Constantin Cantacuzino (stolnic)
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Constantin Cantacuzino (1639 –
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 ...
, 7 June 1716)Treptow, Popa 1996, p. 60. was a Romanian nobleman and historian who held high offices in the
Principality of 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, Muntenia ...
. He was a humanist scholar who drew the first local map of Wallachia in 1700, and started to write a ''History of Wallachia'' which remained unfinished. In his ''History of Wallachia'', he "accepted a Daco-Roman mixing" ( Lucian Boia) in connection with the
origin of the Romanians Several theories, in great extent mutually exclusive, address the issue of the origin of the Romanians. The Romanian language descends from the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken in the Roman provinces north of the "Jireček Line" (a proposed notion ...
. A promoter of a prudent anti-Ottoman policy, he was executed together with his son Ștefan.


Life

Constantin Cantacuzino was born in a Wallachian
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 ...
family of
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 ...
origin, which claimed descent from the Byzantine imperial family
Kantakouzenos The House of Kantakouzenos ( Kantakouzenoi; , pl. Καντακουζηνοί; feminine form Kantakouzene; ), also found in English-language literature as Cantacuzenus or Cantacuzene, was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Nobility, noble family t ...
. In the second half of the 17th century, his family led a fierce fight for power with the Băleanu faction, which began with his father's execution in 1663 on the orders of Grigore Ghica. For a short time, he fled to neighboring Moldova. Constantin Cantacuzino pursued studies in Constantinople 1665-1667 and he also studied at the
University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...
(1667-1668), being well-traveled for his time. He acted as an agent for his family in Constantinople (1672). He was imprisoned by Grigore Ghica and exiled to Crete by the Ottomans (1673), managing to return to Wallachia in 1674. Appointed ''vel stolnic'' ("High Steward") during the pro-Cantacuzene reign of Gheorghe Duca, he was again imprisoned for a short time in 1676. His family's fortunes definitely changed for the better in 1678, when his older brother Șerban became prince of Wallachia. According to Anton Maria Del Chiaro, upon his brother's death (1688), Constantin Cantacuzino was proclaimed prince but refused the throne, instead using his influence to get his nephew Constantin Brâncoveanu elected and confirmed by the
Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...
to the position. Subsequently, he became one of the closest advisors of Brâncoveanu, the prince of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714. He promoted a prudent anti-Ottoman policy, being aware of the weak geopolitical position of his country, of the relative weakness of the Russian Empire and of the aggressive religious conversion policy of the
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. While Cantacuzino still supported his nephew in 1703 against Alexander Mavrocordatos' intrigue, at a later point their relationship deteriorated. Brâncoveanu didn't completely remove the Cantacuzino family from high offices, but sacked his uncles Constantin and Mihai and promoted instead his cousins Toma (''vel spătar'') and
Ștefan Cantacuzino Ștefan Cantacuzino, (c. 1675 – 7 June 1716) was a Prince of Wallachia between April 1714 and January 21, 1716, the son of '' stolnic'' Constantin Cantacuzino. He was married to Păuna Greceanu-Cantacuzino. Life Ștefan was involved in his ...
(''vel postelnic''). The latter succeeded to the throne of Wallachia upon Brâncoveanu's 1714 deposition and arrest by the Ottomans, again promoting his father to a position of influence. Two years later, Ștefan was deposed himself and executed alongside his father 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 ...
. Constantin Cantacuzino collected a notable collection of books on various subjects. His views on the
origin of the Romanians Several theories, in great extent mutually exclusive, address the issue of the origin of the Romanians. The Romanian language descends from the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken in the Roman provinces north of the "Jireček Line" (a proposed notion ...
were widely accepted after Dionisie Fotino published his own ''History of Old Dacia'' in 1818 which also refer to the "crosbreeding" of Dacians and Romans.Georgescu 1991, p. 116. He was married two times, to Safta Buhuș and Maria (family name unknown). He had another son, Radu (? - d. 1715), and two daughters, Maria (married to Radu Dudescu) and Ilinca. Both sons had issue.


References


Sources

* Boia, Lucian (2001). ''History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness'' (Translated by James Christian Brown). CEU Press. . * Georgescu, Vlad (1991). ''The Romanians: A History''. Ohio State University Press. . * Treptow, Kurt W.; Popa, Marcel (1996). ''Historical Dictionary of Romania''. Scarecrow Press, Inc. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantacuzino, Constantin 1716 deaths 1639 births
Constantin Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, ...
Stolnici of Wallachia Early modern Romanian writers Moldavian and Wallachian chroniclers 17th-century military personnel of the Principality of Wallachia 18th-century military personnel of the Principality of Wallachia Romanian cartographers