The foundation of Wallachia (Romanian: Descălecatul Ţării
Româneşti), that is the establishment of the first independent Romanian
principality, was achieved at the beginning of the 14th century, through
the unification of smaller political units that had existed between the
Carpathian Mountains, and the Rivers Danube, Siret and Milcov.
Prior to the consolidation of Wallachia, waves of nomadic
peoples – the last of them being the Cumans and the Mongols – rode
across the territory. The territory became a frontier area between the
Golden Horde (the westernmost part of the Mongol Empire) and the Kingdom
of Hungary after 1242. The Romanians in Muntenia, east of the Olt
River, had to pay tribute to the Mongols; and west of the river, in
Oltenia, they were oppressed by the Bans of Severin, appointed by the
Kings of Hungary. The Golden Horde’s domination decreased in the region
at the end of the 13th century, and at that time the Kingdom of Hungary
also underwent a strong political crisis. These events enabled the
incipient states of the territory to consolidate their autonomy.
One Romanian tradition records that Wallachia was founded when a
certain Radu Negru (‘Radu the Black’) arrived from the Făgăraş region
in the 1290s after crossing the Transylvanian Alps with “a great many
following him”. More credible is the report that some Romanian lords in
the Olt and Argeş valleys chose as leader one of their number, a certain
Basarab.
It was Voivode Basarab I (c. 1310–1352) who broke off with the
Kingdom of Hungary and refused to accept the king’s suzerainty. Basarab I
received international support and the recognition of the autonomy of
Wallachia due to his great military victory over King Charles I of
Hungary (1301–1342) at Posada on November 12, 1330. The Metropolitan See
of Wallachia, directly subordinated to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople, was set up during the reign of Basarab I’s son, Nicolae
Alexandru (1352–1364). The first silver and bronze coins were minted in
Wallachia in 1365.
The Battle of Posada in the Chronicon Pictum is depicted in the top background to this website.
