Reign
Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1637, 1639, and 1653 - see Battle of Finta. He was an enlightened ruler, and is noted for introducing the printing press to Wallachia (1634) and creating the first Wallachian code of laws as well as patronizing art and religion (founder of the first upper school in his Principality). He built more than 45 churches and monasteries, being compared to Stephen the Great, the famous ruler of Moldavia.
His election in 1632 signified the first official exception to a rule set by custom. Basarab was merely a boyar (of the Craioveşti family) and one not related to previous Princes (although it seems that a similar point can be made about such rulers as Michael the Brave). The reason for this choice has been explained as a reaction of indigenous boyars against competition from newly infiltrated Greeks and Levantines. It may also be because of these special circumstances that Matei used the surname "Basarab" - associated as it is with a fabricated legitimate lineage.
Matei Basarab's rule also coincides with the last stage in the decay of the lesser nobility, the result of political pressure from boyars and drastic economical changes (the revolt of the seimeni military under Constantin Şerban probably has this as its main cause).
It seems that the Prince was planning emancipation from Ottoman rule, as well as domination over Moldavia. He maintained a close relationship with the Transylvanian ruler George II Rákóczi, an ambitious, stronger, and more autonomous subject of the Turks.
Read more about this topic: Matei Basarab
Famous quotes containing the word reign:
“No one would have doubted his ability to reign had he never been emperor.”
—Tacitus (c. 55–c. 120)
“I am monarch of all I survey;
My right there is none to dispute;
From the center all round to the sea
I am lord of the fowl and the brute.
O Solitude! where are the charms
That sages have seen in thy face?
Better dwell in the midst of alarms,
Than reign in this horrible place.”
—William Cowper (1731–1800)
“Without poets, without artists, men would soon weary of nature’s monotony. The sublime idea men have of the universe would collapse with dizzying speed. The order which we find in nature, and which is only an effect of art, would at once vanish. Everything would break up in chaos. There would be no seasons, no civilization, no thought, no humanity; even life would give way, and the impotent void would reign everywhere.”
—Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918)