or Dobrudja (in Rumanian Dobrogea, in Bulgarian Dobrudzha), a historic region in Europe between the lower course of the Danube River and the Black Sea coast. The northern part of the region, comprising the districts of Tulcea and Constanta, is part of the Socialist Republic of Rumania; the southern part, comprising the cities Tolbukhin and Silistra, is part of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria.
Originally settled by Thracian tribes, Dobruja was occupied by the Scythians in the fifth century B.C. and the Romans in the first century A.D.. Beginning in the third century Dobruja was invaded by Goths, Huns, and other tribes. The Slavs appeared in the region in the early sixth century. The region became part of the first Bulgarian kingdom during its establishment in the seventh century. Controlled by Byzantium in the llth and 12th centuries, Dobruja became part of the second Bulgarian kingdom in the late 12th century. With the decline of this kingdom an independent feudal state arose in Dobruja in the 14th century. Founded by the Bulgarian Balik, it was named Dobruja after his successor, Dobrotich.
In the late 1520’s Dobruja was occupied by the Ottoman Empire. After the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, South Dobruja was ceded to Bulgaria and North Dobruja to Rumania. The Treaty of Bucharest of 1913 ceded South Dobruja to Rumania; this provision remained in effect until 1940, except during the period from 1916 to 1918, when the entire region was occupied by Bulgarian and German troops. The Bulgarian-Rumanian treaty signed in Craiova on Sept. 7, 1940, returned possession of South Dobruja to Bulgaria. Peace treaties between Bulgaria and Rumania reaffirmed the Bulgarian-Rumanian border in Dobruja in 1947.
F. I. SADCHIKOV