John Caradja

Who was John Caradja?

John Caradja or John George Caradja was a Phanariote Prince of Wallachia, who reigned between 1812 and 1818. He became famous due to the code of law known as the Legiuirea Caragea, which was the first modern code of the Danubian Principalities, but also because of the effective measures taken during the bubonic plague outbreak of 1813. The epidemic became commonly known as Caragea's plague.

A member of the Caradja family, he was related to the Mavrocordatos. His nephew, Prince Alexander Mavrocordatos, was Court Secretary in Bucharest under his rule. Together with his uncle, Alexander Mavrocordatos went into exile to the Italian Peninsula, via the Austrian Empire.