History of Bucharest

The history of Bucharest covers the time from the early settlements on the locality's territory (and that of the surrounding area in Ilfov County) until its modern existence as a city, capital of Wallachia, and present-day capital of Romania.

Ancient times

In Antiquity, much of the territory of Bucharest and Ilfov was covered by the thick forests of Codrii Vlăsiei. The forested area, especially the Colentina and Dâmboviţa valleys, were home to small and scattered settlements as early as the Paleolithic; during the Neolithic, Bucharest saw the presence of the Glina culture, and, before the 19th century BC, was included in areas of the Gumelniţa culture. During the Bronze Age, a third phase of the Glina culture (centered on pastoralism, partly superimposed on the Gumelniţa culture) and, later, the Tei culture evolved on Bucharest soil.In the Iron Age, the area was inhabited by a population identified with the Getae and Dacians (speaking an Indo-European language; the view holding that the two groups were in fact one and the same is disputed, while the culture's latter phase can be attributed to the Dacians - small Dacian settlements were found in various places around Bucharest, such as Herăstrău, Radu Vodă, Dămăroaia, Lacul Tei, Pantelimon...
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