Thocomerius

For other uses, see Tihomir

Thocomerius,^[1][2] also Tihomir,^[3][4] was the father of Basarab who would become the first independent voivode of Wallachia.^[1] Many Romanian historians (e.g., Vlad Georgescu, Marcel Popa) think that Thocomerius was a voivode in Wallachia who followed Bărbat (a voivode around 1278);^[3][4] others (e.g., Tudor Sălăgean) refer to him as a local potentate whose status cannot be specified.^[1]

The name of Basarab’s father is only known from a diploma issued by King Charles I of Hungary on 26 November 1332.^[2] The diploma refers to ‘the schismatic Basarab, son of Thocomerius.’^[2]

The Hungarian László Rásonyi derives the name from a well-known Cuman and Tatar name, Toq-tämir (‘hardened steel’),^[5] and refers to a Chingisid prince, Toktomer, mentioned in the Russian annals in 1295 as abiding in the Crimea.^[2] According to the Hungarian István Vásáry, even if Basarab’s father bore a Turkic name, his person can by no means identified with a Chingisid prince, because being a descent of Genghis Khan was a matter of such significance that no one could, or would have wanted to conceal it.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Sălăgean, Tudor. Romanian Society in the Early Middle Ages (9th-10th Centuries). 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Vásáry, István. Cumans and Tatars: Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185-1365. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Georgescu, Vlad. The Romanians: A History. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Treptow, Kurt W.; Popa, Marcel. Historical Dictionary of Romania. 
5. ^ Djuvara, Neagu. Thocomerius - Negru Vodă. Un voivod de origine cumană la începuturile Tării Româneşti. 

Sources

• Djuvara, Neagu: Thocomerius – Negru Vodă. Un voivod de origine cumană la începuturile Tării Româneşti /Thocomerius – Negru Vodă: A Voivode of Cuman Origin at the Beginnings of Wallachia/, Humanitas, 2007
• Georgescu, Vlad (Author) – Calinescu, Matei (Editor) – Bley-Vroman, Alexandra (Translator): The Romanians – A History; Ohio State University Press, 1991, Columbus; ISBN 0-8142-0511-9
• Sălăgean, Tudor: Romanian Society in the Early Middle Ages (9th-10th Centuries); in: Ioan-Aurel Pop – Ioan Bolovan (Editors): History of Romania: Compendium; Romanian Cultural Institute (Center for Transylvanian Studies), 2006, Cluj-Napoca; ISBN 978-973-7784-12-4
• Treptow, Kurt W. – Popa, Marcel: Historical Dictionary of Romania (table ‘Rulers of Romania - Wallachia’); The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1996, Lanham (Maryland, USA) & Folkestone (UK); ISBN 0-8108-3179-1
• Vásáry, István: Cumans and Tatars: Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185-1365; Cambridge University Press, 2005, Cambridge; ISBN 0-521-83756-1

Preceded by Bărbat

(?) Voivode in Wallachia (unknown – c. 1310)

Succeeded by Basarab I