Grigore IV Ghica

Grigore IV Ghica
Portrait in oils of Grigore IV Ghica of Wallachia
Oil painting of Prince Grigore IV Ghica
Prince of Wallachia
ReignJune 30, 1822 – April 29, 1828
PredecessorScarlat Callimachi
SuccessorAlexandru II Ghica
Born(1755-06-30)June 30, 1755
Wallachia
DiedApril 29, 1834(1834-04-29) (aged 78)
Wallachia
SpouseMaria Hangerly
Eufrosina Săvescu
Issue
Detail
Costache Ghica
Iorgu Ghica
Scarlat Ghica
Grigore Ghica
Panait Ghica
Dimitrie Ghica
Maria Ghica
Alexandrina Ghica
Names
Grigore Dimitrie Ghica
HouseHouse of Ghica
FatherDimitrie Ghica
MotherMaria Vacarescu

Grigore IV Ghica or Grigore Dimitrie Ghica (Albanian : Gjika) (June 30, 1755 – April 29, 1834) was Prince of Wallachia between 1822 and 1828. A member of the Albanian Ghica family, Grigore IV was the brother of Alexandru II Ghica and the uncle of Dora d'Istria.

While many of his relatives had occupied the throne in both Wallachia and Moldavia as Phanariotes, the regime change after the Greek War of Independence, Tudor Vladimirescu's 1821 uprising and the Philikí Etaireía's brief rule in the two Danubian Principalities, led to Grigore IV being considered the first in a succession of non-Phanariote rulers. The elections for Prince in the Divan, although prescribed by the Akkerman Convention of 1826, were not to be organized, due mainly to precipitating events. As a Prince, Grigore watched after the development of agriculture in his region.[citation needed] He also assisted in the development of a national Romanian literature.[1]

The Prince was ousted by the Russian occupation (see Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829).

Grigore IV Ghica was first married to Maria Hangerly or Chantzeres (relative of Ecumenical Patriarch Samuel I Chatzeres),[2] with whom he had six sons (Costache, Iorgu, Scarlat, Grigore, Panait, and Dimitrie), and then to Eufrosina Săvescu, with whom he had two daughters (Maria and Alexandrina).[3]

  1. ^ Gaster, Moses (1911). "Ghica s.v. Gregory (Grigorie)" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 921.
  2. ^ Σύγχρονος Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Ελευθερουδάκη,τόμος 6ος,σελ 933 και τόμος 24ος,σελ 827,revised edition,1963(greek)
  3. ^ "Family tree" (PDF) (in French). Ghyka.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27.