John George Caradja, also known by his regnal name Ioan Gheorghe Caragea, was a Phanariote Greek Prince of Wallachia, who reigned between August 1812 and September 1818. He was the second, and last, member of the Karatzas or Caradja family to ascend to the Wallachian throne, but one of several to have also held office as Great Dragoman of the Ottoman Empire. Caradja, whose life is relatively obscure up to that point, held two terms as Dragoman. Before 1800, he also embarked on a literary career, participating in the spread of Enlightenment literature throughout the Rum Millet, and becoming noted for his translations from Carlo Goldoni. His progeny included Rallou Karatza-Argyropoulos, who was famous in her own right as a pioneer of modern Greek theater.
View over the remains of Curtea Nouă and Dealul Spirii, in an 1841 etching by Eugène Cicéri and Michel Bouquet
Watercolor portrait of Caradja's enemy Manuc Bei, made during his time in exile
Grigore Brâncoveanu, who led the "National Party" during Caradja, pictured in his traditional Oriental attire
Karađorđe's murder, as depicted in 1863 by Mór Than
The Dragoman of the Sublime Porte, Dragoman of the Imperial Council, or simply Grand or Chief Dragoman, was the senior interpreter of the Ottoman government and de facto deputy foreign minister. From the position's inception in 1661 until the outbreak of the Greek Revolution in 1821, the office was occupied by Phanariotes, and was one of the main pillars of Phanariote power in the Ottoman Empire.
The Dragoman of the Porte (left), at the reception of a European ambassador (seated left) and a Bukharan envoy (seated right) by the reis ül-küttab (seated centre)
Depiction of a Grand Dragoman c. 1809, by an anonymous Greek artist in Constantinople
Image: Alexandros Maurokordatos o ex aporiton
Image: Nikolaos Maurokordatos 1721