Seimeni (plural of ''Seimen'') designates the group of

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...

-armed infantry

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

charged with guarding the ''

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. ...

'' (ruler) and his court in 17th and 18th century

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 ...

and

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 ...

. They were mostly of

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

and other

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

origin. The term is of Turkish origin: ''seğmen'' means "young armed man". In modern transcriptions of Slavonic, it may also appear as ''simén'' (plural: ''siméni'') or ''siimén'' (''siiméni''). Menaced by the growing privileges 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 were sec ...

and threatened to lose land grants or be turned into

serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

, the Wallachian ''seimeni'' rebelled in 1655, being crushed after

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 ...

Constantin Şerban Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name. It can also be a surname. For a list of notable people called Constantin, see Constantine (name). See also * Constantine (name) * Konstantin The first name Konsta ...

enlisted the help of

George II Rákóczi en, George II Rákóczi, house=Rákóczi, father=, mother=Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, religion=CalvinismGeorge II Rákóczi (30 January 1621 – 7 June 1660), was a Hungarian nobleman, Prince of Transylvania (1648-1660), the eldest son of George I ...

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 ...

, as well as that of Moldavia's

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 ...

Gheorghe Ştefan Gheorghe is a Romanian given name and surname. It is a variant of George, also a name in Romanian but with soft Gs. It may refer to: Given name * Gheorghe Adamescu * Gheorghe Albu * Gheorghe Alexandrescu * Gheorghe Andriev * Gheorghe Apostol ...

. After exercising a rule of terror 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 ...

, capturing and executing several

, they were decisively defeated by Rákóczi on June 26, 1655, in a battle on the

Teleajen River The Teleajen is a left tributary of the river Prahova in southern Romania. Its source is at elevation in the Ciucaș Mountains, north of Roșu Peak and the locality of Cheia. Upstream from its confluence with the Gropșoarele in Cheia, it is al ...

References

Literature

Gheorghe I. Brătianu Gheorghe (George) I. Brătianu (January 28 1898 – April 23–27, 1953) was a Romanian politician and historian. A member of the Brătianu family and initially affiliated with the National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875), National Liberal Par ...

, ''Sfatul domnesc și Adunarea Stărilor in Principatele Române'', Bucharest, 1995 *

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'', Bucharest, 1966, p. 73 {{Authority control Social history of Romania Infantry units and formations Mercenary units and formations Romanian words and phrases Turkish words and phrases History of Wallachia (1512–1714) History of the Serbs Serbian mercenaries Military history of Romania Serbs from the Ottoman Empire