Nicholas Alexander of Wallachia

Nicolae Alexandru of Wallachia
Voivode of Wallachia
Voivode of Wallachia
Reignc. 1344 – 1352 (with Basarab I)
1352 – November 1364 (alone)
PredecessorBasarab I of Wallachia
SuccessorVladislav I of Wallachia
DiedNovember 1364 (1364-12)
SpouseDoamna Maria Lackfy
Doamna Clara Dobokai
Doamna Margit Dabkai
IssueVladislav I of Wallachia
Radu I of Wallachia
Elisabeth of Wallachia
Anna of Wallachia
Anca of Walachia
HouseBasarab
FatherBasarab I of Wallachia
MotherDoamna Margareta

Nicholas Alexander (Romanian: Nicolae Alexandru c. 1300 – 16th November 1364) was the second Voivode of Wallachia. His birthdate is uncertain, although according to popular theory he was born around the turn of the 14th century. He co-ruled the principality with his father Basarab from 1344 until his father's death in 1351 or 1352; he then ruled alone until his death in 1364. He is best known for facilitating the founding of the Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia.

Reign

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The tombstone of Nicholas Alexander

In the year 1359, he founded the Eastern Orthodox Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia[contradictory].

After initially resisting pressures to become the Kingdom of Hungary's vassal, he yielded to King Louis I in 1354 due to threat posed by the Golden Horde, and recognized the right of the Roman Catholic Church to establish missions in his principality, as well as the privilege of Saxon traders from Brașov to transit Wallachia without paying duties. In 1355, Nicolae Alexandru and the King of Hungary reached an agreement in return for Severin.

The Wallachian voivode renounced Hungarian suzerainty in 1359.[1]

Nicholas Alexander died in 16 November 1364 and he was buried in Câmpulung. His epitaph reads:

In the 16th day of November died the great and sole ruler Io Nicholas Alexander voivode, son of great Basarab, in 6873 indiction 3. Memory eternal.

Family

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Firstly, he married Lady Maria, of the magyar Lackfi family located in Transylvania.The couple had two children:

  • Prince Voislav ( d. January 1366)
  • Princesa Elizabeth of Wallachia (1340– 1369), who married Duke of Opole Vladislaus II and had three daughters.

Through Elizabeth's youngest daughter, Katarina of Oppole, Nicolas Alexander become ancestor for all European royal families including Romanian royal family.

His second wife was Clara Dobokai, a Catholic noblewoman from Hungary.[2] The marriage produced three children:

The mother of Vladislav I of Wallachia may be Clara Dobokai.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ https://academic.oup.com/book/60715/chapter-abstract/527665724?redirectedFrom=fulltext
  2. ^ Czamańska, Ilona (1996). Mołdawia i Wołoszczyzna wobec Polski, Węgier i Turcji w XIV i XV wieku. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM. p. 197. ISBN 83-232-0733-X.

Bibliography

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  • (in Romanian) Constantin C. Giurescu, Istoria Românilor, vol. I, Ed. ALL Educațional, București, 2003.
  • (in Romanian) Daniel Barbu, Sur le double nom du prince de Valachie Nicolas-Alexandre, Revue Roumaine d’Histoire XXV, no. 4, 1986.