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The territory of Northern Dobrudja has been inhabited since the oldest times. Material traces belonging to the Middle and Superior Palaeolithic (100 000-10 000 B.C.) was discovered at Babadag, Slava Rusă (Slava Cercheză commune), Baia, Beidaud and Enisala (Sarichioi commune), and to the Mesolithic (10 000-5500 B.C.) at Garvăn and Luncaviţa.

The changes specific to the Neo-Aenaeolithic epoch (sedentariness of the human communities, economy based on the agriculture, breeding, raw materials working, ceramic inventing) are, beginning with the end of the V millennium B.C., the creation of the communities of the cultures Hamangia, Boian, Gumelniţa and Cernavodă I.

At the beginning of the IV millennium, in the circumstances of an obvious climatic change, in the Low Danube zone, foreign ethnical and cultural elements – conventionally named Indo-Europeans, with the origin in the northern zone of the Black Sea, showed up. This fact will generate the important ethnical and linguistic reorganizations observed at the level of the Bronze Age having as result the birth of the Thracian tribes. From this period, an important number of funeral complexes are known (Baia, Sabangia, Zebil Sarichioi, Tulcea). The grave with Menhir-Statue from Ceamurlia de Jos is representative for the Northern Dobrudja territory.

The XI century B.C. points, with the birth of Babadag culture, the beginning of the Iron Age in the Istro-Pontic region. Against the end of the evolution of the Babadag culture (VIII-VII B.C.) the first fortified settlements (Babadag, Enisala, Tulcea-Tabără, Jijila) appear in the zone. In the first epoch of Iron, the individualization of the Gaeto-Dacians from the big Thracian people also takes place. The Gaetic civilization has been strongly influenced by the Greek colonization which reached the western Black Sea coasts as early as the VII century. Greek colonies were founded at Istros and Orgame-Dolojman Cape and afterwards at Tomis and Callatis. The archaeological materials resulted from the investigations made at Beidaud, Vişina, Enisala, Babadag-Kurt Dolii and Sarinasuf, prove the receptivity of the Gaetic world for the products of a superior civilization, the Greek one.

For the same period – the second epoch of Iron – the discovery from Agighiol – the treasure of jewelry pieces (helmet, goblets, pendants which are genuine pieces of Scythian art) found into a tumular grave belonging to a local leader– has a special importance. Both the historical and epigraphic sources recall the Gaetic leaders of these territories: Zalmodegikos (III B.C.) and Rhemaxos (II B.C.).

The Roman expansion in Balkans found at the Danube’s mouths political, military and ethnical realities which encouraged it. As consequence, at the end of II B.C. and the beginning of I B.C., the west-Pontic coast of the Black Sea was in attention of the two protagonists in the fight for the supremacy in the zone – the Pontic Kingdom ruled by Mithridate Eupator and Rome. So, the western Pontic littoral has been successively under the control of the Pont’s king, under Rome’s authority or the Gaetic king Burebista. The campaign of the Macedony’s proconsul, M. Licinius Crassus, in 29/28 B.C., re-establishes the Roman control in this zone, after the elimination of the local dynasts Dapyx, Zyraxes and Roles; the interior territory of the actual Dobrudja was put under the domination of the cliental kingdom odrys After the annihilation of the odrys kingdom’s authonomy and the Thracia’s transformation into a Roman province (46 A.D.), the actual territory of Dobrudja was annexed to Moesia, province which contained the territories from the right side of the Danube, in I A.D. The new province has created its structures in time, in more phases.

The framing of Dobrudja into the Roman Empire as part of the province Moesia, in a first phase, respectively Moesia inferior – after 86 A.D., constituted the political, economic and cultural frame for the life together of the autochtonous people with a population came ex toto orbe romana, of the synthesis of a civilization which will constitute then the base of the Romanian people and language. The building of camps along the entire line of the Danube, the foundation of villages, towns and farms (villae rusticate, the rush of veterans, militaries, colonists and merchants, the realization of the roads system (viae and semitae), make from Dobrudja a bulwark of the Roman world.

The period of the Roman domination in Dobrudja, I B.C. – beginning of VII A.D., is well-known due to the investigations made at the fortresses Orgame-Argamum (Jurilovca - Capul Dolojman), Dinogetia (Garvăn), Halmyris (Murighiol), Troesmis (Igliţa,Turcoaia) Noviodunum (Isaccea), Ibida (Slava Rusă), Aegyssus (Tulcea), at the burghs (fortifications) from Mihai Bravu and Topraichioi, at the villas rusticate from the zone Horia, Niculiţel and Teliţa, at the necropolis from Noviodunum, Beroe and Enisala.

Beginning with IV A.D., the Christianity get the status of state religion. The antiquity of Christianity on the territory of Dobrudja is proved by the information from Martirolologii, but also from the archaeological discoveries from Halmirys (the basilica with the crypt of the martyrs Astyon and Epictet), Niculiţel (the basilica with the crypt of the martyrs Attalos, Zotikos, Philippos and Kamasis), the basilica with crypt from Beroe, the Palaeo-Christian Complex from Ibida/Slava Rusă. As consequence, in V A.D., the Christian church organizes in the new province 15 bishoprics, subordinated to the bishop of Tomis the capital of the province.

In VII – IX A.D., the Slave invasion determined the abandonment of the towns and, implicitly, of the urbane life in the province Scythia Minor (the actual territory of Dobrudja). The Empire itself passes through a crisis period – permanent conflicts with the proto-Bulgarians, Avars, Persians, Cumanians and Petchenegs – materialized in the loss of the control of Dobrudja – excepting, maybe, some bases from the Danube Delta. The changes in the culture and mentality of the population led to the appearance of a new culture (Dridu culture), specific for the Balkan-Danubian space. The archaeological research made at Enisala (settlement), Nalbant and Valea Nucarilor (necropolis) led to the discovery of vestiges of either Dridu type but also Praga or Monteoru types, specific to the Slave population.

At the end of X A.D., the territory between Danube and Black Sea enters in the Byzantine Empire, being administratively organized as thema Paristrion and Paradunavon, fact which will lead to a flourishing of the economic life, demonstrated by the investigations from Preiaslaveţ (Nufăru), Isaccea, Dinogetia-Garvăn, Beroe.

The human society from Dobrudja covers the natural steps to the Medieval state constitution. The historical sources tell us about some local leaders: Sestlav, Tatos, Satza, (Anna Comnena), a “jupan” Dimitrie (inscription discovered at Mircea Vodă). Then we find the Dobrudja state constituted at the time and under the rule of Dobrotici. At the time of Mircea the Old, this extends his domination “until the Big Sea”, including Dobrudja inside the Wallachia’s borders. At the end of Mircea’s rule, the Turks succeed to dominate the south of Dobrudja, and immediately after the falling down of Chilia (1484), the entire Dobrudja is included in the Ottoman Empire, at the time of the sultan Baiazid II. The attempts to take off Dobrudja from the ottoman domination didn’t miss: Mihai the Brave attacks the ottoman garrisons from Măcin, Babadag, Hârşova, Tulcea, and Aron vodă, the ruler of Moldavia, intervenes in the attacks from Isaccea and Chilia.

After a period of peace and relative prosperity, beginning with the second half of XVIII A.D., Dobrudja becomes war theatre in the Russian - Turkish or Austrian–Russian – Turkish confrontations, fact which will lead to the destruction of the fortifications from Babadag, Isaccea, Tulcea, Măcin. Of course, all the events occurred at the beginning of XIX century in Romanian Countries also influenced Dobrudja, fact known from the press of that time or from the letters belonging to some personalities of the political and literary life of the time.

The war for the Romanian state independence brought back Dobrudja inside the Romanian state borders. A period of administrative, social and cultural integration of the new province followed up. After this moment, Dobrudja will have a natural evolution inside Romania, with the particularities given by the presence of more than 15 nationalities on its territory.