page_title: Boyars of Wallachia and Moldavia
hierarchical_section_title: Boyars of Wallachia and Moldavia
caption_attribution_description: Română: Gheorghe Tattarescu - Portretul Vornicului Şerban Grădişteanu, Muzeul Municipiului Bucureşti, 64x50 cm.
context_page_description: The boyars of Wallachia and Moldavia were the nobility of the Danubian Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. The title was either inherited or granted by the Hospodar, often together with an administrative function. The boyars held much of the political power in the principalities and, until the Phanariote era, they elected the Hospodar.
  As such, until the 19th century, the system oscillated between an oligarchy and an autocracy with the power concentrated in the hospodar's hands.
context_section_description: The boyars of Wallachia and Moldavia were the nobility of the Danubian Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. The title was either inherited or granted by the Hospodar, often together with an administrative function. The boyars held much of the political power in the principalities and, until the Phanariote era, they elected the Hospodar. 
  As such, until the 19th century, the system oscillated between an oligarchy and an autocracy with the power concentrated in the hospodar's hands.
caption: Vornic Șerban Grădișteanu wearing a kalpak, an indication of his boyar rank
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