Alexander (I) Mavrocordatos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Μαυροκορδάτος; 1742 – 27 March 1812), nicknamed Delibey for his cunning, was a

Phanariote Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumeni ...

who served as

Prince of Moldavia This is a list of rulers of Moldavia, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the Carpathians and until its disestablishment in 1862, when it united with Wallachia, the other Danubian Principality, to form the modern-day state of Ro ...

from 1782 to 1785.

Life

Son of

Constantine Mavrocordatos Constantine Mavrocordatos (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Μαυροκορδάτος, Romanian: ''Constantin Mavrocordat''; February 27, 1711November 23, 1769) was a Greek noble who served as Prince of Wallachia and Prince of Moldavia at several ...

and Catherine Rosetti, he succeeded in May 1782 to

Constantine Mourouzis Constantine Demetrius Mourouzis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Δημήτριος Μουρούζης, Konstantinos Demetrios Mourouzis, ro, Constantin Dimitrie Moruzi), (1730 – 1 May 1787) was a Phanariote Prince of Moldavia, and member of ...

, deposed by the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The nam ...

following the intrigues of the Russian ambassador in Constantinople. He owes his appointment to this same ambassador. Mavrocordatos was dismissed in January 1785 at the request of Rajtschewitsch, consul of Austria in Moldavia, who complained to the Ottoman government to have been badly received by Mavrocordatos, despite being the representative of the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

. But it is possible that in fact this is only one aspect of the Austro-Russian struggle for influence in Moldavia: the Habsburgs already had occupied

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...

since 1775, and the Russian czars coveted the

Budjak Budjak or Budzhak (Bulgarian and Ukrainian: Буджак; ro, Bugeac; Gagauz and Turkish: ''Bucak''), historically part of Bessarabia until 1812, is a historical region in Ukraine and Moldova. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube ...

and the mouths of the Danube, and each Empire advanced its pawns in the region. According to Alexandre A.C. Sturdza, Mavrocordatos was known for his "versatility and difficult character" which gave rise to his Turkish nickname "Delibey".

Sources

Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol (; March 23, 1847, Iaşi – February 27, 1920, Bucharest) was a Romanian historian, philosopher, professor, economist, sociologist, and author. Among his many major accomplishments, he is the Romanian historian cred ...

''Histoire des Roumains de la Dacie trajane : Depuis les origines jusqu'à l'union des principautés''. E Leroux Paris (1896). * Alexandre A.C. Sturdza ''L'Europe Orientale et le rôle historique des Maurocordato (1660-1830)'' Librairie Plon Paris (1913), p. 243-245. *

Nicolas Iorga Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...

''Histoire des Roumains et de la romanité orientale''. (1920) * Constantin C. Giurescu & Dinu C. Giurescu, ''Istoria Românilor'' Volume III (depuis 1606), Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, București, 1977. * Mihail Dimitri Sturdza, ''Dictionnaire historique et généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople'', M.-D. Sturdza, Paris, chez l'auteur, 1983 . * Jean-Michel Cantacuzène, ''Mille ans dans les Balkans'', Éditions Christian, Paris, 1992. * Gilles Veinstein, ''Les Ottomans et la mort'' (1996) . * Joëlle Dalegre ''Grecs et Ottomans 1453-1923. De la chute de Constantinople à la fin de l'Empire ottoman'',

Éditions L'Harmattan Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in W ...

Paris (2002) . * Jean Nouzille ''La Moldavie, Histoire tragique d'une région européenne'', Ed. Bieler (2004), . * Traian Sandu, ''Histoire de la Roumanie'', Éditions Perrin (2008). {{authority control Rulers of Moldavia 1742 births 1812 deaths Alexander 01 18th-century Greek people 19th-century Greek people 18th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Constantinopolitan Greeks