Iacob Zadik was a Romanian artillery and infantry commander, who rose to the rank of divisional general. An assimilated ethnic Armenian, he prepared for a career in the Romanian Land Forces beginning at age nine. This led him to complete military training at several schools, including the Higher War School, where he graduated in 1898. Involved in repressing the 1907 Peasants' Revolt, he fist saw field action during the Second Balkan War (1913). He spent the early years of World War I in France, appointed to the staff of Joseph Joffre, but returned in time to participate in the Romanian offensive of 1916. As one of the leaders of the First Army, Zadik then took part in the defense of Moldavia, specifically the battles of Mărășești and First Oituz. During the armistice period of early 1918, he took leadership of the 8th Infantry Division in Botoșani.

Armenians have been present in what are now the states of Romania and Moldova for over a millennium, and have been an important presence as traders since the 14th century. Numbering only in the thousands in modern times, they were culturally suppressed in the Communist era, but have undergone a cultural revival since the Romanian Revolution of 1989.