Alexandru Ioan Cuza was the first domnitor (prince) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as Prince of Moldavia on 5 January 1859 and Prince of Wallachia on 24 January 1859, which resulted in the unification of the two states. He was a prominent figure of the Moldavian Revolution of 1848. Following his double election, he initiated a series of reforms that contributed to the modernization of Romanian society and of state structures.
Moldavia is a historical region and former principality in Central and Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially independent and later autonomous state, it existed from the 14th century to 1859, when it united with Wallachia as the basis of the modern Romanian state; at various times, Moldavia included the regions of Bessarabia, all of Bukovina and Hertsa. The region of Pokuttya was also part of it for a period of time.
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Muntenia and Oltenia. Dobruja could sometimes be considered a third section due to its proximity and brief rule over it. Wallachia as a whole is sometimes referred to as Muntenia through identification with the larger of the two traditional sections.
The House of Ghica [or Ghika] was an Albanian noble family whose members held significant positions in Wallachia, Moldavia and later in the Kingdom of Romania, between the early 17th century and late 19th century. The Ghica family produced many voivodes of Wallachia and Moldavia and two Prime Ministers of Romania. Several branches of the family still exist today.
Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar, the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied four important positions in 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".
Stolnik was a court office in Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Russia, responsible for serving the royal table, then an honorary court title and a district office. It approximately corresponds to English term "pantler".
Domnitor, in full Principe Domnitor was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince regnant" in English and most other languages, and less often as "grand duke". "Domnitor" is an adjective derived from the Romanian word "domn" and, in turn, from the Latin "Dominus". The title Domn had been in use since the Middle Ages and it is also the Romanian equivalent to the Slavic Hospodar. Moldavian and Wallachian rulers had used this term for their title of authority as the head of state, while "voievod" represented the military rank as the head of the army.
The historical regions of Romania are located in Central, Southeastern, and Eastern Europe. Romania came into being through the unification of two principalities, Wallachia and Moldavia in 1862. The new unitary state extended over further regions at various times during the late 19th and 20th centuries, including Dobruja in 1878, and Transylvania in 1918.
The 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 (1774) in order to designate an area on the lower Danube with a common geopolitical situation. The term was largely used then by foreign political circles and public opinion until the union of the two principalities in 1859. Alongside Transylvania, the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia became the basis for the Kingdom of Romania, and by extension the modern nation-state of Romania.
Michael the Brave, born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia, Prince of Moldavia (1600) and de facto ruler of Transylvania (1599–1600). He is considered one of Romania's greatest national heroes. Since the 19th century, Michael the Brave has been regarded by Romanian nationalists as a symbol of Romanian unity, as his reign marked the first time all principalities inhabited by Romanians were under the same ruler.
The measures of the old Romanian system varied greatly not only between the three Romanian states, but sometimes also inside the same country. The origin of some of the measures are the Latin, Slavic, Greek and Turkish systems.
The House of Mavrokordatos, variously also Mavrocordato, Mavrocordatos, Mavrocordat, Mavrogordato or Maurogordato, is the name of a family of Phanariot Greeks originally from Chios, a branch of which was distinguished in the history of the Ottoman Empire, Wallachia, Moldavia, and modern Greece.
The Hurmuzachi family 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.
Mircea the Shepherd was the Voivode of Wallachia three times: January 1545 –16 November 1552; May 1553–28 February 1554 ; and January 1558–21 September 1559.
Albanians in Romania are an officially recognized ethnic minority, with one seat reserved in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies to the League of Albanians of Romania.
Ștefan Răzvan was a voivode (prince) of Moldavia as Ștefan VIII Răzvan.
Clucer was a historical rank traditionally held by boyars in Moldavia and Wallachia, roughly corresponding to that of Masters of the Royal Court. It originated in the Slavic kliučiari, being equivalent to the Russian title of klyuchnik.
The boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia were the nobility of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The title was either inherited or granted by the Hospodar, often together with an administrative function. The boyars held much of the political power in the principalities and, until the Phanariote era, they elected the Hospodar.
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.
