Roxani Soutzos

Roxani Karatza-Soutzos (Greek: Ρωξάνη Καρατζά Σούτσου or Σούτζου, also Ρωξάνη Βόδα Σούτσου, Roxani Voda Soutsou, Romanian: Roxandra or Roxana Caragea Suțu[l], Cyrillic: Роѯандра [Караџѣ] Сȣцȣл, French: Roxane Soutzo or Suzzo; 1783 – April 1868) was a Phanariote Greek cultural animator, initially active inside the Ottoman Empire; the daughter of John Caradja, sister of Rallou Karatza-Argyropoulos, and wife of Michael Soutzos, she served as Princess-consort of Moldavia in June 1819 – April 1821. This matrimonial arrangement united the powerful Caradjas with the more politically frail Soutzoses, but the two Phanariote clans were soon at odds with one another—Roxani favored her adoptive family. The break was initiated in late 1812, when Caradja was made Prince of Wallachia under Ottoman tutelage. Serving as the Great Dragoman, Michael also competed for that position, and worked to topple his father-in-law. The latter finally abandoned his throne in late 1818, but Michael lost the competition to his second-uncle, Alexandros; he was compensated with the Moldavian throne.

During her short reign, Roxani fully backed her husband's cooperation with the Filiki Eteria, and helped instigate the Greek War of Independence, which began on Moldavian soil in February 1821. As it became apparent that the Eterist cause would fail, Michael abdicated and decided to emigrate with his family—making Roxani the last-ever Phanariote Princess in Moldavia. The Soutzoses were evicted into the Russian Empire, settling for a while in Kishinev—where Roxani networked with two literary figures, Alexander Pushkin and Jean Alexandre Buchon. They were allowed to live there only until 1822, when the Ottomans asked for Michael to be extradited. After a three-year detention in the Austrian Empire, from 1825 they settled together with the Caradjas in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and involved themselves in political intrigues.