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Dobrogea is the Romanian name for Dobruja (Добруджа, Dobrudzha in Bulgarian), a territory between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, divided between Romania and Bulgaria.
The Romanian administrative region of Dobrogea consists of the counties of Constanta and Tulcea, with a combined area of 15,500 km² and population of now slightly over a million. Its principal cities are Constanta, Tulcea, Medgidia and Mangalia.
History
This land was inhabited since ancient times by Dacians. In the 7th and 6th century BC several Greek colonies were founded here including Tomis, Histria, Callatis, Dionysopolis and Olbia to facilitate trade with locals.
The area was controlled by the Scythians in the 5th century BC and then, in the 1st century BC, by the Romans as part of Moesia, under the name Scythia Minor. The territory was ruled by the medieval Byzantine empire until the Chanate of Bulgaria was established in 681. Bulgaria kept the control over the region for the most time until its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1411.
It remained under Turkish rule until 1878, when Romania received its present part of the area and Bulgaria the smaller Southern Dobruja in the (Treaty of Berlin). Romania also ruled the Southern Dobruja from 1913 until 1940.
Coat of Arms of Romania
Dobrogea is represented by dolphins in the Coat of Arms of Romania.
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