Apart from fragmentary information regarding the research and creative work of D. Cantemir in Istanbul, studies that reflect his life in the Ottoman capital are scarce. In early 18th century he was one of the active competitors for the throne of Wallachia. C. Brâncoveanu, Hospodar of Wallachia, perceived him as a real threat and exploited all his contacts and influence by the Court of the sultan to compromise and eliminate his rival. In September 1703, Brâncoveanu entrusted his man, Toma Cantacuzino, Grand Sluger (Steward of the Court?), with a secret mission in Istanbul. Historical studies meet in support of the idea that his mission was to convince the sultan to arrest Cantemir and exile him to the island of Chios. If developments allowed it, they hoped to kidnap D. Cantemir and take him to Wallachia.

 Since the first study on D. Cantemir was published, the life, the literary and scientific work as well as the political activity of the Moldavian hospodar grew into an independent field of historical research. The vast research on him includes tens of general and specialist biographical studies and hundreds of scientific articles. Despite countless scientific studies, there are still numerous issues linked to the life and the work of D. Cantemir that are left beyond the boundaries of research, open ground to supposition, hypotheses  or allegations.  

To a rather large extent, it also applies to the 20 years that the prince spent in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Unfortunately, neither the life nor the work of the Moldavian prince from that period has yet made the subject of a separate study. Only the last few years have seen the Turkish and Russian publications approach the topic.

Our article aims at righting the obvious wrong, the false dates and facts attached to       D. Cantemir’s biography during his stay in Istanbul. Furthermore, documents from the archives of Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and Istanbul, released to the academic milieu just recently, enable us to outline D. Cantemir’s portrait in a firmer hand.

Opinii, controverse
Mulţi istorici români întorşi din Federaţia Rusă povestesc că librăriile din Moscova şi Sankt-Petersburg abundă în cărţi tratând personalitatea lui I.V. Stalin. Se încearcă o reabilitare?

Ediţia română a publicaţiei lunare internaţionale editată de National Geographic Society, National Geographic – România, a abordat, sub semnătura redactorului său şef, domnul Cristian Lascu, în numărul din decembrie 2007, o temă de interes special pentru cititorii săi din România: Republica Moldova.