Southern Bessarabia or South Bessarabia is a territory of
Bessarabia
Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds o ...
which, as a result of the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
, was returned to the
Moldavian Principality in 1856. As a result of the unification of the latter with
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
, these lands became part of
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
In 1878, despite opposition from Romania, the
Berlin Treaty, which followed the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 ( tr, 93 Harbi, lit=War of ’93, named for the year 1293 in the Islamic calendar; russian: Русско-турецкая война, Russko-turetskaya voyna, "Russian–Turkish war") was a conflict between th ...
, transferred this region back to the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
(which reintegrated it into the
Bessarabia Governorate).
The transfer of the territory took place in October 1878. From 13 to 18 October, Russia took over Southern Bessarabia while the Romanian officials withdrew.
[Frederick Kellogg, Purdue University Press, 1995, ''The Road to Romanian Independence'', p. 191]
Administrative divisions
The area of the region was and covered 3
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
:
*
Cahul County
*
Bolgrad County
*
Ismail County
Gallery
File:Romania administrative divisions, 1864.svg, Counties of Romania, 1864-1878 (including the 3 counties Cahul, Bolgrad and Ismail)
See also
*
Romanian War of Independence
The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On , Romania and the R ...
*
Administrative divisions of Moldavia
*
Administrative divisions of Romania
References
* Ion Nistor, Istoria Basarabiei, edit. Humanitas, București, 1991
Modern history of Romania
Bessarabia
Moldavia
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