Domnitor
{{Short description|Official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881}}
{{italics}}
{{refimprove|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox former monarchy
| royal_title = Principe Domnitor
| realm = the
United Principalities
| coatofarms = Principality of Romania - 1872 CoA.svg
| coatofarmssize = 120px
| coatofarmscaption = Princely Coat of arms
| image = Carolu Iiu.jpg
| caption = Carol I
| first_monarch = Alexander John I
| last_monarch = Carol I
| style = His Royal Highness
| residence =
| appointer = Hereditary
| began = 5 February 1862
| ended = 15 March 1881
| pretender =
}}
Prince Domnitor, in full Principe Domnitor (Romanian pl. Principi Domnitori) was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince regnant" in English and most other languages, and less often as "grand duke". "Domnitor" is an adjective derived from the Romanian word "domn" (lord or ruler) and, in turn, from the Latin "Dominus". The title Domn had been in use since the Middle Ages and it is also the Romanian equivalent to the Slavic Hospodar. Moldavian and Wallachian rulers had used this term for their title of authority as the head of state, while "voievod" represented the military rank as the head of the army.
The title acquired an officially recognized meaning after Moldavia and Wallachia united to form the Romanian United Principalities under Alexander John I, who had become the ruler of both states since 1859. Alexander John abdicated in 1866 and was succeeded by Carol I, who promulgated the first constitution who officially used the name Romania for the country. He held the title until 1881. When Romania was proclaimed a kingdom in March 1881, Carol became its first king.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/reminiscencesofk00kremiala |title=Reminiscences of the King of Roumania |first1=Mite |last1=Kremnitz |first2=Sidney |last2=Sidney Whitman |publisher=Harper& Brothers |year=1899}}
''Domnitori'' of the United Principalities (1862–1881)
{{Succession table monarch
| name1 = Alexandru Ioan Cuza
| nickname1 =
| native1 =
| life1 = {{Birth date|1820|3|20|df=y}}–{{Death date and age|1873|5|15|1820|3|20|df=y}}
| reignstart1 = 5 February 1862
| reignend1 = 22 February 1866
| notes1 = —
| family1 = Cuza
| image1 = Al I Cuza.jpg
| alt1 = Alexander I of Romania
| name2 = Carol I
| nickname2 =
| native2 =
| life2 = {{Birth date|1839|4|20|df=y}}–{{Death date and age|1914|10|10|1839|4|20|df=y}}
| reignstart2 = 20 April 1866
| reignend2 = 15 March 1881
| notes2 = Became King of the Romanians
| family2 = Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
| image2 = Carol I of Romania king.jpg
| alt2 = Carol I of Romania
}}
Timeline of the lifespans of Domnitors
This is a graphical lifespan timeline of Domnitors of Romania. The domnitors are listed in order of office.
Define $warning = 1290 # $width - 110
Define $height = 270 # 43x20 + 160
Define $start = 1808
Define $end = 1916
ImageSize = width:$width height:$height
PlotArea = right:10 left:1 bottom:80 top:60
Period = from:$start till:$end
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:1
Colors =
id:bg value:white
id:lightline value:rgb(0.9, 0.9, 0.9)
id:lighttext value:rgb(0.5, 0.5, 0.5)
id:BEFOREPOTUS value:rgb(0.81, 0.73, 0.31) Legend: Life_Before_Office
id:POTUS value:rgb(0.31, 0.39, 0.81) Legend: Domnitor_of_Romania
id:ACTINGPOTUS value:rgb(0.81, 0.01, 0.01) Legend: Acting
id:AFTERPOTUS value:rgb(0.81, 0.73, 0.11) Legend: Life_After_Office
id:PRINCIPOTUS value:green Legend: Prince_of_Moldavia_and_of_Wallachia
id:KINGDOM value:rgb(0.80, 0.80, 0.80) Legend: King_of_Romania
id:NAME value:rgb(0.15, 0.13, 0.05)
id:ACTINGNAME value:rgb(0.99, 0.00, 0.00)
BackgroundColors = canvas:bg
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightline unit:year increment:1 start:$start
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:lighttext unit:year increment:10 start:1810
Define $dy = -5 # shift text to button side of bar
PlotData=
bar:1 width:18
color:BEFOREPOTUS align:center fontsize:M
from:1820 till:1859 shift:(-30,$dy) textcolor:NAME align:left text:Alexandru Ioan I
color:PRINCIPOTUS
from:1859 till:1862
color:POTUS
from:1862 till:1866.15
color:AFTERPOTUS
from:1866.15 till:1874
bar:2 width:18
color:BEFOREPOTUS align:left fontsize:M
from:1823 till:1866.15 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:ACTINGNAME align:left text:Lascăr Catargiu
color:ACTINGPOTUS
from:1866.15 till:1866.3
color:AFTERPOTUS
from:1866.3 till:1900
bar:3 width:18
color:BEFOREPOTUS align:left fontsize:M
from:1810 till:1866.15 shift:(65,$dy) textcolor:ACTINGNAME text:Nicolae Golescu
color:ACTINGPOTUS
from:1866.15 till:1866.3
color:AFTERPOTUS
from:1866.3 till:1877
bar:4 width:18
color:BEFOREPOTUS align:left fontsize:M
from:1835 till:1866.15 shift:(-60,$dy) textcolor:ACTINGNAME text:Nicolae Haralambie
color:ACTINGPOTUS
from:1866.15 till:1866.3
color:AFTERPOTUS
from:1866.3 till:1909
bar:5 width:18
color:BEFOREPOTUS align:left fontsize:M
from:1839 till:1866.3 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Carol I
color:POTUS
from:1866.3 till:1882
color:KINGDOM
from:1882 till:1914
TextData =
pos:(480,$height)
fontsize:L
textcolor:black
text:"Lifespan of each Romanian Domnitor"}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{Heads of State of Romania}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Romanian words and phrases
Category:Titles of national or ethnic leadership