Basarab

The House of Basarab founded the Principality of Wallachia north of the Danube, taking its name from its first prince, Basarab I. Of disputed Vlach or Cuman origin, Basarab is first documented in 1324 as a voivode holding Wallachia as a vassal of Charles I of Hungary.

He broke with Hungary in 1325 and seized the Banate of Severin. In the Battle of Posada in 1330 his archers ambushed an invading Hungarian army in a Carpathian pass, nearly destroying it and securing Wallachia's independence. Basarab ruled until 1351–1352 and was followed by his son Nicholas Alexander.

The throne was elective among the family's male members. After Alexandru I Aldea's death in 1436 the dynasty split into the rival Dănești and Drăculești branches, the latter producing Vlad III the Impaler. Bessarabia preserves the dynasty's name.