Iancu Sasul (''John the Saxon'') or Ioan Vodă V (''

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 ...

John V''; d. September 28, 1582 in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

) was the

bastard Bastard may refer to: Parentage * Illegitimate child, a child born to unmarried parents ** Bastard (law of England and Wales), illegitimacy in English law People People with the name * Bastard (surname), including a list of people with that na ...

son of

Petru Rareş Petru is a given name, and may refer to: * Petru I of Moldavia (Petru Mușat, 1375–1391), ruler of Moldavia * Petru Aron (died 1467), ruler of Moldavia * Petru Bălan (born 1976), Romanian rugby union footballer * Petru Cărare (1935–2019), wri ...

from his relationship with the wife of Braşov

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ...

Iorg (Jürgen) Weiss, and

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 ...

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 November 1579 and September 1582.

Bid for the throne

Let in on the secret of his

lineage Lineage may refer to: Science * Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor * Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populati ...

by his mother, Iancu renounced the inheritance of his stepfamily and moved to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, in order to bid for his father's throne. Marrying into the

Palaeologus The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek ...

family of former Byzantine Emperors (to Maria), and taking advantage of the weakened position of Moldavian Prince

Petru Şchiopul Peter VI the Lame ( ro, Petru Șchiopul; 1537 – 1 July 1594) was Prince of Moldavia from June 1574 to 23 November 1577.Constantin Rezachevici - ''Cronologia critică a domnilor din Țara Românească și Moldova a. 1324–1881'', Volumul I, Edi ...

, he borrowed money from

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

former

Dragoman A dragoman or Interpretation was an interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish-, Arabic-, and Persian-speaking countries and polities of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading posts. A ...

and high dignitary (''sfetnic'') of Petru Şchiopul Bartolomeo Brutti, and managed to gain the office. Iancu also benefited from the influence that his half-sister,

Doamna Chiajna Doamna Chiajna (1525–1588) was a Princess consort of Wallachia. She was married to Mircea the Shepherd. She was regent in Wallachia from 1559 to 1575. She was born as Ana in Poland, the daughter of prince Peter IV Rareș, and married prince Mirc ...

(the widow of

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 ...

Mircea Ciobanul Mircea the Shepherd ( ro, Mircea Ciobanul, d. 25 September 1559), was the Voivode (or Prince) of Wallachia three times: January 1545 (he entered Bucharest on 17 March)–16 November 1552; May 1553–28 February 1554 (leaving Bucharest t ...

and mother of

Petru cel Tânăr Peter the Younger (Romanian: ''Petru cel Tânăr'') (1547 – 19 August 1569) was the Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia between 25 September 1559 and 8 June 1568. The eldest son of Mircea the Shepherd and Doamna Chiajna, his named "the Young" becaus ...

), exercised on Ottoman authorities.

Reign

The Prince's reign was marked by excessive and highly inventive taxing, motivated by the increasing debt and his ambition to accumulate a sizable personal fortune on the side. Iancu was to go down in history as the mind behind the much-hated '' văcărit'' tax, whereby every tenth head of cattle was confiscated by the state (''vacă'' is

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, traditional ...

for "cow"). Brutti became part of the

retinue A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers. Etymology The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', it ...

and was placed in charge of finances. His privileged position angered Chiajna, and she took to undermining Iancu's standing, forming an alliance with disgruntled boyars. What added to Iancu's isolation were his privileged contacts with the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, presumably entertained in order to offer a safe haven in case of need. When he received news of the

Porte Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

's intent to depose him, Iancu fled the country, carrying an immense fortune that was said to fit in 100

cart A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

s (of which 40 would have been filled with

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general def ...

alone). He attempted to take refuge on newly-bought

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...

s in

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 ...

, but he was arrested on his passage through

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and decapitated in Lviv. Iancu Sasul fathered a son, Bogdan Sasul (mentioned in 1596), and two daughters: Chrisotina (married to a certain Antonios Katakalos) and Maria (married to the Venetian nobleman Giovanni Zane).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sasul, Iancu

Iancu Sasul Iancu Sasul (''John the Saxon'') or Ioan Vodă V (''Voivode John V''; d. September 28, 1582 in Lviv) was the bastard son of Petru Rareş from his relationship with the wife of Braşov Transylvanian Saxon Iorg (Jürgen) Weiss, and Prince of Mol ...

Transylvanian Saxon people

Year of birth unknown

Bid for the throne

Reign

See also

External links