Prince Alexandros Soutzos' death in January 1821 led to the forming of a temporary
Comitet de Ocârmuire ("Governing Committee"), three
regents - all of them members of the most representative indigenous boyar families, of which the most prominent was
Caimacam Grigore Brâncoveanu. The
Comitet, motivated against competition and denied Phanariote rulers' favours, decided to quickly manoeuver anti-boyar and anti-Phanariote sentiment in Wallachia (and especially in Oltenia), acting before the newly appointed
Scarlat Callimachi could claim his throne. Therefore, an agreement between it and the Pandurs was reached on the 15th:
Dimitrie Macedonski was awarded the post of lieutenant to Tudor. The very same day, Vladimirescu sent a letter to the Ottoman Court of
Mahmud II, stating that his objective was not the rejection of Ottoman rule, but that of the Phanariote
regime, and showing his willingness for preservation of the traditional institutions. The statements were meant to buy Tudor time against Ottoman response, as he was already in negotiations with the Greek Anti-Ottoman revolutionary society
Philikí Etaireía (having probably been in contact with it from around 1819). Together, they produced a plan for
insurrection, with the two Etairist representatives (
Giorgakis Olympios and
Iannis Pharmakis) assuring the Wallachians of Russian support for the common cause. It is apparent that Tudor was not himself a member of the Etaireía: the rigid command structure of the Brotherhood would have excluded the need for any negotiations. After fortifying monasteries in Oltenia (
Tismana,
Strehaia) that were to serve him in the event of Ottoman intervention, Tudor travelled to
Padeș where he issued his first proclamation (23 January). It included references to
Enlightenment principles (notably, the
right to resist oppression), but was also an almost
millenarianist appeal to peasants, promising a "spring" to follow "winter". In February the demands were detailed by more documents. They included: the elimination of purchased offices in the administration, with the introduction of
meritocratic promotion, the suppression of certain taxes and taxing criteria, the reduction of the main tax, the founding of a
Wallachian Army, and an end to internal
custom duties. In line with these, Tudor asked for the
banishment of some Phanariote families and forbidding future Princes to hold a
retinue that would compete with local boyars for offices. Calls by boyars in the
Divan for Tudor to cease such activities (expressed by envoy
Nicolae Văcărescu) were met with a vehement refusal. The army, swelled up in numbers as it advanced, occupied
Bucharest on 21 March - here, Tudor issued another important proclamation, one that expressed yet again his commitment to peace with the Ottomans. Previously, the Philikí Etaireía under
Alexander Ypsilanti had emerged in
Moldavia, proclaiming a liberation from Ottoman rule that was backed by the then Moldavian
Prince Michael Soutzos (
see Greek War of Independence). However, this coincided with Russian reaction against Greek rebellion, with the Russian army entering Moldavia and enforcing
Holy Alliance policies. Ypsilanti's army headed south, reaching Pandur-occupied Bucharest. Tudor's actions in the meanwhile had destroyed his alliance to local boyars. He had started wearing the
kalpak (a tall, cylindrical, black leather hat;
see Ottoman Clothing) reserved for the Prince, and demanded to be addressed as
Domn ("Master", "Prince"; cf.
Domnitor) - moving away from subordination to the landowners' cause. The meeting between Ypsilanti and Tudor brought a new compromise. Tudor considered himself liberated from the provisions of the January agreement, as Russia was now an enemy of the Etaireía; Ypsilanti tried to persuade him that Russian support was still possible. The country was divided into a Greek administration and a Wallachian one, with Tudor's declaring itself neutral in the face of large Ottoman armies preparing to cross the north of the
Danube. Ottoman actions had been prompted by Russian threat of intervention in Wallachia. Tudor's army retreated towards in Oltenia in May, as the Ottomans occupied
Bucharest without meeting resistance. Tudor was no longer capable of maintaining the discipline and cohesion of his own troops, some of whom had resorted to robbery. In an attempt to ensure discipline, he imposed hangings of those found guilty. In the meantime, Etaireía members, led by
Alexander Ypsilantis developed a plot to remove Tudor. == Arrest and assassination ==