Now let's take a look at the Romanian 'Transilvania'. It obviously comes from the Latin 'Transylvania'. The original form of this name is Transsylvania, a compound word (trans-sylvania), and this is how it appears first in Hungarian chronicles. 'Transsylvania' probably refers to "the land beyond the forests". The Hungarians named this province this way, because coming from the Hungarian plains into Transylvania they had to cross a huge marsh-forest which spanned over most of the present counties of Szatmar (RO) and Szabolcs-Szatmar (HU).
Hungarian kings always referred to this province as 'the land beyond the forest', that is Transsylvania. (The official language of the Hungarian Kingdom was Latin.) The Romanians had never used this name until the 19th century. Ironically, in spite of their Latin origin, the Romanians never ever used Latin as their official language. They used Slavic. So, the Romanian word 'Transilvania' is borrowed from the Hungarian regal documents written in Latin.
Actually, I was wrong when I said that the Romanians do not even have their own name for Transylvania. They have. The original Romanian name for this province is "Tara Ungureasca", which literally means 'the Hungarian land/country'. This is how it is mentioned in all Romanian chronicles (written in Slavic), and this is how it was known by the people. Most of the very old Romanian fairy tales, folk songs and ballads refer to this province as Tara Ungureasca". The famous folk ballad Miorita is a perfect example for this.
If any treaties of history connects Dacia with a people called "Romanian" today, you can be sure, it is because of that country's government. They are the ones pushing this theory. They supply the text for the publications and they are the ones fighting violently against anything, which questions or criticizes the DRCT. Western publications are not spending money on independent research to know the truth. History of Romania is not their main concern. They simply go to the source, in this case Romanian, and use the information. In the 13th century, Vlachs came into Hungary. Those Vlachs who stayed outside of the Carpathian Mountains, in the 19th century took up the Roman name and declared Wallachia and Moldavia as Romania. It was an arbitrary decision based on the theory, "because the language sounds like Latin, we must be the descendent of Romans". Unfortunately this had to involve Dacians too, without any remote possibility of proving parentage, because they wanted Transylvania also for the newly created state. Creation of "Historical right" needed the creation of history and this is the DRCT. It's a creation, not fact.
Romanians always try to put forward that Transylvania was forcibly conquered by the Hungarians, and that actually Romanians lived there before. However, no nation or ethnic group gives up on its native land. And they would especially not give up the name of their land. On the contrary, the true native name of the land becomes a symbol of cultural identity and independence. It becomes part of the collective memory of a community, and it is transmitted over generations in spite of the oppression. The Scottish or the Irish never called their land ?land?en if they were occupied by the English for centuries. Just look at history, and you will see that this is true for every nation. So, why did the 'conquered Romanians' call this province 'Tara Ungureasca' ('Hungarian Country')? Why didn?hey continue to call their land on its native original name? And what was that name anyway? The truth is that there was NO NATIVE ORIGINAL Romanian name for Transylvania, simply because there were no native Romanians in Transylvania at that time. They moved in later, mostly pushed by other nations from the south (Bulgarians and Turks). That is why the only truly Romanian name for this province 'Tara Ungureasca' (Hungarian Country), and the other two names, Ardeal and Transilvania, are borrowed from the Hungarians.
Since the beginning of the 19th century, the Romanian political establishment always tried to promote Transylvania as "ancient Romanian land" or as "the birthplace of the Romanian civilization". Obviously, the folk name 'Tara Ungureasca' was on a collision course with their arguments. So they had to stop using it, and that is why they switched to the Latin sounding 'Transilvania'.
Some Facts
Magyars (Hungarians) settled in the Carpathian Basin over 1,300 years ago - around 670 the first Magyar-Onugors settled Erdely, led by Kuver. Some sources document the first Magyars arriving as early as the 5th century. In 895, 2 more Magyar Tribes - Kende and Gyula arrived in Erdely.
Magyars made the largest single contribution culturally and economically to Erdely
Erdely was either a part of Hungary, or an independent Magyar Principality
Szekely Magyars settled Erdely before the main body of Magyars did
Magyars allowed Vlachs (Romanians) to settle in Erdely, from 1222.
Magyar Kings allowed, and encouraged Saxons (Germans) to settle in Erdely from 1224
The Edict of Torda in 1568 recognized four different religions in Erdely - the first to do so in Europe
During the History of Transylvania, prior to the annexation to Romania in 1920, there was only 1 year of rule by Romanians - Mihai Viteazul, from 1599-1600
The dismemberment of the Kingdom of Hungary was artificial, as it was dictated to by the Western Powers - primarily the French, who promised Erdely to Romania as a punishment for Hungary being allied to Germany
As a result of Trianon, nearly 2 million Magyars ended up unwilling subjects of Romania, and around 15,000 Romanians remained in the new dismembered Hungary
Geographically, the Carpathian Basin, incorporating Erdely is a natural part of Hungary. Economic infrastructure was seriously damaged, roads, railway networks and many towns and villages cut off from each other.
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