Ștefan Răzvan (died December 1595) was a
Voivode (
Prince) of
Moldavia (between 24 April 1595 and August 1595) of
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
descent from the historical state of
Wallachia.
Biography
The father of Ștefan Răzvan was a
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
Roma from the
Ottoman Empire who emigrated north of
Danube, in Wallachia, while his mother was a
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 ...
peasant from the new country of settlement. At that time, all the Romani people living in the Romanian states of Wallachia and Moldavia were slaves. The rule was applied also to any Romani immigrants, excepting the Ottoman
citizen
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
s. Benefiting of this exception, the father and later the son could remain free and become an active part in the local society.
Ștefan Răzvan appears as a political player at the beginning of
Michael the Brave's rule in Wallachia (1593–1601), as a close noble ally of the Wallachian Prince. He previously converted from
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
to
Christianity, attracting the wrath of the Ottomans. He had the
boyar
A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...
social status and he was a cultured person. Later, he becomes involved in the politics of the neighbouring Romanian country of Moldavia, where he was appointed as part of the Princely council, with the title of
hatman
( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders.
Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military ...
(second in rank in the army after the Prince), during the reign of
Aaron the Tyrant. He led the campaigns of the Moldavian army against
Tighina,
Chilia,
Cetatea Albă and Northern
Dobruja, then occupied by the Ottomans. Ștefan became very popular among the soldiers and, with their support and with the help of the
Transylvanian
Prince Sigismund Báthory, he ousted Aaron the Tyrant (whose image was eroded among the population), on 24 April 1595.
His leadership did not last long, because the neighboring political power, the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth did not agree with Ștefan Răzvan's alliance with Transylvania and Wallachia. They invaded Moldavia in August, bringing
Ieremia Movilă
Ieremia Movilă ( pl, Jeremi Mohyła uk, Єремія Могила), (c. 1555 – 10 July 1606) was a Voivode (Prince) of Moldavia between August 1595 and May 1600, and again between September 1600 and July 10, 1606.
Rule
A boyar of the Movile ...
as the Prince accepted by the Poles. The decisive battle was on the
Suceava's plains (on 3 December 1595), concluded, after three hours of fight, with the Polish victory. Ștefan fled towards Transylvania, but he was captured and
impaled.
References
Bibliography
*''Istoria și tradițiile minorității rromani'', p. 28, 2005, Sigma, Bucharest,
Delia Grigore, Petre Petcuț and Mariana Sandu
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Razvan, Stefan
Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Islam
Romanian Romani people
Romani Christians
Romani politicians
Rulers of Moldavia
1595 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Romanian former Muslims
People executed by impalement
People of the Long Turkish War