George Ghica ( sq, Gjergj Gjika, ro, Gheorghe Ghica) (3 March 1600 – 2 November 1664) founder of the

Ghica family The Ghica family ( ro, Ghica; sq, Gjika; el, Γκίκας, ''Gikas'') was a noble family active in Wallachia, Moldavia and in the Kingdom of Romania, between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Ghica family produced many voivodes of Wallachia and M ...

, was

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

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 ...

in 1658–1659 and

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 so ...

in 1659–1660. George Ghica was born in Köprülü, present day Veles, to Albanian parents. At a young age, Ghica was involved in trading and dealings with merchandise. George, along with his father expanded their business and moved to

. Accumulating a substantial amount of wealth, George became a nobleman and was sent to the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The nam ...

as an ambassador. He was in favour with

Vasile Lupu Lupu Coci, known as Vasile Lupu (; 1595–1661), was a List of Moldavian rulers, Voivode of Moldavia of Albanians, Albanian origin between 1634 and 1653. Lupu had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and man ...

in Moldavia and while in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, he became close friends with the Grand Vizier

Köprülü Mehmed Pasha Köprülü Mehmed Pasha ( ota, كپرولی محمد پاشا, tr, Köprülü Mehmet Paşa; or ''Qyprilliu'', also called ''Mehmed Pashá Rojniku''; 1575, Roshnik,– 31 October 1661, Edirne) was the founder of the Köprülü political dynas ...

and helped him on to high positions. As Prince of Wallachia he moved the capital from

Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște''; german: Tergowisch) is a city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița River. Târgoviște was one of the ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. From him are descended the numerous branches of the family which became notable in the history of Moldavia and Wallachia. His son was

Grigore I Ghica Grigore I Ghica (1628 – 1675), a member of the Ghica family, was Prince of Wallachia between September 1660 and December 1664 and again between March 1672 and November 1673. His father was George Ghica, ruler of Moldavia (1658–59) and ruler ...

References

Bibliography

* * * Ghica, Gheorghe I Ghica, Gheorghe I Ghica family Ghica, Gheorghe Ghica, Gheorghe I Rulers of Moldavia and Wallachia Romanian people of Albanian descent {{europe-royal-stub