Editing Isaccea (section)

===Modern history===
During the [[History of the Russo-Turkish wars|wars between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire]] of the 18th and 19th centuries, Isaccea was occupied by each side for several times, being several times set on fire and almost completely destroyed and left abandoned by both sides.

During the [[Pruth River Campaign|Prut River Campaign]] (1711), the Russians tried to block the Ottomans crossing of the Danube at Isaccea, but failing to do so, the two armies clashed at [[Stănilești]], on the [[Prut|Prut River]].<ref>John, P. LeDonne, ''The Grand Strategy of the Russian Empire, 1650-1831'' [[Oxford University Press]], 2005, {{ISBN|0-19-516100-9}}, p. 40</ref>

Isaccea was besieged three times in the 1770s: in 1770, 1771 and 1779: in 1771, it was conquered by the [[Russian Empire|Russians]] in the wake of the [[Battle of Kagul]], the Russians destroying the fortifications and the [[mosques]]. Unlike many other settlements in the region, it was not razed, but after ten years of devastating war, only 150 houses were still standing.

Near Isaccea, the Russian [[flotilla]] commanded by [[José de Ribas]] clashed with and captured the Ottoman flotilla during the [[Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)]]. The Ottoman defenders of Isaccea fled, destroying the fortifications left behind. After a while, the Ottomans regained it, being recaptured by Lieutenant-General [[House of Golitsyn|Galitzine]] in March 1791.<ref name="brockhaus"/>

[[File:Hector de Béarn - Isaccea, 1828.jpg|thumb|300px|Isaccea in a lithograph by Hector de Béarn, 1828]]

During the [[Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829)]], the Russian Army crossed the Danube at Isaccea, but the Ottoman garrison of the Isaccea fortress [[Surrender (military)|surrendered]] without resistance.<ref name="brockhaus"/> A local legend explains the existence of a mound near the old bridge this way: during the Russo-Turkish wars an Ottoman general accused of treason was buried alive (horse included), each of his soldiers being forced to bring a [[fez (clothing)|fez]] full of dirt and throw it over the general.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

In 1853, during the [[Crimean War]], it was besieged again by the Russians, before the war theatre moved to [[Crimea]]. In December of that year, ''[[The Times]]'' of London noted that "Isaktchi" had a fortified castle and a garrison of 1500 men, but that it was simply a "port of observation" on the river.<ref>[http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1853-12-29-08-004&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1853-12-29-08 "The Seat of War on the Danube," ''The Times,'' December 29, page 8]{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

After the war, a European Danube Commission was established, which decided to clear the [[silt]] at the mouths of the Danube, between Isaccea and the Black Sea; however, the increased trade on the Danube affected Isaccea but little.

At the beginning of the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878]], the Russians were able to take advantage of Romania's railways and mass a great number of troops in [[Galați]]. 4000 Russian troops crossed the Danube 14&nbsp;km south of [[Măcin]] and were victorious on June 22, 1877, against the Ottoman garrison. The Russian victories intimidated the Ottoman commander of the Isaccea garrison and the Ottoman troops withdrew from the town, leaving the whole northern part of [[Dobruja]] to the Russian armies.<ref name="reid"/> Many of the Muslims in the towns of this area fled from the early days of the conflict as the Russian-Romanian army advanced.<ref name="reid">James J. Reid, ''Crisis of the Ottoman Empire: Prelude to Collapse 1839-1878'', Franz Steiner Verlag, 2000, {{ISBN|3-515-07687-5}} p. 317</ref> The city was captured without battle on June 26, 1877, by the 14th Army under the leadership of Major-General Yanov.<ref name="brockhaus">{{in lang|ru}} ''[[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary]]'' (Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона), I.A. Efron, 1906, vol. 13, Page 364; [http://www.vehi.net/brokgauz/all/045/45433.shtml ''Isakcha''(Исакча)]</ref>

Following the Russian-Romanian victory in the war against the [[Ottoman Empire]], Russia took back from Romania the Southern [[Bessarabia]] region and as compensation, the newly independent state of Romania received the region of Dobruja, including the town of Isaccea.<ref>[[Keith Hitchins]], ''Rumania : 1866-1947 (Oxford History of Modern Europe)''. 1994. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-19-822126-6}}, p. 47-48</ref>

In 1915, Nicolae Iorga described Isaccea as "a gathering of small and humble houses spread over a hill slope".

During [[World War I]], Dobruja was in the areas of operation of a force formed by the Russian and Romanian armies. The first Russian unit crossed the Danube at Isaccea on the day when war was declared (August 27, 1916) and began their deployment toward Bulgaria, an ally of the Central Powers.<ref name="torrey">Glenn Torrey, "Indifference and Mistrust: Russian-Romanian Collaboration in the Campaign of 1916", ''[[The Journal of Military History]]'', Vol. 57, No. 2 (Apr., 1993), pp. 284, 288</ref>

Following the failure of the [[Flămânda Offensive]], the Russians began retreating,<ref name="torrey"/> soon as north as Isaccea. The town was defended by the Romanian and Russian troops against the German offensive, but it was lost on December 24, 1916.<ref>"Russians still retire in Dobrudja", ''New York Times'', December 25, 1916, pg. 3</ref> Following its defeat, Romania signed the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1918)|Treaty of Bucharest]], by the term of which, Romania ceded the southern part of Dobruja to Bulgaria, while the rest (including Isaccea), was ceded to the [[Central Powers]].<ref>[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/routreat.html Treaty of Bucharest, 7 May 1918] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130223024635/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/routreat.html |date=23 February 2013 }}, article X</ref> The Treaty was voided by the terms of the [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|Armistice of November 11, 1918]] and Isaccea was thus returned to Romania.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [[wikisource:Convention d’armistice du 11 novembre 1918|Convention d’armistice du 11 novembre 1918]] (wikisource)</ref>

In February 2022, during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine]], thousands of [[Ukrainians]] crossed by [[ferry]] into Romania at Isaccea in search of refuge.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.euronews.com/2022/02/27/romania-thousands-of-ukrainians-arrive-to-isaccea-in-search-of-refuge|title=Romania: Thousands of Ukrainians arrive to Isaccea in search of refuge|first=Cameron|last= Hill|publisher=[[Euronews]]|date=February 27, 2022|access-date=February 28, 2022}}</ref>