Early Modern Romania Early Modern Romania is the portion of Romanian history that falls in the early modern period , roughly from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century ( or from the union of Mihai Viteazul of 1600 – 1601 , to the revolution of Tudor Vladimirescu in 1821 ) . During this period the Romanian lands were characterised by the slow disappearance of the feudal system , the leadership of some rulers like Vasile Lupu and Dimitrie Cantemir in Moldavia , Matei Basarab and Constantin Brâncoveanu in Wallachia , Gabriel Bethlen in Transylvania , the Phanariot Epoch , and the appearance of the Russian Empire as a political and military influence . Fall of the Byzantine Empire . From the 14th century , the Ottoman Empire expanded at the expense of the Byzantine Empire . Following the victories at the Battle of Kosovo ( 1389 ) and Battle of Nikopol ( 1396 ) , Bulgaria came under Ottoman rule , and in 1453 , Constantinople fell , bringing an end to the Eastern Roman Empire which had survived its predecessor in the West by nearly a thousand years . After the Battle of Mohács ( 1526 ) , the major part of Hungary was also absorbed by the Ottoman Empire . By the late 16th century , the three independent principalities in the area , Moldavia , Transylvania and Wallachia were surrounded by the Islamic Ottomans and Tartars , and Catholic Poland , which although Christian , proved itself to be as dangerous as the Ottomans . Although sometimes forced to pay a tribute to the Porte , these principalities never fully fell under Ottoman rule . Formally , the three principalities were never part of Dar al - Islam , remaining in Dar al - Harb and then Dar al ' Ahd . After 1453 , the notion of " Byzantium " as a cultural and ideological reference continued to influence the remaining autonomous states in the Empire ' s sphere of influence . Many Orthodox states claimed the title of " the Third Rome " , even before Constantinople ' s fall . Stephen the Great of Moldavia married one of the last Byzantine princesses , Maria of the Principality of Theodoro in 1472 . The Romanian principalities never explicitly claimed this legacy , but they offered opportunities to Orthodox Christians from occupied countries . In this way they too assumed some of the character idea of the Orthodox Christian , multi - ethnic Byzantine Empire . Seen from a partisan Romanian standpoint , Wallachia and Moldavia were also the heirs of the Orthodox Byzantium . In this period of relative calm , the monastic and cultural life flourished undisturbed . Nicolae Iorga wrote : " " There was a time when it appeared that the entire Byzantine , Balkan legacy would be inherited by the Romanian princes who , as the only ones who remained standing among the Christians , showed that they wanted to preserve it and that they were capable of sacrificing themselves for it " " . Church . In Wallachia and Moldova , religious worship and the Church hierarchy were in the Byzantine tradition . Until the fall of Constantinople , metropolitans there had to be consecrated by the Patriarch of Constantinople . Wallachia and Moldavia became a center of monastic life , attracting hermits from all the Eastern Orthodox Churches . Between 1457 and 1504 , Stephen the Great founded no fewer than 44 churches and monasteries , some of which are now part of UNESCO ' s World Heritage . The Hospodars assumed the role of protectors of Eastern Orthodoxy , notably by becoming the main patrons of Mount Athos , by the perpetuation of Byzantine ceremonial customs , and the assimilation of Byzantine clerks and intellectual immigrants . The vast majority of Wallachian and Moldavian princes adopted the tradition of Church patronage , making generous donations to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and Orthodox monasteries throughout the Balkans . Without the donations of the Romanian princes , most of the heavily taxed Christian outposts from Mount Athos , Meteora , and other monasteries , would have not survived to these days . Orthodox monks from all over the Balkans turned to the Christian rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia for patronage and financial support . Many monasteries from Turkish - occupied lands were bestowed with all of the estates , dependencies and even relics of local churches and monasteries . The Wallachian and Moldavian rulers acted according to an old - fashioned doctrine of noblesse oblige . These acts were not eccentric activities , but a complex strategy of sponsoring the monastic life of remote regions . Many modern monasteries on Mount Athos have Wallachian and Moldavian princes as their " second founders " . The external support dried up in the 18th century , when Phanariots , mostly Greeks , were set by the Ottomans as Hospodars in charge of the administration of Wallachia and Moldavia . The principalities , although autonomous , were obliged to accept a Prince appointed by the Sultan , to ensure that future problems would not arise due to insubordination of the native princes , who although officially vassals , were engaging in permanent skirmishes with the Ottomans . However , although weakened under the Phanariots , the Principalities continued to provide some revenue up until the 19th century , when a considerable part of the annual incomes of the monasteries of Mount Athos were still provided by the bequests of Wallachian and Moldavian monasteries . First Union ( 1600 ) . Michael the Brave ( , ; 1558 – 1601 ) succeeded to unite all three principalities where Romanians have been lived remaking the ancient Dacia . He brought under his rule for a brief period Wallachia ( 1593 – 1601 ) , Transylvania ( 1599 – 1600 ) , and Moldavia ( 1600 ) . His reign coincided with the Long War , between Ottoman and Habsburg empires . Not long after he became Prince of Wallachia , Michael turned against Ottoman Empire . The next year he joined the Christian alliance of European powers formed by Pope Clement VIII , against the Turks , and signed treaties with his neighbours : Sigismund Báthory of Transylvania , Aron Vodă of Moldavia and the Holy Roman Emperor , Rudolf II . He started a campaign against the Turks in the autumn of 1594 , conquering several citadels near the Danube , including Giurgiu , Brăila , Hârşova , and Silistra , while his Moldavian allies defeated the Turks in Iaşi and other parts of Moldova . Mihai continued his attacks deep within the Ottoman Empire , taking the forts of Nicopolis , Ribnic , and Chilia and even reaching as far as Adrianople . At one point his forces were only 24 kilometers from Constantinople . Meanwhile , the Ottomans prepared to cross the Danube and undertake a major counter - offensive . Romanian Prince fought the Battle of Călugăreni , considered one of the most important battles of his reign . Although the Wallachians emerged victorious from the battle , Michael was forced to retreat with his troops and wait for aid from his allies ( prine Sigismund Bathory of Transylvania , Emperor Rudolf II of Austria ) . The war continued until a peace finally emerged in January 1597 , but this only lasted for a year and a half . Peace was again reached in late 1599 , when Michael was unable to continue the war due to lack of support from his allies . In April 1598 Sigismund resigned as Prince of Transylvania in favor of the Holy Roman Emperor , Rudolf II ( who was also the King of Hungary ) , reversed his decision in October 1598 , and then resigned again in favor of Cardinal Andrew Báthory , his cousin . Báthory was close to the Polish chancellor and hetman Jan Zamoyski and placed Transylvania under the influence of the King of Poland , Sigismund III Vasa . He was also a trusted ally of the new Moldavian Prince Ieremia Movilă , one of Michael ' s greatest enemies . Movilă had deposed Ştefan Rǎzvan with the help of Polish hetman Jan Zamoyski in August 1595 . Báthory issued an ultimatum demanding that Michael abandon his throne . Michael decided to attack Báthory immediately to prevent invasion . He would later describe the events : He left Târgovişte on October 2 and by October 9 he reached Prejmer in Southern Transylvania , where he met envoys from the city of Braşov . Sparing the city , he moved on to Cârţa where he joined forces with the Szekely s . On October 18 , Michael won a decisive victory against Andrew Báthory at Şelimbăr , giving him total control over Transylvania . Báthory was killed shortly after the battle , dying at the age of 28 , and Michael gave him a princely burial in the Catholic Cathedral of Alba Iulia . With his enemy dead , Michael entered the Transylvanian capital at Alba Iulia , and received the keys to the fortress from Bishop Demeter Napragy , later depicted as a seminal event in Romanian historiography . Stephen Szamosközy , keeper of the Archives at the time , recorded the event in great detail . He also wrote that two days before the Diet met on October 10 , Transylvanian nobles " elected Michael the voivode as Prince of Transylvania " . As the Diet was assembled , Michael demanded that the estates swear loyalty to Emperor Rudolf , then to himself and thirdly to his son . On February 28 , Michael met with Polish envoys in Braşov . He was willing to recognise the Polish King as his sovereign in exchange for the crown of Moldavia and the recognition of his male heirs ' hereditary right over the three principalities , Transylvania , Moldavia and Wallachia . This did not significantly delay his attack however , on April 14 , 1600 Michael ' s troops entered Moldavia on multiple routes , the Prince himself leading the main thrust to Trotuş and Roman . He reached the capital of Suceava on May 6 . The garrison surrendered the citadel the next day and Michael ' s forces caught up with the fleeing Ieremia Movilă , who was only saved from being captured by the sacrifice of his rear - guard . Movilă took refuge in the castle of Khotyn together with his family , a handful of faithful boyars and the former Transylvanian Prince , Sigismund Báthory . The Moldavian soldiers in the castle deserted , leaving a small Polish contingent as sole defenders . Under the cover of dark , sometime before June 11 , Movilă managed to sneak out of the walls and across the Dniester to hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski ' s camp . Neighboring states were alarmed by this upsetting of the balance of power , especially the Hungarian nobility in Transylvania , who rose against Michael in rebellion . With the help of Basta , they defeated Michael at the Battle of Mirăslău , forcing the prince to leave Transylvania together with his remaining loyal troops . A Polish army led by Jan Zamoyski drove the Wallachians from Moldavia and defeated Michael at Năieni , Ceptura , and Bucov ( Battle of the Teleajăn River ) . The Polish army also entered eastern Wallachia and established Simion Movilă as ruler . Forces loyal to Michael remained only in Oltenia . Michael asked again for assistance from emperor Rudolf during a visit in Prague between February 23 and March 5 , 1601 , which was granted when the emperor heard that General Giorgio Basta had lost control of Transylvania to the Hungarian nobility led by Sigismund Báthory , who accepted the Ottoman protection . Meanwhile , forces loyal to Michael in Wallachia led by his son , Nicolae Pătraşcu , drove out Simion Movilă from Moldova and prepared to reenter Transylvania . Michael , allied with Basta , defeated the Hungarian army at Gurăslău ( " Goroszló " ) . A few days later Basta , who was looking for Transylvania control , ordered the assassination of Michael , which took place near Câmpia Turzii on 9 August 1601 . After 1601 . After the assassination of Mihai Viteazu , Basta ' s army persecuted Protestants and illegally expropriated their estates . In 1605 - 07 , Stephen Bocskay , a former Habsburg supporter , mustered an army that expelled the imperial forces . In 1606 Bocskay concluded treaties with the Habsburgs and the Turks that secured his position as prince of Transylvania , guaranteed religious freedom , and broadened Transylvania ' s independence . After Bocskay ' s death and the reign of the tyrant Gabriel Báthory ( 1607 – 1613 ) , the Porte compelled the Transylvanians to accept Gabriel Bethlen ( 1613 – 1629 ) as prince . The Principality of Transylvania experienced a golden age under Bethlen ' s enlightened despotism . He promoted agriculture , trade , and industry , sank new mines , sent students abroad to Protestant universities , and prohibited landlords from denying an education to children of serfs . After Bethlen died , the Transylvanian Diet abolished most of his reforms . Soon George I Rákóczi ( ruled 1630 - 1640 ) became prince . Rákóczi , like Bethlen , sent Transylvanian forces to fight on the Protestant side in the Thirty Years ' War ; and Transylvania gained mention as a sovereign state in the Peace of Westphalia . The man most responsible for the end of Transylvania ' s golden age was George II Rákóczi ( ruled 1648 - 1660 ) , a former ally of Moldavia ’ s and Wallachia ’ s Hospodars Vasile Lupu and Matei Basarab , and of the Cossack hetman , Bohdan Khmelnytsky . Allied with Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden he launched an ill - fated attack on Poland in 1657 , without the prior approval of the Porte or Transylvania ' s Diet . A Turkish and Tatar army routed Rákóczi ' s forces and seized Transylvania . For the remainder of its independence , Transylvania suffered a series of feckless and distracted leaders , and throughout the 17th century Transylvania ' s Romanian peasants lingered in poverty and ignorance . During Michael the Brave ' s brief tenure and the early years of Turkish suzerainty , the distribution of land in Wallachia and Moldavia changed dramatically . Over the years , Wallachian and Moldavian princes made land grants to loyal boyars in exchange for military service so that by the 17th century hardly any land was left to be granted . Boyars in search of wealth began encroaching on peasant land and their military allegiance to the prince weakened . As a result , serfdom spread , successful boyars became more courtiers than warriors , and an intermediary class of impoverished lesser nobles developed . Would - be princes were forced to raise enormous sums to bribe their way to power , and peasant life grew more miserable as taxes and exactions increased . Any prince wishing to improve the peasants ' lot risked a financial shortfall that could enable rivals to out - bribe him at the Porte and usurp his position . In 1632 Matei Basarab ( ruled 1632 - 1654 ) became the last of Wallachia ' s predominant family to take the throne ; two years later , Vasile Lupu ( ruled 1634 - 1653 ) was made Prince of Moldavia . The jealousies and ambitions of Matei and Vasile sapped the strength of both principalities at a time when the Porte ' s power began to wane . Coveting the richer Wallachian throne , Vasile attacked Matei , but the latter ' s forces routed the Moldavians , and a group of Moldavian boyars ousted Vasile . Both Matei and Vasile were enlightened rulers , who provided liberal endowments to religion and the arts , established printing presses , and published religious books and legal codes . According to the treaties ( Capitulations ) between the Romanian Principalities ( Wallachia and Moldavia ) , Turkish subjects were not allowed to settle in the Principalities , to own land , to build houses or mosques , or to marry . In spite of this restrictions imposed on the Turks , the princes allowed Greek and Turkish merchants and usurers to exploit the principalities ' riches . 17th - 18th centuries . Although centuries of continued attacks and raids from Turks , Tatars , Poles , Hungarians , and Cossacks , had crippled Moldavia and Wallachia and caused economical and human loses , the two countries were relatively adapted to this type of warfare . During the second half of the 17th century , Poland suffered a similar series of attacks : Swedish , Cossack and Tartar attacks ultimately left Poland in ruin , and it lost its place as a Central European power ( see The Deluge ( Polish history ) ) . Catholic Poland and Hungary , which despite being Christian countries , constantly tried to take control of the Orthodox Moldavia and Wallachia . A new possible ally was Russia , which apparently posed no danger to Moldavia , for geographic and religious reasons . During the early 17th century , Moldavia had unfortunate experiences in their efforts for Russian assistance from Ivan III and Alexis Michaelovitch against the Turks and Tatars . Under Peter the Great , Russia ' s strength and influence had grown , and it seemed to be an excellent ally for Moldavia . Numerous Moldavians and Wallachians enlisted in Peter ' s army , which contained one squadron made up only of Romanian cavalry . Under Constantin Cantemir , Antioh Cantemir and Constantin Brâncoveanu , Moldavia and Wallachia hoped that with Russian help they might drive out the Turks from the border cities ( Chilia , Cetatea Albă ) . Charles XII of Sweden , after his defeat in 1709 at the Battle of Lesnaya , sought refuge in Tighina , a border fort of the Turkish vassal state of Moldavia , guarded by Ottoman troops . As a response , Peter came to Iaşi in 1710 . There he re - signed the Russian - Moldavian treaty of alliance ( previously signed at Lutzk in 24 April 1711 ) , which provided for the hereditary leadership his close friend Dimitrie Cantemir ( son of Constantin Cantemir and brother of Antioh Constantin ) who was supposed to bear the title of Serene Lord of the land of Moldavia , Sovereign , and Friend ( Volegator ) of the land of Russia , but not as a subject vassal , as under the Ottomans . Although at that time Russia ’ s western border was the Southern Bug River , the treaty stipulated that the Dniester should be the boundary between Moldavia and the Russian Empire and that the Budjak would belong to Moldavia . The country was to pay not a cent of tribute . The Tsar bound himself not to infringe the rights of the Moldavian sovereign , or whoever might succeed him . Considering him the savior of Moldavia , the boyars held a banquet in honor of the Tsar and to celebrate the treaty . In response , a great Ottoman army approached along the Prut and , at the Battle of Stanilesti in June 1711 , the Russian and Moldavian armies were crushed . The war was ended by the Treaty of the Prut on July 21 , 1711 . The Grand Vizier imposed drastic terms . The treaty stipulated that Russian armies would abandon Moldavia immediately , renounce its sovereignty over the Cossacks , destroy the fortresses erected along the frontier , and restore Otchakov to the Porte . Moldavia was obliged to assist at and to support all expenses for the reinforcements and supplies that traversed Moldavian territory . Prince Cantemir , many of his boyars and much of the Moldavian army had to take refuge in Russia . As a result of their victory of the 1711 war , the Turks placed a garrison in Hotin , rebuilt the fortress under the direction of French engineers , and made the surrounding region into a sanjak . Moldavia was now shut in by Turkish border strips at Hotin , Bender , Akkerman , Kilia , Ismail and Reni . The new sanjak was the most extensive on Moldavian territory , comprising a hundred villages and the market - towns of Lipcani - Briceni and Suliţa Noua . Under the Turks , Bessarabia and Transnistria witnessed a constant immigration from Poland and Ukraine , of Ukrainian speaking landless peasants , largely fugitives from the severe serfdom that prevailed there , to the districts of Hotin and Chişinău . The existing Moldavians in the Russian armies were joined by newly joined Moldavian and Wallachian Hussars ( Hansari in the Romanian language ) from the 1735 - 39 war . When Field Marshal Burkhard Christoph von Munnich entered Iaşi , the capital of Moldavia , Moldavian auxiliary troops on Turkish service changed side and joined the Russians . They were officially constituted into the “ Regiment number 96 - Moldavian Hussars ” ( “ Moldavskiy Hussarskiy Polk ” ) , under Prince Cantemir , on October 14 , 1741 . They took part in the 1741 - 43 war with Sweden , and the 1741 and 1743 campaigns at Wilmanstrand and Helsinki . During the Seven Years ' War they fought at the Battle of Gross - Jagersdorf ( 1757 ) , Battle of Zorndorf ( 1758 ) , Battle of Kunersdorf ( 1759 ) and the 1760 capturing of Berlin . Phanariots . An important demand of the Treaty of Prut was that Moldavia and Wallachia would have only appointed rulers . The Phanariots would be appointed as Hospodars from 1711 to 1821 . The late 18th century is regarded as one of the darkest time in Romanian history . The main goal of most Phanariots was to get rich and then to retire . Under the Phanariots , Moldavia was the first state in Eastern Europe to abolish serfdom , when Constantine Mavrocordatos , summoned the boyars in 1749 to a great council in the church of the Three Hierarchs in Iaşi . In Transylvania , this reform did not take place until 1784 , as a consequence of the bloody revolt of the Romanian peasantry under Horea , Cloşca and Crişan . Bessarabia was now still more attractive to the Polish and Russian serfs . The former had to serve their masters free for 150 days every year , and the latter were virtually slaves . Clandestine immigration from Poland and the Ukraine flowed particularly to the boundaries of Bessarabia , around Hotin and Cernăuţi . Russian expansion . By the late 18th century and early 19th century , Moldavia , Wallachia and Transylvania found themselves as a clashing area for three neighboring empires : the Habsburg Empire , the newly appeared Russian Empire , and the Ottoman Empire . In 1768 , a six - year war broke out between Russia and Turkey ( see Russo - Turkish War , 1768 - 1774 ) . The Russians took Hotin , Bender and Iaşi , and occupied Moldavia the whole extent of the war . In 1772 , the partition of Poland gave Galicia and Lodomeria to Austria , and Volhynia and Podolia to Russia , so that Moldavia was now in immediate contact with the Austrian and Russian Empires . In the Peace of Kuchuk - Kainarji ( 1774 ) Turkey ceded to Russia the country between Dnieper and Bug , but retained the Bessarabian border fortresses and their sanjaks . Moldavia kept its independence , under Turkish suzerainty , as before . Catherine self - assumed the right of protecting the Christians of the Romanian Principalities . In 1775 , Empress Maria Theresa of the Habsburg Empire took advantage of the situation and occupied the northern extremity of Moldavia , called Bucovina , marching the Austrian armies through Cernăuţi and Suceava , considered the holy city of Moldavia , as it preserved the tombs of Stephen the Great and other Moldavian rulers . The occupation was acknowledged with a treaty between the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire , despite the protests of Grigore Ghica , the Hospodar of Moldavia . Grigore Ghica was assassinated in 1777 , at Iaşi , by Austrian paid Turkish troops . In 1787 , Russia and Austria declared war on Turkey ( see Russo - Turkish War ( 1787 - 1792 ) ) . Empress Catherine wished to install Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin as Prince of Dacia , a Russian vassal state corresponding to the ancient Roman Dacia , and thus to approach her final goal , Constantinople . In 1788 war started , but Turkey ' s preparations were inadequate and the moment was ill - chosen , now that Russia and Austria were in alliance . After a long list of failures , the Ottomans were forced to surrender . The Peace Treaty was signed at Iaşi ( see the Treaty of Jassy ) on January 1792 . It stipulated that the Moldavia shall remain a Turkish vassal , that Dniester was the frontier between Moldavia and the Russian Empire , and that the Budjak shall pass under Russian control . In 1806 , Napoleon I of France encouraged Czar Alexander Pavlovitch to begin another war with Turkey . Russian troops occupied again Moldavia and Wallachia under General Kutussoff who was made Governor - General of the Romanian Principalities . The foreign consuls and diplomatic agents had to leave the capital cities of Iaşi and Bucharest . After the Russians broke the truce with a surprise attack , the Ottomans entered peace negotiations . At Giurgiu and at Bucharest ( see Treaty of Bucharest , 1812 ) , the Russians annexed the Budjak and the eastern part of Moldavia , which was called Bessarabia . Bessarabia and Bukovina . See main articles : Bessarabia and Bukovina . This territory , which according to the official Russian census of 1816 , 92 . 5 % of the population was Romanian ( 419 , 240 Romanians , 30 , 000 Ukrainians , 19 , 120 Jews , 6 , 000 Lipovans ) , would be held by Russia until 1918 . During this time , the percentage of the Romanian population of the area decreased because of the politics of colonization pursued by the Russian government . In the first years following the annexation , several thousand peasant families fled beyond the Pruth out of fear that the Russian authorities would introduce serfdom . This was one of the reasons behind the decision of the Russian government not to extend the regime of serfdom into Bessarbia . During the first fifteen years after the annexation , Bessarabia enjoyed some measure of autonomy on the basis of " Temporary Rules for the Government of Bessarabia " of 1813 and more fundamentally , " the Statute for the Formation of Bessarbian Province " that was introduced by Alexander I during his personal visit to Chisinau in the spring of 1818 . Both documents stipulated that the dispensation of justice is made on the basis of local laws and customs as well as the Russian laws . Romanian was used alongside with Russian as the language of administration . The province was placed under the authority of a viceroy who governed together with the Supreme Council formed in part through election from the ranks of the local nobility . A considerable number of positions in the district administration were likewise filled through election . Bessarbia ' s autonomy was considerably reduced in 1828 when , on the representation of the governor general of New Russia and the viceroy of Bessarabia Prince Mikhail Vorontsov , Nicholas I adopted a new statute which abolished the Supreme Council and reduced the number of elected positions in the local administration . In parallel , the Russian government pursued the policy of colonization . On 26 June 1812 , Tsar Alexander I promulgated the Special Colonization Status of Bessarabia . Bulgarians , Gagauz , Germans , Jews , Swiss and French colonists were brought in . In 1836 , the Russian language was imposed as official administration , school and church . Initially an aspect of administrative unification of Bessarabia with the rest of the empire , the promotion of the Russian language in the public sphere became a full - fledged policy of Russification by the end of the 19th century , when the Russian government adopted repressive policies towards local Romanian intellectuals . Bukovina ( including North Bukovina ) at that time ( 1775 ) had a population of 75 , 000 Romanians and 12 , 000 Ukrainians , Jews and Poles . It was annexed to the Habsburg - held province of Galicia , and colonized by Ukrainians , Germans , Hungarians , Jews and Armenians . They were granted free lands and exclusion from paying any taxes . Between 1905 and 1907 , 60 , 000 Romanians were promised more land , and were sent to Siberia and the Central Asian provinces . Instead , further Byelorussians and Ukrainians were brought in . The official languages in school and administration were German and Polish . Transylvania . The Habsburgs . In 1683 Jan Sobieski ' s Polish army crushed an Ottoman army besieging Vienna , and Christian forces soon began the slow process of driving the Turks from Europe . In 1688 the Transylvanian Diet renounced Ottoman suzerainty and accepted Austrian protection . Eleven years later , the Porte officially recognized Austria ' s sovereignty over the region . Although an imperial decree reaffirmed the privileges of Transylvania ' s nobles and the status of its four " recognized " religions , Vienna assumed direct control of the region and the emperor planned annexation . The Romanian majority remained segregated from Transylvania ' s political life and almost totally enserfed ; Romanians were forbidden to marry , relocate , or practice a trade without the permission of their landlords . Besides oppressive feudal exactions , the Orthodox Romanians had to pay tithes to the Roman Catholic or Protestant church , depending on their landlords ' faith . Barred from collecting tithes , Orthodox priests lived in penury , and many labored as peasants to survive . Under Habsburg rule , Roman Catholics dominated Transylvania ' s more numerous Protestants , and Vienna mounted a campaign to convert the region to Catholicism . The imperial army delivered many Protestant churches to Catholic hands , and anyone who broke from the Catholic Church was liable to receive a public flogging . The Habsburgs also attempted to persuade Orthodox clergymen to join the Romanian Greek - Catholic Church , which retained Orthodox rituals and customs but accepted four key points of Catholic doctrine and acknowledged papal authority . Jesuits dispatched to Transylvania promised Orthodox clergymen heightened social status , exemption from serfdom , and material benefits . In 1699 and 1701 , Emperor Leopold I decreed Transylvania ' s Orthodox Church to be one with the Roman Catholic Church ; the Habsburgs , however , never intended to make Greek - Catholicism a " received " religion and did not enforce portions of Leopold ' s decrees that gave Greek - Catholic clergymen the same rights as Roman Catholic priests . Despite an Orthodox synod ' s acceptance of union , many Orthodox clergy and faithful rejected it . In 1711 , having suppressed an eight - year rebellion of Hungarian nobles and serfs , the Austrian empire consolidated its hold on Transylvania , and within several decades the Greek - Catholic Church proved a seminal force in the rise of Romanian nationalism . Greek - Catholic clergymen had influence in Vienna ; and Greek - Catholic priests schooled in Rome and Vienna acquainted the Romanians with Western ideas , wrote histories tracing their Daco - Roman origins , adapted the Latin alphabet to the Romanian language ( see Romanian alphabet ) , and published Romanian grammar s and prayer books . The Romanian Greek - Catholic Church ' s seat at Blaj , in southern Transylvania , became a center of Romanian culture . The Romanians ' struggle for equality in Transylvania found its first formidable advocate in a Greek - Catholic bishop , Inocenţiu Micu - Klein , who , with imperial backing , became a baron and a member of the Transylvanian Diet . From 1729 to 1744 , Klein submitted petitions to Vienna on the Romanians ' behalf and stubbornly took the floor of Transylvania ' s Diet to declare that Romanians were the inferiors of no other Transylvanian people , that they contributed more taxes and soldiers to the state than any of Transylvania ' s " nations " , and that only enmity and outdated privileges caused their political exclusion and economic exploitation . Klein fought to gain Greek - Catholic clergymen the same rights as Roman Catholic priests , reduce feudal obligations , restore expropriated land to Romanian peasants , and bar feudal lords from depriving Romanian children of an education . The bishop ' s words fell on deaf ears in Vienna ; and Hungarian , German , and Szekler deputies , jealously clinging to their noble privileges , openly mocked the bishop and snarled that the Romanians were to the Transylvanian body politic what " moths are to clothing " . Klein eventually fled to Rome where his appeals to the Pope proved fruitless . He died in a Roman monastery in 1768 . Klein ' s struggle , however , stirred both Greek - Catholic and Orthodox Romanians to demand equal standing . In 1762 an imperial decree established an organization for Transylvania ' s Orthodox community , but the empire still denied Orthodoxy equality even with the Greek - Catholic Church . The Revolt of Horea , Cloşca and Crişan . Emperor Joseph II ( ruled 1780 - 90 ) , before his accession , witnessed the serfs ' wretched existence during three tours of Transylvania . As emperor he launched an energetic reform program . Steeped in the teachings of the French Enlightenment , he practised " enlightened despotism , " or reform from above designed to preempt revolution from below . He brought the empire under strict central control , launched an education program , and instituted religious tolerance , including full civil rights for Orthodox Christians . In 1784 , Transylvanian serfs under Horea , Cloşca and Crişan , convinced they had the Emperor ' s support , rebelled against their feudal masters , sacked castles and manor houses , and murdered about 100 nobles . Joseph ordered the revolt repressed , but granted amnesty to all participants except their leaders , whom the nobles tortured and put to death in front of peasants brought to witness the execution . Joseph , aiming to strike at the rebellion ' s root causes , emancipated the serfs , annulled Transylvania ' s constitution , dissolved the Union of Three Nations , and decreed German as the official language of the empire . Hungary ' s nobles and Catholic clergy resisted Joseph ' s reforms , and the peasants soon grew dissatisfied with taxes , conscription , and forced requisition of military supplies . Faced with broad discontent , Joseph rescinded many of his initiatives toward the end of his life . Joseph II ' s Germanization decree triggered a chain reaction of national movements throughout the empire . Hungarians appealed for unification of Hungary and Transylvania and Magyarization of minority peoples . Threatened by both Germanization and Magyarization , the Romanians and other minority nations experienced a cultural awakening . In 1791 two Romanian bishops — one Orthodox , the other Greek - Catholic — petitioned Emperor Leopold II ( ruled 1790 - 92 ) to grant Romanians political and civil rights , to place Orthodox and Greek - Catholic clergy on an equal footing , and to apportion a share of government posts for Romanian appointees ; the bishops supported their petition by arguing that Romanians were descendants of the Romans and the aboriginal inhabitants of Transylvania . The Emperor restored Transylvania as a territorial entity and ordered the Transylvanian Diet to consider the petition . The Diet , however , decided only to allow Orthodox believers to practise their faith ; the deputies denied the Orthodox Church recognition and refused to give Romanians equal political standing alongside the other Transylvanian nations . Leopold ' s successor , Francis I ( 1792 – 1835 ) , whose almost abnormal aversion to change and fear of revolution brought his empire four decades of political stagnation , virtually ignored Transylvania ' s constitution and refused to convoke the Transylvanian Diet for twenty - three years . When the Diet finally reconvened in 1834 , the language issue reemerged , as Hungarian deputies proposed making Magyar ( Hungarian ) the official language of Transylvania . In 1843 the Hungarian Diet passed a law making Magyar Hungary ' s official language , and in 1847 the Transylvanian Diet enacted a law requiring the government to use Magyar . Transylvania ' s Romanians protested futilely . At the end of the 17th century , following the defeat of the Turks , Hungary and Transylvania become part of the Habsburg Monarchy . The Austrians , in turn , rapidly expanded their empire : in 1718 an important part of Wallachia , called Oltenia , was incorporated into the Austrian Empire and was only returned in 1739 .