Nicholas Mavrogenes, was a Phanariote Prince of Wallachia. He was the great-uncle of Manto Mavrogenous, a heroine of the Greek War of Independence.
Mavrogenes and the Boyar Council
Coburg's troops being welcomed in Bucharest
Mavrogenes in a deer-drawn carriage
Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar, the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied four important positions in the Ottoman Empire: Voivode of Moldavia, Voivode of Wallachia, Grand Dragoman of the Porte and Grand Dragoman of the Fleet. Despite their cosmopolitanism and often-Western education, the Phanariots were aware of their Greek ancestry and culture; according to Nicholas Mavrocordatos' Philotheou Parerga, "We are a race completely Hellenic".
View of the Phanarion quarter, the historical centre of the Greek community of Constantinople in Ottoman times, ca. 1900
Another view of the Phanarion quarter, ca. 1900. In the forefront: the Bulgarian Orthodox Church of St. Stephen; atop the hill: the Phanar Greek Orthodox College.
Engraving of Greek merchant by Cesare Vecellio (16th century)
Constantine Mavrocordatos, engraving from 1763