Românii din armata suedeză în timpul regenței lui Carol al XII­-lea (1697-­1718)
Romanians in the Swedish Army during the Regency of King Charles XII of Sweden (1697­-1718)

Summary/Abstract: The article gives an account of Romanians who served in the Swedish army at the beginning of the 18th century during the reign of King Charles XII (1697−1718). In the 17th-18th century, this army consisted largely of foreign mercenary soldiers, who have been attracted by the generous payment. Apart from the Germans − who have already been recruited during the Thirty Years War − the Romanians in particular have highlighted themselves there. Probably in order to distinguish these soldiers from the Romanians who served under the Russian tsar Peter the Great and King Augustus of Poland, they have been named the «Swedish Wallachians» by the Swedes. These Romanians originated especially from Moldova, a principality under Turkish suzerainty at the time. The number of Romanian recruits increased more and more as the Swedish army approached the Romanian territory, reaching the maximum before the Battle of Poltava in present-day Ukraine. This article informs about the commitment and courage of the Romanians, based especially on Scandinavian sources.

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