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Matei Basarab (; 1588,
Brâncoveni Brâncoveni is a commune in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Brâncoveni, Mărgheni, Ociogi and Văleni. Natives *Matei Basarab Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was a Wallachi ...
,
Olt Olt or OLT may refer to: People: * Károly Olt (1904–1985), Hungarian politician * Mike Olt (born 1988), American baseball player Places: * Olt County, a county (județ) of Romania * Olt (river), a river in Romania ** Olt Defile, a defile t ...
– 9 April 1654,
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 o ...
) was a
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 ...
n
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. ...
) between 1632 and 1654.


Reign

Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from
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 ...
, which he successfully accomplished in 1637, 1639, and 1653 – see
Battle of Finta The Battle of Finta (27 May 1653) was a confrontation between Prince Matei Basarab's Wallachian army and a combined Moldavian–Cossack–Tatar force under Prince Vasile Lupu and Tymofiy Khmelnytsky. It took place around Finta, now a commune in D ...
. He was an enlightened ruler, and is noted for introducing the
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...
to Wallachia (1634) and creating the first Wallachian code of laws as well as patronizing art and religion (founder of the first upper school in his Principality). He built more than 45 churches and monasteries, being compared to Stephen the Great, the famous ruler of Moldavia. His election in 1632 signified the first official exception to a rule set by custom. Basarab was merely a
boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were ...
(of the
Craiovești The House of Craiovești (), later House of Brâncovenești (), was a boyar family in Wallachia who gave the country several of its Princes and held the title of Ban of Oltenia (whether of Strehaia or Craiova) for ca. 60 years. History The first m ...
family) and one not related to previous Princes (although it seems that a similar point can be made about such rulers as Michael the Brave). The reason for this choice has been explained as a reaction of indigenous boyars against competition from newly infiltrated Greeks and
Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...
ines. It may also be because of these special circumstances that Matei used the surname "
Basarab The House of Basarab (also Bazarab or Bazaraad, ro, Basarab ) was a ruling family of debated Cuman origin, Terterids and Shishmanids) and the Wallachian dynasty (Basarabids). They also played an active role in Byzantium, Hungary and Serbia, wi ...
" – associated as it is with a fabricated legitimate
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, populat ...
. Matei Basarab's rule also coincides with the last stage in the decay of the lesser nobility, the result of political pressure from boyars and drastic economical changes (the revolt of the seimeni military under
Constantin Șerban Constantin II Șerban (? – 1682) was Prince of Wallachia between 1654 and 1658, illegitimate son to Radu Şerban. According to custom, being born out of wedlock did not disqualify Constantin from becoming prince. Reign His rule saw the r ...
probably has this as its main cause). It seems that the Prince was planning emancipation from Ottoman rule, as well as domination over Moldavia. He maintained a close relationship with the
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 A ...
n
ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...
George II Rákóczi, an ambitious, stronger, and more autonomous subject of the
Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
. He was married to Elena Năsturel.


Laws and reforms

Matei Basarab and his contemporary, the Moldavian
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. ...
Vasile Lupu Lupu Coci, known as Vasile Lupu (; 1595–1661), was a Voivode of Moldavia of Albanian origin between 1634 and 1653. Lupu had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and managed to hold it for twenty years. Va ...
are credited with introducing the first written laws of the two Principalities. However, these two virtually identical sets of laws do not go against tradition, being merely the
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 ...
translation of
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...
(''pravile''), alluded to in documents of the previous decades. The two collections under Matei Basarab are '' Pravila de la Govora'' ("The Govora Code") in 1640 and ''Pravila lui Matei Basarab'' ("Matei Basarab's Code"; also known as '' Îndreptarea Legii'' – "The Re-shaping of Laws") in 1652.


References

* Gheorghe I. Brătianu, ''Sfatul domnesc și Adunarea Stǎrilor în Principatele Române'', Bucharest, 1995 {{DEFAULTSORT:Basarab, Matei People from Olt County Rulers of Wallachia 1588 births 1654 deaths 17th-century Romanian people