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John Caradja

John George Caradja, also known by his regnal name Ioan Gheorghe Caragea (; pre-modern Romanian: , Cyrillic: Їωан Геωргïє Караџѣ; , , or ; , , or ; ; 1754 – 27 December 1844), was a Phanariote Greek Prince of Wallachia, who reigned between August 1812 and September 1818. He was the second, and last, member of the Karatzas or Caradja family to ascend to the Wallachian throne, but one of several to have also held office as Great Dragoman of the Ottoman Empire. Caradja, whose life is relatively obscure up to that point, held two terms as Dragoman (1807–1808, 7–27 August 1812). Before 1800, he also embarked on a literary career, participating in the spread of Enlightenment literature throughout the Rum Millet, and becoming noted for his translations from Carlo Goldoni. His progeny included Rallou Karatza-Argyropoulos, who was famous in her own right as a pioneer of modern Greek theater.

Caradja's reign came at the apex of Phanariote influence in the Danubian Principalities, a time marked by political corruption, outside interference, and, increasingly, the affirmation of Romanian nationalism as an alternative to Greek hegemony. His candidacy in Wallachia was supported by Halet Efendi and the Austrian Empire, and made possible by large sums of money that Caradja intended to recover from taxes. He arrived in Bucharest just as Wallachia was recovering from a Russian occupation, and was involved in punishing those whom he regarded as Russophiles—his clampdown resulted in the death of Abdullah Ramiz Efendi and the expulsion of Manuc Bei; the latter spent his remaining years attempting to have Caradja deposed. Caradja was then involved in securing jobs for his Greek retinue or in trafficking high offices in exchange for bribes; in order to meet Ottoman fiscal demands, but also his own financial goals, he created an infamous system of spoliation which perplexed foreign observers and angered the Wallachian public. Having to deal with an outbreak of brigandage, Caradja became known for enforcing capital punishment, as well as torture and amputation.

Shortly into his rule, Wallachia was struck by a wave of the Eastern plague pandemic, locally known as "Caragea's plague". Failing to impose a total quarantine, the Prince successfully isolated himself and his court, while the general population was left to deal with the effects. During the period of recovery, Caradja adopted more lenient positions consonant with enlightened absolutism, and his respect for civil liberties was written down in the 1818 code, ''Legiuirea lui Caragea'' ("Caradja's Law"). He afforded Wallachian natives a victory by allowing Gheorghe Lazăr to teach a Romanian course at his refurbished princely academy, and also made some efforts to reintegrate disgruntled nationalists into his administration. Though he continued his lavish spending, Caradja became aware that an accounting audit would result in his deposition and death; during his final months in power, he cut down taxes and announced reforms. He also sought to appease the Sublime Porte by intervening to curb the Second Serbian Uprising, and was credited, possibly mistakenly, with murdering the Serb rebel Karađorđe.

Made aware that he had fallen into disgrace at the Porte, and betrayed by his son-in-law Michael Soutzos, Caradja took his family and fortune out of Wallachia in September 1818. He lived in the Swiss Confederacy and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, supporting the Greek War of Independence, and becoming nominal head of the revolutionary government in the Peloponnese. In his late sixties, he tried but failed to impose himself as a figure of influence in the Hellenic State; he eventually returned to live as a regular citizen in the newly formed Kingdom of Greece, publishing editions of his translations from Goldoni, and dedicating himself to advancing theatrical life in general. He remained generally vilified in Romanian literature and folklore, though he received positive recognition for his leniency toward the outlaw Iancu Jianu. Following John's death, the Caradjas split into Ottoman–Romanian and Greek branches, respectively led by his sons Konstantinos and Georgios. Provided by Wikipedia