Map of Romania with Northern Dobruja highlighted in orange and Bulgaria with Southern Dobruja highlighted in yellow.

The roots of the Crimean Tatar diaspora community in Romania began with the Cuman migration in the 10th century. Even before the Cumans arrived other Turkic people like the Huns and the Bulgars settled in this region. A distinct Tatar ethnic identity first emerged following the Golden Horde's invasion of Dobruja. In the 14th and 15th centuries the Ottoman Empire colonized Dobruja with Nogais from Bucak. Between 1593 and 1595 Tatars from Nogai and Bucak were also settled to Dobruja. (Frederick de Jong) Cumans, also called as Polovtsy, (Russian Половцы, from old Slavic for pale yellowish) was the European name for the Western Kipchaks, a nomadic West Turkic tribe living on the north of the Black Sea along the Volga. ... The Huns were a confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads. ... Map showing the location of Bulgars, 650. ... Historically, the term Tatar (or Tartar) has been ambiguously used by Europeans to refer to many different peoples of Inner Asia and Northern Asia. ... The four successor Khanates of the Mongol Empire: Empire of the Great Khan (Yuan Dynasty), Golden Horde, Il-Khanate and Chagatai Khanate The Golden Horde (Mongolian: Altan Orda; Tatar: Altın Urda; Russian: Золотая Орда) was a Mongol[1][2][3][4] - later Turkicized[3] - state established in parts of present-day... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–65) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (Ä°stanbul, 1453–1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–22 Mehmed VI... Map of Romania with Northern Dobruja highlighted in orange and Bulgaria with Southern Dobruja highlighted in yellow. ... The Nogais, also spelled Nogay, Noghai, and often called the Caucasian Mongols (Caucasian refers to their geographic position, in the Caucasus mountains, not to their ethnicity), are a Turkic people, and an important ethnic group in the Daghestan region who speak the Turkic Nogai language. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Early history

After the Russian annexation of Crimea in 1783 Crimean Tatars began emigrating to the Ottoman coastal provinces of Dobruja (today divided between Romania and Bulgaria). Once in Dobruja most settled in the areas surrounding Mecidiye, Babadag, Köstence, Tulça, Silistre, Beştepe, or Varna and went on to create villages named in honor of their abandoned homeland such as Şirin, Yayla, Akmecit, Yalta, Kefe or Beybucak. From 1783 to 1853 tens of thousands of Crimean Tatars and Nogais emigrated to the Rusçuk region which subsequently became known as "Little Tartary". Following the Russian conquest of 1812, Nogais from Bucak also immigrated to Dobruja. Tatars who settled in Dobruja before the great exodus of 1860 were known as Kabail. They formed the Kabail Tatar squadron in the Nizam-ı Cedid (New Order) army of sultan Selim III. They played a key role in Mahmud II's struggle with Mehmet Ali Pasha of Egypt, suppressed rebellions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kurdistan, and the Arab provinces and served with the Ottomans during the Crimean War. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Crimean Tatars (sg. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–65) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (Ä°stanbul, 1453–1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–22 Mehmed VI... Map of Romania with Northern Dobruja highlighted in orange and Bulgaria with Southern Dobruja highlighted in yellow. ... Medgidia (Turkish Mecidiye): (population: 43,800) is a town in Dobruja, Romania. ... Babadag is a town in the Tulcea county, Romania; situated on a small lake formed by the Taitza river among the densely wooded highlands of the northern Dobrudja. ... County ConstanÅ£a Mayor Radu Åžtefan Mazăre Area 124. ... County Tulcea County Status County capital Mayor Constantin Hogea, Democratic Party , since 2004 Population (2002) 91,875 Geographical coordinates , Web site http://www. ... Silistra (Bulgarian: , historically Bulgarian Дръстър (Drastar, ) and Romanian Dârstor) is a port city of northeastern Bulgaria, lying on the southern side of the lower Danube at the countrys border with Romania. ... The Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral in Varna The Stoyan Bachvarov Dramatic Theatre Varna (Bulgarian: ) is the largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, and 79th-largest in the European Union, with a population of 357,752([1]). Varna, commonly referred... The Nogais, also spelled Nogay, Noghai, and often called the Caucasian Mongols (Caucasian refers to their geographic position, in the Caucasus mountains, not to their ethnicity), are a Turkic people, and an important ethnic group in the Daghestan region who speak the Turkic Nogai language. ... Rousse (also transliterated as Ruse or Russe; Bulgarian: Русе; Romanian: Rusciuc) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria, with a population of 178,000. ... The Nizam-I Cedid (Turkish: New Order) was a series of reforms carried out by the Ottoman Empire sultan Selim III during the late eighteenth century in a drive to catch up militarily and politically with the Western Powers. ... Sultan Selim III Selim III (December 24, 1761 – July 28/29, 1808) was a sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1789–1807). ... The stylized signature of Mahmud II was written in an expressive calligraphy. ... See Mehemet Ali (Turkey) for the Turkish foreign minister and regent. ... Bosnia and Herzegovina (also variously written Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bosnia-Hercegovina) is a mountainous country in the western Balkans. ... Kurdistan (Soranî: كوردستان, literally meaning the land of Kurds[2]; Ancient: Corduene, old: Koordistan, Curdistan, Kurdia, also Kurdish: ) is the name of a geographic and cultural region in the Middle East, inhabited predominantly by the Kurds. ... Combatants Allies: Second French Empire United Kingdom Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Bulgarian volunteers Casualties 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 17,500 British 2,050 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease 256,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War (1854–1856) was fought...

Tatars together with Albanians served as gendarmes, who were held in high esteem by the Ottomans and received special tax privileges. The Ottoman's additionally accorded a certain degree of autonomy for the Tatars who were allowed governance by their own kaymakam, Khan Mirza. The Giray dynasty (1427 - 1878) multiplied in Dobruja and maintained their respected position. A Dobrujan Tatar, Kara Hussein, was responsible for the destruction of the Janissary corps on orders from Sultan Mahmut II. A bashi-bazouk (in Turkish başıbozuk, meaning disorganized, leaderless) was an irregular soldier of the Ottoman army. ... Kaymakam (Turkish term; also rendered as kaimakam) was the Ottoman title used by provincial governors. ... Royal dynasty. ... Chamberlain of Sultan Murad IV with janissaries. ...

From 1877-1878 it is estimated that between 80,000 and 100,000 Crimean Tatars emigrated from Dobruja to Anatolia, which continued in smaller numbers until WWI. The reasons for the emigration were several: In 1883 the Romanian government enacted laws requiring compulsory military service for all Romanian subjects including Tatars who were concerned that serving a Christian army was not in accord with their Muslim identity. Other reasons included the 1899 famine in Dobruja, a series of laws from 1880 to 1885 regarding confiscation of Tatar and Turkish land, and the Balkan Wars (1910-13) which devastated the region. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Combatants Ottoman Empire Balkan League Bulgaria Commanders Nizam Pasha, Zekki Pasha, Esat Pasha, Abdullah Pasha, Ali Rizah Pasha Bulgaria: Vladimir Vazov, Vasil Kutinchev, Nikola Ivanov, Radko Dimitriev Serbia: Radomir Putnik, Petar Bojović, Stepa Stepanović Greece:Crown Prince Constantine, Panagiotis Danglis, Pavlos Kountouriotis Nikola Ivanov, Vasil Kutinchev, Radko Dimitriev The outcome...

Early 1900s to WWII

Nationalities in Northern Dobruja at the beginning of the 20th century, with Tatars in yellow

A unique Crimean Tatar national identity in Dobruja began to emerge in the last quarter of the 20th century. When İsmail Gaspıralı, considered by many to be the father of Crimean Tatar nationalism, visited Köstence (Constanţa) in 1895 he discovered his newspaper Tercüman was already in wide circulation. However, it was the poet Mehmet Niyazi who is most credited with spreading nationalist ideas among the Tatars of Dobruja. In the wake of the fall of the Crimean Tatar government, Dobruja became the foremost place of refuge for Tatars from Crimea. Many of these refugees were inspired to join the Prometheus movement in Europe which aimed for the independence of Soviet nationalities. During this period Mustecip Hacı Fazıl (later took the surname Ulkusal) was the leader of community in Dobruja. In 1918, when he was 19 he went to Crimea to teach in Tatar schools and published the first Tatar journal in Dobruja, Emel from 1930 to 1940. He and other nationalists protested Tatar emigration from Dobruja to Turkey, believing resettlement in Crimea was preferable. Image File history File links Dobethn1903. ... Image File history File links Dobethn1903. ... Ä°smail Gaspıralı (Gasprinskiy) (March 8, 1851-September 11, 1914) was a famous Crimean Tatar intellectual, educator, publisher and political figure. ... County ConstanÅ£a Mayor Radu Åžtefan Mazăre Area 124. ... County ConstanÅ£a Mayor Radu Åžtefan Mazăre Area 124. ... For Crimean Tatar ethos see Crimean Tatars For Crimean Tatar language and alphabet see Crimean Tatar language ... Prométhée enchaîné (Prometheus Bound) by Nicolas-Sébastien Adam (1762) For other uses, see Prometheus (disambiguation). ... Motto: Процветание в единстве - Prosperity in unity Anthem: Нивы и горы твои волшебны, Родина - Your fields and mounts are wonderful, Motherland Location of Crimea (red) on the map of Ukraine. ...

In the 1920s Dobruja persisted as the primary destination for refugees escaping the Soviets. Romania had not yet fully incorporated Dobruja and Tatars were relatively free to organize politically and publish journals founded on nationalist ideas. During World War II many Tatars escaped from Crimea and took refugee with Crimean Tatar families in Dobruja who were subsequently punished harshly by communist Romania. The refugees who attempted escape by sea were attacked by Red Army aircraft, while those who followed land routes through Moldavia managed to reach Dobruja before the Red Army captured and deported most of them to Siberia on May 18, 1944. Necip Hacı Fazıl, the leader of the smuggling committee was executed and his brother Müstecip Hacı Fazıl fled to Turkey. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Motto: Процветание в единстве - Prosperity in unity Anthem: Нивы и горы твои волшебны, Родина - Your fields and mounts are wonderful, Motherland Location of Crimea (red) on the map of Ukraine. ... The Soviets pressed for inclusion of Romanias heretofore negligible Communist Party in the post-war government, while non-communist political leaders were steadily eliminated from political life. ... Moldavia (Moldova in Romanian) was a Romanian principality, originally created in the Middle Ages, now divided between Romania, Moldovan Republic and Ukraine. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

Developments Post-WWII

In 1940 the Southern Dobruja was given to Bulgaria and by 1977 an estimated number of 23,000 Tatars were living in Romania. According to Nermin Eren that number increased to around 40,000 by the 1990s. In 2005 The Democratic Union of Muslim Tatar-Turks claimed that there are 50,000 Tatars in Romania, believing the census estimate is artificially low because most Tatars identified themselves as Turks. Nermin Eren also estimated the number of Tatars in Bulgaria to be around 20,000 in 1990s. The Bulgarian sources estimate it to be around 6,000, though they are aware that most Tatars intermarry Turks or identify themselves as Turks. Between 1947-1957 Tatar schools began operating in Romania and in 1955 a special alphabet was created for the Tatar community. In 1990 the Democratic Union of Muslim Tatar-Turks was established. Currently Romania respects the minority rights of Tatars and does not follow any policy of Romanianization. Southern Dobruja (Южна Добруджа (Yuzhna Dobrudzha) in Bulgarian, Dobrogea de sud or Cadrilater in Romanian is an area of north-eastern Bulgaria comprising the administrative districts named for its two principal cities of Dobrich and Silistra. ...

See also

• Islam in Romania
• Tatars in Romania

Tatars (yellow) in Northern Dobruja (1903) Islam in Romania is represented by only 0. ...

Sources

• Romanian Tatars' Site
• Caslar - Romanian Tatar Youth mail-list