The House of Racoviță (anglicized ''Racovitza'') was a family 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 ...

n and

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 ...

boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russian nobility, Russia), Boyars of Moldavia and Wallach ...

which gave the Danubian Principalities several ''

hospodar ''Gospodar'' or ''hospodar'', also ''gospodin'' as a diminutive, is a term of Slavic origin, meaning "lord" or " master". The compound (, , , sh-Latn-Cyrl, gospodar, господар, ) is a derivative of ''gospod'' / ''gospodin'', , or when spe ...

s'', becoming influential within 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 ...

and the Phanariote kinship network.

History

Their ancestors became boyars under Alexandru Lăpușneanu (r. 1552–61; 1564–68). A member of the family was mentioned in a

chrysobull A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine emperors and monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Description A golden bull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors. It was later used by monarchs in Europe ...

dated 7 October 1487. The name is Slavic (''Rakovica'', meaning "crab"). The family was partially Hellenized. One of its branches remained present inside

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. By the 17th century, the family was one of the leading families in the region. It later managed to penetrate into the Phanariote nucleus 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 ...

, which facilitated and increased their chances to occupy the thrones in their native country, and later to successfully maintain their positions. It remained influential in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

Notable members

* Mihai Racoviță (c. 1660–1744), Prince of Moldavia and Wallachia * Constantin Racoviță (1699–1764), Prince of Moldavia and Wallachia * Ștefan Racoviță (1713–1782), Prince of Wallachia * Nicolae Gr. Racoviță (1835–1894), Romanian politician * Emil Racoviță (1868–1947), Romanian biologist, zoologist, and explorer * (1868–1954), Romanian general * Ioan Mihail Racoviță (1889–1954), Romanian general in World War II * (1889–1954), Romanian politician, Mayor of Iași * (1890–1957), Romanian diplomat and general

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Racovita Romanian people of Greek descent Phanariotes Romanian boyar families Romanian-language surnames Moldavian nobility People from the Ottoman Empire of Romanian descent