You have touched a sensitive cord here and it's the most humbling thing that I have ever heard a westerner say about us.
Indeed, some of the Romanians believe that they did just that for hundreds of years and that these invasions kept us behind. The reality is not that simple, but indeed, an important part of our wealth has been lost trying to fight, pay off, or simply burning our own country while retreating to the mountains where he had a fighting chance.

So thank you for grinding the Romanians' gears :D