THEMATIC EXHIBITION AT SUȚU PALACE
The Mavrocordat Princes in the Heritage of the Muzeul Municipiului București
After the execution of the Brâncoveanu men in Yali Kiosk Square in Istanbul and the brief pre-Phanariot reign of Ștefan Cantacuzino (1714–1716), the sultan decided on the direct appointment to the princely throne of Bucharest of Greeks or Hellenized rulers, as they were considered to offer greater guarantees of loyalty to the Ottoman Empire. Thus, Moldavia and Wallachia were ruled until the middle of the 18th century by princes from the Mavrocordat, Racoviță, and Ghica families, who alternated successively on the thrones of Iași and Bucharest.
The Mavrocordat family, originating from the island of Chios, rose within the power structures of the Porte through Alexandru Mavrocordat, also known as the Exaporit (approximately “privy counselor” to the sultan). The beginning of his career dates to 1671, when he obtained the position of secretary to the great Christian dragoman Panaghiotis Nikoussios. After the death of his protector, Alexandru was appointed great dragoman in 1673. From this position, he distinguished himself as the Sublime Porte’s negotiator at the Peace of Karlowitz in January 1699.
Nicolae Mavrocordat (b. 3 May 1680, Constantinople – d. 3/14 September 1730, Bucharest), son of the politician, diplomat, and scholar Alexandru Exaporitul, was related through his mother, Sultana Hrisoscoleu, to the old ruling family of the Mușatins, descending on the female line from Alexandru Iliaș, voivode. He was first married to Princess Casandra Cantacuzino, with whom he had Tarsia, Scarlat, and Ruxandra. Later, with Pulheria Ciuki, he had Maria, the future prince Constantin, Ioan, voivode of Moldavia (1743–1747), and Toma. His third marriage was to Smaranda Stavropoleos, with whom he had Alexandru, Sultana, and Ștefan. Within the Ottoman Empire, he held the office of great dragoman of the Porte (1699–1709).
He was regarded by the Sublime Porte as a trustworthy man, providing information on the political and diplomatic life of countries in southeastern and central Europe, and was even consulted on various matters. After the removal of the last Cantacuzino voivode, the Ottoman Empire appointed him to the Wallachian throne beginning on 25 December 1715 / 5 January 1716, following a short Moldavian reign (1711–1715), instituted after the flight of his predecessor, Dimitrie Cantemir (1710–1711), to Russia. He ruled twice in Moldavia (1709–1710 and 1711–1715) and twice in Wallachia (1716 and 1719–1730).
His name is closely linked to the Văcărești Monastery (1716–1723), considered a pinnacle of the great Brâncovenesc style. Established in 1721 as a metochion of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, it was endowed with a printing press, a Greek school, and especially a valuable library, which brought the fame of the Mavrocordats throughout Europe. Stricken by plague, Nicolae Mavrocordat passed away on 3/14 September 1730 and was laid to rest in his splendid foundation at Văcărești.
Ioan Mavrocordat (b. 23 August 1684, Constantinople – d. 23 November 1719, Bucharest) was married to Zamfira Gulianò, and they were blessed with a single son, Alexandru. He ruled only in Wallachia, between 1716 and 1719.
Constantin Mavrocordat (b. 27 February 1711, Constantinople – d. 21 November 1769, Iași) was married in 1728 to Smaranda Cantacuzino, without heirs. Four years later, he married Ecaterina Rosetti, with whom he had several descendants: Alexandru, known as Delibei, voivode of Moldavia (1782–1785), Maria, Ioan, Ecaterina, Smaranda, and Dimitrie. His connections, doubled by substantial sums spent at the Porte, secured for Constantin Mavrocordat the Wallachian throne six times (1730; 1731–1733; 1735–1741; 1744–1748; 1756–1758; and 1761–1763) and the Moldavian throne four times (1733–1735; 1741–1743; 1748–1749; and 1769). The great historian Nicolae Iorga considered him a “national candidate.” He distinguished himself through a series of reforms: the abolition of the livestock tax (văcăritul) and the land tax (pogonăritul); exemption of monasteries and clergy from taxation; the appointment of boyar administrators (ispravnici) in all counties; the salarization of officials and servants; the generalization of the lump-sum tax (rupta or ruptoare); the restriction of various categories of fiscal privilege holders (poslușnici); the creation of three new courts judging according to the vasilicals or the Laws of Justinian; the obligation to draft rulings in duplicate and record them in registers with sealed pages, etc.
The heritage of the Muzeul Municipiului București, through its Documents Collection, includes a significant number of charters, written on paper or parchment, issued during the Wallachian reigns of the three representatives of the illustrious Mavrocordat family—Nicolae, Ioan, and Constantin. Major boyars such as Manolache Lambrino, Iordache Crețulescu, Constantin Băleanu, and Dumitrașco Caragea, as well as the Holy Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia and Cotroceni Monastery, received various donations or had their rights of ownership over properties in Bucharest or other parts of the country reconfirmed. Most princely acts were issued in Bucharest and authenticated with the princes’ autograph signatures—either free-standing or enclosed within a beautifully decorated cartouche—as well as with the medium princely seal in red wax, over which a finely decorated paper stamp was placed or printed in cinnabar, and with the octagonal signet ring seal, also in cinnabar. The sealing fields depict the cross-bearing eagle or the united coat of arms of Wallachia and Moldavia, surrounded by the particle “Io,” the initials of the issuing prince, the title “voivode,” and sometimes the date when the respective seal matrix was made. Beneath the text content appear the princely monograms, executed in gold solution or cinnabar, preceded or not by the symbolic invocation.
Grina-Mihaela Rafailă