Further reading: an annotated guide to reference sources

Reference works on both countries

• The Wikipedia overview of Romania introduces the country's geography, history, language and cultural life.
• The Wikipedia overview of Moldova introduces the republic's geography, political outline and capital.
• The Wikipedia article on Romanians discusses the Romanian-speaking people, their language and the debates around origins and identification.
• The Wikipedia explanation of area studies defines interdisciplinary research on geographical and cultural regions, including diaspora and emigration.

History

• The Wikipedia history of Romania follows the territory from ancient populations through the principalities and the modern state.
• The Wikipedia history of Moldova follows the region through the principality, foreign rule and modern independence.
• The Wikipedia article on Dacia describes the Dacian territory, kingdom and Roman conquest.
• The Wikipedia account of the origins of the Romanians sets out competing continuity, migration and related theories.
• The Wikipedia article on Wallachia introduces the historical principality and its position between the lower Danube and the Southern Carpathians.
• The Wikipedia article on Moldavia distinguishes the historical principality and region from the countries that contain its territory today.
• The Wikipedia overview of Transylvania introduces the historical and cultural region, its landscapes and its changing political setting.
• The Wikipedia article on the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia explains the personal union and the formation of the core of the modern Romanian state.
• The Wikipedia account of Romania in the First World War follows neutrality, entry into the conflict, occupation and the return to war.
• The Wikipedia article on the union of Transylvania with Romania describes the Alba Iulia assembly and the declaration of union.
• The Wikipedia article on the Treaty of Trianon examines the peace settlement and the recognition of new Hungarian borders after the First World War.
• The Wikipedia article on Greater Romania explains the interwar kingdom within its expanded borders and the national idea attached to the term.

The Second World War and the Holocaust

• The Wikipedia account of the Iron Guard describes a fascist, antisemitic movement whose ideology inspired political violence.
• The Wikipedia account of Romania in the Second World War follows territorial losses, dictatorship, alliance with Germany and the course of the war.
• The Wikipedia article on the Holocaust in Romania concerns the genocide of Jews in Romania and Romanian-controlled Soviet territories.
• The US Holocaust Memorial Museum account of Romania explains territorial change, antisemitic policy, persecution and deportation during the war.
• The Wikipedia account of the Iași pogrom identifies governmental responsibility for attacks on the Jewish community and their consequences.
• The homepage of the Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania identifies the institution devoted to this subject.

The communist era

• The Wikipedia account of the Socialist Republic of Romania explains the communist state, its earlier name and its political structure.
• The Wikipedia article on collectivisation in Romania describes changes in agricultural property and labour and the violence used in the process.
• The Wikipedia article on the Securitate describes the communist state's secret police and its institutional history.
• The homepage of the Memorial to the Victims of Communism and to the Resistance identifies its Sighet museum, study centre, research and oral-history work.
• The Wikipedia account of the Romanian revolution describes the uprising, its spread from Timișoara and the end of communist rule.

Moldova

• The Wikipedia article on Bessarabia introduces the historical region between the Prut and Dniester and the states that ruled it.
• The Wikipedia article on the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic follows the Soviet republic's formation, changing names and independence.
• The Wikipedia article on Moldova's independence distinguishes the declaration of independence from subsequent international recognition.
• The Wikipedia article on Transnistria describes the breakaway territory as internationally recognised as part of Moldova.
• The Wikipedia article on Gagauzia explains the autonomous territorial unit and its relationship to the Gagauz people.
• The Wikipedia account of Moldovan language naming discusses the Romanian and Moldovan names and their legal and constitutional use.
• The European Commission page on Moldova presents EU relations with Moldova and documents concerning its European path.

Language

• The Wikipedia article on the Romanian language describes its Eastern Romance classification, Latin background and use in Romania, Moldova and other communities.
• The Wikipedia article on the Romanian alphabet explains its Latin base, modified letters and spelling conventions.
• The Wikipedia article on the Romanian Cyrillic alphabet explains its historical use and distinguishes it from Moldovan Cyrillic.
• The Wikipedia article on the Eastern Romance languages places Romanian alongside Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Istro-Romanian.
• The Wikipedia article on the Aromanians introduces the people of the southern Balkans and their Eastern Romance language.
• The Romanian dictionary collection dexonline describes itself as bringing established dictionaries online through a volunteer-maintained project.

Literature

• The Wikipedia overview of Romanian literature introduces written literature, religious texts, chronicles and the relationship with folk literature.
• The Wikipedia article on Miorița introduces a Romanian pastoral ballad with versions that differ in content.

Art and architecture

• The Wikipedia article on the churches of Moldavia describes religious buildings whose exterior frescoes form cycles of religious themes.
• The Wikipedia article on the wooden churches of Maramureș explains timber construction, tall bell towers and the buildings' place in a mountainous cultural landscape.
• The Wikipedia article on the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania describes the buildings and the settlement patterns that surround them.
• The Wikipedia article on Horezu Monastery introduces the architecture, sculpted detail and decorative painting of a Brâncovenesc monument.
• The Wikipedia article on Brâncovenesc art explains a style centred on architecture that also appeared in painting and sculpture.
• The Wikipedia article on Peleș Castle introduces the Neo-Renaissance palace near Sinaia and its Carpathian setting.

Folklore and music

• The Wikipedia overview of Romanian folklore describes traditional culture and its relationship with written and learned culture.
• The UNESCO description of the doina explains the improvised chant, its regional forms and its expressive and social roles.
• The UNESCO description of the căluș ritual describes its dances, music, games and the ways its knowledge is passed on.
• The UNESCO account of spring-thread customs describes making, offering and wearing a red-and-white thread as part of the beginning-of-spring tradition.
• The Wikipedia article on the hora introduces a circle dance found across Southeast Europe and among different communities.
• The Wikipedia overview of the music of Romania discusses folk traditions and their relationship with sacred and secular art music.
• The Wikipedia article on the lăutari explains the term for musicians and its relationship to a professional Romani musical tradition.
• The Wikipedia article on the Romanian Athenaeum introduces the domed concert hall in Bucharest and its architectural history.

Religion and peoples

• The Wikipedia article on the Romanian Orthodox Church describes its Eastern Orthodox identity and its communities in the region and abroad.
• The Wikipedia overview of religion in Romania introduces the principal denominations and the constitutional setting of religious freedom.
• The Wikipedia article on the Romanian Greek Catholic Church explains its Eastern Catholic identity and Byzantine rite in Romanian.
• The Wikipedia account of Jewish history in Romania follows communities, discrimination, persecution, the Holocaust and emigration.
• The Wikipedia article on the Lipovans introduces Russian Old Believer communities in Romania and neighbouring countries.
• The Wikipedia article on Hungarians in Romania describes the minority and its distribution within Transylvania and neighbouring historic regions.
• The Wikipedia article on Romani people in Romania discusses the community and the difference between census returns and broader population estimates.
• The Wikipedia article on slavery in Romania describes Roma enslavement in the principalities, slave ownership and the abolition process.

Places and universities

• The Wikipedia article on the Carpathian Mountains explains the mountain arc, its geographical divisions and its natural landscapes.
• The Wikipedia article on the Danube Delta describes the river's meeting with the Black Sea, its wetlands and their geographical development.
• The Wikipedia article on the Iron Gates describes the Danube gorge between Romania and Serbia and its mountain setting.
• The Wikipedia article on the Banat introduces a historical region shared by Romania, Serbia and Hungary and its ethnic diversity.
• The Wikipedia article on Bucharest introduces Romania's capital on the Dâmbovița and its historical development.
• The Wikipedia article on Cluj-Napoca explains the Transylvanian city's Romanian, Hungarian and German names and its academic setting.
• The Wikipedia article on Chișinău introduces Moldova's capital on the Bîc and its urban and cultural setting.
• The Wikipedia article on the University of Bucharest introduces the public research university and the development of its educational role.
• The Wikipedia article on Moldova State University describes the university in Chișinău and the history of its faculties.

Libraries, institutes and journals

• The New Europe College homepage describes scholarships for young researchers from around the world.
• The National Library of Romania homepage identifies the library and presents information about its collections and reading rooms.
• The National Library of the Republic of Moldova homepage identifies the national library through its own institutional material.
• The Cambridge University Press page for Slavic Review describes interdisciplinary research on eastern Europe and neighbouring regions.
• The Cambridge journal page for Nationalities Papers describes research on nationalism, migration, diasporas and ethnic conflict.
• The CEEOL homepage groups journals and books under research areas across the humanities and social sciences.
• The Wilson Center History and Public Policy Program describes work with declassified documents and the study of Cold War history through material from different sides.

History of science

• The Wikipedia article on insulin introduces the peptide hormone and its pancreatic-islet origin.
• A research article on the history of orthopaedics in Romania examines the emergence of the specialty from general surgery.
• The Wikipedia article on Băile Herculane describes the Cerna-valley spa town and Roman buildings around its thermal springs.
• The Wikipedia article on balneotherapy defines mineral-water and mineral-mud immersion as a traditional practice and characterises it as pseudoscientific.
• A systematic review of mud applications and osteoarthritis examines the published trial evidence and states that findings have been controversial.
• An umbrella review of non-drug, non-surgical approaches to knee osteoarthritis assesses systematic reviews and distinguishes stronger support from low-quality, mixed or inconclusive evidence.

For context before following a specialised source, return to the history overview. A reference introduction can orient the reading, while a focused article or institutional description answers a more particular question. Keep those purposes distinct when comparing the sources.