Constantine Mavrocordatos
Encyclopedia
Constantine Mavrocordatos (Greek
: Κωνσταντίνος Μαυροκορδάτος, Romanian
: Constantin Mavrocordat; February 27, 1711 – November 23, 1769) was a Greek
noble who served as Prince of Wallachia
and Prince of Moldavia
at several intervals. As a ruler he issued reforms in the laws of each of the two Danubian Principalities
, ensuring a more adequate tax
ation and a series of measures amounting to the emancipation of serfs
.
(now Istanbul
) as a Phanariote
member of the Mavrocordatos
family, Constantine succeeded his father, Nicholas Mavrocordatos
, as Prince of Wallachia in 1730, after obtaining boyar
support. He was deprived in the same year, but again ruled the principality five more times from 1731 to 1733, from 1735 to 1741, from 1744 to 1748, from 1756 and 1758 and from 1761 to 1763. He managed to regain control over Oltenia
through the Treaty of Belgrade
from 1739 after the Austro-Turkish War of 1737-39.
He was the son of Mimia Mavrocordat and Ciuran Mavrocordat
He ruled Moldavia four times from 1733 to 1735, from 1741 to 1743, from 1748 to 1749 and in 1769. He entered a personal rivalry with Grigore II Ghica
; Ioan Neculce noted "Constantin-Voivode went lengths to replace Grigorie-Voivode's rule in Wallachia (...)", and subsequently "(...) as soon as they were seated on their thrones [during one of Constantine's rules in Wallachia], they began to quarrell and to report each other to the Porte without concealment".
during their presence in Oltenia; initiated in Wallachia, they were to be applied consistently in Moldavia as well.
He was responsible for the annulment of several indirect tax
es, such as the văcărit (the taxation per head of cattle), and replaced them with a single tax of 10 löwenthaler
, which could be paid in four annual "quarters". Faced with the exodus of serfs
to neighbouring Transylvania
, Mavrocordatos allowed them freedom of movement from one boyar estate to another, in exchange for a 10 löwenthaler fee (the effective abolition of serfdom: 1746 in Wallachia, 1749 in Moldavia). At the same time, he imposed a quitrent, a the 12 days-corvée
, and allowed the boyars a retinue
of serfs (scutelnic
i) that were exempted from the state tax (and owed taxes only to their liege lord
). On these reforms as experienced in Moldavia, Neculce expressed his view that "were he not to have this heavy retinue of his father's, with all those insatiable people, and were he not prone on removing his cousin Grigore-Voivode from Wallachia, there would not have been such plunder in the country".
The prince attempted to impose a degree of centralism
in the face of boyar privilege
, and, despite boyar protests, created an administration which relied on a more profession
al, salarized
apparatus, consisting of ispravnic
i he himself appointed to office, and who could act as judges; he also merged the traditional personal treasury
of princes with that of the Wallachian administrative body, and decided to deny boyar title to families whose members no longer held official appointments. In 1761, due to the reforms' effects, the Ban
of Oltenia
moved his seat from Craiova
to Bucharest
, leaving the region to be ruled by a kaymakam
.
Mavrocordatos was wounded and taken prisoner by the Russian troops of Catherine II
, after his resistance in Galaţi
during the Fifth Russo-Turkish War
, on November 5, 1769. He was taken to Iaşi
where he died in captivity. Despite their attempts to have the reforms overturned, boyars had to deal with their effects, as successive rulers confirmed the laws' scope.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Κωνσταντίνος Μαυροκορδάτος, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
: Constantin Mavrocordat; February 27, 1711 – November 23, 1769) was a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
noble who served as Prince of Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
and Prince of Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
at several intervals. As a ruler he issued reforms in the laws of each of the two Danubian Principalities
Danubian Principalities
Danubian Principalities was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg Monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in order to designate an area on the lower Danube with a common...
, ensuring a more adequate tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
ation and a series of measures amounting to the emancipation of serfs
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
.
First rules
Born in ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
(now Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
) as a Phanariote
Phanariotes
Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Phanariote Greeks were members of those prominent Greek families residing in Phanar , the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople, where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is situated.For all their cosmopolitanism and often Western education, the Phanariots were...
member of the Mavrocordatos
Mavrocordatos
Mavrocordatos was the name of a family of Phanariot Greeks, distinguished in the history of the Ottoman Empire, Wallachia, Moldavia, and modern Greece...
family, Constantine succeeded his father, Nicholas Mavrocordatos
Nicholas Mavrocordatos
Nicholas Mavrocordatos was a Greek member of the Mavrocordatos family, Grand Dragoman to the Divan , and consequently the first Phanariote Hospodar of the Danubian Principalities - Prince of Moldavia, and Prince of Wallachia...
, as Prince of Wallachia in 1730, after obtaining boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
support. He was deprived in the same year, but again ruled the principality five more times from 1731 to 1733, from 1735 to 1741, from 1744 to 1748, from 1756 and 1758 and from 1761 to 1763. He managed to regain control over Oltenia
Oltenia
Oltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Danube, the Southern Carpathians and the Olt river ....
through the Treaty of Belgrade
Treaty of Belgrade
The Treaty of Belgrade was the peace treaty signed on September 18, 1739 in Belgrade, Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia , by the Ottoman Empire on one side and the Habsburg Monarchy on the other....
from 1739 after the Austro-Turkish War of 1737-39.
He was the son of Mimia Mavrocordat and Ciuran Mavrocordat
He ruled Moldavia four times from 1733 to 1735, from 1741 to 1743, from 1748 to 1749 and in 1769. He entered a personal rivalry with Grigore II Ghica
Grigore II Ghica
Grigore II Ghica was Voivode of Moldavia at four different intervals — from October 1726 to April 16, 1733, from November 27, 1735 to 14 September 1739, from October 1739 to September 1741 and from May 1747 to April 1748 — and twice Voivode of Wallachia: April 16, 1733 – November 27, 1735 and...
; Ioan Neculce noted "Constantin-Voivode went lengths to replace Grigorie-Voivode's rule in Wallachia (...)", and subsequently "(...) as soon as they were seated on their thrones [during one of Constantine's rules in Wallachia], they began to quarrell and to report each other to the Porte without concealment".
Reforms and downfall
His reigns were distinguished by numerous tentative reforms in the fiscal and administrative systems, partly influenced by those of the Habsburg MonarchyHabsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
during their presence in Oltenia; initiated in Wallachia, they were to be applied consistently in Moldavia as well.
He was responsible for the annulment of several indirect tax
Indirect tax
The term indirect tax has more than one meaning.In the colloquial sense, an indirect tax is a tax collected by an intermediary from the person who bears the ultimate economic burden of the tax...
es, such as the văcărit (the taxation per head of cattle), and replaced them with a single tax of 10 löwenthaler
Thaler
The Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in various currencies as the dollar or tolar. Etymologically, "Thaler" is an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler", a coin type from the city of Joachimsthal in Bohemia, where some of the first such...
, which could be paid in four annual "quarters". Faced with the exodus of serfs
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
to neighbouring Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, Mavrocordatos allowed them freedom of movement from one boyar estate to another, in exchange for a 10 löwenthaler fee (the effective abolition of serfdom: 1746 in Wallachia, 1749 in Moldavia). At the same time, he imposed a quitrent, a the 12 days-corvée
Corvée
Corvée is unfree labour, often unpaid, that is required of people of lower social standing and imposed on them by the state or a superior . The corvée was the earliest and most widespread form of taxation, which can be traced back to the beginning of civilization...
, and allowed the boyars a retinue
Retinue
A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble or royal personage, a suite of "retainers".-Etymology:...
of serfs (scutelnic
Scutelnic
Scutelnic were peasant servants in Wallachia and Moldova who were exempt from state taxes...
i) that were exempted from the state tax (and owed taxes only to their liege lord
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
). On these reforms as experienced in Moldavia, Neculce expressed his view that "were he not to have this heavy retinue of his father's, with all those insatiable people, and were he not prone on removing his cousin Grigore-Voivode from Wallachia, there would not have been such plunder in the country".
The prince attempted to impose a degree of centralism
Centralized government
A centralized or centralised government is one in which power or legal authority is exerted or coordinated by a de facto political executive to which federal states, local authorities, and smaller units are considered subject...
in the face of boyar privilege
Privilege
A privilege is a special entitlement to immunity granted by the state or another authority to a restricted group, either by birth or on a conditional basis. It can be revoked in certain circumstances. In modern democratic states, a privilege is conditional and granted only after birth...
, and, despite boyar protests, created an administration which relied on a more profession
Profession
A profession is a vocation founded upon specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply disinterested counsel and service to others, for a direct and definite compensation, wholly apart from expectation of other business gain....
al, salarized
Salary
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....
apparatus, consisting of ispravnic
Ispravnic
An ispravnic was, in the Danubian principalities, the title owned by a clerk or a boyar in charge of law enforcement in a certain county. Initially, during the middle ages, ispravnics were people who used to carry out the voivod's commands. Later on, ispravnics became local administrators and were...
i he himself appointed to office, and who could act as judges; he also merged the traditional personal treasury
Treasury
A treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....
of princes with that of the Wallachian administrative body, and decided to deny boyar title to families whose members no longer held official appointments. In 1761, due to the reforms' effects, the Ban
Ban (title)
Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...
of Oltenia
Oltenia
Oltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Danube, the Southern Carpathians and the Olt river ....
moved his seat from Craiova
Craiova
Craiova , Romania's 6th largest city and capital of Dolj County, is situated near the east bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians and the River Danube . Craiova is the chief...
to Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, leaving the region to be ruled by a kaymakam
Kaymakam
Qaim Maqam or Qaimaqam or Kaymakam is the title used for the governor of a provincial district in the Republic of Turkey, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and in Lebanon; additionally, it was a title used for roughly the same official position in the Ottoman...
.
Mavrocordatos was wounded and taken prisoner by the Russian troops of Catherine II
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
, after his resistance in Galaţi
Galati
Galați is a city and municipality in Romania, the capital of Galați County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, in the close vicinity of Brăila, Galați is the largest port and sea port on the Danube River and the second largest Romanian port....
during the Fifth Russo-Turkish War
Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774
The Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 was a decisive conflict that brought Southern Ukraine, Northern Caucasus, and Crimea within the orbit of the Russian Empire.-Background:...
, on November 5, 1769. He was taken to Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
where he died in captivity. Despite their attempts to have the reforms overturned, boyars had to deal with their effects, as successive rulers confirmed the laws' scope.