Constantin or Constantine Cantemir (8 November 1612 – 13 March 1693) was a

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 ...

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, soldier, and statesman who served as

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

between 25 June 1685 and 27 March 1693. He established the Cantemir dynasty which—with interruptions—ruled

prior to the imposition of

phanariot Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greeks, Greek families in Fener, Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Ecume ...

rule.

Life

Constantin was born into a

n family of

Crimean Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

Tatar origin in 1612. He was created

voivode of Moldavia This is a list of monarchs of Moldavia, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the Carpathian Mountains, Carpathians and until its disestablishment in 1862, when Unification of Moldavia and Wallachia, it united with Wallachia, the ot ...

by its Ottoman overlords in 1685, being favored over his rival Dumitraşcu Cantacuzino. (His son

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinization of names, Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male name, male Greek given names, given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, ...

would later marry a Cantacuzene princess.) Constantin was a good and conscientious ruler, protecting his people from rapacious tax farmers. He largely brought peace to his realm, but served in campaigns of the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Under his rule, Moldavia was invaded twice, once by the Nogai Tatars and once by Poland. Nonetheless, he constantly informed the Polish and

Habsburgs 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 ...

of Turkish designs and his sons

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

and

, who eventually succeeded him, would be instrumental in allying Moldavia to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in its first wars against the Turks. In 1691, Cantemir ordered

Miron Costin Miron Costin (March 30, 1633 – 1691) was a Moldavian (Romanians, Romanian) political figure and chronicler. His main work, ''Letopiseţul Ţărâi Moldovei e la Aron Vodă încoace' (''The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia

man of letters An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the world of culture, either ...

, to be put to death on charges of conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

.Ion Neculce, ''Letopiseţul Ţării Moldovei'', Ed. Minerva, București, 1972, p. 71 According to

Neculce, Constantin was illiterate to the point of only being able to write his own signature. Nonetheless, he ensured that his sons received a good education. His grandson

would serve as Russia's ambassador to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the height of the Enlightenment, penning satires after Juvenal">Russian Enlightenment">Enlightenment, penning satires after Juvenal, translating Horace">Juvenal.html" ;"title="Russian Enlightenment">Enlightenment, penning satires after Juvenal">Russian Enlightenment">Enlightenment, penning satires after Juvenal, translating Horace, and befriending Voltaire and Montesquieu. Constantin died in 1693 at the age of 80. His son

notionally succeeded him but was passed over by the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

in favor of Constantin Duca, who was supported by his father-in-law, the Wallachian

Constantin Brâncoveanu.

Notes

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* 1612 births 1693 deaths Cantemirești family Monarchs of Moldavia People of the Great Turkish War 17th-century Moldavian people {{europe-royal-stub

Life

See also

Notes

References

External links