This is a list of princes 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 ...

, from the first mention of a medieval polity situated between the

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ro, Carpații Meridionali ; hu, Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the P ...

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 inform ...

" (from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power of the ...

''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 opera ...

, dominated by the

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 were sec ...

, 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 The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its hei ...

; 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 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. ...

("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, traditional ...

, the term

Domn ''Domnitor'' (Romanian Plural, 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 language ...

(from the

dominus Dominus or domini may refer to: * Dominus (title), a title of sovereignty, clergy and other uses Art, entertainment, and media * Dominus (band), a Danish death metal band * Dominus (DC Comics), an alien character in DC Comics * Dominus (Marv ...

'') 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 Bezerenbam (or Bazaram-ban) and Mișelav were the Wallachian (Romanian) leadersXenopol, p. 552.Djuvara, cited article. (the former a " ban" according to Xenopol, Hasdeu and Constantin C. Giurescu) mentioned in 1241, in the Persian chronicle Jāmi� ...

Seneslau Seneslau, also Seneslav or Stănislau, was a Vlach ''voivode'' 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 of Sev ...

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 o ...

Farcaș Farcaș, also Farkas, Farkaș or Farcas, 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 Hospitalle ...

Litovoi Litovoi, also Litvoy, was a Vlach/Romanian ''voivode'' in the 13th century whose territory comprised northern Oltenia in today's Romania. He is mentioned for the first time in the Diploma of the Joannites issued by king Béla IV of Hungary (1235� ...

Bărbat Bărbat was the brother and successor of ''voivode'' Litovoi whose territory had comprised northern Oltenia (Romania). War with Hungary In 1277 (or between 1277 and 1280), Litovoi renounced fealty to king Ladislaus IV of Hungary (1272–1290) ...

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 su ...

House of Basarab

House of
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 ...
, with interventions of Bogdan-Muşat and
Movilești The House of Movileşti, also Movilă or Moghilă ( pl, Mohyła, Cyrillic: Могила), was a family of boyars in the principality of Moldavia, which became related through marriage with the Muşatin family – the traditional House of Moldavi ...
dynasties

Pre-Phanariote period

The Ottoman influence in the Wallachian rulers' election grows from the mid-17th century onward. From 1659, the rulers elected are mostly scions of Greek families, and increasingly less linked to the original Wallachian ruling family. The process reached its peak with the called Phanariote period (1715-1859), where, between the rulers, there was already no connection (or a very distant one) with the dynasty of Basarab.

Various dynasties

Phanariotes (1715–1821)

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
Romania history-related lists

Lists of princes House of Dănești House of Drăculești Lists of Romanian monarchs