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 ...

George Ducas (

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 ...

: ''Γεώργιος Δούκας'', Romanian: ''Gheorghe Duca'') (c. 1620 – 31 March 1685) was three times

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. T ...

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

(September 1665 – May 1666, November 1668 – 20 August 1672, November 1678 – January 1684) and one time

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 ...

(1673 – 29 November 1678). He was married to Anastasiya Dabizha, the daughter of

Eustratie Dabija Eustratie (or Istrate) "the Drunk"https://www.impact.ro/eustratie-cel-betiv-al-moldovei-povestea-celui-mai-ciudat-domnitor-roman-putea-ajunge-un-nume-mare-in-istorie-dar-nu-lasa-ulcica-din-mana-409897.html Dabija (? – 11 September 1665) was Prin ...

, and later to Dafina Doamna; George Ducas fathered Constantine Ducas.

First two rules in Moldavia

Gheorghe Duca was of Albanian origin and like many others of his generation who had migrated to the Danubian principalities he rose thanks to his links to other Albanians of high positions. In his youth, another Albanian,

Vasile Lupu Lupu Coci, known as Vasile Lupu (; 1595–1661), was a Voivode of Moldavia of Albanian origin between 1634 and 1653. Lupu had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and managed to hold it for twenty years. Va ...

(voivode of Moldavia) took him to his court where Duca was raised. Supported by Dafina Doamna and some of 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 wer ...

, he came to the throne in Iaşi after Dabija's death, but was soon ousted after his opponents appealed to the Ottomans, unjustly claiming Duca's rule was corrupt. He contracted large debts in order to reclaim the throne, which he managed to following Iliaș Alexandru's rule. The policy of increased taxation led to the uprising of Mihalcea Hâncu in October 1671, crushed the next year after Ducas received Ottoman help. But, as Ducas failed to provide supplies needed for the

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

against the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

, with the Sultan

Mehmed IV Mehmed IV ( ota, محمد رابع, Meḥmed-i rābi; tr, IV. Mehmed; 2 January 1642 – 6 January 1693) also known as Mehmed the Hunter ( tr, Avcı Mehmed) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. He came to the throne at the a ...

's life placed in peril at the attack of

Kamianets-Podilskyi Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...

, the Turks swiftly replaced him with Ștefan Petriceicu.

Rule in Wallachia

In 1674, through the intervention of the Cantacuzino boyars, he was awarded the throne 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 ...

; soon however, the alliance between the Cantacuzinos and Ducas crumbled, the prince being replaced by

Șerban Cantacuzino Șerban Cantacuzino (), (1634/1640 – 29 October 1688) was a Prince of Wallachia between 1678 and 1688. Life and career Cantacuzino took part in the Ottoman campaign which ended in their defeat at the Battle of Vienna. According to Gaster (19 ...

Last rule in Moldavia and rule in Right-bank Ukraine

He was soon back on the Moldavian throne, following Antonie Ruset (Rosetti)'s reign. George Ducas had plans of extending his rule over

right-bank Ukraine Right-bank Ukraine ( uk , Правобережна Україна, ''Pravoberezhna Ukrayina''; russian: Правобережная Украина, ''Pravoberezhnaya Ukraina''; pl, Prawobrzeżna Ukraina, sk, Pravobrežná Ukrajina, hu, Jobb p ...

, where Ottoman gains had started with the acquisition of

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

in 1672. His overlord appointed him as hetman over the newly gained regions, in 1680 or 1681, after much bribery strained the Moldavian

treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

as much as the request that Ducas had placed on the taxed categories that they contribute to his daughter's

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

. In 1683, Ducas joined the Ottomans in their march and the Battle of Vienna. Helped by his absence and aware of the complete failure of the Ottoman plans, boyars throughout the land rebelled, following Ștefan Petriceicu's command, and welcomed the invading Poles and Cossacks. On his way back, Ducas was captured on 25 December 1683 and sent to a prison in Poland, where he died one year later.

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ducas, George 1685 deaths Rulers of Moldavia Rulers of Wallachia People of the Great Turkish War Rulers of Moldavia and Wallachia 17th-century monarchs in Europe Romanian people of Albanian descent Year of birth unknown