The image of fearless and noble Dacians as predecessors to modern Romanians was augmented and impressed by nationalist movements in the late 1920s and 1930s.
On one hand, the Dacians were often used in discourses claiming an ethnically pure origin for the Romanian people.
At the same time, however, the Romans were preferred instead when the objective was portraying Romania as a civilized and cosmopolitan nation.

In the 1960s statues were erected for the two leaders of the Dacian kingdom, Burebista and Decebalus.
These came as part of a gradual process of disassociating Socialist Romania from the Soviet Union.
The statues depict the kings as freedom fighters, and nationwide celebrations were held for the anniversaries of ancient battles.
Additionally, two government-funded film productions were created as part of this same process.
Both films focus on the history of Dacia in the 1st and 2nd century AD and the exploits of Decebalus, while Burebista is almost ignored.

Starting in the 1970s, the Nicolae Ceaușescu regime used nationalistic and questionable interpretations of ancient history (Protochronism) to legitimize its rule.
In 1980 the Romanian government declared a celebration of the 2,050th anniversary of the founding of the "unitary and centralized" Dacian state of Burebista, drawing comparisons with Ceaușescu's Romania and claiming an uninterrupted existence of the state from Burebista to Ceaușescu.
The epic movie Burebista (1980) based on the king's life was released the same year, and celebrated him as the Romanian pater patriae.
This commemoration led the press to note "similarities" between Burebista and Ceaușescu, and even professional historians such as Ion Horațiu Crișan spoke about Burebista in ways similar to how party activists spoke about Ceaușescu.

Burebista and his descendants are considered by Romanian nationalists to be the true ancestors of their nation.
Historian László Kürti describes this as an imaginary history, and notes that during the regime of Ceaușescu this alternate history was used as a political device.
In 1984 the brother of President Ceaușescu, Ilie Ceaușescu, published a treatise stating that; "[t]he archaeological evidence conclusively shows the uninterrupted ethnic, political, and military continuity of the Romanians."
Kürti notes that similar political devices are used by Hungarians to promote their claim to the same Transylvanian region that Romanians possess.
The image of fearless and noble Dacians as predecessors to modern Romanians was augmented and impressed by nationalist movements in the late 1920s and 1930s. On one hand, the Dacians were often used in discourses claiming an ethnically pure origin for the Romanian people. At the same time, however, the Romans were preferred instead when the objective was portraying Romania as a civilized and cosmopolitan nation.
In the 1960s statues were erected for the two leaders of the Dacian kingdom, Burebista and Decebalus. These came as part of a gradual process of disassociating Socialist Romania from the Soviet Union. The statues depict the kings as freedom fighters, and nationwide celebrations were held for the anniversaries of ancient battles. Additionally, two government-funded film productions were created as part of this same process. Both films focus on the history of Dacia in the 1st and 2nd century AD and the exploits of Decebalus, while Burebista is almost ignored.
Starting in the 1970s, the Nicolae Ceaușescu regime used nationalistic and questionable interpretations of ancient history (Protochronism) to legitimize its rule. In 1980 the Romanian government declared a celebration of the 2,050th anniversary of the founding of the "unitary and centralized" Dacian state of Burebista, drawing comparisons with Ceaușescu's Romania and claiming an uninterrupted existence of the state from Burebista to Ceaușescu. The epic movie Burebista (1980) based on the king's life was released the same year, and celebrated him as the Romanian pater patriae. This commemoration led the press to note "similarities" between Burebista and Ceaușescu, and even professional historians such as Ion Horațiu Crișan spoke about Burebista in ways similar to how party activists spoke about Ceaușescu.
Burebista and his descendants are considered by Romanian nationalists to be the true ancestors of their nation. Historian László Kürti describes this as an imaginary history, and notes that during the regime of Ceaușescu this alternate history was used as a political device. In 1984 the brother of President Ceaușescu, Ilie Ceaușescu, published a treatise stating that; "[t]he archaeological evidence conclusively shows the uninterrupted ethnic, political, and military continuity of the Romanians." Kürti notes that similar political devices are used by Hungarians to promote their claim to the same Transylvanian region that Romanians possess.
Burebista