Prince Alexander Mourouzis (; Romanian: Alexandru Moruzi; 1750/1760 – 1816) was a Grand Dragoman of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

who served as

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. The ...

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

. Open to Enlightenment ideas, and noted for his interest in hydrological engineering, Mourouzis was forced to deal with the intrusions of Osman Pazvantoğlu's rebellious troops. In a rare gesture for his period, he renounced the throne in Wallachia, and his second rule in Moldavia was cut short by the intrigues of French diplomat

Horace Sébastiani Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC),Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The ...

Biography

A member of the Mourouzis family of Phanariotes and the son of Constantine Mourouzis (one of the few Ottoman-appointed Princes to die in office), he was educated to speak six languages in addition to

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

. His mother was a member of the Ghica family. Alexander was Grand Dragoman of the Porte under

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) 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, it came to be use ...

Selim III Selim III (; ; was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, he was eventually deposed and imprisoned by the Janissaries, who placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne as Mustafa IV (). A group of a ...

, in which capacity he helped mediate the 1791 Treaty of Jassy, ending the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792. Selim rewarded his service by appointing him to the throne in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

(Moldavia) in January 1792,Penelea Filitti, p. 61. and transferred a year later to the throne of

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

(1793–1796), where his first year in office coincided with a

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

outbreak (which he dealt with by quarantining and confining the ill to the village of Dudești). Dismissed owing to intrigues at the Ottoman court, he was reinstated in Bucharest (1798–1801). In 1799, he passed a resolution ending the labor conflict at the cloth factory in Pociovaliște (presently part of Bucharest). After reforming its system of worker employment and payment, as well as hiring

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

experts from

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

to manage the industry, he denied the workers' request to institute two weeks off for each week of labor, and ordered activities to be resumed, while stressing that it was imperative to respect the Ottoman demand for

textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

(''see Labor movement in Romania'').Djuvara, p. 190. At the time, the employees did not receive payment, but worked in exchange for

tax exemption Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...

s. Over the following year, Mourouzis had to deal with the incursion of Pazvantoğlu's rebellious troops in

Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...

, which resulted in the plundering and burning down much of the city of

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

. News of the Craiova's destruction reached Bucharest and Mourouzis forbade fleeing the city; however, this did not prevent the

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

s from sending their wealth into

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

lands for safekeeping. Mourouzis built fortifications on the road to Craiova and on the banks of

Olt River The Olt ( Romanian and Hungarian; ; or ', , ''Alytos'') is a river in Romania. It is long, and its basin area is . It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its average discharge at the mouth is . It originates in the Hă ...

; he attacked Pazvantoğlu's troops, who used the city's ruins as

barricade Barricade (from the French ''barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denotes ...

s — after several days of fighting, Pazvantoğlu and his troops fled Craiova and returned to

Vidin Vidin (, ) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since ...

. Powerless against the latter's destructive attacks, he asked to be relieved of his position, and, in a highly unusual gesture, paid off Ottoman authorities in exchange for his own replacement. At the insistence of the French Empire, he was again appointed Prince of Moldavia (1802–1806 and 1806–1807), but was ultimately dismissed through another French intervention at the Porte - on August 12, 1806,

, the French Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, called on Selim III to punish Constantine Ypsilantis' pro-

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

activities in Wallachia, and to prevent a Moldavian-Wallachian-Russian alliance. This last event constituted one of the causes for the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812.

Mustafa IV Mustafa IV (; ; 8 September 1779 – 16 November 1808) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1807 to 1808. Early life Mustafa IV was born on 8 September 1779 in Constantinople. He was the son of Sultan Abdul Hamid I (1774–1789) and Si ...

ordered Mourouzis to be sent to the

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

s, but he was pardoned soon after. He died at his home in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, and rumor had it that he was poisoned.

Achievements

Mourouzis was an Enlightenment prince, whose time on the two thrones was connected with

modernization Modernization theory or modernisation theory holds that as societies become more economically modernized, wealthier and more educated, their political institutions become increasingly liberal democratic and rationalist. The "classical" theories ...

. The prince belonged to the

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, having affiliated with two separate Lodges: in 1773, he was a member of the one active in the

n city of Hermannstadt, and, after 1803, belonged to the Moldavian Freemason branch in

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

. His Western contacts and his political ideals were probably connected with the goal of uniting the two Danubian Principalities under a single prince, as a symbolic legacy of

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...

: an 1800

atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

published in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

referred to his two rules as a single leadership of "the two Dacias". As local legislation was primarily based on

Byzantine law Byzantine law was essentially a continuation of Roman law with increased Orthodox Christian and Hellenistic influence. Most sources define ''Byzantine law'' as the Roman legal traditions starting after the reign of Justinian I in the 6th century ...

, he acknowledged the importance given to the ''Hexabiblos'' of 14th century

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

jurist Konstantinos Armenopoulos, and ordered it to be translated into Romanian — although it failed to become official law in Wallachia, the ''Hexabiblos'' was widely used for reference by the Bucharest Divan. During his rules in Bucharest, Mourouzis notably rebuilt the princely residence of

Curtea Nouă Curtea Nouă (, ''New Court'') was the residence of the List of rulers of Wallachia, Princes of Wallachia between 1776 and 1812. Located near the Mihai Vodă Monastery, on Dealul Spirii in Bucharest, it was built between 1775 and 1776 during the ...

, instituted a

office as centralized

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

collection in the capital city, and increased the water supply by tapping sources in the

Cotroceni Cotroceni is a neighbourhood in western Bucharest, Romania, located around the Cotroceni hill, in Bucharest's Sector 5. The nearest Metro stations are Eroilor, Academia Militară, and Politehnica. History The Hill of Cotroceni was once cove ...

area. His interest in waterworks was also manifested during his stay in Moldavia, where he tapped water and built a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

for the capital Iași (through a system leading up to Golia Monastery)Maiorescu and provided

Focșani Focșani (; ) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. , it has a population of 66,719. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Curvature Carpathians, at a point of ...

with water from over the Milcov River (achieved following an understanding with Wallachia's

Alexander Ypsilantis Alexandros Ypsilantis (12 December 1792 – 31 January 1828) was a Greek nationalist politician who was member of a prominent Phanariot Greeks, Phanariot Greek family, a prince of the Danubian Principalities, a senior officer of the Imperial R ...

). It was in 1793 that the first modern

retailing Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesal ...

firm was inaugurated in Wallachia, maintained by the Frenchman Hortolan. Under his rules, Wallachian and Moldavian ships for navigation on the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

were built at newly created

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

s. He also organized the first mail delivery system in Moldavia. Like his father before him, Alexander Mourouzis founded schools and donated six-year

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

s for disadvantaged children. Among the educational institutions he created was the Orthodox

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

in Iași's Socola Monastery. He took a personal interest in scientific education, and attended experiments in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

at the Moldavian capital's Princely School. During his first reign over Moldavia, Mourouzis notably passed a resolution clarifying the surface of land which boyars were required to allocate to peasants working on their estates. It is the first document to divide agricultural workers into the three traditional categories, based on the number of oxen owned, of ''fruntași'' ("foremost people"), ''mijlocași'' ("middle people") and ''codași'' ("backward people"). At the time, it was recorded that associations of ''fruntași'' could function as estate leaseholders in the service of boyars or Orthodox monasteries. This right was suppressed in 1815.Djuvara, p. 259.

In cultural references

Mourouzis was the recipient of a

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - ' ...

authored by the Moldavian boyar poet Costache Conachi, who praised the prince's achievements in hydrotechnics. Comments made on the poem, published by the Romantic nationalist Gheorghe Sion, were the subject of an 1873 disagreement between him and literary critic

Titu Maiorescu Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Culture of Romania, Romanian culture in ...

. The latter placed Sion's essay among his examples of "inebriation with words" (a term which he and the '' Junimea'' society had coined as a definition for incoherent and needlessly subjective criticism).

Notes

References

* Neagu Djuvara. ''Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne'' ("Between Orient and Occident. The Romanian Lands at the Beginning of the Modern Era"),

Humanitas (from the Latin , "human") is a Latin noun meaning human nature, civilization, and kindness. It has uses in the Enlightenment, which are discussed below. Classical origins of term The Latin word corresponded to the Greek concepts of (loving ...

, Bucharest, 1995. * Constantin C. Giurescu. ''Istoria Bucureștilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre'' ("History of Bucharest. From the Earliest Times until Our Day"), Editura Pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1966. *Ștefan Ionescu. ''Bucureștii în vremea fanarioților'' ("Bucharest in the Time of the Phanariotes"), Editura Dacia, Cluj-Napoca, 1974. *

''Beția de cuvinte în "Revista Contimporană"'' ("Inebriation with Words in ''Revista Contimporană''")
(wikisource) *Georgeta Penelea Filitti. "Cronici de familie. Moruzi: din satul Moruzanda - în scaunele domnești de la București și Iași" ("Family Chronicles. Moruzi: from Moruzanda Village to the Princely Thrones in Bucharest and Iași"), in ''Magazin Istoric'', March 1997, pp. 59–63. *George Potra. "Documente privitoare la istoria orașului București (1594 - 1821)" (Documents Concerning The History Of The City Of Bucharest (1594 - 1821)", Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, 1961, pp.585

Biography

Achievements

In cultural references

Notes

References

Further reading