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The Middle Ages

  • Petru Rares, princes of Moldovei

    Petru Rares, princes of Moldovei

THE MIDDLE AGES

The battles waged by voivodes Mircea the Old - Mircea cel Batrân (1386-1418), Dracula - Vlad Tepes (1456-1462) and Stephen the Great - Stefan cel Mare (1457-1504) against the Ottoman Empire enabled Wallachia and Moldavia to preserve their state independence. In the l5th century, Cetatea Dambovitei (Bucharest), an important commercial centre on the trade route to Constantinople, was founded. In the l6th century, the two principalities were obliged to submit to the Ottoman Empire's control through Charters called "Capitulatii" (Capitulations). The Romanian Principalities preserved their state entity, their own political, military and administrative structures, laws and social organization, but they had to pay the sultan an annual tribute; the Romanian countries maintained their autonomy and avoided a massive settlement of Muslims on their territories.

After the battle of Mohacs (Hungary) in 1526, and the fall of the Hungarian Kingdom, Transylvania became an autonomous principality under Ottoman suzerainty, its political regime being similar to that of Wallachia and Moldavia. This status would account for enhanced economic and political relations among the Romanian Principalities, which were also favoured by the unity of language and, in a certain geographical area, by the common tradition and historical heritage.

The heaviest burden of Ottoman suzerainty was not political, but economic. At the end of the l6th century, the tribute was raised steadily and demands for goods of all kinds, i.e. sheep, grain, lumber supplied at a very low price, had no limits; Constantinople had become dependent on supplies from the Romanian Principalities.

An important stage in Romanian history was marked by the sway of Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul), between 1593-1601, who was the first to rule and control, for a short while, the three Romanian lands, i.e. Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia. Michael the Brave joined the Christian League i.e. Austria, Mantua, Ferrara, Spain, and won the battles of Calugareni and Giurgiu against the Turks (1595) - to regain the independence of his country. His seal, representing the united coats of arms of the three Romanian Countries, is a token to his intention to bring together, under one single rule, all the lands inhabited by Romanians. He would call himself prince of Wallachia, Transylvania and the whole of Moldavia. But the great powers - Austria, the Ottoman Empire, and Poland - did not favour such a policy, so that the union was short-lived. However, the idea of unification was kept alive and gave fresh impetus to the Romanians' struggle for the setting up of an independent national state.

In the peaceful moments of their history, when they were not forced to strive for their independence, Romanians bent towards culture and the works of art. Imposing princely palaces were built at Câmpulung-Muscel, Curtea de Arges and Târgoviste in Wallachia, at Suceava and Iasi in Moldavia, alongside a number of defence cities (Poienari, Cetatea Neamtului, Suceava, Chilia, Cetatea Alba etc.) and beautiful monasteries (Tismana, Cozia, Dealu, Curtea de Arges, Neamt, Putna, Voronet, Sucevita, and many others), whose artistic value has been acknowledged worldwide. The early 16th century (1508) in the Romanian Countries witnessed the use of print. Printing was to gain pride of place under the rules of Matei Basarab (1632-1654) in Wallachia, Vasile Lupu (1634-1652) in Moldavia, Serban Cantacuzino (1678-1688) and Constantin Brâncoveanu (1688-1714) in Wallachia. The last is well known for his beautiful residence at Mogosoaia, close to Bucharest and his tragic death in 1714, when he and his four sons where beheaded by the Turks. The religious and lay books printed by that time had a wide circulation throughout South-Eastern Europe and the Christian East.

The 18th century witnessed the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of the Russian and Austrian ones. The Eastern Question came to the core of European diplomatic debates. The Romanian Principalities experienced a period of political decline because of the foreign powers' involvement. In the wake of the Karlowitz Peace (1699), Transylvania fell under Austrian rule. The province remained nevertheless an autonomous principality.

In order to curb the process of liberation in the Romanian Principalities, but also due to quarrels with the Habsburgs and the Russians, the Ottomans appointed Phanariot princes at their helm (the name comes from the Istanbul Phanar district, from which the Turks used to recruit their dragomans, i.e. foreign ministers. With the help of these new princes - actually high Turkish officials-, the Empire hoped to preserve its control over Wallachia and Moldavia. At the same time, the Ottoman political and economic supervision increased, and so did corruption. Notwithstanding its own decisions, the Ottoman Empire started to make use of the Romanian territories as if they were its own imperial possessions. Thus, at the Passarowitz Peace talks (1718), the Turks ceded Oltenia to the Habsburg Empire, which held it until the conclusion of the Belgrade Peace (1739). In 1775, the Habsburgs received a similar "donation" - this time it was Bukovina, to be followed, in 1812, by Bessarabia - the territory between the Prut and the Dnestr which was annexed to Russia.

And yet, the Phanariot regime (set up in Moldavia and Wallachia in 1711 and 1716, respectively, and lasting until 1821) represented more than a curtailment of the two countries' autonomy rights, as some of those princes espoused a reforming policy close to enlightened despotism, in an endeavour to bring Romanian society in line with the new socio-economic trends of Europe. Important reforms were introduced, like the abolition of serfdom, or a series of legal and administrative changes. Concurrently with the Romanian cultural movement, the Phanariots would promote a neo-Greek style. Greek influence in the Church and cultural life expanded.