The House of Soutzos or Soutsos ( or , or ) was a

Phanariote 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 ...

family which grew into prominence and power in

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

(present-day

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) during the last centuries of

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 ...

and gave several ''

hospodar ''Gospodar'' or ''hospodar'', also ''gospodin'' as a diminutive, is a term of Slavic origin, meaning "lord" or " master". The compound (, , , sh-Latn-Cyrl, gospodar, господар, ) is a derivative of ''gospod'' / ''gospodin'', , or when spe ...

s'' to 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) ...

, like Alexandros Soutzos, Michael (I) Drakos Soutzos and Michael (II) Soutzos.

History

The origins of the Soutzos family are unclear. Some authors theorize

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the F ...

descent for the family, with a suggested region of origin being the island

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

. Its first members appear in the 17th century in Constantinople, while it is assumed that it descended from the Drakos family of

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

. It is speculated that one of the members had an important role in the plumbing of Constantinople. Since then the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

called the Drakos ''Soutzides'' and the Greeks used the more Greek ''Soutsos''.Πολυχρόνης Ενεπεκίδης, ''Οι Σούτσοι εις το Παρίσι'', στο: Ρήγας-Υψηλάντης-Καποδίστριας. Έρευναι εις τα αρχεία της Αυστρίας, Γερμανίας, Ιταλίας, Γαλλίας και Ελλάδας, ed. Βιβλιοπωλείον της Εστίας, Athens, 1965, p. 268 Konstantinos Drako, son of a rhetor of the patriarchate (Diamantaki Drako), was the first Soutzos to rise to prominence. In 1714, he married Princess Maria Rusetaina, daughter of a long-established Phanariote family (her mother was Helena Mavrokordataina and her paternal grandfather Antonie had even held the princely rule in the Danubian countries under Ottoman overlordship). Konstantinos' in-laws raised Konstantinos to high positions in Danubian principalities, and his sons were kin with everybody who mattered in Phanar. Later, in the 1780s—1790s, one of the sons (Mihai Draco-Sutzu) rose to the thrones of Walachia and Moldavia and was the first Prince of their surname. After prince Mihai, his nephew

Alexandru Suțu 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 ...

, and his namesake grandson Mihail Suțu also ruled as Princes. Significant members of the family include the two brother poets

Panagiotis Soutsos Panagiotis Soutsos (; 1806 – 25 October 1868) was a Greeks, Greek poet, novelist and journalist born in Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey). He was the brother of the satirist Alexandros Soutsos and cousin of writer and diplomat Alexandro ...

and

Alexandros Soutsos Alexandros Soutsos () (1803–1863) was a Greek poet from a prominent Phanariote family. He founded the Greek Romantic school of poetry. Soutsos was born in Istanbul in 1803 from Chian parentage. At the time of the Greek Revolution, he wa ...

, of whom the first set the cornerstone for the revival of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

and the latter was the founder of the Greek

Romantic school of poetry Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that ...

. The main branch of the above family is now found in Athens, Greece. Alexandru A. Suțu and Mihail C. Suțu both became members of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...

in the 1880s.

References

Alexandre Negresco-Soutzo (ro), Livre d’Or de la Famille Soutzo, chez l'auteur, Paris, 2005. {{Authority control Greek noble families Greek families Romanian people of Greek descent Phanariotes Romanian noble families