Constantin Brâncoveanu (1654 – August 15, 1714) was Prince of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714.

A descendant of the Craiovești boyar family and related to Matei Basarab, Brâncoveanu was born at the estate of Brâncoveni and raised in the house of his uncle, stolnic Constantin Cantacuzino. He soon became involved in the conflict between Constantin and Şerban Cantacuzino, and rose to the throne after the latter died in mysterious circumstances. He was initially supported by Constantin Cantacuzino, but the two ended up facing each other in a violent competition. Cantacuzino was exiled, and began advocating his son's Ștefan's candidacy to the throne, while competing with Brâncoveanu for the support of the Ottoman Empire - Wallachia's overlord.

Constantin Brancoveanu was married with Maria Brancoveanu and they had the following childrens: Stanca (1676), Maria (1678), Ilinca (1682), Constantin (1683), Ștefan (1685), Safta (1686), Radu (1690), Ancuța (1691), Bălaşa (1693), Smaranda (1696), Matei (1698).

Source: Wikipedia

The prince took steps in negotiating anti-Ottoman alliances first with the Habsburg Monarchy and then with Peter the Great's Russia: during the 1710 Russian intervention in Moldavia, the prince contacted Tsar Peter and accepted gifts from the latter, while his rivalry with the Moldavian Prince Dimitrie Cantemir (the main regional ally of the Russians) prevented a more decisive political move.

He was a great patron of culture. Under his reign, many Romanian, Greek, Slavonic, Arabic, Turkish, and Georgian texts were printed after a printing press was established in Bucharest - an institution overseen by Anthim the Iberian.

During his rule, an architectural style known as the "Brâncovenesc style" originated in Wallachia, as a synthesis of the Renaissance and Byzantine architecture. The most accomplished and the best preserved example of the Brâncovenesc style architecture is Hurezi monastery, inscribed by UNESCO on its list of World Heritage Sites, where Brâncoveanu intended to have his tomb. Other buildings erected by him are: Mogoşoaia Palace complex, Potlogi Palace, Brâncoveanu monastery.