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69-683: The Hurmuzachi family ( Hurmuzaki , Hurmuzache ) is a Romanian noble family of Greek origin , whose members were noted politicians, jurists and historians in the Duchy of Bukovina and held the title of Baron in the Austro-Hungarian Empire . During the 17th-19th centuries they were associated with the Cernăuca estate in Bukovina . The most prominent members were the Hurmuzachi brothers . Their father

138-872: A "noble" and to mean simply "large landowner". Cuza's Constitution (known as the Statut ) of 1864 deprived the boyars from the legal privileges and the ranks officially disappeared, but, through their wealth, they retained their economic and political influence, particularly through the electoral system of census suffrage . Some of the lower boyars joined the bourgeoisie involved in commerce and industry. A number of 2000 large landowners held over 3 million hectares or about 38% of all arable land. Most of these boyars no longer took any part in managing their estates, but rather lived in Bucharest or in Western Europe (particularly France, Italy and Switzerland). They leased their estates for

207-601: A different class existed of landlords without a boyar title, called cneji or judeci in Wallachia and nemeși in Moldavia. They were however not tax-exempt like the boyars. The upper boyars (known as vlastelin in Wallachia) had to supply the hospodar with a number of warriors proportional to the number of villages they owned. Some boyars were court officials , the office being called dregătorie , while others were boyars without

276-434: A fixed sum to arendași (leaseholders). Many of the boyars found themselves in financial difficulties; many of their estates had been mortgaged. The lack of interest in agriculture and their domains led to a dissolution of the boyar class. The Boyars of Wallachia and Moldavia were divided into three primary classes, the most prestigious of which was the first rank. Vitally important to boyar identity and class stratification

345-449: A function. Important offices at the court that were held by boyars included vistier ( treasurer ), stolnic (pantler), vornic ( concierge ) and logofăt ( chancellor ). While early the court officials were not important and often they were not even boyars, with time, boyars started to desire the functions, in order to participate in the government of the country, but also to get the incomes that were afferent to each function. While

414-512: A generous bribe, proceeded to the country he was selected to govern (whose language he usually did not know). When the new princes were appointed, they were escorted to Iași or Bucharest by retinues composed of their families, favourites and creditors (from whom they had borrowed the bribes). The prince and his appointees counted on recouping these in as short a time as possible, amassing an amount sufficient to live on after their brief time in office. Thirty-one princes, from eleven families, ruled

483-687: A petition campaign against the princes in power; addressed to the Porte and the Habsburg monarchy , they primarily demanded Russian supervision. Although they referred to incidents of corruption and misrule, the petitions indicate their signers' conservatism. The boyars tend to refer to (fictitious) " capitulations " which either principality would have signed with the Ottomans, demanding that rights guaranteed through them be restored. They viewed reform attempts by princes as illegitimate; in alternative proposals (usually in

552-469: A rent to the boyar who owned the land. The boyars were generally excepted from any taxes and rents to be paid to the Hospodar. The boyars were entitled to a rent that was a percentage of the peasants' produce (initially one-tenth, hence its name, dijmă ) in addition to a number of days of unpaid labour ( corvée , locally known as clacă or robotă ). However, not all landlords who owned villages were boyars,

621-553: A result of Phanariot and ecclesiastical administration, the Greeks expanded their influence in the 18th-century empire while retaining their Greek Orthodox faith and Hellenism. This had not always been the case in the Ottoman realm. During the 16th century, the South Slavs —the most prominent in imperial affairs—converted to Islam to enjoy the full rights of Ottoman citizenship (especially in

690-605: A total of ten times in Moldavia and Wallachia . The debt was owed to several creditors, rather than to the Sultan; the central institutions of the Ottoman Empire generally seemed determined to maintain their rule over the principalities and not exploit them irrationally. In an early example, Ahmed III paid part of Nicholas Mavrocordatos ' sum. The Phanariot epoch was initially characterized by fiscal policies driven by Ottoman needs and

759-518: The Sămănătorul magazine lamented the disappearance of the boyar class, while not arguing for their return. Historian Nicolae Iorga saw the system not as a selfish exploitation of the peasants by the boyars, but rather as a rudimentary democracy. On the other side of the political spectrum, Marxist thinker Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea thought that the reforms didn't go far enough, arguing that

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828-693: The Danubian Principalities ( Moldavia and Wallachia ) (usually as a promotion from the offices of Dragoman of the Fleet and Dragoman of the Porte ); the period is known as the Phanariot epoch in Romanian history. After the fall of Constantinople , Mehmet II deported the city's Christian population, leaving only the Jewish inhabitants of Balat , repopulating the city with Christians and Muslims from throughout

897-686: The Eyalet of Bosnia ; Serbs tended to occupy high military positions. A Slavic presence in Ottoman administration gradually became hazardous for its rulers, since the Slavs tended to support Habsburg armies during the Great Turkish War . By the 17th century the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople was the religious and administrative ruler of the empire's Orthodox subjects, regardless of ethnic background. All formerly-independent Orthodox patriarchates, including

966-596: The Great Ban and the Great Logofăt . Great Boyars were the only class entitled to wear beards, and wore sable gugiuman hats with red tops (white tops were reserved for the Prince). After reforms made by Prince Constantine Mavrocordatos , descendants of Great Boyars were known as neamuri and descendants of small boyars were known as mazili . Boyars of the second rank, much more numerous than Great Boyars, occupied posts in

1035-561: The Ottoman Empire : Voivode of Moldavia , Voivode of Wallachia , Grand Dragoman of the Porte and Grand Dragoman of the Fleet . Despite their cosmopolitanism and often-Western education, the Phanariots were aware of their Greek ancestry and culture; according to Nicholas Mavrocordatos ' Philotheou Parerga , "We are a race completely Hellenic". They emerged as a class of wealthy Greek merchants (of mostly noble Byzantine descent) during

1104-789: The Serbian Patriarchate renewed in 1557, came under the authority of the Greek Orthodox Church. Most of the Greek patriarchs were drawn from the Phanariots. Two Greek social groups emerged, challenging the leadership of the Greek Church: the Phanariots in Constantinople and the local notables in the Helladic provinces ( kodjabashis , dimogerontes and prokritoi ). According to 19th-century Greek historian Constantine Paparrigopoulos ,

1173-461: The Turkish nobility , with the difference that instead of the turban , most of them wore a very large işlic . Female members of the boyar class also wore Turkish inspired costume. Many boyars used large sums of money for conspicuous consumption , particularly luxurious clothing, but also carriages, jewelry and furniture. The luxury of the boyars' lives contrasted strongly not only with the squalor of

1242-664: The decline of the Ottoman Empire , as European states became interested in halting Russian southward expansion (which included the 1812 annexation of Bessarabia ). New consulates in the two countries' capitals, ensuring the observation of developments in Russian−Ottoman relations, had an indirect impact on the local economy as rival diplomats began awarding protection and sudit status to merchants competing with local guilds . Nicholas I of Russia pressured Wallachia and Moldavia into granting constitutions (in 1831 and 1832, respectively) to weaken native rulers. The boyars began

1311-689: The 14th and 15th centuries, leading to differences within the obște towards a stratification of the members of the community. The creation of the feudal domain in which the landlords were known as boyars , was mostly through danii ("donations") system: the Hospodars gave away whole villages to military servants, usurping the right of property of the obște. By the 16th century, the few remaining still-free villages were forcefully taken over by boyars, while some people were forced to agree to become serfs (see Serfdom in Moldavia and Wallachia ) due to hunger, invasions, high taxes, debts, which further deteriorated

1380-487: The 1580s), mistakenly identified with the Phanariots in modern Romanian historiography, were much older. The mismanagement of many Phanariot rulers contrasts with the achievements and projects of others, such as Constantine Mavrocordatos (who abolished serfdom in Wallachia in 1746 and Moldavia in 1749) and Alexander Ypsilantis , who were inspired by Habsburg serf policy. Ypsilantis tried to reform legislation and impose salaries for administrative offices in an effort to halt

1449-510: The 17th century) occupied high political and administrative posts in the Ottoman Empire. From 1669 until the Greek War of Independence in 1821, Phanariots made up the majority of the dragomans to the Ottoman government (the Porte ) and foreign embassies due to the Greeks' higher level of education than the general Ottoman population. With the church dignitaries, local notables from the provinces and

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1518-622: The 1820s it plummeted from about 50,000 to 20,000 gold coins (equivalent to Austrian gold currency ) in Wallachia and to 3,100 in Moldavia. Immediately afterward, Russia forcefully used its new prerogative. The deposition of Constantine Ypsilantis (in Wallachia) and Alexander Mourousis (in Moldavia) by Selim III , called on by French Empire 's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Horace Sébastiani (whose fears of pro−Russian conspiracies in Bucharest were partially confirmed),

1587-478: The 1840s. The opening towards Western Europe meant that the boyars adopted the Western mores and the luxury expenses increased. While the greater boyars were able to afford these expenses through the intensification of the exploitation of their domains (and the peasants working on them), many smaller boyars were ruined by them. Starting with the middle of the 19th century, the word "boyar" began to lose its meaning as

1656-624: The Danubian Principalities as retainers of the Phanariots . These families are identified by some scholars as Greco-Levantine owing to the varied ethnic origins of the families (including Greek , Venetian Slav , Albanian , and Bulgarian ) and their self-identification and religious and cultural association with the Fanar , and their preference for speaking Greek . Tensions frequently mounted between native boyars and their Greek counterparts, but

1725-575: The Empire because the Ottomans did not legally distinguish between nationality and religion and considered the empire's Orthodox Christians a single entity. The position of the Patriarchate in the Ottoman state encouraged Greek renaissance projects centering on the resurrection and revitalization of the Byzantine Empire . The Patriarch and his church dignitaries constituted the first centre of power for

1794-667: The Great and the firm presence of the Habsburg Empire on the Carpathian border with the principalities. Dissidence in the two countries became dangerous for the Turks, who were confronted with the attraction on the population of protection by a fellow Eastern Orthodox state. This became obvious with Mihai Racoviță 's second rule in Moldavia, when the prince plotted with Peter to have Ottoman rule overthrown. His replacement, Nicholas Mavrocordatos ,

1863-466: The Greeks in the Ottoman state, which infiltrated Ottoman structures and attracted the former Byzantine nobility. The wealth of the extensive Greek merchant class provided the material basis for the intellectual revival featured in Greek life for more than half a century before 1821. Greek merchants endowed libraries and schools. On the eve of the Greek War of Independence, the three most important centres of Greek learning (schools-cum-universities) were in

1932-677: The Ottoman Empire, and an opportunity for political power; they entered Wallachian and Moldavian boyar nobility by marriage. Reigns of local princes were not excluded on principle. Several hellenized Romanian noble families, such as the Callimachis (originally Călmașul ), the Racovițăs and the Albanian Ghicas penetrated the Phanar nucleus to increase their chances of occupying the thrones and maintain their positions. Most sources agree that 1711

2001-534: The Ottoman Greek community. They became a significant political factor in the empire and, as diplomatic agents, played a role in the affairs of Great Britain, France and the Russian Empire. The Phanariots competed for the most important administrative offices in the Ottoman administration; these included collecting imperial taxes, monopolies on commerce, working under contract in a number of enterprises, supplying

2070-564: The Ottomans; they did not enrich the Greek national identity and lost ground to groups which flourished through their confrontation with the Ottoman Empire (the klephts and armatoloi ). A Greek presence had established itself in both Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia , resulting in the appointment of Greek princes before the 18th century. After the Phanariot era, some Phanariot families in Wallachia and Moldavia identified themselves as Romanian in Romanian society (including

2139-419: The Phanariot princes were capable, farsighted rulers. As prince of Wallachia in 1746 and Moldavia in 1749, Constantine Mavrocordatos abolished serfdom and Alexander Ypsilantis of Wallachia (reigned 1774–1782) initiated extensive administrative and legal reforms. Ipsilanti's reign coincided with subtle shifts in economic and social life and the emergence of spiritual and intellectual aspirations which pointed to

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2208-443: The Phanariots initially sought the most important secular offices of the patriarchal court and could frequently intervene in the election of bishops and influence crucial decisions by the patriarch. Greek merchants and clergy of Byzantine aristocratic origin, who acquired economic and political influence and were later known as Phanariots, settled in extreme northwestern Constantinople (which had become central to Greek interests after

2277-740: The Romanian villages, but also with the general appearance of the capitals, this contrast striking the foreigners who visited the Principalities. In the first decade of the 19th-century, female members of the boyar class started to adopt Western fashion: in July 1806, the wife of the Hospodar in Iași , Safta Ipsilanti , received the wife of the French consul dressed according to the French fashion. Male boyars, however, did not reform their costume to Western fashion until around

2346-550: The Rosetti family; C. A. Rosetti represented the radical , nationalist cause during and after the 1848 Wallachian revolution .). Phanariot attention focused on occupying the most favorable offices the empire could offer non-Muslims and the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which were still relatively rich and—more importantly—autonomous (despite having to pay tribute as vassal states). Many Greeks had found favorable conditions there for commercial activities, in comparison with

2415-642: The administration such as Clucer , Paharnic , and Stolnic . Second and third rank boyars were not entitled to having beards, but wore mustaches instead. Small boyars wore smaller işlic hats than those of Great Boyars, and third rank boyars often had their hats adorned with large square cushions. These hats were not made of sable felt, but rather polecat, marten, fox, or lamb. In 1829, Great Boyars, second rank boyars, and third rank boyars occupied 59, 612, and 562 named administrative posts in Wallachia, respectively. Many boyar families did not originate in Romania and came to

2484-406: The ambitions of some hospodars, who (mindful of their fragile status) sought to pay back their creditors and increase their wealth while in a position of power. To make the reigns lucrative while raising funds to satisfy the needs of the Porte, princes channeled their energies into taxing the inhabitants into destitution. The most odious taxes (such as the văcărit first imposed by Iancu Sasul in

2553-507: The beginning of the Greek War of Independence , the Phanariots were firmly established as the political elite of Hellenism. According to Greek historian Constantine Paparrigopoulos, this was a natural evolution given the Phanariots' education and experience in supervising large parts of the empire. According to Nikos Svoronos argued, the Phanariots subordinated their national identity to their class identity and tried to peacefully co−exist with

2622-517: The change in leadership and boyar complaints, about 80 percent of those seated in the Divan (an institution roughly equivalent to the estates of the realm ) were members of local families. This made endemic the social and economic issues of previous periods, since the inner circle of boyars blocked initiatives (such as Alexander Ypsilantis') and obtained, extended and preserved tax exemptions . The Phanariots copied Russian and Habsburg institutions; during

2691-400: The commercial centres of Chios , Smyrna and Aivali . The first Greek millionaire of the Ottoman era was Michael "Şeytanoğlu" Kantakouzenos , who earned 60,000 ducats a year from his control of the fur trade from Muscovy . During the 18th century, the Phanariots were a hereditary clerical−aristocratic group who managed the affairs of the patriarchate and the dominant political power of

2760-538: The condition of the peasants was a neo-serfdom . Phanariote Phanariots , Phanariotes , or Fanariots ( Greek : Φαναριώτες , Romanian : Fanarioți , Turkish : Fenerliler ) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern Fener ), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied four important positions in

2829-505: The court and ruling the Danubian Principalities . They engaged in private trade, controlling the crucial wheat trade on the Black Sea . The Phanariots expanded their commercial activities into the Kingdom of Hungary and then to the other Central European states. Their activities intensified their contacts with Western nations, and they became familiar with Western languages and cultures. Before

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2898-409: The depletion of funds the administrators, local and Greek alike, were using for their own maintenance; it was, by then, more profitable to hold office than to own land. His Pravilniceasca condică , a relatively modern legal code , met stiff boyar resistance. The focus of such rules was often the improvement of state structure against conservative wishes. Contemporary documents indicate that, despite

2967-514: The disappearance of promotions from the Phanar community; the Greeks were no longer trusted by the Porte. Amid tense relations between boyars and princes, Vladimirescu's revolt was primarily the result of compromise between Oltenian pandurs and the regency of boyars attempting to block the ascension of Scarlat Callimachi (the last Phanariot ruler in Bucharest). Ioan Sturdza 's rule in Moldavia and Grigore IV Ghica 's in Wallachia are considered

3036-420: The economic standing of the free peasants. Apart from the court boyars and the military elite, some boyars ("countryside boyars") arose from within the villages, when a leader of the obște (usually called knyaz ) swore fealty to the hospodar and becoming the landlord of the village. The Hospodar was considered the supreme ruler of the land and he received a land rent from the peasants, who also had to pay

3105-601: The empire, except those under the spiritual care of the Patriarchs of Antioch , Jerusalem , Alexandria , Ohrid and Peja —often acting as archontes of the Ecumenical See . They dominated the administration of the patriarchate, often intervening in the selection of hierarchs (including the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople). Many members of Phanariot families (who had acquired great wealth and influence during

3174-498: The era is often called "feudal" in the Romanian historiography, there were some major differences between the status of the Western feudal lords and the status of the Romanian boyars. While a hierarchy existed in Wallachia and Moldavia just like in the West, the power balance was tilted towards the Hospodar, who had everyone as subjects and who had the power to demote even the richest boyar, to confiscate his wealth or even behead him. However,

3243-667: The establishment of the patriarch's headquarters in 1461, shortly after Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque). After the 1453 fall of Constantinople, when the Sultan replaced de jure the Byzantine Emperor for subjugated Christians, he recognized the Ecumenical Patriarch as the religious and national leader ( ethnarch ) of the Greeks and other ethnic groups in the Greek Orthodox Millet . The Patriarchate had primary importance, occupying this key role for Christians of

3312-593: The ethnic admixture of both groups was complex. Many boyar families considered native had Greek or distant Greek origins, such as the Cantacuzino family , and both groups were primarily Grecophone. In 1821, native Wallachian families were among the many boyars of the so-called 'Greek party' who went into exile in Kronstadt . Conversely, many families which constituted the 'native' boyar nobility that remained in Wallachia were of Greco-Levantine descent. The movement surrounding

3381-586: The first of the new period, although the new regime abruptly ended in Russian occupation during another Russo−Turkish War and the subsequent period of Russian influence. Most Phanariots were patrons of Greek culture , education and printing. They founded academies which attracted teachers and pupils from throughout the Orthodox commonwealth, and there was awareness of intellectual trends in Habsburg Europe. Many of

3450-488: The first time, the Porte needed to participate in diplomatic negotiations. With the Ottomans traditionally ignoring Western European languages and cultures, officials were at a loss. The Porte assigned those tasks to the Greeks, who had a long mercantile and educational tradition and the necessary skills. The Phanariots and other Greek as well as Hellenized families primarily from Constantinople , occupied high posts as secretaries and interpreters for Ottoman officials. As

3519-504: The form of constitutional projects), the boyars expressed desire for an aristocratic republic . The active part taken by Greek princes in revolts after 1820 and the disorder provoked by the Filiki Eteria (of which the Ghica , Văcărescu and Golescu families were active members after its uprising against the Ottoman Empire in Moldavia and Tudor Vladimirescu 's Wallachian uprising ) led to

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3588-515: The function would often give large incomes in return. While the official functions were often given to both Romanians and Greeks, there was an exception: throughout the Phanariote era, the treasurers were mostly local boyars because they were more competent in collecting taxes. When the descendants of a boyar were not able to obtain even the lowest function, they became "fallen boyars" ( mazili ), who nevertheless, kept some fiscal privileges. Many of

3657-524: The large Greek merchant class, Phanariots represented the better-educated members of Greek society during Ottoman rule until the 1821 start of the Greek War of Independence . During the war, Phanariots influenced decisions by the Greek National Assembly (the representative body of Greek revolutionaries, which met six times between 1821 and 1829). Between 1711–1716 and 1821, a number of Phanariots were appointed Hospodars ( voivodes or princes) in

3726-509: The mid-18th century they made noble rank dependent on state service, as Peter I of Russia did. After the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji (1774) allowed Russia to intervene on the side of Ottoman Eastern Orthodox subjects, most of the Porte's tools of political pressure became ineffective. They had to offer concessions to maintain a hold on the countries as economic and strategic assets. The treaty made any increase in tribute impossible, and between 1774 and

3795-508: The new Phanariote Hospodars came with a Greek retinue who were given the most important official jobs; many of these Greeks married into local boyar families. In order to consolidate their position within the Wallachian and Moldavian boyar class, the officials were allowed to keep their boyar title after the end of their term. The official functions, which traditionally were given for a year, were often bought with money as an investment, since

3864-497: The newly bestowed local boyars were wealthy merchants who paid in order to become boyars, in some cases they were even forced by the Hospodar to become boyars (and thus pay the Hospodar a sum). The princely courts of Bucharest and Iași kept title registers, which included a list of all the boyars (known as Arhondologia ). Since the Hospodar wanted to maximize his income, it was in his interest to create as many boyars as possible (and receive money from each), leading to an inflation in

3933-500: The number of boyars. The economic basis of the boyar's class was land ownership: by the 18th century, more than half of the land of Wallachia and Moldavia being owned by them. For instance, according to the 1803 Moldavian census, out of the 1711 villages and market towns, the boyars owned 927 of them. The process that began during the feudal era, of boyars seizing properties from the free peasants, continued and accelerated during this period. The boyars wore costumes similar to those of

4002-484: The power for the election of the hospodar was held by the great boyar families, who would form groups and alliances, often leading to disorder and instability. After the Phanariote regime was instated in Moldavia (1711) and Wallachia (1716), many of the boyar class was made out of Constantinople Greeks who belonged to the Phanariote clients , who became officials and were assimilated to the boyar class or locals who bought their titles. When coming to Bucharest or Iași,

4071-449: The principalities, resulting in long periods of political disorder, was dominated by a small number of ambitious families who competed violently for the two thrones and monopolized land ownership. A change in policy was indicated by the fact that autonomous Wallachia and Moldavia had entered a period of skirmishes with the Ottomans, due to the insubordination of local princes associated with the rise of Imperial Russia 's power under Peter

4140-417: The second half of the 16th century, and were influential in the administration of the Ottoman Empire's Balkan domains in the 18th century. The Phanariots usually built their houses in the Phanar quarter to be near the court of the Patriarch , who (under the Ottoman millet system) was recognized as the spiritual and secular head ( millet-bashi ) of the Orthodox subjects—the Rum Millet , or "Roman nation" of

4209-444: The succession to the throne of Moldavia. This was followed by similar measures in Wallachia, prompted by Ștefan Cantacuzino 's alliance with Habsburg commander Prince Eugene of Savoy in the closing stages of the Great Turkish War . The person raised to the office of prince was usually the chief dragoman of the Porte, well-versed in contemporary politics and Ottoman statecraft. The new prince, who obtained his office in exchange for

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4278-433: The two principalities during the Phanariot epoch. When the choice became limited to a few families due to princely disloyalty to the Porte, rulers would be moved from one principality to the other; the prince of Wallachia (the richer of the two principalities) would pay to avert his transfer to Iaşi, and the prince of Moldavia would bribe supporters in Constantinople to appoint him to Wallachia. Constantine Mavrocordatos ruled

4347-501: The whole empire and the newly conquered territories. Phanar was repopulated with Greeks from Mouchlion in the Peloponnese and, after 1461 , with citizens of the Empire of Trebizond . The roots of Greek ascendancy can be traced to the Ottoman need for skilled, educated negotiators as their empire declined and they relied on treaties rather than force. During the 17th century, the Ottomans began having problems in foreign relations and difficulty dictating terms to their neighbours; for

4416-441: Was Doxachi Hurmuzachi (d. April 1857), who eventually re-acquired Cernăuca after the documents of the ownership of the estate by the family had been lost and built a new boier palace and church and planted park there. Doxaki married Iuliana (Ilinka, Olena) Murguleț (d.1858), daughter of a Romanian boier ( stolnic ), and they had 12 children, of whom 7 survived: the five brothers and two sisters, Eufrozina and Eliza. Doxaki

4485-446: Was costume. Boyars wore richly embroidered and expensive oriental costumes with many expensive furs, complemented by tall işlic hats of varying sizes and shapes. The quality, type, and color of material used in boyar costumes and headwear was indicative of one's rank in the social hierarchy. Members of the first rank were called Great Boyars and occupied the most important posts of the Wallachian and Moldavian administrations, including

4554-543: Was son of Constantin Hurmuzachi, who held the rank of medelnicer , and his wife, Roksana (d. August 12, 1818), both from the Principality of Moldavia . Romanian nobility As such, until the 19th century, the system oscillated between an oligarchy and an autocracy with power concentrated in the Hospodar's hands. During the Middle Ages, Romanians lived in autonomous communities called obște which mixed private and common ownership , employing an open field system . The private ownership of land gained ground In

4623-402: Was the casus belli for the 1806–1812 conflict, and Russian general Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich swiftly reinstated Ypsilantis during his military expedition to Wallachia. Such gestures began a period of effective Russian supervision, culminating with the Organic Statute administration of the 1830s. The Danubian principalities grew in strategic importance with the Napoleonic Wars and

4692-406: Was the first official Phanariot in his second reign in Moldavia and replaced Ștefan Cantacuzino in Wallachia as the first Phanariot ruler of that country. A crucial moment was the Russo−Turkish War of 1710−1713, when Dimitrie Cantemir sided with Russia and agreed to Russian tutelage of his country. After Russia experienced a major defeat and Cantemir went into exile, the Ottomans took charge of

4761-595: Was when the gradual erosion of traditional institutions reached its zenith, but characteristics ascribed to the Phanariot era had made themselves felt long before it. The Ottomans enforced their choice of hospodars as far back as the 15th century, and foreign (usually Greek or Levantine ) boyars competed with local ones since the late 16th century. Rulers since Dumitraşcu Cantacuzino in Moldavia and George Ducas (a prince of Greek origin) in Wallachia, both in 1673, were forced to surrender their family members as hostages in Constantinople. The traditional elective system in

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