Editing Wallachia (section)

== History ==
=== Formation and medieval principality ===
Wallachia emerged from smaller political territories south of the Carpathians during the early fourteenth century. Basarab I united much of this territory under his rule. In November 1330, his forces defeated the army of Charles I of Hungary at the Battle of Posada. The victory ended the immediate Hungarian attempt to impose direct control and established Wallachia as an independent principality.

The princely court moved between several centres as the state developed. [[Câmpulung]] was an early residence, followed by [[Curtea de Argeș]]. [[Târgoviște]] became the principal capital during the fifteenth century. Bucharest later gained importance because of its position on routes connecting the Danube with central Wallachia.

Wallachian princes governed with the support of the boyars, who controlled large estates and held offices at court. Political succession was frequently disputed because members of the ruling dynasty could compete for the throne. Hungary and the Ottoman Empire each attempted to influence these disputes when their interests in the region were affected.

=== Ottoman suzerainty ===
Wallachia entered a tributary relationship with the Ottoman Empire during the fifteenth century. It was not administered as an ordinary Ottoman province. Wallachian princes continued to direct internal government, while the principality paid tribute and accepted Ottoman influence over foreign policy and succession.

The extent of Ottoman control changed according to the strength of individual princes and the wider balance of power. Some Wallachian rulers sought support in Hungary or Transylvania against Ottoman pressure. During the early modern period, others cooperated with the Habsburg monarchy. Princes also relied on Ottoman support against domestic rivals. The principality remained Orthodox Christian and retained its boyar institutions throughout this period.

In 1716, the Ottoman government began appointing Phanariote princes to Wallachia. These rulers came from Greek-speaking families based in Constantinople and depended on Ottoman appointment. Their administrations increased taxation and reorganized parts of the central government. Boyar families nevertheless continued to hold land and public office.

=== Nineteenth century and union with Moldavia ===
The Russo-Turkish wars repeatedly brought foreign armies into Wallachia during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The uprising led by Tudor Vladimirescu in 1821 ended the Phanariote system. Native princes returned, although Wallachia remained under Ottoman suzerainty.

The Treaty of Adrianople in 1829 reduced Ottoman economic control and increased Russian influence over the principality. The Organic Regulation introduced a new administrative framework in 1831. It formalized government offices and strengthened the political position of the boyars while placing Wallachia under Russian supervision.

A revolutionary government took power in Bucharest during the Wallachian Revolution of 1848. It called for political reform and wider civil rights, but Ottoman and Russian intervention ended the movement. Support for union with Moldavia continued during the following decade.

In 1859, the assemblies of Moldavia and Wallachia elected Alexandru Ioan Cuza as prince. The shared ruler created a political union between the two principalities. Their administration was unified in 1862, when Bucharest became the capital of the United Principalities. Wallachia thereafter continued as a historical and geographic region rather than a separate state.