Everything about Phanariotes totally explained
Phanariotes,
Phanariots, or
Phanariote Greeks (
Greek:Φαναριώτες,
Romanian:
Fanarioţi,
Bulgarian:Фанариоти ) were members of those prominent
Greek (including
Hellenized Romanian and
Albanian) families residing in
Phanar(Φανάρι, modern
Fener), the chief Greek quarter of
Constantinople, where the
Ecumenical Patriarchate is situated.
For all their cosmopolitanism the Phanariotes were aware of their
Hellenism; according to
Nicholas Mavrocordatos'
Philotheou Parerga:
We are a race completely Hellenic. Phanariotes exercised great influence in the
Ottoman Empire in the 18th century
In time, a Slavic presence in the administration gradually became a hazard for the Ottoman rulers, as it was prone to offer full support to
Habsburg armies in the context of the
Great Turkish War. By the 17th century, the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople became the absolute religious and administrative ruler of all Christian Orthodox subjects within the Empire, regardless of their ethnic background. All formerly independent Orthodox patriarchates, including the
Serbian Patriarchate renewed in
1557, came under the authority of the Greek Orthodox Church. Most of the Greek Patriarchs were drawn from among the Phanariotes.
Two Greek social groups therefore emerged and challenged the leadership of the Greek Church. These were the Phanariotes in
Constantinople and the local notables in the
Helladic provinces (
kocabaşıs,
gerontes,
dimogerontes,
prokritoi). According to
Constantine Paparregopoulus, one of the major Greek historians, Phanariotes initially sought the most important secular offices of the Patriarchical Court and, thus, they could frequently intervene in the election of bishops, as well as influence crucial decisions of the Patriarch. Greek merchants and clergy of
Byzantine aristocratic origin, who acquired great economic prosperity and political influence, and were later known as
Phanariotes, settled in the extreme northwestern district of Constantinople, which had become central to Greek interests after the establishment of the Patriarch's headquarters in
1461 (shortly after
Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque).
Patriarchate
After the
1453 Fall of Constantinople, when the
Sultan virtually replaced
de facto and
de jure the
Byzantine Emperor among subjugated Christians, the Ecumenical Patriarch was recognized by the Sultan as the religious and national leader (
ethnarch) of Greeks and the other ethnicities that were included in the Greek Orthodox
Millet. The Patriarchate earned a primary importance and occupied this key role among the Christians of the Empire because the Ottomans didn't legally distinguish between nationality and religion, and thus regarded all the
Orthodox Christians of the Empire as a single entity.
The position of the Patriarchate in the Ottoman state encouraged projects of Greek renaissance, centered on the resurrection and revitalization of the
Byzantine Empire. The Patriarch and those church dignitaries around him constituted the first centre of power for the
Greeks inside the Ottoman state, one which succeeded in infiltrating the structures of the
Ottoman Empire, while attracting the former Byzantine nobility.
Civil servants
During the 18th century, Phanariotes appeared as a hereditary clerical−aristocratic grouping, managing the affairs of the Patriarchate, and becoming the dominant political power of the Greek community in Ottoman lands. In time, they grew to become a very significant political factor in the Ottoman Empire, and, as diplomatic agents, played a considerable role in the affairs of the Kingdom of Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire.
Phanariotes soon competed for some of the most important administrative offices in the Ottoman administration: several of these involved collecting Imperial taxes, holding
monopolies on commerce, working under contract in various enterprises, being purveyors to the court, and even rulers over one of the two
Danubian Principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia). At the same time, they engaged in private trade dealings, and acquired great control over the crucial wheat trade on the
Black Sea. Phanariotes managed to expand their commercial activities first into the
Kingdom of Hungary, and then to all other
Central European states. Such activities intensified their contacts with Western nations, and as a consequence they became familiar with Western languages and cultures.
Just before the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, Phanariotes were firmly established as the political elite of Hellenism. According to Greek historian Constantine Paparrigopoulos, this was a natural evolution, given the Phanariotes' education and their experience in supervising vast regions of the Empire.
Danubian Principalities
Establishment and contrasts
The period isn't to be understood as marking the introduction of a Greek presence into the Principalities, which had already established itself in both provinces and had even resulted in the appointment of Greek Princes before the
18th century. After the end of the Phanariote epoch, various families of Phanariote ancestry in both Wallachia and Moldavia identified themselves as
Romanian, and remained present in
Romanian society — among them, the Rosetti family, whose member
C. A. Rosetti represented the
radical and
nationalist cause during and after the
1848 Wallachian revolution. Also notable were the
Ghicas (who, despite direct Phanariote lineage, held the throne in
Wallachia with
Grigore IV and
Alexandru II as the first "non−Phanariote" rulers after
1821). Finally the
Vacarescu family, of Greek Phanariote origin, provided some of the first poets to
Romanian literature.
The attention of Phanariotes was concentrated on occupying the most favorable offices the Empire could offer to non-Muslims, but also to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which were still relatively rich, and more importantly, autonomous (despite having to pay tribute as
vassal states). Many
Greeks had found favorable conditions there for commercial activities, by far more advantageous when compared with the difficultes inside the Ottoman Empire, and also an opportunity to gain political power. Many had entered the ranks of Wallachian and Moldavian boyar nobility by marriage.
Although rarely occurring, reigns of local Princes were not excluded on principle. This situation had even determined two arguably
hellenized Romanian noble families, the
Callimachis (originally
Călmaşul) and
Racoviţăs, to penetrate into the Phanar nucleus, in order to facilitate and increase their chances to occupy the thrones, and later to successfully maintain their positions.
While most sources would agree to
1711 being the moment where the gradual erosion of the traditional institutions had reached its ultimate stage, characteristics usually ascribed to the Phanariote era had made themselves felt long before it. The Ottomans had been enforcing their choice for Hospodars throughout previous centuries (as far back as the
15th), and foreign — usually Greek or
Levantine — boyars had been competing with the local ones since the late 16th century. Rulers since Dumitraşcu
Cantacuzino in Moldavia and
George Ducas, a Prince of Greek origin, in Wallachia (both in
1673) had been forced to surrender all of their family members, and not just selected ones, as hostages in Constantinople. At the same time, the traditional
elective system in the Principalities had accounted for long periods of political disorder, and was in fact dominated by a small number of ambitious families (whether local or foreign), who had entered violent competition for the two thrones and monopolized land ownership — a notable example is the conflict opposing the
Craioveşti and the Cantacuzinos in the period before 1711.
1711–1715
The clear change in policy was determined by the fact that Wallachia and Moldavia, although autonomous, had entered a period of continuous skirmishes with the Ottomans, due to insubordination of the local princes, one especially associated with the rise of
Imperial Russia's power under
Peter the Great and the firm presence of the Habsburg Empire on the
Carpathian border with the Principalities. Dissidence within the two countries became more dangerous for the Turks, who were now confronted with the attraction exercised on the population by the protection offered to them by a fellow
Eastern Orthodox state. This became obvious with
Mihai Racoviţă's second rule in Moldavia, when the Prince plotted with Peter to have Ottoman rule overthrown. Incidentally, his replacement,
Nicholas Mavrocordatos, was also the first official Phanariote in his second reign in Moldavia (he was also to replace
Ştefan Cantacuzino in Wallachia, as the first Phanariote ruler in that country).
A crucial moment in the policy change was the
Russo−Turkish War of 1710−1713, when
Dimitrie Cantemir sided with Russia and agreed to a Russian tutelage over his country. After Russia suffered a major defeat and Cantemir went into exile, the Ottomans took charge of the succession to the throne of Moldavia, soon followed by similar measures in Wallachia (in this case, prompted by
Ştefan Cantacuzino's alliance with the Habsburg commander
Prince Eugene of Savoy in the closing stages of the
Great Turkish War).
Rulers and retinues
The person raised to the office of Prince was usually the chief
Dragoman of the Porte, and was consequently well versed in contemporary politics and the statecraft of the
Ottoman government.
The new Prince, who obtained his office in exchange for a heavy bribe (not a new requirement in itself), proceeded to the country which he was selected to govern, and whose language he usually didn't know. Once the new Princes were appointed, they were escorted to
Iaşi or
Bucharest by retinues composed of their families, favourites, and their creditors (from whom they'd borrowed the bribe funds). The Prince and his appointees counted on recouping these in as short a time as possible and in collecting an among sufficient to live on after the termination of their brief time in office.
Taking the two principalities together, 31 princes from 11 different families ruled during the Phanariote epoch. Many times they were exiled or even executed: of these 31 princes, seven suffered a violent death, and a few were executed at their own courts of Bucharest or Iaşi.
When, owing to cases of disloyalty towards the Porte by the Princes, the choice became limited to a few families, it became frequent that rulers would be shifted from one principality to the other: the Prince of Wallachia, the richer of the two Principalities, would pay certain sums in order to avert his transfer to Iaşi, while the Prince of Moldavia would bribe supporters in Constantinople in exchange for his appointment to Wallachia. For example,
Constantine Mavrocordatos ruled a total of ten different times in
Moldavia and Wallachia. The debt was, however, owed to various creditors, and not to the
Sultan himself: in fact, the central institutions of the Ottoman Empire generally seemed determined to maintain their rule over the Principalities, and not exploit them irrationally. In one early example,
Ahmed III even paid part of
Nicholas Mavrocordatos' sum.
Administration and boyars
The Phanariote epoch was initially characterized by excessive fiscal policies, driven by both Ottoman needs and by the ambitions of some of the Hospodars (who, mindful of their fragile status, sought to pay back their creditors and increase their wealth while they still were in a position of power). In order to make the reigns lucrative while raising funds that would satisfy the needs of the Porte (increased during the
Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire), Princes channeled their energies into spoliation, and the inhabitants, liable to increasing and diversified taxation, were in many instances reduced to destitution. However, the most odius taxes, mistakenly identified with the Phanariotes in modern Romanian historiography, were of much older provenance (such as the
văcărit, first imposed by
Iancu Sasul in the 1580s).
The mismanagement of many Phanariote rules stands in contrast with the achievements and projects of others, such as Constantine Mavrocordatos' (who abolished
serfdom in 1746 in Wallachia, and in 1749 in Moldavia) and
Alexander Ypsilantis'. Ypsilantis tried to reform the legislation and impose
salaries for administrative offices — in an effort to halt the depletion of funds through the sums the administrators, local and Greek alike, were using for their own maintenance (it had by then become more profitable to hold office than to own land). His
Pravilniceasca condică, a rather modern
legal code, met stiff boyar resistance.
In fact, the focus of such rules was many times the improvement of state structures against
conservative wishes. Documents for the time show that, despite the change in leadership and boyar complaints, around 80% of those seated in the
Divan (an institution roughly equivalent to the
Estates of the realm) were members of traditionally local families. This tended to render endemic the social and economical issues of previous periods, as the inner circle of boyars not only managed to block initiatives such as Alexander Ypsilantis', but also pressured for
tax exemptions — which they obtained, extended, and successfully preserved.
Russian influence
After the
Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji (1774) allowed Russia to intervene on the side of Ottoman Eastern Orthodox subjects, most of the Porte's political tools of political pressure became ineffective. The Porte had to further offer concessions, with the imperative of maintaining hold over the countries as economical and strategic assets: the treaty made any increase in the tribute impossible, and, between 1774 and the 1820s, it plummeted from around 50,000 to 20,000
gold coins (equivalent to
Austrian gold currency) in Wallachia, and just 3,100 in Moldavia.
In the immediately following period, Russia made use of its new prerogative forcefully: the deposition of
Constantine Ypsilantis (in Wallachia) and
Alexander Mourousis (in Moldavia) by
Selim III, called on by the
French Empire's
ambassador to Turkey,
Horace Sébastiani (whose fears of pro−Russian
conspiracies in Bucharest were partly confirmed), constituted the
casus belli for the conflict of 1806–1812 (the Russian general
Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich swiftly reinstated Ypsilantis during his military expedition to Wallachia).
Such gestures inaugurated a period of effective Russian supervision, which culminated with the
Organic Statute administration of the 1830s; the Danubian Principalities grew in strategic importance with the
Napoleonic Wars and the
Decline of the Ottoman Empire, as European states became interested in halting
Russian southwards expansion (of which a noted development was the annexation of
Bessarabia in 1812). In turn, the new
consulates opened in the two countries' capitals, as a means to ensure observation of developments in Russian−Ottoman relations, had an indirect impact over the local economy, as rival diplomats began awarding their protection and
sudit status to merchands competing with the local
guilds.
In parallel, the
boyars started a
petitioning campaign against the Princes in power: although sometimes addressed to the Porte and even the
Habsburg Monarchy, they mostly demanded Russian supervision. While making reference to cases of
corruption and misrule, the petitions show their signers' conservative intentions. The boyars tend to refer to specific, but nonetheless fictitious,
Capitulations that either of the Principalities would have signed with the Ottomans — demanding that the rights guaranteed through them be restored. They also viewed with suspicion reform attempts on the side of Princes, claiming these were not legitimate — in alternative proposals (usually taking the form of constitutional projects), the boyars express a wish for the establishment of an
aristocratic republic.
Legacy
The active part taken by the Greek Princes in revolts after 1820 (
see Greek War of Independence), together with the disorder provoked by the
Philikí Etaireía, of which the Ghica,
Vacarescu (of Phanariote Greek origin) and Golescu families were active members, following its uprising against the Ottoman Empire in Moldavia and
Tudor Vladimirescu's
Wallachian uprising, led to the disappearance of promotions from within the
Phanar community as the Greeks were no longer trusted by the Porte. Relevant for the tense relations between boyars and princes, Vladimirescu's revolt was, for most of its duration, the result of compromise between
Oltenian
pandurs and the
regency of boyars attempting to block the ascension of
Scarlat Callimachi, the last Phanariote ruler in Bucharest.
Ioan Sturdza's rule in Moldavia and
Grigore IV Ghica's in Wallachia are considered the first of the new period: as such, the new regime was to have its own abrupt ending with the Russian occupation during another
Russo−Turkish War, and the subsequent period of Russian influence (
see Regulamentul Organic).
Most Phanariotes acted as patrons of
Greek culture, education, and printing. They founded academies which attracted teachers and educated pupils from throughout the
Orthodox commonwealth, and there was some contact with intellectual trends in
Habsburg central Europe.
Nonetheless, condemnation of the Phanariotes is a particular focus of
Romanian
nationalism, usually integrated with the resentment of foreigners as a whole. The tendency unifies pro− and anti−modernising attitudes: Phanariote
Greeks are painted as
reactionary elements (as their image was presented by
Communist Romania), as well as agents of brutal and opportunistic change (as presented in
Mihai Eminescu's
Scrisoarea a III-a).
Leading Phanariote families
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