Thocomerius

Who is Thocomerius?

Thocomerius, also Tihomir, was the father of Basarab who would become the first independent voivode of Wallachia. Many Romanian historians think that Thocomerius was a voivode in Wallachia who followed Bărbat; others refer to him as a local potentate whose status cannot be specified.

The name of Basarab’s father is only known from a diploma issued by King Charles I of Hungary on 26 November 1332. The diploma refers to ‘the schismatic Basarab, son of Thocomerius.’

The Hungarian László Rásonyi derives the name from a Cuman and Tatar name, Toq-tämir, and refers to a Chingisid prince, Toktomer, mentioned in the Russian annals in 1295 as abiding in the Crimea. According to István Vásáry, even if Basarab’s father bore a Turkic name, his person can by no means identified with a Chingisid prince, because being descended from Genghis Khan was a matter of such significance that no one could, or would have wanted to conceal it.