A Description of Moldavia

By A.K. Brackob and Dimitrie Cantemir

Written by one of the country' s most renowned rulers, A Description of Moldavia provides unique insight into the geography, history, economy, ethnography, culture, and traditions of the principality. Born to a noble family, the author, Dimitrie Cantemir, ruled as Prince of Moldavia on two occasions (March-April 1693 and 1710-1711). He was a famed statesman, philosopher, and scholar.Cantemir wrote his Description of Moldavia (Descriptio Moldaviae) in 1716 at the request of the Royal Academy in Berlin, of which he was a member. Cantemir' s manuscript included a map (reproduced in the present edition), the first real map of the country, containing geographical detail. The book provides a wealth of information about the country' s natural resources, political organization, customs and traditions, history, religion, and language.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Center for Romanian Studies
• Release date: Jun 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9781592112685

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Contents

Contents

Introduction

Part I Geography

Chapter I About the Past and Present Names of Moldavia

Chapter II About the Location of Moldavia,  Its Past and Present Borders,  and the Local Climate

Chapter III About the Waters of Moldavia

Chapter IV About the Counties and Towns of Moldavia

Chapter V About the Mountains and Minerals of Moldavia

Chapter VI About the Fields and Forests of Moldavia

Chapter VII About the Wildlife and Domestic Animals of Moldavia

Part II Politics

Chapter I About the Organization of the Moldavian State

Chapter II About the Election of  the Rulers of Moldavia

Chapter III  Ancient and Present Customs  Regarding the Enthronement  of the Princes of Moldavia

Chapter IV About the Acknowledgment of the Ruler

Chapter V About the Removal of Rulers  from the Throne

Chapter VI About the Boyars of Moldavia and their Ranks

Chapter VII About the Army of Moldavia

Chapter VIII About Court Ceremonies during  the Ruler’s Outings and Feasts

Chapter IX About the Royal Hunts

Chapter X About Royal Funerals

Chapter XI About the Laws of Moldavia

Chapter XII About the Seat of Judgment  of the Ruler and the Boyars

Chapter XIII About Moldavia’s Income in Past and Present Times

Chapter XIV About the Tributes and Gifts  that Moldavia Pays to the Ottoman Court

Chapter XV About the Moldavian Nobility

Chapter XVI About the Other Inhabitants of Moldavia

Chapter XVII About the Customs of Moldavia

Chapter XVIII About Engagements and Weddings in Moldavia

Chapter XIX About Funerals in Moldavia

Part III Religion  and Literature

Chapter I About the Religion of Moldavia

Chapter II About the Church Hierarchy

Chapter III About the Monasteries of Moldavia

Chapter IV About the Language of Moldavia

Chapter V About Moldavian Letters

Introduction

A

Description of Moldavia is a unique piece of historical literature. Written by one of Moldavia’s most illustrious rulers, it provides an account of the principality giving readers an understanding of the geography, history, and culture of this historic Romanian land. There is little else like it in Romanian historical writing. It is a valuable resource for anyone with an interest in Romanian history, but also for those seeking to understand the inner workings of a small European principality in the medieval and early modern era.

Moldavia was founded in the mid-fourteenth century under Bogdan I (c. 1359-1365, called Întemeietorul, meaning the Founder), a voivode from Maramureș. Stretching from the eastern Carpathians, Moldavia bordered the Siret, the Dniester, the Black Sea, and the Danube. The fifteenth century marked a Golden Age for the principality, during the reigns of two distinguished rulers: Alexander the Good (1400-1432) and his grandson, Stephen the Great (1457-1504), a cousin of the famous prince of neighboring Wallachia, Vlad III Dracula.

Dimitrie Cantemir, the author of A Description of Moldavia, was one of the most erudite princes in the storied history of the principality. He was a distinguished historian, philosopher, musicologist, composer, linguist, geographer, ethnographer, and novelist. Cantemir claimed that his family was of Tartar origin, having settled in Moldavia in the fourteenth century, and that the family played an important role in the principality already during the reign of Stephen the Great (1457-1504). These claims have been disputed by scholars. His father, Prince Constantine (1685-1693), adopted the name Cantemir. A popular ruler, Constantine Cantemir was not a highly-educated man. His subjects considered him a man of the people and he was known as a devout Christian.

Dimitrie was born Dumitrașcu Cantemir to Constantine and his third wife, Ana Bantăș, on October 26, 1873. When his father took the throne as prince of Moldavia in 1685, he had to send one of his two sons to the Porte as a hostage as was customary at the time. This fell upon his eldest son, Antioch, 16, who went to Istanbul, while 12-year-old Dimitrie remained at the royal court in Iași, the capital of Moldavia. Dimitrie displayed an affinity for learning from a young age. While he received a traditional education at court, his father also had him tutored by a monk named Ieremia Cacavalas, one of Moldavia’s most distinguished scholars.

In 1688, Dimitrie took the place of Antioch as a hostage at the Porte. While there, he learned the Turkish language, history, and customs. After three years in Istanbul, he returned to Moldavia in 1791, replaced again at the Porte by his brother, Antioch. He spent the next few years in Iași until the death of his father. Having reached the age of 17, he began to take part in affairs of state. In September 1692, he participated, alongside his father, in the campaign with the Ottomans to retake the fortress of Soroca that had been occupied by the Poles. Soon after, in February 1692, Constantine fell ill with kidney disease. With his father ill, Dimitrie presided over the joint visit of three Patriarchs — Iacov from Constantinople, Dionisie from Jerusalem, and Gherasim from Alexandria. The principality had received this honor because of the pious reputation of Constantine Cantemir.

Constantine died on 13 or 17 March 1693 at the age of 81. In accordance with the customs of the country, the boyars elected his son Dimitrie, who had earned their respect and admiration, as the new prince. The Sultan, however, did not confirm his election. Instead, Constantine Duca, son-in-law of Wallachian Prince Constantine Brâncoveanu, was appointed Prince after the requisite bribes had been paid at the Porte. This marked another moment in the ongoing conflict between the Cantemirs and Brâncoveanus that caused much unrest in the Romanian principalities and led to frequent changes on the throne. The intrigues continued and, in 1696, Duca was replaced by Dimitrie’s elder brother Antioch, who ruled Moldavia from 1696-1700, before being replaced again by Duca. Antioch ruled again from 1705-1707. During most of this time, Dimitrie remained in Istanbul where he continued his studies and remained active in diplomatic life in the Ottoman capital.

Dimitrie had returned to Moldavia during the reign of his brother. A marriage with Cassandra, the daughter of Wallachian prince Șerban Cantacuzino, a rival of Constantine Brâncoveanu, was arranged. The couple married in Iași on May 9, 1699. Shortly after, Dimitrie returned to Istanbul with Cassandra where they lived in a lavish palace that she had inherited from her father. In the Ottoman capital, Dimitrie remained attuned to international affairs while he continued his study of the Turkish language and history. The resources available in the Imperial capital to a man of his scholarly inclinations afforded him the opportunity to do research for books that he was planning to write. In 1705, he wrote the first Romanian language novel, Historia Hieroglyphica.

After the failed siege of Vienna in 1683, the Ottoman Empire was a power in decline. Meanwhile, Russia, under Peter the Great, was a rising power after his victory over Charles XII of Sweden. Cantemir, who dreamed of independence for his principality, saw this and he realized that the autonomy he sought depended on the weakening of Ottoman power. As tensions grew between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, the Porte looked to make a change in Moldavia. The Ottomans realized that Moldavia would become the primary battlefield between the two rival empires and they wanted a reliable prince on the throne, but one that also had the support of the native population. Dimitrie Cantemir seemed like the perfect choice. His political and diplomatic acumen, along with his popularity led the Grand Vizier to secure his appointment as Prince in 1710, without having to pay tribute at the Porte as was customary.

While all this was going on, the Swedish King Charles XII took refuge in Moldavia at Varnița, near the fortress of Tighina creating a political and diplomatic crisis between the Russian and Ottoman empires. Peter the Great demanded that Charles XII be turned over to him or expelled. This served as the pretext for war for the ambitious Russian Tsar. Cantemir arrived in Iași on December 10, 1710. The newly-appointed Moldavian Prince initially supported the Ottomans, providing them with intelligence on Russian troop movements. Secretly, however, Dimitrie planned to aid the Tsar as he believed this would be the best way to secure the autonomy of his principality. He entered into secret negotiations with Peter the Great and, on April 13, 1711, he signed a treaty of alliance with Russia at Luck.

The terms of the Treaty of Luck were very favorable for Moldavia. The Russian Tsar recognized the Dniester River as the historic border between Moldavia, as well as Moldavian control over Bugeac. In addition, the Tsar confirmed Cantemir’s rule for life and hereditary rule for his ancestors. The treaty also provided that if Russia lost the upcoming war with the Ottomans, forcing Cantemir to flee the principality, he would then receive estates in Russia and an Imperial allowance. Unfortunately, in 1812, Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union in 1940 and 1944, both infringed upon the territorial integrity of this Romanian land, and the portion of Moldavia east of the Prut River fell under Russian and later Soviet occupation. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Moldova has emerged on part of this land as an independent state, but a portion of the territory historically belonging to Moldavia as described by Cantemir still remains within the borders of modern Ukraine.

The Treaty of Luck remained secret until the Turks entered Bugeac. Cantemir waited for Peter the Great’s troops to cross the Dniester in the summer of 1711 before he openly declared for Russia and rallied the country against the Ottomans. He greeted Peter the Great at Țuțora and then proceeded to Iași where they planned for the upcoming battle with the Turks. The Ottomans, however, moved more rapidly than expected and caught the Russians unprepared at the battle of Stănilești that took place from July 18-22, 1711, where the Tsar suffered a humiliating defeat. The situation now desperate, Cantemir returned to Iași ahead of the Ottomans and took Cassandra and his six children — Matei, Constantin, Șerban, Antioch, Maria, and Smaradga — and their belongings and began the long retreat into exile, along with many of the boyars who had supported him.

True to his word to his Moldavian ally, Peter issued a unique decree on August 1, 1711, granting Dimitrie Cantemir the title of Serene Highness and gave him jurisdiction over his subjects in exile, further decreeing that he was answerable only to the Tsar. He stayed in Kiev for a time; then, in 1713, he was granted two houses in Moscow along with nearby villages. Shortly after, tragedy struck when his beloved wife Cassandra died on May 12, 1713. This was a great loss to him and he suffered from depression.

After Cassandra’s death, he lived a quiet secluded life and occupied himself with his studies. Cantemir was described as a man of medium build, rather lean than fat. He had an agreeable countenance and always spoke with affability, mildness, and caution. His custom was to rise at five in the morning, and, smoking a pipe of tobacco over a dish of coffee after the Turkish manner, he retired to his study till dinner, which was constantly at noon. He generally dined upon one dish, his favorite dish being small chicken with sorrel. At his meals he always drank water with his wine. Drunkenness was his mortal enemy, for, after once drinking too much, he was sick a fortnight. He slept a little after dinner, and the rest of the day was spent in his study until seven in the evening. Then he saw his family, and, supping at ten, he went to bed at twelve.¹

Cantemir’s reputation as a distinguished scholar led him to be elected as a member of the Berlin Academy in 1714. During these years, he wrote A Description of Moldavia and his history of Ottoman Empire, among other works. Still, he dreamed of one day returning to Moldavia and he continued to lobby the Tsar for action against the Turks to free the Romanian lands, where the Greek-Phanariot regime had been installed, but without success.

On January 14, 1717, at the age of 46, he married Anastasia, the 16-year-old daughter of a Russian Prince Ivan Trubestskoy. She was considered one of the great beauties of her time and admired for her remarkable intellect, having studied in Sweden. Despite their age difference, they seemed like a perfect match. Cantemir moved to St. Petersburg where he became actively involved in the social life of the Russian capital while continuing his scholarly work. The couple had one daughter, Ekaterina Smaradga Cantemir, born in 1720. The demands of societal life in the capital, however, led him into debt. Once again, he appealed to the Tsar for help, which Peter did not deny him. The former Prince received the title of personal counselor to the Tsar and became a member of the Imperial Senate. In the summer of 1722, he accompanied Peter the Great on his expedition to Persia. Cantemir fell ill on this trip and had to remain in Astrakhan until he recovered enough to return to his estates near Moscow in January 1723.

The illness had visibly so weakened the former Moldavian Prince that friends could hardly recognize him. Cantemir’s final days were difficult. In addition to poor health, he was also nearly bankrupt. Knowing his end was near, he wrote to his personal secretary: My health grows weaker each day. I am in desperate need of money… If then end of life is coming there will be nothing to bury me with.² He never fully recovered his health and he died on August 21, 1723. His dream of one day returning to his native Moldavia, however, was eventually fulfilled. In 1935, his body was exhumed and his remains returned to Romania where he was interred at the Three Hierarchs Church in Iași where he rests today.

A Description of Moldavia is perhaps his most important work as it provides a unique insight into the history and customs of the land written by one of its rulers. The work was originally written in Latin at the request of his fellow members of the Academy in Berlin. It remained in manuscript form until after his death. His son Antioch took it with him to London and later to Paris where he served as an ambassador of the Russian Tsar. When Antioch died in Paris in 1744 with no heirs, his belongings were sold at auction. The manuscript then passed through several hands until I.L. Redslob, a professor in Berlin, translated it into German and published it in Magazin für die neue Historie und Geographie.³ In 1771, it first appeared as a separate volume, under the title Demetrii Kantemirs ehemaligen Fürsten der Moldau, historisch-geographisch und politsche Beschreibung der Moldau in Frankfurt and Leipzig. A Description of Moldavia was first published in a Romanian language edition at the Monastery of Neamț in 1825 and has since appeared in various Romanian language translations. The present volume, however, represents the first time this important work appears in an English-language translation. It includes Cantemir’s remarkable map of Moldavia, one of the earliest detailed cartographic depictions of the Romanian Principality.

I would like to thank Diana Livesay for her work on the translation and for her help in preparing this important book. Footnotes marked Author’s Note are Cantemir’s original notes. All others have been added to this edition. A Description of Moldavia is part of the ongoing work of the Center for Romanian Studies to promote knowledge of the history, literature, and culture of Romania in the world.

A.K. Brackob

Part I

Geography

Chapter I

About the Past and Present Names

of Moldavia

T

he whole of Moldavia, as we now call it, together with the western regions, was once under the domination of the Scythians, who, although they conquered more than three-quarters of the world, did not have a stable settlement due to their nomadic nature. Following the arrival of various nomadic groups, who left their mark on these lands and gave them their names, the people who inhabited this region came to be referred to as the Getae or Dacians by the Greeks. Eventually, during the reign of the Roman emperors, the name Dacians became the accepted term. After the defeat of their king, Decebal, through the bravery of Nerva Trajan, this population was mostly eradicated, scattered like the four winds.⁴ The entire region was brought under Roman occupation and transformed into a Roman province, divided, and given to Roman citizens. There were three parts: Dacia Ripensis, Dacia Mediterranea, and Dacia Alpestris. The first consisted of Hungary and Wallachia; Transylvania was given the name Mediterranea, and much of our Moldavia became Dacia Alpestris, which was located between the Prut River and the Danube, and the lands bordering Wallachia. After the end of Roman rule, Moldavia was repeatedly invaded by various barbarian tribes such as the Sarmatians, Huns, and Goths. As a result, the Roman colonies were compelled to flee across the mountains to find refuge in the rugged terrain of Maramureș to escape the violence of these migratory populations. After several centuries of living there under local laws and native rulers, a time during which they were protected from the harshness of the surrounding regions, around the year of our Lord… because of overcrowding due to a large number of inhabitants, Dragoș, son of Bogdan, their leader, decided to cross over the mountains to the east, but only with a group of three hundred people, as though he were going hunting. On his way, he encountered a wild bison by chance, known as an auroch by the Moldavians. They followed it until they found themselves at the foot of the mountains. Once there, Molda, Dragoș’s hunting dog, which he loved more than all the others, fiercely chased the wild animal, leading the bison to jump into the river. The auroch was killed on the spot with arrows, and the dog, which had followed it into the water, was engulfed by the swift currents. In her memory, Dragoș named that river Moldova, and the place where all of this happened was named Roman after his nation. He also decided that his new coat of arms would depict an auroch. While exploring the neighboring areas, he stumbled upon fertile fields irrigated by rivers and fortified towns and forts, but they had been deserted by their inhabitants. He told his people about this discovery and asked them to occupy this very fertile land. The young Romans eagerly heeded the call of their ruler and rode together in large groups through the mountainous passes. Overjoyed upon reaching their destination, they dismounted and proclaimed Dragoș, their discoverer, as the first prince of that settlement.⁵ Thus, the land and Roman rule were once again in the hands of their rightful masters after a long time. Subsequently, the land lost its Roman and Dacian name and came to be recognized as Moldova by locals and foreigners alike, named after the river that flowed through it. However, the new name was not accepted by everyone; for example, the Turks, who frequently invaded this region due to their dominion over nearby European lands, initially referred to Moldavians Ak Ulachs. At the behest of his dying father Stephen, Bogdan submitted the country to their rule.⁶ These people typically referred to their conquered