Caracal is a city in
OltOlt is a county of Romania, in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia . The capital city is Slatina.- Demographics :...
county,
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
, situated in the historic region of
OlteniaOltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia...
, on the plains between the lower reaches of the
JiuThe Jiu is a river of southern Romania. It is formed near Petroşani by the junction of headwaters Jiul de Vest and Jiul de Est.It flows southward through the Romanian counties Hunedoara, Gorj and Dolj before flowing into the Danube a few kilometers upstream from the Bulgarian city of Oryahovo, 331...
and
OltThe Olt River is a river in Romania. It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its source is in the Hăşmaş Mountains of the eastern Carpathian Mountains, near the village Bălan. It flows through the Romanian counties Harghita, Covasna, Braşov, Sibiu, Vâlcea and Olt...
rivers. The region's plains are well known for their agricultural specialty in cultivating grains and over the centuries, Caracal has been the trading center for the region's agricultural output. Caracal has a population of approximately 34,000 and is the second largest city in the region.
It is possible that the city's name is derived from the
Cuman languageCuman was a Turkic language spoken by the Cumans and was similar to today's Crimean Tatar language. It is documented in several medieval works, including the Codex Cumanicus....
and that it means "Black fortress" (
kara, meaning "black", and
kal, either from the Arabic
qal'at or the Turkish
kale, both meaning fortress).
Caracal is a city in
OltOlt is a county of Romania, in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia . The capital city is Slatina.- Demographics :...
county,
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
, situated in the historic region of
OlteniaOltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia...
, on the plains between the lower reaches of the
JiuThe Jiu is a river of southern Romania. It is formed near Petroşani by the junction of headwaters Jiul de Vest and Jiul de Est.It flows southward through the Romanian counties Hunedoara, Gorj and Dolj before flowing into the Danube a few kilometers upstream from the Bulgarian city of Oryahovo, 331...
and
OltThe Olt River is a river in Romania. It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its source is in the Hăşmaş Mountains of the eastern Carpathian Mountains, near the village Bălan. It flows through the Romanian counties Harghita, Covasna, Braşov, Sibiu, Vâlcea and Olt...
rivers. The region's plains are well known for their agricultural specialty in cultivating grains and over the centuries, Caracal has been the trading center for the region's agricultural output. Caracal has a population of approximately 34,000 and is the second largest city in the region.
History
It is possible that the city's name is derived from the
Cuman languageCuman was a Turkic language spoken by the Cumans and was similar to today's Crimean Tatar language. It is documented in several medieval works, including the Codex Cumanicus....
and that it means "Black fortress" (
kara, meaning "black", and
kal, either from the Arabic
qal'at or the Turkish
kale, both meaning fortress). Other possibilities for the name include the
wild catThe Wildcat , sometimes Wild Cat or Wild-cat, is a small felid native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa. It is a hunter of small mammals, birds, and other creatures of a similar size. There are several subspecies distributed in different regions...
caracalThe caracal is a fiercely territorial medium-sized cat ranging over the Middle East and Africa. The word caracal comes from the Turkish word "karakulak", meaning "black ear". Although it has traditionally had the alternative names Persian Lynx, Egyptian Lynx and African Lynx, it is no longer...
(its original Turkish name,
karakulak, means "black ear"). Another theory links the origin to
Roman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin titles such as imperator , augustus, caesar and princeps were all associated with it...
CaracallaCaracalla , born Lucius Septimius Bassianus and later called Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus, was the eldest son of Septimius Severus and Roman Emperor from 211 to 217. He was one of the most nefarious of Roman emperors...
, who supposedly established a fortress in the area.
The end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century saw Caracal experience significant growth and the region become one of the most important agricultural regions in Romania. Caracal was this region's capital and seat of Romanaţi County.
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the
communist regimeCommunist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the leading role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
brought changes to this region and to the city of Caracal. The communist government, which disestablished Romanaţi County, instituted industrialization plans and Caracal experienced continued economic growth through the establishment of industrial plants in the textile industry sector.
The town underwent major changes after the
Nicolae CeauşescuNicolae Andruţă Ceauşescu was a Romanian politician who was the Secretary General of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, President of the Council of State from 1967, and President of Romania from 1974 to 1989...
regime was overthrown by the
December 1989 RevolutionThe Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a week-long series of increasingly violent riots and fighting in late December 1989 that overthrew the Government of Nicolae Ceauşescu. After a trial, Ceauşescu and his wife Elena were executed...
, with many factories collapsing under the pressure of the market economy.
Natives
- Gheorghe Argeşanu
Gheorghe Argeşanu was a Romanian cavalry general and politician who served as a Prime Minister of Romania for about a week in 1939 .-Biography:...
- Marius Bunescu
Marius Bunescu was a Romanian painter, organizer of the National Museum of Art, and director of the Anastase Simu Museum.He was buried in the Romanian Orthodox Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest....
- Virgil Carianopol
- Aurelian Titu Dumitrescu
- Iancu Jianu
Iancu Jianu was a Wallachian Romanian hajduk.-Biography:Born in Caracal, Wallachia, to the Jianu boyar family, as the youngest of four brothers...
- Ion Rîmaru
Ion Rîmaru was a Romanian serial killer dubbed "The Vampire of Bucharest". He terrorized Bucharest in 1970-1971.-Early life:...
- Marius Tucă
Marius Tucă is a Romanian journalist and TV host.He distinguished himself in the 1990s as a political analyst and a TV host. He also contributed to the transformation of the Jurnalul Naţional newspaper into the best selling broadsheet in Romania. In 1997–1999, he hosted Milionarii de la miezul...
External links