Constantine Ducas ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Δούκας, ''Kōnstantínos Doúkas''; ro, Constantin Duca), (? – 1704) son of

George Ducas Voivode George Ducas (Greek: ''Γεώργιος Δούκας'', Romanian: ''Gheorghe Duca'') (c. 1620 – 31 March 1685) was three times prince of Moldavia (September 1665 – May 1666, November 1668 – 20 August 1672, November 1678 – January ...

, was a

Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

(

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

) of

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 Centr ...

between April 1693 and December 18, 1695 and September 12, 1700 – July 26, 1703.

Life

Although backed to the throne by his father-in-law,

Constantin Brâncoveanu Constantin Brâncoveanu (; 1654 – August 15, 1714) was Prince of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714. Biography Ascension A descendant of the Craiovești boyar family and heir through his grandfather Preda of a considerable part of Matei Ba ...

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

, Constantine Ducas had indebted himself to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

creditor A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property ...

s. This made him raise taxes and reintroduce the '' văcărit'' (the confiscation of every tenth head of cattle). He sealed matrimonial alliances with the Costineşti

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...

family (to which

Miron Costin Miron Costin (March 30, 1633 – 1691) was a Moldavian (Romanian) political figure and chronicler. His main work, ''Letopiseţul Ţărâi Moldovei e la Aron Vodă încoace' (''The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia Aron Vodă]'') was meant to e ...

belonged) and persecuted the Cantemireşti, Cantemirs, the family of his predecessor

Constantin Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name. It can also be a surname. For a list of notable people called Constantin, see Constantine (name). See also * Constantine (name) * Konstantin The first name Konsta ...

. After delaying payments of the

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

and ordering the killing of the inspecting ''

kapucu A kapucu (; ro, Kapudju or ') was an official envoy of the Ottoman Sultan in medieval Wallachia and Moldavia. Their missions were mostly associated with the recalling of subject hospodars or voivodes, often followed by their imprisonment or exe ...

,'' Ducas was deposed by the Ottoman overlord. He came to the throne for a second time, after Brâncoveanu had obtained the removal of their common rival

Antioh Cantemir Antioh Cantemir (4 December 1670 – 1726), better known in English by the anglicized form Antioch Cantemir, was a Moldavian noble who ruled as voivode of Moldavia (18 December 1695 – 12 September 1700 and 23 February 1705 – 31 J ...

. Yet again reacting against the Cantemireşti (who fled the country), doubling taxes and enforcing the ''văcărit'', Ducas only fell into disgrace after his relations with Brâncoveanu soured.

Ancestry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ducas, Constantine Rulers of Moldavia Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 17th-century monarchs in Europe 18th-century monarchs in Europe