This is a list of rulers of
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the
Carpathians
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretche ...
and until its disestablishment in 1862, when
it united with
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
, the other
Danubian Principality, to form the modern-day state of
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
Notes
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 ruler's bastard sons – being defined as ''os de domn'' – "of
domn
''Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as " prince" in other languages and less often as " grand duke". Derived from the Romanian word "''domn ...
marrow", or as having ''hereghie'' – "
heredity
Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic informa ...
" (from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
''hereditas''); the institutions charged with the
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...
, dominated by the
boyars, had fluctuating degrees of influence). The system itself was challenged by
usurper
A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...
s, and became obsolete with the
Phanariote epoch, when rulers were appointed by the
Ottoman Sultans
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, i ...
. Between 1821 and 1862, various systems combining election and appointment were put in practice. Moldavian rulers, like Wallachian and other
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...
an rulers, bore the titles of ''Voivode'' or/and
Hospodar (when writing in
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
** Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
, the term
Domn
''Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as " prince" in other languages and less often as " grand duke". Derived from the Romanian word "''domn ...
(from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
''
dominus'') was used).
Most rulers 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 ruler 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 rulers, following the documented studies of
Ștefan S. Gorovei and
Constantin Rezachevici.
[Rezachevici, Constantin, ''Cronologia critică a domnilor din Țara Românească și Moldova, a. 1324 - 1881'', vol. I, Editura Enciclopedică, București, 2001, ]
List
Princes of Moldavia
House of Dragoș
House of Bogdan-Mușat
Houses of Basarab ( Drăculeşti line) and Bogdan-Muşat
Houses of Basarab ( Drăculești line) and
Movilești
The House of Movileşti, also Movilă or Moghilă ( pl, Mohyła, Cyrillic: Могила), was a family of boyars in the principality of Moldavia, which became related through marriage with the Muşatin family – the traditional House of Moldavi ...
Various dynasties
Phanariotes (1711–1821)
See also
*
List of rulers of Wallachia
This is a list of rulers of Wallachia, from the first mention of a medieval polity situated between the Southern Carpathians and the Danube until the union with Moldavia in 1859, which led to the creation of Romania.
Notes
Dynastic rule is hard ...
References
* Constantin Rezachevici - ''Cronologia critică a domnilor din Țara Românească și Moldova a. 1324 - 1881'', Volumul I, Editura Enciclopedică, 2001,
Rulers of Moldavia
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Rulers Of Moldavia
Rulers
Moldavian rulers
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...