THE IMAGE OF THE OTTOMAN SULTAN - BETWEEN ENEMY AND PROTECTOR

Vassals of the Devlet-i Aliyye-i Osmaniyye from the mid-fifteenth century until 1878, the Romanians were forced to define their own attitude towards the Ottoman sultanate, the core of the state and the source of the power. This paper proposes that while Moldavian initially demonized and Ottomans and their rule, their attitude changed during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent and they were integrated in the Ottoman political system.