2014 was declared Constantin Brancoveanu’s year

To mark the 300 years of the martyrdom of Brancoveanu family, the Romanian government has decided to transform 2014 into a year dedicated to the great historical figure. The decision has been publicized in the Official Gazette on Wednesday, January 8. Furthermore, a coordination committee has been formed, with PM Victor Ponta as Honorary President.

Constantin Brancoveanu was a Wallachia Prince, who took steps in negotiating anti-Ottoman alliances first with the Habsburg Monarchy, and then with Peter the Great’s Russia. Because he was taking advantage of Russians and Ottomans as well, he was discovered and deposed from his throne by Sultan Ahmed III, and brought under arrest to Constantinople, where he was imprisoned in 1714 at the fortress of Yedikule (the Seven Towers). There he was tortured by the Ottomans, who hoped to locate the immense fortune he had supposedly amassed. He and his four sons were beheaded on the same day in August, together with Prince Constantin’s faithful friend, grand treasurer Enache Văcărescu.

He was a great patron of culture. Under his reign, many Romanian, Greek, Slavonic, Arabic, Turkish, and Georgian texts were printed after a printing press was established in Bucharest – an institution overseen by Anthim the Iberian.

During his rule, an architectural style known as the “Brâncovenesc style” originated in Wallachia, as a synthesis of Renaissance and Byzantine architecture. Such cultural ventures relied on increased taxation, which was also determined by the mounting fiscal pressure of the Ottomans (adding in turn to Brâncoveanu’s determination to strip Wallachia of Turkish rule).

Through his death, Constantin Brâncoveanu became the hero of a series Romanian folk ballads, as well as being depicted on some of Romania’s official coinage. According to the Romanian Orthodox Church, the reason for his and his sons’ execution was their refusal to give up their Christian faith and convert to Islam. In 1992 the Church declared him, his sons, and Enache saints and martyrs. Their feast day is August 16.