Editing Avram Iancu

{{Short description|Transylvanian lawyer and revolutionary (1824–1872)}}
{{About|the historical figure}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2014}}
[[File:Avram Iancu.jpg|thumb|Avram Iancu]]
[[File:Kvár Báthory líceum.jpg|thumb|The former Piarist College of [[Cluj-Napoca|Cluj]], today the Báthory István Líceum]]

'''Avram Iancu''' ({{IPA|ro|aˈvram ˈjaŋku|lang}}; {{langx|hu|Janku Ábrahám}}; 1824 – September 10, 1872) was a [[Transylvania]]n Romanian [[lawyer]] who played an important role in the local chapter of the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire|Austrian Empire Revolutions]] of 1848–1849. He was especially active in the [[Țara Moților]] region and the [[Apuseni Mountains]]. The rallying of peasants around him, as well as the allegiance he paid to the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] monarchy, earned him the moniker ''Crăișorul Munților'' ("The Prince of the Mountains").<ref name="ReferenceA">Ion Ranca, Valeriu Nițu, ''Avram Iancu: documente și bibliografie'', Bucharest, Editura Științifică, 1974 (most contemporary documents about Avram Iancu, including his report to Wohlgemuth)</ref>

== Early life ==
Avram Iancu was born in [[Avram Iancu, Alba|Vidra de Sus]] (currently [[Avram Iancu, Alba|Avram Iancu, Alba County]]), [[Principality of Transylvania (1711–1867)|Transylvania]], then part of the [[Austrian Empire]] into a family of peasants that had been [[emancipated]] from [[serfdom]]. His father was Alisandru Iancu<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iuNKAQAAIAAJ&q=%22avram+iancu%22++Alisandru+Iancu|title=Avram Iancu în tradița poporului român|first=Florian|last=Dudaș|date=10 March 1989|publisher=Editura Facla|isbn=9789733600664|via=Google Books}}</ref> (1787–1855) and his mother was Maria Gligor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xCAKAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Maria+Gligor%22|title=Din istoria Transilvaniei|first1=Ioan|last1=Lupaș|first2=Marina|last2=Vlasiu|first3=Florin|last3=Constantiniu|date=10 March 1988|publisher=Editura Eminescu|via=Google Books}}</ref> He had one elder brother, Ion (born 1822), who became a priest.

Iancu's grandfather was Gheorghe Iancu<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=%22Gheorghe+Iancu%22+%22avram+iancu%22#tbm=bks&q=%22este+bunicul+s%C4%83u,+b%C4%83tr%C3%AEnul+Gheorghe+Iancu%22|title="Gheorghe Iancu" "avram iancu" – Google Search|website=www.google.com}}</ref> (deceased before 1812), who had four girls and three boys, including Alisandru. Little is known about Iancu's childhood. Local tradition holds that he had a typical [[Țara Moților|moț]] character, joyful and witty, and that he had a musical talent, playing the leaf, alphorn, flute, and violin.

Iancu attended primary school in his village, in the [[Avram Iancu, Alba|Târsa]] hamlet, and then at [[Poiana Vadului|Neagra]] (now Poiana Vadului). He later attended school in [[Câmpeni|Câmpeni, Alba County]], from where he graduated at age 13.

After this, he went to [[Zlatna]], where he studied in a Hungarian school, in the [[Latin]] language, as there were no Romanian schools in this area. His teachers were Iozephus Stanken (1837–1838), Gregorius Iakabus (1838–1839) and Ludovicus Kovács (1839–1840 and 1840–1841). He graduated at age 17. He studied humanities from 1841, in the [[Piarists|Piarist College]] of [[Cluj-Napoca|Cluj]], graduating law school.

== Initial stages of 1848 Revolutions ==
[[File:Misu Popp - Portretul lui Avram Iancu.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Iancu by [[Mișu Popp]], undated]]
Iancu became a [[law clerk]] in [[Târgu Mureș]], and it was there that he learned about the events of March 1848 in [[Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire#Revolution in the Austrian lands|Vienna]] and [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848#The one day bloodless revolution in Pest and Buda|Pest]]. His attitude at the time showed the nature of the conflict that was to engulf [[Transylvania]]: while Iancu welcomed the transition, he was indignant that Hungarian revolutionaries (many of whom were landowners) refused to debate the abolition of [[serfdom]] (which at the time was the state of the majority of the Romanian population in Transylvania).<ref name="ReferenceB">Ioan N. Ciolan, Constantin Voicu, Mihai Racovițan, "Transylvania:Romanian history and perpetuation, or, what official Hungarian documents say", Military Publishing House, 1993</ref>

In the [[Apuseni Mountains]], he started rallying peasants in [[Câmpeni]]. The protests he organized were recognized as peaceful by the authorities, but nevertheless worried them. Iancu and his associate [[Ioan Buteanu]] quickly became the main figures of the Romanian-led actions in the area, especially after they took part in the [[Blaj]] Assemblies starting in April, where over 40,000 Romanians met to protest against Transylvania becoming part of Hungary.<ref name=Stoica1>{{Cite book|last=Stoica|first=Vasile|title=The Roumanian Question: The Roumanians and their Lands|year=1919|publisher=Pittsburgh Printing Company|location=Pittsburgh|page=23|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7314/view/1/23/}}</ref> In Blaj ({{langx|hu|Balázsfalva}}; {{langx|de|Blasendorf}}) both opted for the main, radical wing of the movement. Centered on [[Alexandru Papiu Ilarian]], the group opposed the Hungarian revolutionary option of uniting Transylvania and Hungary. It got into conflict with the minority wing around [[Romanian Greek Catholic Church|Greek-Catholic]] Bishop [[Ioan Lemeni]], which chose not to boycott the elections for the [[Hungarian Parliament]].

While the union was carried of on May 30, 1848, the majority of Romanian activists looked towards [[Vienna]] and [[Ferdinand I of Austria|Emperor Ferdinand]], sharing the cause of the [[Transylvanian Saxons]]. Things became heated after July 11, when Hungary declared its independence. Austria started to open itself to the Romanian demands, while bloody conflicts ensued between the Hungarian nobles and their Romanian serfs. The last Assembly in Blaj saw the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] governor, [[Anton Freiherr von Puchner]], approve of the arming of National Guards for Romanians and Saxons. On September 27, the [[lynching]] of Austrian [[plenipotentiary]] [[Count Franz Philipp von Lamberg|Count Lamberg]] by a Pest crowd cut off any dialogue between the two centers. The new Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Franz Joseph]] and the Austrian government granted the Romanians numerous liberties and rights; although [[Lajos Kossuth]]'s government abolished serfdom, this was no longer a match for the Imperial offer.

== Conflict ==
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Transylvanian Revolution
| partof            = the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1848]] and the [[1848–1849 massacres in Transylvania]]
| image             = {{CSS image crop|Image=1848.10.20PRINCIPATE.png|Location=center|cHeight=230|cWidth=260|bSize=750|oLeft=200|oTop=50}}
| caption           = 
| date              = 8 November 1848 – 29 July 1849
| place             = [[Principality of Transylvania (1711–1867)|Principality of Transylvania]], [[Austrian Empire]], now [[Transylvania]], [[Romania]]
| result            = Austro-Romanian victory
| combatant1        = {{flagicon image|Flag of Romania Oldest.jpg}} [[Romanians|Transylvanian Romanians]]<br />
{{flagicon|Austrian Empire }} Austrian Empire<br />{{flag|Russian Empire}}
| combatant2        = {{flagicon|Hungary}} [[Hungarian State (1849)|Hungary]]<br />{{flagicon|Poland}} Polish volunteers
| commander1        = {{flagicon image|Flag of Romania Oldest.jpg}} Avram Iancu<br>{{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Alexander von Lüders]]
| commander2        = {{flagicon|Hungary}} {{ill|Imre Hatvany|ro|Imre Hatvani}}<br />{{flagicon|Poland}} [[Józef Bem]]
| strength1         = 4,000 troops of the "Auraria Gemina" Legion<ref>Dragomir 1968, pp. 104-105</ref>
10,000 Russians<ref>{{cite book |last=Егоршина |first=Петрова |lang=ru |script-title=ru:История русской армии |trans-title=The history of the Russian Army |location=Moscow |publisher=Edition of the Russian Imperial Library |date=2023 |isbn=978-5-699-42397-2 |page=409 }}</ref>
| strength2         = 10,000<ref name="auto">Czecz János (1850), Bem’s Feldzug in Siebenbürgen in den Jahren 1848 und 1849, Hamburg, p. 32</ref>–32,000<ref>{{cite book |last=Егоршина |first=Петрова |lang=ru |script-title=ru:История русской армии |trans-title=The history of the Russian Army |location=Moscow |publisher=Edition of the Russian Imperial Library |date=2023 |isbn=978-5-699-42397-2 |page=409 }}</ref>
| casualties1       = Unknown
| casualties2       = 5,500<ref name="auto1">Dragomir 1968, pp. 188-192</ref><ref name="auto2">Dragomir 1968, pp. 209-216</ref>
}}
{{Campaignbox Hungarian Revolution of 1848}}

=== Outbreak ===
The Austrians clearly rejected the October demand that ethnic criteria become the basis for internal borders, with the goal of creating a province for Romanians (Transylvania grouped alongside [[Banat]] and [[Bukovina]]), as they did not want to replace the threat of Hungarian nationalism with the potential of Romanian [[separatism]]. Yet they did not declare themselves hostile to the rapid creation of Romanian administrative offices within Transylvania.

The territory was organized in {{lang|ro|prefecturi}} ("prefectures"), with Iancu and Buteanu as two prefects in the Apuseni. Iancu's prefecture, the ''Auraria Gemina'' (a name charged with [[Latin]] symbolism), became the most important one as it took over from bordering areas that were never fully organized.

In the same month, the administrative efforts were halted, as Hungarians under [[Józef Bem]] carried out a sweeping offensive through Transylvania. With the discreet assistance of [[Russian Empire|Imperial Russian]] troops, the Austrian army (except for the garrisons at [[Alba Iulia]] and [[Deva, Romania|Deva]]) and the Austrian-Romanian administration retreated to [[Wallachia]] and Wallachian [[Oltenia]] (both were, at the time, under Russia's occupation).

=== Attrition ===
On 8 November, Iancu, along with his 4,000 combatants of the "Auraria Gemina" Legion took part in joint military actions with Austrian forces. The Legion reached [[Turda]], and the city surrendered without a fight on 20 November. Then, he and his troops returned to the mountains.<ref name="auto3">Dragomir 1968, p. 118</ref> On 29 November, Iancu had another 1,500 troops mobilized for action. On 4 December, he reached [[Săcuieu]], and on 6–7 December, he and his men were ordered to attack the enemy lines by surprise. However, the attack failed, due to the incompetence of an Austrian officer, and the Romanians were forced to withdraw by 10 December.<ref name="auto3" /> By early January 1849, the control over Transylvania was almost entirely regained by the Hungarian army. The Romanian fighters holding out in their mountains stronghold were running low of supplies, having only 800 rifles to arm a few thousand men, and were completely surrounded by Hungarian troops by the end of March.<ref>Dragomir 1968, p. 117</ref><ref name="auto3" />

In April 1849, Iancu was approached by the Hungarian envoy {{ill|Ioan Dragoș|ro}} (in fact, a Romanian deputy in the Hungarian Parliament). Dragoș appeared to have been acting out of his own desire for peace, since Iancu's troops were tying down too many Hungarian troops: about 10,000, a third of its army in Transylvania, according to Hungarian general [[János Czetz]].<ref name="auto" /> He worked hard to get the Romanian leaders to meet him in [[Abrud]] and listen to the Hungarian demands. Iancu's direct adversary, Hungarian commander {{ill|Imre Hatvany|ro|Imre Hatvani}}, seems to have taken advantage of the provisional [[armistice]] to attack the Romanians in Abrud.<ref name="ReferenceC">[[Keith Hitchins]], ''Românii 1774–1866'', Bucharest, [[Humanitas (publishing house)|Humanitas]], 1996</ref> He did not, however, benefit from a surprise, as Iancu and his men retreated and then encircled him. Meanwhile, Dragoș was lynched by the Abrud crowds, in the belief that he was part of Hatvany's ruse.

Hatvany also angered the Romanians by having Buteanu captured and murdered. While his position became weaker, he was permanently attacked by Iancu's men, until the major defeat of May 22. Hatvany and most of his armed group were massacred by their adversaries, as Iancu captured their [[cannon]]s, switching the tactical advantage for the next months. Hatvany's troops lost 5,000 soldiers and all of their artillery.<ref name="auto1" /><ref name="ReferenceB" /><ref name="ReferenceC" /> Kossuth was angered by Hatvany's gesture (an inspection of the time dismissed all of Hatvany's close collaborators), especially since it made future negotiations unlikely.

On 8 June, the Romanian stronghold in the mountains was attacked by the largest Hungarian force yet: 4,000 men supported by 19 cannons led by General {{ill|Farkas Kemény|hu|Kemény Farkas}}. The battle lasted between 11 and 17 June and ended in a crushing victory for the Romanians, the Hungarians having at least 500 troops killed during the battle.<ref name="auto2" />

The Russian intervention in June precipitated events, especially since [[Polish people|Poles]] fighting in the Hungarian revolutionary contingents wanted to see an all-out resistance to the [[Tsarist]] armies. People like [[Henryk Dembiński]] mediated for an understanding between Kossuth and the Wallachian émigré revolutionaries. The latter, understandably close to Avram Iancu (especially [[Nicolae Bălcescu]], [[Gheorghe Magheru]], [[Alexandru G. Golescu]], and [[Ion Ghica]]), were also keen to inflict a defeat on the Russian armies that had crushed their movement in September 1848. Fighting also continued in July, during the peace negotiations, on 2, 4, and 22 July, all Hungarian attacks being repulsed yet again. Finally, the conflict ended on 29 July, as Iancu offered a guarantee to the Hungarian troops that he would not attack them, allowing them to withdraw in front of the Austro-Russian offensive.<ref>Dragomir 1968, pp. 270-271</ref>

=== Negotiations ===
[[Nicolae Bălcescu|Bălcescu]] and [[Lajos Kossuth|Kossuth]] met in May 1849, in [[Debrecen]]. The contact has long been celebrated by Romanian [[Marxism|Marxist]] historians and politicians: [[Karl Marx]]'s condemnation of everything opposing Kossuth had led to any Romanian initiative being automatically considered "[[reactionary]]". In fact, it appears that the agreement was in no way a pact: Kossuth meant to flatter the Wallachians, by getting them to champion the idea of Iancu's armies leaving Transylvania for good, in order to help Bălcescu in [[Bucharest]]. While agreeing to mediate for peace, Bălcescu never presented these terms to the fighters in the [[Apuseni Mountains]]. His personal documents (commented by {{ill|Liviu Maior|ro}}) show that the un-realistic assumptions of Kossuth had made him view the Hungarian leader as a [[demagogue]].<ref name="Liviu Maior 1849">{{ill|Liviu Maior|ro}}, ''1848–1849. Români și unguri în revoluție'', Bucharest, Editura Enciclopedică, 1998</ref>

Even more contradictory, the only thing Iancu agreed to (and which no party had asked for) was his forces' neutrality in the conflict between Russia and Hungary.<ref name="Liviu Maior 1849" /> Thus, he secured his position as the Hungarian armies suffered defeats in July, culminating in the [[Battle of Segesvár]] ([[Sighișoara]]), and then the capitulation of August 13.

== Later years ==

Iancu agreed to disarm as soon as the Austrians took over, and in 1850 he wrote a detailed report to the new [[Governor of Transylvania]], General [[Ludwig von Wohlgemuth]]. In order to avoid suspicion of Romanian separatism, the document does not mention the contacts with the Wallachians. As the Austrians granted the abolition of serfdom, they also forbade all representative institutions in Transylvania. While Hungarian nationalism was slowly fitting in the pattern that would make the ''[[Ausgleich]]'' acceptable for both sides involved, the Romanian option caused increasing irritation. The revolutionary zeal it had found under Iancu, although profiting the monarchy, could also prove to be a weapon used for very different goals (the Austrians were especially fearful that the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] faith of the Romanians would accommodate itself with [[Pan-Slavism]], completing the gap between [[Serbia]] and the Russian Empire).

It is very possible that Iancu was not able to properly observe the new status quo. While the decision for his initial arrest (in December 1849) was quickly overturned after local protests (and explained as an abuse), he was censored throughout his life, had his library confiscated, and was placed under surveillance. He was arrested a second time, in 1852, after it was presumed that his presence alone served to inflame local sentiments. Local traditions <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.curentul.net/2015/03/15/apel-la-memoria-romanismului-replici-celebre-ale-lui-avram-iancu/|title = Apel la memoria românismului: Replici celebre ale lui Avram Iancu|publisher= Curentul Internațional|date = 15 March 2015}}</ref> hold that the emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Franz Joseph]] was visiting Transylvania and on July 21, 1852, he was in the [[Apuseni Mountains]] area, purportedly to attend [[The Maidens' Fair]] on [[Găina Mountain]] but also hoping that Iancu would agree to meet him. Allegedly, Iancu refused, uttering his famous line "It's all for naught, a madman and a liar can't by any means come to understand each other". Soon after his release, Iancu visited [[Vienna]] and attempted to petition the Emperor. He was prevented to do so by the police, a public humiliation which provoked a [[nervous breakdown]] that had an impact on the rest of his life. He was marginalized by the authorities who did not allow [[Romanians]] to have their own say in [[Transylvania]] about their [[autonomy]]. Being treated as peripheral by the people in power, he spent the rest of his life traveling the Apuseni Mountains, as a half-mad vagrant, living out of whatever alms that the impoverished [[Țara Moților|moți]] population could spare for him, singing sad Romanian [[doina]] songs on his flute.
[[File:AvramIancuOld.jpg|thumb|Iancu in his later years, after his nervous breakdown]]

Iancu died on September 10, 1872, at [[Baia de Criș]]. His body was buried, according to his wish, under [[Horea]]'s tree in [[Baia de Criș|Țebea]] (by tradition, the place where the [[Revolt of Horea, Cloșca, and Crișan]] had started).<ref name="ReferenceA" />

[[File:RO HD Tebea 2011.4.jpg|thumb|Iancu's tomb in [[Baia de Criș|Țebea]]]]

Avram Iancu was officially declared a ''Hero of the Romanian Nation'' in November 2016 by the [[Parliament of Romania]] and President [[Klaus Iohannis]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://revista22.ro/70258119/iohannis-a-promulgat-legea-prin-care-avram-iancu-este-proclamat-erou-al-naiunii-romne.html|title=Iohannis a promulgat legea prin care Avram Iancu este proclamat "Erou al Națiunii Române"|newspaper=[[Revista 22]]|language=ro|date=November 17, 2016|access-date=September 19, 2021}}</ref>  The [[Cluj International Airport|international airport]] serving the city of [[Cluj-Napoca]] has been named in his honor.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/volume09/footnote.htm Footnotes to Vol. 9 of the ''Marx-Engels Collected Works''] at [[Marxists.org]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iancu, Avram}}
[[Category:1824 births]]
[[Category:1872 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Alba County]]
[[Category:Romanian people in the Principality of Transylvania (1711–1867)]]
[[Category:Romanian revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Ethnic Romanian politicians in Transylvania]]
[[Category:19th-century Romanian lawyers]]
[[Category:People of the Revolutions of 1848]]
[[Category:Târgu Mureș]]
[[Category:Lawyers from the Austrian Empire]]