Diicul or Dicul Buicescul, also known as Diicu Buicescu and Diicu din Epotești (? – ca. July 1659), was a Wallachian statesman, noted as the designated heir of Prince Matei Basarab. A commoner on his father's side, he belonged to the boyardom of Oltenia through his mother's family. His political rise began when Matei, his maternal relative, seized the throne. Diicul alternated civilian offices and command postings in the Wallachian military forces, culminating with his appointment as Spatharios in January 1645. His main military involvement came during the wars opposing Wallachia and the Principality of Transylvania to Vasile Lupu's Moldavia. He saw action during the 1650 invasion of Moldavia, resulting in Gheorghe Ștefan's appointment as the puppet Moldavian Prince. In 1653 Buicescul was soundly defeated by Lupu and his Cossack allies, whose invasion of Wallachia was only overturned by Prince Matei's stand at Finta.
Unpersuaded by claims that Buicescul was arrogant and militarily incompetent, the childless Matei designated Buicescul as his successor. The boyardom rallied around a rival pretender, Constantin Șerban. Sidelined by the Prince and the Spatharios, Șerban orchestrated in 1654 a revolt of the Seimeni mercenaries, which contributed to the weakening of Matei's regime. When the Prince died after illness in early 1655, Șerban managed to outbid Buicescul for the throne, arriving in Târgoviște while his rival was still stranded in Oltenia. A short truce between them was curbed by Buicescul's alleged participation in conspiratorial intrigues; the Spatharios was deposed, then mutilated, to prevent his candidacy for the throne.
In 1655, another Seimeni rebellion drove the Buicesculs into Transylvania. Diicul returned with the Transylvanian troops of George II Rákóczi. Reconciling with Prince Constantin under Rákóczi's tutelage, he served as Wallachia's Clucer, and was reconfirmed as such by Constantin's replacement, Mihnea III. The conflict between Mihnea and his boyars also signaled Diicul's downfall and beheading, which happened in 1659. His son Papa returned to Wallachia and held important office; his grandson Diicul II served as Spatharios under Constantin Brâncoveanu. Diicul's sons-in-law included Drăghici Cantacuzino and Staico Bucșanu, both of whom were important players in late-17th-century Wallachian politics.
Contents
Biography
Rise
Buicescul was probably a native of Buicești, the family's demesne in what is now Olt County. His first name originates with the Bulgarian Dikov, and is ultimately a derivative of "Theodore". He is known to have had at least one sister, from whom he had a favorite nephew, Tudor. Their father was Ioan Buicescul; their mother, Maria (or Mara), was a relative—either niece or cousin—of Aga Matei Basarab. In his overview of Wallachian politics, the Melkite traveler Paul of Aleppo notes that Buicescul was, or was perceived to be, an ibn fellah, translated as "son of peasants" or "son of nobody". As noted by genealogist Constantin Gane, the Buicesculs were commoners of obscure origins. The first recorded member of the family was Diicul's paternal grandfather, the Jupân Mitre. Also according to Gane, Buicești was actually inherited from Maria, having been an estate of the more ancient Craiovești family, from which both Diicul and Aga Matei descended. This account is also backed by scholar I. Ionașcu.
Ionașcu acknowledged the lack of any record detailing Diicul's youth, but proposed that he followed Aga Matei in his perennial battles with Prince Leon Tomșa. He believes that Buicescul may have followed his uncle or cousin in exile to the Principality of Transylvania, refusing Leon's peace offerings. Ultimately, in 1632, Matei seized the throne of Wallachia. In the aftermath, all of the Aga's relatives, including Buicescul, were appointed to high office. On July 6, 1635, Buicescul became a Cupar (Cup-bearer, or assistant Paharnic) for the court in Bucharest, serving to October 20, 1638. From November 1638, he was a Great Șufar, or Intendant, in the Wallachian civil service. From July 3, 1639, to January 30, 1644, Buicescul was Aga, and as such supervised part of the Wallachian military forces. His main assignment was supervising the fortifications of Târgoviște, rebuilt under his watch. This office was not yet annexed to the Boyar Council, but allowed Diicul a steady revenue in bribes, allowing him to purchase more land. In 1641–1642, he was confirmed as the owner of Priseaca, outside Buicești, while also holding deeds in Vitănești and some other Olt villages; in 1644, he bought himself half of Arcești, in Romanați County. In January 1645, the villagers of Bârzoteni, in northern Vâlcea County, sold themselves as serfs to Buicescul.
As summarized by historian Andrea Fehér: "[Buicescul] exhibited serious shortcomings in his character, defects that could not be erased from the chronicles, not even through him founding numerous monasteries. [He] was also infamous for his intrigues, as well as his negative influence on the ruler." Diicul became the main army commander, of Spatharios, on January 8, 1645, serving to April 10, 1654. He was replacing Preda Brâncoveanu, demoted to a much less relevant office. During this period, Buicescul was a noted ktitor for the Wallachian Church, erecting Clocociov Monastery (c. 1645) as well as, with Prince Matei, Pantocrator Monastery of Drăgănești-Vlașca (1647). By 1649, Buicescul had established a wool-trading business with the Transylvanian Saxons of Corona, and, beyond, with the markets of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
1650s conspiracies
In 1652, Matei and Princess Elena Năsturel had lost their adoptive son, Mateiaș. This fueled a search for another heir: Mihai, son of Nicolae Pătrașcu, and Istratie Golescu were considered, but Matei finally selected Buicescul—although the latter was by then middle-aged. Other boyars were disappointed with Matei's choice, believing Buicescul to be of flippant and haughty character; they sympathized more with the Serdar Constantin Șerban, born out of wedlock to the former Prince of 1602–1611, Radu Șerban. Buicescul himself had a noted rivalry with the Serdar, particularly after being revealed as an heir apparent. One detailed account, originating with Paul of Aleppo, suggests that Șerban refused to honor the Prince's choice, and never removed his hat if Buicescul was in the room. Their clashes aggravated with time, prompting Prince Matei to arrest Șerban—allegedly, after Buicescul threatened resignation. Buicescul's rival was mutilated, or "carved at the nose", which would have technically invalidated him from ever placing a claim to the throne. Historians disagree on whether this "marking" happened during Șerban's early years or was a consequence of his arrest by Prince Matei.
Wounded at Finta, Matei never fully recovered and, with time, became bedridden. With Elena assuming an informal regency, Șerban coordinated a rebellion of the Seimeni mercenaries, and managed to exhaust the Basarab regime. Although they survived the uprising, both the Princess and Prince were dead by April 1654. This resulted in a heated competition for the throne, during which, historian Gábor Kármán notes, Buicescul emerged as a favorite of the Transylvanian Prince, George II Rákóczi. However, the Spatharios had been called to his country estate by the illness of his son; Șerban, meanwhile, was at Dobreni, allowing him to seize the opportunity and leave for Târgoviște, where the Seimeni imposed him as Prince.
Paul of Aleppo records an important role for the Spatharios during Șerban's investiture, although it is not known if this testimony refers to Buicescul or to his known successor, Hrizea of Bogdănei. The same author informs that "the old Spatharios" was welcomed back from Buicești, and solemnly reconfirmed. However, Buicescul returned to his intrigues, "out of haughtiness and arrogance", prompting the Prince to depose him. Prince Constantin eventually arrested Buicescul and ordered him mutilated with the same "carving at the nose". As noted by Paul of Aleppo, Diicul barely escaped the death penalty, only because "some spoke in his favor". Paul also argues that mutilation was no longer an obstacle for the throne, with Șerban's own nose having "healed".
Legacy
Diicul Buicescul was married twice, to a Dumitra of Arcești, and later, according to some disputed records, to a Lady Bălașa. Buicescul's eldest son, the Paharnic Papa, born c. 1630–1633, was probably groomed by Rákóczi to take over as puppet ruler of Wallachia, following his father's mutilation—this alliance was superseded in 1655, when Constantin Șerban willingly submitted to Transylvania's leadership. Nonetheless, Papa remained figure of political importance until his death in 1688. He took in marriage the daughter of another Spatharios, Pană Filipescu, who had helped defeat Hrizea in 1655. A second son, Preda, followed Diicul into Transylvania, and married Ana, a daughter of the diplomat István Szalánczy. According to Ionașcu, the son recorded as ill was neither Papa nor Preda, but an anonymous third, who did not survive 1654; Preda himself died young, in 1656, with Diicul inheriting his wealth. One document suggests that Diicul had also adopted his nephew and alleged accomplice Tudor, who worked as a tax farmer with the title of Great Căminar. Diicul's progeny included at least four daughters: Păuna, Ancuța, Calița and Marica. The Clocociov murals also depict a fifth, Ilinca.
Preda's daughter, born Stanca and later known as Sára (or Stanca) Bulcsesdi-Székely-Haller, was one of the leading aristocrats of Kolozsvár (Cluj); she converted to Calvinism and was a celebrated benefactor of the Reformed Church in Transylvania. In the early 1680, Sara was still litigating over her grandfather's confiscated wealth, also obtaining her share of Papa Buicescul's estate in Wallachia. Through her aunt Păuna, wife of Drăghici Cantacuzino, the Buicescul clan became in-laws with the Cantacuzinos. Buicescul was thus the grandfather of Spatharios Pârvu II Cantacuzino, making him the great-great-grandfather of Pârvu III and Rodion Cantacuzino. Although Papa Buicescul was, later in life, an enemy of Prince Șerban Cantacuzino, this connection spared him his life. The Cantacuzinos honored Diicul's memory, notably by depicting him in a collective fresco at their church in Măgureni. By then, Calița had married Mihăilă Ghinea of Brătășani; their two sons, Drăghici and Fota, never reached political significance. Marica's husband, Staico Bucșanu, was an enemy of Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, who ordered him hanged ca. 1693; their line was extinguished with his death.
Papa had three children, of whom the only son, Diicul II, served as Spatharios under Prince Brâncoveanu. From 1679, he had also been awarded Transylvanian citizenship and was granted a coat of arms by Michael I Apafi. His estate was sold off: in 1691, Brâncoveanu purchased from Diicul II the village of Gioroc, which he later donated to Horezu Monastery; in 1697, another one of Papa's estates, at Constantinești, was purchased by the local peasants. Having bought himself a new demesne at Bălcești, Diicul II sued his cousin Sára and his nephew Ádám Székely for their share of the Buicescul estate. Diicul II died childless some time after 1705; his main possessions went to Vintilă Bucșanu, and to Bucșanu's daughters. By then, Papa's widow Dumitrana had also sold her land in Bârzoteni to the Starets of Horezu.