IN
REMEMBRANCE OF HOLY AND MARTYR PRINCE CONSTANTIN BASARAB BRÂNCOVEANU – A
COMMEMORATION OF 310 YEARS SINCE HIS DEATH
Radu Ştefan VERGATTI*
Abstract: Prince Constantin Basarab Brâncoveanu, a
member of the Cantacuzino family, was raised and educated by it. He found
himself in this situation as orphan of father since infancy. In his youth, up
to the age of 20, he already knew the Greek, Latin and Slavonic languages
well. He read a lot. He was in charge of printing the monumental
Bible in Romanian, a work requested and patronized by his uncle, prince
Şerban Cantacuzino. After he himself became ruler of Valachia (October 28,
1688) he was concerned with the fertilization and population of the
Bărăganu Plain, with the construction of cities, where he left great
monuments (Craiova, Bucharest, Făgăraş), monumental palaces,
representative of the relationship between man and nature (Mogoşoaia,
Potlogi, Obilesti). He also built the largest Orthodox monasteries in Wallachia
(Hurezi, Sâmbăta, Sf. Gheorghe Nou), and developed the Princely Academy
(Academia Domnească) bringing it to the level of a "Faculty of
Arts" in the universities of Western Europe. He also developed a royal
chancellery with connections in Europe, Central Asia and North Africa, etc. In time,
he amassed a huge fortune, which made Sultan Ahmet III (1703-1730) and the
Grand Vizier Ali Paşa want to take his money. His assassination, together
with his four sons and his relative the boyar I. Văcărescu, led to
the creation of the image of a martyr for the Romanian people and their faith.
The Library of the Romanian Academy preserves several Romanian manuscripts
containing verses and songs of anonymous bards, who took over and spread over
time through folklore the legend of the martyrdom of the Voyvode and his sons.
Key words:Constantin Brancoveanu, culture, architecture, the Royal Academy, students,
martyrdom.
DOI 10.56082/annalsarscihist.2024.1-2.110
