Vasile Lupu

Lupu Coci, known as Vasile Lupu (Romanian pronunciation: [vaˈsile ˈlupu]; 1595–1661) was the Voivode of Moldavia between 1634 and 1653. Lupu had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and managed to hold it for twenty years. Vasile was a capable administrator and a brilliant financer and was soon almost the richest man in the Christian East. His gifts to Ottoman leaders kept him on good terms with the Ottoman authorities.

Lupu's origin is unclear. The Coci family settled in Wallachia (Țara Rumânească) in the first half of the 16th century. His father, Nicolae (Neculai) Coci was a shopkeeper from Macedonia, the son of Constantin (Coce) and Ecaterina. Nicolae entered Moldavian nobility in 1593. According to some sources, his father was born in Arbanasi (a village in modern Bulgaria), while some other historians claim Arbănaşi (modern Romania).

Dimitrie Cantemir (1673–1723) called him Albanezul ("Albanian"); some historians maintain that Lupu's father, Neculai, was of Albanian origin. Nicolae Bănescu (writing in 1926) maintained that his father was of Balkanic origin, while his mother was Romanian (Moldavian).Seton-Watson (writing in 1934) mentioned him as being of Albanian origin. English historian Steven Runciman (1903–2000) maintains that his father was an Albanian adventurer, and his mother was a Moldavian heiress. According to historian Ioan Bolovan (1997), Vasile Lupu's father was an Albanian from Arbanasi, probably with distant origin from Epirus. According to historian Toader Nicoară (2005), he may have been an Albanian from Arbanasi, Bulgaria. In modern historiography, his descent has been described as of mixed Albanian and Greek origin.

He received Greek education.

Lupu had held a high office under Miron Barnovschi, and was subsequently selected Prince as a sign of indigenous boyars' reaction against Greek and Levantine competition. This was because Vasile Lupu had led a rebellion against Alexandru Iliaş and his foreign retinue, being led into exile by Moise Movilă (although he was backed by Prince Matei Basarab and the powerful Pasha of Silistra, Mehmet Abza). Despite having led the rebellion against Greek influence, Lupu maintained strong ties to the Greeks and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. He pursued a Greek-Orthodox policy and sought to become the new Byzantine Emperor.

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