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Gheorghe Ștefan (István Görgicze, seldom referred to as ''Burduja''; died 1668) was the
voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...
(
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. The ...
) of
Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
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 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 ...
Dumitrașcu Ceaur; Gheorghe Ștefan was
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
('' logofăt'') 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 In classical antiquity and Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia. Its population, the ...
(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 Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...
and
Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
ine retinue, as well as an alleged dishonoring of his wife by the Prince, he allied himself with
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 ...
n Prince
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 ...
and
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
n ruler George II Rákóczi. He managed to expel Vasile Lupu, but the latter was helped to regain his position by
Bohdan Khmelnytsky Zynoviy Bohdan Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky of the Abdank coat of arms (Ruthenian language, Ruthenian: Ѕѣнові Богданъ Хмелнiцкiи; modern , Polish language, Polish: ; 15956 August 1657) was a Ruthenian nobility, Ruthenian noble ...
'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. Gheorghe Ştefan regained
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
and remained on the throne, making sure that the Ottoman power was appeased - he bought his power 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 ...
, 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'' in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
), in which they saw the seeds of emancipation. The
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 ...
Mehmed Dördüncü was irritated further by the active part Moldavia played in Polish matters during The Deluge, in the same camp as
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, the
Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate (; Cossack Hetmanate#Name, see other names), officially the Zaporozhian Host (; ), was a Ukrainian Cossacks, Cossack state. Its territory was located mostly in central Ukraine, as well as in parts of Belarus and southwest ...
,
Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
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 Iași County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with the administrative seat at Iași. It is the most populous county in Romania, after the Municipality of Bucharest (which has the same administrative level as that of a cou ...
), being discarded from the alliance in favor of Mihnea III 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 (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
lands (1662), Brandenburg, Muscovy and Sweden (1665), seeking to find backing for his return. Severely ill and bankrupt, he ended his life in
Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
. His remains were brought back by his wife, and are thought to be buried at Cașin Monastery.


References


Bibliography

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External links


Mek.oszk.hu



Archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gheorghe Stefan 1668 deaths Monarchs of Moldavia Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown Date of death unknown 17th-century Moldavian people Rebel princes