Domnitor

Domnitor (pl. domnitori) was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1859 and 1881.

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It was used officially only after Wallachia and Moldavia chose the same ruler in 1859. Before that the Wallachian and Moldavian rulers had the title of voivode, as they were officially nominated by the Turkish Sultan, although unofficially they were known as domnitori. The word itself is derived from the Romanian "domn" (lord), from Latin "Dominus" (compare the Roman Dominate).

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There were only two domnitors of Romania :

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• Alexander John = Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859 - 1866, overthrown)
• Charles = Carol I of Romania (elected 1866 - 1881), of the new -and last- dynasty of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

In 1881, Carol was crowned as King of Romania, which had been recognized an independent principality in 1877/78 instead of an Ottoman vassal, but only in 1918 the country would obtain Transylvania (before that was a 'Hungarian' Habsburg grand duchy under the name Siebenb?rgen) and Bessarabia (lost again in 1940-45 to become the soviet republic of Moldavia).

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Romania: :...

1859: 1859 is a common year starting on Saturday....

1881: 1881 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar)....