Foundation of Wallachia The foundation of Wallachia ( ) , that is the establishment of the first independent Romanian principality , was achieved at the beginning of the 14th century , through the unification of smaller political units that had existed between the Carpathian Mountains , and the Rivers Danube , Siret and Milcov . Prior to the consolidation of Wallachia , waves of nomadic people s – the last of them being the Cumans and the Mongols – rode across the territory . The territory became a frontier area between the Golden Horde ( the westernmost part of the Mongol Empire ) and the Kingdom of Hungary after 1242 . The Romanians in Muntenia , east of the Olt River , had to pay tribute to the Mongols ; and west of the river , in Oltenia , they were oppressed by the Bans of Severin , appointed by the Kings of Hungary . The Golden Horde ’ s domination decreased in the region at the end of the 13th century , and at that time the Kingdom of Hungary also underwent a strong political crisis . These events enabled the incipient states of the territory to consolidate their autonomy . One Romanian tradition records that Wallachia was founded when a certain Radu Negru ( ‘ Radu the Black ’ ) arrived from the Făgăraş region in the 1290s after crossing the Transylvanian Alps with “ a great many following him ” . More credible is the report that some Romanian lords in the Olt and Argeş valleys chose as leader one of their number , a certain Basarab . It was " Voivode " Basarab I ( c . 1310 – 1352 ) who broke off with the Kingdom of Hungary and refused to accept the king ’ s suzerainty . Basarab I received international support and the recognition of the autonomy of Wallachia due to his great military victory over King Charles I of Hungary ( 1301 – 1342 ) at Posada on November 12 , 1330 . The Metropolitan See of Wallachia , directly subordinated to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , was set up during the reign of Basarab I ’ s son , Nicolae Alexandru ( 1352 – 1364 ) . The first silver and bronze coins were minted in Wallachia in 1365 . Last centuries of the Early Middle Ages . Among the oldest attestations of the countries of the Vlachs ( early Romanians ) on the left side of the Danube , there is a quotation of a passage from an Armenian book of geography . The passage represents an interpolation , probably from the first centuries of the second millennium , which refers to an “ unknown country called " Balak " ” , situated in the neighborhood of the “ Sarmatians ’ country ” and of " “ Zagura ” " ( Bulgaria ) . Another 11th - century reference to the Vlachs ’ country appears to be the section of the ancient Turkic chronicle " Oghuzname " ( ' Oghuz Khan ' s Tale ' ) , preserved in a 17th century text , which narrates the battles of the Cumans against several peoples , including the Vlachs " ( Ulak ) " . The Cumans , a Turkic tribe approached the Danube Delta shortly after 1064 – 1065 , and from 1068 the entire territory between the Aral Sea and the lower Danube were controlled by them . But this vast territory was never politically united by a strong central power . The different Cuman groups were under independent rulers or " khans " who meddled in the political life of the surrounding areas , such as the Rus ’ principalities and the Byzantine Empire . In attacking the Byzantine Empire , the Cumans were also assisted by the Vlachs living in the Balkan Mountains ( now in Bulgaria ) who showed them the mountain paths where no imperial guard was set up . In 1185 , the Balkan Vlachs , together with the Bulgarians , rose up in arms against the Byzantine Empire . They created , with the help of the Cumans and the Vlachs living on the left bank of the Danube , a new state , the Second Bulgarian Empire between the Balkan Mountains and the Danube ( to the south of the future Wallachia ) . The new state was called " “ Vlachia ” " or " “ Vlachia and Bulgaria ” " in Western sources . For example , in 1204 the pope elevated the head of the Bulgarian church to the rank of “ " primas " ” ( primate ) “ of all Bulgaria and Vlachia ” . " “ Vlachia ” " as a designation for northern Bulgaria only disappeared from the sources after the middle of the 13th century . In 1211 , King Andrew II of Hungary ( 1205 – 1235 ) settled the Teutonic Knights in the region of Braşov in order to put an end to the frequent incursions of the Cumans into Transylvania . The knights were given all the territory they could conquer beyond the Carpathian Mountains as a fief to be held from the king of Hungary . According to a royal charter of 1222 , the knights ’ military power stretched across the Carpathians all the way to the Danube . That the Teutonic Knights won several victories “ beyond the snowy mountains ” " ( ultra montes nivium ) " , that is to the south and to the east of the Carpathians , is also confirmed by papal letters . However , the Teutonic Knights were forced out of the territory in 1225 by King Andrew II , who claimed that they had ignored his authority . The Mongols entered Europe in 1223 when they defeated a joint Rus ’ - Cuman army at the river Kalka ( now in Ukraine ) . Some Cuman groups , after their defeat of the Mongols , become willing to adopt Christianity . As early as 1227 , one of the Cuman chieftains , Boricius subjected himself and his people to the future King Béla IV of Hungary , converted to Christianity and agreed to pay an annual tax and the tithe . The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cumania , located in northeastern Wallachia and southwestern Moldavia , was established in 1228 . A significant presence of the Vlachs within the newly established bishopric is documented in the correspondence between the Hungarian crown prince and Pope Gregory IX ( 1227 – 1241 ) , as the pope complained about Orthodox prelate s active among the local Vlachs . The Diocese of Cumania was " de jure " a part of the Kingdom of Hungary , and King Andrew II adopted the title of " king of Cumania " in 1233 . There can be no doubt that the king also placed garrisons at key points on the southern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains in northeastern Wallachia . But the military outposts in the region of the bishopric are only first mentioned in relation to the Mongol invasion of 1241 by Roger of Torre Maggiore . In parallel with the emergence of the Second Bulgarian Empire , the Kingdom of Hungary also persuaded an active expansionist policy in the Balkan Peninsula from the end of the 12th century . To that end , Oltenia was put under the control of a Hungarian governor , who received the title of ban . The centre of the new province ( the Banate of Severin ) was Fort Severin ( now Drobeta - Turnu Severin , Romania ) , on the Danube , in the vicinity of the Iron Gates . Its first ban , Luke , was mentioned in 1233 . In 1236 a large Mongol army was collected under the supreme leadership of Batu Khan and set forth to the west , in one of the greatest invasions in world ' s history . The Mongols ’ most devastating attacks against the western territories of the " Desht - i Quipchaq " ( ‘ the steppe of the Cumans ’ ) took place in 1237 – 1238 . The development of the battles was not recorded in the sources , but the Cuman ' s subsequent migration to Hungary , Bulgaria and other neighboring territories is eloquent enough . Although some Cuman groups survived the Mongol invasion , the Cuman aristocracy was slain . The steppes of eastern Europe were conquered by Batu Khan ’ s army and became parts of the Golden Horde . But the Mongols left no garrisons or military detachments in the lower Danube region and did not take direct political control of it . Although theoretically part of the Golden Horde , the steppe corridor between the Dnieper River and the lower Danube was only a “ region of hegemony ” , not of direct control . Earliest " voivodate " s in medieval documents . After the Mongol invasion , a great many ( if not most ) of the Cuman population left the Wallachian Plain , but the Vlach ( Romanian ) population remained there under the leadership of their local chiefs , called " knezes " and " voivode s " . In 1247 , King Béla IV tried to bring the Knights Hospitallers to the region and granted to them a number of territories in the “ land of Severin ” . The knights ’ mission , however , proved to be a total failure ( there is even no report whether they occupied their posts ) , but the royal charter for the knights , dated June 2 , 1247 , lists four autonomous territorial - administrative units ( " kenezate " s ) in Oltenia and western Muntenia . Two of them , the " kenezate " s of Johannes and Farcaş were given to the Knights Hospitallers . But the " kenezate " s under Litovoi and Seneslau were exempted from the grant , and the royal charter expressly stipulated that they were to be left “ to the Vlachs as they had owned it until now ” . On the other hand , the royal charter also describes that " Voivode " Litovoi ' s rule had extended on the northern side of the Transylvanian Alps into the Hunedoara region , but the king removed this territory from Litovoi ’ s authority in 1247 ; thenceforward Litovoi ’ s " kenezate " was restricted to the Oltenian part of the Jiu valley . " Voivode " Seneslau held the territories of central and southern Muntenia on the banks of the rivers Argeş and Dâmboviţa . After the failure and disappearance of the Hospitallers , the history of the region is shrouded in obscurity for decades . But the trend toward the unification of the Romanian polities seems to begin with " Voivode " Litovoi . He ( or his namesake son ) was at war with the Hungarians and killed in battle sometime between 1270 and 1280 . In the battle , his brother , Bărbat was captured . Bărbat was forced not only to pay ransom but also to recognize Hungarian rule . ' Dismounting ' by Radu Negru . Romanian chronicles written in the 17th century narrate that a " herţeg " or duke of Făgăraş and Almaş , named Radu Negru ( ‘ Radu the Black ’ ) or Negru Vodă ( ‘ The Black Voivode ’ ) was the first " voivode " of Wallachia . These texts state that Radu Negru , together with some colonists ( “ Romanians , Catholics and Saxons ” ) arrived from the region of Făgăraş in Transylvania . The first documentary evidence for a " terra Blacorum " ( ‘ land of the Vlachs ’ ) on the territory later called Făgăraş is an early 13th - century property register which mentions the order of King Andrew II of Hungary that estates previously in Vlach hands be transferred to the Cistercian abbey at Cârţa . Radu Negru and his followers crossed the Carpathians to Muntenia and founded Wallachia with its capitals in Câmpulung and Curtea de Argeş . The chronicles narrate these events under the year 1290 or 1292 . The Romanian term for the “ founding ” ( " descălecat " , literally ‘ dismounting ’ ) refers to this alleged settling in Wallachia . But the word ' s exact meaning is debated , since there had been Romanians living in Wallachia before Radu Negru ’ s arrival ; thus the term likely refers simply to the unification of the lands under one ruler . Moreover , this account of Radu Negru ’ s ‘ dismounting ’ may merely be a legend subsequently invented to parallel the circumstances by which Moldavia , the other Romanian principality was founded according to the earliest chronicles . The origin of Oltenia is given by some of the chronicles differently : according to these chronicles Oltenia was colonized by Romanians from Turnu Severin , who founded two other capitals , at Strehaia and Craiova . After the arrival of Radu Negru and his " descălecat " , these Romanians swore allegiance to him . Radu Negru ’ s personality is surrounded by legend ; no details about him can be proved by other historical sources . Some chronicles identify him with the founder of various churches , such as the monastery at Curtea de Argeş , but they mistake him for later " voivode " s of Wallachia , such as Radu I ( c . 1377 – c . 1383 ) and Neagoe Basarab ( 1512 – 1521 ) . Due to lack of any actual contemporary evidence , the Roman historian Nicolae Iorga doubted the existence of such a " voivode " , considering that ' Negru Vodă ' is simply a nickname that could have been given to Basarab I , the real founder of Wallachia . Other view is represented by Neagu Djuvara who identifies Negru Vodă with Thocomerius , Basarab ' s father , explaining his nickname by his Cuman descent : he appeared to have a dark skin color for the Romanians . The legendary traditions may also be in connection with the establishment of a trans - Carpathian frontier mark by the Hungarian monarchy , with its capital at Câmpulung , probably in the last decade of the 13th century . A tomb stone belonging to one of the leaders of this formation , Count Lawrence of Câmpulung " ( comes Laurentius de Longo Campo ) " , dating from the year 1300 , may provide a solid chronological reference point . On the other hand , " comes Laurentius " may have been a one - time leader of the Saxon community in Câmpulung . Basarab I the Founder . Basarab was the son of Thocomerius whose status cannot be specified . There is no direct clue in the sources to the date when Basarab took the office of " voivode " . But Ioannes Kantakouzenos in his " History " narrates that in 1323 Basarab ' s armies joined in the fighting between Bulgaria and Byzantium and supported Tzar Michael Šišman of Bulgaria ( 1323 – 1330 ) against the Byzantines . In a diploma , dated July 26 , 1324 , King Charles I of Hungary refers to Basarab as “ our " voivode " of Wallachia ” " ( woiuodam nostrum Transalpinum ) " which indicates that at that time Basarab was a vassal of the king of Hungary . In short time , however , Basarab refused to accept the suzerainty of the king , for neither Basarab ' s growing power nor the active foreign policy he was conducting on his own account to the south could be acceptable in Hungary . In a new diploma , dated June 18 , 1325 , King Charles I mentions him as “ Basarab of Wallachia , unfaithful to the king ’ s Holy Crown ” " ( Bazarab Transalpinum regie corone infidelem ) " . Hoping to punish Basarab , King Charles I mounted a military campaign against him in 1330 . The king marched to Severin and took it from Basarab . The " voivode " asked for a truce , offering to refund 7 , 000 silver marks for the costs of the army , and showed himself ready to continue paying tribute to the king and send his son as a hostage to the royal court . But the king refused and advanced with his host into Wallachia where everything seemed to have been laid waste . Unable to subdue Basarab , the king ordered the retreat through the mountains . But in a long and narrow valley , the Hungarian army was attacked by the Romanians , who had taken up positions on the heights . The battle , called the Battle of Posada , lasted for four days ( November 9 – 12 , 1330 ) and was a disaster for the Hungarians whose defeat was devastating . The king was only able to escape with his life by exchanging his royal coat of arms with one of his retainers . The Battle of Posada was a turning point in Hungarian - Wallachian relations : though in the course of the 14th century , the kings of Hungary still tried to regulate the " voivode " s of Wallachia more than one time , but they could only succeed temporarily . Thus Basarab ’ s victory irretrievably opened the way to independence for the Principality of Wallachia . Aftermath of the Battle of Posada . The international prestige of Wallachia increased considerably after Basarab ’ s victory over King Charles I . Only a few months after his great victory , in February 1331 , Basarab contributed to the establishment of his son - in - law , Ivan Alexander ( 1331 – 1371 ) on the throne of the tzars of Bulgaria in Tirnovo . As a way of solemnizing his secession from the Kingdom of Hungary , Basarab ’ s son , Nicolae Alexandru also sought Byzantine approval for the creation of an Orthodox see for his territories . In 1359 Byzantium acceded to his request that the displaced metropolitan of Vicina , Hyakinthos – whom Nicolae Alexander had been hosting at his court for some time – should became the “ legitimate pastor of all " Oungrovlachia " for the blessing and spiritual direction of himself , his children and all his lordship ” . At the same time , Byzantium also agreed to the creation of a metropolitan see , after Hyakinthos ’ death , for “ all " Oungrovlachia " ” . The new state was denoted as " Oungrovlachia " ( ) in Byzantine sources which reflects that it bordered on the Kingdom of Hungary . This name is first encountered in a Greek diploma issued by the synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1370 . In the diploma , the ruler of Wallachia , Nicolae Alexandru is styled “ great " voivode " and master of all " Oungrovlachia " ” . Latin documents used the term " Wallachia " or " Wallachia maior " ( ‘ Greater Wallachia ’ ) for Muntenia ( which first appeared in 1373 ) , and " Wallachia minor " ( ‘ Lesser Wallachia ’ ) for Oltenia ( first recorded in 1377 ) . The new country was identified as " terra transalpina " ( ‘ land beyond the mountains ’ ) or " partes transalpinae " ( ‘ parts beyond the mountains ’ ) in documents issued by the Royal Chancellery of Hungary in the entire 14th century . The terminology of the Hungarian chancellery was also used in the Latin documents of the Wallachian " voivode " s . The Romanian rulers chose the Byzantine model of government , and Wallachia was from the start an absolute monarchy . The princes ' absolute power was held to be divinely ordained . Their correspondence and records used the expression " By the Grace of God " from the 14th century . Wallachian sovereigns were host commanders and supreme judges , they patronized the church and made decisions that became laws . In theory , the " voivode " s were considered proprietors of all the lands in the country , but in fact they were devoid of extensive personal land holdings . The monarchy was also dynastic : the princes were to be elected by boyars from among the members of the ruling family , the Basarab s . The boyars were the members of the privileged landed aristocracy . However , the origin of the Romanian boyar class is problematic : it may have evolved naturally from the heads of the Vlach villages and communities , but it is also possible that the princes created it by granting privileges to certain favored persons . Multiple vassalage became an important aspect of Romanian diplomacy after the Christian Balkan states ( Bulgaria , Serbia ) one by one fell to the Ottoman Empire in the course the second half of the 14th century . For example , Mircea the Elder ( 1386 – 1418 ) accepted the suzerainty of Poland in 1387 and that of Hungary in 1395 , and Wallachia was paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire from 1417 . When accepting Hungarian suzerainty , the princes of Wallachia usually also received the district of Făgăraş in Transylvania from the Hungarian monarchs , for example in 1366 King Louis I of Hungary ( 1342 – 1382 ) granted the region to Prince Vladislav I of Wallachia ( 1364 – 1377 ) , with the title of duke , and Prince Mircea the Elder received it from King Sigismund ( 1387 – 1437 ) . During the reign of Mircea the Elder , Dobruja also became part of Wallachia before it was annexed to the Ottoman Empire .