List of princes of Wallachia facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Wallachia was an important historical region located in what is now Romania. For many centuries, it was ruled by a series of leaders called "princes" or "voivodes." These rulers helped shape the history of the region, often dealing with powerful neighbors like the Ottoman Empire.

This list shows the main rulers of Wallachia, from its early days until 1859. In 1859, Wallachia joined with another region called Moldavia, which eventually led to the creation of modern Romania.

Princes of Wallachia
See also

Princes of Wallachia

Early Rulers

Before the main ruling families, there were some early leaders in the Wallachian lands. These included:

Bezerenbam and Mișelav
Seneslau
John (knez)
Farcaș
Litovoi
Bărbat
Thocomerius

The Basarab Family

The Basarab family was very important in Wallachia's history. From the early 1400s, this family split into two main branches:

Dănești branch

Drăculești branch

Ruler	Years of Rule	Family Notes	Important Facts
Radu Negru	around 1290 – 1310	Unknown	Radu Negru is a legendary ruler of Wallachia. Some historians think he might be a nickname for Thocomerius or Basarab I.
Basarab I the Founder (Basarab I Întemeietorul)	around 1310 – 1352	Son of Thocomerius	He was the first confirmed ruler of Wallachia.
Nicolae Alexandru	1352 – 16 November 1364	Son of Basarab I	He started ruling with his father in 1344.
Vladislav I Vlaicu-Vodă	16 November 1364 – 1377	Son of Nicolae Alexandru
Radu I	1377 – 1383	Son of Nicolae Alexandru
Dan I	1383 – 1386	Son of Radu I	His family line later formed the Dănești branch.
Mircea I the Elder (Mircea I cel Bătrân)	23 September 1386 – November 1394 January 1397 – 31 January 1418	Son of Radu I	Wallachia was very strong during his rule. He was briefly removed from power but returned later.
Vlad I the Usurper (Vlad I Uzurpatorul)	November 1394 – January 1397	Son of Dan I	He took the throne from Mircea I for a short time.
Mihail I	31 January 1418 – August 1420	Son of Mircea I	He ruled with his father starting in 1415.
Radu II the Bald (Radu II Praznaglava)	August 1420 – October 1422 December 1426 – March/June 1427	Brother of Mihail I	He was involved in a power struggle with Dan II.
Dan II the Brave (Dan II cel Viteaz)	October 1422 - December 1426 March/June 1427 - 1 June 1431	Son of Dan I	He fought with Radu II for control of Wallachia.
Alexandru I Aldea	1 June 1431 – December 1436	Son of Mircea I	He took the throne from Dan II.
Vlad II the Dragon (Vlad II Dracul)	December 1436 – 1442 1443 – 7 December 1447	Son of Mircea I	He was a member of the Order of the Dragon, which gave him his nickname "Dracul." His family line later formed the Drăculești branch. He was killed in 1447.
Mircea II the Younger (Mircea al II-lea cel Tânăr)	September – December 1442	Son of Vlad II Dracul	He ruled briefly when his father was away. He was later killed.
Basarab II	1442–1443	Son of Dan II	He was placed on the throne during a conflict with Vlad II.
Vladislav II	7 December 1447 – 20 August 1456	Son of Dan II	He became ruler after Vlad II was killed. He later lost his life in a fight against Vlad III.
Vlad III the Impaler (Vlad Țepeș)	20 August 1456 – July 1462 June 1475 - January 1477	Son of Vlad II Dracul	He is famous for his harsh methods against enemies, especially the Ottomans. He took the throne after defeating Vladislav II.
Radu III the Fair (Radu cel Frumos)	August 1462 – November 1473 23 December 1473 – March 1474 March - between June/September 1474 October 1474 – January 1475	Son of Vlad II Dracul	He was often in conflict with Basarab III.
Basarab III Laiotă the Old (Basarab Laiotă cel Bătrân)	November - 23 December 1473 March 1474 between June/September - October 1474 January -June 1475 January–December 1477	Son of Dan II	He fought against Radu III for the throne.
Basarab IV The Young Impaler (Basarab IV Țepeluș cel Tânăr)	December 1477 – September 1481 November 1481 – 23 March 1482	Son of Basarab II	His rule was briefly challenged by another ruler.
Vlad IV the Monk (Vlad Călugărul)	September - November 1481 23 March 1482 – November 1495	Son of Vlad II
Radu IV the Great (Radu cel Mare)	November 1495 – 23 April 1508	Son of Vlad IV
Mihnea I the Bad (Mihnea cel Rău)	23 April 1508 – 29 October 1509	Son of Vlad III	He gave up his throne to his son.
Mircea III the Dragon (Mircea III Dracul)	29 October 1509 – 26 January 1510	Son of Mihnea I
Vlad V the Younger (Vlad cel Tânăr)	8 April 1510 – 23 January 1512	Son of Vlad IV	Also known as Vlăduț.
Neagoe Basarab	23 January 1512 – 15 September 1521	Possibly son of Basarab IV or Pârvu Craiovescu	His rule was a time of great cultural growth in Wallachia.
His mother, Milica of Serbia, ruled for him (15 September - December 1521)			He ruled under his mother's guidance. He was defeated and died while away from Wallachia.
Teodosie	15 September - December 1521	Son of Neagoe Basarab
Radu V of Afumati (Radu de la Afumati)	December 1521 – April 1523 19 January - June 1524 September 1524 – April 1525 August 1525 – 2 April 1529	Son of Radu IV	He was an ally of the Craiovești family.
Vladislav III	April - 8 November 1523 June - September 1524 19 April - August 1525	Nephew of Vladislav II
Radu VI Bădica	November 1523 – 19 January 1524	Son of Radu IV
Basarab VI	6 January - 5 February 1529	Son of Mehmed-bey	He was not from the Basarab family.
Moise	January 1529 – June 1530	Son of Vladislav III	He was the last ruler from the Dănești branch.
Vlad VI the Drowned (Vlad Înecatul)	June 1530 – September 1532	Son of Vlad V
Vlad VII Vintilă de la Slatina	September 1532 – 10 June 1535	Son of Radu IV
Radu VII Paisie	10 June 1535 – 1545	Son of Radu IV	He faced several challenges to his rule.
Mircea IV the Shepherd (Mircea Ciobanul)	January 1545 – 16 November 1552 11 May 1553 – 28 February 1554 24 December 1557 – 25 September 1559	Son of Radu IV
Radu VIII Ilie the Cowherd (Radu Ilie Haidăul)	16 November 1552 – 11 May 1553	Son of Radu V	He was removed from power.
Pătrașcu the Good (Pătrașcu cel Bun)	28 February 1554 – 24 December 1557	Son of Radu VII
His mother, Chiajna of Moldavia, ruled for him (25 September 1559 - 1564)			He ruled under his mother's guidance. He was later removed from power and died away from Wallachia.
Petru I the Younger (Petru cel Tânăr)	25 September 1559 – 8 June 1568	Son of Mircea IV
Alexandru II Mircea	8 June 1568 – 11 September 1577	Son of Mircea III Dracul	He was sometimes called Oaie Seacă (Barren Sheep).
His mother, Catherine Salvaresso, ruled for him (11 September 1577 - July 1583)			He first ruled under his mother's guidance. He was removed from power but later returned. He died in 1601.
Mihnea II the Turk (Mihnea Turcitul; Mehmet Bey)	11 September 1577 - July 1583 6 April 1585 – 19 May 1591	Son of Alexandru II Mircea
Petru II of the Earring (Petru Cercel)	July 1583 – 6 April 1585	Son of Pătrașcu	He took the throne from Mihnea II but was later killed.

Later Rulers and Changing Influences

Over time, other powerful families, like the Bogdan-Muşat and Movilești dynasties, also had rulers in Wallachia. The Ottoman Empire also started to have more say in who became ruler.

Ruler	Years of Rule	Family	Important Facts
Ștefan I Surdul (Stephen the Deaf)	1591–1592	Bogdan-Muşat
Alexandru III cel Rău (Alexander III the Bad)	1592–1593	Bogdan-Muşat	He also ruled Moldavia in 1592.
Mihail II Viteazul (Michael II the Brave)	1593–1600	Drăculești	He briefly united Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia under his rule.
Nicolae Pătrașcu	1599–1600	Drăculești	Son of Michael II, he ruled with his father.
Simion Movilă	1600–1601 1602	Movilești
Radu IX Mihnea	1601–1602 1611 1611–1616 1620–1623	Drăculești	Son of Minhea II Turcitul.
Radu X Șerban	1602–1610 1611		Nephew of Neagoe Basarab.
Wallachia was directly ruled by Gabriel Báthory from Transylvania (1611)
Gabriel Movilă	1616 1618-1620	Movilești	Son of Simion Movilă.
Alexandru IV Iliaș	1616–1618 1627-1629
Alexandru V Coconul (Alexander the Child-Prince)	1623–1627	Drăculești	Son of Radu Mihnea.
Leon Tomșa	1629–1632
Radu XI Iliaș	1632
Matei Basarab	1632–1654	Brâncovenești
Constantin I Șerban	1654–1658		Son of Radu Șerban.
Mihnea III	1658–1659

The Phanariote Period (1715–1821)

From the mid-1600s, the Ottoman Empire had more and more control over who became ruler in Wallachia. This led to the "Phanariote period," which lasted from 1715 to 1821. During this time, many rulers came from wealthy Greek families (called Phanariotes) and had little or no connection to the old Wallachian ruling families.

Ruler	Years of Rule	Family	Important Facts
Nicolae Mavrocordat	1715–1716 1719-1730	Mavrocordato
Wallachia was occupied by the Habsburg Empire (1716)
Ioan Mavrocordat	1716–1719	Mavrocordato
Constantin Mavrocordat	1730 1731–1733 1735–1741 1744–1748 1756–1758 1761–1763	Mavrocordato
Mihai Racoviță	1730–1731 1741–1744	Racoviță
Grigore II Ghica	1733–1735 1748–1752	Ghica
Matei Ghica	1752–1753	Ghica
Constantin Racoviță	1753–1756 1763–1764
Scarlat Ghica	1758–1761 1765–1766	Ghica
Ștefan Racoviță	1764–1765	Racoviță
Alexandru I Ghica	1766–1768	Ghica
Wallachia was occupied by the Russian Empire (1768)
Grigore III Ghica	1768–1769	Ghica
Wallachia was occupied by the Russian Empire (1769-1770)
Emanuel Giani Ruset	1770–1771	Rosetti	Also known as Manole or Manolache.
Alexander Ypsilantis	1774–1782	Ypsilanti
Nicolae Caragea	1782–1783	Caradja
Mihai Suțu	1783–1786 1790–1793 1801-1802	Soutzos
Nicolae Mavrogheni	1786–1789
Wallachia was occupied by the Habsburg Empire (1789-1790)
Alexandru Moruzi	1793–1796 1799–1801	Mourousi
Alexander Ypsilantis	1796–1797	Ypsilanti
Constantin Hangerli	1797–1799
Alexandru Suțu	1802	Soutzos
Constantin Ypsilanti	1802–1806	Ypsilanti
Wallachia was occupied by the Russian Empire (1806-1812)
Ioan Gheorghe Caragea	1812–1818	Caradja
Caimacam Grigore Brâncoveanu	1818		A "Caimacam" was a temporary ruler.
Alexandru Suțu	1818–1821	Soutzos
Caimacam Grigore Brâncoveanu	1821
Tudor Vladimirescu	1821		He led an uprising against the Phanariote rulers.
Scarlat Callimachi	1821	Callimachi

After the Phanariote Period

After 1821, Wallachia began to move towards more self-rule, though it still faced foreign influences.

Ruler	Years of Rule	Important Facts
Grigore IV Ghica	1822–1828
Wallachia was occupied by the Russian Empire (1828-1834)
Wallachia was governed by the Organic Statute (1832–1856)
Alexandru II Ghica	1834–1842
Gheorghe Bibescu	1842–1848
Provisional Government	1848	This was a temporary government during the 1848 revolution.
Locotenența domnească (Regency of three)	1848	This was a three-person regency during the revolution.
Wallachia was jointly occupied by the Russian Empire and Ottoman Empire (1848-1851)
Caimacam Constantin Cantacuzino	1848
Barbu Știrbei	1848–1853 1854–1856
Wallachia was occupied by the Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire, and Austrian Empire (1853-1856)
Wallachia became a protectorate under the Treaty of Paris (1856–1859)
Caimacam Alexandru II Ghica	1856–1858
Caimacam of three	1858–1859	This was a three-person temporary ruling council.
Alexander John Cuza	1859–1862	He also ruled Moldavia, uniting the two regions.
Moldavia and Wallachia formally united in 1862 to become the Romanian United Principalities. A new constitution in 1866 officially named the country Romania. For later rulers, see Domnitor and King of Romania.