Nicholas Alexander ( ro, Nicolae Alexandru), (died November 1364) 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 ...

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 ...

(c. 1352 – November 1364), after having been co-ruler to his father

Basarab I Basarab I (), also known as Basarab the Founder ( ro, Basarab Întemeietorul; c. 1270 – 1351/1352), was a ''voivode'' and later the first independent ruler of Wallachia who lived in the first half of the . Many details of his life are uncerta ...

Reign

The tombstone of NIcholas Alexander of Wallachia

In the year 1359, he founded the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia. After initially resisting pressures to become the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

, he yielded to King

Louis I Louis I may refer to: * Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor * Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140) * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois ...

in 1354, and recognized the right of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to establish missions in his principality, as well as the privilege of Saxon traders from

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...

to transit Wallachia without paying

duties A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...

. In 1355, Nicolae Alexandru and the King of Hungary reached an agreement in return for Severin. Nicholas Alexander died in 16 November 1364 and he was buried in

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 amon ...

. His epitaph reads: :''In the 16th day of November died the great and sole ruler Io Nicholas Alexander voivode, son of great Basarab, in 6873 indiction 3. Memory eternal.''

Family

Firstly, he married Lady Maria, of the magyar Lackfi family located 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 ...

''.The couple had two children: *Prince Voislav ( d. January 1366) *Princesa Elizabeth of Wallachia (1340– 1369), who married ''

Duke of Opole The following is a list of monarchs who used the title Duke of Opole and controlled the city and the surrounding area either directly or indirectly (see also Duchy of Opole). Piast dynasty * 1163-1173 Bolesław I the Tall (Bolesław Wysoki), Du ...

'' Vladislaus II and had three daughters. Through Elizabeth's youngest daughter, Katarina of Oppole, Nicolas Alexander become ancestor for all European royal families including

Romanian royal family The Romanian royal family ( ro, Familia regală a României) was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Romania, a constitutional monarchy in Central-Eastern Europe. The kingdom existed from 1881, when Carol I of Romania was proclaimed king, until ...

. His second wife was

Clara Dobokai Clara Dobokai (before 1330 – after 1370) was the second wife of Nicholas Alexander, Voivode of Wallachia. Origins Clara was the daughter of a Hungarian nobleman, John Dobokai, whose domains were located in Transylvania. Her mother's name an ...

, a Catholic

noblewoman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteri ...

from Hungary.The marriage produced three children: * Princess Ana of Wallachia, the Empress Consort of Bulgaria; married her cousin '' Tsar Ivan Sratsimir of Bulgaria'' and had three children, including the next tsar, Prince Constantine * ''Voievode'' Radu I of Wallachia, succed his half brother

Vladislav Vladislav ( be, Уладзіслаў (', '); pl, Władysław, ; Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, sh-Cyrl, Владислав) is a male given name of Slavic origin. Variations include ''Volodislav'', ''Vlastislav'' and ''Vlaslav' ...

as voievode * Princess Anna of Wallachia, the Empress Consort of Serbia; married Emperor Stefan Uroš V The mother of

Vladislav I of Wallachia Vladislav I or Vladimareïo/ Vila·Dumas of the Basarab dynasty, also known as Vlaicu or Vlaicu-Vodă, was the Voivode of Wallachia between 1364 and 1377. He was the son of Nicholas Alexander of Wallachia and Clara Dobokai. In February 136 ...

may be Clara Dobokai.

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Constantin C. Giurescu, ''Istoria Românilor'', vol. I, Ed. ALL Educațional, București, 2003. * Daniel Barbu, ''Sur le double nom du prince de Valachie Nicolas-Alexandre'', Revue Roumaine d’Histoire XXV, no. 4, 1986. , - 1364 deaths Rulers of Wallachia Year of birth unknown House of Basarab People associated with Koutloumousiou Monastery {{europe-noble-stub