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Bessarabia is a former region of Eastern Europe comprising most of current-day Moldova and districts of Ukraine. It is bounded by the Dniestr river to the north and east, the Prut to the west and the lower Danube river and the Black Sea to the south. It had approximately 17,600 sq mi (45,600 sq Km). Bessarabia has mostly hilly plains with flat steppes. The area is a very fertile for agriculture, and it also has some lignite deposits and stone quarries. People living in the area grow sugar beets, sunflowers, wheat, corn, tobacco, wine grapes and fruits. They also raise sheep and cattle. Currently, the main industry in the region is agricultural processing.

The region's main cities are Chişinău (Kisinev), the capital of Moldova, Izmayil(or Izmail), tiraspol and Bilhorod-Dnistrovs'ki(also called Belgorod-Dnestrovsky). The name Bessarabia (Basarabia in Romanian) is probably derived from the Wallachian family of Bassarab, once rulers over the southern part of the area. The name, originally was used to indicate only the southern part.

The population before WWII consisted of Moldavians, Ukranians, Bulgarians, Russian and Jews. About 2/3 of the population were Moldavians.

From the 15th to the 20th centuries, the region passed successively to: Moldavia, the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Romania, the Soviet Union, and Ukraine and Moldova. For the Russians, the region was called BESSARABIYA. For the Romanians: BASARABIA and for the Turks: BESARABYA.

Timeline

• 7th century BCE: Greek settlers established colonies in the region, mostly along the Black Sea coast.

• 1st century BCE: Bessarabia was then part of the Dacian kingdoms ruled by Burebista

• 1st century AD: The Dacian kingdom was ruled by Decebalus. After the Roman Empire conquered a part of Dacia, some Dacians (the Free Dacians) resisted the Roman conquerors in Bessarabia.

• 3rd century - 11th century - The region was frequently invaded by Goths, Huns, Avars, Magyars, Pechenegs, Cumans and Mongols.

• 6th Century: Slavs started to come to the region and establish settlements.

• 9th to 11th centuries: Bessarabia was part of the Kiev Rus.

• 12th century: Bessarabia belonged to the duchy of Halych-Volhynia.

• 1367: Bessarabia was invaded initially by Cumans and then by Mongols. After the Mongols withdrew, the region was included in the principality of Moldavia, although its south-eastern part fell under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

• Late 14th century: The southern part of the region became part of Walachia. The main dynasty of Walachia was called Basarab, from where the current name of the region probably originated.

• 15th century: The entire region was incorporated into the principality of Moldavia.

• 1484: The Turks invaded and captured Chilia and Akkerman, and annexed the southern part of Bessarabia, which was then divided into two sancaks (districts) of the Ottoman Empire.

• 1513: Bessarabia was conquered and taken away from Moldavia by the Turks and the khans of the Crimean Tatars. The region remained under Turkish control until the 19th century.

• 1812: The Treaty of Bucharest gave the region to Russia. After the Crimean War, the southern part was handed over to Moldavia.

• 1856: Bessarabia was returned to Moldova.

• 1859: Moldova and Walachia were united to form the Kingdom of Romania.

• 1878: The Southern part reverted to Russian rule. After the Russian Revolution, the area declared itself an independent republic, but the local National Council decided upon union with Romania. The union was confirmed by Romania's Western allies in the Treaty of Paris (1920), but not recognised by the Soviet Union.

• February 7, 1918: After the October revolution, which was an uprising of underprivileged peasants and soldiers returning from the front against Russian upper classes, the Moldovan Republic was proclaimed in Bessarabia.

• March, 1918: The Bessarabian legislature voted in favor of unification with Romania.

• 1919: The Parliament of the Moldovan Republic joined Romania.

• 1920: At the Paris Peace Conference the union was officially recognized by the United States, France, the United Kingdom and other western countries. The Jewish Population in Bessarabia that year amounted to 267,000.

• 1924: A narrow stip of Ukranian land on the left bank of the Dnester river was declared as the "Moldovan Autonomous Sovient Socialist Republic" by the USSR.

• June 18, 1940: As a consequence of the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, Romania had to cede the region to the Soviet Union, which divided it between the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Ukrainian SSR. Bessarabia's northern and southern districts (largely inhabited by Ukrainians and Romanians) were exchanged with Transnistria (the districts on the left or eastern bank of the Dniestr, largely inhabited today by Ukrainians and Russians). Following the Soviet takeover, many Moldavians of Romanian origin were deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan.

• 1991: The Moldavian SSR became the independent Republic of Moldova and its boundaries remained unchanged.

Historical Towns

• Chisinau
• Lipkany

External Links

• Bessarabia Web Site by Debbie Beick

v t e Historical regions in Romania
Banat (1918–)	Banat
Dobruja (1878–)	Northern Dobruja Southern Dobruja (1913–16; 1919–40)
Moldavia (1859–)	Bessarabia (1918–40; 1941–44) Budjak (1918–40; 1941–44) Bukovina (Southern Bukovina (1918–); Northern Bukovina (1918–40; 1941–44)) Hertsa (1859–1940; 1941–44) Western Moldavia
Transylvania (1918–)	Crișana Maramureș Székely Land
Wallachia (1859–)	Muntenia Oltenia
De jure since 1920 De jure since 1862 De jure ceded to Bulgaria and the Central Powers (except for the Danube Delta) between May 1918 and November 1919 De jure ceded to Bulgaria between May 1918 and November 1919 Southern Bessarabia in Romania (1859–78) De jure since 1919 Northern Transylvania in Hungary (1940–44) Only the eastern part Only the southern part Transylvania proper

• Moldovan history