A Principality vs the World | Wallachia

Sandwiched between regional powers, the Principality of Wallachia was born during the Battle of Posada (1330), in which Wallachian forces, under the command of Basarab I, bested those of the Kingdom of Hungary. In time, Wallachia would itself emerge as a regional power, influencing political affairs in the Second Bulgarian Empire and joining other nations in seeking to check expansion of the Ottoman Empire. The Principality would, likewise, experience a “golden age” under the leadership of Mircea the Elder, expanding its borders to the shores of the Black Sea. However, conflict with the Ottomans eventually resulted in a period of instability for Wallachia. Nonetheless, it was during this time Vlad II - otherwise known as Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Dragon) - came to power. And his son, Vlad III, in time become one of Wallachia’s and Romania’s best known, if rather infamous, historic figures: Vlad the Impaler.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:46 Founding of Wallachia
01:56 Battle of Posada
03:22 Radu Negru
03:58 Basarab I
05:42 Continued Hungarian Influence & the Ottomans
06:48 Mircea the Elder
07:30 Wallachia's Golden Age
08:45 Peace & Instability
09:40 Order of the Dragon
10:29 Vlad II Dracul & Son (Vlad the Impaler)
11:29 Conclusion
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[@GhostCountries]

We've got plenty more planned for October on the channel - including a new miniseries; plus, in continuing Wallachia's story, we'll take an in-depth look into the reign of Vlad III, otherwise known as the Vlad the Imapler!

[@danielmaxter1928]

Here in Romania we never used such term "Wallachia". We called it "Tara Romaneasca" which translates as "Romanian country" and we never called ourselves "Vlachs". We always called ourselves "Rumani". This Wallachia term is like the entire planet calling Deutschaland "Germany" but they never call themselves "Germans" they call themselves "Deutsche Volk". It would be great if foreigners called Wallachia by its true name "Romanian country". Us Romans called the Deutsche "Germans" and in revenge they called us Wallachians as the term derives from German word: "Walhaz" which translates as "Latin speakers" so this is where our nickname comes from. Germans nicknamed us Wallachians because we nicknamed them Germans.

[@iAMaSOUTHpARK]

@@danielmaxter1928 Valahia was formed by kazar kumans Jews and Roma gypsy turco iranienii Avars from kazar khagane army house of Basarab Drăculești clans 1200

[@GeoGamer6969]

​@@danielmaxter1928tara romaneasca is also know as valahia in romana

[@baffledwaffle6319]

Im romanian and i cannot express how good this video is. The quality was way better than expected and it had all the important details explained in a very accurate way.

[@GhostCountries]

Oh, thank you so much BaffledWaffle; we've got a second part to this video and will be revisiting Romania's history in future videos too!

[@baffledwaffle6319]

@@GhostCountries saw a part of the video. It was really cool

[@SorinVertigo-yv6nf]

@@GhostCountries kumans was khazars kipcak and numerous tribe bolgars maghiars serbian ..not vlachii ilrii rumunii or arumunii albanese migrated witj sheeps in.kumania today bucharest

[@maxpower252]

Do you drink blood 🩸?

[@kirbyward2001]

Really enjoyed this I love early European History

[@GhostCountries]

Thank you so much kirbyward2001; we've got plenty more like this + a new miniseries planned for this month!

[@iAMaSOUTHpARK]

@@GhostCountries Heii they was cumans kazar and Roma gypsy turcic iranic Avars from same stock kazar army khagane Vlad impaler house of Basarab they was not rumanians blahs

[@MihaiGreenluv]

Pretty good stuff man - this is coming from a true Geto-Valaho(Wallachian)-Rumanian who knows more than the official story, especially the western version. You got it right. Cheers!

[@GhostCountries]

Oh, thank you so much! We’re planning more videos in the region; plus, maybe a special on Michael the Brave at some point.

[@miltiadeskomnenos7437]

Never thought about Wallachia as a Ghost Country! Very interesting though and not limited to Vlad the Impaler, as most channels do :D

[@GhostCountries]

Yeah, and kind of in the same vein as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it's truly one of those ghost countries that - even though not here anymore - has a perceptible legacy, even today! We'll be covering Vlad the Impaler in part II of Wallachia's story, but we've had some viewer recommend going beyond that and, if these videos do well, we definitely plan a video for Michael the Brave.

[@Artur_M.]

Another great episode! I'm looking forward to the continuation and hope it will not end on Vlad Tepesh. We have to at least get to Michel (Mihai) the Brave. Also, nice pronunciation of Wallachia! At least, that's how we would say it in Poland. I assume that the actual Romanian pronunciation is similar.

[@GhostCountries]

Thanks Artur and yeah 😅, I tried making sure my pronunciation in-video was as close to the Romanian version as possible! Interesting to know it's basically the same over in Poland. Okay; we debated exactly what to do here, because there's quite a lot to Wallachia's story - including the exploits of Michael the Brave, like you point out - probably could (and we just might...hahaha) make an entire video on the Battle of Calugareni! However, we decided to end it (more or less) when Wallachia's "true independence" came to an end. Now, that being said, we have plans to do either a "Ghost Biography" about Michael the Brave - going into his story, which goes beyond just Wallachia - and/or a Wallachia Part III, if these episodes are well-received.

[@GhostCountries]

We almost certainly (in time) will use these episodes to springboard into the United Principalities and Kingdom of Romania, among others - so, there's plenty more still to come!

[@dacvs301]

romanians never called themselves vlahs/valahi/volohi. There is only evidence of calling themselves ruman and/or roman or at plural rumani/romani.Also "Dac(i)" who can mean wolf people or "d'aci" which means "from here/from this/these land(s). So we dont have an actual correct spelling for valahia once this word was invented and used only by non romanians.The country name in our records was called Tara Romaneasca/Terra Romanorum - Romanian Land(s). We have Tara as Terra , we have Tarina as earth dust but never reffered to it as Valahia or valahians among ourselves. Relating to the Dracul/ea name, the House of Basarab who ruled/founded "Valahia" had two heir branches , the Danesti and Draculesti Clans. Dracu(l) means Devil , devilish but also have positive mean "al dracu" means to have ambition/to never give up.Vlad Tepes/Vlad Draculea the 3rd father name has nothing to do with the order of the dragon. The order in official papers (very rare) is named simply "societa". Others call it unoficially societa draconica or draco brotherhood.The symbol used for this brotherhood was the uroborus, a snake eating his own tale and other symbol is the dragon killed by saint george but the clan/familly name was there before Vlads father joined the Order.

[@Chris-fh2cl]

Very interesting as always!

[@bob-hg5qj]

Your content is good man 👍 you deserve more subscribers

[@GhostCountries]

I appreciate that!

[@HadrianDan]

Very saintly, many thanks.

[@BlueBuckJS]

Really interesting topic! Can't wait for the video about Vlad III.

[@GhostCountries]

Glad you liked the video John! In part II, we'll be covering Vlad III and his reign over Wallachia in-depth.

[@BlueBuckJS]

@@GhostCountries 👍

[@user-tj9fs2vs4p]

Another good video, you deserve more fans!

[@GhostCountries]

Oh, thank you so much! The channel is growing - slowly, but surely; that being said, every like, comment, and/or share helps!

[@tinavalentino9713]

Heading to Instagram now to follow your fascinating work!

[@GhostCountries]

Awesome; thank you so much Tina! Hope you like our infographics and other stuff over on Instagram. Once we have access to the community tab on KZbin itself, we'll share some of those here as well.

[@ViktoryVKO]

Such great quality for such a small channel! I hope you‘ll soon get the glory you deserve and will come out on eye level with the other more known history channels!

[@GhostCountries]

Thank you so much for your comment TheViktory 🙌; it really is always nice hearing that our viewers/subscribers enjoy the channel - we're always trying to improve content quality - and we've had some pretty nice growth lately too!

[@ognjen_b123]

Im from Serbia and SOME people that live around Romanian borders like me are called Wallachs or "Власи"

[@GhostCountries]

Hey, that’s really interesting man; we definitely are planning to explore the region more in future episodes and that includes stuff relating to Serbia’s history too!

[@nikobelllik3231]

Vlach we are ROMANIANS from Banatul sarbesc..Vlach is real original ROMANIANS Banat dialect is old real Romanian vlach dialect...Romanians in Bucharest over there in muntenia don't speak real Romanian there all mixed with 10 different races

[@Catalin06]

South of Romania was called in the past by slavs and greeks Wallachia, those people that live in Timoc Valley that region was part of South of Romania(Wallachia aka Țara Românească-Terra Romanum) during Mircea The Elder rule. They are daco-romans just like romanians, in ancient times that region was called Tribalia.

[@dacvs301]

​@@nikobelllik3231ti'e belita rau caciula, iti sade anapoda si te face sa gandesti cam strambeanu. Aduna'te traco-romanule sau mori dezbinat.

[@cllaudiusd521]

@@nikobelllik3231 Nonsense... No, mixed with 7 different races...:)) A bulshit.

[@minafm6.145]

this video teached me so many things about my country of origin :')) the quality is amazing!!

[@GhostCountries]

Oh, thank you so much! We're actually talking about doing a part III, since we didn't cover Michael the Brave. We initially put part III on hold, since there didn't seem to be a lot of interest on the part of our viewers, but we've received so many comments lately. So, honestly, I'm excited to revisit another chapter of Wallachian / Romanian history again!

[@minafm6.145]

@@GhostCountries Oh yes, Mihai Viteazul is a real legend among romanians!! Cannot wait to watch part III 🥰

[@GhostCountries]

@@minafm6.145 Oh, that's great to know! All this digging into Romanian history really makes me want to visit the country. I was supposed to back in 2019 or 2020, but that never happened.

[@nomad9135]

It's pretty cool to see how your videos have evolved since the channel started! 👍 Also, like a lot of other viewers have said, I'm looking forward to the part about Vlad the Impaler - rather apropos with Halloween coming up.

[@GhostCountries]

Oh, thank you so much Nomad and yeah, we've got a Halloween theme going on this month - especially with the next couple of episodes. 🎃

[@iAMaSOUTHpARK]

@@GhostCountries they was kazar dummye kazar kumans and Roma gypsy turco iranici .and pecenegă tatars house of Basarab they was not vlah ilirians shepherd

[@lolgurke4154]

Good Video! I Love the Retro Style

[@GhostCountries]

Oh, thank you so much!

[@CaptiveAquaticEcosystemsCAE]

Good stuff.

[@GarrettFruge]

Cool video! 👍

[@GhostCountries]

Thanks Garrett!

[@Historical_events]

Good job!

[@GhostCountries]

Thanks Historical_Events! I'm pretty sure you'll like the other content - new miniseries premieres next week - that we're putting out this month as well. 😉

[@mkmkmk9536]

Fascinating!

[@GhostCountries]

Oh, thanks Matt; be sure to check out Wallachia Part II when it's out, which deals with Vlad the Impaler...plus, we've got a new miniseries premiering on the channel next week!

[@Zw33dDreamZ]

At @03:40 you say Transilvanian Alps, but it's actually Carpathians :) Thanks for the video!

[@tomytoma6287]

Thank you for the video very interesting many greetings from Romania, one note if i may , the country was called TARA ROMANESCA meaning the LAND OF THE ROMANIANS not Wallachia and local people called themselves ruman roman rumanj rumani and not walach or vlach, Wallachia was called by the people bordering the country such as hungarians turks germans , Wallachia is just like Wallonia in belgium just a german word to mean a romance people.

[@GhostCountries]

Hey, thank you so much Tomy and the history behind the name Wallachia is actually quite interesting - I did a little bit of research after seeing your comment! Also, just saying, it's really neat hearing from someone in Romania 🇷🇴 itself; we're planning to do more videos about Romanian (and southeast European) history in the not too distant future, such as an episode about the United Principalities, etc.

[@tomytoma6287]

@@GhostCountries your welcome, your video was very interesting, the roman name is not unique in the region as all the balkans population were romans at some point in history ,Greeks have 100 years Since they stop calling themselves romaioi ,we were just former romans living on both sides of the danube, in the south majoity got assimilated some still live south called aromanians and meglo-romanians, as a a modern day romanian see myself as beeing part of the former eastern Roman byzantine empire ,we are orthodox and we are Roman, the people who ruled Wallachia after Michel the brave were byzantine greeks from constantinople called phanariots who also called themselves Romaioi, we still have now in 2022 families such as canatacuzino and paleologu some are men of culture some politicians.

[@tomytoma6287]

@@GhostCountries thank you for beeing interested in my country, i enjoyed your despotate of epirus was very nice ,i hope you do more about byzantine history in the future such as empire of nicaea or the Vlacho-Bulgarian empire, or anyother video about the eastern roman empire, greetings from Constanta on the black sea cost of Romania.

[@GhostCountries]

@@tomytoma6287 That's really interesting, there's so much to regional history once you begin to dig into it and it often takes you to some unexpected places. Oh, and just letting you know, we have actually gotten quite a few requests for a ghost biography episode on Michael the Brave and that almost certainly is going to happen at some point...hopefully sooner than later!

[@GhostCountries]

@@tomytoma6287 Definitely; we've still got a bit more planned before wrapping up Epirus' story, but then we'll moving on to other Byzantine successor states (Nicaea, Trebizond, etc.) in time, alongside other ghost countries in the region. And, since you mentioned the Bulgarian Empire, I can almost guarantee we'll be covering that state; working on the Epirus episodes and others showed just how much of a role it played in regional history and that's something we just can't ignore / want to explore further in a proper episode.

[@jiayizhou323]

first one! as good as always!

[@GhostCountries]

You are 😆; thanks as always Jiayi!

[@0Joska]

Basarab's father, Radu Negru originally born name Tok Temür (Tochomerius) was the (illegitim) son of king Ladislaus IV. the Cuman and Édua/Aydoya, daughter of Möngke Temür khan. After the assasination of Ladislaus IV., Nicholaus Cumanus, the brother of Édua out of revenge wrote out the entire family of the king killers in 1290 AD. In that year Édua and the minor Tok Temür went to the future Wallachia, called Terra Transalpini (Havasalföld in hungarian language), and under his uncles, khan Tokta (possible identic with Nicholaus Cumanus) protection, and his mother's regency founded the new state called "Terra Transalpini", later "Ungrovlahia". So Bassarab I. was the grandson of Ladislaus IV., and after the death of king Andreas III. of Hungary had the right, as an Árpád dinasty descent to the thron of Hungary. In 1324 AD Basarab conquered the Szörényi bánság, on the 17 April 1330 Zách Felicián tried to kill king Charles of Hungary with his two sons, but the king's bodyguards cut him down. In the winter of 1330 Basarab conquered more hungarian territory, and Charles I. led an army into Havasalföld to defeat Basarab, but Basarab defeated him on the 9 th. December 1330. After that Ungrovlachia became suveran state, and Charles I. remains Hungary's king, Basarab did not succeed in obtaining the Hungarian throne.

[@thieph]

Delusional hungarian delirium

[@jrthomas9917]

I'm distantly related to the Basarabs of Wallachia so this is great to know. thank you.

[@GhostCountries]

That's very cool man! Also, glad you liked the video. 🙌

[@Tallborn5]

Don't want to be a party pooper but probably half of the Eastern Europe maybe even more are related to them.

[@albertojmek]

@@Tallborn5 yeah if ur a romanian

[@dan020350]

❤

[@gamerxgg4813]

Realy nice video but Mircea did not die in an Ottoman counter attack. He died in his sleep at Curtea de Arges

[@GhostCountries]

Thank you so much and really; I was just double checking and for whatever reason English-language sources are extremely vague regarding his death. If you know of anything that would be useful, feel free to let me know, since we'll actually be revisiting Wallachia in an episode about Michael the Brave sometime.

[@cosminmilitaru9920]

...besides the weird, off putting and not necessary Casper ghost being constantly on the screen, this is a good quality video. But ending it without Michael the Brave is like talking about The Roman Empire and ending before Caesar. Bruh...

[@corruptsoul7867]

Dracul meant Dragon, as in a fictional creature noting to do with the devil. Also Draculea is pronounced something like Druh ku leah

[@GhostCountries]

Hey, thanks for commenting; yeah, I tried getting my pronunciation as close as possible for "Draculea," but if it still sounded off...sorry about that! And regarding "dracul," we tried saying it meant "dragon" or "son of the dragon" - via the Latin "draco" - but later also gained the meaning of devil, largely owing to Vlad III's legacy. But, retrospectively, we could've worded that differently in the script/video.

[@corruptsoul7867]

@@GhostCountries Afterwards yes, it gained that meaning. Great effort! I enjoyed it nevertheless 10/10.

[@GhostCountries]

@@corruptsoul7867 Oh, glad to hear it!

[@jesseleeward2359]

I heard that the word changed to mean Devil after Vlad III

[@GhANeC]

11:22 dracul means devil, not dragon?

[@vicu_negru]

The order was the order of the dragon.

[@joycekochmann8860]

👍👍👍

[@GhostCountries]

Thanks Joyce!

[@motorsikletistanbul]

Nogay Khan isn't great great grandson of Ghenghis Khan he is believed to be related to Ghengis Khan even so there wouldn't be that much of a generation difference as grand grand grandson.I guess it is impossible i cuz Ghengiz Han was born in 1227 and Nogay Khan was born in 1230 .As shown in history books what you claim seems to be impossible.

[@GhostCountries]

Oh, really 🤔; at least from the sources we found online that was the relationship given, but if you have a link or another source, we’ll definitely check it out!

[@stefanrapiteanu745]

Ne scriu străinii istoria....O fi de bine? Eu unul nu prea cred..

[@eugenlitwin5887]

😎

[@GhostCountries]

Thanks Eugen!

[@L2Xenta]

Vlad III is Vip, but grandpa` Mircea the Elder (or the Wise) was eventually more successful as ruler.

[@zioodd]

1. Is Basarab a descendant of Genghis Khan?

[@GhostCountries]

It's difficult to say; I know there's a theory the House of Basarab may have a Cuman or Pecheneg origin, but we didn't come across anything definitive while doing research for this episode.

[@_____Shadow_____]

Probably not

[@Tallborn5]

@@GhostCountries There are various studies of y-chromosome of males that had the Basarab name and they have no corellation with the Asian chromosomes ones.Most likely by the time Basarab the first became ruler of Wallachia he was only Cuman in name.

[@GhostCountries]

@@Tallborn5 Oh, that's really interesting to know and kind of fits with most of what I came across too.

[@valevisa8429]

Most likely Basarab was of Cuman origin.The name and the unusual dark hair of his descendants shows Turkic traits.

[@vla_na_kvadrat]

Huh the flag looks very familiar

[@GhostCountries]

Feel like I might've seen it somewhere before. 😉

[@alexandruraicu2307]

85% true

[@Son_of_Burebista]

It's Dobrogea not Dobruja

[@kosovokosovo479]

ILIRIANS WLLAHIA BIZANTINE ARE ONE

[@valentinovidiucornea4525]

Wrong, the Romanians (Wallachians) have nothing to do with the Illyrians. Only with the Vlachs from Albania.

[@REYandrei]

bathory was just another copycat

[@kerryvanskonsol792]

I thought walanchia is just fiction from castlevania but it's idk it was exist