The Tatar Confessional Policy on the Romanian Territory between the 13th and the 14th centuries

Abstract

The hereby study aims at synthesizing the distinctive features of the Tatar confessional policy in the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century, when they have governed, among others, the extra-Carpathian Romanian territory. By focusing upon the general features of the Tatar leaders’ confessional policies, the author outlines the extremely important geopolitical perspective conferred to religion in the aforementioned complex context, when the Romanian territory was sought after by various military forces, such as the Hungarian Kingdom or the Italian Maritime Republics, as well as other orthodox powers (the Byzantine Empire and several Bulgarian political entities). All these elements allow for a better understanding of the forces that shaped the Romanian nation in this respective period and also lead to the formulation of a better explanation of the conditions having led to the formation of the Romanian states and the organization of their church in the second half of the 14th century.