The Mongol Domination and the Detachment of the Romanians of Walachia from the Domination of the Hungarian Kingdom

Abstract

The expansion of Hungary outside the Carpathians, a process which involved colonization and military presence, was stopped at the middle of the 13th century by the Golden Horde domination over this area. The Mongol domination allowed the development of small Romanian political organizations ruled by voievodes or cnezi, in the region east of Olt, while west of Olt the Hungarian domination survived in certain forms until 1291, when a new offensive extended along the Danube, up to Serbia, the domination of the Isaccea emirate ruled by Nogai. In northern Oltenia, the voievode Litovoi tried in 1278 to liberate his land from the Hungarian vassalage, and to extend it east of Olt. The Golden Horde hegemony provided stability, being a condition for the establishment of the first Romanian state in northern Walachia. The legendary founder Negru Vodă came from the Transylvanian (Făgăraş area) with his military suite in 1290, after the confiscation of their properties. The Hungarian domination over the voievodate of Curtea de Argeş, established around the middle of the 13th century was replaced with the protection of the Golden Horde.