General Gheorghe Magheru (; 1802, Bârzeiul de Gilort, Gorj County – 23 March 1880) was a Romanian revolutionary and soldier from

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 ...

, and political ally of Nicolae Bălcescu.

A Pandur and radical conspirator

Magheru began his activities as an

Oltenia Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...

hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

in the area around Băilești, and led his group into volunteering for the Imperial Russian side in the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...

— playing a part in the almost impossible victory of the small Russian vanguard under general Geismar over the dominating Ottoman forces at the battle of Băileşti 26—27 of September 1828. For his personal contribution, Magheru was decorated with the Order of Saint Anne III class — and the golden sable ″For Bravery″ to wear it — by the personal edict of

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Nicholas I. He was one of the first Pandurs to join the Wallachian uprising of 1821 under the leadership of

Tudor Vladimirescu Tudor Vladimirescu (; c. 1780 – ) was a Romanian revolutionary hero, the leader of the Wallachian uprising of 1821 and of the Pandur militia. He is also known as Tudor din Vladimiri (''Tudor from Vladimiri'') or, occasionally, as Domnul Tudo ...

. After the latter's assassination and the rebellion's failure, he returned to life as a local outlaw, only to join the Wallachian Army after a few years. A competent soldier, Magheru went through several ranks in quick succession; at the same time, his past and career made him an important asset for the young radicals, who quickly won him for their side. He joined the

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

-inspired ''Frăţia'' ("Brotherhood") secret society, founded in 1834 by Bălcescu,

Christian Tell Christian Tell (January 12, 1808 - February 4/16, 1884) was a Transylvanian-born Wallachian and Romanian general and politician. Life and activity He was born in Brașov on January 12, 1808. He studied at the Saint Sava National College in Buch ...

, and

Ion Ghica Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a Romanian statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was Prime Minister of Romania five times. He was a full member of the Romanian Academy and its president many times (1876–1882, ...

, one which aimed to counter the arbitrary rule of

Alexandru Ghica Alexandru Scarlat Ghica (? – after 1768) was Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia from December 1766 to October 1768. He succeeded Scarlat Ghica Scarlat Grigorie Ghica (1715 – 2 December 1766) was a Prince of Moldavia (2 March 1757 – 7 August 1 ...

, and then plotting against

Gheorghe Bibescu Gheorghe Bibescu (;April 26th 1804 – 1 June 1873) was a ''hospodar'' (Prince) of Wallachia between 1843 and 1848. His rule coincided with the revolutionary tide that culminated in the 1848 Wallachian revolution. Early political career Born in ...

Râureni

After the outbreak of the

1848 Wallachian Revolution The Wallachian Revolution of 1848 was a Romanian liberal and nationalist uprising in the Principality of Wallachia. Part of the Revolutions of 1848, and closely connected with the unsuccessful revolt in the Principality of Moldavia, it sought ...

, Magheru served in the

Provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

formed by the radicals. He is noted for organizing the revolutionary and Pandur army camp in Râureni—on the grounds belonging to the Schitu Troianu Monastery, at the time near

Râmnicu Vâlcea Râmnicu Vâlcea (also spelled ''Rîmnicu Vîlcea'' or, in the past, ''Rîmnic-Vâlcea'', ) (population: 92,573 as per the 2011 Romanian census) is the county capital ( ro, Reședință de județ) and also the largest town of Vâlcea County, centr ...

(and now part of the city). Magheru intended to use the army camp as a base for opposing threats to the Revolution, as early as the summer of that year. However, when the Ottoman troops swept into

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 ...

in September, he ordered his troops to disband. In this, he probably followed the advice of the United Kingdom

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

in the Wallachian capital. The pro-Ottoman attitude remained prevalent among revolutionaries: they had been well received by the Turks, who saw them as a means to oppose the overwhelming Russian influence over the Danubian Principalities, and were probably right in seeing the Turkish move as prompted exclusively by Russian requests (with

Abd-ul-Mejid I Abdulmejid I ( ota, عبد المجيد اول, ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i evvel, tr, I. Abdülmecid; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the ...

careful not to leave the countries opened to the full force of Russian repression, which soon joined the Turkish armies in the occupation). This created the

paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...

of Russia enforcing

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

policies in Wallachia and

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

, while most revolutionaries were taking refuge in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. Magheru was very likely aware of such nuances, and he probably thought it best not to provoke a violent response.

Exile

In exile in Paris (mainly), Magheru was involved in many activities of the Wallachian

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followin ...

s. He expressed his concern that the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

n Revolution of Romanian Austrian subjects, aimed at the separatist Hungarian government, was likely to provoke the Romanian fighters under Avram Iancu to side with a Russian intervention, thus making it impossible for Wallachia to negotiate or fight its way out of the occupation. He approached the Hungarian leader Lajos Kossuth in January 1849, with a project that would have replaced the tight centralization with a

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

between Hungary and a more Romanian than not Transylvania. The project was ignored by both sides: the Transylvanian Romanians thought of themselves as loyal subjects of the Habsburg Crown, and had already suffered waves of violence after

Józef Bem Józef Zachariasz Bem ( hu, Bem József, tr, Murat Pasha; March 14, 1794 – December 10, 1850) was a Polish engineer and general, an Ottoman pasha and a national hero of Poland and Hungary, and a figure intertwined with other European patriot ...

's armies marched into the region (in the very same project, Magheru asked that Kossuth renounce the politics of repression and

revolutionary terror Revolutionary terror, also referred to as revolutionary terrorism or a reign of terror, refers to the institutionalized application of force to counterrevolutionaries, particularly during the French Revolution from the years 1793 to 1795 (see th ...

Later life and legacy

Magheru returned to Wallachia and was active in '' Partida Naţională'', the movement working for the Union of Moldavia and Wallachia (it was largely composed of former 1848-activists in the two countries). Their political ideal was fulfilled on 24 January 1859, when the already

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. T ...

of Moldavia

Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 Janua ...

was elected in

. One of the main arteries in Bucharest bears Magheru's name (''see Bulevardul Magheru''), and the campsite in Râureni is now a museum. He is honored on a postage stampWorld Association for the Development of Philately
Postage stamp featuring Gheorghe Magheru
/ref> issued by the Romanian Postal Service.

Notes

References

*Liviu Maior, ''1848-1849. Români şi unguri în revoluţie'', Bucharest, Editura Enciclopedică, 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Magheru, Gheorghe People of the Revolutions of 1848 Romanian Land Forces generals Romanian outlaws Romanian revolutionaries People from Gorj County Romanian exiles Burials at Bellu Cemetery 1802 births 1880 deaths