LANDMARKS OF THE NAVY ROLE IN THE ROMANIAN HISTORY

The geographical position of Romania, a European continental state and a riparian state to the Black Sea and to a fluvial arm of European importance – the Danube -, which has direct access to the center of Europe, has been giving our country along its history both the possibility to plenarily manifest its political-military potential and the right and obligation to detain, within its national defense system, a military respectable and notable naval component. For Romania, its position to the Black Sea represents more than a mere relation to the geographical area. The geopolitical significance of this position underlines that Romania fundamentally belongs to the Ponto-Caspic area. The importance of the Black Sea area leads to the conclusion that the Romanian people lies in the neighbourhood of a genuine „hub” of international exchanges that has made the water transport to be not only a craft, but also a tradition and even an art. Within this context, the navy has represented along the history a fundamental base of the Romanians' existence in this area where the interests of the great powers meet and therefore the history of the navy is an essential component of the national history.