Banul Mărăcine

Banul Mărăcine or Mărăcină (Romanian for "The Ban Bramble"), common rendition of Barbu III Craiovescu, Barbu Mărăcine or Barbu Basarab (Latin: Barbulus Bassaraba, Turkish: Koca Barbul Ban; died August 1?, 1565), was a historical figure in Wallachia, who claimed the title of Prince. He was one of several Craiovești pretenders to the throne, a category which also included his father, Preda Craiovescu. Mărăcine himself entered historical record in 1532, when, as an opponent of Prince Vlad VI, he had his estate confiscated. He returned to favor later that year, with the crowning of Vlad Vintilă de la Slatina. Like Preda before him, Mărăcine served as Ban of Oltenia, becoming the last of his family to hold that title. According to various accounts, he turned against his new lord, from organizing armed resistance in Oltenia to involving himself in Vlad Vintilă's assassination. He was able to maintain his position following the crowning of Radu Paisie, but was eventually toppled by the latter in mid-1535.

Mărăcine's own bid for the throne was embraced by some factions of the local boyardom, who took up arms against Paisie in 1536. Since the Craiovești claim contradicted the standards of Wallachian customary law, Mărăcine depicted himself as a son of Neagoe Basarab; he was perhaps Neagoe's nephew. The resulting civil war allegedly involved a hand-to-hand duel between the two rivals, and also saw Paisie's mutilation by the rebels. Barbu probably seized the Wallachian throne with Ottoman acquiescence, before being driven out by the returning Paisie later in 1536. Various records suggest that he lived in exile with his son Nicolaus Bassaraba, and that both of them continued to claim the throne. Barbu was ultimately killed in Istanbul, having encountered the wrath of Suleiman the Magnificent; Nicolaus escaped punishment and fled to the Spanish Empire, but still styled himself a Prince. His male descendants continued to be involved in intrigues in both Wallachia and Moldavia, down to the 1650s.

Mărăcine's memory survived in Romanian folklore, which identifies him as the patron of various places around Dolj County. A modern legend also claimed him, anachronistically, as the ancestor of French Renaissance poet Pierre de Ronsard. This invented tradition probably found its first complete form in an eponymous ballad by Vasile Alecsandri, published in the 1850s. It later also inspired prose by, among others, Grigore H. Grandea and N. D. Popescu-Popnedea, and verse drama by V. A. Urechia. Mărăcine's name and his legendary career remain associated with a dance routine and a variety of Romanian wine.