Aaron the Tyrant

Aaron the Tyrant (Romanian: Aron Tiranul) or Aron Vodă ("Aron the Voivode"; Church Slavonic: Apѡн вода),[1] sometimes credited as Aron Emanoil or Emanuel Aaron (German: Aaron Waida,[2] Italian: Aaron Vaivoda,[3] Turkish: Arvan[4] or Zalim;[5] before 1560[6] – May 1597), was twice the Prince of Moldavia: between September 1591 and June 1592, and October 1592 to May 3 or 4, 1595. He was of mysterious origin, and possibly of Jewish extraction, but presented himself as the son of Alexandru Lăpușneanu, and was recognized as such in some circles. His appointment by the Ottoman Empire followed an informal race, during which candidates engaging in particularly exorbitant bribery and accepted unprecedented increases of the haraç. Though resented by the Janissaries, he was backed by a powerful lobby, comprising Solomon Ashkenazi, Edward Barton, Hoca Sadeddin Efendi, and Patriarch Jeremias II. Victorious but heavily indebted, Aaron allowed his creditors to interfere directly in fiscal policy, while adopting methods of extortion against the taxpaying peasantry. He eventually turned against the bankers, staging the execution of Bartolomeo Brutti.

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Aaron the Tyrant Aron Vodă Apѡн вода
Coat of arms of Moldavia, as used during Aaron's reign
Prince of Moldavia (1st reign)
Reign	September 1591 – June 1592
Predecessor	Peter the Lame
Successor	Alexandru III Lăpușneanu
(2nd reign)
Reign	October 1592 – May 3 or 4, 1595
Predecessor	Peter the Cossack
Successor	Ștefan Răzvan
Born	before 1560
Died	May 1597 Martinuzzi Castle, Alvinc (Vințu de Jos), Principality of Transylvania
Spouse	Sultana (Stanca) Köprülü?
Issue	Marcu Cercel (ad.) Ionașcu Cercel (ad.) Radu Petru Cercel (ad.)
Dynasty	Bogdan-Mușat?
Father	Alexandru Lăpușneanu (claimed) Aron of Pozsony?
Religion	Orthodox

Following such moves, and his heavy-handed repression of rebels in Lăpușna and Orhei, Aaron was ordered to step down by the Porte. The order was rescinded after two months, which had seen the ascendancy of a rebel Prince, Peter the Cossack. Aaron took back his throne, being increasingly reliant on support from the Principality of Transylvania. He entered his second reign as an obedient vassal of the Ottomans, while also turning against Moldavian Catholicism and expelling the Society of Jesus. In secret, he began negotiating Moldavia's participation in the anti-Ottoman "Holy League", defining himself as an ally of the Holy See and the Holy Roman Empire. This project drew support from Transylvania, which was then under Sigismund Báthory, as well as from Wallachia's Michael the Brave. With the start of the Long Turkish War in 1593, Moldavia became a secondary theater, invaded successively by the Crimean Khanate and the Zaporizhian Sich; after long negotiations, Aaron was able to ally himself with the latter. He then helped Michael of Wallachia attack the Ottoman flank, extending his rule into the Budjak and Northern Dobruja. During the events, he ordered a series of massacres, killing Ottoman Army prisoners and 19 Jewish financiers.

Despite his military commitment and his quashing of a pro-Ottoman uprising, Aaron was viewed with suspicion by Báthory. Their relationship became tense after Aaron declined to swear fealty at the Transylvanian court, preferring instead for Moldavia to be ruled as a component of the Holy Roman Empire. Báthory reportedly undermined the League, depicting Aaron as untrustworthy; he also endorsed the Moldavian general Ștefan Răzvan, who arrested the Prince and took over his throne. Aaron and his family were exiled to Corona (Brașov), then detained at Martinuzzi Castle, Alvinc (Vințu de Jos)—where Aaron died, allegedly poisoned. He was survived by his stepson Marcu Cercel, who attached himself to the Wallachian court and briefly served as Michael's subordinate Prince of Moldavia. Aaron's name is preserved by Aroneanu Church and eponymous village, both of which are located outside Iași. He is also celebrated as a sponsor of the First Romanian School in Șcheii Brașovului.