Serbs of Romania

Slavic presence is attested in Romania since the Early Middle Ages. The Avar Khaganate was the dominant power of the Carpathian Basin between around 567 and 803.[2] Most historians agree that Slavs and Bulgars, together with the remnants of the Avars, and possibly with Vlachs , inhabited the Banat region after the fall of the khaganate.[3] Place names of Slavic origin recorded already in the Middle Ages show the early presence of a Slavic-speaking population.[4]

From the late 14th- to the beginning of the 16th century a large number of Serbs lived in Wallachia and Moldavia.[5] Following Ottoman expansion in the 15th century, Serb mass migrations ensued into Pannonia.[5] Serbian Orthodox monasteries began to be built in the area from the 15th century, including Kusić and Senđurađ built by despot Jovan Branković, and in the 16th century including Bezdin and Hodoš built by the Jakšić family.[5] In the Ottoman period, some thirty Serbian Orthodox monasteries were built in the territory of Romania.[5]

Ottoman pressure traditionally forced members of several South Slavic communities to seek refuge in Wallachia - although under Ottoman rule as well, the latter was always subject to less requirements than regions to south of the Danube.

The Palace and Cathedral of Serbian Orthodox Church eparchy in Timișoara, capital of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar (1849–1860)

The Serbian Uprising in Banat (1594) included territories that are part of modern Romania. There were reprisals, contemporary sources speaking of "the living envied the dead".[6] After the crushing of the uprising in Banat, many Serbs migrated to Transylvania under the leadership of Bishop Teodor; the territory towards Ineu and Teiuș was settled, where Serbs had lived since earlier – the Serbs had their eparchies, opened schools, founded churches and printing houses.[6]

Serbs-proper probably constituted the vast majority of mercenary troops known as seimeni, given that their nucleus is attested to have been formed by "Serb seimeni" (as it was during their revolt in 1655), and that the rule of Prince Matei Basarab had witnessed the arrival of a large group of Serb refugees.

The Great Migrations of the Serbs in 1690 and 1737–39 led to additional settlement of Serbs.

These groups are, however, hard to distinguish one from another in early Wallachian references, as the term "Serbs" is regularly applied to all Southern Slavs, no matter where they might have originated. This only changed in the 19th century, through a transition made clear by an official statistic of 1830, which reads "census of how many Serbs are resident here in the town of Ploiești, all of them Bulgarians" (Giurescu, p. 269).

The Bărăgan deportations (1951–56) saw minorities (including Serbs) from the Banat region bordering Yugoslavia deported to south-eastern Romania due to the deteriorating Yugoslav–USSR relations and the perceived "elements who present a danger through their presence in the area" to the Romanian Communist regime.[7]

The following localities had a Serb population greater than 1% according to the 2011 census. Serbian placenames are included in brackets.

• Arad County
  • Felnac (Фелнак/Felnak or Фенлак/Fenlak) — 5.52%
  • Secusigiu (Секусић/Sekusić) — 2.77%
• Caraș-Severin County
  • Socol (Соколовац/Sokolovac) — 50.38%
  • Pojejena (Serbian: Пожежена) — 45.76%
  • Berzasca (Serbian: Берзаска) — 20.82%
  • Naidăș (Serbian: Најдаш) — 15.27%
  • Moldova Nouă (Serbian: Нова Молдава) — 11.19%
• Mehedinți County
  • Svinița (Свињица/Svinjica) — 90.27%
• Timiș County
  • Beregsău Mic (Serbian: Nemet) — 50%
  • Cenei (Serbian: Ченеј) — 16.1%
  • Peciu Nou (Serbian: Улбеч) — 13.52%
  • Sânpetru Mare (Serbian: Велики Семпетар) — 12.71%
  • Variaș (Serbian: Варјаш) — 9.61%
  • Saravale (Serbian: Саравола) — 7.38%
  • Giulvăz (Serbian: Ђулвез) — 6.44%
  • Cenad (Serbian: Чанад) — 6.39%
  • Foeni (Фењ/Fenj) — 5.87%
  • Topolovățu Mare (Serbian: Велики Тополовац) — 5.43%
  • Giera (Serbian: Ђир) — 4.51%
  • Recaș (Serbian: Рекаш) — 4.27%
  • Denta (Дента/Denta) — 4.25%
  • Deta (Дета/Deta) — 3.96%
  • Birda — 3.46%
  • Sânnicolau Mare (Serbian: Велики Семиклуш) — 2.98%
  • Checea (Serbian: Кеча) — 2.82%
  • Parța (Serbian: Парац) — 2.02%
  • Săcălaz (Секелаз/Sekelaz) — 1.98%
  • Becicherecu Mic (Serbian: Мали Бечкерек) — 1.78%
  • Brestovăț (Брестовац/Brestovac) — 1.63%
  • Timișoara (Serbian: Темишвар) — 1.52%
  • Moravița (Моравица/Moravica) — 1.35%

• 
  Communes with a Serbian majority in Romania (2002 census)
• 
  Distribution of Serbs in Romania (2002 census)