(Unirii Square in Central Bucharest, Romania, https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fi%C8%99ier:Over_unirii_square_2.jpg)
Halfway through the eighteenth century the oriental traveler Evliya Çelebi wrote in his memoirs that the name of the capital city of the Romanian Country comes from that of the son of Gebel Himmat of the tribe Beni-Kureis, namely Ebu-Karis, hence Bukris – Bucharest. In 1781 the Swiss historian Franz Josef Sulzer believes that the name comes from the Romanian ”bucurie” (“joy, glad to enjoy”).
Three decades later, in a book printed in Vienna, it is recorded that the name comes from the beech forests that are called “Bukovie“.
The historian Adrian Majuru recalls that in Albanian “bukureshti” means “beautiful it is.” The first written mention about Bucur as founder is appearing in the notes of England’s consul in Bucharest, Wilkinson, published in 1820 in London.
Phanariot rulers, by folk etymology, translated the toponym by Hilariopolis, which in Greek means “City of Joy”.
Leave a Reply