexed by Romania in the Treaty of Bucharest (1913), targeted by Bulgaria during World War I (1914–18), and subsequently remained Romanian until 1940, when Bulgaria regained control in the Treaty of Craiova, which went along with a compulsory population exchange. Southern Dobruja has been part of Bulgaria since 1940.

The historical regions of Romania are located in Central, Southeastern, and Eastern Europe. Romania came into being through the unification of two principalities, Wallachia and Moldova in 1862. The new unitary state extended over further regions at various times during the late 19th and 20th centuries, including Dobruja in 1878, and Transylvania in 1918.

These regions are part of Romania today: