Everything about Michael The Brave totally explained
Michael the Brave (;
1558-
9 August 1601) was the Prince of
Wallachia (
1593-
1601), of
Transylvania (
1599-
1600), and of
Moldavia (
1600) three principalities that he united under his rule. He was born under the family name of
Pătraşcu . During his reign, which coincided with the
Long War, these three principalities forming the territory of present-day
Romania and
Moldova were united for the first time under a single
Romanian ruler, though the unification lasted for less than six months. He is regarded as one of Romania's greatest national heroes.
His reign began in late 1593, two years before the war with the
Ottomans started, a conflict in which the Prince fought the
Battle of Călugăreni, considered the most important battle of his reign. Although the Wallachians emerged victorious from the battle, Michael was forced to retreat with his troops and wait for aid from his allies. The war continued until a peace finally emerged in January
1597, but this only lasted for a year and a half. Peace was again reached in late
1599, when Michael was unable to continue the war due to lack of support from his allies.
In
1600 Michael won the
Battle of Şelimbăr and soon entered
Alba Iulia, becoming the
Prince of Transylvania. A few months later, Michael's troops invaded Moldavia and reached its capital,
Suceava. The Moldavian leader
Ieremia Movilă fled to Poland and Michael was declared
Prince of Moldavia. Due to inadequate support from his allies, Michael couldn't keep the control of all three provinces and the nobles of Transylvania rose against him along with, to a lesser extent, the
boyars in Moldavia and Wallachia. Michael, allied with the Austrian General
Giorgio Basta, defeated an uprising by the Hungarian nobility at
Gurăslău. Immediately after this, Basta ordered the
assassination of Michael, which took place on
9 August 1601.
Early life
Very little is known about his childhood and early years as an adult. He is argued by most historians to have been the illegitimate son of Wallachian
Prince Pătraşcu cel Bun, while others believe he merely invented his descent in order to justify his rule. His mother was named Teodora, of
Oraşul de Floci, and was a member of the
Cantacuzino family.
Michael's political career was quite spectacular, as he became the
Ban of
Mehedinţi in 1588,
stolnic at the court of
Mihnea Turcitul by the end of 1588, and Ban of
Craiova in 1593 - during the rule of
Alexandru cel Rău. The latter had him swear before 12
boyars that he wasn't of princely descent. Still, in May 1593 conflict did break out between Alexandru and the Ban and Michael was forced to flee to Transylvania. He was accompanied by his half-brother Radu Florescu,
Radu Buzescu and several other supporters. After spending two weeks at the court of
Sigismund Báthory he left for
Constantinople, where with help from his cousin
Andronic Cantacuzino and Patriarch
Jeremiah II he negotiated
Ottoman support for his accession to the Wallachian throne. He was invested Prince by the Sultan in September 1593 and started his effective rule on
October 11.
Wallachia
Not long after he became Prince of Wallachia, Michael began to fight his Ottoman
overlord. The next year he joined the
Christian alliance of
European powers formed by
Pope Clement VIII, against the Turks, and signed treaties with
Sigismund Báthory of
Transylvania,
Aron Vodă of
Moldavia and the Holy Roman Emperor,
Rudolf II. He started a campaign against the Turks in the autumn of 1594, conquering several citadels near the
Danube, including
Giurgiu,
Brăila,
Hârşova, and
Silistra, while his Moldavian allies defeated the Turks in
Iaşi and other parts of Moldova.
In 1595
Sigismund Báthory staged an elaborate plot and had Aron of Moldavia removed from power.
Ştefan Răzvan arrested Aron on alleged treason charges on the night of
April 24 and sent him to
Alba Iulia with his family and treasure. Aron would die by the end of May, after being poisoned in the castle of Vint. Báthory was forced to justify his actions before the European powers, since Aron had actively joined the anti-Ottoman coalition. Báthory replaced Aron with
hatman Ştefan Răzvan, and Sigismund himself gave the latter both the investment act and the insignia of power, thus acting in overlord of Moldavia. On
May 24 1595 at
Alba Iulia, Ştefan Răzvan signed a binding treaty, formally placing Moldavia under Transylvanian sovereignty.
Only a month later in the same city of Alba Iulia, Wallachian boyars signed a similar treaty on Michael's behalf. Thus, by July 1595, Sigismund Báthory was
de facto Prince of all the three countries: Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia.. From the point of view of Wallachian internal politics, the
Treaty of Alba Iulia officialized what could be called a
boyar regime, reinforcing the already important political power of the noble elite. According to the treaty, a council of 12 great boyars was to take part alongside the
voivode in the executive rule of the country. Boyars could no longer be executed without the knowledge and approval of the Transylvanian Prince and if convicted for treason their fortunes could no longer be confiscated. Apparently Michael was displeased with the final form of the treaty negotiated by his envoys but had to comply. He would try to avoid the obligations imposed on him for the rest of his reign. He consequently protected their interests throughout his reign; for example, he passed a law binding serfs to lands owned by aristocrats.. From the standpoint of religious jurisdiction, the Treaty of Alba Iulia had another important consequence, as it placed all the
Eastern Orthodox bishops in Transylvania under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Seat of
Târgovişte.
During late 1596, Michael was faced with an unexpected attack from the
Tatars, who had destroyed the towns of Bucharest and
Buzău. By the time Michael gathered his army and to counterattack, the Tatars had speedily retreated and so no battle was fought. Michael was determined to continue the battle against the
pagans, but he was prevented because he lacked support from Sigismund Báthory and Rudolf II. On
January 7 1597,
Hasan Pasha declared the independence of Wallachia under Michael's rule, but Michael knew that this was only an attempt to divert him from preparing for another future Ottoman attack. Michael again requested Rudolf II's support and Rudolf finally agreed to send financial assistance to the Wallachian ruler. On
June 9 1598, a formal treaty was reached between Michael and Rudolf II. According to the treaty, the Austrian ruler would give Wallachia sufficient money to maintain a 5,000-man army, as well as armaments and supplies. Shortly after the treaty was signed, the war with the Ottomans resumed and Michael besieged
Nicopolis on
September 10 1598 and took control of
Vidin. The war with the Ottomans continued until
June 26 1599, when Michael, lacking the resources and support to continue prosecuting the war, was again forced to sign a peace treaty. Báthory was close to the
Polish chancellor and
hetman Jan Zamoyski and placed Transylvania under the influence of the
King of
Poland,
Sigismund III Vasa. He was also a trusted ally of the new Moldavian Prince
Ieremia Movilă, one of Michael's greatest enemies. Movilă had deposed Ştefan Rǎzvan with the help of
Polish hetman Jan Zamoyski in August 1595. Michael decided to attack Báthory immediately to prevent invasion. He would later describe the events: He left Târgovişte on
October 2 and by
October 9 he reached
Prejmer in Southern Transylvania, where he met envoys from the city of
Braşov. Sparing the city, he moved on to
Cârţa where he joined forces with the
Szekelys. With his enemy dead, Michael entered the Transylvanian capital at Alba Iulia, and received the keys to the fortress from Bishop
Demeter Napragy, later depicted as a seminal event in Romanian
historiography. Stephen Szamosközy, keeper of the Archives at the time, recorded the event in great detail. He also wrote that two days before the Diet met on
October 10, Transylvanian nobles
elected Michael the voivode as Prince of Transylvania. As the Diet was assembled, Michael demanded that the estates swear loyalty to Emperor Rudolf, then to himself and thirdly to his son..
Michael then began negotiating with the Emperor over his official position in Transylvania. The latter wanted the principality under direct Imperial rule with Michael acting as governor. The Wallachian
voivode, on the other hand, wanted the title of Prince of Transylvania for himself and equally claimed the
Partium region. Michael was, nevertheless, willing to acknowledge
Habsburg overlordship.
Moldavia
The Moldavian Prince
Ieremia Movilă had been an old enemy of Michael, having incited Andrew Báthory to send Michael the ultimatum demanding his abdication.
On
February 28, Michael met with Polish envoys in
Braşov. He was willing to recognise the Polish King as his sovereign in exchange for the crown of Moldavia and the recognition of his male heirs' hereditary right over the three principalities, Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia. This didn't significantly delay his attack however, on
April 14 1600 Michael's troops entered Moldavia on multiple routes, the Prince himself leading the main thrust to
Trotuş and
Roman.
Neighboring states were alarmed by this upsetting of the balance of power, especially the
Hungarian nobility in Transylvania, who rose against Michael in rebellion. With the help of Basta, they defeated Michael at the
Battle of Mirăslău, forcing the prince to leave Transylvania together with his remaining loyal troops. A Polish army led by
Jan Zamoyski drove the Wallachians from Moldavia and defeated Michael at
Năieni,
Ceptura, and
Bucov (
Battle of the Teleajăn River). The Polish army also entered eastern Wallachia and established
Simion Movilă as ruler. Forces loyal to Michael remained only in
Oltenia.
Defeat and death
Michael asked again for assistance from Rudolf during a visit in
Prague between
February 23 and
March 5 1601, which was granted when the emperor heard that General
Giorgio Basta had lost control of Transylvania to the Hungarian nobility led by Sigismund Báthory. Meanwhile, forces loyal to Michael in Wallachia led by his son, Nicolae Pătraşcu, after a first unsuccessful attempt, drove out Simion Movilă and prepared to reenter Transylvania. Michael, allied with Basta, defeated the Hungarian nobility at
Gurăslău (
Goroszló), but Basta then ordered the
assassination of Michael, which took place near
Câmpia Turzii on
9 August 1601. According to Romanian historian
Constantin C. Giurescu:
Legacy
Michael the Brave's rule, with its break with Ottoman rule, tense relations with other European powers and the union of the three states, was considered in later periods as the precursor of a modern
Romania, a thesis which was argued with noted intensity by
Nicolae Bălcescu. This theory became a point of reference for
nationalists, as well as a catalysis of various Romanian forces in order to achieve a single Romanian state.
Mihai Viteazul, a commune in
Cluj County, was named after Michael the Brave. Michael is also commemorated by the monks of the
Athonite Simonopetra Monastery for his great contributions in the form of land and money to rebuilding the monastery which had been destroyed by a fire.
Mihai Viteazul, a film by
Sergiu Nicolaescu, a famous Romanian film director, is a representation of the life of the
Wallachian ruler, and his will to unite the three Romanian
principalities (
Wallachia,
Moldavia, and
Transylvania) in one country.
The
Order of Michael the Brave, Romania's highest
military decoration, was named after Michael.
Further Information
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