Constantin Lecca - Portretul paharnicului Constantin Obedeanu

The ''Paharnic'' (plural: ''Paharnici''; also known as ''Păharnic'', ''Paharnec'', or ''Păharnec'';

Moldavian dialect The Moldavian dialect is one of several dialects of the Romanian language (Daco-Romanian). It is spoken across the approximate area of the historical region of Moldavia, now split between the Republic of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine. The deli ...

: ''ceașnic'', , ''pakharnikos'', , ''paharnik'') was a historical Romanian rank, one of the non-hereditary positions ascribed to the boyar aristocracy in

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 ...

(the

Danubian Principalities The Danubian Principalities (, ) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) ...

). It was the local equivalent of a

cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person had to be regarded as thor ...

or ''

cześnik A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person had to be regarded as thor ...

'', originally centered on pouring and obtaining

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

for the court of Moldavian and Wallachian Princes. With time, it became a major administrative office and, in Wallachia, also had a lesser military function. The retinue of such boyars, usually called ''Păhărnicei'', was in both countries also a private army. Dating back to c. 1400, the ''Paharnici'' were at the forefront of political life in Wallachia over the following two centuries, often as a title associated with the

Craiovești The House of Craiovești (), later House of Brâncovenești (), was a boyar family in Wallachia who gave the country several of its Princes and held the title of Ban of Oltenia (whether of Strehaia or Craiova) for ca. 60 years. History The fir ...

and Florescu boyars. Wallachian ''Paharnici'' were especially important during the 16th and 17th centuries, when they included figures such as Lupu Mehedințeanu, Șerban of Coiani, and

Matei Basarab Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was the voivode (prince) of Wallachia from 1632 to 1654. Reign Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1 ...

. They and other ''Paharnici'' established means of boyar protection against the social ascent of immigrant Greeks. Prince

Constantin Brâncoveanu Constantin Brâncoveanu (; 1654 – August 15, 1714) was List of Wallachian rulers, Prince of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714. Biography Ascension Constantin Brâncoveanu was the son of Pope Brâncoveanu (Matthew) and his wife, Stanca Can ...

, himself a former ''Paharnic'', gave a privileged position to the ''Păhărnicei'', but put to death their controversial ''Paharnic'', Staico Bucșanu. Before 1700, figures associated with the Moldavian office included close relatives of the monarchs, such as Alexandru Coci and

Ștefan Lupașcu Hâjdău Ștefan is the Romanian form of Stephen, used as both a given name and a surname. For the English version, see Stefan. Some better known people with the name Ștefan are listed below. For a comprehensive list see . Notable persons with that name ...

. Though the office itself steadily declined in importance, it was still subjected to a

meritocratic Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, rather than ...

reform by Prince

Dimitrie Cantemir Dimitrie or Demetrius; Cantemir (; ; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Moldavian prince, statesman, and man of letters. He twice served as voivode of Moldavia (March–April 1693 and 1710–1711). Durin ...

. The ''Paharnici'' grew in numbers and declined in political relevancy from ca. 1720, with the rise of the

Phanariotes Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied ...

, and ultimately fell into a second class of boyars. Their descendants were recognized as a branch of the small boyardom, alongside the ''Păhărnicei''. While these became a rural middle class, the ''Paharnici'' offices were increasingly permeable to the commercial classes of the city. The three groups intertwined, with some ''Paharnici'', including Ianache Hafta and

Manuc Bei Knyaz Manuc Bey (the common Romanian rendering of ''Manuk Bey'', the Armenian name of Emanuel Mârzayan; 1769–1817) was an Armenian merchant, diplomat, boyar and inn-keeper. Life He was born in Rousse (modern-day Ruse, Bulgaria), at tha ...

, having a noted effect on the development 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 ...

. Various ''Paharnici'' also participated first-hand in the cultivation of

Romanian nationalism Romanian nationalism is a form of nationalism that asserts that Romanians are a nation and promotes the identity and cultural unity of Romanians. Its extremist variation is Romanian ultranationalism. History Antecedents The predecessors of ...

, leading up to

Gavril Istrati Gavril Istrati, or Istrate (died 1838), was a Moldavian boyar who mounted military resistance to the Filiki Eteria during the Greek War of Independence. Probably hailing from the yeomanry, he spent a while servicing the more powerful boyar Teodor ...

's clashes with the Greek " Sacred Band". From Moldavia, the office was for a while inherited by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, which preserved titular ''Paharnici'' in its

Bessarabia Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its administrative centre in Kishinev (Chișinău). It consisted of an area of and a population of 1,935,412 inhabitants. The Bessarabia Governorate bordered t ...

. In both Moldavia and Wallachia, the Russian regime of 1834–1854 recognized a multitude of titular ''Paharnici'', from inspectors

Ion Heliade Rădulescu Ion Heliade Rădulescu or Ion Heliade (also known as ''Eliade'' or ''Eliade Rădulescu''; ; 6 January 1802 – 27 April 1872) was a Wallachian, later Romanian academic, Romanticism, Romantic and Classicism, Classicist poet, essayist, memoi ...

and

Constantin N. Brăiloiu Constantin N. Brăiloiu (October 3, 1809 or 1810–June 19, 1889) was a Wallachian and Romanian politician. Born in Craiova, he was the oldest child of Nicolae Brăiloiu and his wife, Zoe or Zinca (''née'' Vlădăianu or Vlădoianu). He had t ...

to painter

Constantin Lecca Constantin Lecca (; 4 August 1807 – 13 October 1887) was a Romanian painter and art professor. He was the first Romanian artist to create Western-style religious paintings. Although he worked in a variety of genres, including history painting, ...

. The proliferation of ''Paharnici'' and other offices, taken up by Moldavian Princes

Ioan Ioan is a variation on the name John (first name), John found in Aromanian language, Aromanian, Romanian language, Romanian, Bulgarian language, Bulgarian, Russian language, Russian, Welsh language, Welsh (), and Sardinian language, Sardinian. It ...

and

Mihail Sturdza Prince Mihail Sturdza (24 April 1794 – 8 May 1884), sometimes anglicized as Michael Stourdza, was prince ruler of Moldavia from 1834 to 1849. He was cousin of Princess Roxandra Sturdza and Prince Alexandru Sturdza. Early life He was born a ...

, contributed to social tensions, and then to a failed revolutionary attempt. Following the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, the position of ''Paharnic'' was abolished, alongside all other historical titles.

Name

''Paharnic'' is a Romanianized term, originating with the

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...

variant, (''Peharnik'').

, the intellectual Prince of Moldavia, was the first to note that the institution was copied from the old Serbian nomenclature, as opposed to other boyar titles, which were originally

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 ...

or (in one case) Hungarian. However, legal historian Ivan Biliarsky notes that both the Serbian and the Romanian term originate with a Byzantine office, the ''

Pinkernes ''Pinkernes'' (), sometimes also ''epinkernes'' (, ''epinkernēs''), was a high Byzantine court position. The term derives from the Greek verb (''epikeránnymi'', "to mix ine), and was used to denote the cup-bearer of the Byzantine emperor. In ...

'', being its functional equivalents. The component Romanian term is ''pahar'' ("glass" or "chalice"), which reached Romanian either from the Hungarian ''pohár'' or the

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

''pehar''. After passing through Slavonic, ''Paharnic'' acquired a form in historical Romanian, and

Romanian Cyrillic The Romanian Cyrillic alphabet is the Cyrillic alphabet that was used to write the Romanian language and Church Slavonic until the 1830s, when it began to be gradually replaced by a Latin-based Romanian alphabet.Cyrillic remained in occasional ...

, as , transliterated ''Păharnic'' (, rather than ). It was still codified in this manner by the early-18th-century scholar

Anthim the Iberian Anthim the Iberian (, ka, ანთიმოზ ივერიელი – ''Antimoz Iverieli''; secular name: ''Andria''; 1650 — September or October 1716) was a Georgian theologian, scholar, calligrapher, philosopher and one of the gre ...

. All these terms continued to be spelled in Cyrillic for as long as the titles they represented were in use. However, attempts at

Romanization In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...

were made as early as 1468, when ''Paharnic'' appeared as ''Poharnig'' in a

Renaissance Latin Renaissance Latin is a name given to the distinctive form of Literary Latin style developed during the European Renaissance of the fourteenth to fifteenth centuries, particularly by the Renaissance humanism movement. This style of Latin is reg ...

document; this was also rendered as ''Paharnig''.Biliarsky, p. 332 In the 1670s,

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 E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plur ...

' (''The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia Polish spellings, produced ''Paharnik''. Before 1600, Slavonic documents also admitted a Romanian translation, ''Canatnic'', created from the dialectal ''canată'', "tiny mug". ''Ceașnic'' was another Slavonic variant which acquired use in Moldavia, where it was generally spelled as ; it could also appear in Wallachia, but as . Both have their etymological source in ''Cześnik'', used by ''szlachta'' nobility to the north. A synonymous term originating from the Second Bulgarian Empire, (''Picernic''), only appears once, in 1392 Wallachia.

History

Creating the office

''Paharnici'' or similar were first mentioned in Wallachia under

Mircea the Old Mircea the Elder (, ; 1355 – 31 January 1418) was the Voivode of Wallachia from 1386 until his death in 1418. He was the son of Radu I of Wallachia and brother of Dan I of Wallachia, after whose death he inherited the throne. After the deat ...

(1386–1418) and in Moldavia under

Alexander the Good Alexander I, commonly known as Alexander the Good (; – 1 January 1432) was Voivode of Moldavia between 1400 and 1432. He was the son of Roman I and succeeded Iuga to the throne. As ruler he initiated a series of reforms while consolidating ...

(1400–1432).Rezachevici (1971), p. 24 The Moldavian version of the office ranked it immediately after the ''

Spatharios The ''spatharii'' or ''spatharioi'' (singular: ; , literally " spatha-bearer") were a class of Late Roman imperial bodyguards in the court in Constantinople in the 5th–6th centuries, later becoming a purely honorary dignity in the Byzantine Emp ...

''; in Wallachia, it was originally mentioned as below the '' Vistier'', who was fourth or fifth in line in the Boyar Council () the '' Ban'', ''

Vornic Vornic was a historical rank for an official in charge of justice and internal affairs. He was overseeing the Royal Court. It originated in the Slovak '' nádvorník''. In the 16th century in Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrilli ...

'', ''

Logothete Logothete (, ''logothétēs'', pl. λογοθέται, ''logothétai''; Med. , pl. ''logothetae''; ; ; ; , ''logotet'') was an administrative title originating in the eastern Roman Empire. In the middle and late Byzantine Empire, it rose to become ...

'', and sometimes also the ''Spatharios'', ranked above them. A social and functional differentiation cut across these boyar classes. According to such typologies, some boyar offices were administrative or "public" (''Ban'' or ''Logothete''), while others, including ''Ban'' and ''Spatharios'', were purely military. ''Paharnici'' fell into a third category of offices, deemed "courtly" (''de curte'')—alongside ''

Clucer Clucer (; plural ''cluceri'') was a historical rank traditionally held by boyars in Moldavia and Wallachia, roughly corresponding to that of Masters of the Royal Court. It originated in the Slavic ''kliučiari'' (from the word for "key"), being eq ...

i'', '' Jitniceri'', '' Medelniceri'', '' Pitari'', ''

Postelnic ''Postelnic'' (, plural: ''postelnici,'' from the Slavic ''postel'', "bed"; cf. Russian '' postelnichy'') was a historical rank traditionally held by boyars in Moldavia and Wallachia, roughly corresponding to the position of '' chamberlain''. I ...

i'', ''

Sluger Sluger (plural ''slugeri''; , ; sometimes also sulger ) was a historical rank traditionally held by boyars in Moldavia and Wallachia, roughly corresponding to a sort of Intendant or Master of the Larder. It originated in the Slavic Slavic, Slav o ...

i'', and ''

Stolnic ''Stolnic'' was a '' boier'' (Romanian nobility) rank and the position at the court in the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The title approximately corresponds to seneschal and is borrowed from the Slavic title ''stolnik'' (from ...

i''. As summarized by historian Constantin Rezachevici, a ''Paharnic''s function was "to fill up the first cup at the prince's table, and while in the country he supervised the princely vineyards and made sure that these were well kept". Biliarsky also notes that the ''Paharnic'' acted as a waiter and a wine taster, who made sure that the beverage was safe to drink, being thus "close to and very highly trusted by the ruler." From the beginning, these attributes alternated with the business of state: in October 1407, ''Paharnic'' Iliaș "Dumitrovscio" was present on the Moldavian delegation which swore fealty to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, and consequently fought at Grunwald. A variation of the office, already present in 1540s Moldavia, was the ''Paharnic'' in service to the Princess-consort. Also in Moldavia, ''Paharnici'' had direct control over the '' Staroste'' of

Cotnari Cotnari () is a village and the center of the eponymous commune in Iași County, Romania, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. It is located north-west of Iași and south of Hârlău, in a major wine-producing region of Romania, and is f ...

, who produced the eponymous sweet wine variety, seen as the region's best, as well as over the wine regions of

Dealu Morii Dealu Morii is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary ...

Hârlău Hârlău (also spelled ''Hîrlău'', ; ; ) is a town in Iași County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It was one of the princely court cities of Moldavia, in the 15th century. One village, Pârcovaci, is administered by the town. Geography The town is ...

Huși Huși (, Yiddish//''Hush'', , German language, German: ''Hussburg'') is a municipiu, city in Vaslui County, Romania, former capital of the disbanded Fălciu County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, Romanian Orthodox Church, Romanian O ...

, and

Târgu Trotuș Târgu Trotuș () is a Commune in Romania, commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Târgu Trotuș, Tuta (''Diószeg''), and Viișoara (''Viszóra''). At the 2021 Romanian census, 2021 census, the com ...

.Stoicescu, p. 79 After 1482, the Moldavian institution also appeared in the wine-rich

Panciu Panciu () is a town in Vrancea County, Romania. It lies on the river Șușița, in the southern part of Western Moldavia, northwest of Focșani. It administers five villages: Crucea de Jos, Crucea de Sus, Dumbrava, Neicu, and Satu Nou. The town ...

Putna County Putna County was a county ( Romanian: ''județ'') in the Kingdom of Romania, in southern Moldavia. The county seat was Focșani. The county was located in the central-eastern part of Greater Romania, in the south of Moldavia. Today, most of the t ...

, which had been previously disputed between the two principalities. By 1700, the greater ''Paharnic'' was, ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'', the head of Putna's administration, while his assistant only controlled the princely vineyards of Huși.Mihordea, p. 1090 Historian N. Stoicescu proposes that the Wallachian ''Paharnici'' may have also exercised some control over the

winemakers A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to de ...

of Dealurile Buzăului. This function remains unattested, but is suggested by the ''Paharnici'' being traditionally reliant on support from that area, on the Wallachian border with Putna. In tandem, ''Paharnici'' in both principalities operated as

tax farmers Farming or tax-farming is a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contra ...

, receiving a small contribution from all other winemakers. This was presented to them personally on September 14 of each year. Moldavia's ''Paharnic'' collected only the wine

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

known as ''vinărici''. For the Wallachians, the ''vinărici'' was set at 1,000 barrels of wine yearly, from the wineries of

Argeș County Argeș County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Pitești. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2021 census, the county had a population of 569,932 and the population density was . At the 2011 Ro ...

( Ștefănești, Topoloveni) and

Vâlcea County Vâlcea County (also spelt ''Vîlcea''; ) is a county (județ) that lies in south-central Romania. Located in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (which are separated by the Olt (river), Olt River), it i ...

(

Drăgășani Drăgășani () is a city in Vâlcea County, Romania, near the right bank of the Olt river, and on the railway between Caracal and Râmnicu Vâlcea. The city is well known for the vineyards on the neighboring hills that produce some of the best ...

). Here, another special tribute, also collected from private

wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control s ...

s, was generally known as ''păhărnicie'', and was primarily lucrative in

. 18th-century sources inform that the ''Paharnic'' of Wallachia also collected the wine tax known as ''cămănărit'', which had its origins in

feudal aid Feudal aid is the legal term for one of the financial duties required of a feudal tenant or vassal to his lord. Variations on the feudal aid were collected in England, France, Germany and Italy during the Middle Ages, although the exact circumstan ...

(''plocon'').

Early feudal revolts

The ''Paharnici'' were assisted by their own private army, the ''Păhărnicei'' ("little ''Paharnici''", singular ''Păhărnicel''). At least originally, these were junior members of the aristocracy: the first known Moldavian ''Păhărnicel'', mentioned as such in December 1437, was a '' Pan'' Ureche. He had earlier been Iliaș I's ''Paharnic'', and went on to become his ''Vornic'' in 1438.Stoicescu, p. 78 At some point in or after 1479,

Stephen the Great Stephen III, better known as Stephen the Great (; ; died 2 July 1504), was List of rulers of Moldavia, Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II of Moldavia, Bogdan II, who was murdered in ...

rewarded another ''Păhărnicel'', Cârstea, with the deeds to

Coșești Coșești is a commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the we ...

village. Also in Moldavia, ''Paharnici'' were the only ones mandated to pass judgment in cases involving their retinue. Other records show that they (assisted by the relevant '' Pârcălabi'') passed judgment in all cases directly involving wine, either at Cotnari or Hârlău. The ''Paharnici'' were nevertheless entirely subject to the Prince's expedient justice, as already shown in the 1480s, when Stephen the Great ordered the execution of his ''Paharnic'' Negrilă, for reasons unrecorded. During the Wallachian 15th century, the titles of ''Paharnic'' and ''Ban'' were closely associated with a family known as

. Its founder, Barbu I, emerged ca. 1431 as ''Paharnic'' of

Alexander I Aldea Alexander I Aldea (1397 – December 1436) was a Voivode of Wallachia (1431–1436) from the House of Basarab, son of Mircea the Elder. He came to rule Wallachia during an extremely turbulent time when rule of the country changed hands by violenc ...

, sitting on the Boyar Council, but was probably chased out of the country by

Vlad II Dracul Vlad II (), also known as Vlad Dracul () or Vlad the Dragon (before 1395 – November 1447), was Voivode of Wallachia from 1436 to 1442, and again from 1443 to 1447. He is internationally known as the father of Vlad the Impaler, or Dracula. Bo ...

. This period highlighted the civil war between the houses of Dănești, to whom the Craiovești were loyal, and the family of Vlad II, or Drăculești. A differentiation of boyar offices first occurred in Wallachia under Dănești rulers. Vladislav II (1447–1456) created the Craiovești family as his ''Vlastelini'', presumably meaning "strong" or "immovable boyars". That category included the ''Paharnic'' alongside the ''Ban'', ''Vornic'', ''Logothete'' and other lesser dignities. Most of these functions (20/34) went to boyars who were also family with the Prince, descending from the earlier

House of Basarab The House of Basarab (sometimes spelled as Bazarab, ) was a ruling family that established the Principality of Wallachia, giving the country its first line of List of rulers of Wallachia, Princes, one closely related with the House of Bogdan-Mu ...

. Later in the 1450s,

Vlad the Impaler Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ) or Vlad Dracula (; ; 1428/31 – 1476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian hi ...

staged a boyar purge, reportedly killing all of his Council who identified the Dănești as actual Princes. In 1482, Basarab Țepeluș, who also relegated the Craiovești, raised his ''Paharnic'' Mircea to a second position in the Council ranks. The first Craiovești Prince,

Neagoe Basarab Neagoe Basarab (; – 15 September 1521) was the Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia between 1512 and 1521. Born into the boyar family of the Craiovești (his reign marks the climax of the family's political influence) as the son of Pârvu Craioves ...

(reigned 1512–1521), assigned the office of ''Paharnic'' to a more distant relative, Drăghici Florescu, to whom he also gave ownership of

Tismana Tismana is a town in Gorj County, Oltenia, Romania. It administers ten villages: Celei, Costeni, Gornovița, Isvarna, Pocruia, Racoți, Sohodol, Topești, Vâlcele, and Vânăta. History During the Byzantine period, Tismana was a major center of ...

. The ''Teachings'', a political treatise often attributed to Neagoe, go further in proposing that the office of ''Paharnic'' be assigned to foreign mercenaries, thus ensuring

meritocracy Meritocracy (''merit'', from Latin , and ''-cracy'', from Ancient Greek 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on ability and talent, rather than ...

. Historian P. P. Panaitescu notes that this detail, as well as the designation of ''Paharnici'' as ''Credinciari'', establishes that the book is a forgery. The Wallachian ''Paharnic'' was also a rank in the feudal levy army, commanding the ''Păhărnicei'' as a mounted corps. The latter, alongside lesser boyars in service to the ''Paharnici'', formed a special military corps and fiscal category, separate from the retinues of other boyar ranks. There were probably 13 such "orders" in 1580s Moldavia, where the ''Păhărnicei'' themselves were still relevant landowners. Before 1600, a ''Păhărnicel'' Ionașcu owned the entire village of Drăgușeni, which his family later sold to Prince Miron Barnovschi. Nevertheless, the office of ''Paharnic'' in itself did not guarantee financial independence. In 1557, under Wallachia's

Pătrașcu the Good Pătrașcu the Good (), (? – 24 December 1557) was a ruler of the principality of Wallachia, between 1554 and 24 December 1557, one of many rulers of Wallachia during the 16th century. A member of the House of Drăculești, he was the son of Radu ...

, ''Paharnic'' Vlad of Bârsești became financially destitute and, as one record shows, even faced starvation.

Michael the Brave's boyars

Nicolae Grigorescu - Mihai viteazul la Calugareni

With the delegation of military power came the ''Paharnic''s involvement in more rebellions. This also coincided with the increase of power for 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 ...

, which was Wallachia and Moldavia's suzerain power throughout the Late Medieval and

Early Modern The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

eras. In the early 1540s, a holder of the title, Stroe Florescu, followed Șerban of Izvorani and fought against Wallachian Prince

Radu Paisie Radu VII Paisie, officially Radul (Old Church Slavonic in Romania, Church Slavonic: Радул воєвода; ), also known as Radu vodă Măjescul, Radu vodă Călugărul, Petru I, and Petru de la Argeș ( 1500Gheonea, p. 50 – after 1545), wa ...

; both rebels were executed. At around the same time, Moldavia's

Petru Rareș Petru Rareș (; – 3 September 1546) or Petru IV was twice voivode of Moldavia from 20 January 1527 to 18 September 1538 and from 19 February 1541 to 3 September 1546. He was an illegitimate child born (probably at Hârlău) to Stephen III of ...

was facing boyar rebellions in Cârligătura County, confiscating a village from ''Paharnic'' Ștefan Mânjea and donating another to the loyalist replacement, Nicoară. The 1570s witnessed one of several wars between the two principalities, with Moldavia's John III occupying Bucharest, allowing Radu Paisie's putative grandson,

Vintilă Vintilă is both a masculine Romanian given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Octavian Vintilă (born 1938), Romanian fencer * Simona Vintilă (born 1980), Romanian footballer Given name *Vintilă Brătianu (1867� ...

, to take over as Prince of Wallachia. This days-long reign was probably ended by the supporters of Alexandru Mircea, including a ''Paharnic'' Bratu. In the early 1580s, one of Vintilă's surviving brothers, Prince

Petru Cercel Petru II Cercel (''Peter Earring'' or ''Earring Peter''; c. 1545 – March 1590) was a Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia from 1583 to 1585, legitimate son to Pătrașcu cel Bun and alleged half-brother of Mihai Viteazul. A polyglot and a minor figu ...

, ordered the execution of another rebellious ''Paharnic'', Gonțea. In 1595, Vintilă and Cercel's alleged brother,

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593–1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvani ...

, took up the anti-Ottoman cause in the

Long Turkish War The Long Turkish War (, ), Long War (; , ), or Thirteen Years' War was an indecisive land war between the Holy Roman Empire (primarily the Habsburg monarchy) and the Ottoman Empire, primarily over the principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania, ...

. Shortly after, he punished his ''Paharnic'' Iane of Boleasca, taking over Iane's estate at Daia. This was possibly a payback for cowardice shown in the

battle of Călugăreni The Battle of Călugăreni took place during the history of early modern Romania on between the Wallachian army led by Michael the Brave and the Ottoman army led by Koca Sinan Pasha. It was part of the Long Turkish War, fought between Christ ...

. Instead, Michael's other ''Paharnici'' were held in high esteem for their service, and received villages from Michael's personal land fund:

Lupu Mehedințeanu Lupu may refer to: * Lupu (surname) * Lupu Bridge (卢浦大桥), spanning the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China. * Lupu, Funing County, Jiangsu (芦蒲镇), town in Funing County, Jiangsu, China. * Lupu, Yuhuan County, Zhejiang (), town in Yuhua ...

took the villages of Dobra and Ponorălul; ''Paharnic'' Turturea was awarded Găuriciu. A mercenary commander, known as Necula ''Paharnic'', was also awarded the village of Roșiani, in

Romanați County Romanați County was a county (Romanian language, Romanian: ''județ'') in the Kingdom of Romania, in southeastern part of the historical region of Oltenia. The county seat was Caracal, Romania, Caracal. The county was located in the southwestern ...

. Among the holders of the ''Paharnic'' title since the days of

Mihnea Turcitul Mihnea II Turcitul ("Mihnea the Turned-Turk"; July 1564 – October 1601) was Prince (Voivode) of Wallachia between September 1577 and July 1583, and again from April 1585 to May 1591. Rise to the throne The only son of Alexandru II Mircea a ...

was a matrilineal Craiovești,

Radu Șerban Radu Șerban (? – 23 March 1620) was a Wallachian nobleman who reigned as the principality's ''voivode'' during two periods from 1602 to 1610 and during 1611. Biography A supposed descendant of Neagoe Basarab, he attained high office during ...

(Șerban of Coiani), who successfully litigated over his family's assets. Șerban continued to serve under Michael the Brave and his son

Nicolae Pătrașcu Nicolae Pătrașcu, Petrașco, or Petrașcu, also styled Nicolae Vo(i)evod (Church Slavonic and Romanian Cyrillic: or ; 1580 – late 1627), was the titular Prince of Wallachia, an only son of Michael the Brave and Lady Stanca, and a putative gra ...

, selling his estates at Seaca de Pădure and

Segarcea Segarcea is a small town in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania. It has 7,356 inhabitants (2021 Romanian census, 2021 census), in an area of . The town is located towards the western end of the Wallachian Plain, about north of the Danube and south ...

to the former. In 1600, having already conquered the Principality of Transylvania, Michael also extended his rule into Moldavia. The uprooted

Movilești The House of Movileşti, also Movilă or Moghilă (, Cyrillic: Могила), was a family of boyars in the principality of Moldavia, which became related through marriage with the Mușatin family – the traditional House of Moldavian sovereig ...

regime of Moldavia continued to exist in exile, receiving crucial backing from the loyalist ''Paharnic'' and diplomat, Ion Caraiman. The following year, during the troubles that followed Michael's downfall, Șerban of Coiani was elected Wallachian Prince by the boyar assembly at

Sălătrucu Sălătrucu is a commune in Argeș County, in Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Sălătrucu and Văleni. The Battle of Sălătrucu took place here, 16–23 October 1916, during the Romanian Campaign of World War I World ...

, taking the new name of ''Radu Șerban''. This new ruler extended his protection to Michael's other associates. Turturea was present by Michael's side at

Câmpia Turzii Câmpia Turzii (; ; ) is a municipality in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania, which was formed in 1925 by the union of two villages, Ghiriș (''Aranyosgyéres'') and Sâncrai (''Szentkirály''). It was declared a town in 1950 and a city in 1998. ...

, where Michael was assassinated. He rescued his lord's severed head and kept it as a relic. Radu Șerban's court also included Mehedințeanu as a ''Paharnic'', until 1611, when he defected to the Ottoman-appointed Prince,

Radu Mihnea Radu Mihnea (1586 – 13 January 1626) was the voivode (prince) of Wallachia between September 1601 and March 1602, and again between March and May 1611, September 1611 and August 1616, and August 1620 and August 1623. He was also the voivode ...

. The office of ''Paharnic'' was also a major station in the career of

, a junior Craiovești boyar; in 1612, Matei began using a personal seal that showed the ''Paharnic'' seated on a throne and carrying his special cane. Radu Șerban's regime, allied with the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, was finally ended by the Ottomans. The deposed Prince tried to return by way of Moldavia, supported by the local Prince,

Alexandru Movilă Alexandru Movilă (1601 – 1620) was Prince of Moldavia from 1615 to 1616. Life The second son of Ieremia Movilă and his wife Erszébet Csomortany de Losoncz, he is taken to the throne by his mother after the death of his elder brother Co ...

. However,

Costea Bucioc Costea Bucioc or Coste Băcioc (also known as ''Büczek'';? – July or September 1620) was a Moldavian statesman, commander of the military forces, and father-in-law of Prince Lupu (Vasile) Coci. He began his political career in the 1580s, emerg ...

, the Moldavian ''Paharnic'', ended this campaign by refusing to fight. Mehedințeanu, who continued to serve as ''Paharnic'', found himself at odds with the new establishment and especially the Greek immigrants, fleeing the country during the reign of

Alexandru IV Iliaș Alexandru is the Romanian form of the name Alexander. Common diminutives are Alecu, Alex, and Sandu. Origin Etymologically, the name is derived from the Greek "Αλέξανδρος" (Aléxandros), meaning "defending men" or "protector of men", ...

(1616–1618). He returned as leader of a popular revolt, taking control of both Bucharest and

Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște'') is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița (river), Ialomița River. Târgoviște was ...

, where he inspired an anti-Greek pogrom. Appointed Prince by the Ottomans,

Gabriel Movilă Gabriel or Gavril Movilă (? – December 1635) was Prince of Wallachia from June 1618 to July 1620. A Movileşti boyar, Gabriel was a son of Simion Movilă, Prince of Moldavia. Biography He attained the throne of Wallachia in 1616 but he r ...

handed Mehedințeanu over to Iskender Pasha, who ordered the ''Paharic'' impaled at Ciocănești. A decade later, under

Leon Tomșa Leon Tomșa, also known as Leon Vodă ("Leon the Voivode") or Alion, was the List of rulers of Wallachia, Prince of Wallachia from October 1629 to July 1632. He claimed to be a son of Ștefan IX Tomșa, and as such a Moldavian, but was generally ...

, the office of ''Paharnic'' was held by a Greek, Balasache Muselim, whose tenure sparked another revolt, which peaked at Bucharest and had Matei Basarab among its leaders. The movement was weakened when Prince Leon appointed locals to the higher offices, making Barbu Brădescu his new ''Paharnic''. Brădescu switched sides in 1632, helping to seize Wallachia's throne for Matei. In ca. 1655, the ''Paharnic''s private army was largely amassed on the border with Moldavia: in

Buzău Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...

and Râmnicu Sărat Counties there were 300–400 ''Păhărnicei''. These were commanded by a captain, 6 ''Iuzbași'', and 6 '' Ceauși''.Stoicescu, p. 77 By that moment in history, ''Paharnici'' had declined in relative importance. This was manifest under Matei Basarab, who ordered his new ''Paharnic'', Chisar Rudeanu, to be caned in the throne room, then jailed. Under his regime, the ''Păhărnicei'' and other servants of the ''Paharnic'' owed a yearly tax of 8

ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

s, while boyars subordinated to the ''Spatharios'' paid 12. Both countries' ''Paharnici'' were soon outranked by the ''Stolnici'' and '' Comiși''; in Wallachia, however, they continued to command the ''Păhărnicei'', and were also placed in charge of a new cavalry force, the ''Roșii'' ("Redcoats"). Both groups fought alongside the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

in the Polish war of 1672.

Cantacuzino era

After 1650, some Wallachian ''Paharnici'' opposed the steady rise of the

Cantacuzino family The House of Cantacuzino (; ) is a Romanian aristocratic family of Greek origin. The family gave a number of princes to Wallachia and Moldavia, and it claimed descent from a branch of the Byzantine Kantakouzenos family, specifically from Byzanti ...

, whose scion Drăghici Cantacuzino also held the title in 1661–1662, while others embraced it. Among the anti-Cantacuzino boyars, 1660s ''Paharnic'' Constantin Vărzarul plotted, alongside

Stroe Leurdeanu Stroe Leurdeanu, also known as Stroe (sin) Fiera, Stroie Leurdeanu, Stroe Leordeanu, or Stroe Golescu (ca. 1600 – 1678 or 1679), was a Wallachian statesman and political intriguer, son of ''Logothete'' Fiera Leudeanu. He began his career with t ...

, to have

Constantin I Cantacuzino Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name. It can also be a surname. For a list of notable people called Constantin, see Constantine (name). See also * Constantine (name) * Konstantin The first name Konstant ...

unlawfully executed. Another such conflict erupted in the early 1680s between Prince

Șerban Cantacuzino Șerban Cantacuzino (), (1634/1640 – 29 October 1688) was a List of rulers of Wallachia, Prince of Wallachia between 1678 and 1688. Biography Șerban Cantacuzino was a member of the Romanian branch of the Cantacuzino family, Cantacuzino noble ...

and his ''Paharnic'', Papa Buicescul (son of the ''Spatharios'' Diicul). Under the Cantacuzinos, the lesser ''Paharnici'' were all placed under the command of the greater ''Paharnic'', who organized them into a single military unit. By then, the armed retinues, and those of all other high-ranking boyars, were collectively known as ''Feciori'' ("Young Men" or "Boys") or ''Slugi'' ("Servants"). With the peak of

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

in both countries, these ''Feciori'' were exclusively recruited from among free or manumitted peasants. According to historian Constantin Giurescu, the Wallachian ''Păhărnicei'', as a special set of ''Feciori'', might have been supporting themselves from ''păhărnicie'' revenues, which they collected for their patron. This practice is attested in Moldavia, where, following the drought of September 1663, Princess Ecaterina Dabija warned ''Feciori'' not to collect the tithe from

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

and

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, as this would have exhausted the supply. A Cantacuzino ally,

, took the throne in 1688, replacing Șerban. He himself had for long been a regular boyar, first serving as a ''Paharnic'' when he was aged 17. During his subsequent reign, the ''Păhărnicei'' appear to have been almost exclusively confined to Râmnicu Sărat County, with some also present in

Mehedinți County Mehedinți County () is a county () of Romania on the border with Serbia and Bulgaria. It is mostly located in the historical province of Oltenia, with one municipality (Orșova) and three communes (Dubova, Mehedinți, Dubova, Eșelnița, and Svi ...

. Scholar Alexandru Ligor notes that, "during and especially after Brâncoveanu's era", the ''Păhărnicei'' and other such boyar retinues "will be more seriously engaged in productive life (in agriculture, in trades, etc.)." Brâncoveanu's reign was overall marked by a steady increase in taxation, but the ''Păhărnicei'' were explicitly excluded from some of the new duties, including a levy on vacated villages (''siliști''). Ligor proposes that this exemption reflected the Prince's military priorities, and his secret anti-Ottoman alliance with the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

. Brâncoveanu's first ''Paharnic'' was Staico Bucșanu, whose scheming against the regime ended with his public hanging at Bucharest's Outer Market. His public humiliation and killing were received with hostility by the Bucharest populace. The period thus inaugurated came with a set of administrative reforms, recorded in the princely register, or ''Anatefter''. This shows ''Paharnic'' as one of the great offices, but also creates an overlapping function therein, as ''Cupar'' (from ''cupă'', "cup"); at the top of boyar advancement, these two offices coexisted with ''Spatharios'', ''

'', ''

'', and another new office, that of ''Șufar'' (the intendant of kitchen staffs). Under Brâncoveanu, these particular offices were designated as ''Zvolearnici''. In addition to receiving payment from the exercise of their offices, they relied on princely handouts, including

kaftan A kaftan or caftan (; , ; , ; ) is a variant of the robe or tunic. Originating in Asia, it has been worn by a number of cultures around the world for thousands of years. In Russian usage, ''kaftan'' instead refers to a style of men's long suit ...

s colored in accordance with their function. Until his own downfall in 1714, Brâncoveanu relied on various other noblemen to fill in Bucșanu's role. One of these,

Cornea Brăiloiu The cornea is the transparent front part of the eyeball which covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optica ...

, served the Prince as both ambassador and organizer of defense expeditions against the ''

Kuruc Kuruc (, plural ''kurucok''), also spelled kurutz, refers to a group of armed anti- Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711. Over time, the term kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national inde ...

ok''. In 1696, the Greek ''Paharnic'' Vergo was part of a caretaker government of ''

Caimacam Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retained an ...

i''.C. C. Giurescu, p. 344 The following year, Brâncoveanu had another Greek ''Paharnic'', Skarlatakes Mavrocordatos, son of the influential

Alexander Mavrocordatos Alexander Mavrokordatos, Mavrocordatos, or Mavrocordato () can refer to: * Alexander Mavrokordatos the Exaporite (died 1709), physician and Grand Dragoman of the Porte (1673–1709) * Alexander Mavrocordatos Delibey (1742–1712), Prince of Molda ...

. In October, Skarlatakes married the Prince's daughter, Ilinca. Brâncoveanu also promoted Șerban II Cantacuzino as ''Paharnic'', in which capacity Cantacuzino attended, in 1702, the formal meeting between the Prince and

Baron Paget Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

. Brăiloiu returned as ''Paharnic'' under the last Cantacuzino Prince,

Ștefan Ștefan is the Romanian form of Stephen, used as both a given name and a surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically c ...

, with increased powers that allowed him to set an arbitrary ''vinărici'' and "collect wine as he pleases". Moldavia's own ''Paharnici'' and ''Păhărnicei'' greatly increased in number between 1550 and 1650; by 1710, some 24 were permanently present at the princely court 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 ...

, acting as waiters to the Moldavian Princes' foreign guests. Though the office's prestige declined, various Moldavian rulers maintained a practice of assigning it, alongside other offices, to their most trusted courtiers, often members of the monarchs' own families.

Vasile Lupu Lupu Coci, known as Vasile Lupu (; 1595 – 1661), was the voivode of Moldavia between 1634 and 1653. He was of Albanian and Greek origin. Lupu had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and managed to h ...

(reigned 1634–1653) made his young nephew,

Alexandru Coci Alexandru Coci (born October 31, 1989) is a Romanian swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events. He is a Romanian swimming champion and record holder in butterfly, individual medley, relay events, and honorable mention All-American in the 100 m ...

, a ''Paharnic''; meanwhile Lupu's in-laws, including ''Paharnici'' Alexandru Ciogolea and Neculai Mogâldea, were involved in conspiracies to topple him. Coci and his brother Enache were later tortured and killed by Lupu's rival,

Gheorghe Ștefan Gheorghe Ștefan (István Görgicze, seldom referred to as ''Burduja''; died 1668) was the voivode (prince) of Moldavia between 13 April and 8 May 1653, and again from 16 July 1653 to 13 March 1658; he was the son of boyar Dumitrașcu Ceaur; G ...

, at the princely court in

Podoleni Podoleni is a commune in Neamț County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Negritești and Podoleni. Geography The commune lays away from the Piatra Neamț municipality, which is the capital of the Neamț County. The c ...

. In the 1670s, holders of the ''Paharnic'' title included Ștefan Lupașcu Hâjdău, who was both a close relative and in-law of Prince

Ștefan Petriceicu Ștefan Petriceicu (Romanian language, Romanian: ''Ștefan al XI-lea Petriceicu'', died 1690) was three times List of Moldavian rulers, Voivode of Moldavia (August 1672 – November 1673, December 1673 – February 1674, December 1683 – March 1 ...

. The office of ''Cupar'' also existed in Moldavia, for instance during Petriceicu's successor

Antonie Ruset Antonie Ruset or Antonie Rosetti (c. 1615 – 1685) ruled from November 10, 1675 to November 1678 in the Principality of Moldova. Life He came from an ancient family of Greek origin. Ruset ordered on March 29, 1677, the relocation of the seat o ...

, who assigned it to his brother Constantin. This function was alluded to in the

canting arms Canting arms are heraldry, heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. The expression derives from the latin ''cantare'' (to sing). French heralds used the term (), ...

used by the

Rosetti family The House of Rosetti (also spelled ''Ruset'', ''Rosset, Rossetti'') was a Moldavian boyar princely family of Byzantine Greek and Italian ( Genoese) origins. There are several branches of the family named after their estates: Roznovanu, Solescu, B ...

, which prominently feature a silver cup. Moldavia also experienced a Cantacuzino ascendancy, which resulted in the promotion of Greek boyars, to the irritation of local competitors. The latter sentiment was notably expressed in the anti-Greek outburst of 1673, narrated favorably by chronicler

Ion Neculce Ion Neculce (1672–1745) was a Moldavian chronicler. His main work, ''Letopisețul Țărâi Moldovei e la Dabija Vodă până la a doua domnie a lui Constantin Mavrocordat' (''The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia Constantin Mavrocordat'') ...

. It came shortly after

Dumitrașcu Cantacuzino Dumitrașcu Cantacuzino (c. 1620 – 1686) was Prince of Moldavia 1673, 1674 to 1675, and 1684 to 1685. Life Dumitrașcu Cantacuzino was the son of the Grand Treasurer () Michael Kantakouzenos (in Romanian Mihai Cantacuzino) and the great-gra ...

abdicated, and targeted his courtiers, notably the ''Paharnic'' Mavrodin, who was paraded on a donkey and made to speak

shibboleth A shibboleth ( ; ) is any custom or tradition—usually a choice of phrasing or single word—that distinguishes one group of people from another. Historically, shibboleths have been used as passwords, ways of self-identification, signals of l ...

phrases in Romanian. Upon returning to the throne, Petriceicu maintained a court that included Greek boyars such as Ilie Stamatie, who was a ''Paharnic'' of Huși. By 1703, the Moldavian Cantacuzinos were in conflict with the Greek Prince Constantine Ducas, with ''Paharnic'' Ilie Cantacuzino fleeing the country. Brâncoveanu's contemporary

, a native boyar and Enlightened absolutist, strove to reform the old order, appointing distinguished soldiers, such as Adam Luca, as his ''Paharnici''. Under Cantemir, the ''Postelnic'' was the seventh of eight boyars admitted to a privy council, while the ''Păhărnicei'' were inducted en masse into a category called ''boiernași'' ("little boyars"). His second and final reign was curbed by the

Pruth River Campaign The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

, during which Cantemir supported Russia. When he left into exile, he took with him Neculce and the ''Paharnic'' Gheorghiță, both of them against their will.

Phanariote reforms

Progressively over the 1710s, competing dynasties of culturally Greek aristocrats, collectively known as "

", took power as Ottoman intermediaries in both Wallachia and Moldavia. The first such ruler,

Nicholas Mavrocordatos Nicholas Mavrocordatos (, ; May 3, 1670September 3, 1730) was a Greek member of the Mavrocordatos family, Grand Dragoman to the Divan (1697), and consequently the first Phanariot Hospodar of the Danubian Principalities, Prince of Moldavia, an ...

, awarded tax privileges to the ''Paharnici'', exempting them from the levy on ''siliști''. The ''Păhărnicei'' continued to be a strong presence in the borderland region of Wallachia, where in 1729 they still had a corps and a captain. Overtures were made to tone down conflicts between the Romanians and the Greeks in Moldavia, such as when

Grigore II Ghica Grigore II Ghica (1695 – 3 September 1752) was Voivode (Prince) of Moldavia at four different intervals — from October 1726 to April 16, 1733, from November 27, 1735 to 14 September 1739, from October 1739 to September 1741 and from May 1747 ...

refused to prosecute a treasonous ''Paharnic'' Gavriil. In 1754,

Matei Ghica Matei Ghica (1728 – 8 February 1756), a member of the Ghica family, was the Prince of Wallachia between 11 September 1752 and 22 June 1753, and Prince of Moldavia between 22 June 1753 and 8 February 1756. He was son of Grigore II Ghica and broth ...

created more resources for the two ''Paharnici'' of

, allowing them to collect half of the tax revenue previously kept by the '' Staroste''. However, the erosion of ''Paharnici'' importance continued and was enhanced: under the same Matei Ghica, who ruled over both countries in succession, twenty ''Paharnici'' were created at each court. While some historians credit this anomaly to the Prince, others identify his ''Postelnic'', Alexandros Soutzos, as the culprit. Matei's predecessor,

Mihai Racoviță Mihai or Mihail Racoviță (c. 1660 – July 1744) was a Prince of Moldavia on three separate occasions (September 1703 – February 23, 1705; July 31, 1707 – October 28, 1709; January 5, 1716 – October 1726) and Prince of Wallachia on two oc ...

, had redesigned the Wallachian table of ranks, making ''Paharnic'' the eighth position, within a second category of boyars. Accordingly, ''Paharnici'' were entitled to 40 '' scutelnici'', or clients, and had a yearly salary of 960

thaler A thaler or taler ( ; , previously spelled ) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...

; by comparison, all boyars of the first class received 70 ''scutelnici'' and 1,680 thaler. As noted by historian

Pompiliu Eliade Pompiliu Eliade (April 13, 1869 – May 24, 1914) was a Romanian literary critic and historian. Life Born in Bucharest, he attended primary and high school in his native city, followed by the University of Bucharest, where he obtained a liter ...

, "an inflexible protocol govern dthe relationship between classes." Third-class boyars were required to bow down and kiss the

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

of first-class superiors. ''Paharnici'' and others of the intermediary class were only expected to kiss their hand and display timidity in interactions. Under the new Phanariote regulations, these second-class aristocrats could not wear fur kaftans and had special ''

kalpak The calpack, kalpak, or qalpaq is a Turkic high-crowned cap (usually made of felt or sheepskin) worn by Turks, Bulgarians, Circassians, Dagestanis, Chechens, Ukrainians, Poles, Russians and throughout Central Asia and the Caucasus. The kalpak is ...

s'', surmounted by green cushions; their coats could only be colored in dark tones of green, blue, and brown, but, unlike inferior boyars, they were allowed to grow beards. In parallel, scholar

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...

notes, Wallachia's "old ''

cursus honorum The , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices'; ) was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The comprised a mixture of ...

'' had yielded to personal assets or demands." Before 1796, the ''Paharnici'' had fallen to ninth or tenth place, but only because higher offices had been "doubled"—for instance, in 1768 there were two Wallachian ''Vornici''. Another stratification occurred in Moldavia. There were 27 ''Paharnici'' at Grigore Callimachi's court: 13 enjoyed the full privileges; 14 were secondary (''vtori-'') and tertiary (''treti-'') ''Paharnici''. There were still 14 ''Păhărnicei'' performing military duty at the Moldavian court in 1763. Their commander, now called ''Vătaf'' (plural: ''Vătafi''), was a Greek boyar, Miche. Reduced to the role of rural legatees of the urban ''Paharnic'', the ''Păhărnicei'' of both countries were then stripped of all their remaining tax privileges under

Constantine Mavrocordatos Constantine Mavrocordatos (Greek language, Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Μαυροκορδάτος, Romanian language, Romanian: ''Constantin Mavrocordat''; February 27, 1711November 23, 1769) was a Greeks, Greek noble who served as List of rul ...

; the ''Paharnici'' themselves were required to pay for any military levy. Nevertheless, these new norms also stipulated that holders of any boyar rank from the top 19 would be spared taxation. That privilege was also extended to three generations of their descendants, known as ''Mazili'' or ''Mazâli''. A Western visitor, Friedrich Wilhelm von Bauer, assessed that Mavrocordatos' intervention had only left 100 ''Păhărnicei'' throughout Wallachia, with 12 more performing service for the Prince as ''Mazili''. By 1760, the boyars, including three ''Paharnici'', had lodged a formal complaint against Mavrocordatos with

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 ...

Mustafa III Mustafa III (; ''Muṣṭafā-yi sālis''; 28 January 1717 – 21 January 1774) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1757 to 1774. He was a son of Sultan Ahmed III (1703–30), and his consort Mihrişah Kadın. He was succeeded b ...

, accusing him of embezzlement. Shortly after Mavrocordatos' death in the Russian occupation of 1769, the chronicler Franz Sulzer noted that the function of Moldavia's great ''Paharnic'' was to reside in Cotnari and collect revenue for Princess-dowager Ecaterina. The town, Sulzer noted, had greatly declined. Before 1810, the ''Paharnic'' had fallen to an even lesser position on the table of ranks of Moldavia. It was twelfth, although ahead of the ''Stolnic'' and ''

Serdar Serdar may refer to * Serdar (given name) * Serdar (surname) Serdar is a surname of the following notable people: * Can Serdar (born 1996), German-Turkish football midfielder * Emerîkê Serdar (1935–2018), Kurdish-Yezidi writer from Armenia * I ...

''. The ''Păhărnicei''s ''Vătafi'' moved in the opposite direction and, by 1796, had been recognized as a component of Wallachia's fifth-class boyardom. ''Paharnici'' and ''Păhărnicei'' also had a decorative function at the ceremonies in honor of Wallachia's Phanariote Princes, notably at the coronations of

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 ...

(1775) and Nicholas Mavrogenes (1786), and the wedding of Princess Zamfira, daughter of

John Caradja John George Caradja, also known by his regnal name Ioan Gheorghe Caragea (; History of the Romanian language, pre-modern Romanian: , Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Cyrillic: Їωан Геωргïє Караџѣ; , , or ; , , or ; ; 1754 – 27 Dece ...

(1782). Some of the holders of the title focused their activity on cultural and educational projects. 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 ...

, Romanian or Greek schools were founded by local ''Paharnici'', including Fota Vlădoianu (

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 ...

, 1777), Stan Jianu ( Preajba, 1783), and Alexandru Farfara ( Cerneți, 1793). The 1780s ''Paharnic'' Mihail Fotino, a Wallachian Greek, became noted for his contributions to jurisprudence and moral philosophy. By 1806, Toma Carra, the Moldavian ''Paharnic'', was helping to draft a set of modernizing ''

Pandects The ''Digest'' (), also known as the Pandects (; , , "All-Containing"), was a compendium or digest of juristic writings on Roman law compiled by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I in 530–533 AD. It is divided into 50 books. The ''Dige ...

'', to be used by Prince

Alexander Mourouzis Prince Alexander Mourouzis (; Romanian: Alexandru Moruzi; 1750/1760 – 1816) was a Grand Dragoman of the Ottoman Empire who served as Prince of Moldavia and Prince of Wallachia. Open to Enlightenment ideas, and noted for his interest in hydro ...

in reforming the justice system.

As a middle-class and nationalist layer

Chevalier Auguste de Henikstein - Bojars du second rang

Other ''Paharnici'' were primarily involved in administrative or entrepreneurial work. Under Prince

John Mavrocordatos John Mavrocordatos (, ; 23 July 1684 – 23 February 1719) was caimacam of Moldavia (7 October 1711 – 16 November 1711) and List of rulers of Wallachia, Prince of Wallachia between 2 December 1716 and 23 February 1719.Emile Legrand ''Généalogi ...

, the Bucharest caretakers, or ''

ispravnic An ''ispravnic'' or ''ispravnik'' was, in the Danubian principalities, the title owned by a clerk or a boyar in charge of law enforcement in a certain county. Initially, during the middle ages, ''ispravnics'' were people who used to carry out the ...

i'', comprised ''Paharnic'' Nicolae Ruset. In 1724, ''Paharnic'' Manolache owned one of the larger Bucharest bakeries. By 1804, Wallachian dignitaries included an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

businessman and ''Paharnic'',

, made famous by his establishing of

Manuc's Inn Manuc's Inn (, ) is the oldest operating hotel building in Bucharest, Romania. It also houses a popular restaurant, several bars, a coffee-house, and (facing the street) several stores and an extensive bar. Its massive, multiply balconied court ...

. In 1800, while reigning in Wallachia, Mourouzis appointed his ''Paharnic'' Ștefănică, alongside Constantin Pastia, to redesign a system for Bucharest's drainage and sewage. In 1819, Wallachian Prince

Alexandros Soutzos Alexandros Soutzos (, , '';'' 1758 – 18/19 January 1821) was a Phanariote Greek who ruled as Prince of Moldavia (July 10, 1801 – October 1, 1802 and Prince of Wallachia (July 2, 1802 – August 30, 1802; August 24, 1806 – October 15, 1806 ...

ordered his ''Paharnic'', Ianache Hafta, to carry out a modern

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...

of Bucharest. Another ''Paharnic'', Vasile Iconomu, helped ''Spatharios''

Gheorghe Vlahuț Gheorghe is a Romanian and Aromanian given name and surname. It is a variant of George, also a name in Romanian but with soft Gs. It may refer to: Given name * Gheorghe Adamescu (1869–1942), Romanian literary historian and bibliographer * G ...

in capturing a gang of English counterfeiters. Moldavia's second-class boyars were similarly dedicated to commercial pursuits. Around 1740, ''Paharnic'' Radu Racoviță established a pioneering glass factory at

Luizi-Călugăra Luizi-Călugăra () is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Luizi-Călugăra and Osebiți. History and demographics Luizi-Călugăra was established in the 18th century by Hungarian Catholic sett ...

. While ranked as ''Paharnici'',

Ioniță Cuza Ion Cuza or Cuzea, commonly known as Ioniță Cuza (ca. 1715 – August 18, 1778), was a Moldavian statesman and political conspirator, remembered as one of the first Romanian nationalists and Freemasons. His paternal family, the Cuzas (Cuzeas), ...

took up

usury Usury () is the practice of making loans that are seen as unfairly enriching the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is charged in e ...

(1770s) and

Ionică Tăutu Ionică Tăutu (usual rendition of Ion Tăutu; 1798–1828) was a Moldavian low-ranking boyar, Enlightenment-inspired pamphleteer, and craftsman ("an engineer by trade", according to Alecu Russo).Russo, VI Constitutional project The last in a ...

became one of the major

tenant farmer A tenant farmer is a farmer or farmworker who resides and works on land owned by a landlord, while tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and ma ...

s in

Hotin County Hotin County was a county ( ținut is Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, județ after) in the Principality of Moldavia (14th-18th centuries), the Governorate of Bessarabia (1812–1917), the Moldavian Democratic Republic (1917–1918), and the K ...

(1810). Frictions between the Phanariotes and the provincial second-class boyars continued with some regularity. In one incident of 1799, ''Paharnic'' Constantin Bălăceanu of

Ialomița County Ialomița County () is a county () of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Slobozia. Demographics In 2011, the county had a population of 258,669 and the population density was 58.08/km2. Romanians make up 95.6% of the population, t ...

refused to carry out an order issued by

Constantine Hangerli Constantine Hangerli (, ''Konstantinos Chatzeris''; c. 1760 – 18 February 1799), also written as Constantin Hangerliu, was a Prince of Wallachia between 1797 and the time of his death. He was the brother of Alexander Hangerli, who served as P ...

. Under

Constantine Ypsilantis Constantine Ypsilantis ( ''Konstantinos Ypsilantis''; ; 1760 – 24 June 1816) was the son of Alexander Ypsilantis, a key member of an important Phanariote family, Grand Dragoman of the Porte (1796–1799), hospodarEast, ''The Union of Molda ...

, another Ialomița ''Paharnic'', Fălcoianu, was charged with embezzlement. With the era of national awakening, the ''Paharnici'' opposition to the Greeks extended to other classes of foreigners. In 1784, a ''Paharnic'' "Carpoff" made sustained efforts to block the penetration into Moldavia of Galician Armenians. ''Paharnic'' Manuc remained one of only three only Armenians to have reached a boyar rank in either country under the Phanariote reigns. During the war of 1806, a Wallachian ''Paharnic'', Ștefan Belu, had a publicized conflict with the

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

colonized at Lichirești, who were under the protection of

Dimitrie Macedonski Dimitrie Macedonski ( 1780 or 1782–1843) was a Wallachian Pandur captain and revolutionary leader. Life Dimitrie was born in Ottoman Macedonia, as the son of Stoyan Mincho (Stogiannis Mintsos), a local chieftain. After the Russo-Turkish wa ...

. The Phanariote era also pushed Moldavia and Wallachia into the orbit of the

, prompting some boyars to accept Russian suzerainty. In the 1760s, a ''Paharnic'', Semyon Mikulin, moved to

Novorossiya Novorossiya rus, Новороссия, Novorossiya, p=nəvɐˈrosʲːɪjə, a=Ru-Новороссия.ogg; , ; ; ; "New Russia". is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later becom ...

and was received into

Russian nobility The Russian nobility or ''dvoryanstvo'' () arose in the Middle Ages. In 1914, it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members, out of a total population of 138,200,000. Up until the February Revolution of 1917, the Russian noble estates staffed ...

. In 1812, pursuant to the Treaty of Bucharest,

eastern Moldavia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

was detached and assigned to Russia. This led to the creation of a

Bessarabian Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its administrative centre in Kishinev (Chișinău). It consisted of an area of and a population of 1,935,412 inhabitants. The Bessarabia Governorate bordered ...

which recognized Moldavian titles, including that of ''Paharnic'', as the basis for inclusion into Russian nobility. Two of the earliest Bessarabian ''Paharnici'' were Nicolae Done and Toma Stamati. From a Wallachian family, Done served as judge in

during the early 1820s; Stamati, who took part in the inaugural

gentry assembly Assembly of the Nobility () was a self-governing body of the sosloviye (estate) of the Russian nobility in Imperial Russia from 1766 to 1917. Their official status was defined by the Charter to the Gentry in 1785. The Nobility Assemblies were a ...

, was the father of poet Constantin Stamati. Yet another ''Paharnic'' under Russian rule, Dinu Negruzzi of

Șirăuți Șirăuți is a village in Briceni District, Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Roma ...

was the father of writer

Costache Negruzzi Constantin Negruzzi (; first name often Costache ; 1808–24 August 1868) was a Romanian poet, novelist, translator, playwright, and politician. Born in Trifeștii Vechi, Moldavia, he studied at home with a Greek teacher. He admitted in a late ...

. Under late Phanariotes such as Wallachia's Caradja, the rank of a lesser ''Paharnic'' was openly trafficked: Hagi Ianuș, a merchant from Craiova, offered to purchase it at 400 ducats in 1816. By the time of Soutzos' death in 1821 there were six greater ''Paharnici'' in Wallachia, all of them present at his funeral. According to a note by visiting bureaucrat Ignaty Yakovenko, the number of ''scutelnici'' had increased, with each of these ''Paharnici'' commanding the allegiance of 25 clients; the ''Păhărnicei''s ''Vătafi'' had three ''scultenici'' of their own. The rise of Wallachian clienteles was again curbed in 1821 by an anti-boyar uprising, under

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 Tudor ...

; having a peasant base, this insurgency was probably led by disgruntled third-class boyars. Also in 1821, the Phanariote warlord

, leading a " Sacred Band" of

Greek revolutionaries 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 ...

, had taken control over Moldavia and parts of Wallachia. Ypsilantis' expedition sparked another Ottoman intervention, which provided a settling of scores between Romanians and Greeks. Second-class boyars played significant parts: according to Eliade, a ''Spatharios'' and a ''Paharnic'' traveled from one Moldavian town to another, replacing Ypsilantis' men with friendly locals. The ''Paharnic''

was involved alongside Sturdza in the fight against Sacred Band Greeks, at the head of a

national party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

. At

Zvoriștea Zvoriștea is a commune located in Suceava County, Western Moldavia, northeastern Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the no ...

, he organized a guerrilla force which flew red flags. It then marched on

Botoșani Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. Origin of the ...

, driving out the Greek insurgents.

Disintegration

Istrati's counterpart in Wallachia was Scarlat Cerchez, who organized the reception of Moldavia's first post-Phanariote Prince,

Ioan Sturdza Prince Ioan Sandu Sturdza or Ioniță Sandu Sturdza (1762 – 2 February 1842) was the ruler (hospodar) of Moldavia from 21 June 1822 to 5 May 1828. Biography Sturdza is considered the first indigenous ruler with the end of Phanariote rule (as ...

. Even before arriving in his capital, Sturdza rewarded the expectations of

Romanian nationalists Romanian nationalism is a form of nationalism that asserts that Romanians are a nation and promotes the identity and cultural unity of Romanians. Its extremist variation is Romanian ultranationalism. History Antecedents The predecessors of ...

, inducting his partisans into the boyardom. By 1825, he had created 350 second-class boyars, ''Paharnici'' included. These changes perplexed Moldavia's first-class boyardom, whose delegates asked

Mahmud II Mahmud II (, ; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. Often described as the "Peter the Great of Turkey", Mahmud instituted extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms ...

to mediate. Eventually, the Russo-Turkish War of 1828 drove Sturdza into exile in Bessarabia. This moment showed the tensions between the two aristocratic systems, as Sturdza began handing out titles to commoners, and allegedly created a house servant as ''Paharnic''. The post-Phanariote agitation ended as a lengthy Russian occupation of both principalities, providing them with a modernizing constitution known as ''

Regulamentul Organic ''Regulamentul Organic'' (, ; ; )The name also has plural versions in all languages concerned, referring to the dual nature of the document; however, the singular version is usually preferred. The text was originally written in French, submitt ...

''. Under this system, ''Paharnici'' were a seventh aristocratic rank, below ''Cluceri'' and ahead of ''Serdari''.Laurențiu Vlad, "Scurte note cu privire la cenzura din Țara Românească. Două episoade din biografia lui Constantin N. Brăiloiu (1849–1850, 1858)", in ''Analele Universității București. Seria Științe Politice'', Vol. 4, 2002, p. 36 The Russian-appointed Moldavian Prince,

, replicated the policy of inducting new boyars, and, in 1835, raised most civil servants into the aristocracy: 140 ''Paharnici'' and 352 ''Serdari'' were counted in the census of 1849. In 1820, in Botoșani alone there were five ''Paharnici'': Alexandru, Ion Brănișteanu, Necula Dalamaci, Gavril Istrati, and Sterie. By 1847, the same city held six ''Paharnici'', none of them present in the older count. Nationality restrictions for Armenians were also lifted with the Treaty of Adrianople. As noted by scholar H. Dj. Siruni, 35 Armenians became Moldavian boyars in the subsequent social uplift, including ''Paharnici'' Hacic Cerchez at

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and G. Țăranu at Botoșani. Sturdza's measures were derided by the genealogist

Constantin Sion Constantin Sion, also known as Costandin or Cothi Sion (September 18, 1795 – February 27, 1862), was a Moldavian political conspirator, genealogist, and polemicist. He was born into the lower ranks of the Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, boyar ...

, himself a . According to Sion, Sturdza had managed to make boyars out of "the sons of butchers and publicans", and "condemned the country to fall under his companions". In one fragment of his genealogical tract, Sion confesses that he himself had taken a bribe to facilitate the ennobling of a priest's son, Iordachi Popa, also as a . The spread of liberal and radical ideas influenced such perceptions, leading up to the abortive coup of 1848. During the preceding crisis in 1846, the Teodor Sion (Constantin Sion's brother) was arrested, alongside ''Spahtarios'' Tucidide Durmuz, for having joined Teodor Râșcanu's attempt at

tax resistance Tax resistance is the refusal to pay tax because of opposition to the government that is imposing the tax, or to government policy, or as opposition to taxation in itself. Tax resistance is a form of direct action and, if in violation of the ta ...

against Sturdza. The Wallachian and

Moldavian military forces Moldavia had a military force for much of its history as an independent and, later, autonomous principality subject to the Ottoman Empire (14th century-1859). Army Middle Ages Under the reign of Stephen the Great, all farmers and villagers had ...

were both restructured, though some importance was paid to the old table of ranks and the concept of ''Mazili''. As such, the radical conspirator Ion Câmpineanu was allowed to serve as a Wallachian Major because of his descent from a . By 1841, the role of in Bucharest's government had been formalized, with Scarlat Rosetti serving as City Council President. Other boyars of that rank continued to be involved primarily in trade.

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș (river), Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in th ...

was home to a Berindei, who, by 1855, was a major player in Wallachia's pork trade. In Moldavia's

Piatra Neamț Piatra Neamț (; ; ) is the capital city of Neamț County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in northeastern Romania. Because of its very privileged location in the Divisions of the Carpathians, Eastern Carpathian mountains, it is con ...

, the era is commemorated by a former manor-and-warehouse, known as ''Casa Paharnicului'' ("House of the "). It was built by the boyar and grain trader Dimitrie C. Gheorghiadis, who held the office for only part of his career. The title was also held in the 1830s and '40s by two inspector-generals of Wallachia's schools,

and

, as well as by painter

. The former complained that the appointment was insignificant, since such titles were being offered to all educated youth, turning each one into a "servant of the servants, a nobody among the nobodies." Before the

Wallachian Revolution of 1848 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 sough ...

, which sought to outlaw boyar ranks, the father of revolutionary

Gheorghe Magheru General Gheorghe Magheru (; 8 April 1802, Bârzeiul de Gilort, Gorj County – 23 March 1880 Bucharest) was a Romanian revolutionary and soldier from Wallachia, and political ally of Nicolae Bălcescu. A Pandur and radical conspirator M ...

also served as and administrator of

. Another , the poet

Grigore Alexandrescu Grigore Alexandrescu (; 22 February 1810, Târgoviște – 25 November 1885 in Bucharest) was a nineteenth-century Romanian poet and translator noted for his fables with political undertones. He founded a periodical, ''Albina Românească'' ...

, discarded his rank and job in the bureaucracy to participate in the revolutionary events. The revolution was defeated, but Russian influence was curbed from 1853, with the

. Under the regime of Prince

Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei (), also written as ''Stirbey'', (17 August 1799 – April 13, 1869), a member of the Bibescu boyar family, was a hospodar (Prince of Wallachia) on two occasions, between 1848 and 1853, and between 1854 and 1856. ...

, Wallachian revolutionaries were allowed back home from exile. They included the Rădulescu, who alternated roles between civilian boyar and general in the

. Eventually, all boyar ranks and tax privileges were ended by the Convention of Paris (1858), which also opened the way for a Moldo–Wallachian union in 1859. The title continued to be used in the 1860s by those who already held it, including jurists Gheorghe Lehliu and Barbu Slătineanu.D. Cernovodeanu, pp. 406, 408

Notes

References

{{columns-list, colwidth=30em, *Elena Aramă, Ion Jecev, "Organizarea judecătorească în timpul dominației otomane", in ''Revista Națională de Drept'', Issue 10, 2016, pp. 2–4. *Sergiu Bacalov, ''Boierimea Țării Moldovei la mijlocul secolului al XVII-lea–începutul secolului al XVIII-lea. Studiu istorico-genealogic''. Chișinău:

Academy of Sciences of Moldova The Academy of Sciences of Moldova (), established in 1961, is the main scientific organization of Moldova and coordinates research in all areas of science and technology. Ion Tighineanu has been the head of the Academy of Sciences since April 9 ...

, 2012. {{ISBN, 978-9975-71-282-8 *

Dan Berindei Dan Berindei (3 November 1923 – 23 December 2021) was a Romanian historian. He was a titular member of the Romanian Academy from 1992 until his death. Biography A descendant of Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, he was born in Bucharest on 3 Nov ...

, Irina Gavrilă, "Mutații în sînul clasei dominante din Țara Românească în perioada de destrămare a orînduirii feudale", in ''Revista de Istorie'', Vol. 34, Issue 11, 1981, pp. 2029–2046. *Gheorghe G. Bezviconi, ''Boierimea Moldovei dintre Prut și Nistru'', Vol. I. Bucharest: Fundația Regele Carol I, 1940; Vol. II, Bucharest: National Institute of History, 1943. *Ivan Biliarsky, ''Word and Power in Mediaeval Bulgaria''. Leiden:

Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers () is a Dutch international academic publisher of books, academic journals, and Bibliographic database, databases founded in 1683, making it one of the oldest publishing houses in the Netherlands. Founded in the South ...

, 2011. {{ISBN, 978-90-04-19145-7 *

Gheorghe Bogdan-Duică Gheorghe Bogdan-Duică (born Gheorghe Bogdan; –September 21, 1934) was an Imperial Austrian-born Romanian literary critic. The son of a poor merchant family from Brașov, he attended several universities before launching a career as a critic, f ...

, ''Istoria literaturii române. Întâii poeți munteni''. Cluj:

Cluj University Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

& Editura Institutului de Arte Grafice Ardealul, 1923. {{OCLC, 28604973 *Ariasna Camariano-Cioran, "Miscellanea. Măsuri fiscale și administrative în Moldova (1753—1754)", in ''Studii și Materiale de Istorie Medie'', Vol. V, 1962, pp. 505–514. *Dan Cernovodeanu, ''Știința și arta heraldică în România''. Bucharest: Editura științifică și enciclopedică, 1977. {{OCLC, 469825245 *Paul Cernovodeanu, "Elemente incipiente ale burgheziei în societatea românească sub fanarioți", in ''Revista de Istorie'', Vol. 40, Issue 5, 1987, pp. 479–492. *Adina Chirilă, ''Limba scrierilor lui Antim Ivireanul. Partea I: Fonetica; morfologia''. Iași: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Press, 2013. {{ISBN, 978-973-703-932-3 *Ion Donat, ''Domeniul domnesc în Țara Românească (sec. XIV–XVI)''. Bucharest: Editura enciclopedică, 1996. {{ISBN, 973-454-170-6 *

, ''De l'influence française sur l'esprit public en Roumanie. Les origines. Étude sur l'état de la société roumaine a l'époque des règnes phanariotes''. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1898. {{OCLC, 6967920 *

Gheorghe Ghibănescu Gheorghe Ghibănescu (29 September 1864 – 4 July 1936) was a Romanian historian and philologist. Born in Gugești, Vaslui County, he attended the junior seminary in Huși from 1875 to 1879, followed by the senior seminary at the Socola Monast ...

, "Sama visteriei Moldovei din 1763 (Iunie–Decembrie)", in ''Ioan Neculce. Buletinul Muzeului Municipal Iași'', Fasc. 5, 1925, pp. 70–121. * Constantin C. Giurescu, ''Istoria Bucureștilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre''. Bucharest: Editura pentru literatură, 1966. {{OCLC, 1279610 * Dinu C. Giurescu, "Miscellanea. ''Anatefterul''. Condica de porunci a vistieriei lui Constantin Brîncoveanu", in ''Studii și Materiale de Istorie Medie'', Vol. V, 1962, pp. 353–364. * Arthur Gorovei, ''Monografia Orașului Botoșani''. Botoșani: Ediția Primăriei de Botoșani, 1938. *N. N. Hêrjeu, ''Istoria Partidului Național Liberal; De la origină până în zilele noastre. Volumul 1''. Bucharest: Institutul de Arte Grafice Speranța, 1915. {{OCLC, 38789356 *Liliana Hoinărescu, "Discurs și reprezentare socială în cronica lui Ion Neculce: imaginea grecului", in ''Analele Universității din București. Limba și Literatura Română'', Vol. LXIII, 2014, pp. 27–49. *I. Ionașcu, **''Biserici, chipuri și documente din Olt'', Vol. I. Craiova:

Ramuri ''Ramuri'' ("Twigs" or "Branches") is a Romanian literary magazine put out from Craiova, the regional center of Oltenia region. Its first edition appeared from December 1905, and was closely tied to Nicolae Iorga's ''Sămănătorul'', published i ...

, 1934. {{OCLC, 935559527 **"Date noi relative la Radu Vodă Mihnea în Țara Romînească", in ''Studii. Revistă de Istorie'', Vol. XIV, Issue 3, 1961, pp. 699–720. *

, **"Două comunicații la Academia Română. II: O foaie de popularisare igienică și economică la 1844–45. Rolul fraților Vîrnav în Renașterea romănească", in ''Revista Istorică'', Vol. V, Issues 8–10, August–October 1919, pp. 170–187. **''Pedagogia unui jurisconsult fanariot din București la 1780. Intoarcerea unei pribege: Doamna Maria Minio''. Bucharest:

Monitorul Oficial ''Monitorul Oficial al României'' is the official government gazette, gazette of Romania, in which all the promulgation, promulgated bills, President of Romania, presidential decrees, Government of Romania, governmental ordinances and other m ...

, 1932. **"La titlurile boierești în epoca fanariotă", in ''Revista Istorică'', Vol. XIX, Issues 1–3, January–March 1933, pp. 10–11. **"Două arzuri ale țării către Sultan în sec. XVIII"; "Practica domnească a unui ideolog: D. Cantemir", in ''Memoriile Secțiunii Istorice'', Vol. XVI, 1934, pp. 205–219. *Alexandru Ligor, "În jurul unui nou exemplar al celui dintîi formular diplomatic tipărit în limba română", in ''Muzeul Național'', Vol. I, 1974, pp. 259–266. *V. Mihordea, "Vinăriciul domnesc și vadrăritul", in ''Studii. Revistă de Istorie'', Vol. 22, Issue 6, 1969, pp. 1077–1101. *Radu Oprea, "Ascensiunea politică a boierilor Craiovești în veacul al XV-lea", in ''Argesis. Studii și Comunicări. Seria Istorie'', Vol. XVIII, 2009, pp. 133–141. *Lucian Constantin Palade, "Relațiile Drăculeștilor cu boierimea în veacul al XV-lea", in ''Argesis. Studii și Comunicări. Seria Istorie'', Vol. XVIII, 2009, pp. 143–149. * P. P. Panaitescu, ''Contribuții la istoria culturii românești''. Bucharest:

Editura Minerva Editura Minerva is one of the largest publishing houses in Romania. Located in Bucharest, it is known, among other things, for publishing classic Romanian literature, children's books, and scientific books. The company was founded in Bucharest in ...

, 1971. {{OCLC, 432822509 *George Potra, ''Din Bucureștii de ieri'', Vols. I–II. Bucharest: Editura științifică și enciclopedică, 1990. {{ISBN, 973-29-0018-0 *Ion Pușcă, "Contribuții privind viticultura din bazinul Panciu", in ''Studii și Comunicări (Complexul Muzeal al Județului Vrancea)'', Vol. III, 1980, pp. 359–372. *Daniela Rădescu, "Mazilii – categorie socială distinctă în epoca regulamentară", in ''Analele Universității din Craiova. Seria Istorie'', Vol. XIV, Issue 2, 2009, pp. 135–142. *Constantin Rezachevici, **"Dicționar istoric. Marile dregătorii ale Moldovei și Țării Românești", in ''

Magazin Istoric ''Magazin Istoric'' () is a Romanian monthly magazine. Overview ''Magazin Istoric'' was started in 1967. The first issue appeared in April 1967. The headquarters is in Bucharest. The monthly magazine contains articles and pictures about Romanian ...

'', January 1971, pp. 22–25. **"Politica internă a lui Petru Rareș (a doua domnie, 1541—1516)", in ''Revista de Istorie'', Vol. 30, Issue 1, 1977, pp. 67–93. **"Fenomene de criză social-politică în Țara Românească în veacul al XVII-lea", in ''Studii și Materiale de Istorie Medie'', Vol. IX, 1978, pp. 59–84. *Pompei Samarian, ''Istoria orașului Călărași (Ialomița). Dela origine până la anul 1852''. Bucharest: Institutul de Arte Grafice E. Marvan, 1931. {{OCLC, 935464269 * H. Dj. Siruni, ''Armenii în viața economică a Țărilor Române'', Bucharest: Institutul de Studii și Cercetări Balcanice, 1944. {{OCLC, 13144522 *N. Stoicescu, "Despre subalternii marilor dregători din Țara Românească și Moldova (sec. XV—mijlocul sec. XVIII)", in ''Studii și Materiale de Istorie Medie'', Vol. VI, 1973, pp. 61–90. *George Felix Tașcă, "Paharnicul Iliaș fiul lui Dumitru. În sfatul Țării Moldovei între anii 1407–1429", in ''Carpica'', Vol. XXVI, Issue 2, 1997, pp. 7–14. *Gh. Ungureanu, "Frămîntări social-politice premergătoare mișcării revoluționare din 1848 în Moldova", in ''Studii. Revistă de Istorie'', Vol. XI, Issue 3, 1958, pp. 51–76. Ceremonial occupations Romanian noble titles Noble titles of Russia Romanian words and phrases Romanian wine Wine terminology People associated with wine