Caracal, Romania

Caracal is a city in Olt county, Romania, situated in the historic region of Oltenia, on the plains between the lower reaches of the Jiu and Olt rivers.

In the city one can find the ruins of a tower, built in the 217 CE. Legends (which may or may not be bona-fide) claim that it was built by the Roman Emperor Caracalla and that the city may bear his name, although it is a fairly unlikely possibility (given the abandonment of Dacia Trajana by the Romans in the 3rd century CE).

It is also possible that the city's name is derived from the Cuman language and that it means "Black fortress" (kara, meaning "black", and kal, either from the Arabic qal'at or the Turkish kale, both meaning fortress). Other possibilities for the name include the wild cat caracal (its name – karakulak - is Turkish for "black ear").

Prior to the establishment of the communist regime, Caracal was the seat of Romanaţi County.

The town underwent major changes after the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime was overthrown in December 1989 and all important factories collapsed under the pressure of the market economy. After some years, mainly due to foreign investment, some of the factories started to rise again, the situation being indubitably worse than before 1989 in terms of jobs.

Also before Romania's admission to NATO, the town had a very large number of military personnel, the Caracal garrison being an important military center. However, along with the modernization of the Romanian Army, the units were disbanded and only a small amount of military professionals are present in the town.