John,[1] also Joan[2] or Ioan,[3] was a cneaz (local chieftain or ruler)[2][4] mentioned in the Diploma of the Joannites issued by King Béla IV of Hungary (1235–1270) on 2 July 1247; the diploma granted territories to the Knights Hospitaller in the Banate of Severin and Cumania.
[5] John held a kenazate which was given to the knights by the king.
[5] Seneslau and Litovoi are expressly said to be Vlachs (Olati) in the king's diploma.
[5] The Romanian historian Ioan-Aurel Pop suggests that the kenazate of John was one of the incipient Romanian states south of the Carpathian Mountains.
[2] In the diploma, his name is given in its Latin form (Johannes), and so contains no hint of the nationality of its bearer.