Mircea the Elder

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Mircea the Elder (Romanian: Mircea cel Bătrân, pronounced [ˈmirtʃe̯a tʃel bəˈtrɨn] ^ⓘ; c. 1355 – 31 January 1418) was the Voivode of Wallachia from 1386 until his death in 1418. He was the son of Radu I of Wallachia and brother of Dan I of Wallachia, after whose death he inherited the throne.

After the death of his step-brother Dan I, Mircea takes over the throne in 1386, as Wallachia, on one side, was going through a process of economic, administrative, religious development, but also of strengthening the army, and on the other side it was confronted with the expansion tendencies of the Hungarian Kingdom and Poland, which were aiming at controlling the mouths of the Danube, but also those of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans.^[2]

During the reign of Mircea the Elder, Wallachia controlled the largest area in its history, gaining Dobruja in 1388, the Banate of Severin in 1388/9 and Podunavia (which is suspected to be the Timok Valley, or the name of the Danube river valley in Slavonic as stated in Mircea's letter "both sides of Danube"). In addition, he was also granted the fiefdoms of Amlaș (Omlás) and Făgăraș (Fugurash) in Transylvania.

The

Mircea's reign is often considered to have brought stability to Wallachia. Found in a volatile region of the world, this principality's borders constantly shifted, but during Mircea's rule, Wallachia controlled the largest area in its history: from the Southern Carpathians in the north to the Danube in the south, and from today's Iron Gates on the Danube in the west to the Black Sea in the east.^[7] Also Mircea's titles show his lands: "I, in Christ God, the faithful and charitable God and the loving and self-sacrificing Christ, Io Mircea, the great ruler and lord of God's mercy and the gift of God, ruling and reigning over all the land of Ungrovlahia [Wallachia] and the parts above the mountains, duke of the Tartar parts and of Amlaș and Făgăraș, and the ruler of the Banat of Severin, and on both sides throughout Podunavia, even to the great sea and ruler of Dârstor's fortress." Mircea strengthened the power of the state and organized the different high offices, promoted economic development, increased the state's revenue, and minted silver money that enjoyed wide circulation not only inside the country but also in neighboring countries. He gave the merchants of Poland and Lithuania trade privileges and renewed those his predecessors had given to the people of Brașov. As a result, Mircea was able to afford increasing his military power. He fortified the Danube citadels and strengthened "the great army" made up of townspeople and of free and dependent peasants. He also proved to be a great supporter for the Eastern Orthodox Church.^[8] Mircea the Elder is the first in the region to deal with slaves giving 300 gypsy dwellings to a monastery in 1388.^[9]

While organizing the country and its institutions, Mircea also formed a system of lasting alliances which enabled him to defend the independence of the country.^[

Conflicts with the Ottoman Empire

His interventions in support of the

Vlad Uzurpatorul on the throne of Wallachia.^[16]

In 1396, Mircea participated in an anti-Ottoman crusade started by Hungary's monarch. The crusade ended with the Ottoman victory at the Battle of Nicopolis on September 25.^[14] In the next year, 1397, Mircea, having defeated Vlad the Usurper with help from the Voivode of Transylvania, Stibor,^[17] stopped another Ottoman expedition that crossed the Danube, and in 1400 he defeated yet another expedition of Turks crossing the country.^[18]

The defeat of Sultan

Timur Lenk (Tamerlane) at Ankara in the summer of 1402 opened a period of anarchy in the Ottoman Empire and Mircea took advantage of it to organize together with the Hungarian king a campaign against the Turks. In 1404 Mircea was thus able to impose his rule on Dobruja again. Moreover, Mircea took part in the struggles for the throne of the Ottoman Empire and enabled Musa to ascend that throne (for a brief reign). It was at this time that the prince reached the height of his power.^[19]

Towards the end of his reign, Mircea signed a treaty with the Ottomans; in return for a tribute of 3,000 gold pieces per year, the Ottomans desisted from making Wallachia a province ("pashalik").^[20]

Legacy

Kalenić monastery.^[22]

In popular culture

Mircea was played by Sergiu Nicolaescu in the 1989 film Mircea, which was also directed by Nicolaescu.^[23]

See also

Ancestors of Mircea the Elder
16. Kalinikia (granďparent Árpád-Capet)

Mircea the Elder House of Basarab Born: 1355 Died: 1418
Regnal titles
Preceded by Dan I	Voivode of Wallachia 1386–1394/1395	Succeeded by Vlad I Uzurpatorul (The Usurper)
Preceded by Vlad I Uzurpatorul	restored as Voivode of Wallachia 1397–1418	Succeeded by Mihail I

Notes

1. ^ "Mircea cel Bătrân". Enciclopedia României (in Romanian).
2. ^ "Constantin C. Giurescu A History of The Romanian Forest | PDF | Nature". Scribd. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
3. ^
   ISBN 9781592110018
   .
4. ^ Hasdeu, p. 130; Xenopol, p, 89; Iorga, p. III
5. ^ Panaitescu, P. P. "II. Mircea cel Bătrân. Originea și familia lui". Mircea cel Bătrân (PDF) (in Romanian) (II ed.). Corint.
6. ^ Giurescu, pp.362
7. ^ Giurescu, pp.363
8. ^ Severeanu, Ducații Țării Române și cu numele a doi domnitori: Vlad I și Mircea I, București, 1935, pp. 250–260
9. ISBN 963-9241-84-9
   .
10. ^ M. Manea, A. Pascu, B. Teodorescu, Istoria Românilor din cele mai vechi timpuri până la revoluția din 1821, Ed. Didactică și Pedagogică, București, 1997, p. 231.
11. ^ Constantin C. Giurescu, Dinu C. Giurescu, Istoria românilor. Vol. 2, Ed. Științifică și Enciclopedică, București,1976. p. 83
12. ^ "Marele Mircea voievod", București, 1987
13. ^ 1388–1390: Kaplai Ianos; 1390–1391: Mihai Perényi; 1392: Gerbeni Szemere; 1392–1393: Ditrich Bebek.
14. ^ ^{a b} Stoica, Vasile (1919). The Roumanian Question: The Roumanians and their Lands. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Printing Company. p. 16.
15. ^ Giurescu, pp. 367
16. ^ P. P. Panaitescu, Mircea cel Bătrân. Ed. Corint, București,2000, p.303
17. ^ N. Djuvara, O scurtă istorie ilustrată a Românilor. Ed. Humanitas, București, 2013, p.119
18. ^ Giurescu, pp. 368.
19. ^ Giurescu, pp. 369
20. ^ Giurescu, p. 370.
21. ^ C-tin C. Giurescu, p. 384
22. ^ Ion Pătroiu (1987). Marele Mircea Voievod. Editura Academiei Repubvlicii Socialiste România. p. 460.
23. ^ "Proud Heritage (1989)". IMDb.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mircea I of Wallachia.

• (in Romanian) Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Istoria critică a românilor, vol. I, Bucharest, 1875
• (in Romanian)
  A. D. Xenopol
  , Istoria românilor din Dacia Traiană, vol. I, Iași, 1889
• (in Romanian) Nicolae Iorga, Studii și documente cu privire la istoria românilor, vol. III, Bucharest, 1901
• (in Romanian) Constantin C. Giurescu, Istoria Românilor, vol. I, Bucharest, 1938
• (in English) Dr. A.K. Brackob, Mircea the Old: Father of Wallachia, Grandfather of Dracula, Buffalo U.S.A., 2018