Basarab the Old
Voivode of Wallachia in the 1470s
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Basarab III cel Bătrân ("the Old"), also known as Laiotă Basarab or Basarab Laiotă (? – 22 December 1480) was ruler of the Principality of Wallachia in the 1470s.
| Basarab the Old | |
|---|---|
Painting at Horezu Monastery, c. 1470s | |
| Prince of Wallachia | |
| 1st reign | November – December 1473 |
| Predecessor | Radu the Handsome |
| Successor | Radu the Handsome |
| 2nd reign | Spring 1474 |
| Predecessor | Radu the Handsome |
| Successor | Radu the Handsome |
| 3rd reign | September – October 1474 |
| Predecessor | Radu the Handsome |
| Successor | Radu the Handsome |
| 4th reign | January 1475 – November 1476 |
| Predecessor | Radu the Handsome |
| Successor | Vlad the Impaler |
| 5th reign | December 1476 – November 1477 |
| Predecessor | Vlad the Impaler |
| Successor | Basarab the Young |
| Died | 22 December 1480 |
| House | House of Dănești |
| Father | Dan II of Wallachia |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox |
Biography
After Basarab's brother, Vladislav II of Wallachia, was killed by their cousin, Vlad Dracula, in a duel in 1456, he laid claim to Wallachia against Dracula, thus becoming the third pretender to the Wallachian throne.[1] Two decades later, in November 1476, Vlad invaded Wallachia with Hungarian and Moldavian support forcing Basarab to flee to the Ottoman Empire.[2] However, Basarab returned, and Vlad was murdered in late 1476 or early 1477.[2][3]
Basarab repeated the achievement of Dan II in being elected by the boyars as Voivode on five occasions. Moreover, he succeeded the same ruler (Radu cel Frumos in Basarab's case) on four occasions. Two of his reigns also surrounded the last period in which Vlad III the Impaler ruled over Wallachia.
Like so many others of his contemporaries who held Fogaras – Mircea the Elder, Vlad the Impaler, and Radu the Fair – he regularly granted estates to their boyars or awarded the heads of the local communities with the title boyar.[4]
In 1479, Basarab joined in the Battle of Breadfield, and died in December 1480.
