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Romände StudiiStrategice
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DE ISTORIE
REVISTA
SOCIALA
lv-vll
1999-2002

Copyright
@Mihai-RäzvanUngureanu

ISSN:1453-5378

InstitutulRomände StudiiStrategice(IRSS)
Facultatea de lstorie.
Univorsitatea
,,Al.l.Cuza",lagi lagi
2004
I )rilrlorlirrI ionrrrlrirr
 AlexandruMadgearu

Were the Zupans Really Rulers of Some

Romanian EarlY Medieval Polities?

a kind of early medieval

Variousworkspublishedduringthe last four decadessustainthat
polities narned jupe or iupanate existedon the territory of presentRomania,in the same
(the so-calledcnezate
iime wittr otnei incipient'formsof socialandpolitical organization
jupani (iupans) who were
äd ,ofrrodole)r . Tiis idea cameinto beingbecausesevetal
to be rulersof suchpolitiesareindeedattestedin Banat
(Boila andButaul)and
supposed
proofs the existence
for
in Dobrudja(Dimiter and Geärge).Thesesourceswereseenas
of the Slavicsocieties'
of a RomÄian political institutionwith closeanalogiesin some
wherethelupaewereterritorialunitspeopledbyacertaintribe.Butthingsareno
provethat someRomanians
simpleastheyseemto be at a first glance.Do thesesources
the 8*-10* centuries too ? This point shouldbe analyzed
wereorganized in iupe during
in order to clarify u, -u"h-u, possible the early history of the Romanianpolitical
institutionsand forms of socialorganization'
The first Romanianhistorianwho expressed the ideathat the Slavicinstitution of the
iupanswastookon by theRomanians duringtheEarlyMiddleAgeswassilviu Dragomir'
He supposed that the placenames from Banatderivedfrom the wordiupa preservedthe
r.roiy of an archaiciorm of social and political organization'receivedby theRomanians
"jupan"
from the Slavsduringtheir cohabitation. Dragomiralsostressed that the title of
boreby theWallachiänboyarsduringthe l4d'-16th centuriesinheritedthe old Slavicform
andhe supposed certainrelations between theWallachian andtheCroatian
of orgänization
studies of Constantin Jirecek on the Serbian and Croatian
court ranks.He tbllowedihe
resumed by Viorel Achim, who considers that the
iipe, Dragomir'stheorywasrecently
Banat were organized upon ancient structures seton
Rä-..ri"n i4* c"ntury districtsfrom
the river valleys,which are the same with the so-called ot
iupe iupanate3.

in IstoriaRomöniei,vo|.II, BucureSti,|962,p.45; M. Com$a,

1.|.' i'""'.- s. Pascu,
Romanen-Walachen-Rumönen,inWeltderSlawen.Geschichte,Gesellschafi,K (continuitatea
Herrmann), München,1986,p. 140; A. Bejan,Banatulln secolele.IV-XII
,rnogrnrroroÄAneascö gi tnceputurilefeudalismuluitn sud-vestul Dqciei
daco-romana,
Traiane),TimiSoara,1995,pp.95,147-148;I'Barnea'Jupan'inEnctclopediaa
vechia Romöniei, 1996,p. 291; $t. olteanu,societatea
uör.u, Bucure$ti, carpato'
si istorie:i gi Bucuregtt,
social-politice,
danubiano-ponticö ln secolele demo-economice
IV-XI. Structuri
Lggl, pp.i.ll_zl+ andthemapfromp.271; Idem,in IstoriaRomänilor, vol.III, BucureStt'
2001, pp. 99-100 (he sametext asin 1997)'
"cätevaurme ale organiza(iei
de statslavo-romäne," inDacoromania'l' L92l'
2. S. Dragomir,
S' (ed')' 1998' pp' 142-143)'
Cluj-Napoca'
p.141 (ldem,Studiide istoriemidievald, $ipog
3.V.Achim,Banatultnevulmediu,Studii,EdituraAlbatros,Bucuregti,2000'p.64.
de IstorieSocialä,
Revista pp' 15-25'
IV-VII' 1999-2002'
16 ALEXANDRU MADGEARU

The placenamesmentionedby Dragomir are Jupa, Jupafalva,Jupani, Jupalnic and

JupäneSti.The first one (locatednear Caransebeg) was recordedin deedssince 1369
(with the nameSuppa).The villageJupafalva(attested in 1389asSupafalvanearEzerig)
disappeared afterthe 15ücentury,as like asanotherJupa(Suppa),placednearRemetea
(recordedin 1369-1377). Jupani(nearFäget,first recordin 1446)wasthe centerof the
Romaniandistrict Suppan(Jupani),attestedin 1453. JupäneStiandJupalnicwereattested
much more later (1514 and l7l7)4. As a matterof fact, only the placenames Jupa,
Jupafalva andJupani are significant,becauseJupalnic andJupäneStlare derived from
Jupa andJupani; theyare showingpopulationmovements from thesevillages,occurred
after the 15ü century5.Thereare no similarplacenames in otherRomanianprovinces,
excepttwo villagesnamedJupäneSti in Gorj and Argegcounties.The root of the latter
"master"or "housemaster").
placenames is the nounjupän (whichcanbe translatedas
Therefore,the wordsjzpa andjupanbecameplacenames only within a smallareafrom
Banat (around the middle basinof the Timig river). The map clearly showsthat these
placenames designan enclave.
Iupän obviouslycomesfrom jupan, througha degradationof its meaning.Several
linguistsexpressed the opinionthatthe wordjupän belongsto the first stageof the Slavic
influence in the Romanian language, aslike asotherwordslike stöpän,stärtä,smäntänd,
which displaythe same phoneticalevolution from -an to -äno. However,the formiupan
(with a) was currentlyuseduntil the 16mcentury (as the Wallachiandocumentsare
showing),which meansthatthe evolutionftomjupan tojupän couldhappenmuchmore.
laterthanthe9ü centuryandthatthis worddoesnot belongto theearliestgroupof Slavic
wordsin Romanian.The useof the form with -an in the Romanianlanguageuntil the late
Middle Agesis testifiedby theplacenames quotedabove.This meansthatthe wordjupan
just
wasreceivedin Romanian in this form. In what circumstances ?
The existenceof the Zupansin the early medievalBanatseemsto be provenby the
inscriptionof the vesselnr. 2L from the treasurefound at SännicolaulMare (Timig
County)in 1799(Hungarianname: Nagy-Szentmikl6s). The inscriptionusedthe Greek
alphabet,but is written in a Turkic language:
T BOYAA ZOAIIAN TEKH AY|ETOI|H BOYT AOYA
ZOAIIAN TATPOfH HTZI|H TAIKH.
S. Dragomirdid not discussed this inscriptionin his study,althoughthe treasurewas
alreadyknownbeforehis work (thefirst monographwaspublishedby JosephHampelin
I885).
Wecannot presentherethe intricatedproblemsinvolvedby this famoustreasurewhich
was ascribedone after anotherto the Avars,the Bulgarians,the Hungariansand the
PechenegsT . Onemajor interpretation sustainsthat the treasureconsistedof 8ü century

4. C. Suciu,Dictrionaristoric al localitäqilordin Transilvania,EdituraAcademiei,Bucuregti,

1967-1968, vol. I, p. 320; vol. II, p. 405.
5. V. Ionilä, Numede locuri din Banat,Timigoara,1982,pp. 41,232.
6. E. Petrovici, "Le latin oriental poss6dairil des öldmentsslaves?," RevueRoumainede
Linguistique,ll, 1966,4, pp.313-321 ; Gh. Mihäilä,impntmuturivechisud-slave
in limba
romänö,Bucuregti,1960,pp. 132-133;A. Rosetti,Istorialimbii romäne,Bucuregti,1986,
pp.309-310 6 ,3 8 - 6 3 97.5 1 . 7 7 2 .
7. The bibliographyis huge.Someof the mostimportantworksare: J. Hampel,Der Goldfund
"
von Nagy-Sz.ent-Miklös, sogenannter"SchatzdesAttila, Budapest,1885; G. Ndmeth,Dle
WERE THE ZUPANS REALLY RULERS OF SOME ROMANIAN EARLY MEDIEVAL POLITIES? I7

Byzantinegifts for someAvar chieftains8. Anotheronesupportsthe Bulgarianorigin and

a datein the secondhalf of the 9ü centurye.Both pointsof view do not excludea final
hiding at the beginningof the 1lü century,during the war betweenthe dukeAchtum and
the Hungarian king StephenI. For our study, the debatebetweenthe Avar and the
Bulgariantheoriesis not so important,becausethezoapansweremilitary chiefsin both
AvarandBulgarianhierarchies.A BulgariangreatzoapannamedSlvinis recordedby the
middle of the 8ü centuryby an inscriptionon a silver cup found at Preslavr0 . The Tirrkic
word zoapanwas borrowedby the steppenomadsfrom the Persians(it seemsthat its
ultimateorigin is Chinese)rr.
From the Avars,the word zoapanwas afterwardstook by the Serbsand the Croats,
wherethe Lupanibecamethe rulersof smallterritoriescalledLupatz.In mostcases,the
CroatianandSerbianiupe preservedtheir autonomyafter the restorationof the Byzantine
dominationat thebeginningof the l1n cenfury,becominglocal structuresof the Byzantine
administrationr3 . In the literary sources,the word wasfirst time recordedasJopan inthe

Inschrirtender Schatzesvon Nagy-Szent-Miklös,Budapest-Leipzig,1932; N. Mavrodinov,

"Le trösorprotobulgarede Nagyszentmiklls,"(ArchaeologiaHungarica,29),Budapest,1943;
H.W. Haussig,Die Runendes Schatzesvon Nagy-SzentMiklös in ihrer Bedeutungfiir die
RunenschrifienOsteuropas,in K. Röhrborn, W. Veenker(eds.),Runen,Tamgasund Grffiti
"Die
ausAsienundOsteuropa, Wiesbaden, 1985,pp. 17-52; R. Göbl,A. R6na-Tas, Inschriften
desSchatzes von Nagy-Szentmiklds. Eine paläographische Dokumentation"(Österreichische
AkndemiederWssenschajten. Philosophisch-HistorischeKlasse,Denl<schriften,240),Wien, 1995.
"Tezaurulde la Sännicolaul Mare. Noi punctede vedere,"AnuarulInstitutuluide
8. M. Rusu,
Istoie SiArheologie,Cluj-Napoca,27, 1985-1986, pp. 3l-66 ; K. Horedt,"Zur Zeitstellungdes
Schatzfundes von SännicolaulMare (Nagyszentmiklis),"Archöologisches Korrespondenzblatt,
Mainz, 13, 1983,4, pp. 503-505.
9. G. V6kony,"Zur Lesungder griechischenInschriftendesSchatzes von Nagyszentmtkläs,"Acta
ArchaeologicaAcademiaeScientiarumHungaricae, 25, 1973,3-4, pp. 293-306; St. Michailov,
"The Interpretationof "ETX'BEX'TH> andthe Yearof theConversionof the Bulgariansinto the
"Neue Angaben
ChristianFaith," BulgarianHistorical Review,5, 1977,3, pp. 68-70; Idem,
über den Goldschatzvon Nagyszentmiklös," Jahrbuchder Österreichischen Byzantinistik,32,
1982,5 (XVII InternationalenByzantinistenkongress. Akten, II/5), pp. 143-148.
"Protobulgarische Inschriftauf einer Silberschale,"Byzantion,35, 1965, I,
10.V. Beshevliev,
pp. l-9; A. Madgearu,Continuitate Sidiscontinuitate culturalöla Dunöreade Jostn secolele
VII-WU, Bucuregti,1997, pp. I 86-187.
1l. ForthehistoryofthiswordseeespeciallyN. P6trin,"PhilologicalNotesfortheEarlyHistory
ofthe Hungariansandthe Slavs,"EurasianStudiesYearbook. InternationalJournalof Northern
Eurasia,72,2000,pp. 69-70
12.T. Wasilewski, "Les Zupyet lesZupanie desSlaves m6ridionaux et leurplacedansI'organisation
des 6tats m6di6vaux," it f' Congrös internationald'arch4ologie slave,3, Warsaw,1970,
pp.217-224;D. Dragojlovi(,"Laiupa chezlesSlaves balkaniques au MoyenAge," Balcanica.
Annuairede I'Institut desEtudesBalkaniques,Beograd,2, 1971,pp. 85-115; L.E. Havlik,
"The Characterof the Early Rudal Societyof Slavic States,"in Rapportsdu III" Congräs
InternationaldArchöologieSlave,2, Bratislava,1980,pp. 133-148.
13.J. Ferluga,'Archon. Ein Beitragzur Untersuchung der südslawischen im 9. und
Herrschertitel
10.Jh. in Lichteder byzantinischen Quellen,"in N. Kamp,J. Wollasch(hrsg.),Traditionals
historischeKrafr. InterdisziplintireForschungen zur Geschichte desfrühen Mittelalters,Berlin-
-New York, 1982,pp. 254-266; P. Stephenson, Byzantium'sBalkan Frontier: A Political
Studyof the NorthernBalkans,900-1204,Cambridge,2000, pp. 117-130.
 ALEXANDRU MADGEARU
18

d e e d o f f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e A b b e y o f K r e m s ( 7 7 7 ) , a t t h e w e s t e r n b o r d e r(with
o f t h ethe
Avar
in Hungarian language as ispän
khanarera. The Slavic *ird Zupai also entered with
meaning of
"local ruler;;. Iir..*, that the Hungarians inherited this word together
Slavsl5'
the local structures from the conqueredPannonian
g;nuine Slavic origin of the word iupan is wrong. This theory
The theory of the
Lupa derives from an Indo-European
sustained that Zupan "ätu"O fromLupa and that
"region" and "sunken dwelling", like gr' yrinrl or germ'
root gheu-with the meaningsof
into a set of Turkic words llke khan'
Gau. Infact, the suffix -an"includes the word iupan
military and the administrative
turkhan, ban, kauchan. All of them concern the
the evolution fromiupa to Zupan
organizationof the steppepeoples. On the other hand,
but not also iupetu ' The most
is not suitable because in Bulgaria are known iupans,
was mixed with an
probable solution is that the fuitic (in fact, Avar) word zoapanlöupan
Old-Slavic word iuPa'' .
many ways' The first attempt was
The inscription on the vessel 21 was translatedin
..The ZoapanBoila has finished the cup, this drinking cup which
made by V. Thomsen:
was adjusted for hanging by ttre zoapan Boutaul."rs The orientalist Gyula N6meth
"The cup of Boila Chaban' it was made at his
understood rhe text lriu äim"t.nt way:
orinting cup."re Another proposed
order. Boutaul chaban made the ear. It is trls
"It is Buyla Zoapanwho carries the bowl' Drinking bowl' made by But
interpretationis : "Bgila
the version :
ilZ;;;".;2d A specialisiin Proio-Bulgarianinscriptionsprop.osed
oath.''zl In his recent book, an
Zopanhas given you the cup aS a sign of the sacred
that we can not decide in what
outstanding specialist in Turkic languagesconcludes
the proposed decipherings are
language iuas writte., this inscription and thar all

|4.w. P"h|' Dl, A,*,n. Ein Steppenvolk in Mitteleuropa, 567-822n. Chr', Munich,1988,p. 305;
A.Röna-Tas,HungariansandEuropeintheEarlyMiddleAges.AnlntroductiontoEarly
HungarianHistory,Budapest, 1999,pp' 58' 115'
*über dasverhäitnisvon slavischund ungarischzupan- shpan- ispänim Lichteder
rs. n. i?tt,
Zeitschriftfnr Nord-Eurasien'
Wortgeographie,"Ural-AltaischeJahrbücher.Iniernationale
ql, igli,pp.207-216; A. R6na-Tas, op' cit'' pp' 115'353'
..Die Institutiondes Zupansiis Problemder frühslawischen Geschichte'
16.ph. Malingoudis,
2' 1972-1973' pp' 6l-76'
EinigeBemerkungen,"Cyritlomethodianum,
"Bemerkungen zu den erstenAnsätzenzur Staatsbildung bei Kroatenund Serben
17.H. Ditten,
Geschichte im 9.-ll . Jh., Ed. v. Vavrinek,Praga,
im 7. Jh.,,, in Beitnigtizur byzantinische
'cit.,
p.305; z. GoLab, The origins of the slavs.A Linguist's
lg7g, p. 44g; W. ro'tt,-op
A similarviewpoint was expressed by c. cihodaru'
vjeill,columbus,lggi, pp.+oo-qn ,40g.
..Origineaunor r.r*.ni ieferitori la värfurile societätiifeudaledin (ara noasträ"'Memoria
(an wordrelatedwith germ.Stppe
Antiquitatis,PiatraNeam1,2, |970,pp. 389.400 old Slavic
was influencedby the Turkic word iupan)'
d'or de Nagy-szent-Miklös(Hongrie),
lg.V. Thomser, une inscription de la trouvailte
Copenhagen' 1917'
"Les inscriptionsdu tresorde Nagyszentmikl6s," RevuedesEtudesHongroises'
19.Gy. N6meth,
Budapest-Paris' 11' 1933,pp' 5-38'
20. M. Erdal,
"The Turkic Naiy-Szent-tvtiklös Inscriptionin Greek Letters"' Acta Orientalia
AcademtaeScienttarumHungaricae,42,lgss'2-3'pp'221-234'
21. p. Dobrev,universum
protobulgaricum, I. Inschrifiii und Alphabetder urbulgarer, Sofia,
1995.Abridgedon-lineEnglish version'. Inscriptionsand Alphabetof the Proto-Bulgarians
(http: //members.tripod'com/-Groznijat/pb-lang/pbl-1-3'html)'
wERE THE ZUpeNSREALLYRULERSOF SOMEROMANIANEARLYMEDIEVALPOLITIES? 19

doubtfu122 , althoughinto a previousstudyhe proposedthe translation: ,,thefort of Puila

Zupanwill.be built here; I, ButaulZupan,I will beginto built the internalfott"Z3
In any case,the inscription doesnot prove that thesezo_apans were local Romanian
or
rulers. as claimed authorslike V. Fizegan2a $t. Olteanu2s. Because the vesselswere
very preciousgifts, they could belongonly to a Byzantine ally with significantmilitary
po*ei. On the otherhand,the useof a Tirrkic languageclearly speaks about the ethnicity
äf the o*ner, evenif the nameBoila seemsat a first glanceto be of Romanianorigin.
Indeed,Boild is an ancientRomanianname, and the suffix -ilö was often used in the
medievalRomanianpersonnames.However,the samenameBoilas is also a Byzantine
one. Mircea Rususupposedthat Boila receivedthe gifts togetherwith title of patrikios
becausetheemperorConstantine V (741-775)established an alliancewith theAvarsduring
the wars againstBulgaria. Accordingto Rusu, the zoapanBoila could be the samewith
Boilas,the fatherof patrikiosConstantine, an official of the empressIrene(797'802)26.
This could be a merecoincidence.It is knownthat the wordboila wasa genericnamefor
an aristocraticrank in the 9ü centuryBulgaria.In the Bulgarianinscriptions,the rank of
boila wasassociatedwith the namesof the functions fulfilled by the aristocrats(for
instance,boila kauchanos)z1 .
Therefore,Boila and Butaul were either two high chieftainsof the Avar khanateor
two Bulgarianmilitary commanders.In both cases,they haveno relation with a kind of
someincipientsmallRomanianpolitiescallediupe.
A turning point in the discussionsabout the /upans was the discoveryof an old
Bulgarianinscriptionthat remembersa lupan namedDimiter. The inscriptionwasfound
by the Romanianarchaeologist EugenComgain 1950at Mircea Vodä(ConstanlaCounty),
during the works at the Danube-BlackSea Channel. The limestone block with the
inscriptionwasnot discoveredin situ, but nearthe precinctof the campnr. VIII (XX) of
"stonewall," which is extendedbetweenCernavodaand Constanta.It is
the so-called
obviousthat the block was once in the wall, but its exactposition is unknown.On the
otherhand, it is surethat the stonewastakenfrom anotherconstruction,becausemortar
remainswere observedon it (the wall was not built with mortar). The fragmentary
"...againstthe Greeks/in the year 64511
SlavonicCyrillic inscriptionwas translated:
duringDimiter/ Zupan..."28

22.A. Röna-Ths, op. cit., pp. l3l-132.

23.ldem, "Die Inschrift des Nadelbehälters von Szarvas(Ungarn)," Ural-AltaischeJahrbücher.
InternationaleZeitschrififiir umlischeund altaischeForschung,NeueFolge,9, 1990,p. 27.
"Inscripliilerunicede pe vaseletezauruluide la Sännicolaul Mare, documentde
24. V. Fize5an,
culturäpopularä proto-romänä ? ," Mitropolia Banatului, 30' 1980' 7-9, pp. 535-550.
25.$t. Olteanu, Societatea..., p. 273.
26.M. Rusu,op. cit., pP. 45-46.
27. V. Beshevliev, Die protobulgarischen Inschrifien,Berlin, 1963,pp. 4l-42.
28. l. Barnea,$t. $tefänescu, Din istoria Dobrogei,vol. III, BucureSti,1971,pp. 64, 69. The
"Cercetärigi
inscriptionwas first publishedwith somearchaeological detailsin E. Comga,
observaliiin legäturäcu ralurile din Dobrogea,"StudiiEi Ceercetöi de Istorie Veche,2,L951,2,
Nadrig, 'A Spurious
pp. 233-238.The authenticity of this inscription was denied by Gr.
SlavonicInscriptionfrom the DanubeCanal," The Slavonicand EastEuropeanReview,38,
1960,91,pp. 530-534,because he pointedthatthe language presents old Russianfeaturesand
not Bulgarian.The problemshould be carefullyresearchedby the Slavists.
20 ALEXANDRUMADGEARU

According to D.P. Bogdan, on the stone are two inscriptions, carved in different
moments. The first one inCludes two rows from the end of an inscription which mentions
(more rudely), which
the year 6451(g43), while the last two rows are differently carved
means that this part was added at a later moment (between 943 and the Byzantine
changes the previous conclusions, becausethe
conquest of 1001i2e.This interpretation
cannot any more be dated in 943. The block
.u"nt in which Zupan Dimiter was involved
memory of a battle (such Bulgarian
was taken from an inscription erected in the
it was reused for rebuilding the wall' The
inscriptions are already known)30, and then
used the big stone wall as a shield against the
reconstructionmight oöcur when Bulgaria
(it is not sure if the wall was built then or is
Byzantine northern territory, in986-1000
"Zupan Dimiter" were added later, it is possible that this
ancient)3l. Becausethe woids
wall, i'e' after
changemay have been done when the block was already inserted in the
986. However, a date between 943-986 is also suitable'
against
The event occurred in 943 seems to be related with the Pecheneg inroad
source3z . It is possible that
Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire, recordedby a Byzantine "againstthe
the inscription may concern the crossingof the Pechenegs through Bulgllia,
' Bulgaria was
Greeks;" with this occasion a battle could happen in the neighborhood33
and it was itself affected by that
in peaceful relations with the Byzantine Empire in 943
in that moment the master of the
inroad. We do not agreethat the Byzantine Empire was
that those Greeks were
northern part of Dobrudja, as considers P. Diaconu, who supposed
the inhabitants of the northern Dobrudja3a. According to Constantine Porphyrogenitus
(around 953), Dobrudja up to the Danube's mouths belonged to Bulgaria35. Jupan Dimiter
in the
had no relations with the eventsof 943. He lived during a later period, sometime
of Dobrudja in 1001)'
secondhalf of the 10thcentury (before the final Byzantine conquest
Becauseit is sure that the Bulgarian Zoapansor iupans were military commanders
was a commander
and not independentrulers, the single right conclusion is that Dimiter

29.D.P.Bogdan,Paleografiaromöno-slavö.Tratatsialbum,Bucutesti,1978,p.l5l.
30. Examplesin V. Beshevliev,Die protobulgarischen' ' ' ' pp' 124-116 '
31. The cirronologyof the wall is still disputed. According to P. Diaconu, the wall wasbuilt by the
Bulgarians,beiween 986-1000 ("zur Frage der Datierung des Steinwalles in der Dobrudscha
Lokalisierung der im Berichte des griechischen Toparchen geschilderten Ereignisse"'
undler
supporting the Roman origin:
Dacia, NS,6, 1962,pp. 317.335).More recentstudiesare
papuc, *Despreuaturiietransdobrogene ," Pontica,25,1992,pp,323-329; I. Bogdan-Cätäniciu'
G.
.I Valli di TraianonellaDobrugia.Considerazioni sullefotografieaeree"'in Omaggioa Dinu
"VoiesdecommunicationauBas-Danube
AdameSteanu,Cluj, 1996,pp.iOt-ZZe;A. Barnea,
aux IVi-VI" s. ap. J.C.," Ifndes Byzantines et Post-Byzantines, III, Bucuregti,1997'p' 38'
The idea that the reconstruction of the wall can be dated after 986 accordingwith the Mircea
"Problemastäpäniriibizantine
Vodäinscription was expressed by R.$t. Ciobanu, R. Florescu'
in nordulDobrogeiin sec.IX-XI," Pontica,S,1972,pp' 388-389'
32.Mihail Glykas,Annales,Bonn, 1886,p. 5S4(FHDR,III, pp' 166'167)' "
" Historiques,
33. I. BoZilov, L inscrrptiondu JupanDimitrede l;an 943 (theorieset faits), Etudes
Sofia, 6, 1973, PP- ll-28.
"La Dobroudjaet Byzanceä l'6poquede la genösedu peupleroumain(VII'-X"
34. P. Diaconu,
siöcles),"pontica,14, 1981,p. it1. SeealsoE. Stänescu, Byzanceet les PaysRoumainsaux
IX,-XV siicles, rn Acitesau *V Congris International des EtudesByzantines,l, Bucarest,
1914,p. 396.
35.De AdministandoImperio, g (FHDR, II, pp' 660-661)'
WERE THE ZUPANS REALLY RULERS OF SOME ROMANIAN EARLY MEDIEVAL POLITIES? 21

chargedwith the defenceof the border areaof Bulgaria,near the greatstonewall (a

regionsimilar to the Frankishmarks)36 . He wasa representative of the centralpower.
Evenso, someRomanianhistoriansstill claim that Dimiter wasthe ruler of an incipient
"local militarychief,"38
state,presumable Romanian3T . Closerto realityis thedefinition
if this concernsstricto-sensa a feudal from the Bulgarianstate.The existenceof the
so-called "jupanat" in Dobrudja is not supportedby a secondtestimony,as some
researchers believed3e. Indeed, the inscriptionfound in the church nr. 84 from the
monasticcenterMurfatlar-Basarabi transcriptedas ZHUPAN I IMAET GEORGE
was
"the zhupanand guardian
ONC TEBE ESTEK KRAIN I REZHETE, which means
"40However,it is not sure
Georgepromisesyou eightypiecesof gold andso mustit be !
that the inscriptioncontainsthe word iupan, becauseanotherresearcher remarkedthat
the word canbe readTupai (the nameof a man who built a church consecrated to Saint
George)ar
The analysisof the inscriptionfound at Mircea Vodä clearly showsthat Zupan
Dimiter cannotbe consideredruler of a Romanianincipient state.Therefore,both
arguments put forwardfor theexistence of someRomanianjrzpe arewrong(theinscription
from SännicolaulMare is alsowithout significancein this respect).
If thereis no positiveinformationaboutthe existence of the so-calledRomanian jupe
duringthe 8fr-10ücenturies,we haveto explainhow and whenthe placename Jupa and
the nounjupanbeganto be usedby the Romanians.
From the medievaldocumentsit resultsthat the wordjupan wasmuchmoreusedin
Wallachiathan in Moldavia,althoughthe title appearsfor the first time in the same
period.Thejupani wererecordedin the documentsissuedin Wallachiasince1388and
in Moldaviasince1392.TheWallachianandMoldavianjrpani hadno specificterritorial
jurisdiction.They were greatboyars,membersof the princely council (someof them
heldcertainfunctions,but their statusof membersof the councilwasnot determinedby
suchfunctions;42. In Moldavia,the title usuallygivento the membersof the councilwas
pan, of Polishorigin. However,someof theboyarswereentitledjupani alsoin Moldavia.

"The Cave and the Dyke : a rock Monasteryon the tenth-centuryFrontier of

36. F. Curta,
Bulgaria,"StudiaMonastica,Barcelona,41, 1999, I, pp. 145, 148.
37.Forinstance : C.C. andD.C. Giurescu,Istoria romönilor,vol. I, EdituraAlbatros,Bucuregti,
1975,p. 160; A. Ghialä,Formationspolitiquesau Bas-Danubeet d la Mer Noire (fin du
"Probleme
nf -XV s.), RESEE,24, 1986,l, p. 37; M.D. Matei, fundamentale ale genezei
vielii urbanemedievalein Jara Romäneascä a Muntenieigi Jara Romäneascä a Moldovei,"
Revista de istorie,40, 1987,3,p. 226.
38.I. Barnea,$t. $tefänescu, op. cit., p. 69.
3 9 . I . B a r n e a$, t . $ t e f ä n e s coup, . c i t . , p p . 1 1 4 2, 1 2 ; $ t . O l t e a n uo, p . c i t . , p . 2 7 3 .
40.P. Dobrev,op. cit, (http://members.tripod.coml-Groznijatlpb lang/suppl2.html).
4l . K. Popkonstantinov, "Lesinscriptionsdu monastöre rupestreprösdu villageMurfatlar(Basarabi).
Etat,th6orieset faits," inDobrudia. Etudesethno-culturelles, Sofia,1987,pp. 128-132;
P. Diaconu,"Surl'histoirede la Dobroudjaau MoyenAge,"Dacia, NS, 32, 1988,p. 186.
42. Seethedocuments publishedin Documenta Romaniae Historica,A, vol. I, EdituraAcademiei,
BucureEti,1966andB, vol. I, EdituraAcademiei,Bucuregti,1975.Forjupani andtheir place
in the council,seeD.C. Giurescu,lara Romäneascö in secoleleXIV SiXV, Bucuregti,1973,
pp. 218-219,237,272; Instituliifeudaledin förile RomAne. Diclionar, EdituraAcademiei,
Bucuregti, 1988,p. 260.
22 ALEXANDRUMADGEARU

D. Onciul remarkedthat this title was givenfor the voivode'skinsmena3 ' For instance'
jupan Bogdan,the brotherof the voivodeAlexanderI, is mentioned in several documents
lssueObetween1400 and 140744 .
In fact, jupan wasa title of esteemlike the English Lord. This clearly resultsfrom
to the
some instances,when the title iupan wasgiven by Romaniansfrom Wallachia
from SibiuandBragov.For instance,fhe jupani Stan and Cräciun
SaxonBürgermeisters
wrote a -örr"g. to iupan Melher, theBürgermeister of Sibiua5 ' Eventhe famousletter
of Neac$ufrom Cämpulung(1521),the first text written in Romanian,has a Slavonic
"JupanHanägBegnerot Bra9ov"46 '
salutationthat concerns
Unlike Serbiaor Croatia,theRomanianl4ü centuryprincipalitieswerenotcomposed
(in
from iupae. The territorial units were calledjudele (in wallachia)and linuturi
Moldavia).The wordjude! comesfromiude, which is an institution of Roman origin
not
whose function is quite similar to that of the Slaviclupan' If the stateswere
in iupe, howcanbe explainedtheuseof thetitle of jupan in both principalities,
organized
but especially in Wallachia ?
We supposethat the title of iupan was receivedin Wallachiafrom Serbia,under the
reign of Irriir"." I (1386-i418),when it was recordedfor the first time' The Serbian
infiuenceoverrhepoliticalandreligiousinstitutionsof Wallachiawasexertedespecially
in thelastthird of the 14ücentury.Thewallachianmonasteries voditraandTismanawere
foundedby SaintNicodem,a monk who camefrom Serbia; the sameSerbianinfluence
canbe observedat themonastery of Coziabuilt by MirceaI. ThelinksbetweenWallachia
andSerbiawere strengthened by the marriagesof RaduI with Kalinikia andof Dan I with
Maria, the two daughters of Lazat HrebeljanovicaT. Finally, the deedswritten down
duringthe reign of Mircea I contain some typical expressions borrowedfrom the Serbian
chancellery a (as matter of fact, even the name of the voivode is Serbian)a8 ' Underthese
circumstances of the increasing Serbian influence the title of jupan was perhaps received
as a distinctionfor the great Wallachian boyars'
In conclusion,thereis no relationbetweentheWallachian andMoldavian14ücentury
jupani andthe zoapans iupans and from the 8ü-10ü centuries. Only for the placenames
-in
Banatcouldbe supposed the inheritance of the Avar word zoapan, because this region
wasunder the Avar domination for more than two centuries. However, the Avars exerted
much larger than the small area where these placenames
theirdominationovera territory
are attested.Onecould askwhy suchnamesare not knownin Criganaor in the central
Transylvania, wherethe archaeological researches are showingconcentrations of Avar

43. D. Onciul, Scrieriistorice,II,Bucuregti, 1968' p' 180'

44.Documenta Romaniae Historica'A, vol. I' docs'10,11,12' 13,22'
45.Documenta RomanraeHistorica, D, vol. I, EdituraAcademiei'Bucuregti,1977, doc' 324
(years1454-1456).
4,
46.Ä. Cazact, Surla date de la lettre de NeacSude Cömpulung(1521),RESEE, 6,1968'
pp. 525'528.
+2.ä. ttreodorescu,Bizanl, Balcani, Occidentla inceputurileculturii medievaleromöneSti
(secoleleX-XN), BucurÄqti,1974,p' 160; D' Barbu,Byzance, Romeet lesRoumains'Esscis
sur la politique
production de ta foi au Moyenlge, Bucureqti,1998' pp' 123-132'
"Contactsenire la diplomatiqueserbeet la chancellerie
princiörede la
4g. Tr. Ionescu-Niqcov,
Valachiependantles XIV" et XV" siöcles," Association d'Etudes
Internationale du Sud-Est
Europöen. Bulletin, 10, 19'72,2, pp.215-288.
 EARLY MEDIEVAL POLITIES? 23
wERE THE ZUPNNSREALLY RULERS OF SOME ROMANIAN

finds.As a matterof fact, the Avarobjectsandcemeteries aremissingin the areaof the

placenames derivedftom juPa'
A groupof populationoi south-Danubian origin movedin the southof Banatby the
endof"theiZ* *ntury, beingprosecuted for religiousreasonsby the Serbianstate(they
wereBogomils).The ,.*rrcii"r from Caransebeg, Cuptoare,Gornea,Ilidia, Sviniga,
gopotufechi, all of themdated in the 12ü-13ft centuries, displayspecificfeaturesfor the
medievalSerbiancemeteriesae. This clusterof finds (see the mapon p. 24) belongto the
in Banat, which is also attested by a concentration of
first waveof Serbianpopulation
in the same area. Linguistic researches have shown that this strong
Serbianplacenames
datedin the
Serbianlnfluence in Banat,Haleg and in the westernOlteniacould be
12ü-13ücenturiess0. The Serbscame perhaps under the rulership of several iupans'
Underthesecircumstances, thewordiupanbecame familiar to the Romanian inhabitants
of the region.Weconsiderthat the wordsiupa andi.upanenteredtheRomaniantoponymy
can be
throughlhis Serbianimmigration,in the 12ü-13ücenturies'In the sameway
the use of the titie iupan among the Romanian cnezi (small noblemen) from
explai*ned
gateg, atrested for instancein thememorial inscriptio n foriupan chendreg ( 1408) at the
RomanianchurchStreisängeorgiu".
The early medievalRomanianilpedid not exist at all. The mistakeof S' Dragomir
hada longli-tein theRomanian historiography because thissupposed form of organization
filled a blank in the so-calledRomanianDark Age. Even in the last decades,whenthe
archaeological researches becameable to provide trustworthy data aboutthis period,
somehistorianscontinuedto maintainwithouta proper demonstration that theRomanians
were acquaintedwith the organizationin iupe. ln fact, the Romanian iupanate were
nothingmore than a historiographic legend.

Au fost jupanii conducätoriai unor formafiuni prestatale

romäne$tiin Evul Mediu timPuriu ?

Rezumat
pornind de la un studiudin 7921al lui Silviu Dragomir qi de la interpretarea unor
Mare,
inscripliide la sännicolaul Mircea vodä 9i mai
Murfatlar, mulgi istoriciromäniau
unor formaliuni romäneqti
prestatale conduse de jupani, denumite
sustinutexistenfa
convenlional de mai multetoponimedin Banat(carenu au analogiiin
jupanate,atestate
la
alte prövinciirämäneSti).in realitate,inscripliade pe vasulnr 21 din tezaurulde
Sännicolaul Mare serÄferäla doi conducätoride originefie avarä,fie bulgarä.Termenul

4ryl.t."J'N*t"pole medievale Banatica,12, 1993,l,

(sec.X-XN) din sudulBanatului,"
"Mormintelebogomiledin sudul Banatului(secoleleXII-XV)'"
pp. 229-212; S. Ota,
Arheologiamedievalö,2,1998,pp. 113-123'
Istorialimbii
50.G. Iväneicu, romöne,Junimea,Iagi,1980,p.372; V. Achim,op.cit',pp' 175-L16'
"CelemaivechiinscripliicunoscutealeromänilordinTransilvania(1313
5l.G.Mihäilä, -
140g,Streisängeorgiu- OragulCälan,judelulHunedoara)," MuzeelorSiMonumentelor
Revista
seriamonumente istoriceSi de artd,47,1978, 1, pp' 37-38'
1A ALEXANDRU MADGEARU

turciciupanlZoapan,care desemna o func;iemilitaräatätla avari,cät Sila bulgari'a fost

contaminatcu termenul
preluatde särbigi croali, iar apoide cätreunguri.La slavia fost
o uniru,"i"titorialä. Oegi nu existäo descifrare unanimacceptatä'
lupa, caredesemna alteatribuiri
limbä turcicä,fapt care exclude
estecert cä inscriplia.-iort ,"Ou"tutäintr-o jupanii
Degi numele unuia dintre tn"n!i9-131r
etnicein afaraavarilor,evenrualbulgarilor. VIII-X
ffebuie remarcat cä boila en in secolele
Boila, parela prrmavedereromänÄc,
La rändulei, inscripliachirilicä
denumireagenericäa onui ,"ng in aristocraliabulgarä.
amintegte pe un anumt jlPun.Dimitrie' care era
de la Mircea Vodä datatäin 943
tärziu, cändva
comandantul unei regiunide frontieräa Bulgarlei,dar nu in943, ci mai
lui Dimitrie 1 rgst{iyeft
in a douajumätatea secoluluial X-lea (s-aarätatcä numele
intr-unmomentulteriorpe o inscriptrie carecomemorao luptäcu pecenegiidin 943)' In
bieorghe, inscripliarespectivä de la Murfatlarnu are
pri"intu .rfuilalt jupandäbrogean,
o transcrierecertä.
VIII-X, cuväntul
Deginu existädoveziale existen[eiunorjupani romäniin secolele
din secolele XIV-XV reiesecä
jupan"esteatestatin limba romänä.Din documentele
(unde esteadesea inlocuit
termenuleramult mai frecventin Munteniadecätin Moldova Nu era
polonezp an). Jupaneraun titlu de respect acordat marilor boieri'
cu echivalentul
unu-, 9'lnic'in, eralegatde administrarea unor formaliuni teritoriale
asociatcu o functrie
denumitejape (inexistenteinlara Romäneascä gi Moldova,spre.deosebirede Serbia9i
croatia). Deoarecestatelemädievale romänegti nu erau otganizatein jupe' se poate
din serbia,in perioadade accentuatä influentä
pr.rupun, cä titlul dejupan a fostpreluat
iarUe-Oinultima treimea secoluluial XIV-lea'

%
* = Sännicolaul
Mare

of Serbianorigin
+ = Cemeteries
WERETHE ZUpeNSREALLYRULERSOF SOMEROMANIANEARLYMEDIEVALPOLITIES? 25

Doar toponimeledin Banatar puteafi eventualo mo$teniredin epocaavarä,dar se

poateobservacäele segrupeazäintr-o arierestränsä,deosebitä deceaundeseconcentreazä
vestigiileavare,dar legatäde ceaa cimitirelordin secolele XII-Xil carepun in evidenträ
o migraliesud-dunäreanä. Tot acoloexistäo concentrare a toponimelorsärbegtitimpurii.
Prin urmare,toponimeleJupa,Jupafalva,Jupani,Jupalnicsi JupäneStiau fost createpe
bazainfluenleisärbegti(imigranlii särbi au venit, probabil,in Banatsub conducerea
unor jupani).
in concluzie,romänii din Evul Mediu timpuriu nu au cunoscutjupele si jupanii.
Eroarealui S. Dragomir a avut o viatä lungä in istoriografiaromäneascä, deoarece
umplea un gol in ,,mileniul infunecat". De fapt, jupanatele romänegtinu sunt altceva
decäto legendä istoriograficä.