Iancu Jianu
Iancu Jianu (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈjaŋku ʒiˈanu]; 1787 – 14 December 1842), also Ioniță Jianu, was a Wallachian Romanian hajduk.
Biography
Born in Caracal, Oltenia, Wallachia, in 1787, to the Jianu boyar family, as the youngest of four brothers. His father, Costache Jianu, was a paharnic and an ispravnic of Romanați County.[1]
Despite being rather wealthy, owning parts of four estates and 14
He organized a band of outlaws, which numbered 20–25 people, but usually used smaller groups of 10–12 people in his interventions. In 1821, he brought to the army of Tudor Vladimirescu just 21 people. The first known document mentioning Jianu as a hajduk is from 6 May 1812, when a report of the Great Spătar mentioned two groups of outlaws in Romanați County, among them being the one of Jianu.[1]
In the following months Jianu and a part of his hajduks were caught, and on 30 December 1812 the new
On 10 April 1817, Caragea wrote a letter to the
During the
Returning to Wallachia, Jianu settled in Chilii, a hamlet near Caracal. He was briefly arrested in 1823 under the accusation of trying to conspire against the authorities, but he was freed soon. In 1837, he was an underruler of Olteț plasă. Iancu had two children: Marița, born 10 August 1830, and Zinca, born 24 May 1835. He died on 14 December 1842 and was buried the next day at the cemetery of the Biserica Maica Domnului (Church of the Lord's Mother) from Caracal, but in 1910, his remains were moved to the Caracal Cemetery, being buried next to his wife, who died in 1869.[1]
Legacy
Iancu Jianu is remembered in many folk stories and ballads, such as Jianul, a folk balad written down by Vasile Alecsandri.
His house in Fălcoi was restored by architect R. Mariani, being transformed in 1959 in a museum under the name Memorial House Iancu Jianu. The commune of Cepturoaia in Olt County was renamed in 1953 in his memory Iancu Jianu, Olt.
There were three Romanian movies inspired by his life:
- IMDb: Iancu Jianu (1928)
- IMDb: Iancu Jianu, zapciul (1980)
- IMDb: Iancu Jianu, haiducul (1981)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Dumitru Botar, "Haiducul Iancu Jianu[permanent dead link]", Magazin Istoric, February 2006