„Soitarii” și „meterhaneaua” sau despre alaiurile domnilor la venirea în scaun în veacul fanariot
The “Soitari” and the “meterhanea” or about the princes’ suites upon getting on the throne in the Phanariote century

Summary/Abstract: In the Phanariote century, the enthroning of princes was a much quieter process than during the previous centuries, which was further evidence that the Romanian Principalities were fully submitted to the Ottoman Empire. Consequently, many princes left from Istanbul to become princes; they prepared carefully their road to Iași or to Bucharest. The suite – less numerous upon departing from Istanbul – increased as the prince approached the country, the reason thereof being that he wanted to impress the people through numbers, colours and songs. In a generally dark world, the diverse and striking hues of the clothing, harness, weapons and power symbols moved people’s hearts and were not easily forgotten. To provide an example in this respect, I have insisted in this text on the suite pertaining to Ioniță Sandu Sturza, when he became prince in 1822.

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