
The House of Craiovești (), later
House of Brâncovenești (), was a
boyar
A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...
family in
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
who gave the country several of its
Princes
A prince is a Monarch, 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 title, hereditary, in some ...
and held the title of
Ban of
Oltenia
Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...
(whether of
Strehaia
Strehaia () is a town in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania. It is situated on the Motru (river), Motru River valley, in the eastern part of the county. Nine villages are administered by the town: Ciochiuța, Comanda, Hurducești, Lunca Banului, ...
or
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia.
It i ...
) for ca. 60 years.
History
The first member to rise to prominence was a certain Neagoe, a member of the ''
Sfat'' who became Ban of Strehaia under
Basarab Țepeluș cel Tânăr (sometime after 1477). His son
Pârvu Craiovescu (d. 1512), a ''
Great Vornic'', was the father of
Neagoe Basarab
Neagoe Basarab (; – 15 September 1521) was the Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia between 1512 and 1521. Born into the boyar family of the Craiovești (his reign marks the climax of the family's political influence) as the son of Pârvu Craioves ...
– who became Prince of Wallachia in 1512 after replacing
Vlad cel Tânăr
Vlad V cel Tânăr (Vlad V the Younger or "''Vladuț''"; 1488 – 23 January 1512) was the Prince of Wallachia (1510–1512). He took the throne from Mircea III Dracul on 8 April 1510 with the help of the Ottomans and with the support of the Cra ...
(who had begun opposing the family's political influence); in the late 15th century, the Craiovești had been a leading and extremely rich dynasty, virtually independent rulers of Oltenia, regional allies of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
in front of princely authority, builders of churches on
Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism.
The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...
, and administrators of the Ottoman
customs
Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...
in
Vidin (present-day
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
). After an Ottoman occupation in the early 1520s convinced the Craiovești to rally behind their Prince
Radu de la Afumați, their agreement with
Sultan
Sultan (; ', ) 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 came to be use ...
Süleyman the Magnificent brought about Radu's defeat and submission.
The Oltenian line of succession of the Craiovești was ended by
Vlad Înecatul, who used this as a means to quell boyar rebellions.
Through the closely related Brâncovenești, the family once again rose to the throne: first with
Matei Basarab
Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was the voivode (prince) of Wallachia from 1632 to 1654.
Reign
Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1 ...
(ruled 1632–1654), and a second time with
Constantin Brâncoveanu (ruled 1688–1714). Although also related to the
Cantacuzino family, the Brâncovenești entered a bloody feud with the latter, centered on mutual denunciations for
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
to the Ottoman overlord – in reality, Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu's secret negotiations with the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
and
Peter the Great
Peter I (, ;
– ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
's
Imperial Russia
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* ...
were continued (after his execution in
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
) by his rival and successor
Ștefan Cantacuzino
Ștefan Cantacuzino, (c. 1675 – 7 June 1716) was a Prince of Wallachia between April 1714 and January 21, 1716, the son of '' stolnic'' Constantin Cantacuzino. He was married to Păuna Greceanu-Cantacuzino.
Life
Ștefan was involved in his ...
.
The latter's downfall brought the establishment of
Phanariote rules, enforced as a measure of security by
Sultan
Sultan (; ', ) 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 came to be use ...
Ahmed III. The Brâncovenești-Cantacuzino conflict is mirrored in
Dimitrie Cantemir
Dimitrie or Demetrius; Cantemir (; ; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Moldavian prince, statesman, and man of letters. He twice served as voivode of Moldavia (March–April 1693 and 1710–1711). Durin ...
's ''Historia Hieroglyphica'' (a work which takes the Cantacuzinos' side).
Members of the family remained present in the political life of Wallachia throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, and were seated in the
Divan
A divan or diwan (, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan'').
Etymology
The word, recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental cou ...
among the few pro-Russian boyar families. Ban
Grigore Brâncoveanu was the leader of the
regency
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
council after the death of Prince
Alexander Soutzos (in 1821) – he approached the
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
leader of Oltenian
pandurs,
Tudor Vladimirescu, in an attempt to block
Scarlat Callimachi's ascension to the throne, thus providing the context for the
anti-Phanariote uprising of that year (he also welcomed Russian occupation during the
War of 1828–1829).
Its last representative, Zoe Brâncoveanu, born
Mavrocordato and adopted by Ban Grigore in 1820, married Prince
Gheorghe Bibescu – despite their
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...
, the patrimony (of ''Basarab-Brâncoveanu'') was passed on to the
Bibescu family through the son of Gheorghe and Zoe, Prince
Grégoire Bibesco-Bassaraba (the father of
Anna de Noailles).
[Djuvara, p.347]
Notes
References
*
Neagu Djuvara, ''Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne'', Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995
*Ștefan Ștefănescu, ''Istoria medie a României'', Vol. I, Bucharest, 1991
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