Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – 10 October [O.S.

He was elected Prince of the Romanian United Principalities on 20 April 1866 after the overthrow of Alexandru Ioan Cuza by a palace coup d'état.

During his reign, Carol I personally led Romanian troops during the Russo-Turkish War and assumed command of the Russo/Romanian army during the siege of Plevna.

Overall, the country still had an agrarian-focused economy and the situation of the peasantry failed to improve, leading to a major revolt in 1907, bloodily suppressed by the authorities.

Prince Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was born on 20 April 1839 in Sigmaringen, in the Catholic branch of the family.

[5] Although he was quite frail and not very tall, prince Karl was reported to be the perfect soldier, healthy and disciplined, and also a very good politician with liberal ideas.

Cuza's double election seven years earlier, both in Wallachia and in Moldavia, had been the basis on which the Romanian Principalities' unification was recognized by the European powers.

With him gone, the country was in danger of disintegration, as the Ottoman Empire and other powers initially accepted the unification only on the condition that it would end with his reign.

Napoleon's recommendation weighed heavily with Romanian politicians of the time, since Romania was strongly influenced by French culture.

[13]Due to the political conflict between Prussia and the Austrian Empire, Karl travelled incognito by railroad from Düsseldorf to Baziaș, through Switzerland.

[16] As he was crowned, Karl swore this oath: "I swear to guard the laws of Romania, to maintain the rights of its People and the integrity of its territory."

In a daring move, the Constitution chose to ignore the nominal suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, which paved the way towards de jure independence.

Since he was a German prince ruling a historically Francophile country, there was a strong feeling of distrust towards Carol during the time, who was not yet seen as Romanian.

[27][31] Future republican projects were rare, especially since Brătianu became prime minister in 1876 and helped Liberals hold power until 1889, becoming loyal supporters of King Carol.

[31][32] Between 1875 and 1877 anti-Ottoman revolts took place in several Balkan countries, most notably Bulgaria, where the April Uprisings of 1876 were brutally suppressed by irregular bashi-bazouks.

[27][33] At the behest of then foreign minister Mihail Kogălniceanu and against the advice of his Crown Council, Carol decided to permit Russian troops to pass through its territory on the way to Bulgaria.

At this point, Romania was de facto independent, being "bound to the Ottoman Empire only by the payment of tribute (which had dropped to 1% of the country's budget) and a number of largely formal prerogatives in matters of foreign policy.

Carol obtained the command of the combined Russian and Romanian forces that were surrounding Pleven and following heavy fighting and a prolonged siege, Osman Nuri Pasha surrendered the town on 28 November 1877.

[36] By early 1878, the Turks were losing the war and on the third of March they signed the Treaty of San Stefano, which recognized the independence of Romania, Serbia, Montenegro and the autonomy of Bulgaria.

[47] After the Russo-Turkish War, Romania gained Northern Dobruja and Carol ordered Romanian engineer Anghel Saligny (a competitor and friend of Gustave Eiffel) to build the first contemporary permanent bridge over the Danube, between Fetești and Cernavodă, linking the newly acquired province to the rest of the country.

On 22 June 1884, the Parliament voted in favour of granting Carol and his successors a large royal estate, making the king the biggest landowner in the country.

[53]His reign established constitutional monarchy and saw the early days of democracy in Romania, despite the fact that elections of that era are largely seen as being controlled.

Although the treaty was to be activated only if Russia attacked one of the signatories, Carol was convinced that the honourable thing to do was to enter the war supporting the German Empire and his cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm II.

21 July] 1914, an emergency meeting was held with the Crown Council, where Carol told them about the secret treaty and shared his opinion with them.

The new king, Ferdinand (under the influence of his wife, Marie of Edinburgh, a British princess), was more willing to listen to public opinion and brought Romania into the war on the side of the Allies in 1916.

Their marriage was strange, with Carol being a cold and calculating man while Elizabeth was a notorious dreamer who published literature under the name of Carmen Sylva.

He is often depicted in history books as a historical leader on par with Decebalus, Stephen the Great, Michael the Brave or Alexandru Ioan Cuza.

[65][66][67] Starting with the second half of the 1970s, Carol's image was rehabilitated to some extent by Romanian historians, who distanced themselves from the more propagandistic views of the last three decades.

While more mainstream publications, such as school text books, continued the anti-monarchy line, some academics began describing his reign as a period of national progress and acknowledged his role in preserving the young Union.

Carol is now thought of as a figure of national unity who is seen as the founder of the modern Romanian state and one of the most revered individuals in the country's history.