Nicholas Mavrocordatos
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Nicholas Mavrocordatos ( el, Νικόλαος Μαυροκορδάτος, ro, Nicolae Mavrocordat; May 3, 1670September 3, 1730) was a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
member of the
Mavrocordatos The House of Mavrocordatos (also Mavrocordato, Mavrokordatos, Mavrocordat, Mavrogordato or Maurogordato; el, Μαυροκορδάτος) is the name of a family of Phanariot Greeks originally from Chios, a branch of which was distinguished in the ...
family, Grand Dragoman to the Divan (1697), and consequently the first
Phanariote Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumeni ...
Hospodar Hospodar or gospodar is a term of Slavonic origin, meaning "lord" or " master". Etymology and Slavic usage In the Slavonic language, ''hospodar'' is usually applied to the master/owner of a house or other properties and also the head of a family. ...
of the Danubian Principalities,
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 ...
, 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 ...
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 ...
(both on two occasions). He was succeeded as Grand Dragoman (1709) by his brother John Mavrocordato (Ioan), who was for a short while hospodar in both Wallachia and Moldavia.


Reigns

Mavrocordatos was born in
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 (" ...
. Deposed as Prince (Hospodar & Voievode) of Moldavia in favor of
Dimitrie Cantemir Dimitrie or Demetrius Cantemir (, russian: Дмитрий Кантемир; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Romanian prince, statesman, and man of letters, regarded as one of the most significant e ...
, owing to the suspicions of his Ottoman overlord,
Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
Ahmed III, he was restored in 1711 (after Cantemir's rebellion during the Russo-Turkish War of 1710-1711), and, for this second rule, is considered the first in a line of Phanariotes in Moldavia (indicating that 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 opera ...
by the traditional Moldavian council of
boyars 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 wer ...
was no longer enforced). Soon afterwards, he was replaced by
Mihai Racoviță Mihai or Mihail Racoviță (c. 1660 – July 1744) was a Prince of Moldavia on three separate occasions (September 1703 – February 23, 1705; July 31, 1707 – October 28, 1709; January 5, 1716 – October 1726) and Prince of Wallachia on two oc ...
and became ruler of Wallachia, being thus the first Phanariote in that country – after 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 ...
decided to regulate the same system following the rebellion of
Ștefan Cantacuzino Ștefan Cantacuzino ( el, Στέφανος Καντακουζηνός, ''Stephanos Kantakouzinos''), (c. 1675 – 7 June 1716) was a Prince of Wallachia between April 1714 and January 21, 1716, the son of ''stolnic'' Constantin Cantacuzino. He w ...
. According to
Anton Maria Del Chiaro Anton-Maria Del Chiaro (born between 1660 and 1680) was a Florentine Italian secretary of Constantin Brancoveanu, the Prince of Wallachia. He is the author of a book on the history of Wallachia of his time, called ''Istoria delle moderne rivoluz ...
, the Florentine secretary to
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 ...
(predecessor and rival of Ștefan Cantacuzino), Mavrocordatos
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
d and otherwise persecuted Wallachian boyars who had supported the Cantacuzinos, and also ordered the execution of Ștefan's son. He was also noted for awarding
tax exemption Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
s to the majority of high-ranking boyars, as one of the first rulers to concede to the growth of
monetary economy Monetary economics is the branch of economics that studies the different competing theories of money: it provides a framework for analyzing money and considers its functions (such as medium of exchange, store of value and unit of account), and it ...
and the decay of
manorialism Manorialism, also known as the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes forti ...
. In 1716, during the Austro-Turkish War, Mavrocordatos attempted to resist
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
invasion, but was betrayed by his boyars and had to flee to the Ottoman-held town of
Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; bg, Русе ) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of ...
. He returned to
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 of ...
with Ottoman assistance, and executed a number of his adversaries, including Lupu Costachi, but was deposed by the troops of
Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...
, and held prisoner in
Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...
. Replaced by his brother John until 1719, he was restored after the Peace of Passarowitz through which the country lost its westernmost part,
Oltenia Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...
, to the Habsburgs; Nicholas' second ascension followed a period of major distress, including a
bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...
outbreak and a major fire in Bucharest (it is possible that John himself had died as a result of the epidemic). Prince Nicholas died while in office in Bucharest; he was succeeded as prince of Wallachia in 1730 by his son
Constantine Mavrocordatos Constantine Mavrocordatos (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Μαυροκορδάτος, Romanian: ''Constantin Mavrocordat''; February 27, 1711November 23, 1769) was a Greek noble who served as Prince of Wallachia and Prince of Moldavia at several ...
, who would rule Wallachia six times and Moldavia five times until 1769.


Cultural achievements

Nicholas Mavrocordatos was the first in a line of rulers appointed directly by 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 ...
. He introduced Greek manners, the
Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...
and Greek costume, and set up a splendid court on the
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 ...
model. At the same time, Mavrocordatos was influenced by the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
, the founder of libraries, the builder of the monumental
Văcărești Monastery Văcăreşti may refer to several entities in Romania: *Văcărescu family of boyars *Văcărești, Bucharest *Văcăreşti Monastery *Văcăreşti prison *Văcărești, Dâmbovița, a commune in Dâmboviţa County *Văcăreşti, a village in Mihă ...
and of the Stavropoleos Church, and himself the author of an original work entitled ''Peri kathekonton / Liber de Officiis'' (Bucharest, 1719). He wrote also the first Greek novel, ''Philotheou Parerga / The Leisures of Philotheos''. A
polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all Eu ...
, he surrounded himself with
savants Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...
from several parts of Europe, including the
Daniel de Fonseca Daniel de Fonseca (1672 - ) was a distinguished Portuguese people, Portuguese Marrano Jews, Jew who served as court physician and advisor to several notable European rulers. He used his influence to help secure better treatment of several Jewish co ...
and Stephan Bergler; his library was among the continent's most treasured. Mavrocordatos engaged in a correspondence with major religious figures of his time, including Jean Leclerc,
William Wake William Wake (26 January 165724 January 1737) was a priest in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 until his death in 1737. Life Wake was born in Blandford Forum, Dorset, and educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He took ...
,
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, and Chrysanthus,
Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem , image = , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Coat of arms , abbreviation = , type = , main_classification = , orientation = , scripture = ...
; the first volume written by an author from the Danubian Principalities to be published in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
was Mavrocordatos', and it is during his last rule in Wallachia that a more intimate knowledge of politics and society in the
Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...
became evident in historical records kept by locals (the
chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
r Radu Popescu recorded the accession of
George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...
as
King of Great Britain The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...
). He died in
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 of ...
, aged 60.


Literature

*
Constantin C. Giurescu Constantin C. Giurescu (; 26 October 1901 – 13 November 1977) was a Romanian historian, member of the Romanian Academy, and professor at the University of Bucharest. Born in Focșani, son of historian Constantin Giurescu (historian), Constant ...
, ''Istoria Bucureștilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre.'' Ed. Pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1966, p. 94-96. *
Neagu Djuvara Neagu Bunea Djuvara (; 18 August 1916 – 25 January 2018) was a Romanian historian, essayist, philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat. Biography Early life A native of Bucharest, he was descended from an aristocratic Aromanian family ...
, ''Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne.'' Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995, p. 31, 47f., 69, 92. * Paul Cernovodeanu
"București-Canterbury via Amesterdam"
in ''Magazin Istoric'', September 1997. *
Anton Maria Del Chiaro Anton-Maria Del Chiaro (born between 1660 and 1680) was a Florentine Italian secretary of Constantin Brancoveanu, the Prince of Wallachia. He is the author of a book on the history of Wallachia of his time, called ''Istoria delle moderne rivoluz ...

''Revoluțiile Valahiei''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mavrocordatos, Nicholas 1670 births 1730 deaths 17th-century Greek people 18th-century Greek people 18th-century deaths from plague (disease) Dragomans of the Porte
Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...
Early Modern Romanian writers Rulers of Wallachia Rulers of Moldavia Age of Enlightenment Politicians from Istanbul Rulers of Moldavia and Wallachia Constantinopolitan Greeks Writers from Istanbul