This is a list of rulers 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 s ...
, from the first mention of a medieval polity situated between the
Southern Carpathians and 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 ...
until the union with
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 ...
in 1859, which
led to the creation of
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
Notes
Dynastic rule is hard to ascribe, given the loose traditional definition of the ruling family. On principle, princes were chosen from any family branch, including a previous ruler's bastard sons, being defined as ''os de domn'', "of
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 ...
marrow", or as having ''heregie'', "
heredity
Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic informa ...
" (from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
''hereditas''); the institutions charged with the
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...
, dominated by the
boyars, had fluctuating degrees of influence. The system itself was challenged by
usurper
A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...
s, and became obsolete with the
Phanariote epoch, when rulers were appointed by the
Ottoman Sultans; between 1821 and 1878 (the date of Romania's independence), various systems combining election and appointment were put in practice. Wallachian rulers, like the
Moldavian rulers, bore the titles of ''Voivode'' ("duke") or/and
Hospodar ("lord, master"); when writing in
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 ...
, the term
Domn
''Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as " prince" in other languages and less often as " grand duke". Derived from the Romanian word "''domn ...
(from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
''
dominus'') was used.
Most rulers did not use the form of the name they are cited with, and several used more than one form of their own name; in some cases, the ruler was only mentioned in foreign sources. The full names are either modern versions or ones based on mentions in various chronicles.
List
Early rulers
*
Bezerenbam and Mișelav
*
Seneslau
*
John (knez) John, also Joan or Ioan, was a ''cneaz'' (local chieftain or ruler) mentioned in the Diploma of the Joannites issued by King Béla IV of Hungary (1235–1270) on 2 July 1247; the diploma granted territories to the Knights Hospitaller in the Banate ...
*
Farcaș
*
Litovoi
*
Bărbat
*
Thocomerius
Thocomerius, also Tihomir, was the father of Basarab, who would become the first independent '' voivode'' of Wallachia. Many Romanian historians, such as Vlad Georgescu and Marcel Popa, believe that Thocomerius was a ''voivode'' in Wallachia who ...
House of Basarab
House of Bogdan-Muşat
Houses of Basarab and Movilă
Various dynasties
See also
*
List of rulers of Moldavia
Bibliography
*
* {{cite book , last=Treptow , first=Kurt W. , year=2000 , title=Vlad III Dracula: The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula , publisher=The Center of Romanian Studies , isbn=973-98392-2-3
External links
Rulers of Wallachia
Rulers of Wallachia
Romania history-related lists
Lists of European rulers
Lists of princes
House of Dănești
House of Drăculești
Lists of Romanian monarchs