Budjak
Budjak, also known as Budzhak (Bulgarian and Ukrainian: Буджак, Bugeac, Gagauz and Turkish: Bucak), is a historical region that was part of Bessarabia from 1812 - 1940. Situated along the Black Sea, between the Danube and Dniester rivers, this multi-ethnic region covers an area of and is home to approximately 600,000 people. The majority of the region is now located in Ukraine's Odesa Oblast, while the remaining part is found in the southern districts of Moldova. The region is bordered to the north by the rest of Moldova, to the west and south by Romania, and to the east by the Black Sea and the rest of Ukraine. Historically, Budjak was the southeastern steppe region of Moldavia. Bordered by the northern Trajan's Wall at its north end, by the Danube river and Black Sea to its south, by Tigheci Hills (just east of the Prut River) to the west, and Dniester River to the east, it was known as historic Bessarabia until 1812, when this name was given to the larger region situated between the two rivers, including Budjak. As used in the Middle Ages, the term might (if referring to the geographical area) or might not (if referring to the area predominated by Nogai Tatars) include the environs of Akkerman, Bender, and Kiliia. The name Budjak itself was given to the area during Ottoman rule (1484–1812) and derives from the Turkish word bucak, meaning "borderland" or "corner", referring roughly to the land between what was then Akkerman (now Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi), Bender, and Ismail. After 1812, the term Bessarabia came to apply to all of Moldavia east of the Prut River. Consequently, Budjak is sometimes referred to as "Southern Bessarabia". After the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia in 1940, its southern part, which was included in the Ukrainian SSR (unlike most of Bessarabia, which was included in the Moldavian SSR), became known as Budjak, thus being slightly smaller than the historical term. Besides Southern Bessarabia, other descriptive terms that have been applied to the region include Bulgarian Bessarabia (Болгарська Бессарабія, translit.