Topraisar Explained

Type:	commune
County:	Constanța
Population Total:	auto
Subdivisions:	Topraisar, Biruința, Movilița, Potârnichea
Official Name:	Topraisar
Leader Name:	Stelian Gheorghe^[1]
Leader Term:	2020 - 2024
Leader Party:	PSD
Area Total Km2:	131.65
Coordinates:	44.01°N 28.45°W

Topraisar is a commune in the Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania.

The commune includes four villages:^[2]

• Topraisar (historical name: Crimean Tatar; Crimean Turkish: Topraysar^[3])
• Biruința (historical name: Crimean Tatar; Crimean Turkish: Muratan,^[4] probably rounded out phonetically from Murat Han)
• Movilița (historical name: Crimean Tatar; Crimean Turkish: Musurat,^[4] probably rounded out phonetically from Musavvirat; for short periods in the 20th century it has also been named Regele Mihai and Filimon Sîrbu (1948-1964))
• Potârnichea (historical name: Crimean Tatar; Crimean Turkish: Abdullahköy)^[5]

Topraisar and the surrounding areas were the site of fierce fighting in 1916 during two battles of the World War I: the First and Second Battle of Cobadin.

Etymology

Topraysar is of Tatar origin and is rounded out phonetically from Top^[6] Rayis^[6] Hisar^[6] meaning The Fortress of the President of the Union.

Top Rayis meaning The Elected Leader of the Union or The President of the Union appears to designate Queen Tomyris and it seems to stand also at the origin of Dobruja and the ancient city of Tomis.^[7]

Some people believe that the name of the commune derivates from Toprak Hisar meaning Earth/Clay Fortress.^{[8] [9]}

Demographics

At the 2011 census, Topraisar had 4,758 Romanians (92.42%), 3 Roma (0.06%), 17 Turks (0.33%), 359 Tatars (6.97%), 11 others (0.21%).^[10]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Results of the 2020 local elections . Central Electoral Bureau . 15 June 2021 . dmy-all.
2. http://www.primaria-topraisar.ro/localizare.htm commune website
3. Book: Lahovari, George Ioan. Brătianu, C.I. . Tocilescu, Grigore G. . Marele dicționar geografic al Romîniei. V. Societatea Geografică Romînă. 1902. București.
4. Book: Lahovari, George Ioan. Brătianu, C.I. . Tocilescu, Grigore G. . Marele dicționar geografic al Romîniei. IV. Societatea Geografică Romînă. 1901. București.
5. Book: Lahovari, George Ioan. Brătianu, C.I. . Tocilescu, Grigore G. . Marele dicționar geografic al Romîniei. I. Societatea Geografică Romînă. 1898. București.
6. Book: Murat. Taner. Dicționar tătar crimean-român, Kîrîm Tatarșa-Kazakșa Sózlík . 2011. CreateSpace . Charleston, SC, USA. 9781461083108.
7. Book: Murat. Taner. Opening the Doors of Science. 2012. StudIS. Iaşi. 9786066242943. 99–104.
8. Seslisözlük dictionary, Entry for "toprak"
9. Seslisözlük dictionary, Entry for "hisar"
10. Web site: Constanța County at the 2011 census . February 2, 2012 . March 8, 2012 . . ro . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120324053940/http://www.constanta.insse.ro/phpfiles/COMUNICAT_RPL_CONSTANTA.pdf . March 24, 2012 .