Aron Tiranul

Aron Tiranul († June 1597 ; also: Aron Emanoil ) was ruler of the Principality of Moldova from September 1591 to June 1592 and from September 18, 1592 to April 24, 1595 . He was the son of Alexandru Lăpuşneanu and was nicknamed "cel Cumplit" (the terrible).

Live and act

Aron Tiranul had to go into high debts to buy the throne with one million galbeni (Romanian for "yellow", ie guilders ). To repay these debts, he introduced numerous new taxes. According to various chronicles, he "plundered" the country, his tax collectors were usually accompanied by Turks and ultimately he even ordered an ox from each resident to be taken away. If someone could not provide this tax, one more ox had to be taken from the next. Soon the population rose against Aron. But the latter suppressed the movement with great brutality. The Hohe Pforte then decided to remove it in 1592. At the urging of his lenders, however, Aron was reinstated by the Sultan .

The prince, who himself no longer wanted to meet the Turkish demands, followed Pope Clement VIII's request to break off relations with the Turks and was persuaded by Michael the Brave that “St. League ”, which he did on November 5, 1594. In addition to Emperor Rudolf II, the League also included Prince Sigismund Báthory of Transylvania . The anti-Ottoman movement broke out on the same day - November 13, 1594 - simultaneously in Iași and Bucharest . The Turks in the principalities were hunted down mercilessly. The allies soon succeeded in attacking the fortresses along the Danube and even taking Dobruja in 1595 . Although Aron belonged to the anti-Turkish alliance and fulfilled his duties, Prince Báthory remained suspicious of him and finally organized a plot against him. For this he resorted to the former Hatman Arons, Răzvan, who was now in charge of the Hungarian Guard. Aron was seized by Transylvanian forces in May 1595 and imprisoned with his family in Vințu de Jos ( Alba County ). There he died in June 1597.

Aron was buried in the church of Michael the Brave in Alba Iulia . His successor was Răzvan, who then called himself Ștefan Răzvan as ruler.

On September 20, 1600, after the victory of Mirăslău , the army of the imperial general Giorgio Basta reached Alba Iulia, killed all Italians, Greeks, Serbs and Romanians there, destroyed the Romanian church and scattered Aron's bones to all the winds.

The St. Nicholas Church of Șcheii Brașovului received significant donations from Aron, and he also built a monastery near Iași. The village of Aroneanu located there still bears his name.

See also

• List of rulers of Moldova

literature

• Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol: Istoria românilor din Dacia Traiană . Bucharest 1888–1893, Vol. 3, Section 1, p. 88