Romania in the Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages in Romania started with the withdrawal of the Roman troops and administration from Dacia province in the AD 270s . In the next millennium a series of peoples , most of whom only controlled two or three of the nearly ten historical regions that now form Romania , arrived . During this period , society and culture underwent fundamental changes . Town life came to an end in Dacia with the Roman withdrawal , and in Scythia Minor the other Roman province in the territory of present - day Romania400 years later . Fine vessels made on fast potter ' s wheels disappeared and hand - made pottery became dominant from the 450s . Burial rites changed more than once from cremation to inhumation and " vice versa " until inhumation became dominant by the end of the 10th century . The Eastern Germanic Goths and Gepids , who lived in sedentary communities , were the first new arrivals . The Goths dominated Moldavia and Wallachia from the 290s , and parts of Transylvania from the 330s . Their power collapsed under attacks by the nomadic Huns in 376 . The Huns controlled Eastern and Central Europe from around 400 , but their empire disintegrated in 454 . Thereafter the regions west of the Carpathian MountainsBanat , Crişana , and Transylvaniaand Oltenia were dominated by the Gepids . Within a century , the lands east of the mountains became important centers of the Antes and Sclavenes . Hydronym s and place names of Slavic origin also prove the one - time presence of Early Slavs in the regions west of the Carpathians . The nomadic Avars subjugated the Gepids in 568 and dominated the Carpathian Basin up until around 800 . The initially Turkic - speaking Bulgars also established a powerful empire in the 670s which included Dobruja and other the territories along the Lower Danube . Bulgaria officially adopted the Eastern Orthodox variant of Christianity in 864 . An armed conflict between Bulgaria and the nomadic Hungarians forced the latter to depart from the Pontic steppes and began the conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 895 . Their invasion gave rise to the earliest reference , recorded some centuries later in the " Gesta Hungarorum " , to a polity ruled by a Romanian duke named Gelou . The same source also makes mention of the presence of the Székelys in Crişana around 895 . The first contemporaneous references to Romanianswho used to be known as Vlachs in the regions now forming Romania were recorded in the 12th and 13th centuries . References to Vlachs inhabiting the lands to the south of the Lower Danube abound in the same period . Banat , Crişana and Transylvania were integrated into the Kingdom of Hungary in the 11th century . These regions were subject to plundering raids by the nomadic Pechenegs and Cumans , who dominated the lowlands east of the mountains . Hungarian monarchs promoted the immigration of Western Europe an colonists to Transylvania from the 1150s . The colonists ' descendants , who were known as Transylvanian Saxons from the early 1200s , received collective privileges in 1224 . Because of the settlement of the Saxons in their former territories , the Székelys were moved to the easternmost zones of the kingdom . The emergence of the Mongol Empire in the Eurasian Steppes in the first decades of the 13th century had lasting effects on the history of the region . The Mongols subjugated the Cumans in the 1230s and destroyed many settlements throughout the Kingdom of Hungary in 1241 and 1242 , bringing the Early Middle Ages to an end . Background . Roman provinces and native tribes . Contacts between the Roman Empirewhich developed into the largest empire in the history of Europeand the natives of the regions now forming Romania commenced in the 2nd century BC . These regions were inhabited by Dacians , Bastarnae and other peoples whose incursions posed a threat to the empire . The Romans initially attempted to secure their frontiers by various means , including the creation of buffer zones . Finally , they decided that the annexation of the lands of these fierce " barbarians " is the best measure . The territory of the Getae between the river Danube and the Black Sea ( modern Dobruja ) was the first region to be incorporated into the empire . It was attached to the Roman province of Moesia in 46 AD . The Lower Danube marked the boundary between the empire and " Barbaricum " until Emperor Trajan decided to expand the frontiers over territories controlled by the Dacian Kingdom . He achieved his goal through two military campaigns , the second of which ended with the annihilation of the Dacian state and the establishment of the province of Dacia in 106 . It included Oltenia and large portions of Banat , Transylvania , and Wallachia . Many colonists " from all over the Roman world " arrived and settled in the new province in the following decades . Dacia was situated over the empire ' s natural borders . It was surrounded by native tribes inhabiting the regions of Crișana , Maramureș , Moldavia which are now integral part of Romania , but the Romans never annexed them . Dacia province was plundered by neighboring tribes , including the Carpians , Sarmatians , from the 230s , and by the Goths from the 250s . As the frontiers were to be shortened for defensive purposes , the withdrawal of the Roman legions from Dacia began in the 260s . The province officially ceased to exist under Emperor Aurelian ( 270 – 275 ) who " withdrew the Romans from the cities and countryside of Dacia " . Garrisons stationed in Drobeta and Sucidava remained on the northern bank of the river . Origin of the Romanians . Romanians speak a language originating from the dialects of the Roman provinces north of the " Jireček Line " . This line divided , in Roman times , the predominantly Greek - speaking southern provinces from those where Latin was the principal language of communication . The emergence of Proto - Romanian from Vulgar Latin is first demonstrated by the words " " torna , torna , frater " " ( " turn around , turn around , brother " ) recorded in connection with an Eastern Roman military action in 587 or 588 . The soldier shouting them " in his native tongue " spoke an Eastern Romance dialect of the Balkan Mountains . Grigore Nandris writes that the Romanian vocabulary suggests that the Romanians ' ancestors were " reduced to a pastoral life in the mountains and to agricultural pursuits in the foothills of their pasture lands " following the collapse of the Roman rule . A great number of Romanian words of uncertain origin are related to animal husbandry : " baci " ( " chief shepherd " ) , " balegă " ( " dung " ) , and " brânză " ( " cheese " ) , for instance , belong to this group . Many words related to a more settled form of animal husbandry were borrowed from Slavic , including " coteţ " ( " poultry house " ) , " grajd " ( " stable " ) , and " stână " ( " fenced pasture " ) . Romanian has preserved Latin terms for agriculture and the Latin names of certain crops , but a significant part of its agricultural lexis originates from a Slavic - speaking population . The first group includes " a ara " ( " to plough " ) , " a secera " ( " to reap " ) , " grâu " ( " wheat " ) , " in " ( " flax " ) , and " furcă " ( " pitchfork " ) , while " a croi " ( " to cut out " ) , " a plivi " ( " to weed " ) , " brazdă " ( " furrow " ) , " cobilă " ( " plow line " ) , " coasă " ( " scythe " ) , " lopată " ( " shovel " ) and many others are Slavic loanwords . The Romanian religious vocabulary is also divided , with a small number of basic terms preserved from Latin and a significant number of borrowings from Old Church Slavonic . Romanian did not preserve Latin words connected to urbanized society . Likewise , the term " sat " ( " village " ) may have been borrowed from the Albanian language and not directly inherited . The Medieval Romanian word " obște " ( " village community " ) came from Slavic , and the Romanian word for its boundaries " ( hotar ) " is of Hungarian origin . The Romanians ' ethnogenesis cannot be understood based exclusively on written sources , because the earliest records on their ancestors were made by 11th - century Byzantine historians . When referring to the Romance - speaking population of Southeastern Europe , early medieval sources used the Vlach exonym or its cognates , which all derrived from the Common Slavic term for speakers of the Latin language . The earliest sources write of the Vlachs of the central territories of the Balkan Peninsula . Late Roman Age . Scythia Minor and the " limes " on the Lower Danube ( " c . " 270 – " c . " 700 ) . The territory between the Lower Danube and the Black Sea remained a fully integrated part of the Roman Empire , even after the abandonment of Trajan ' s Dacia . It was transformed into a separate province under the name of Scythia Minor around 293 . Before 300 , the Romans erected small forts at Dierna and in other places on the northern bank of the Danube in modern - day Banat . In their wider region , Roman coins from the periodmostly of bronzehave been found . The existence of Christian communities in Scythia Minor became evident under Emperor Diocletian ( 284 – 305 ) . He and his co - emperors ordered the persecution of Christians throughout the empire , causing the death of many between 303 and 313 . Under Emperor Constantine the Great ( 306 – 337 ) , a bridge across the Danube was constructed at Sucidava , a new fort ( Constantiana Daphne ) was built , and ancient roads were repaired in Oltenia . The Lower Danube again became the empire ' s northern boundary in 369 at the latest , when Emperor Valens met Athanaric the head of the Gothsin a boat in the middle of the river because the latter had taken an oath " never to set foot on Roman soil " . The Huns destroyed Drobeta and Sucidava in the 440s , but the forts were restored under Emperor Justinian I ( 527 – 565 ) . Eastern Roman coins from the first half of the 6th century suggest a significant military presence in Olteniaa region also characterized by the predominance of pottery with shapes of Roman tradition . Although Eastern Roman emperors made annual payments to the neighboring peoples in an attempt to keep the peace in the Balkans , the Avars regularly invaded Scythia Minor from the 580s . The Romans abandoned Sucidava in 596 or 597 , but Tomis , which was the last town in Scythia Minor to resist the invaders , only fell in 704 . North of the " limes " ( " c . " 270 – " c . " 330 ) . Transylvania and northern Banat , which had belonged to Dacia province , had no direct contact with the Roman Empire from the 270s . There is no evidence that they were invaded in the following decades . Towns , including Apulum and Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa , and the surrounding areas continued to be inhabited but the urban areas diminished . The existence of local Christian communities can be assumed in Porolissum , Potaissa and other settlements . On the other hand , evidencemainly pottery with " Chi - rho " " ( Χ - Ρ ) " signs and other Christian symbolsis " shadowy and poorly understood " , according to archaeologists Haynes and Hanson . Urns found in late 3rd - century cemeteries at Bezid , Mediaş , and in other Transylvanian settlements had clear analogies in sites east of the Carpathians , suggesting that the Carpians were the first new arrivals in the former province from the neighboring regions . Other Carpian groups , pressured by the Goths , also departed from their homeland and sought refuge in the Roman Empire around 300 . Nevertheless , " Carpo - Dacians " were listed among the peoples " mixed with the Huns " as late as 379 . The Sarmatians of the Banat were allies of the empire , demonstrated by a Roman invasion in 332 against the Goths , their enemies . Sarmatians were admitted into the empire in 379 , but other Sarmatian groups remained in the Tisa plains up until the 460s . " Gutthiuda : " land of the Goths ( " c . " 290 – " c . " 455 ) . The Goths started penetrating into territories west of the river Dniester from the 230s . Two distinct groups separated by the river , the Thervingi and the Greuthungi , quickly emerged among them . The one - time province of Dacia was held by " the Taifali , Victohali , and Thervingi " around 350 . The Goths ' success is marked by the expansion of the multiethnic " Sântana de Mureş - Chernyakhov culture " . Settlements of the culture appeared in Moldavia and Wallachia at the end of the 3rd century , and in Transylvania after 330 . These lands were inhabited by a sedentary population engaged in farming and cattle - breeding . Pottery , comb - making and other handicrafts flourished in the villages . Wheel - made fine pottery is a featuring item of the period , but hand - made cups of the local tradition were also preserved . Plowshare s similar to those made in nearby Roman provinces and Scandinavian - style brooches indicate trade contacts with these regions . " Sântana de Mureş - Chernyakhov " villages , sometimes covering an area exceeding , were not fortified and comprised two types of houses : sunken huts with walls made of wattle and daub and surface buildings with plastered timber walls . Sunken huts had for centuries been typical for settlements east of the Carpathians , but now they appeared in distant zones of the Pontic steppes . The multiethnic " Gutthiuda " was divided into smaller political units or " kuni " , each headed by tribal chiefs or " reiks " . In case of emergency , the tribal chiefs ' council elected a supreme leader who was known as " iudex regum " ( " judge of kings " ) by St Ambrose . Christian prisoners of war were the first missionaries among the Goths . Ulfilas , himself a descendant of a Cappadocian captive , was ordained bishop " of the Christians in the land of the Goths " in 341 . Expelled from " Gutthiuda " during a persecution of Christians , Ulfilas settled in Moesia in 348 . Gothic dominance collapsed when the Huns arrived and attacked the Thervingi in 376 . Most of the Thervingi sought asylum in the Roman Empire , and were followed by large groups of Greuthungi and Taifali . All the same , significant groups of Goths stayed in the territories north of the Danube . For instance , Athanaric " retired with all his men to " Caucaland a " " probably to the valley of the river Olt from where they " drove out the Sarmatians " . A hoard of Roman coins issued under Valentinian I and Valens suggests that the gates of the amphitheatre at Ulpia Traiana were blocked around the same time . The Pietroasele Treasure which was hidden around 450 also implies the presence of a Gothic tribal or religious leader in the lands between the Carpathians and the Lower Danube . It contains a torc bearing the inscription " GUTANI O WI HAILAG " , which is interpreted by Malcolm Todd as " God who protects the Goths , most holy and inviolate " . " Gepidia : " land of the Gepids ( " c . " 290 – " c . " 630 ) . The earliest reference to Gepidsan East Germanic tribe closely related to the Gothsis found in a formal speech of 291 . The anonymous author wrote that the Thervingi joined " battle with the Vandals and Gepids " at that time . The center of an early " Gepidia " , on the plains northwest of the Meseş Mountains , appears to have been located around Şimleu Silvaniei , where early 5th - century precious objects of Roman provenance have been unearthed . The Huns imposed their authority over the Gepids by the 420s , but the latter remained united under the rule of their king named Ardaric . Although he was one of the favorites of Attila , king of the Huns , he initiated an uprising against the Huns when Attila died in 453 . The Gepids regained their independence and " ruled as victors over the extent of all Dacia " . Three sumptuous tombs found at Apahida evidence the wealth accumulated by Gepid royals through their connections with the Eastern Roman Empire . A golden ring with crosses found in one of the graves implies its owner ' s Christian faith . John of Biclar refers to an Arian bishop of the Gepids which suggests that they adopted Christianity through their connection with the Arian Goths . New settlements appearing along the rivers Mureş , Someş , and Târnava reflects a period of tranquility in " Gepidia " until around 568 . The common people in Biharia , Cenad , Moreşti , and other villages lived in sunken huts covered with gabled roofs but with no hearths or ovens . They were primarily farmers , but looms , combs , and other products evidence the existence of local workshops . Trading contacts between " Gepidia " and faraway regions is evidenced by finds of amber beads and brooches manufactured in the Crimea , Mazovia or Scandinavia . The Avar invasion of 568 ended the independent " Gepidia " . Written sources evidence the survival of Gepid groups within the Avar Empire . For instance , Eastern Roman troops " encountered three Gepid settlements " on the Tisa plains in 599 or 600 . Hunnic Empire ( " c . " 400 – " c . " 460 ) . The Huns , a people of uncertain origin , were nomadic and wandered " with the wagons " in the 370s . They were eminent mounted archers who imposed their authority over an increasing number of neighboring peoples . Their first ruler whose seat was located in the Lower Danube region was Uldin , initially an important ally and later an enemy of the Eastern Roman Empire between 401 and 408 . The Eastern Roman government paid an annual tribute to the Huns from the 420s . Gold flowing from the empire transformed the Hun society . The introduction of a centralized monarchy is evidenced in a report written by Priscus of Panium , an Eastern Roman envoy sent to the ruler of the Huns , Attila , in 448 . At that time , Gothic was widely spoken in the royal court since " the subjects of the Huns " spoke " besides their own barbarous tongues , either Hunnic or Gothic , oras many as have commercial dealings with the western Romans Latin " . The Huns imposed their authority on a sedentary population . Priscus of Panium refers to a village where he and his retinue were supplied " with millet instead of corn " and " medos ( mead ) instead of wine " . Attila ' s sudden death in 453 caused a civil war among his sons . The subject peoples revolted and emerged the victors at the Battle of Nedao in 454 . The remnants of the Huns withdrew to the Pontic steppes . One of their groups was admitted to settle in Scythia Minor in 460 . Dark Ages . Between Huns and Avars ( " c . " 450 – " c . " 565 ) . The last " Sântana de Mureş - Chernyakhov " objects once widespread in " Gutthiuda " such as fine wares and weaponsare dated to the period ending around 430 . According to Coriolan H . Opreanu , the same period is characterized by " population shifts " which caused the abandonment of many villages and the appearance of new settlements . Botoşana , Dodeşti , and other sites east of the Carpathians demonstrate the simplification of pottery forms and a decline in the use of the fast potter ' s wheel from the 450s . Around the same time , semi - sunken huts with stone or clay ovens appeared in Moldavia and Wallachia , forming ephemeral settlements with an area smaller than . The locals practiced an " itinerant form of agriculture " , instead of manuring the soil . Differences in local pottery indicate the coexistence of communities isolated from each other by marshes , forests or hills . For instance , contemporary Cândeşti produced a significant quantity of wheel - made pottery , Târgşor was characterized by crushed - shard tempered vessels , and a sample of the most common " Kolochin " vessels was found in the Budureasca Valley . There are few known cemeteries from the second half of the 5th century , pointing to common use of cremation without the use of urns or pits . On the other hand , a huge biritual necropolis at Sărata - Monteoru produced more than 1 , 600 cremation burials , either in wheel - made urns or in pits without urns . Small cemeteries with inhumation graves have been found at Nichiteni and Secuieni . Jordanes , Procopius and other 6th - century authors used the terms " Sclavenes " and " Antes " to refer to the peoples inhabiting the territory north of the Lower Danube . The Antes launched their first campaign over the Lower Danube in 518 . After they concluded a treaty with the Eastern Roman Empire in 545 , the Sclavenes started to plunder the Balkan provinces . Both ethnic groups seized many prisoners of wars during their raids , but they were ready to integrate them " as free men and friends " . The names of early 6th - century leaders of the Sclavenes or Antes are unknown . This supports ancient authors ' claims that both ethnic groups lived " under a democracy " . The same conclusion can be drawn from Procopius ' s report of the " phoney Chilbudius " a young Antian serf who " spoke the Latin tongue " who was dispatched by his fellow tribesmen to negotiate with the Eastern Roman Empire in 545 . The disappearance of bronze and gold coins from sites north of the Lower Danube demonstrates an " economic closure of the frontier " of the Eastern Roman Empire between 545 and 565 . The same period is characterized by a tendency towards cultural unification in Moldavia , Oltenia and Wallachia . Handmade pots with very similar incised designs evidence the " existence of a cross - regional set of symbols shared " by either potters or consumers . Pots , spindle whorl s and other objects decorated with crosses or swastikas have been unearthed at Cândeşti , Lozna , and other sites . The use of handmade clay pans for baking bread was spreading from the regions south and east of the Carpathians towards lands over the Dniester and the Lower Danube . Avar Empire ( " c . " 565 – " c . " 800 ) . The Turkic - speaking Avars occupied " Gepidia " in 567 , less than a decade after their arrival in Europe . They were nomadic pastoralists , who settled in the lowlands . Stirrups found at Sânpetru German are among the earliest finds in Romania attributed to the Avars . They received agricultural products from farming communities settled in their domains and neighboring peoples subjected to their authority . Emperor Justin II hired , in 578 , the Avars to attack the Sclavenes who resumed their plundering raids against the empire around that time . The names of some of the Sclavene leaders were first recorded in the following period . One of them , Musocius , " was called " rex " in the barbarian tongue " . Graves of males interred together with horses found at Aiud and Band prove the Avars ' settlement in Transylvania in the early 7th century . Their cemeteries are centered around salt mines . Spursnever found in Avar context but widely used in Western Slav territories were unearthed in Şura Mică and Medişoru Mare , suggesting the employment of non - Avar horsemen in the 8th century . Large " Late Avar " cemeteries used by several generations between " c . " 700 and " c . " 800 imply " an advanced degree of sedentization " of the entire society . The Avar Empire collapsed after the Franks launched three campaigns against the westernmost Avar territories between 791 and 803 . Soon afterwards the Bulgars attacked the Avars from the southeast , and Charlemagne settled Avar groups in Pannonia . Emergence of new powers ( " c . " 600 – " c . " 895 ) . The Lower Danube region experienced a period of stability after the establishment of the Avar Empire . Archaeological sites in Moldavia , Oltenia and Wallachia became characterized by the growing popularity of hand - made vessels with finger impressions and by a decline in detectable cemeteries . Ananias of Shirak , a 7th - century Armenian geographer described the " large country of Dacia " as inhabited by Slavs who formed " twenty - five tribes " . Villages of sunken huts with stone ovens appeared in Transylvania around 600 . Their network was expanding along the rivers Mureş , Olt and Someş . The so - called " Mediaş group " of cremation or mixed cemeteries emerged in this period near salt mines . The Hungarian and the Romanian vocabulary of salt mining was taken from Slavic , suggesting that Slavs were employed in the mines for centuries . Bistriţa ( " swift " ) , Crasna ( " nice " or " red " ) , Sibiu ( " dogwood " ) , and many other rivers and settlements with names of Slavic origin also evidence the presence of Slavs in Transylvania . The Turkic - speaking Bulgars arrived in the territories west of the river Dniester around 670 . At the Battle of Ongal they defeated the Eastern Roman ( or Byzantine ) Emperor Constantine IV in 680 or 681 and occupied Dobruja . They soon imposed their authority over some of the neighboring tribes . The great variety in burial rites evidences the multi - ethnic character of the Bulgarian Empire . Even the Bulgars were divided in this respect ; some of them practiced inhumation and others cremation . Initially , a sharp distinction existed between the Bulgars and their subjects , but the Slavicization of the Bulgars soon began . Opreanu writes that the " new cultural synthesis " known as the " Dridu culture " developed in the Lower Danube region around 680 . New settlements and large cemeteries show that the region experienced a steady demographic rise in the 8th century . The large , unfortified " Dridu " settlements were characterized by traditional semi - sunken huts , but a few houses with ground - level floors have also been unearthed in Dodeşti , Spinoasa , and other places . " Dridu " communities produced and used gray or yellow fine pottery , but hand - made vessels were still predominant . Fine , gray vessels were also unearthed in the 9th - century " Blandiana A " cemeteries in the area of Alba - Iulia , which constitutes a " cultural enclave " in Transylvania . Near these cemeteries , necropolises of graves with west – east orientation form the distinct " Ciumbrud group " . Female dress accessories from " Ciumbrud graves " are strikingly similar to those from Christian cemeteries in Bulgaria and Moravia . From an earlier date are the cremation cemeteries of the " Nuşfalau - Someşeni group " in northwestern Transylvania , with their 8th - and 9th - century " tumuli " , similar to the " kurgans " of East Slavic territories . Contemporaneous authors rarely dwelled on early medieval Southeastern Europe . For instance , the " Royal Frankish Annals " makes a passing reference to Abodrites living " in Dacia adjacent to the Danube near the Bulgarian border " on the occasion of their envoys ' arrival in Aachen in 824 . Bulgaria ' s territory increased under Krum ( " c . " 803 – 814 ) , who took Adrianople and forced at least 10 , 000 of the town ' s inhabitants to settle north of the Lower Danube in 813 . The ambitions of his son Omurtag ( 814 – 831 ) in the regions of the rivers Dnieper and Tisa are attested by two columns erected in the memory of Bulgar military leaders who drowned in these rivers during military campaigns . Emperor Arnulf sent envoys , in 894 , to the Bulgarians to " ask that they should not sell salt to the Moravians " , suggesting a Bulgarian control over either the Transylvanian salt mines or the roads to Moravia . In the same year , the nomadic Hungarianswho had arrived in the Lower Danube region from the steppes of Eastern Europe in 837 or 838became involved in a conflict between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire on the latter ' s behalf . The Bulgarians incited another nomadic tribe , the Pechenegs , to invade the Hungarians from the east , while the Bulgarians also attacked them from the south . The two synchronized attacks forced the Hungarians to cross the Carpathian Mountains in search for a new homeland . About 300 years later , Anonymus , the author of " Gesta Hungarorum " , wrote a comprehensive list of polities and peoples of the Carpathian Basin at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries . He wrote about the Hungarian conquest of the territory but did not mention Simeon I of Bulgaria , Svatopluk of Moravia and the conquerors ' opponents known from contemporary sources . Instead , he wrote of a number of personalities unknown by other chroniclers . In " Gesta Hungarorum " , Menumorut ruled over " the peoples that are called Kozár " in Crişana . Anonymus also wrote of the Székelys ( " previously the peoples of King Attila " ) living in the territory for centuries who joined the invading Hungarians . Banat , according to Anonymus , was ruled by Glad who had come " from the castle of Vidin . " Glad is described to employ " Cumans , Bulgarians and Vlachs " in his army . Anonymous also wrote of Gelou , " a certain Vlach " ruling in Transylvania , a land inhabited by " Vlachs and Slavs " . Gelou ' s subjects are portrayed as having " suffered many injuries from the Cumans and Pechenegs " . Formation of new states and the last waves of migrations . First Bulgarian Empire after conversion ( 864 – 1018 ) . Boris I , the ruler of Bulgaria , converted to Orthodox Christianity in 864 . He promoted vernacular worship services , thus Old Church Slavonic was declared the language of liturgy in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in 893 . One of the earliest examples of Cyrillic script an alphabet strongly associated with Slavonic liturgywas found in Mircea Vodă in Romania . The Cyrillic inscription from 943 refers to a " " župan " Dimitrie " . Byzantine troops occupied large portions of Bulgaria , including modern Dobruja , under Emperor John I Tzimiskes ( 969 – 976 ) . After his death an anti - Byzantine uprising led by four brothers broke out . One of the brothers , David , was killed by Vlachs in the present - day border region between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia . In 1018 , the Byzantines conquered the whole territory of the Bulgarian Empire and the Archbishop of Ohrid acquired ecclesiastic jurisdiction in 1020 over the Vlachs living there . Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin ( " c . " 895 – " c . " 1000 ) . The way taken by the Hungarians across the Carpathian Mountains when they started the conquest of the Carpathian Basin varies from source to source . According to " Gesta Hungarorum " , the Hungarians descended through the northern passes to the lowlands , bypassing Transylvania , and only began the invasion of the regions east of the Tisa after the conquest of the western regions . " Gesta Hungarorum " says the Vlach Gelou of Transylvania died fighting the Hungarians , while his subjects chose " for themselves as lord Tétény " , one of the Hungarian leaders . Anonymus also wrote of Menumorut ' s defeat , but said he preserved his rule in Crişana until his death by giving his daughter in marriage to Zolta , heir to Árpád , the head of the Hungarians . In a contrasting account , the " Illuminated Chronicle " writes of Hungarians fleeing through the eastern passes of the Carpathian Mountains to Transylvania where they " remained quietly " and " rested their herds " for a while before moving further west . The so - called " Cluj group " of small inhumation cemeteriesgraves with west – east orientation , often containing remains of horses appeared on both sides of the Apuseni Mountains around 900 . Their military character evidences that the people using them formed a " double defensive line " organized against the Pechenegs . Transylvanian cemeteries of the " Cluj group " cluster around salt mines . Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus identified " the whole settlement " of Hungary with the lands where the rivers Criş , Mureş , Timiş , Tisa and " Toutis " possibly the Bega ran around 950 . The concentration of objects of Byzantine provenance at the confluence of the Mureş and Tisa shows that this territory was a regional center of power . Accordingly , the seat of Gyula , a Hungarian chieftain baptized in Constantinople around 952 , most probably existed in this region . On the other hand , Hungarian chronicles associate Gyula ' s family with Transylvania . Place names from the nomadic stratum of Hungarian toponymythose corresponding to proper names or Hungarian tribal names , including Decea , Hotoan , and Ineu also evidence that major Hungarian groups settled in Transylvania from the 950s . An early " Bijelo Brdo " cemetery belonging to a 10th - and 11th - century archaeological culture with finds from all over the Carpathian Basin was found at Deva . " Patzinakia : " land of the Pechenegs ( " c . " 895 – " c . " 1120 ) . The Turkic - speaking Pechenegs took the control of the territories east of the Carpathians from the Hungarians around 895 . Emperor Constantine VII wrote that two Pecheneg " provinces " or " clans " ( " Kato Gyla " and " Giazichopon " ) were located in Moldavia and Wallachia around 950 . The change of dominion had no major effect on the sedentary " Dridu " villages in the region . The settlements in Moldavia and Wallachia , most of them built on river banks or lake shores , remained unfortified . Sporadic finds of horse brasses and other " nomadic " objects evidence the presence of Pechenegs in " Dridu " communities . Snaffle bit s with rigid mouthpieces and round stirrupsnovelties of the early 10th centurywere also unearthed in Moldavia and Wallachia . Cemeteries of the locals show that inhumation replaced cremation by the end of the 10th century . The " Eymund ' s saga " narrates that Pechenegs " ( Tyrkir ) " with " Blökumen " " and a good many other nasty people " were involved in the disputes for the throne of Kievan Rus ' in 1019 . An 11th - century runic inscription on a stone from Gotland narrates that a Varangian man was murdered " on a voyage abroad " by " Blakumen " . Both " Blökumen " and " Blakumen " may refer to Vlachs inhabiting the regions east of the Carpathians , although their translation to " black men " cannot be excluded . Graffiti depicting ships and dragons in Scandinavian style were found in the Basarabi Cave Complex at Murfatlar . Large groups of Pechenegs pressured from the east by the Ouzes received asylum in the Byzantine Empire in 1046 and 1047 . All the same , Pecheneg populations remained in the regions north of the Lower Danube even thereafter . Some of them were admitted into the Kingdom of Hungary in the next decades , where they were settled in southern Transylvania and other regions . Byzantine revival and the Second Bulgarian Empire ( 970s – " c . " 1185 ) . Around 971 , Emperor John I Tzimiskes established the " theme " or " district " of Paristrion in the territories occupied between the Balkan Mountains and the Lower Danube . Naval bases were built at Capidava , Noviodunum , and Păcuiul lui Soare on the river . Bulgarians and Vlachs living in the annexed territories often expressed their hostility towards imperial rule . Anna Comnena relates how local Vlachs showed " the way through the passes " of the Balkan Mountains to invading Cumans in 1094 . All the same , Vlachs served in the imperial army , for instance during an imperial campaign against the Kingdom of Hungary in 1166 . New taxes imposed by imperial authorities caused a rebellion of Vlachs and Bulgarians in 1185 , which led to the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire . The Vlachs ' eminent status within the new state is evidenced by the writings of Robert of Clari and other western authors , who refer either to the new state or to its mountainous regions as " Vlachia " until the 1250s . Kingdom of Hungary ( " c . " 1000 – 1241 ) . Stephen I , the first crowned king of Hungary whose reign began in 1000 or 1001 , unified the Carpathian Basin . Around 1003 , he launched a campaign against " his maternal uncle , King Gyula " and occupied Transylvania . Stephen I later turned against Ahtum , " who had been baptised in the Orthodox faith in Vidin " , and conquered Banat . Hartvik , Stephen I ' s hagiographer , wrote that the monarch " divided his territories in ten bishoprics " . In the territory of modern Romania , three Roman Catholic dioceses were established with their seats in Alba Iulia , Biharea ( from the last decades of the 11th century in Oradea ) , and Cenad . Royal administration in the entire kingdom was based on counties organized around royal fortresses . In modern Romania ' s territory , references to an " ispán " or count of Alba in 1097 , and to a count of Bihor in 1111 evidence the appearance of the county system . The counties in Banat and Crişana remained under direct royal authority , but a great officer of the realm , the " voivode " , supervised the " ispáns " of the Transylvanian counties from the end of the 12th century . Eastward expansion of " Bijelo Brdo " villages along the Mureş continued in the 11th century . Cauldrons and huts with hearths carved into the soil were the characterizing items of the period . Nevertheless , semi - sunken huts with stone ovens from Sfântu Gheorghe , Şimoneşti and other villages evidence the survival of the local population . The lands between the Carpathians and the Tisa were plundered by Pechenegs in the 1010s and in 1068 , by Ouzes in 1085 , and by Cumans in 1091 . Cluj , Dăbâca and other royal forts built of earth and timber were strengthened after the 1068 attack . In these forts appeared the so - called " Citfalău cemeteries " , dependent upon late 11th - century royal legislation forcing commoners to set up their graveyards around churches . The early presence of Székelys at Tileagd in Crişana , and at Gârbova , Saschiz , and Sebeş in Transylvania is attested by royal charters . Székely groups from Gârbova , Saschiz , and Sebeş were moved around 1150 into the easternmost regions of Transylvania , when the monarchs granted these territories to new settlers arriving from Western Europe . The Székelys were organized into " seats " instead of counties , and a royal officer , the " Count of the Székelys " became the head of their community from the 1220s . The Székelys provided military services to the monarchs and remained exempt of royal taxes . A great number of Flemish , German , and Walloon " guest settlers " arrived in Transylvania around 1150 . Wheel - made fine vessels with analogies in Thuringia found at Şelimbăr demonstrate the advanced technology they introduced to their new home . An account of royal revenues from the 1190s shows that almost one - tenth of all royal income derived from taxes they paid . In 1224 , King Andrew II granted collective privileges to those inhabiting the region between Orăștie and Baraolt . The " Diploma Andreanum " confirmed the custom of freely electing their priests and local leaders ; only the right to appoint the head of their community , the " Count of Sibiu " , was preserved for the monarchs . The Transylvanian Saxonsas they were collectively mentioned from the early 13th century also received the right to " use the forests of the Romanians and the Pechenegs " along with these peoples . The earliest royal charter referring to Romanians in Transylvania is connected to the foundation of the Cistercian abbey at Cârţa around 1202 , which was granted land , up to that time possessed by Romanians . Another royal charter reveals that Romanians fought in Bulgaria along with Saxons , Székelys and Pechenegs under the leadership of the Count of Sibiu in 1210 . The Orthodox Romanians remained exempt from the tithe payable by all Catholic peasants to the Church . Furthermore , they only paid a special in kind tax , the " fiftieth " on their herds . Colonization continued with the arrival of the Teutonic Knights in Ţara Bârsei in 1211 . They were granted the right to freely pass through " the land of the Székelys and the land of the Vlachs " in 1222 . The knights tried to free themselves from the monarch ' s authority , thus King Andrew II expelled them from the region in 1225 . Thereafter , the king appointed his heir , Béla , with the title of duke , to administer Transylvania . Duke Béla occupied Oltenia and set up a new province , the Banate of Severin , in the 1230s . " Cumania : " land of the Cumans ( " c . " 1060 – 1241 ) . The arrival of the Cumans in the Lower Danube region was first recorded in 1055 . A 17th - century version of the Turkic chronicle " Oghuzname " relates that Quipchaq , the ancient Cuman hero , fought against the " Ulak " ( Romanians ) , along with other nations . Cuman groups assisted the rebelling Bulgarians and Vlachs against the Byzantines between 1186 and 1197 . " Dridu " villages of the lowlands east of the Carpathians were abandoned between 1050 and 1080 , around which time new settlements appeared on higher land on both banks of the Prut . A sharp decrease from 300 to 35 in the number of archaeological sitessettlements , cemeteries and coin hordsevidences a population decline which continued well into the 13th century . Byzantine troops marching towards Transylvania through the territory east of the Carpathians encountered " a land entirely bereft of men " in 1166 . A coalition of Rus ' princes and Cuman tribes suffered a sound defeat by the Mongols in the Battle of the Kalka River in 1223 . Shortly thereafter Boricius , a Cuman chieftain , accepted baptism and the supremacy of the king of Hungary . The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cumania was set up in his territories in 1228 . A letter of 1234 written by Pope Gregory IX refers to a " certain people within the Cuman bishopric called " Walati " " ( Vlachs ) who even persuaded Catholic Hungarians and Germans to accept the ecclesiastic authority of Orthodox prelates . Mongol invasion ( 1241 – 1242 ) . The Mongols , who had decided to invade Europe in 1235 , attacked the Cumans in 1238 . Masses of Cumans sought refuge in Bulgaria and Hungary . The Mongols crossed the Carpathians in March 1241 , and soon afterwards they destroyed " the rich village of the Germans " ( Rodna ) , and took Bistrița , Cluj , and Oradea . Another Mongol army " proceeded by way of the " Qara - Ulagh " " ( " Black Vlachs " ) , and defeated their leader named " Mishlav " . They also entered Transylvania , sacked Alba Iulia , Sibiu , the abbeys at Cârţa and Igriș , and Cenad . The Mongol invasion lasted for a year , and the Mongols devastated huge swathes of territory of the kingdom before their unexpected withdrawal in 1242 . Matthew Paris and other contemporaneous scholars considered the Mongol invasion as a " sign of apocalypse " . Whole villages were destroyed , and many were never rebuilt . According to a royal charter of 1246 , Alba Iulia , Harina , Gilău , Mărişelu , Tășnad and Zalău were almost depopulated . Another charter from 1252 evidences that " Zec " a village on the Olt was totally deserted . Aftermath . A new period of intensive colonization began in Banat , Transylvania and other regions within the Kingdom of Hungary after the withdrawal of the Mongols . King Béla IV was also considering settling the Knights Hospitallers in the lands between the Carpathians and the Lower Danube . His diploma of 1247 for the Knights evidences the existence of four Romanian polities in the region . They were under the rule of " voivodes " Litovoi and Seneslau , and of " knezes " Farcaş and John . Internal conflicts characterized the last decades of the 13th century in the Kingdom of Hungary . For instance , a feud between King Béla and his son , Stephen caused a civil war which lasted from 1261 to 1266 . Taking advantage of the emerging anarchy , Voivode Litovoi attempted to get rid of the Hungarian monarchs ' suzerainty in the 1270s , but he fell in a battle while fighting against royal troops . One of his successors , Basarab I of Wallachia was the first Romanian monarch whose sovereignty was internationally recognized after his victory over King Charles I of Hungary in the Battle of Posada of 1330 .