Roumania Past and Present by James Samuelson (lightweight ebook reader .TXT) 📖

invasion by Sinan
Pasha--Determined stand of Michael at Giurgevo--Retreat of Michael
and battle of Kalugereni--Defeat of Sinan--Retreat of
Michael--Occupation of Wallachia by Sinan--Michael and his allies
take the offensive--Flight of Sinan and slaughter of the Turks at
Giurgevo--The Turks expelled--Peace in Wallachia--Intrigues of
Michael--Accession of Andreas Bathori--Invasion and conquest of
Transylvania by Michael--His triumph--Michael, Prince of
Transylvania--Further intrigues--Invasion and conquest of
Moldavia--Michael in the zenith of his power--Feud with the
nobles--Michael encounters them at Miriszlo--Their Austrian ally,
General Basta--Defeat and flight of Michael--Anecdote--Continued
misfortunes of Michael--Petitions the Emperor--Is permitted to
visit him--Recall of Sigismund Bathori--Michael reinstated by the
Emperor--Invades Transylvania in alliance with Basta--Defeat of the
nobles at Gorozlo--Quarrels of the victorious generals--Basta
determines to remove Michael--Employs a Walloon officer to
assassinate him--Michael murdered in his tent (1601)--Flight of his
boyards--The German Court refuses to reward Basta's treachery.


I.

As the state of the northern Danubian territories before the foundation of the Principalities has been compared by us to the present condition of what is called Independent Tartary, and at a subsequent period to that of the early Saxons, so in the reign of Michael the Brave (1593-1601 A.D.) the state of society resembled that of England under the Norman kings; indeed, there is a remarkably interesting agreement in some of its phases. As in England there were greater and lessor barons, so in Moldo-Wallachia there were greater and lesser boyards. These seem to have possessed all the rapacity of our robber barons, with but little of their reputed chivalry. They oppressed the peasantry, who since the time of Vlad the Impaler were to a large extent serfs, with unbearable taxes, and endeavoured on all occasions to shift the burdens of the State upon those whose shoulders were the least able to bear them. One of these imposts was the poll-tax, similar to that which gave rise to Wat. Tyler's riots in the time of Richard II., but which, strange to say, still survives in Roumania, to the dissatisfaction of all her right-minded citizens.

[Illustration: EQUESTRIAN STATUE MICHAEL THE BRAVE AT BUCAREST.

(FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANZ DUSCHEK.)]

Besides the poll-tax, there was the 'Standard gift' (Poklon), which was levied at the installation of the Voivode; the Easter present; the extra tax ( ajutorita ), which was raised when the other taxes ran short. Moreover, there were taxes in kind on malt, salt, fish, cattle, and horses, payable to the prince. The landlord (boyard) was entitled to land and pasturage tax, the tenth of the earth's productions, feudal service, bee, pig, and sheep taxes, and in addition to these a rate was levied upon bees, pigs, tobacco, wine, and sheep, for the benefit of the prince.[138] Whilst these imposts and the extraordinary levies and ravages of war often reduced the whole of the peasantry to the most abject poverty, bordering on starvation, the boyards lived in comparative ease, and led a life of immorality and self-indulgence. Concubinage widely prevailed, and many boyards had, besides their legitimate wife, ten or a dozen mistresses. They appear to have been gradually growing in influence, and the greater boyards filled all the chief offices of State as well as the leading military posts in the districts. Personal distinctions existed also, the leading boyards being allowed to wear long beards, a practice which was forbidden to the lesser boyards.

Besides the boyards and their serfs there was hardly any native population worth speaking of, and no middle class whatever; all trade being in the hands of Greeks, Jews, and Armenians. There was, however, a priesthood, who were as ignorant as the peasantry; indeed many of them followed both occupations, the only exceptions being the metropolitan and the higher clerics, who possessed considerable influence there as elsewhere in the middle ages. The power of the prince had no definite limits, and, with the exception of the counteracting influence of the boyards, it was practically absolute. There was a council of twelve boyards, whose signatures along with that of the prince were visually appended to all important State documents.

In the time of Stephen (some writers say, at an earlier period), the various offices of State were established, which were maintained down to a recent date, both in Wallachia and Moldavia; and as it is impossible for the reader to interest himself in any question bearing upon the past history of the country without finding some mention made of one or other of them, it may be useful here to enumerate a few of their titles.

1. The Ban of Craiova was Viceroy of Little Wallachia, and his authority reached back, in all probability, to the foundation of the principality. 2. The Vel-Vornic, or Minister of the Interior, was Governor of the Carpathians and of the neighbouring districts. 3. The Great Vornic was governor of the lowlands. 4. The Logothet, or Chancellor, was Minister of Justice. 5. The Great Spathar was Minister of War. 6. The Great Vestiar, Treasurer and Master of the Robes. 7. The Great Postelnik, Master of the Post. 8. The Paharnic, chief butler and cup-bearer (this was a title of Hungarian origin). 9. The Great Stolnik, chief cook. 10. The Great Comis, Master of the Horse. 11. The Aga, Chief of Police. 12. Great Pitar, Inspector of Commissariat. 13. Serdar, general of infantry of three districts (3,000 men). In Moldavia the Spathar was called the Hettman; in both principalities there were minor offices, and in Stephen's time the first six only formed the Council of Ministers.[139]

Although, as we have said, the peasantry were chiefly serfs, there were differences in their condition. The chief body were called Scutelnici, and the peasantry generally were divided into two classes, those who possessed land of their own, and those who worked on the estates of the prince, the boyards, or the monasteries. Part of the latter were free to move about in search of employment, and the rest were absolutely serfs attached to the soil; the term of service in every case was fixed at forty-eight days in the year. The towns were growing in importance, the capital being Tirgovistea, but Bucarest (to which place Constantine Brancovano transferred his capital about a century later) was already an important place, owing chiefly to its situation. Another town or large village was Curtea d'Ardges. But the Wallachian Voivodes shifted their 'capital' as it suited their pleasure, and the removal in those days was probably not a very onerous undertaking. It appears that Vlad Dracul (the Devil) preferred Tirgovistea, whilst another Voivode, Michna, favoured Ardges.[140] Other towns of note Craiova, Ploiesti, Buzeu, and two or three ports on the Danube. In Moldavia, Iasi, Suceava, and Roman were the chief towns. The government of the towns was carried on by a burgomaster, or mayor, a prefect, and a council of twelve citizens.

The army was very heterogeneous both as regarded its nationalities and its armament. It was then, or perhaps at a somewhat later period, divided into three sections, the regular army,[141] the militia, and the landsturm, the last-named being without pay and only called out in times of great danger, and it consisted mainly of the servants and slaves of the boyards. The arms of the regular soldiers were originally, as in this country, bows and arrows and lances, but in Michael's time there were already musketeers and primitive artillery. Besides the native soldiery there were mercenaries, namely, Hungarians, Szeklers, Poles, Cossacks, Servians, Bulgarians, Albanians, cavalry as well as infantry. The whole country was at that time divided into military districts answering to the present Judeztu or departments, each district being under the control of a captain who united military, administrative, and judicial power in his own person. The names of most of the districts remain unchanged to the present day.

To this account of the state of Moldo-Wallachia it is only necessary to add that in time of war, and that was the normal condition, the people were subjected to terrible privations. When an army advanced, the peasantry were laid under contributions for the troops; when it fled before the enemy, everything was burned or destroyed in its retreat, so that the pursuing force might be checked for want of supplies.

Schools for the people there were none, and all the knowledge that existed was confined within the walls of the monasteries, which were, however, numerous and well endowed. At no period of its history was Wallachia in such a deplorable condition as when Michael ascended the throne. Besides possessing the suzerainty of the principality the Turks completely occupied the whole southern bank of the Danube, along with some posts and what is known as Temesvar, on the northern side. The Transylvanian slopes of the Carpathians and the country beyond were a fief of the German, or, as it was called, the Roman Empire, over which at that time Rudolph II. reigned, whilst the territory north of Moldavia formed part of Poland. But although Wallachia was nominally autonomous, and was allowed to choose its own rulers, it was in reality an oppressed province of Turkey. The treaties had been completely set at defiance. Mosques had been erected and houses built by Turkish residents, contrary to the stipulations of the Treaty of Nicopolis, with the connivance of the voivodes, who, as we have said, were raised up and deposed as it suited the greed or policy of the Porte. Their fortresses and garrisons on the Danube served as centres from which the Ottomans made raids into Wallachian territory, spreading desolation far and wide, and in addition to this scourge the suffering inhabitants had from time to time hostile visits from the Tartars. Hordes of these savages were in alliance with the Turks against Hungary, and it was not unusual for them to deviate from their route, fall into the plains of Wallachia, and renew the scenes of rapine and outrage which had characterised the passage of the Eastern barbarians.

Michael, who was probably the posthumous son of a former voivode of Wallachia called Petraschko, was born about the year 1558, and in 1583 he married the widow of a boyard, by whom he had at least one, if not two sons, and a daughter. He occupied several honourable positions in the State, and was Ban of Craiova before he ascended the throne of Wallachia. This step he accomplished through intrigues at Constantinople with the aid of his father-in-law, whereby he succeeded in deposing his predecessor Alexander. Some marvellous tales are told concerning the hairbreadth escapes of Michael in his struggles for the ascendency, one being that, when he was captured by Alexander and ordered for execution, the headsman was so terrified at the majesty of his countenance that he dropped the axe and fled, and no one else was to be found willing to undertake the odious duty. Be that as it may, he succeeded eventually in removing his rival, and mounted the throne of Wallachia in 1593. For some time after his accession Michael addressed remonstrances to his suzerain at Constantinople concerning the lawless proceedings of the Turkish and Tartar soldiery, but, finding these to be of no avail, he sought the alliance of Sigismund, Prince of Siebenbürgen[142] (Transylvania), and Aaron, Voivode of Moldavia, and determined to rid his country of the oppressors. Aaron of Moldavia, it should be added, was a feeble prince, who would not have joined Michael but for