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DACIA

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Originally appearing in Volume V23, Page 833 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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DACIA . From the 6th to the r2th See also:

century, See also:wave after wave of See also:barbarian conquerors, Goths, See also:Tatars, Slays and others, passed over the See also:country, and, according to one school of historians, almost obliterated its See also:original Daco-See also:Roman See also:population; the See also:modern See also:Vlachs, on this theory, representing a later See also:body of immigrants from Transdanubian territory. According to others, the See also:ancient inhabitants were, at worst, only sub-merged for a See also:time, and their See also:direct descendants are the Rumans of to-See also:day. Each of these conflicting views is supported by strong See also:evidence; and the whole controversy, too large and too obscure for discussion here, is considered under the heading VLACHS. Towards the See also:close of the 13th century, See also:Walachia and See also:Moldavia were occupied by a mixed population, composed partly of Vlachs, but mainly of Slays and Tatars; in See also:Great Walachia,' also called Muntenia, the See also:Petchenegs and Cumanians The predominated. Rumanian historians have striven, by Vlachs in piecing together the stray fragments of evidence which the 13th survive, to prove that their Vlach ancestors had not, century. as sometimes alleged, been reduced to a scattered community of nomadic shepherds, dwelling among the Carpathians as the See also:serfs of their more powerful neighbours. The researches of See also:Hasdeu, Xenopol and other historians tend to show the existence of a highly organized Vlach society in Transylvania, Oltland and certain districts of See also:Hungary and Moldavia; of a settled commonalty, agricultural rather than See also:pastoral; and of a hereditary feudal See also:nobility, See also:bound to pay See also:tribute and render military service to the Hungarian See also:crown, but enjoying many privileges, which were defined by a distinct customary See also:law (See also:jus valahicum). Although the characteristic titles of See also:voivode, knez and See also:ban (all implying military as well as See also:civil authority) are of See also:Slavonic origin, and perhaps derived from the practice of the later Bulgarian (or Bulgaro-Vlachian) See also:empire, the growth of Vlach feudal institutions is attributed to See also:German influences, which permeated through Hungarian channels into the Vlach See also:world, and transformed the See also:primitive tribal chiefs into a feudal See also:aristocracy of boiars or boyards 2 (nobles). With the 13th century, at latest, begins the See also:authentic See also:political See also:history of the Vlachs in See also:Rumania, but it is not the history of a See also:united See also:people. The two principalities of Walachia Growth of and Moldavia See also:developed separately, and each has its Rumanian See also:separate See also:annals. About the See also:year 1774 it first nation- becomes possible to trace the progress of these ality. Danubian Principalities in a single narrative, owing to the See also:uniform See also:system of See also:administration adopted by the See also:Turkish authorities, and the rapid contemporary growth of a See also:national consciousness among the Vlachs.

At last, in 1859, the two principalities were finally united under the name of Rumania. The subjoined history of the country is arranged under the four headings: Walachia, Moldavia, the Danubian Principalities and Rumania, in See also:

order to emphasize this See also:historical development. (2) Walachia.—Tradition, as embodied in a native See also:chronicle of the 16th century, entitled the History of the Ruman See also:Land since the arrival of the Rumans (Istoria tiere1 Romdnesci de Foundacdndu au descdlicata Romdnif), gives a precise See also:account See also:lion of the of the See also:founding of the Walachian See also:state by Radu Negru, Princior See also:Rudolf the See also:Black (otherwise known as Negru Voda, parity the Black See also:Prince), voivode of the Rumans of Fogaras in Transylvania, who in 1290 descended with a numerous people into the Transalpine See also:plain and established his See also:capital first at See also:Campulung and then at Curtea de Argesh. Radu See also:dies in 1310, and is succeeded by a See also:series of voivodes whose names and See also:dates are duly given; but this See also:early See also:chapter of Walachian history has been rudely handled by See also:critical historians. A considerable body of Vlachs doubtless emigrated from Hungary at this time, and founded in Walachia a principality dependent i.e. Walachia See also:east of the Olt, not to be confused with the MeyaXrt BAaxia in See also:southern See also:Macedonia (see See also:BALKAN See also:PENINSULA). 2 In later Rumanian history there arose a class who obtained their See also:rank by merit or favour, and did not necessarily bequeath it to their heirs. But the hereditary aristocracy also survived, and See also:feudalism remained characteristic of Rumanian society up to 186o. Dada. on the Hungarian crown; but material is lacking for a detailed description of the See also:movement. In 1330 the voivode See also:John Bassaraba 1 or Bazarab the Great (1310—38) succeeded in inflicting a crushing defeat on his See also:Nun- suzerain See also:King See also:Charles I. of Hungary, and for fourteen garian years Walachia enjoyed See also:complete See also:independence. See also:Louis Suprem- the Great (1342—82) succeeded for a while in restor- acy. See also:ing the Hungarian supremacy, but in 1367 the voivode Vlad or Vladislav inflicted another severe defeat on the Hungarians, and succeeded for a time in ousting the Magyar See also:governor of Turnu Severin, and thus incorporating Oltland in his own dominions.

Subsequently, in order to retain a hold on the See also:

loyalty of the Walachian voivode, the king of Hungary invested him with the See also:title of See also:duke of Fogaras and Omlas, Ruman districts in Transylvania. Under the voivode Mircea (1386—1418), whose prowess is still celebrated in the national folk-songs, Walachia played for a Mircea. while a more ambitious See also:part. This prince during the earlier part of his reign sought a counterpoise to Hungarian See also:influence in close See also:alliance with King See also:Ladislaus V. of See also:Poland. He added to his other titles that of " See also:count of Severin, See also:despot of the See also:Dobrudja, and See also:lord of See also:Silistria," and both See also:Vidin and Sistora appear in his See also:possession. A Walachian contingent, apparently Mircea's, aided the Servian See also:tsar See also:Lazar in his vain endeavour to resist the See also:Turks at See also:Kossovo (1389); later he allied himself with his former enemy See also:Sigismund of Hungary against the Turkish See also:sultan Bayezid I., who inflicted a crushing defeat on the allied armies at Nikopolis in 1396. Bayezid subsequently invaded and laid See also:waste a large part of Walachia, but the voivode succeeded in inflicting considerable loss on the retiring Turks, and the See also:capture of Bayezid by Timur in 1402 gave the country a See also:reprieve. In the internecine struggle that followed amongst the sons of Bayezid, Mircea espoused the cause of Musa; but, though he thus obtained for a while considerable influence in the Turkish See also:councils, this policy eventually See also:drew on him the vengeance of the sultan See also:Mahomet I., who succeeded in reducing him to a tributary position. During the succeeding See also:period the Walachian princes appear alternately as the See also:allies of Hungary or the creatures of the Re,b:ions Turk. In the later See also:battle of Kossovo of 1448, between with the Hungarians, led by See also:Hunyadi Janos and the sultan Hungary See also:Murad II., the Walachian contingent treacherously and the surrendered to the Turks; but this did not hinder the Turks. victorious sultan from massacring the prisoners and adding to the tribute a yearly contribution of 3000 javelins and 4000 See also:shields. In 1453 See also:Constantinople See also:fell; in 1454 Hunyadi died; and a year later the sultan invaded Walachia to set up Vlad IV. (1455—62), the son of a former voivode. The See also:father of this Vlad had himself been notorious for his ferocity, but his son, during his Turkish sojourn, had improved on his father's example.

He was known in Walachia as Dracul, or the See also:

Devil; and has See also:left a name in history as Vlad the Impaler. The stories of his ferocious savagery exceed belief. - He is said to have feasted amongst his impaled victims. When the sultan Mahomet, infuriated at the impalement of his See also:envoy, the See also:pasha of Vidin, who had been charged with Vlad's deposition, invaded Walachia in See also:person with an immense See also:host, he is said to have found at one spot a See also:forest of See also:pales on which were the bodies of men, See also:women and See also:children. The voivode Radu (1462—75) was substituted for this See also:monster by Turkish influence, and See also:con-strained to pay a tribute of 12,000 ducats; but Vlad returned to the See also:throne in 1476-77. The shifting policy of the. Walachian princes at this time is well described in a See also:letter of the Hungarian king See also:Matthias See also:Corvinus (1458—90) to Casimir of Poland. " The voivodes," he writes, " of Walachia and Moldavia fawn alternately upon the Turks, the Tatars, the Poles and the Hungarians, that among so many masters their perfidy may remain unpunished." The 1 A. See also:Sturdza gives a genealogical table, showing that Radu belonged to the great native See also:dynasty of See also:Bassarab (q.v.) or Bassaraba, which continued, though not in unbroken See also:succession, to See also:rule in Walachia until 1658, and in Moldavia until 1669.prevalent laxity of See also:marriage, the frequency of See also:divorce, and the fact that illegitimate children could succeed as well as those See also:born in lawful wedlock, by multiplying the candidates for the voivodeship and preventing any See also:regular system of succession, contributed much to the See also:internal confusion of the country. The elections, though often controlled by the Turkish See also:Divan, were still constitutionally in the hands of the boiars, who were split up into various factions, each with its own pretender to the throne. The princes followed one another in rapid succession, and usually met with violent ends. A large part of the population led a pastoral See also:life, and at the time of Verantius's visit to Walachia in the early part of the 16th century, the towns and villages were built of See also:wood and wattle and See also:daub.

See also:

Tirgovishtea alone, at this time the capital of the country, was a considerable See also:town, with two See also:stone castles. A temporary improvement took See also:place under Neagoe Bassaraba (1512—21). Neagoe was a great builder of monasteries; he founded the cathedrals of Curtea de Argesh (q.v.) and Tirgovishtea, and adorned See also:Mount See also:Athos with his pious See also:works. He transferred the direct See also:allegiance of the Walachian See also:Church from the patriarchate of See also:Ochrida in Macedonia to that of Constantinople. On his See also:death, however, the brief period of See also:comparative prosperity which his architectural works attest was tragically interrupted, and it seemed for a time that Walachia was doomed to Turkish sink into a Turkish pashalic. The Turkish See also:commander, oppres-Mahmud See also:Bey, became treacherously possessed of Nea- soons• goe's See also:young son and successor, and, sending him a prisoner to Stambul, proceeded to nominate Turkish See also:governors in the towns and villages of Walachia. The Walachians resisted desperately, elected Radu, a kinsman of Neagoe, voivode, and succeeded with Hungarian help in defeating Mahmud Bey at Grumatz in 1522. The conflict was prolonged with varying fortunes until in 1524 the dogged opposition of the Walachians triumphed in the sultan's recognition of Radu. But the battle of See also:Mohacs in 1526 decided the See also:long preponderance of Turkish See also:control. The unfortunate See also:province served as a transit route for Turkish expeditions against Hungary and Transylvania, and was exhausted by continual requisitions. Turkish settlers were gradually making See also:good their footing on Walachian See also:soil, and mosques were rising in the towns and villages. The voivode See also:Alexander, who succeeded in 1591, and like his predecessors had bought his See also:post of the Divan, carried the oppression still further by introducing a janissary guard and farming out his possessions to his Turkish supporters.

Meanwhile the Turkish governors on the Bulgarian See also:

bank never ceased to ravage the country, and again it seemed as if Walachia must See also:share the See also:fate of the Balkan States and succumb to the direct See also:government of the See also:Ottoman. In the See also:depth of the national See also:distress the choice of the people fell on See also:Michael, the son of Petrushko, ban of See also:Craiova, the first dignitary of the See also:realm, who had fled to Transylvania to See also:escape Alexander's machinations. Supported at Constantinople by two influential personages, Sigismund See also:Bathory, prince of Transylvania (1581—98 and 1601—2), and the See also:English See also:ambassador, See also:Edward See also:Barton, and aided by a See also:loan of 200,000 florins, Michael succeeded in procuring from the Divan the deposition of his enemy and his own nomination. The See also:genius of Michael " the Brave " (1593—1601) secured Walachia for a time a place in universal history. The moment for See also:action was favourable. The See also:emperor See also:Rudolph IL. had Michael gained some successes over the Turks, and Sigismund the Brave. Bathory had been driven by Turkish extortions to throw off the allegiance to the sultan. But the first obstacle to be dealt with was the presence of the enemy within the walls. By previous See also:concert with the Moldavian voivode See also:Aaron, on the 13th of See also:November 1594, the Turkish See also:guards and settlers in the two principalities were massacred at a given See also:signal. Michael followed up these " Walachian See also:Vespers " by an actual invasion of Turkish territory, and, aided by Sigismund Bathory, succeeded in carrying by See also:assault See also:Rustchuk, Silistria and other places on the right bank of the See also:lower See also:Danube. A simultaneous invasion of Walachia by a large Turkish and Tatar host was successfully defeated; t ht Tatar See also:khan withdrew with the loss of his bravest followers, and, in the great victory of Mantin on the Danube (1595), the Turkish See also:army was annihilated, and its See also:leader, Mustaf a, slain. The sultan now sent Sinan Pasha, " the Renegade," to invade Walachia with See also:Ioo,000 men.

Michael withdrew to the mountains before this overwhelming force, but, being joined by Bathory with a Transylvanian contingent, the voivode resumed the offensive, stormed See also:

Bucharest, where Sinan had entrenched a Turkish detachment, and, pursuing the See also:main body of his forces to the Danube, overtook the rearguard and cut it to pieces, capturing enormous See also:booty. Sinan Pasha returned to Constantinople to See also:die, it is said, of vexation; and in 1597, the sultan, weary of a disastrous contest, sent Michael a red See also:flag in token of reconciliation,' reinvested him for life in an See also:office of which he had been unable to deprive him, and granted the succession to his son. In 1599, on the See also:abdication of Sigismund Bathory in Transylvania, Michael, in See also:league with the imperialist forces, and in See also:conquest connivance with the Saxon burghers, attacked and of See also:Trim- defeated his successor Andreas Bathory near Hermannaylvaala. stadt, and, seizing himself the reins of government, secured his See also:proclamation as prince of Transylvania. The emperor consented to appoint him his See also:viceroy (locum tenens per Transylvanian), and the sultan ratified his See also:election. As prince of Transylvania he summoned diets in 1599 and 1600, and, having expelled the voivode of Moldavia, united under his See also:sceptre three principalities. The partiality that he showed for the Ruman and Szekler parts of the population alienated, however, the Transylvanian See also:Saxons, who preferred the direct government of the emperor. The imperial See also:commissioner See also:General Basta See also:lent his support to the disaffected party, and Michael was driven out of Transylvania by a successful revolt, while a See also:Polish army invaded Walachia from the Moldavian See also:side. Michael's coolness and resource, however, never deserted him. He resolved to See also:appeal to the emperor, rode to See also:Prague, won over Rudolph by his singular address, and, richly supplied with funds, reappeared in Transylvania as imperial governor. In con-junction with Basta he defeated the See also:superior Transylvanian forces at Gorosl6, expelling Sigismund Bathory, who had again aspired to the crown, and taking one See also:hundred and fifty flags and See also:forty-five See also:cannon. But at the moment of his returning prosperity Basta, who had quarrelled with him about the supreme command of the imperial forces, procured his See also:murder on the 19th of See also:August 16or. Not only had Michael succeeded in See also:rolling back for a time the See also:tide of Turkish conquest, but for the first and last time in modern history he united what once had been See also:Trajan's Dacia, in its widest extent, and with it the whole Ruman See also:race See also:north of the Danube, under a single sceptre.

Michael's wife Florika and his son See also:

Nicholas were carried off into Tatar captivity, and erban or Sherban, of the Bassaraba See also:family, was raised to the voivodeship of Walachia by imperialist influences, while Sigismund resumed the government of Transylvania. On his deposition by the See also:Porte in Oro, there followed a .succession of princes who, though still for the most part of Ruman origin, bought their See also:appointment at Stambul. Walachian contingents were continually employed by the Turks in their Polish See also:wars, and the See also:settlement of Greeks in an See also:official or See also:mercantile capacity in the principality provoked See also:grave discontent, which on one occasion took the See also:form of a See also:massacre. The reign of the voivode Matthias Bassaraba (1633—54) was an See also:interval of comparative prosperity. Matthias repulsed Matthias his powerful See also:rival, See also:Basil the See also:Wolf, the voivode of See also:Bassa- Moldavia and his Tatar and Cossack allies. His last rata. days were embittered, however, by an outbreak of military anarchy. His illegitimate son and successor, See also:Constantine §erban (1654—58), was the last of the Bassaraba dynasty to rule over Walachia; and on his death the Turkish yoke again weighed heavier on his country. The old capital, Tirgovishtea, was considered by the Divan to be too near the Transylvanian frontier, and the voivodes were accordingly compelled to See also:transfer their See also:residence to Bucharest, which was finally made the seat of government in 1698.

End of Article: DACIA

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