比萨拉比亚(Bessarabia)
东欧一地区，四周为普鲁特河和聂斯特河、黑海和多瑙河三角洲。西元前7世纪黑海沿岸已建有希腊人殖民地。西元2世纪，此地可能是达契亚王国的一部分。15世纪整个地区并入摩达维亚。其後不久，土耳其人将比萨拉比亚南部并入鄂图曼帝国。16世纪摩达维亚臣服土耳其，比萨拉比亚的其他地区也归土耳其统治，直至19世纪。1812年俄国攫取了比萨拉比亚全部和摩达维亚一半的土地，并控制它们一直到第一次世界大战为止。该地区发展起民族主义的运动，1917年俄国革命後，比萨拉比亚宣布独立，并投票决定和罗马尼亚合并。苏联从未承认过罗马尼亚对该省的权利，1940年要求割让比萨拉比亚；罗马尼亚依允了，苏联建立起摩达维亚苏维埃社会主义共和国（参阅Moldova），并将其北部地区并入乌克兰苏维埃社会主义共和国。1991年乌克兰和摩达维亚宣布独立後，比萨拉比亚仍分属此两国。
English version：
Bessarabia
Region, eastern Europe. It is bounded by the Prut and Dniester rivers, the Black Sea, and the Danube River delta. Greek colonies were founded on its Black Sea coast in the 7th century BC, and it was probably part of Dacia in the 2nd century AD. It became part of Moldavia in the 15th century; the Turks later annexed the southern portion into the Ottoman empire. The remainder fell to them in the 16th century when Moldavia submitted to the Turks; Bessarabia remained under Turkish control until the 19th century. Russia acquired it and half of Moldavia in 1812 and retained control until World War I. A nationalist movement developed, and after the Russian Revolution in 1917 Bessarabia declared its independence and voted to unite with Romania. The Soviet Union never recognized Romania's right to the province and in 1940 demanded that it cede Bessarabia; when Romania complied, the U.S.S.R. set up the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (see Moldova), and incorporated the northern region into the Ukrainian S.S.R. Bessarabia remained divided after Ukraine and Moldavia declared independence in 1991.