This is a list of monarchs of Moldavia, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the Carpathians and until its disestablishment in 1862, when it united with Wallachia, the other Danubian Principality, to form the modern-day state of Romania.
Dynastic rule is hard to ascribe, given the loose traditional definition of the ruling family (on principle, princes were chosen from any branch, including a previous monarch's bastard sons – being defined as os de domn – "of domn marrow", or as having hereghie – "heredity" (from the Latin hereditas); the institutions charged with the election, dominated by the boyars, had fluctuating degrees of influence). The system itself was challenged by usurpers, and became obsolete with the Phanariote epoch, when monarchs were appointed by the Ottoman Sultans. Between 1821 and 1862, various systems combining election and appointment were put in practice. Moldavian monarchs, like Wallachian and other Eastern European monarchs, bore the titles of Voivode or/and Hospodar (when writing in Romanian, the term Domn (from the Latin dominus ) was used).
Most monarchs did not use the form of the name they are cited with, and several used more than one form of their own name; in some cases, the monarch was only mentioned in foreign sources. The full names are either modern versions or ones based on mentions in various chronicles.
The list is brought up to date for the first monarchs, following the documented studies of Ștefan S. Gorovei [1] and Constantin Rezachevici. [2]
Portrait | Monarch | Reign | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
Dragoș I | c. 1347–c. 1354 | Described as an early monarch of Moldavia, he was sent there as a representative of king Louis I of Hungary to establish a line of defense against the Golden Horde, where he ruled. | |
Sas | c. 1354–c. 1363 | son of Dragoș | |
Balc | c. | son of Sas | |
Portrait | Monarch | Reign | Consort | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bogdan I the Founder | c. 1359–1367 | Maria three children | Deposed Sas | |
Peter I | 1367 – July 1368 | Unmarried | Grandson of Bogdan I, [3] rule not universally accepted by modern historians. | |
Lațcu | July 1368 – 1375 | Anna before 1372 one child | Son of Bogdan I, deposed Petru I [3] | |
Peter II | 1375 – December 1391 | Sophia of Lithuania 1387 no children Olga of Masovia 1388 no children | Son of Costea and Margareta; often referred as Petru I Mușat | |
Roman I | December 1391 – March 1394 | Anastasia three children | Brother of the predecessor. | |
Stephen I | March 1394 – 28 November 1399 | Unmarried | Son of Roman I. | |
Iuga | 28 November 1399 – 29 June 1400 | Unmarried | Son of Roman I, deposed by intervention of Mircea I of Wallachia | |
Alexander I the Good | 29 June 1400 – 1 January 1432 | Margareta of Losoncz 1394 two children Anna Neacsa of Podolsk 1405 three children Ringala of Lithuania 1419 (divorced 13 December 1421) no children Marina Bratul 1421 three children | Son of Roman I, installed by Mircea I of Wallachia | |
Iliaș I | 1 January 1432 – October 1433 4 August 1435 – May 1443 | Maria Olshanki of Lithuania 23 October 1425 three children | Son of Alexandru I; Deposed by Stefan II, joined his rule in 1435. | |
Stephen II | October 1433 – 13 July 1447 | Unmarried | Illegitimate son of Alexandru I; Only de facto monarch till September 1434. | |
Peter III | May 1444 – 1445 22 August – 23 December 1447 5 April – 10 October 1448 | An unknown sister of John Hunyadi before 1445 no children | Also joined firstly Ștefan II's rule, before returning in 1447 independently. | |
Roman II | 13 July – 22 August 1447 23 December 1447 – bet. 25 February/5 April 1448 | Unmarried | son of Iliaș; 1st rule | |
Csupor de Monoszló (Ciubăr Vodă) | 10 October – December 1448 | Unknown | Non-dynastic usurper. Born in Croatia, he was a Hungarian nobleman, commander of troops of John Hunyadi. He was sent in support of Petru III to depose his brother Roman, but Petru died suddenly two months later. Csupor ascended at the throne. His name, literally Tub Voivode was mentioned by Grigore Ureche. | |
Alexăndrel | December 1448 – 12 January 1449 24 February 1452 – 22 August 1454 8 February – 25 March 1455 | Unmarried | Son of Iliaș I. | |
Bogdan II | 12 January 1449 – 15 October 1451 | Oltea before 1433 six children | Nephew of Alexandru I. | |
Peter III Aaron | 15 October 1451 – 24 February 1452 22 August 1454 – 8 February 1455 25 March 1455 – 12 April 1457 | Unknown before 1455 one child | Illegitimate son of Alexandru I. | |
Stephen III the Great | 12 April 1457 – 2 July 1504 | Eudokia Olelkovna of Lithuania 5 July 1463 Suceava three children Maria Asanina Palaiologina of Gothia 14 September 1472 Suceava four children Maria Voichița of Wallachia 1478 three children | Son of Bogdan II. In his reign Moldavia reaches its zenith. | |
Bogdan III The One-Eyed | 2 July 1504 – 22 April 1517 | Anastasia 1510 no children Ruxandra of Wallachia 21 July 1513 no children | son of Ștefan III the Great; | |
Regency of Luca Arbore, gatekeeper of Suceava (22 April 1517 – 1523) | Son of Bogdan III; also called Ștefăniță. | |||
Stephen IV the Younger | 22 April 1517 – 14 January 1527 | Stana of Wallachia 1524 no children | ||
Peter IV Rareș | 14 January 1527 – 14 September 1538 9/16 February 1541 – 2/3 September 1546 | Maria before 1529 four children Elena of Serbia 1530 four children | Illegitimate son of Stephen the Great. | |
Stephen V Locust | 21 September 1538 – 20 December 1540 | Chiajna before 1540 two children | Grandson of Stephen the Great. | |
Alexandru Cornea the Evil | 21 December 1540 – 9/16 February 1541 | Unmarried | Son of Bogdan III. | |
Regency of Elena of Serbia (2/3 September 1546 - 30 May 1551) | 1st son of Petru Rareș. Deposed and eventually converted to Islam. | |||
Ilie II Rareș | 2 or 3 September 1546 – 30 May 1551 | (married several wives as a Muslim) | ||
Regency of Elena of Serbia (30 May 1551 – 1 September 1552) | 2nd son of Petru Rareș, attempted an alliance with Hungary; ended up assassinated by his boyars, and was shortly followed by his mother, strangled by them in the following year. | |||
Stephen VI Rareș | 30 May 1551 – 1 September 1552 | Unmarried | ||
Ioan Joldea | bet. 4/12 September 1552 | Unmarried | Non-dynastic. Ruled 2 or 3 days in 1552. | |
Alexandru IV Lăpușneanu | 12 September 1552 – 30 November 1561 10 March 1564 – 9 March 1568 | Ruxandra of Moldavia January 1556 fourteen children | Son of Bogdan III, brother of Ștefan IV. | |
Ioan Iacob Heraclid | 18 November 1561 – 9 November 1563 | An illegitimate daughter of Mircea IV of Wallachia no children | The Despot Vodă, non-dynastic. Tried, unsuccessfully, to introduce Lutheranism in Moldavia. | |
Ștefan Tomșa | 9 August 1563 – bet. 20 February/10 March 1564 | Unknown at least two children | Non-dynastic. Came to power after a boyar revolt that deposed Ioan Iacob Heraclid. | |
Regency of Ruxandra of Moldavia (9 March 1568 – November 1570) | Son of Alexandru IV Lăpușneanu. | |||
Bogdan IV | 9 March 1568 – 15 February 1572 | A princess from the Paniczewsk family 1571 one child | ||
John III the Terrible | 15 February 1572 – 11 June 1574 | Maria Semyonovna of Rostov 1552 Moscow two children | Son of Ștefan IV; also called cel Viteaz (the Brave). | |
Portrait | Monarch | Reign | Family | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Peter V the Lame | June 1574 – 23 November 1577 1 January 1578 – 21 November 1579 17 October 1582 – 29 August 1591 | Drăculești | ||
Ivan Pidkova | November–December 1577 | Non-dynastic. Hetman in Ukraine (1577-78), also called Nicoară Potcoavă or Ivan Sarpega. | ||
John II the Saxon | 21 November 1579 – September 1582 | Bogdan-Mușat | Illegitimate son of Petru Rareș | |
Aaron the Tyrant | September 1591 – June 1592 October 1592 – 4 May 1595 | Bogdan-Mușat | son of Alexandru Lăpușneanu; 1st rule | |
Alexander III the Bad | June – August 1592 | Bogdan-Mușat | son of Bogdan IV; also ruled Wallachia (1592–1593) | |
Peter VI the Cossack | 1592 | Bogdan-Mușat | son of Alexandru IV Lăpușneanu | |
Ștefan Răzvan | 1595 | Non-dynastic. | ||
Ieremia Movilă | August 1595 – May 1600 September 1600 – 10 July 1606 | Movilești | grandson of Petru Rareș; 1st rule | |
Michael the Brave | 1600 | Drăculești | Also ruled Wallachia (1593–1600) and Transylvania (1599–1600) | |
Simion Movilă | July 1606 – 14 September 1607 | Movilești | brother of Ieremia Movilă | |
Mihail Movilă | 24 September – October 1607 November – December 1607 | Movileşti | son of Ieremia Movilă; 1st rule | |
Regency of Elzbieta Csomortany de Losoncz (October 1607 and December 1607 – 20 November 1611) | Son of Ieremia Movilă. | |||
Constantin Movilă | October 1607 December 1607 – 20 November 1611 | Movilești | ||
Ștefan Tomșa II | 20 November 1611 – 22 November 1615 September 1621 – August 1623 | Non-dynastic. Probably a relative of Ștefan Tomșa I. | ||
Regency of Elzbieta Csomortany de Losoncz (22 November 1615 – 2 August 1616) | ||||
Alexandru Movilă | 22 November 1615 – 2 August 1616 | Movilești | ||
Radu Mihnea | 2 August 1616 – 9 February 1619 4 August 1623 – 13 January 1626 | Drăculești | ||
Gaspar Graziani | 9 February 1619 – 29 September 1620 | Non-dynastic. | ||
Alexandru IV Iliaş | 29 September 1620 – October 1621 5 December 1631 – April 1633 | Bogdan-Mușat | Nephew of Petru VI, Aron and Bogdan IV | |
Miron Barnovschi-Movilă | 13 January 1626 – July 1629 April – 2 July 1633 | Movilești | ||
Alexander the Child | July 1629 – 29 April 1630 | Drăculești | ||
Moise Movilă | 28 April 1630 – November 1631 2 July 1633 – April 1634 | Movilești | ||
Vasile Lupu | April 1634 - 13 April 1653 8 May – 16 July 1653 | Non-dynastic | ||
Gheorghe Ștefan | 13 April – 8 May 1653 16 July 1653 – 13 March 1658 | |||
The Ottoman influence in the Moldavian rulers' election grows from the mid-17th century onward. From 1659, the rulers elected are mostly scions of Greek families, and increasingly less linked to the original Moldavian ruling family. The process reached its peak with the called Phanariote period (1715-1859), where, between the rulers, there was already no connection (or a very distant one) with the dynasty of Bogdan-Musat.
Portrait | Monarch | Reign | Family | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gheorghe Ghica | 1658–1659 | Ghica | ||
Constantin Șerban | 1659 1661 | |||
Ștefan Lupu | 1659–1661 1661 | also called Papură-Vodă (Bullrush Voivode); 1st rule | ||
Eustratie Dabija | 1661–1665 | |||
Gheorghe Duca | 1665–1666 1668–1672 1678–1683 | |||
Iliaș Alexandru | 1666–1668 | Bogdan-Mușat | The last member of the House of Bogdan-Mușat reigning in Moldavia; son of Alexandru VII. | |
Ştefan Petriceicu | 1672–1673 1673–1674 1683–1684 | 1st rule | ||
Dumitrașcu Cantacuzino | 1673 1674–1675 1684–1685 | Cantacuzene | 1st rule | |
Antonie Ruset | 1675–1678 | Rosetti | ||
Constantin Cantemir | 1685–1693 | Cantemirești | ||
Dimitrie Cantemir | 1693 1710–1711 | Cantemirești | 1st rule; deposed by Ottomans | |
Constantin Duca | 1693–1695 1700–1703 | |||
Antioh Cantemir | 1695–1700 1705–1707 | Cantemirești | 1st rule | |
Chancellor Ioan Buhuș | 1703 1709–1710 | |||
Mihai Racoviță | 1703–1705 1707–1709 1715–1726 | Racoviță | ||
Nicolae Mavrocordat | 1709–1710 1711–1715 | Mavrocordato | 1st rule |
Portrait | Monarch | Reign | Family | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ioan Sturdza | 1822–1828 | Sturdza | ||
Russian occupation (1828–1834) Military commanders: Fyodor Pahlen, Pyotr Zheltukhin, and Pavel Kiseleff | ||||
Organic Statute government (1832–1856) | ||||
Mihail Sturdza | 1834–1849 | Sturdza | ||
Grigore Alexandru Ghica | 1849–1853 1854–1856 | Ghica | 1st rule | |
Russian occupation (1853–1854) (Crimean War) | ||||
Protectorate established by the Treaty of Paris (1856–1859) | ||||
Extraordinary Administrative Council | 1856 | |||
Caimacam Teodor Balș | 1856–1857 | |||
Caimacam Nicolae Vogoride | 1857–1858 | |||
Caimacams | 1858–1859 | Ștefan Catargiu, Vasile Sturdza and Anastasie Panu (Catargiu resigns in 1858 and is replaced by Ioan A. Cantacuzino) | ||
Alexandru Ioan Cuza | 1859–1862 | also ruled Wallachia in personal union as the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. | ||
Formal union of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1862 as the Romanian United Principalities. A new constitution came into effect in 1866 giving the country the official name Romania. For later rulers, see Domnitor and King of Romania . | ||||
Constantin Brâncoveanu was Prince of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714.
Basarab IV cel Tânăr, also known as Țepeluș, son of Basarab II, and grandson of Dan II (1422-1431) was 4 times the voivode of the principality of Wallachia between 1474 and 1482: from Oct to Dec 1474, from Jan 1478 to June 1480, from Nov 1480 to before July 1481, and again from Aug 1481 to July 1482.
Petru (Peter) I may have been a Voivode (prince) of Moldavia from the end of 1367 to after July 1368. Several historians, including Constantin Rezachevici and Ioan Aurel Pop, believe him to have been the son of prince Ştefan, oldest son of voivode Bogdan I of Moldavia, while others, including historian Juliusz Demel, considered him to be the son of Costea of Moldavia with a daughter of Bogdan I. In the second hypothesis, there was no such voivode of Moldavia in 1367-1368, the first using the regnal name Petru being Petru II of Moldavia.
Costea was a Moldavian grand boyar, possibly briefly a Voivode of Moldavia, mentioned in a document from 1407 in line of rulers between Lațcu and Petru. Initially it has been thought that he ruled between 1373 and 1374.
Iuga of Moldavia was Voivode (Prince) of Moldavia from November 1399 to June 1400. According to one hypothesis, he may have been the Lithuanian prince George Koriatovich. Other hypotheses posit him as the son of Roman I of Moldavia (1391–1394) and an unknown wife, possibly of Lithuanian extraction from descendants of Karijotas, confused with the Lithuanian prince because of the similar name and background. The nickname "the Crippled" can be found only in the chronicle of Putna Monastery, drafted in the first years of the 16th century, but its origins are unknown. The reasons why he has remained in history with this nickname are not known precisely.
Io is the contraction of a title used mainly by the royalty in Moldavia and Wallachia, preceding their names and the complete list of titles. First used by the Asenid rulers of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the particle is the abbreviation of theophoric name Ioan (John), which comes from the original Hebrew Yohanan, meaning "God has favored". Io appeared in most documents, as issued by their respective chancelleries, since the countries' early history, but its frequency and relative importance among the princely attributes varied over time. Its usage probably dates back to the foundation of Wallachia, though it spread to Moldavia only in the 15th century. In more informal contexts, Romanians occasionally applied the title to benefactors or lieges from outiside the two countries, including John Hunyadi and George II Rákóczi.
Pârvu III Cantacuzino, also known as Pârvul, Părvul, Purvul or Pîrvu Cantacuzino, was a high-ranking Wallachian statesman who served intermittently as Spatharios and Ban of Oltenia, primarily known as the leader of an anti-Ottoman rebellion. Holding sway over a Russophile faction within the Wallachian boyardom, he briefly served as an officer in Russia's Imperial Army during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774. Pârvu was a member of the Cantacuzino family, which made him a descendant of several Wallachian Princes, and was joined in all of his political and military actions by his younger brothers, the Vistier Mihai and Clucer Răducanu Cantacuzino.
The House of Bogdan, commonly referred to as the House of Mușat, was the ruling family which established the Principality of Moldova with Bogdan I, giving the country its first line of Princes, one closely related with the Basarab rulers of Wallachia by several marriages through time. The Mușatins are named after Margareta Mușata who married Costea, a son of Bogdan I. For a long time it has been thought that Mușata was a daughter of Bogdan I and Costea was a member of House of Basarab who bore the name Muşat, all speculations unsupported by any documents.
Mircea III Dracul was one of the two sons of Mihnea cel Rău, making him the grandson of Vlad Dracula. He ruled as prince of Wallachia between 12 October 1509 and 26 January 1510.
Peter III was hospodar & voivode of Moldavia, and son of Alexandru cel Bun. He is traditionally believed to be the second ruler of Moldavia bearing this regnal name, though some historians have posited another Petru had ruled Moldavia in the late 14th century, making him the third Petru(Peter) in regnal order.
Peter V the Lame was Prince of Moldavia from June 1574 to 23 November 1577. He also ruled 1 January 1578 to 21 November 1579 and 17 October 1583 to 29 August 1591. He was known as "the Lame" due to a physical deformity. Raised by the Turks in Istanbul and hardly knew of his country of origin before gaining the throne of Moldavia.
Csupor de Monoszló was a Hungarian aristocrat of Croatian origin, a commander of John Hunyadi's troops that were sent to support Petru III in gaining the Moldavian throne from Roman II. Ciubăr Vodă governed Moldavia for about two months after the unexpected death of Petru possibly at the end of January 1449, as in February, Alexăndrel took the Moldavian throne for the first time. He is only mentioned by Grigore Ureche, as ruler of Moldova for two months after Petru III of Moldavia.
Petru (Peter) Mușat (d. 1391) was Voivode (prince) of Moldavia from 1375 to 1391, the maternal grandson of Bogdan I, the first ruler from the dynastic House of Bogdan, succeeding Lațcu, Bogdan's son and successor who converted to Catholicism. According to one significant hypothesis, he may have been the first voivode of Moldavia under this regnal name, and should be referred to as Petru I of Moldavia. After 2000, Romanian historian Constantin Rezachevici proposed a novel timeline of Moldavian rulers, according to which Petru Mușat would be referred as Petru II.
Stephen I of Moldavia was Prince of Moldavia from 1394 to 1399. He succeeded to the throne as son of the previous ruler, Roman I and succeeded by his brother Iuga whom he associated to the throne in 1399 when he fell ill.
Stephen V Locust was Prince of Moldavia from 1538 to 1540. His nickname comes from a large locust invasion of the country that happened during his reign and led to harvest loss, and famine.
Basarab VI was the son of the usurper Mehmed-bey who ruled Wallachia briefly in 1529 after the death of Radu of Afumati.
Leon Tomșa, also known as Leon Vodă or Alion, was the Prince of Wallachia from October 1629 to July 1632. He claimed to be a son of Ștefan IX Tomșa, and as such a Moldavian, but was generally identified as a Greek of lowly origins, and reportedly an oyster-monger. He was imposed on the throne by the Ottoman Empire, one of a line of Princes who were primarily subservient to Ottoman power. In his first year, he also supported the political ascendancy of Greeks and Levantines, many of whom made their way into Wallachia's traditional aristocracy, or boyardom. This upset the local boyars, who were further alienated and impoverished by Leon's fiscal policies, which in turn reflected Ottoman demands for tribute. The regime was threatened by an Oltenia-centered rebellion, initially led by Ban Aslan, and later by Matei Basarab. Though often depicted as an anti-Greek movement, it had Greeks and Romanians fighting on either side.
Ion Cuza or Cuzea, commonly known as Ioniță Cuza, was a Moldavian statesman and political conspirator, remembered as one of the first Romanian nationalists and Freemasons. His paternal family, the Cuzas (Cuzeas), were landowners of uncertain origin who, by the time of Ioniță's birth, had been established into the boyardom, being under the patronage of Doukas and Sturdza aristocrats. Ioniță's mother was a direct descendant of the statesman-chronicler Miron Costin; his father, Miron Cuza, had been involved in the pro-Habsburg conspiracy headed by François Ernaut, while his grandfather, Dumitrașco Cuzea, had been hanged during the clampdown. As boyars, both the Cuzas and the Costins opposed the Phanariote regime and devised other schemes to emancipate Moldavia from the Ottoman Empire.
The Paharnic was a historical Romanian rank, one of the non-hereditary positions ascribed to the boyar aristocracy in Moldavia and Wallachia. It was the local equivalent of a cup-bearer or cześnik, originally centered on pouring and obtaining wine for the court of Moldavian and Wallachian Princes. With time, it became a major administrative office and, in Wallachia, also had a lesser military function. The retinue of such boyars, usually called Păhărnicei, was in both countries also a private army.