FLASH NEWS
Profile/ Vasile Lupu, the Albanian who founded and dominated modern Moldova
2025-07-29 22:26:09 / JETË
Vasile Lupu (Tirana, 1595 – 1661) was a Moldavian ruler, voivode of Moldavia from 1634 to 1653. Known by the nickname The Wolf, he ascended to the throne of Moldavia in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and remained there for about twenty years. He was the son of an Albanian adventurer and a Moldavian heiress.
He was a capable administrator and an excellent financier, and soon became the richest man in the Christian East. His wise generosity led him to establish good relations with the Ottoman authorities.
Although generally considered Albanian in his time, having held a high office under Miron Barnovschin, Vasile Lupu was elected prince by the local boyars, as a sign of reaction to competition from the Greeks and Levantines.
This happened because Vasile Lupu had led a revolt against Alexandru Ilias and his foreign supporters, and was sent into exile by Moise Movilă (although he was supported by Matei Basarab and the powerful Pasha of Silistra, Abaza Mehmed Pasha).
His reign was marked by great splendor and luxury. He built important monuments (the Church of the Three Hierarchs in Iași) and was a patron of culture and the arts (he introduced printing, founded the Vasilian Academy - which became the "Școala mare domnească" and lasted until 1821). This also had negative effects, as taxes reached intolerable levels.
After relations between the two princes became strained, Vasile Lupu spent most of his reign fighting the Wallachian ruler Matei Basarab, attempting to impose his son, Ioan, on the throne of Bucharest. His army was defeated twice in 1639 (at Ojogeni and Nenișori) and a third time at the Battle of Finta in 1653. After this last battle, the Moldavian boyars rebelled and replaced him with their Wallachian favorite, Gheorghe Ștefan. Vasile Lupu was sent into exile and died while being held prisoner in the Turkish prison of Yedikule in Istanbul.
Vasile Lupu formed alliances with Ottoman officials, especially with the former Grand Vizier Tabanıyassı Mehmed Pasha. Lupu's connection with the latter was based on their common Albanian origin. / Prepared by Alban Daci
Happening now...
The Ukraine summit that ignored the tough questions
Nga Owen Matthews, SPECTATOR
ideas
top
Alfa recipes
services
- POLICE129
- STREET POLICE126
- AMBULANCE112
- FIREFIGHTER128