House of Basarab

"Basarab" redirects here. For other uses, see Basarab (disambiguation).
House of Basarab
Country Wallachia
Titles Prince
(Voivode; Hospodar)
Founded 1310
Founder Basarab I of Wallachia
Final ruler
Current head Displaced

The Basarabs (also Bazarabs or Bazaraads, Romanian: Basarab pronounced [basaˈrab]) were a family which had an important role in the establishing of the Principality of Wallachia, giving the country its first line of Princes, one closely related with the Mușatin rulers of Moldavia. Its status as a dynasty is rendered problematic by the official elective system, which implied that male members of the same family, including illegitimate offspring, were chosen to rule by a council of boyars (more often than not, the election was conditioned by the military force exercised by candidates). After the rule of Alexandru I Aldea (ended in 1436), the house was split by the conflict between the Dănești and the Drăculești, both of which claimed legitimacy. Several late rulers of the Craiovești claimed direct descent from the House after its eventual demise, including Neagoe Basarab, Matei Basarab, Constantin Șerban, Șerban Cantacuzino, and Constantin Brâncoveanu.

Rulers usually mentioned as members of the House include (in chronological order of first rule) Mircea the Elder, Dan II, Vlad II Dracul, Vlad III the Impaler, Vlad the Monk, Radu IV the Great, and Radu of Afumați.

Name and origins

The dynasty was named after Basarab I, who gained the independence of Wallachia from the Kingdom of Hungary.

Basarab I's name was originally Basarabai and lost the ending -a when it was borrowed into Romanian.

The name is likely of Cuman or Pecheneg Turkic[1]<ref name=http://books.google.se/books?id=0xNYmFwyCdkC&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=basarab+i+cuman&source=bl&ots=xLm_uAabZ5&sig=tiRAVXdy9CzwJxQ1fVTOWSfGRgU&hl=sv&sa=X&ei=Xux8VIr1KcS9ygO9zoLQDQ&ved=0CFYQ6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q=basarab%20i%20cuman&f=false>Rădvan, Laurențiu (2010). At Europe's Borders: Medieval Towns in the Romanian Principalities. p. 129. </ref><ref name=http://books.google.se/books?id=ANdbpi1WAIQC&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=basarab+i+cuman&source=bl&ots=tRMdnWx-DK&sig=OAOmSAZR3xOGHTTGTrNAP0L9Ol0&hl=sv&sa=X&ei=_-58VIGhBIHNygPgr4GwCg&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBjge#v=onepage&q=basarab%20i%20cuman&f=false>Sedlar, Jean W (2011). East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000-1500. p. 24. </ref><ref name=http://books.google.se/books?id=QKhuxLdnYhMC&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=basarab+i+cuman&source=bl&ots=1GbKjsVWNW&sig=UjuHR4oGI-OWwo4Xy3Nvti5ej7c&hl=sv&sa=X&ei=2_B8VIm5CcLhywO524LICg&ved=0CFMQ6AEwBjgo#v=onepage&q=basarab%20i%20cuman&f=false>Grumeza, Ion (2010). The Roots of Balkanization: Eastern Europe C.E. 500-1500. p. 51. </ref> origin and most likely meant "father ruler". Basar was the present participle of the verb "to rule", derivatives attested in both old and modern Kypchak languages. The Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga believed the second part of the name, -aba ("father"), to be an honorary title, as recognizable in many Cuman names, such as Terteroba, Arslanapa, and Ursoba.

Basarab's father Thocomerius also bore an allegedly Cuman name, identified as Toq-tämir, a rather common Cuman and Tatar name in the 13th century. The Russian chronicles around 1295 refer to a Toktomer, a prince of the Mongol Empire present in Crimea.

The Cuman or Pecheneg origin of the name is, however, only a conjecture and a matter of dispute among historians. Contemporaries constantly identified Basarab as a Vlach.[2] Charles I of Hungary speaks of him as Bazarab infidelis Olacus noster ("Bazarab, our treacherous Vlach").[2]

Genealogy

The following genealogical tree is an oversimplified version, meant to show the ruling princes, their documented brothers and sisters, and the spouses/extramarital liaisons of those who had ruling heirs, following the conventions:

 
 
 
 
 
Basarab I
1310-†1352
 
Margareta
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Theodora of Wallachia
 
Ivan Alexander of BulgariaNicolae Alexandru
1352-†1364
 
Maria Lackfy1
Klára Dobokay2
Maria Dabkai3
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Royal dynasty of BulgariaVladislav I1
1364-†1377		Radu I1
1377-†1383
 
Ana1
Calinica2		Vladislaus II of Opole
 
Elisabeta1Vojislav1Anna of Wallachia 2
 
Ivan Sratsimir of BulgariaAnca2
 
Stephen Uroš V of Serbia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dan IDA,1
1383-†1386
 
Maria of SerbiaMircea I2
1386-1394
1397-†1418
 
Maria Tolmay 1
Anca2		Staico2Royal dynasty of SilesiaRoyal dynasty of BulgariaRoyal dynasty of Serbia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dan II DA
1422-1427
1427-†1431
 
?IoanVlad I?1394-†1397Mihail I1
1418-†1420
 
?Radu II1
1420-1422
†1427		Alexandru I1
1431-†1436		Vlad II DraculDR,1
1436-1442
1444-†1447
 
?1
Vassilissa of Moldavia2
Călţuna3
?4
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Basarab IIDA
1442-1444
 
MariaDan Danciul

Stanciul		Vladislav IIDA
1447-1448
1448-†1456
 
NeacşaBasarab IIIDA
1473
1474
1475-1476
1476-1477		Radu

Mihail		Mircea IIDR,1
1442		Vlad CalugarulDRRadu III the FairDRAlexandra2Vlad III the ImpalerDRMircea (Illegitimate)DR,4
1480
 
 
 
 

Legacy

The Basarab name is the origin of several placenames, including the region of Bessarabia (part of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) and a few towns, such as Basarabi in Romania, Basarabeasca in the Republic of Moldova, and Basarbovo in Bulgaria.

See also

References

  1. ↑ S. Brezeanu, Identități și solidarități medievale. Controverse istorice, pages 135–138 and 371–386.
  2. 1 2 Vásáry, István (2005). Cumans and Tatars: Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185-1365. Cambridge University Press. p. 153. ISBN 9780521837569.

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bassarab.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, July 22, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.