Gheorghe Ștefan
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Gheorghe Ștefan (István Görgicze, seldom referred to as ''Burduja''; died 1668 in
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
) was Voivode ( Prince) of Moldavia between 13 April and 8 May 1653, and again from 16 July 1653 to 13 March 1658; he was the son of
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 ...
Dumitrașcu Ceaur; Gheorghe Ștefan was
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
(''
logofăt Logothete ( el, λογοθέτης, ''logothétēs'', pl. λογοθέται, ''logothétai''; Med. la, logotheta, pl. ''logothetae''; bg, логотет; it, logoteta; ro, logofăt; sr, логотет, ''logotet'') was an administrative title ...
'') during the reign of Vasile Lupu. His original name was István Görgicze and is mentioned by this name in many sources. However, due to the difficulty of pronouncing his surname and for certain sources to simplify it, they renamed him Georghe Stephan, referring to the origin of his ancestors from medieval Georgia (Imereti area) or Colchis (Kolkhis, land of the legendary Golden Fleece). Nevertheless, all name variations he is mentioned by (Gorgidze, Georgidze, Gergidze, Gergicze, Girgice, Georgicze) mean son of George, representing a historical connection to old Caucasian roots. See sources below.


Biography

Citing Vasile's reliance on his Greek and Levantine retinue, as well as an alleged dishonoring of his wife by the Prince, he allied himself with Wallachian Prince Matei Basarab and Transylvanian ruler
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 ...
. He managed to expel Vasile Lupu, but the latter was helped to regain his position by
Bohdan Khmelnytsky Bohdan Zynovii Mykhailovych Khmelnytskyi ( Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern ua, Богдан Зиновій Михайлович Хмельницький; 6 August 1657) was a Ukrainian military commander and ...
's force (under the command of the Hetman's son Tymofiy/Tymish), sent to Moldavia to depose him. Tymish and Lupu followed him to Wallachia, but their armies were crushed by Matei Basarab in the
Battle of Finta The Battle of Finta (27 May 1653) was a confrontation between Prince Matei Basarab's Wallachian army and a combined Moldavian– Cossack–Tatar force under Prince Vasile Lupu and Tymofiy Khmelnytsky. It took place around Finta, now a commune in ...
. Gheorghe Ştefan regained
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
and remained on the throne, making sure that the Ottoman power was appeased - he bought his power in Constantinople, having to increase taxes in order to cover the expenses, and pay for the maintenance of his large mercenary force. The Turks grew weary of Gheorghe Ștefan's natural alliance with Transylvania and Wallachia (cemented in 1655 by the help he offered to Constantin Șerban in crushing the rebellion of the ''
seimeni Seimeni (plural of ''Seimen'') designates the group of flintlock-armed infantry mercenaries charged with guarding the ''hospodar'' (ruler) and his court in 17th and 18th century Wallachia and Moldavia. They were mostly of Serb and other Balkan or ...
'' in Bucharest), in which they saw the seeds of emancipation. The
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 ...
Mehmed Dördüncü was irritated further by the active part Moldavia played in
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
matters during The Deluge, in the same camp as
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, the Cossack Hetmanate, Brandenburg and Wallachia. Mehmed understood this to be a step towards the challenge of his own rule: in 1658, he deposed all three subject rulers (Rákóczi, Gheorghe Ștefan, Constantin Șerban), bringing Gheorghe I Ghica as replacement in Iași. All three decided to resist, but Gheorghe Ștefan was defeated at Strunga ( Iași County), being discarded from the alliance in favor of
Mihnea III Mihnea III Radu ( tr, Radu Gioan Bey; 1613 – 5 April 1660), was a Prince of Moldavia, and ruler of Wallachia from March 1658 to November 1659. His father was alleged to have been the Voivode Radu Mihnea. Family Ancestry claims Radu's ancestry ...
of Wallachia. After the unsuccessful war, he found friends and supporters in the Kingdom of Hungary, where he became a Hungarian noble by law according to the Act CXXXIII of 1659 (4. §). The Prince wandered through Poland and
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 ...
lands (1662), Brandenburg,
Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 * Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...
and Sweden (1665), seeking to find backing for his return. Severely ill and bankrupt, he ended his life in Pomerania. His remains were brought back by his wife, and are thought to be buried at
Cașin Cașin is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hunga ...
Monastery.


References


Bibliography

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External links


Mek.oszk.hu



Archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gheorghe Stefan 1668 deaths Rulers of Moldavia Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown Date of death unknown