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The Banat of Craiova or Banat of Krajowa (german: Banat von Krajowa; ro, Banatul Craiovei), also known as Cisalutanian Wallachian Principality ( la, Principatus Valachiae Cisalutanae) and Imperial Wallachia (German: ''Kaiserliche Walachei''; Latin: ''Caesarea Wallachia''; Romanian: ''Chesariceasca Valahie''), was a
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
-inhabited province of the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
. It emerged from the western third of Wallachia, now commonly known as
Oltenia Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...
, which the Habsburgs took in a preceding war with the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
—in tandem with the
Banat of Temeswar The Banat of Temeswar or ''Banat of Temes'' was a Habsburg province that existed between 1718 and 1778. It was located in the present day region of Banat, which was named after this province. The province was abolished in 1778 and the follow ...
and Serbia. It was a legal successor to the Great Banship of Craiova, with the Wallachian as its native leader, or '' Ban''. Over the following years, native rule was phased out, and gave way to a direct administration. This provided the setting for
Germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In li ...
of the bureaucratic elite, introducing the governing methods of
enlightened absolutism Enlightened absolutism (also called enlightened despotism) refers to the conduct and policies of European absolute monarchs during the 18th and early 19th centuries who were influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, espousing them to enhance ...
and colonialism. Habsburg rule over Oltenia only lasted two decades, which fit within the reign of just one
Austrian Emperor The Emperor of Austria (german: Kaiser von Österreich) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A hereditary imperial title and office proclaimed in 1804 by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the Ho ...
(and titular "Prince of Cisalutanian Wallachia"), Charles VI (1711–1740). Its steady encroachment on the privileges of native boyars, as well as its added pressures on the serfs and the free peasants, were highly unpopular, undermining Austrophile positions in Wallachia as a whole. The period witnessed collective tax resistance and internal migration, in an effort to conceal the total number and location of contributors. Charles VI and the Serbian Orthodox Bishops in Belgrade took charge of the Wallachian Diocese of Râmnic, curbing its traditional privileges while allowing it to maintain cultural autonomy. Some timid steps were taken toward Catholicizing Oltenia, with Catholic Bulgarians as the main proxies. Despite being pressured from above, Râmnic Bishops were able to expand their influence into southern
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
, providing it with support against the spread of
Greek Catholicism The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...
. Popular resistance required a steady adaptation of the administrative apparatus, which included more accurate censuses, relief of some feudal obligations, and heavy penalties for tax offenders. The process was directly supervised by Austrian officials, including Franz Paul von Wallis in the 1730s. It was cut short by an unexpected Ottoman reconquest in late 1737, which brought another devastation of Oltenia, but also witnessed the reestablishment of self-rule by the Romanians. "Imperial Wallachia" formally ended in 1739, when the Ottoman Empire recovered Serbia and Oltenia (which was returned to Wallachia) after the
Treaty of Belgrade The Treaty of Belgrade, also known as the Belgrade Peace, was the peace treaty signed on September 18, 1739 in Belgrade, Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia (today Serbia), by the Ottoman Empire on one side and the Habsburg monarchy on the other, that ...
. The claim to Oltenia was formally revived during the 1770s by
Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...
, but died out a decade later. The Banat of Temeswar, which became home to a sizable community of Romanian Oltenian and Bulgarian refugees, was kept by the Habsburg monarchy and its successors until 1918. Though rejected by the mass of the people, the Habsburg experiment in Oltenia produced some lasting changes, with some institutions maintained in place by Wallachian Prince Constantine Mavrocordatos. Austrian influence, which introduced the region to organized
guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
s and a postal system, also provided Wallachians with a linguistic template for modernization and re-Latinization.


History


Austrian conquest

The autonomous Banship of Craiova covered a quadrilateral western third of Wallachia, located between the
Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ro, Carpații Meridionali ; hu, Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the ...
to the north, the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
to the south and west, and the
Olt River The Olt ( Romanian and Hungarian; german: Alt; la, Aluta or ', tr, Oltu, grc, Ἄλυτος ''Alytos'') is a river in Romania. It is long, and its basin area is . It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its average disc ...
(''Alutus'' in Latin; hence "Cisalutanian") to the east. Since the 15th century, Wallachia, including its Oltenian subdivision, had been subjugated by the Ottoman Empire (its neighbor to the south), participating as such in the
Ottoman–Habsburg wars The Ottoman–Habsburg wars were fought from the 16th through the 18th centuries between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy, which was at times supported by the Kingdom of Hungary, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Habsburg Spai ...
. During the 17th century, members of the Wallachian boyardom, especially those linked with the
Cantacuzino family The House of Cantacuzino (french: Cantacuzène) is a Romanian aristocratic family of Greek origin. The family gave a number of princes to Wallachia and Moldavia, and it claimed descent from a branch of the Byzantine Kantakouzenos family, specific ...
, began looking to the Habsburgs as potential liberators of the country. The period included several episodes in which Wallachia was declared a Habsburg fief. One such early case was on 7 January 1543, when
Radu Paisie Radu VII Paisie, officially Radul (Church Slavonic: Радул воєвода), also known as Radu vodă Măjescul, Radu vodă Călugărul, Petru I, and Petru de la Argeș (ca. 1500 – after 1545), was Prince of Wallachia almost continuously fr ...
, the Prince of Wallachia, nominally attached his country to the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. In June 1598, during an episodic emancipation from Ottoman vassalage, Prince
Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...
and his ''
Postelnic ''Postelnic'' (, plural: ''postelnici,'' from the Slavic ''postel'', "bed"; cf. Russian '' postelnichy'') was a historical rank traditionally held by boyars in Moldavia and Wallachia, roughly corresponding to the position of '' chamberlain''. I ...
'' Andronic Cantacuzino (both of whom had served as '' Bans'') submitted Wallachia to the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 un ...
. The
Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War (german: Großer Türkenkrieg), also called the Wars of the Holy League ( tr, Kutsal İttifak Savaşları), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Pola ...
of 1683 saw Prince
Șerban Cantacuzino Șerban Cantacuzino (), (1634/1640 – 29 October 1688) was a Prince of Wallachia between 1678 and 1688. Life and career Cantacuzino took part in the Ottoman campaign which ended in their defeat at the Battle of Vienna. According to Gaster (19 ...
and his
Wallachian military forces Wallachians could mean: * Vlachs, Eastern Romance-speaking peoples of southeastern Europe * Inhabitants of Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyri ...
fighting on the Ottoman side; however, they made a public show of their reluctance, and privately celebrated Habsburg Austria's victory in the
Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mou ...
. During the 1680s, the Habsburgs were on the offensive, and only their forced participation in the
War of the Reunions The War of the Reunions (1683–84) was a conflict between France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, with limited involvement by Genoa. It can be seen as a continuation of the 1667–1668 War of Devolution and the 1672–1678 Franco–Dutch ...
prevented Wallachia from being conquered at that stage. In August 1716, the
Battle of Petrovaradin The Battle of Petrovaradin also known as the Battle of Peterwardein, took place on 5 August 1716 during the Austro-Turkish War when the Ottoman army besieged the Habsburgs-controlled fortress of Petrovaradin on the Military Frontier of the Habs ...
marked a turning point in the fourth Austro-Turkish War: the Habsburg monarchy chased the
Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers th ...
out of
Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the ar ...
, and stood to occupy both Wallachia and
Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Cent ...
. As a result of this, 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 ...
reduced autonomy for Wallachia by introducing a new political elite, the Greek-speaking
Phanariotes 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 ...
;
Nicholas Mavrocordatos Nicholas Mavrocordatos ( el, Νικόλαος Μαυροκορδάτος, ro, Nicolae Mavrocordat; May 3, 1670September 3, 1730) was a Greek member of the Mavrocordatos family, Grand Dragoman to the Divan (1697), and consequently the first Pha ...
, a Phanariote known for having pacified Moldavia, was brought in to reign as titular Prince of Wallachia. Seeking to undermine the Austrian advance, Ottoman commanders and the Budjak Tatars staged the mass deportation and
enslavement Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
of Wallachian peasants—Oltenians were reportedly over-represented in this exodus, as 35,000 evacuees from a total 80,000. The problem was compounded by internal flight, with many more villagers fleeing for safety into the Oltenian forests and the Parâng Massif. As many as 273 Oltenian villages and hamlets were left deserted, from a total 741; 190 of these ghost villages were located in the exposed southern fields. The events notably witnessed the ransacking of Brâncovenești boyar estates, including their manor in Brâncoveni (which had been one of Oltenia's two major military buildings). As early as March 1716, the Austrians could count on support from an inner faction of Wallachian boyars. Formed around ''
Spătar The ''spatharii'' or ''spatharioi'' (singular: la, spatharius; el, σπαθάριος, literally "spatha-bearer") were a class of Late Roman imperial bodyguards in the court in Constantinople in the 5th–6th centuries, later becoming a purely h ...
'' , it regarded Mavrocordatos as a "tyrant". Answering to boyar requests for help, the Habsburg general Stephan von Steinville sent in some hundreds of his soldiers, which, also in August 1716, routed a 3,000-strong Wallachian army at
Orșova Orșova (; german: Orschowa, hu, Orsova, sr, Оршава/Oršava, bg, Орсово, pl, Orszawa, cs, Oršava, tr, Adakale) is a port city on the Danube river in southwestern Romania's Mehedinți County. It is one of four localities in the ...
—according to chronicler , these troops were secretly opposed to Mavrocordatos, and did not put up a fight. Oltenia was taken whole when the Wallachian ''
Serdar Serdar may refer to * Serdar (given name) * Serdar (surname) * SERDAR, a stabilized remote-controlled Ukrainian weapon station * Serdar (city) in Turkmenistan, the capital of Serdar District * Serdar (Ottoman rank), a military and noble rank of t ...
'', Cornea Brăiloiu, defected to the enemy, guiding more Austrian troops through the Vulcan Pass and into
Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu () is the capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polata, ...
. Some Oltenian boyars were soon co-opted by
Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. He ...
and his invasion force: ''Postelnic'' Ștefan Pârșcoveanu led 200 Habsburg soldiers in battle against the Mavrocordatos troops, at Bengești-Ciocadia. An Austrian force under Stephan Dettine von Pivoda ventured out of Oltenia and into
Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in the historical re ...
, then took the Wallachian capital,
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
on 14 November, capturing the Prince; during this episode, most Wallachian forces had been diverted to Oltenia, with Popescu invested as ''Ban''. Despite earning support from the Wallachian assembly, which declared itself subject to
Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (emp ...
Charles VI on 28 November, the Austrians were not confident about establishing a bridgehead in
Muntenia Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the seldom used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in ...
, and withdrew immediately after to Mărgineni and
Câmpulung Câmpulung (also spelled ''Cîmpulung'', , german: Langenau, Old Romanian ''Dlăgopole'', ''Длъгополе'' (from Middle Bulgarian)), or ''Câmpulung Muscel'', is a municipality in the Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is situated among ...
. In December 1716, the Ottomans retook Bucharest and placed John Mavrocordatos on the throne. On 24 February, he obtained from the Austrians recognition as Prince of Wallachia, which was understood to mean only Muntenia; the new ruler also agreed to pay Charles VI a lump tribute in "bags of gold". During the following period, refugee boyars sent Charles several petitions asking for Oltenia to be kept as an autonomous part of the Empire, with its own Voivode, namely Gheorghe Cantacuzino. During this campaign, they expressed alarm that Oltenia would be incorporated with
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
, which was in the process of losing its autonomy. The boyar delegations were also mandated to discuss the exclusion of Phanariotes and other
Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
from the
table of ranks The Table of Ranks (russian: Табель о рангах, Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a s ...
, which formed the basis of boyar privilege and revenue. They were encouraged in this by Damaschin Voinescu, the Orthodox Bishop of Râmnic, who described Greeks as "betrayers and destroyers of countries". Boyar appeals were largely ignored by Charles, who added Prince of Cisalutanian Wallachia or Imperial Wallachia (''Chesariceasca Valahie'') to his list of titles, assigning Steinville to the intermediary position of Supreme Director of Oltenia. The administration was directly organized by a Neo-Acquistic Commission, which answered to the Aulic and War Councils. By August 1717, the Austrians had gained a definitive victory at Belgrade, prompting the Porte to sue for peace. The
Treaty of Passarowitz The Treaty of Passarowitz, or Treaty of Požarevac, was the peace treaty signed in Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, german: Passarowitz), a town that was in the Ottoman Empire but is now in Serbia, on 21 July 1718 between the Ottoman ...
, which was signed on 21 July 1718, recognized Oltenia as an Austrian fief, under ''
uti possidetis ''Uti possidetis'' is an expression that originated in Roman private law, where it was the name of a procedure used in litigation about land. It came from a praetorial edict that could be abbreviated "As you possess, so shall you possess". La ...
''. Negotiations were stalled when the Porte instructed its delegates not to admit that Oltenia had been conquered ("under a kind of occupation" was the preferred formula); Austria reacted by bribing Ottoman officials, as well Dutchman Nicolas Theyls and other arbiters, until consensus could finally sway in their favor. During September 1718, Prince Eugene and
Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first h ...
Nevşehirli Ibrahim settled the new border: all Oltenian Danube islands were assigned to the Ottoman Empire, while, on the Olt, Austria kept whatever was west of the
thalweg In geography and fluvial geomorphology, a thalweg or talweg () is the line of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse. Under international law, a thalweg is the middle of the primary navigable channel of a waterway that defines the boun ...
(including islets such as Celieni, Milcovan, Seccediu, and Tuba). Both empires agreed that boyars stranded in Oltenia could keep their estates in Muntenia. The provision was nullified in practice when Princes, beginning with Nicholas Mavrocordatos, identified
absentee landlord In economics, an absentee landlord is a person who owns and rents out a profit-earning property, but does not live within the property's local economic region. The term "absentee ownership" was popularised by economist Thorstein Veblen's 1923 boo ...
s and confiscated their property. The aggrieved parties sought compensation by urging the Neo-Acquistic Commission to operate in the same way, asking to be handed down the estates of Mavrocordatos loyalists, including the Brâncovenești. The Imperial Revenue Service, which had taken over the estates in question for its own purposes, blocked the attempt. Brâncoveni was taken as spoils of war by Captain Dettine.


Government creation

The newly conquered region was formally organized through an imperial decree on 22 February 1719. This created an administrative commission in the city of
Craiova ) , official_name = Craiova , image_skyline = , image_caption = From left: Dolj County Prefecture • Constantin Mihail Palace • Bibescu Manor House • Carol I National College • Museum of Oltenia • University of Craio ...
, which had attributes as a legislative body, executive branch, and local revenue service. As noted by historian Ileana Căzan, Charles VI's court took some pride in having conquered another portion of "
Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ...
" (and, more specifically,
Roman Dacia Roman Dacia ( ; also known as Dacia Traiana, ; or Dacia Felix, 'Fertile/Happy Dacia') was a province of the Roman Empire from 106 to 271–275 AD. Its territory consisted of what are now the regions of Oltenia, Transylvania and Banat (today ...
), which were now politically linked to the reincarnated Roman Empire of the Habsburg realm: "the very conquest of Oltenia was shrouded in the notion of Roman imperial continuity. The boyars, grouped as the ''Administration'', were lsoknown as the ''Dacian senate''." The administration also acted as a court, but only heard major criminal offenses (''criminalia maiora''), property disputes, and some appeals sent in by the first- and second-level courts.
Vlach law The Vlach law (, ro, legea românească, "Romanian law", or , "customs of the land", ) refers to the traditional Romanian common law as well as to various special laws and privileges enjoyed or enforced upon particularly pastoralist communities ...
, generally based on oral records and, more loosely, on the written code ', was preserved as the
statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by l ...
, "except for those rovisionsthat contradict sound habits".
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
was still the administrative language. However, the Phanariote infusion of Greek and Turkish terms was immediately curbed, with Latin or German neologisms introduced for the new offices and functions—beginning with the designation of commission members as ''Consiliari'' ("Counselors"), assisted by a ''Secretariu'' ("Secretary"). As another concession to the locals, the commission was entirely staffed by natives, and allowed its president to use the Wallachian title of ''Ban''. During October 1719, Steinville confirmed the administrative commission, presided upon by Gheorghe Cantacuzino as ''Ban''. Its Council comprised four men: Brăiloiu (who died during the proceedings and was replaced with Staico Bengescu), Golescu, Grigore II Băleanu, and Ilie Știrbei. Its Secretary, Nicolae de Porta, also was a Romanian. All staff, including the ''Ban'', were salaried employees of the state; Cantacuzino received 6,000 ''
Reichsthaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the ...
'' annually, and his Counselors 1,000. Steinville's Supreme Directorate was maintained as a supervising body, but remained headquartered in the Transylvanian city of
Hermannstadt Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cib ...
; until late 1721, Cantacuzino and his commission only had consultative powers. Hermannstadt was also the higher court of appeals, but the population was largely ignorant of its judicial powers, and few sought to obtain its intervention; the commission met more significant competition from the ''Stabsauditoriat'', a military tribunal which had the vaguely defined task of preserving public order, and which too over all penal cases. Frustrating Austrian attempts at modernization, both the Counselors and parties appearing before them agreed to ignore other formalities: several trials were simply held by the Counselors in their private homes, though this was explicitly illegal. After the Supreme Directorate relinquished its powers, the ''Ban'' and his Counselors were assigned control over the administrative network, which was staffed by five ''
Vornic Vornic was a historical rank for an official in charge of justice and internal affairs. He was overseeing the Royal Court. It originated in the Slovak '' nádvorník''. In the 16th century in Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literall ...
i'' (one per each county) and twenty ''
Ispravnic An ''ispravnic'' or ''ispravnik'' was, in the Danubian principalities, the title owned by a clerk or a boyar in charge of law enforcement in a certain county. Initially, during the middle ages, ''ispravnics'' were people who used to carry out the ...
i'' (one per '' Plassa''). While towns were governed using ''
Județ A ''județ'' (, plural ) is an administrative division in Romania, and was also used from 1940 to 1947 in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and from 1998 to 2003 in Moldova. ''Județ'' translates into English as "jurisdiction", but is com ...
i'' and ', villages were directly supervised by '' Pârcălabi'' and '' Vătafi''. The latter two categories had been traditionally appointed by their local boyar, but who were now directly picked by, and integrated within, the state apparatus; unlike their superiors and the equivalent urban apparatus, they did not receive salaries, but were exempted from taxation. They were also a first-level judicial power, relieving the Couselors and the ''Ispravnici'' of cases such as those involving
larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Engl ...
or minor sexual offences. The boyars were frustrated in their attempt to obtain approval for private armies of ''Slujitori'', which they intended to use against ''
hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, ...
'' outlaws; the Austrians "resisted the creation of any national military units, even some of reduced proportions". Instead, the regime maintained
collective responsibility Collective responsibility, also known as collective guilt, refers to responsibilities of organizations, groups and societies. Collective responsibility in the form of collective punishment is often used as a disciplinary measure in closed insti ...
, picked up from ancient Wallachian customs, as a deterrent, punishing "ten or twelve surrounding villages" for robbery or murder that went unsolved. For long the only
home guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...
unit tolerated by the Austrians were the 100 ''Dorobanți'' of Craiova. In Oltenia, Austria inherited the Phanariotes' complicated system of taxation, which combined the Ottoman fiscal regime with ancestral duties. The main tribute, or ''bir'', had been owed directly to the
Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its hei ...
; it survived as ''contrebuțion'' or ''dajde împărătească'', and was redirected toward the Habsburg Emperor. Collection began in 1720, when each family was expected to pay two ''Reichsthaler'' (120 ''
Kreuzer The Kreuzer (), in English usually kreutzer ( ), was a coin and unit of currency in the southern German states prior to the introduction of the German gold mark in 1871/73, and in Austria and Switzerland. After 1760 it was made of copper. In s ...
''). Various other duties were maintained, and some new ones were introduced. This was the case with the ''Vorspann'', a tribute in horses and transport-related labor collected in lieu of ''contrebuțion'' from specific areas—the semi-autonomous region known as Țara Loviștei and villages bordering the main roads. The ''Vorspann'' was immediately abused by those in power, who now demanded a permanent supply of horses and labor. The upper classes, including both boyars and some peasants of prestigious lineage (known as ''aleși'' or ''alessi''), also received some satisfaction in matters of fiscal policy: most obtained a partial, and some a total, tax exemption from the ''contrebuțion''. However, they were still expected to contribute the "voluntary gift" (''donum gratuitum''), specifically for the Emperor. In the aftermath of Passarowitz, Austrian administrators set about repopulating the region, allowing thousands of Muntenian families to settle in the devastated villages, especially those of
Gorj Gorj County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gor(no)-'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolj (“lower Jiu”). Demographics In 2011, the county had a ...
and Vâlcea. The ''Vornici'' were specifically instructed to drive peasants out of their forest hideouts and back into agricultural life. In 1722, the Austrian conscription census, overseen by the Count of Virmont, estimated Oltenians at 25,000 families, calibrated downward by counts made in 1724 (14,719 families) and 1726 (15,665 families). While re-stabilizing population growth, the Austrian government began looking into increasing the fiscal burden. ''Contrebuțion'' goals were set at 190,000 ''
Rheingulden The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purch ...
'' annually, though the target was not consistently met. In 1728, it was raised to some 212,000 ''Rheingulden'', and continued to increase steadily; in 1736, Oltenians provided 260,352 ''Rheingulden'' in ''contrebuțion'' revenue. Answering boyar demands, the Austrians put an end to a tacit policy of
homesteading Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale. Pur ...
, and returned to the status quo of 1716, effectively treating peasants as boyar serfs (''rumâni''; German: ''Rumoni''). They generally accepted claims that peasants living on boyar- or Church-owned estates also owed
corvée Corvée () is a form of unpaid, forced labour, that is intermittent in nature lasting for limited periods of time: typically for only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state for the purposes of ...
, issuing, for the first time in history, written instructions to detail how this duty was to be carried out. Against Wallachian precedents, labor on the estates was legally redefined as an individual, rather than collective, duty, and affixed at one day per week; Austrian authorities limited the number of working days by also forcing farmers to perform statute labor on public works; overall, forced labor in both forms increased greatly, "to as many as fifty-two days a year, as contrasted to three to nine days normal to other parts of Wallachia at the time." Instead, the regime outlawed feudal rent owed in produce (''dijmă'') for the entire peasant category. It also reacted strongly against boyar claims of "absolute authority" over the serfs, placing the latter under the authority of civil and criminal courts. Overall, "the regulation in agrarian interactions aimed at wholly removing relations between estate-owners and peasants from the realm of the arbitrary, placing them within elaborate and state-controlled formulas." This was also done for humanitarian reasons: one early inspection reported that boyars treated their peasants "like dogs".


Boyar and peasant resistance

Landowning boyars remained dissatisfied with Austrian policies and alarmed by the fiscal pressures. In 1719, Steinville allowed them a temporary victory by passing regulations that precluded members of their class from selling, as opposed to leasing, land that was deemed "ancestral"; the measure targeted foreign buyers, with a statement of purpose that explicitly mentioned Catholic Bulgarians as the undesirable competitors (" hesetraders are flush with money and will buy up lots of goods, with many of the boyars' villagers opting for refuge in he Bulgarians'villages"). Bulgarian lobbying obtained that the text be modified to a less xenophobic form, driving the boyars to seek other methods of resistance. One such form was cooperation with native tenant farmers toward nonpayment of the state tax. As early as 1722, there were reports that the ''Ban'' and his allies were actively using their administrative functions to undermine tax collectors by "exempting, if not all, then at least most of their own peasants". The boyars were also defeated in their attempt to deny the Bulgarians their judicial autonomy. In October 1727, Charles VI settled the matter by reconfirming that only Bulgarian courts could try Bulgarian cases. During 1723, tax collectors noted that
Dolj County Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)- Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to ''Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova. Demographics In 2011, the count ...
was again missing entire villages, among them Maglavit and Rojiște, their populations having turned nomadic. Two years later, another inspection in Romanați confirmed that 2,300 families had recently gone missing. In Gorj, emigration focused on the Banat of Temeswar, which had no precedent to match Phanariote taxation. This alarmed the War Council: on 12 April 1726, it forbade settlement by non-Catholics. Around that same time, inspector Karl von Tige noted that entire villages of Oltenia were being "placed under the protection of this or that oyar. That year witnessed an attempt to contain the phenomenon, combining softer approaches (a ''de facto'' ban on corporal punishments for tax-evading peasants) with a more thorough investigation of the boyars' activities. Under the old fiscal regime, boyars estimated their peasants' tax duties, and were not expected to provide an exact count of how many serfs they owned. In early 1727, regulations were introduced by the Aulic Council, which forced the boyars to provide accurate counts of the peasants working on their estates, with tax forms known as ''fassiones'' (in Latin) or ''foi de mărturisanie'' (in Romanian); heavy fines were introduced where fraud could be ascertained. This measure had the unintended consequence of driving even more peasants into hiding with the boyars' complicity—a "massive dissolving of the contributing masses". Beginning in September 1725, documents issued by Austrian sources refrained from calling Cantacuzino a ''Ban'', replacing this term with ''Prezes'' or ''Präses'' (from the Latin ''
Praeses ''Praeses'' (Latin  ''praesides'') is a Latin word meaning "placed before" or "at the head". In antiquity, notably under the Roman Dominate, it was used to refer to Roman governors; it continues to see some use for various modern positions. ...
'', "governor"). Historian Șerban Papacostea sees September 1726 as bringing Oltenian autonomy to a full stop, in that Cantacuzino was deposed and his office eliminated—he was replaced with a President or ''Prezes'', Georgius Schramm von Otterfels, himself succeeded by Joachim Czeyka von Olbramowitz upon his death in late 1728; during that entire interval, Cantacuzino refused to vacate the ''Ban''s manor and accept exile in Transylvania, as had been asked of him. The clampdown on boyar authority was enhanced in 1727, when Tige noted that Cantacuzino's ouster had only reshuffled the governing clique, with the new team of Counselors being "just as zealous in promoting its own interests as the preceding one had been." As Papacostea notes, in the aftermath the Habsburgs introduced not just centralism, but also
Germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In li ...
, both without curtailing boyar privilege or uprooting traditional society. A centralizing trend was consolidated with an imperial decree on 27 April 1729, whereby the boyars' role in policy-making and their fiscal privileges were greatly reduced, and the ''Vorspann'' tax was entirely phased out. The curtailing was met with protests from Golescu, including one he addressed to the Aulic Council in May 1728, shortly before his death. The continued pressures exercised through the ''fassiones'' managed to exhaust boyar resistance, and resulted in more accurate counts of the taxpaying population. 22,000 families were recorded in 1727, rising to 31,000 in 1730; there were at least 34,346 families of any status living in Oltenia in 1739, of whom some 300 were boyar families, and 2,400 were burghers. Oltenia continued to have a sizable population of free-and-landowning peasants—some 47% of the total rural population in 1722. Known as ''moșneni'' or ''megieși'' in Romanian, ''possessionati rustici'' in Latin, and ''freie Leute'' in German, these groups remained over-represented in mountainous areas (135 villages in Gorj, 85 in Vâlcea). As part of their conflict with government forces, the boyars obtained that most of the fiscal burden be placed on the ''moșneni'' and ''megieși''. In 1727, ''moșneni'' families owed the state 10 ''Rheingulden'' in ''contrebuțion'' (this was marginally reduced to 8.2 ''Rheingulden'' in 1728, and remained set at that level for the remainder of Habsburg rule); ''megieși'', meanwhile, had to pay 12–13 ''Rheingulden'' per family. A small group of endogamic families still held on to "great boyar" status. No definitive count was ever provided, but documents read by Papacostea suggest that they ranged between 17 and 24. Examples include the Argetoianus, Băleanus, Bengescus, Brăiloius, Buzescus, Fărcășanus, Glagoveanus, Otetelișanus, Pârșcoveanus, Poienarus, Știrbeis, Urdăreanus, and Zătreanus. They looked down on the lesser boyars, or ''boiernași'', which could include cadet branches of the leading aristocracy (as with the Glagoveanus and Zătreanus), or entire clans fallen into destitution (the Rudeanus). These two classes fully owned 244 villages, or 32% of Oltenian villages. While most boyars of both classes only had one or two villages to their name, the most powerful clans could hold much more. The Brăiloius topped the list, with 28 villages, 16 of them in Gorj.


Austrian consolidation

A major downside of Austrian rule was Oltenia's removal from the Ottoman economic sphere—specifically, the occupation regime unwittingly blocked much of the cattle, horse, butter and wool trade that had linked Oltenian pastoralists to the markets of
Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians from the Byzantine rite, was the name of a hist ...
; wool was mostly redirected toward Transylvania. Similarly, the Austrians slowed down grain and barley production by curbing all exports of cereals, including to other parts of the Monarchy. The latter ban, which was meant to ensure an uninterrupted chain of supply for the Austrian garrisons, was only lifted for a while in 1726. Overall, Oltenia was to remain underpopulated and underdeveloped throughout the Austrian episode. At a "demographic peak" in 1736, the ''Vornici'' were still instructed to direct peasants into discarded villagers and resume cultivation in
fallow Fallow is a farming technique in which arable land is left without sowing for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and store organic matter while retaining moisture and disrupting pest life cycles ...
lands. During 1731, Supreme Director Franz Paul von Wallis suggested "doubling" the Oltenian ''Vornici'' with Austrian natives, who would make sure to check the fiscal records and the realities of taxation; this practice was approved by the Aulic Council and introduced during the early months of 1732. In 1735, foreigners Anton Gebaur, Anton Marstaller, Franciscus Nagy and Gaspar Rauch all held offices as ''Vornici''. Meanwhile, all the boyars had been drafted as legal aides, forming Commissions which streamlined judicial procedures and documented cases appearing before the Craiova commission. Also in 1732, J. H. Dietrich took over as President, imposing an Austrian, Johann Wilhelm Vogt, as one of the Oltenian Counselors. Dietrich died in 1733; under his replacement, Franciscus Salhausen, the Council included Vogt and another Austrian man, J. V. Viechtern (the latter as replacement for the Oltenian Grigore Vlasto). In 1737, the government was almost entirely non-Romanian and non-boyar, with only Ștefan Pârșcoveanu holding on to the office of Counselor. Wallis had asked for his demotion as early as August 1732, but the Aulic Council was adamant in supporting him. Though the Oltenians' Catholicization was not an immediate priority of the Austrian elite, their encouragement of Bulgarian, German, and Hungarian settlement could also double as proselytism—especially after the Diocese of Nicopolis ad Hystrum was relocated to Oltenia. From 1723, the
Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
began building a church in
Râmnicu Vâlcea Râmnicu Vâlcea (also spelled ''Rîmnicu Vîlcea'' or, in the past, ''Rîmnic-Vâlcea'', ) (population: 92,573 as per the 2011 Romanian census) is the county capital ( ro, Reședință de județ) and also the largest town of Vâlcea County, centr ...
. Moving the Bulgarians' Catholic see was formalized in June 1725, when Nikola Stanislavič, previously the Catholic Vicar of Wallachia, was anointed Bishop, and took up residence in Craiova. Bulgarians were especially favored by the Austrians, for being "a Catholic population which proved its loyalty during the war against the Turks." From 1729, Stanislavič had tasked his aide Blasius Milli with encouraging the "
Paulicians Paulicianism (Classical Armenian: Պաւղիկեաններ, ; grc, Παυλικιανοί, "The followers of Paul"; Arab sources: ''Baylakānī'', ''al Bayāliqa'' )Nersessian, Vrej (1998). The Tondrakian Movement: Religious Movements in the ...
" of Rumelia to settle in Oltenia. As many as 2,000 Catholics from around Nikopol had done so by 1737. Mostly peasants, they formed segregated communities in Craiova and
Islaz Islaz is a commune in southern Romania, located in the southwestern Teleorman County, west of Turnu Măgurele. It is part of the historical province Oltenia, and is composed of two villages, Islaz and Moldoveni. The commune is situated in the ...
, distancing themselves from the Bulgarian merchant class. New arrivals included rich Orthodox merchands from
Chiprovtsi Chiprovtsi ( bg, Чипровци, pronounced ) is a small town in northwestern Bulgaria, administratively part of Montana Province. It lies on the shores of the river Ogosta in the western Balkan Mountains, very close to the Bulgarian- Serbian b ...
, including Iova and Iota Iovepali—first attested at Râmnicu Vâlcea in early 1732. Colonization could also include Romanian families, such as a small group from 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 Danub ...
, which settled in Costești during November 1732. Once revived and Germanized, the commission remained largely powerless in tackling boyar and peasant resistance, which often took the form of sabotage and demoralization. As summarized by Papacostea: "the low-ranking Oltenian boyardom still held on to sufficient power so as to block any real application of the imperial commands. ..Though pushed out of the main offices of the province, though the Craiova Administration was by then directly under Austria's control, the boyars still held on to the administration of counties and villages, which was entirely at their disposal." As he notes, the disgruntled boyars gathered around Ilie Știrbei and Dositei Brăiloiu, whom Czeyka von Olbramowitz had already considered arresting. Faced with such opposition and a parallel sharp rise in outlaw activities, this new administration finally allowed ''Ispravnici'' to organize small militias in 1734. Episodes of mass flight were still occasionally documented, including among the tax-encumbered ''boiernași'': in 1726, the authorities largely failed to collect within this community, whose members "have scattered and are hiding out in the counties". In 1728, 36 villages of Mehedinți were entirely "broken up", while in 1734, Caraula was left with only four ''moșneni'' and its ''Pârcălab''. In other cases, the exodus was temporary, with free peasants and serfs taking up seasonal jobs to fulfill their fiscal obligations. In August 1731 for instance, the poorest such peasants were roaming Oltenia to do the
mowing A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reapers ...
on various estates. Overall, members of the upper classes engaged one another in bloodless feuds over the scarce labor resource. Boyars included in the administration were able to outmaneuver their rivals, especially the ''boiernași'', by imposing arbitrary obligations or simply by kidnapping peasants and pushing them into serfdom. During November 1723, Tige reported that the boyars were taking additional steps to prevent inspectors from counting people and animals living on their estates. These opponents were claiming that such counts could only be performed on one's deathbed. Meanwhile, peasants began organizing resistance to the corvée: in 1737, the landlords of
Bistrița Monastery The Bistrița Monastery ( ro, Mănăstirea Bistrița, ) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery located 8 km west of Piatra Neamț. It was dedicated in 1402, having as original ctitor the Moldavian Voivode Alexandru cel Bun whose remains are bur ...
noted that none of their tenant farmers had shown up for work, even after obtaining a reduction of their duties. The Catholic Emperor had uneasy relations with the Orthodox clergy. In 1725, he submitted local churches to the Serbian Bishop in Belgrade,
Mojsije Petrović Mojsije Petrović (Serbian Cyrillic: Мојсије Петровић; Belgrade, Ottoman Empire, 1677 – Belgrade, Habsburg monarchy, 27 July 1730) was the first Metropolitan of the unified Metropolitanate of Belgrade and Karlovci, from 1726 to 1 ...
. This grouped Râmnic alongside parishes from the Banat of Temeswar and the purely Serbian
Eparchy of Valjevo The Eparchy of Valjevo is one of the eparchies of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with the seat at Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to t ...
. In what was a more controversial gesture that drew protests from the monastic community, Charles VI personally appointed Râmnic's Bishops and all the ''
Starets A starets (russian: стáрец, p=ˈstarʲɪt͡s; fem. ) is an elder of an Eastern Orthodox monastery who functions as venerated adviser and teacher. ''Elders'' or ''spiritual fathers'' are charismatic spiritual leaders whose wisdom stems from Go ...
es''; he also claimed direct control over the "princely" (''domnești'') monasteries, from Cozia and to . In 1726, Petrović assigned to Bishopric to a monk Ștefan, who was never consecrated, and whose only contribution as a '' ktitor'' was Mihalcea Litterati's church in
Ocnele Mari Ocnele Mari is a town located in Vâlcea County, Oltenia, Romania. The town administers eight villages: Buda, Cosota, Făcăi, Gura Suhașului, Lunca, Ocnița, Slătioarele, and Țeica. The town is situated in the central part of the county, at ...
; in late 1727, he was replaced with Inochentie, who remained in charge until 1735. Monastery administrators soon took the example of boyars in sabotaging Habsburg modernization. Tige's inspection already noted that agricultural production was unusually low on estates held by the Bishopric of Râmnic; during a November 1732 survey, Wallis proposed controlling the village of Orevița by assigning it directly to the Belgrade Bishops. During 1736, an old feudal privilege was abolished at Tismana, with its pastures in Jidoștița being confiscated for use by the Austrian cavalry in Cerneți. The common practice under the Habsburg administration was the collection of all traditional taxes from Orthodox institutions, against tradition—which had either reduced or eliminated such burdens on the Church. In a contrasting move, the Austrians sought to protect church land from boyar encroachment, which had been aggravated after the Mavrocordatos confiscations. In 1726, inspectors were proposing to review all boyar property deeds, to determine how much land had been stolen from the monasteries.


Ottoman reconquest

The outbreak of a
Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...
in 1735 was contemplated by the Austrians as an opportunity to complete their expansion into Wallachia. As early as June 1735, Charles VI was preparing another attack on the Ottoman Empire, asking Wallis to ensure that Oltenia would contribute additional revenue for that effort. The prospects of an Austrian annexation were viewed with alarm by the boyars of Bucharest, who were now overwhelmingly
Russophile Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th Century ...
in their outlook, explicitly demanding to be placed under the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...
's protection: "Wallachia's feudal class hoped to obtain Russia's support not just when it came to emancipation from Turkish suzerainty, but also to the territorial reunification, with compensation offered to the Viennese court in exchange for Oltenia." In October 1736, ''Vornic'' Preda Drugănescu represented this boyar caucus on a mission to
Bila Tserkva Bila Tserkva ( uk, Бі́ла Це́рква ; ) is a city in the center of Ukraine, the largest city in Kyiv Oblast (after Kyiv, which is the administrative center, but not part of the oblast), and part of the Right Bank. It serves as the adm ...
. Here, he pledged that Wallachia would surrender only to Russia, and promised to raise the sum needed for the Oltenian purchase, "because all the boyars over there n Craiovawish to find themselves under the Russian scepter". In January 1737, Michael von Talman was mandated by Charles VI to negotiate with Ottoman delegates at
Babadag Babadag (; tr, Babadağ,  "Father Mountain"), formerly known as Babatag, is a town in Tulcea County, Romania, located on a small lake formed by the river Taița, in the densely wooded highlands of Northern Dobruja. One of the several tombs ...
. Here, the Austrians asked for the terms negotiated at Passarowitz, including the recognition of Oltenia as a Habsburg province, to be extended beyond 1782. Oltenia's geopolitical status was changed abruptly in June 1737, when Austria decided to declare war on the Ottoman Empire. The original plan was for a swift annexation of Muntenia, which would have restored Wallachia under Charles's scepter. During the advance from Oltenia and Transylvania, Wallis approached the Phanariote Prince of Wallachia, Constantine Mavrocordatos, with an offer to switch side, promising him recognition as an Austrian vassal in both Muntenia and Oltenia. Mavrocordatos and his court were scandalized by this suggestion, and preferred instead to take refuge in Ottoman-held territory. Annexation seemed to be realized in on 17 July, when Austrian troops under General Ghillany entered Bucharest. They arrested the boyar regency, sending its members to Transylvania as imperial hostages. At that stage, however, Muntenians were generally unenthusiastic about the change of regimes. Wallis and his men found that most urban centers in both regions had been deserted, and that the fields had been abandoned in full harvest. The situation was aggravated when Wallachians caught hints that Austria intended to break apart Mehedinți, annexing its western half to the Banat of Temeswar. Some boyars, including Constantin Balș, Ștefan Catargiu, and Ștefăniță Ruset, still favored the Austrian option, pledging themselves to Emperor Charles. As early as August 1737, the Austrians had again moderated their demands: delegates sent to the peace talks at
Nemirov Nemyriv ( uk, Немирів, russian: Немирoв, pl, Niemirów) is a historic town in Vinnytsia Oblast (province) in Ukraine, located in the historical region of Podolia. It was the administrative center of former Nemyriv Raion (district) ...
were mandated to ask for a new border on the Dâmbovița or the Argeș, preserving Oltenia and dividing Muntenia. These negotiations finally broke down when Austrian delegates accused Russia of intervening in favor of Wallachian territorial integrity. The Ottoman Army subsequently retaliated with a surprisingly efficient counteroffensive. This began in September–October, when Mavrocordatos organized the retaking of Câmpulung and Pitești. On 12 November, the Ottomans recaptured Bucharest; with a pincer movement, they then took Craiova and trapped Charles' troops in northern Oltenia and the Muntenian fort of Perișani. Mavrocordatos reaffirmed his status as Oltenian overlord by sending Radu Comăneanu as his governor in Craiova, and appointing Ioniță Cercedja and his 200 ''Slujitori'' to assist against Wallis' army. In the immediate aftermath, Oltenians found themselves encumbered by Ottoman demands, including a tribute set at 300 bags of gold; the Wallachian '' Kapucu'' managed to obtain a temporary reduction. The situation proved especially difficult for civilians trapped in the disputed area, who attempted to form their own civilian government under Bishop Climent Modoran. In February 1738, he asked his flock to provide food for both the Ottomans and the Austrians, expressing sympathy for their plight: ''Știu că va iaste greu a sluji la doi împărați'' ("I know how difficult it is that you would have to serve two emperors"). His own palace in Râmnicu Vâlcea was severely damaged during the Austrians' defense of Oltenia. Throughout the interval, ''
hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, ...
s'' rallied in the no man's land around Orșova, with outlaws of many nations being joined by a mass of runaway serfs. During May,
Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first h ...
Yeğen Mehmed Pasha presented Austria with an offer to divide Oltenia between the empires. The stalemate was ended only on 18 September 1739, when the
Treaty of Belgrade The Treaty of Belgrade, also known as the Belgrade Peace, was the peace treaty signed on September 18, 1739 in Belgrade, Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia (today Serbia), by the Ottoman Empire on one side and the Habsburg monarchy on the other, that ...
was ratified by Charles VI, who thus recognized Oltenia's re-annexation by Ottoman-vassalized Wallachia. This document unwittingly reopened the dispute between the Ottomans and the Habsburgs over what constituted the western border of Oltenia; it also alienated those of the boyars who had still believed in a Habsburg solution to their problems, "regardless of how difficult adaption to the Habsburgs' administrative and social-juridical system had been". As noted by historians Constantin and Dinu C. Giurescu, nostalgia for Austrian rule was entirely marginal: Wallachian restoration was welcomed with "general joy among both peasants and boyars, who had come to realize that the old regime, whatever its shortcomings, was preferable to Austrian administration".


Legacy


"Colonial" precedent

Scholar Daniel Chirot defines Austrian Oltenia as a "premature experiment in modern colonialism". Papacostea views the Austrian episode as the direct confrontation between
enlightened absolutism Enlightened absolutism (also called enlightened despotism) refers to the conduct and policies of European absolute monarchs during the 18th and early 19th centuries who were influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, espousing them to enhance ...
, which "had for a goal the systematic exploitation of ltenianresources", and the traditional "boyar statehood", which claimed a monopoly on peasants' labor. He describes the massive flight of peasants as an instance of
class conflict Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms o ...
, momentarily successful in defeating the Habsburg government structures, pushing these into "permanent re-adapting". Overall, the experiment implied slowly but steadily adapting the boyar network to the requirements of a centralized system, which required transforming boyars into state functionaries. During this (partly successful) process, Austrian supervisors issued a set of Latin- and Romanian-language protocols, which were meant to standardize boyar activities and limit their sphere of action. The more overtly colonial aspects of Austrian governance were already dismantled by the 1730s war, when Oltenia became the source of emigration into the Banat of Temeswar. Some pro-Habsburg Romanians joined in this exodus—Diicul (Deicolus) Brăiloiu and George Brediceanu settled around Lugosch; the latter of these two boyars was the patriarch of a noted Romanian Austrian family whose members included Coriolan and Tiberiu Brediceanu. By the 1750s, the authorities had become more tolerant of Gorj immigrants, who settled around Karansebesch as charcoal makers, forming an ethnographic community known as ''Bufeni''. Bulgarian and "Paulician" loyalists also established colonies in Theresiopolis and Stár Bišnov, where they merged into a single ethnic group. Stanislavič, still the community leader, took over as Bishop of Tschanad. Râmnicu Vâlcea was ravaged by the war, pushing the Iovepalis and other Chiprovtsi Bulgarians into permanent exile in Transylvania. By 1746, the city housed Oltenia's only Bulgarian community, which numbered ten families. Some of the Habsburg innovations, including the most unpopular ones, were also quickly undone by the Ottomans: "the Austrian work rules in Oltenia were abolished, and such forced labor was stabilized at twelve days a year for most of the century." As noted in 1759 by Ottoman bureaucrat
Ahmed Resmî Efendi Ahmed Resmî Efendi (English, "Ahmed Efendi of Resmo"), also called by some Arabic sources as Ahmed bin İbrahim Giridî ("Ahmed the son of İbrahim the Cretan"), was an Ottoman Greek statesman, diplomat and author of the late 18th century. I ...
, the palace of the ''Ban'' in Craiova was abandoned, and allowed to fall into disrepair. Such dereliction went in tandem with some institutional continuity, with Wallachian Princes being readily adaptable to modern absolutism. Papacostea highlights the role of Habsburg reforms in shaping similar attempts by Phanariote rulers in the post-1739 era, though also noting that these had "modest means at their disposal, and a much reduced efficiency". Prince Constantine Mavrocordatos, who oversaw Oltenia's readmission into the Wallachian realm, was directly interested in not only preserving absolutist reforms in Oltenia, but also in extending them to other parts of the country, and in expanding their scope. His war on privilege, meant to ensure fiscal stability, led him to pioneer the
abolition of serfdom The abolition of slavery occurred at different times in different countries. It frequently occurred sequentially in more than one stage – for example, as abolition of the trade in slaves in a specific country, and then as abolition of slavery ...
, and to introduce government as a mediator between boyars and peasants. In 1756, the Porte itself reverted on its stances and, imitating the Austrians, proceeded to increase its demands—that year, a "colonial regime similar to that of the Austrian occupation" was introduced, with Wallachians required to contribute specified quotas of barley, flour, and wheat. Austrian contributions to the Romanian lexis, and to the language of political geography, included the designation of the old Banship as "Oltenia", which was thereafter conceptualized as distinct from Wallachia and Muntenia. The Habsburg claim to this territory was revived by Emperor
Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...
and General von Buccow in the early 1770s, during turmoil caused by the
Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...
. Citing precedent, as well as a number of records that they had falsified, the Austrians demanded Oltenia, alongside a "Wallachian corner" (vaguely defined parts of Prahova,
Buzău The city of Buzău (formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu''; ) is the county seat of Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the C ...
, and
Râmnicu Sărat Râmnicu Sărat (also spelled ''Rîmnicu Sărat'', , german: Rümnick or ''Rebnick''; tr, Remnik) is a city in Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It was first attested in a document of 1439, and raised to the rank of '' ...
); these were to be annexed alongside parts of Moldavia, specifically
Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of ...
and Putna. In July 1771, Sultan
Mustafa III Mustafa III (; ''Muṣṭafā-yi sālis''; 28 January 1717 – 21 January 1774) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1757 to 1774. He was a son of Sultan Ahmed III (1703–30), and his consort Mihrişah Kadın. He was succeeded by hi ...
agreed to relinquish Oltenia. The annexation was never carried out, since Russia vouched for Wallachia's territorial integrity; instead, Joseph accepted the northwestern tip of Moldavia, which later became known as "
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 Berge ...
". Though his overall plan fell apart, the Austrians embraced a "Dacian" alternative, proposing that Henry of Prussia be made ruler of Moldavia and Wallachia, merged into a
buffer state A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between ...
—while still seeking to restore their own "old borders on the Olt". During the 1780s, Joseph's ambitions were frustrated by Russia's
Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
, who embraced the "Dacian" kingdom that she expected would be Russian-friendly. The Austrian court turned its focus on the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...
and
Bosnia Eyalet The Eyalet of Bosnia ( ota, ایالت بوسنه ,Eyālet-i Bōsnâ; By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters ; sh, Bosanski pašaluk), was an eyalet (administrative division, also known as a ''beylerbeylik'') of the Ottoman Empire, mostly based o ...
; in some projects he vetted, Joseph still considered annexing or purchasing Oltenia as an extension of this southwestern realm. A specific claim to Oltenia was again voiced by the Austrian court during the Oriental crisis of 1783: Joseph announced that he did not regard the Treaty of Belgrade as a renunciation of his rights in Craiova. An intervention by the
Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
ended mounting hostilities between Russia and Austria, and prevented the Austrian army from staging a march on Craiova; this intervention, which ensured that Joseph "received nothing" from the crisis, also showed the strains of the Franco-Austrian alliance. An 1788 map of Wallachia, done in Vienna by Ferdinand Joseph Ruhedorf, still showed the five Oltenian counties as '' Valachia Austriaca''. The Habsburgs no longer revived the claim in the 19th century. During the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
, the Habsburg state, revived as the "
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
", intervened as a peacekeeper in both Moldavia and Wallachia. In 1856,
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
unsuccessfully proposed that Austria take over both countries as a unified vassal state, with Francis of Modena on its throne. The
United Principalities The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia ( ro, Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești), commonly called United Principalities, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia, f ...
were created shortly after, still as an Ottoman subject. This tutelage was eventually cast aside in the
Romanian War of Independence The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On , Romania and the ...
of the 1870s. In its wake, the Romanian Assembly of Deputies had to accept the cession of
Southern Bessarabia Southern Bessarabia or South Bessarabia is a territory of Bessarabia which, as a result of the Crimean War, was returned to the Moldavian Principality in 1856. As a result of the unification of the latter with Wallachia, these lands became part ...
to Russia, in exchange for
Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( ro, Dobrogea de Nord or simply ; bg, Северна Добруджа, ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, bordered in the south ...
. As an opponent of this trade-off, Romanați assemblyman Nicolae Lăcusteanu argued that Romania's Dobrujan rights were at least as arbitrary as Austrian rights in Oltenia. During the Romanian campaign of World War I, both Muntenia and Oltenia were occupied by the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in W ...
, including
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...
. According to one account, attributed to
Constantin Stere Constantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea ( Romanian; russian: Константин Егорович Стере, ''Konstantin Yegorovich Stere'' or Константин Георгиевич Стере, ''Konstantin Georgiyevich Stere''; also known ...
, Austria intended to absorb Oltenia in late 1917, and was only stopped from doing so when the international consensus swung against imperialistic annexations.


Cultural survivals

The Habsburgs' effort toward Catholicizing Oltenia mostly concentrated on reforming the Orthodox Church itself—one such measure was to impose Catholic monastic rules on Orthodox monks. By 1726, Steinville's portrait had been added into frescoes of Sfântul Nicolae Church in Băile Olănești (it was covered up after 1739). The issue of Catholic government in an Orthodox land became intertwined with religious disputes in Transylvania, where the Habsburgs had established a Romanian Greek Catholic congregation, part of the
Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...
. It was partly as a result of Gheorghe Cantacuzino's intervention that Ioan Giurgiu Patachi was elected in 1714 as the second Catholic Primate of Bălgrad. Before his death in 1727, Patachi sought to establish an Eastern Catholic bishopric for Habsburg Oltenia, while seeking to "gather under his watch all of Austria's Romanians". This project never took hold. Instead, in January 1728, Râmnic Bishops were given an exclusive privilege in handling Orthodox life in the southernmost pockets of Transylvania, at a time when most other Orthodox Transylvanians were decreed to have been united with Rome. According to scholar Mihai Săsăujan, this state of affairs was preserved into the 1750s. The situation angered the new Catholic converts: Stefan Olshavskyi, the Vicar of Mukachevo, asked that the
Ecumenical Patriarchate The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
refrain from consecrating Orthodox priests anywhere in Transylvania. The Austrians endorsed teaching in Latin by Orthodox institutions, but with only modest results (such as Antonie Dascălul's school in Craiova); by 1729, the administration was financing a more ambitious project for a Humanistic Gymnasium to be staffed by either
Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...
or
Piarists The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the ...
. Overall, Charles VI remained indifferent to cultural battles within the Wallachian Church. This also meant that, unlike the Muntenian hierarchs, there was no stake in protecting
Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...
in Oltenia—indirectly helping Bishop Damaschin and others who supported liturgical printing in Romanian. In these circumstances, Râmnicu Vâlcea and its printing press were major contributors to the Orthodox revival taking place in both Oltenia and Transylvania. The authorities were however invested in preventing any dispute between the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox branches of Romaniandom. Historian Radu Nedici notes that Damaschin was "under the strict control of a Habsburg Catholic administration". His one attempt at a polemic was a 1724 tract on the
Sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the rea ...
s, which displeased Patachi and had to be withdrawn from circulation. Nedici and Aurel Dragne both argue that the eventual loss of Oltenia reverberated into Transylvania, leaving its remaining Orthodox congregations submitted by the Serbian Bishopric (though their primacy remained unrecognized by the Austrian court). Linguist C. Frâncu views Austrian rule in Oltenia as crucial in establishing the canons of modern Romanian as an
official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
—especially since, at that stage, Romanian was being purged from Austrian legal culture in Transylvania. This implied a first instance of linguistic re-Latinization in Wallachia, codifying terms such as ''administrație'' ("administration"), ''arest'' ("arrest"), ''colonel'', ''comandant'' ("commander"), ''comisar(iu)'' ("commissioner"), ''copie'' ("copy"), and ''deputat'' ("deputy"). The 20-years-long existence of an Imperial Wallachia spurred other changes in Romanian society. In some cases, these were to prove long-lasting—one example is the establishment of a regular postal service, which allowed private mail to be sent between Oltenia and Transylvania. In parallel, the administrative commission was awarded its own
post riders Post riders or postriders describes a horse and rider postal delivery system that existed at various times and various places throughout history. The term is usually reserved for instances where a network of regularly scheduled service was provid ...
, or ''Călărași'', who numbered 50 men in 1727, and who ran errands between Craiova and the ''Vornici''. In 1716, Captain Friedrich Schwantz von Springfels, a mathematician trained at the
University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The u ...
, had uncovered the remains of a
Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
running along the Olt at Cozia. He was therefore able to persuade his superiors that the banks were usable for horse transportation at any time of the year. He described the path leading from Islaz to Râmnicu Vâlcea as ''Via Trajani'', from
Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presid ...
. Between 1717 and 1722, Steinville oversaw the construction of ''Via Carolina'', a modernized road linking the
Turnu Roșu Pass Turnu Roșu Pass ( ro, Pasul Turnu Roșu, hu, Vöröstoronyi-szoros, german: Roter-Turm-Pass, tr, Kızılkule Geçidi, all of these names meaning ''Red Tower Pass'' in the respective languages) is a mountain pass in the Romanian Carpathians, co ...
(and, through it, Transylvania) to
Călimănești Călimănești, often known as Călimănești-Căciulata, is a town in Vâlcea County, southern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Oltenia and the northern part of the county, on the traditional route connecting the region to Tr ...
. In tandem, the authorities also rebuilt and enlarged the passage through the
Vâlcan Mountains The Vâlcan Mountains are a chain of mountains in the Southern Carpathians in Gorj County, Romania. They are part of the Retezat-Godeanu Mountains group. They run for approximately and the highest peak is the Vâlcan Peak at . The mountains run t ...
, linking the Transylvanian mountainous enclave,
Țara Hațegului Țara Hațegului ("Hațeg Land"; german: Wallenthal, hu, Hátszegvidék, la, terra Harszoc) is a historical and ethnographical area in Hunedoara County, Romania, in the south-western corner of Transylvania. It is centered in the town of Hațeg. � ...
, with Craiova and
Vidin Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as ...
. The Austrians were also noted for exploring and cataloguing all features of Oltenian geography. This effort began early on, when Steinville's personal physician, Michael Schendo van der Bech, provided the first description of the
mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. Tra ...
s at Bengești-Ciocadia. One noted contribution was Captain Schwantz's own regional map. Begun on Steinville's orders in 1720, it endures as an "incomparable instrument of research", the "first cartographic record of all human settlements in Oltenia". In keeping with Austria's imperial and "Dacian" ideology, the work is noted for attempting to record all Roman-era ruins known in the 1720s. The minuteness of Schwantz's contribution was made possible by his direct involvement in surveying Oltenia. In 1738, Stefan Lutsch von Luchsenstein copied Schwantz's map into his general map of Wallachia; the Muntenian portions were based on highly inexact Ottoman depictions, making the result unusable in practice. The attempted economic revival, which remained bound to the ideology of
mercantilism Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce a ...
, was also backed by monetary stabilization. The circulation of devalued Wallachian coins, ''Kreuzer'', and Ottoman '' pare'', was tolerated, while the circulation of
bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from the ...
was centered on the ''Reichsthaler''. The authorities attempted in vain to block the circulation of ''
kuruş Kuruş ( ; ), also gurush, ersh, gersh, grush, grosha, and grosi, are all names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. The variation in the name stems from the different languages it is us ...
lar'' in Oltenia, since these were still the most frequent payment for regional exports. As part of the recolonization and re-monetization drive, Austrians revived or created
agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibi ...
s (notably at Tâmna and Cerneți), though making sure that commercial activities of this kind were subject to
price controls Price controls are restrictions set in place and enforced by governments, on the prices that can be charged for goods and services in a market. The intent behind implementing such controls can stem from the desire to maintain affordability of good ...
(called ''narturi''). Austria also recognized and enforced urban privileges as codified in the Wallachian tradition. As noted by Papacostea, doing so effectively delayed town development, especially by preventing the rural-to-urban migration. Urbanization stalled, including in Craiova. The Banship's capital remained "in a rather semi-agrarian phase" and, a hundred years after its Wallachian reconquest, still gave the impression of an "immense bazaar". Austrian commercial innovations included Craiova's ''Spițăria Împărătească'', the first-ever pharmacy to have been set up in the Romanian lands (operating 1718–1730). From 1719, the city's administration noted that Oltenian
guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
s existed largely on paper, with ill-defined areas of control. They presented the population with an option between full regulation and
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold eco ...
; it chose the former, resulting in the establishment of a chartered Guild of Chandlers and Soapers in August 1725. Imperial envoys overrode boyar resistance when they allowed Bulgarians and Greeks to form their respective trade emporiums; the boyars mounted additional resistance when Oltenian Romanians petitioned to set up their own company, arguing that Romanians were not producing trade goods for export. The Austrian regime attempted to reform the status of Rudari
slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
used for
gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts espe ...
by the monks of Cozia, reemploying them as salaried workers of the state. A Chamber of Gold was instituted with the purpose of clamping down on gold contraband. Habsburg envoys tolerated the use of slave labor in the Oltenian salt mines (principally those of Ocnele Mari), but introduced new extraction and refining techniques. Their attempt to recover these investments drove up the price of salt, losing consumers to the coarser, but cheaper, salt of Ottoman Muntenia.


Symbols

Heraldists from the Holy Roman Empire had traditionally used a lion to represent ''kleine Walachey'' ("Little Wallachia"), which, from the 16th century, generally meant the Craiova Banship. These were
attributed arms Attributed arms are Western European coats of arms given retrospectively to persons real or fictitious who died before the start of the age of heraldry in the latter half of the 12th century. Arms were assigned to the knights of the Round Tabl ...
, which had no local correspondent, and may have originally stood for "Dacia" or "
Cumania The name Cumania originated as the Latin exonym for the Cuman–Kipchak confederation, which was a tribal confederation in the western part of the Eurasian Steppe, between the 10th and 13th centuries. The confederation was dominated by two ...
"; the lion was apparently never used by the ''Bans'', and neither was it taken up by the Austrian administration. Before 1718, local ''Bans'' used some symbols of their own, which are attested, but not described, by contemporary sources. In the mid 17th century, Mareș Băjescu had a ''grapă, adecă steag bănesc'' ("''grapă'', which is to say a ''Ban''s flag") brought in for his ceremonial investiture in Craiova. Historian Ion Donat reports that the region also had its own badge, separate from the Wallachian seal, and its own flag, at least as early as the 1500s. Theologian argues that flags used by the ''Bans'' showed
Demetrius of Thessaloniki Saint Demetrius (or Demetrios) of Thessalonica ( el, Ἅγιος Δημήτριος τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης, (); bg, Димитър Солунски (); mk, Свети Димитрија Солунски (); ro, Sfântul Dumitru; sr ...
, who is still the patron saint of Craiova. In its early years, Imperial Wallachia used a variant of the standard Wallachian seal; this symbol can be found in the bottom right corner of Schwantz von Springfels' 1723 map. Also in 1723, this all-Wallachian emblem was replaced with a complex seal depicting the double-headed ''
Reichsadler The ' ("Imperial Eagle") is the heraldic eagle, derived from the Roman eagle standard, used by the Holy Roman Emperors and in modern coats of arms of Germany, including those of the Second German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (191 ...
'' displaying the Wallachian bird. According to a
roll of arms A roll of arms (or armorial) is a collection of coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms. The oldest extant armorials date to the mid-13th centur ...
created by
Radu Cantacuzino Radu Cantacuzino (17 March 1699 – 1761) was an 18th-century Romanian prince, general, adventurer and pretender. As the eldest son of Ștefan Cantacuzino, Prince of Wallachia 1714–1716, Radu was a prospective future ruler of Wallachia, but h ...
, the same arrangement was used as the personal arms of his brother, ''Ban'' Gheorghe. The ''Reichsadler'', a familiar presence on the Austrian border markers, became known locally as '' Zgripțor''. The same term was used as a by-word for Habsburg rule and its officials. In their effort to modernize the administration, Austrian authorities banned the usage of private insignia on official documents. Instead, they regulated corporate heraldic seals for each of the five Oltenian counties. These referred to the main economic contribution of each Oltenian subdivision: Dolj had a fish; Gorj—a deer; Mehedinți—a beehive; Romanați—an ear of corn; and Vâlcea—a fruit-bearing tree. According to historian Dan Cernovodeanu, these symbols, though not attested in writing before 1719 (and first appearing in visual form as a companion to Schwantz's 1723 map), were locally made, and likely predated the Austrian occupation. They were also largely preserved into the later seals of Oltenian ''Bani'' and '' Caimacami'', into the early 19th century.Ioan V. Câncea, "Sigiliile caimacamilor Craiovei", in ''Revista Arhivelor'', Issues 6–7, 1936–1937, pp. 178–179. See also Cernovodeanu, pp. 450–453 File:Heraldic fragment of Tabula Valachiæ Cis-alutanæ, 1723.png, Heraldic allegory of Oltenian counties, in Schwantz von Springfels' 1723 map of the region File:Coat of arms of Ban Gheorghe sin Șerban Catacuzino, Golden Book.png, Arms used by Gheorghe Cantacuzino File:Caimacam of Craiova seal under Nicolae Scanavi, 1813.svg, Seal used by Oltenian ''Caimacam'' Nicolae Scanavi in 1813, showing the county symbols File:Caimacam of Craiova seal under Constantin Câmpineanu, 1822.svg, County symbols on ''Caimacam'' Constantin Câmpineanu's seal, 1822


Notes


References

{{columns-list, colwidth=30em, *Mircea-Gheorghe Abrudan, "Politica orientală a Imperiului Habsburgic între asediul Vienei (1683) și Tratatul de Pace de la Passarowitz (1718)", in ''Astra Salvensis'', Vol. IV, Issue 8, 2016, pp. 61–75. * Virginia H. Aksan, "Whose Territory and Whose Peasants? Ottoman Boundaries on the Danube in the 1760s", in Frederick F. Anscombe (ed.), ''The Ottoman Balkans, 1750–1830'', pp. 61–86. Princeton: Markus Weiner Publishers, 2006. {{ISBN, 1-55876-383-X *Claudiu Sergiu Călin, Marius Oanță, "Nikola Stanislavich — Episcop de Nicopole ad Hystrum (1725–1739) și Episcop de Cenad (1739–1750)", in ''Banatica'', Vol. 24, Issue 2, 2015, pp. 327–342. *Ileana Căzan, "Cartografia austriacă în secolul al XVIII-lea (1700–1775). Caracteristici și reprezentanți", in ''Revista Istorică'', Vol. XIV, Issues 3–4, May–August 2002, pp. 191–206. *Dan Cernovodeanu, ''Știința și arta heraldică în România''. Bucharest: Editura științifică și enciclopedică, 1977. {{OCLC, 469825245 *Constantin Cilibia, "Arhimandritul Petronie din Timișoara, stareț la Mănăstirea Segarcea", in ''Mitropolia Olteniei'', Vol. LXVIII, Issues 9–12, September–December 2016, pp. 172–184. *Ileana Cioarec, "Mari dregători din neamul boierilor Pârșcoveanu", in ''Anuarul Institutului de Cercetări Socio-Umane C. S. Nicolăescu-Plopșor'', Vol. XIII, 2012, pp. 90–95. *Alexandru Ciocîltan, "The Identities of the Catholic Communities in the 18th Century Wallachia", in ''Revista Română de Studii Baltice și Nordice. The Romanian Journal for Baltic and Nordic Studies'', Vol. 9, Issue 1, 2017, pp. 71–82. *Gheorghe David, "1782: Ecaterina II, Potemkin și... regatul Daciei", in ''
Magazin Istoric ''Magazin Istoric'' ( en, The Historical Magazine) is a Romanian monthly magazine. Overview ''Magazin Istoric'' was started in 1967. The first issue appeared in April 1967. The headquarters is in Bucharest. The monthly magazine contains articles ...
'', September 1991, pp. 66–69. *Ion Donat, ''Domeniul domnesc în Țara Românească (sec. XIV–XVI)''. Bucharest: Editura enciclopedică, 1996. {{ISBN, 973-454-170-6 *Virgil Drăghiceanu, "Curțile domnești brâncovenești. IV. Curți și conace fărâmate", in ''Buletinul Comisiunii Monumentelor Istorice'', Vol. IV, 1911, pp. 49–78. *Aurel Dragne, "Biserică și societate în secolul al XVIII-lea. Situația clerului român din Țara Făgărașului", in ''Acta Terrae Fogarasiensis'', Vol. V, 2016, pp. 53–88. *C. Frâncu, "Neologisme juridico-administrative în documentele din Oltenia din timpul administrației austriece (1718–1739). I", in ''Studii și Cercetări Lingvistice'', Vol. XXXVI, 1985, pp. 307–319. *Lidia Gaga, "Costum de enclavă. Costum de contact. Bufenii", in ''Analele Banatului. Etnografie – Artă'', Vol. II, 1984, pp. 123–141. *Al. Grigorovici, "Crisa orientală din 1783 și politica Franciei", in ''Revista Istorică'', Vol. XXIV, Issues 10–12, October–December 1938, pp. 293–321. *
Nicolae 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 ...
, **"Dări de seamă. Silviu Dragomir, ''Istoria desrobirii religioase a Românilor din Ardeal în secolul al XVIII-lea''", in ''Revista Istorică'', Vol. VII, Issues 7–9, July–September 1921, pp. 190–201. **''Românismul în trecutul Bucovinei''. Bucharest: Metropolis of Bukovina, 1938. *Gheorghe Lazăr, "Aux frontières du grand commerce. La famille Iovipali en Valachie (XVIIIe—dèbut du XIX e siècle)", in Lora Taseva, Penka Danova (eds.), ''Югоизточна Европа през вековете: социална история, езикови и културни контакти. Studia Balcanica 35'', pp. 79–100. Sofia:
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; bg, Българска академия на науките, ''Balgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated ''БАН'') is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy ...
, 2021. {{ISBN, 978-619-7179-17-0 *Angela Lisnic, "Locul principatelor dunărene în acțiunile politico-militare ale marilor puteri în războiul Austro-Ruso-Turc din 1735–1739", in ''Revista de Istorie a Moldovei'', Issue 1 (73), 2008, pp. 113–129. *Radu Nedici, ''Formarea identității confesionale greco-catolice în Transilvania veacului al XVIII-lea: biserică și comunitate''. Bucharest: Editura Universității București, 2013. {{ISBN, 978-606-16-0279-7 *Șerban Papacostea, ''Oltenia sub stăpânirea austriacă (1718–1739)''. Bucharest: Editura enciclopedică, 1998. {{ISBN, 973-45-0237-9 *Pompei Gh. Samarian, ''Medicina și Farmacia în Trecutul Românesc 1382–1775''. Călărași: Tipografia Moderna, . y.*Corneliu Tamaș, "Marele spătar Radu Golescu și curentul antifanariot", in ''Buridava. Studii și Materiale'', Issue 2/1976, pp. 67–71. *Veronica Tamaș, "Administrația Olteniei în timpul ocupației austriece (1718–1739)", in ''Buridava'', Vol. IV, 1982, pp. 119–125. *
Răzvan Theodorescu Emil Răzvan Theodorescu (born May 22, 1939) is a Romanian historian and politician. He has researched and written extensively on art history in particular. A member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), he was a member of the Romanian Senate for ...
, "Episcopi și ctitori in Vâlcea secolului al XVIII-lea", in ''Buridava'', Issue 7/2009, pp. 140–152. *Al. Vianu, "Din acțiunea diplomatică a Țării Romînești în Rusia în anii 1736—1738", in ''Romanoslavica'', Vol. VIII, 1963, pp. 19–26. Subdivisions of the Habsburg Monarchy History of Oltenia History of Wallachia (1714–1821) 18th century in Romania 1718 establishments in the Habsburg Monarchy 1739 disestablishments in the Habsburg Monarchy States and territories established in 1718 States and territories disestablished in 1739 Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718) Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739) Germanization German communities in Romania Banat Bulgarian people