page_title: Aaron the Tyrant
section_title: First rule
hierarchical_section_title: Aaron the Tyrant / Biography / First rule
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Явойшовский - казак на службе Альбрехта Лаского, фототипия по гравюре 16 в.
context_page_description: Aaron the Tyrant or Aron Vodă, sometimes credited as Aron Emanoil or Emanuel Aaron, was twice the Prince of Moldavia: between September 1591 and June 1592, and October 1592 to May 3 or 4, 1595. He was of mysterious origin, and possibly of Jewish extraction, but presented himself as the son of Alexandru Lăpușneanu, and was recognized as such in some circles. His appointment by the Ottoman Empire followed an informal race, during which candidates engaging in particularly exorbitant bribery and accepted unprecedented increases of the haraç. Though resented by the Janissaries, he was backed by a powerful lobby, comprising Solomon Ashkenazi, Edward Barton, Hoca Sadeddin Efendi, and Patriarch Jeremias II. Victorious but heavily indebted, Aaron allowed his creditors to interfere directly in fiscal policy, while adopting methods of extortion against the taxpaying peasantry. He eventually turned against the bankers, staging the execution of Bartolomeo Brutti.
  Following such moves, and his heavy-handed repression of rebels in Lăpușna and Orhei, Aaron was ordered to step down by the Porte.
context_section_description: Several other controversial developments occurred under Aaron. Some had to do with the rising influence of immigrant Greeks. Medievalist Ioan Caproșu argues that Aaron's reign inaugurated the monopolizing of Vistier (treasurer) offices by "intermediaries of the Oriental trade". At any one time, three of his eleven high courtiers were Greek; Aaron inherited from his predecessor Peter the Vistier Iani Kalogeras, who enjoyed the third-longest time in office of any Moldavian treasurer between 1600 and 1700. His Postelnic was a Iane, possibly the same identified as an "Epirote" in earlier documents, while the first of his Spatharii was Constantin Vorsi; in 1594, his Paharnic was an Albanian, Nicolae Coci. At some point in 1593, Andronikos became Moldavia's Ban.
  In 1591, the Boyar Council also included another Vistier, known as Planica or Planița. According to medievalist Ștefan Andreescu, this was a Slavonic name for Ponthus de la Planche. The non-native retinue was enhanced by a permanent guard of Hungarian mercenaries, who proved crucial in protecting Aaron during subsequent revolts. Both Iorga and Gheorghe I. Brătianu argue that they were inherited from Peter the Lame, and as such comprised up to 400 men "dressed in Hungarian clothing, with swords on their belts and battle axes in hand". These soldiers ensued a bridge of communication with the neighboring Principality of Transylvania, and made Aaron's Moldavia heavily dependent on Transylvanian assistance.
  Aaron soon faced rebellions of the local boyars and burghers. Some of these were probably instigated by brothers Bogdan Ionașcu and Peter the Cossack, which may have prompted Aaron to turn against another kingmaking financier, Bartolomeo Brutti. Brutti, also known as a supporter of Moldavian Catholicism, was executed in April 1592; his entire estate, valued at 30,000 ducats, was confiscated by the state. Aaron probably confiscated Brutti's villages of Săbăoani and Berindești, largely settled by Catholic Csangos; these later appeared as property of the Orthodox monks of Secu.
  In May, after riots in Lăpușna and Orhei, Aaron ordered the execution of "treasonous" courtiers, Logothete Zaharia Bârlădeanu and Vornic Condrea Bucium. He failed to capture the Pârcălab of Suceava, Andrei Corcodel, who fled over the border into Ottoman territory. Aaron then gathered the Moldavian military forces and organized the offensive against Bogdan Ionașcu. The armies clashed on the Răut, in present-day Moldova. Bogdan was defeated, mutilated, and sent to live in a monastery; his followers were decimated. The rebellion also prompted Aaron to operate changes in Lăpușna's administration, which had shown itself to be permeated by Brutti's retinue.
  The violence and instability called for the Porte's direct intervention. In June, Murad heard a complaint from the boyars, but was unpersuaded. He informed the petitioners that they risked losing their country's privileges, and that he considered making Moldavia into a Muslim beylerbeylik. However, the Ottomans "always sacked those Princes unlucky enough to have sparked an unrest". They eventually deposed Aaron, before June 20, at which date the creditors were already pleading for him to be reinstated. As noted by Iorga, the intrigue involved his alleged nephew, Alexandru III. There was also a competition between Bogdan Ionașcu and Peter the Cossack, again centered on haraç offers; Alexandru emerged as the winner, but was then usurped by his uncle Peter, who invaded the country alongside Cossacks from the Zaporizhian Sich. With support from his creditors, and, this time, with crucial backing from the Janissaries, Aaron was reappointed ruler for the second time after a two-month absence. Sultan Murad asked his other vassal, Transylvanian Prince Sigismund Báthory, to depose Peter. The expedition, led by Gáspár Sibrik, ensured that Aaron could return to a pacified Moldavia.
caption: A Cossack cavalryman in a 1587 manuscript
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