George Ducas
| George Ducas Gheorghe Duca/Георге Дука | |
|---|---|
 Gheorghe Duca on a mural of theCetățuia Monastery,holding a model of the building in his hand. | |
| Prince of Moldavia (1st reign) | |
| Reign | 11 September 1665 – 21 May 1666 |
| Predecessor | Eustratie Dabija |
| Successor | Iliaș Alexandru |
| Prince of Moldavia (2nd reign) | |
| Reign | 8 November 1668 – 10 August 1672 |
| Predecessor | Iliaș Alexandru |
| Successor | Ștefan Petriceicu |
| Prince of Wallachia | |
| Reign | November/December 1674 – 29 November 1678 |
| Predecessor | Grigore I Ghica |
| Successor | Șerban Cantacuzino |
| Prince of Moldavia (3rd reign) | |
| Reign | 28 November 1678 – 25 December 1683 |
| Predecessor | Antonie Ruset |
| Successor | Ștefan Petriceicu |
| Hetman of Ottoman Ukraine | |
| Reign | 11 February 1681 – 25 December 1683 |
| Predecessor | Yurii Khmelnytsky |
| Successor | Teodor Soulymenko |
| Born | ca. 1620 Ottoman Albania |
| Died | 31 March 1685 Lviv,(formerly inPoland,now inUkraine) |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Anastasiya Dabizha,then Dafina Doamna |
| Issue | Constantine Ducas(prince of Moldavia) Matei Maria (engaged to PrinceAntioh Cantemir) Catrina (wife of PrinceȘtefan Tomșa) Ileana (wife of chroniclerNicolae Costin) Sanda Safta Anastasia |
| Religion | Orthodox |
| Signature |  |
VoivodeGeorge Ducas(Greek:Γεώργιος Δούκας,Geórgios Doúkas;Romanian:Gheorghe Duca;old Romanian:Георге Дука) (c. 1620 – 31 March 1685) was three timesprinceofMoldavia(1665–1666, 1668–1672, 1678–1684), one timeprinceofWallachia(1674–1678) and one time Hetman ofOttoman Ukraine(1681–1683).
He was married toAnastasiya Dabizha,the daughter of PrinceEustratie Dabija,and later to Dafina Doamna; George Ducas fatheredConstantine Ducas.
First two rules in Moldavia[edit]
Gheorghe Duca was ofGreekAlbanianorigin and like many others of his generation who had migrated to the Danubian principalities he rose thanks to his links to other Albanians of high positions. In his youth, another Albanian,Vasile Lupu(voivode of Moldavia) took him to his court where Duca was raised.[1]
Supported by Dafina Doamna and some of theboyars,he came to the throne inIaşiafter Dabija's death, but was soon ousted after his opponents appealed to theOttomans,unjustly claiming Duca's rule was corrupt.
He contracted large debts in order to reclaim the throne, which he managed to followingIliaș Alexandru's rule. The policy of increased taxation led to the uprising of Mihalcea Hâncu in October 1671, crushed the next year after Ducas receivedOttomanhelp. But, as Ducas failed to provide supplies needed for theWaragainst thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth,with theSultanMehmed IV's life placed in peril at the attack ofKamianets-Podilskyi,theOttomansswiftly replaced him withȘtefan Petriceicu.
Rule in Wallachia[edit]
In 1674, through the intervention of theCantacuzinoboyars, he was awarded the throne inBucharest;soon however, the alliance between the Cantacuzinos and Ducas crumbled, the prince being replaced byȘerban Cantacuzino.
Last rule in Moldavia and rule in Right-bank Ukraine[edit]
He was soon back on the Moldavian throne, followingAntonie Ruset(Rosetti)'s reign. George Ducas had plans of extending his rule overright-bank Ukraine,whereOttomangains had started with the acquisition ofPodoliain 1672. His overlord appointed him as hetman over the newly gained regions, in 1680 or 1681, after muchbriberystrained the Moldaviantreasuryas much as the request that Ducas had placed on the taxed categories that they contribute to his daughter'sdowry.
In 1683, Ducas joined theOttomansin their march at theBattle of Vienna.Helped by his absence and aware of the complete failure of theOttomanplans, boyars throughout the land rebelled, following Ștefan Petriceicu's command, and welcomed the invadingPolesandCossacks.
On his way back, Ducas was captured on 25 December 1683 and sent to a prison inPoland,where he died one year later.
Bibliography[edit]
- Cernovodeanu, Paul (1982)."Ştiri privitoare la Gheorghe Ghica vodă al Moldovei ( 1658– 1659 ) şi la familia sa (I)".Anuarul Institutului de Istorie și Arheologie "A.D. Xenopol."(in Romanian).19.Institutul de Istorie și Arheologie "A.D. Xenopol.".
- Wasiucionek, Michal (2012). "Ethnic solidary in the wider Ottoman Empire revisited: cins and local political elites in 17th century Moldavia and Wallachia". In Sariyannis, Marinos (ed.).New Trends in Ottoman Studies: Papers presented at the 20th CIÉPO Symposium Rethymno, 27 June – 1 July 2012.University of Crete – Department of History and Archaeology.
- Wasiucionek, Michal (2016).Politics and Watermelons: Cross-Border Political Networks in the Polish-Moldavian-Ottoman Context in the Seventeenth Century(PDF)(Thesis).European University Institute.
- ^Wasiucionek 2016,p. 106.