Avram Iancu (Romanian: [aˈvram ˈjaŋku]; 1824 – 10 September 1872) was a Transylvanian Romanian lawyer who played an important role in the local chapter of the Austrian Empire Revolutions of 1848–1849. He was especially active in the Țara Moților region and the Apuseni Mountains. The rallying of peasants around him, as well as the allegiance he paid to the Habsburg monarchy, earned him the moniker Crăișorul Munților ("The Prince of the Mountains").

Avram Iancu was born in Vidra de Sus (currently Avram Iancu, Alba County), Transylvania, then part of the Austrian Empire, into a family of peasants that had been emancipated from serfdom. His father was Alisandru Iancu (1787–1855) and his mother was Maria Gligor. He had one elder brother, Ion (born 1822), who became a priest.

Iancu's grandfather was Gheorghe Iancu (deceased before 1812), who had four girls and three boys, including Alisandru. Little is known about Iancu's childhood. Local tradition holds that he had a typical moț character, joyful and witty, and that he had a musical talent, playing the leaf, alphorn, flute, and violin.

Iancu attended primary school in his village, in the Târsa hamlet, and then at Neagra (now Poiana Vadului). He later attended school in Câmpeni, Alba County, from where he graduated at age 13.

After this, he went to Zlatna, where he studied in a Hungarian school, in the Latin language, as there were no Romanian schools in this area. His teachers were Iozephus Stanken (1837–1838), Gregorius Iakabus (1838–1839) and Ludovicus Kovács (1839–1840 and 1840–1841). He graduated at age 17. He studied humanities from 1841, in the Piarist College of Cluj, graduating law school.

Iancu became a law clerk in Târgu Mureș, and it was there that he learned about the events of March 1848 in Vienna and Pest. His attitude at the time showed the nature of the conflict that was to engulf Transylvania: while Iancu welcomed the transition, he was indignant that Hungarian revolutionaries (many of whom were landowners) refused to debate the abolition of serfdom (which at the time was the state of the majority of the Romanian population in Transylvania).

In the Apuseni Mountains, he started rallying peasants in Câmpeni. The protests he organized were recognized as peaceful by the authorities, but nevertheless worried them. Iancu and his associate Ioan Buteanu quickly became the main figures of the Romanian-led actions in the area, especially after they took part in the Blaj Assemblies starting in April, where over 40,000 Romanians met to protest against Transylvania becoming part of Hungary. In Blaj (Hungarian: Balázsfalva; German: Blasendorf) both opted for the main, radical wing of the movement. Centered on Alexandru Papiu Ilarian, the group opposed the Hungarian revolutionary option of uniting Transylvania and Hungary. It got into conflict with the minority wing around Greek-Catholic Bishop Ioan Lemeni, which chose not to boycott the elections for the Hungarian Parliament.

While the union was carried of on 30 May 1848, the majority of Romanian activists looked towards Vienna and Emperor Ferdinand, sharing the cause of the Transylvanian Saxons. Things became heated after 11 July, when Hungary declared its independence. Austria started to open itself to the Romanian demands, while bloody conflicts ensued between the Hungarian nobles and their Romanian serfs. The last Assembly in Blaj saw the Habsburg governor, Anton Freiherr von Puchner, approve of the arming of National Guards for Romanians and Saxons. On 27 September, the lynching of Austrian plenipotentiary Count Lamberg by a Pest crowd cut off any dialogue between the two centers. The new Emperor Franz Joseph and the Austrian government granted the Romanians numerous liberties and rights; although Lajos Kossuth's government abolished serfdom, this was no longer a match for the Imperial offer.