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Constantin Brâncoveanu (1654 - August 26 1714) was prince of Wallachia between 1689 and 1710.
Because of his anti-Turkish policy of forming alliances first with Austria and then with Russia, he was denounced to the Porte, deposed from his throne, and brought under arrest to Constantinople where he was imprisoned in 1710 at the fortress of Yedi Kuleh (the Seven Towers). There he was tortured by the Turks, who hoped to locate the 3,000,000 fortune he had supposedly amassed. He was beheaded with his four sons on August 26, 1714, and his faithful friend Enache Văcărescu shared his fate.
Through his tragic death, Constantin Brancoveanu became the hero of Romanian popular ballads.
He was a great supporter of culture. Under his reign, many Romanian, Greek, Slavonian, Arabic, Turkish, and Georgian books were printed. During his rule, an architectural style known as the "Brâncovenesc style" originated in Wallachia.
Constantin Brancoveanu University is located in Brăila, Romania.
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