Michael Drakos Soutzos ( el, Μιχαήλ Δράκος Σούτζος; ro, Mihai Draco Suțu), (1730 – 1803) was a

Prince A prince is a Monarch, 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 title, hereditary, in s ...

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 Centra ...

between 1792 and 1795. A member of the Soutzos family of

Phanariotes Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumeni ...

(descended from the Drakos family), he was the grandfather of

Michael Soutzos Michael Soutzos (, , Constantinople, 1778 or 1784 – Athens, 12 June 1864), was a member of the Soutzos family of Phanariotes, he was the grandson of Michael Drakos Soutzos; he was in turn a Prince of Moldavia, between 12 June 1819 and 29 Ma ...

, himself a ruler of Moldavia between 1819 and 1821.

Early life

Michael was born as the youngest son and youngest child of

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

Constantin Drakos-Soutzos (d. 1757) and his wife, Princess Maria Rossetti (b. 1702).

Third ruler of Wallachia

His predecessor, Alexander Mourouzis, frightened by the incursions of

Osman Pazvantoğlu Osman Pazvantoğlu (1758 – January 27, 1807 in Vidin) was an Ottoman soldier, governor of Vidin after 1794, and a rebel against Ottoman rule. He is also remembered as the friend of Rigas Feraios, a Greek revolutionary poet, whom he tried to ...

asked to be dismissed and for that, he paid money to the Ottoman authorities. In April 1801, Pazvantoğlu's troops continued their raids in Wallachia under the command of Manef Ibrahim, defeating the Ottoman Army despite having only a thousand horsemen, compared to the Ottoman side which had 8,000 troops. They took

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, cent ...

, Govora and moved toward

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 ...

. By May 15, 1802 most of the inhabitants of the city fled toward

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census ( 2011), Brașov has a po ...

and Vălenii de Munte. On May 18, the Albanian and Turkish troops of Bucharest asked for their payment and Suțu promised them to pay in two days, after which he left for Colentina, outside the city. The boyars, who were supposed to wait for Soutzos, heard rumours about unrest at the Royal Court and thought that Suțu was killed, so they left toward

. Suțu, having not found the boyars at the Ghica house of Colentina, left for

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 ...

. As Bimbașa Sava, the commander of the Bucharest garrison, saw that Soutzos had left without paying them, he started following Soutzos. This left Bucharest without any troops, allowing tramps to organize in gangs, which robbed the Royal Court. Their leader, Melanos, took the royal hat and marched on the streets of Bucharest, wanting to set Bucharest on fire, which was prevented by the intervention of a Turkish unit from

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 covered ...

.Ionescu, p.258 Due to his exile, Soutzos was deposed by the Ottomans in the summer of 1802.

Notes

References

*Ștefan Ionescu, ''Bucureștii în vremea fanarioților'' ("Bucharest in the Time of the Phanariotes"), Editura Dacia, Cluj, 1974. {{DEFAULTSORT:Soutzos, Michael 1730 births 1803 deaths Dragomans of the Porte Rulers of Moldavia Michael Rulers of Moldavia and Wallachia 18th-century monarchs in Europe 19th-century monarchs in Europe 18th-century translators

Early life

Third ruler of Wallachia

See also

Notes

References