Tatars and Turks in the Romanian Space

The history of the Muslim community in Romania is primarily the history of the Tatars and Turks living in Dobrogea

Steliu Lambru, 05.10.2026, 14:00

The history of the Muslim community in Romania is primarily the history of the Tatars and Turks living in Dobrogea, the territory providing Romania with access to the Black Sea. A small part of the Muslim community’s history is also linked to Ada Kaleh Island in the Danube Gorge, now submerged beneath the waters of the Iron Gates hydroelectric power plant’s reservoir. The history of Dobrogea itself is ancient, bearing the traces of successive layers of cultures and civilizations. From the 13^th century onwards, the Ottoman Empire exerted its authority over Dobrogea until 1878, when two-thirds of the region became part of Romania. Thus, the young Romanian state, formed in 1859, inherited a Muslim population that it would subsequently seek to integrate.

Historian Metin Omer is the author of the book ‘The Turks and Tatars of Romania: A Brief History’, the latest publication on this subject: “Traditionally, when discussing the history of the Turks and Tatars in Romania, the 12^th century is established as the starting point. For the Turks, this marks the arrival of a colonizing dervish, as most historians call him, Sarî Saltuk Baba; for the Tatars, it coincides with the expansion of the Golden Horde’s influence into the Dobrogea region. However, the presence of Turks and Tatars is also linked to the so-called migratory waves of Turkic peoples, that is populations that passed through and even settled in this area well before the 13^th century. I am referring here to the Cumans, the Huns, and other Turkic peoples.”

For nearly half a millennium, the Romanian lands were under the control of the Ottoman Empire, and the Turks and Tatars were perceived as constituting a single community. This perception persisted even after Romania gained its independence. Metin Omer: “We are discussing the influence of the Ottoman era, a time when society was organized according to the so-called ‘Millet’ system, a framework where religious affiliation mattered more than ethnicity. Consequently, Turks and Tatars belonged to the Muslim ‘Millet’. This approach continued during the early years of Romanian administration following 1878, as officials in Bucharest, more often than not, treated Turks and Tatars as a single group. They referred to them as the Muslim community, the Turkish-Tatar community, or simply the Turkish community, thereby including the Tatars as well.”

The question often arises: what is the real difference between Turks and Tatars? Metin Omer provided a historian’s answer: “If we look at history in very simple terms, the difference is that the Crimean Peninsula is the ancestral homeland of the Tatars. Most of today’s Tatars in Romania are descendants of those who fled the Crimean Peninsula, or the territory of the former Crimean Khanate, to Dobrogea, which was then part of Ottoman territory. The Turks, on the other hand, are descendants of Turkic populations, specifically the Seljuk Turks, who settled in Dobrogea as early as the 13^th century. However, they are also descended from populations resettled in Dobrogea after it became part of the Ottoman Empire, a move that was the result of a deliberate policy by the Ottoman state.”

We also asked Metin Omer about the linguistic differences between the two communities: “Ultimately, both Turkish and Tatar are Turkic languages. However, Tatar evolved from Cuman, from Kipchak, and there are striking similarities between the words found in the famous ‘Codex Cumanicus’ (compiled in the 14^th century) and the Tatar spoken today. In other words, a Tatar speaker today can likely understand about 80% of the vocabulary in the ‘Codex Cumanicus’. Turkish followed a distinct evolutionary path; the Turkish spoken today is, in fact, the Turkish of Turkey. This evolution was driven by influences from the Republic of Turkey, particularly following the republic’s establishment and its modernization process, which also shaped the modern Turkish language.”

The Turks and Tatars of Romania have weathered the vicissitudes of history, and some remained here after the Ottoman Empire was forced to cede territory. Their social and economic status evolved in step with the development of Romanian society as a whole. Metin Omer is back at the microphone with details: “I would say there are no differences in economic or social status. Ultimately, the two communities are quite similar to each other, and they were also similar to the majority population. If we look at census data, including the 1930 census, a key reference point for Romania’s demographic history, we can see these similarities. They are rural communities, predominantly rural, facing literacy challenges very similar to those of the Romanian community.”

Turks and Tatars have shared in what Romania has offered to all its citizens, whether of the majority or the minorities. They fought in wars, worked, endured the persecutions of dictatorships, and regained their rights and freedoms after 1989. (LS)