- Iancu Sasul
Iancu Sasul ("John the Saxon") or Ioan Vodă V ("
Voivode John V"; d.September 28 1582 inLviv ) was the bastard son ofPetru Rareş from his relationship with the wife ofBraşov Transylvanian Saxon Iorg (Jürgen) Weiss, and Prince ofMoldavia between November 1579 and September 1582.Bid for the throne
Let in on the secret of his lineage by his mother, Iancu renounced the inheritance of his
stepfamily and moved toIstanbul , in order to bid for his father's throne. Marrying into thePalaeologus family of former Byzantine Emperors (to Maria), and taking advantage of the weakened position of Moldavian PrincePetru Şchiopul , he borrowed money from Venetian formerDragoman and high dignitary ("sfetnic") of Petru Şchiopul Bartolomeo Brutti, and managed to gain the office. Iancu also benefited from the influence that his stepsister,Doamna Chiajna (the widow ofWallachia n PrinceMircea Ciobanul and mother of Petru cel Tânăr), exercised on Ottoman authorities.Reign
The Prince's reign was marked by excessive and highly inventive taxing, motivated by the increasing debt and his ambition to accumulate a sizable personal fortune on the side. Iancu was to go down in history as the mind behind the much-hated "văcărit" tax, whereby every tenth head of cattle was confiscated by the state ("vacă" is Romanian for "cow").
Brutti became part of the
retinue and was placed in charge of finances. His privileged position angered Chiajna, and she took to undermining Iancu's standing, forming an alliance with disgruntledboyars . What added to Iancu's isolation were his privileged contacts with theHoly Roman Empire , presumably entertained in order to offer a safe haven in case of need. When he received news of thePorte 's intent to depose him, Iancu fled the country, carrying an immense fortune that was said to fit in 100cart s (of which 40 would have been filled withcurrency alone). He attempted to take refuge on newly-bought estates inTransylvania , but he was arrested on his passage through Poland and decapitated in Lviv.Iancu Sasul fathered a son, Bogdan Sasul (mentioned in 1596), and a daughter, Chrisotina (married to a certain Antonios Katakalos).
External links
* [http://genealogy.euweb.cz/balkan/balkan18.html Muşatin family]
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