Petru Cercel

Petru II Cercel
Petru II Cercel
Pătrașcu cel Bun

Petru II Cercel (Peter Earring or Earring Peter; c. 1545 – March 1590) was a

polyglot and a minor figure as a poet, Petru is noted for having written his verses in Tuscan

.

In Europe

Petru spent his early years constantly traveling, trying to win support in his bid for the Wallachian throne. The fact that, as of 1579, he received unconditional support in

moniker have led to speculations that Cercel belonged to the group of mignons of Henry III. It is even stated that Henry interceded with the Porte

to award Petru the crown because of his affection for him.

Petru traveled to

Ecaterina Salvaresso, mother to the child-voivode Mihnea (who was to be known as Mihnea Turcitul). Petru was to emerge the winner, with Mihnea and Ecaterina heading for a brief exile in Tripoli

.

Members of the Drăculești line

Members of the House of Drăculești who held the throne of Wallachia include the following:

Ruler	Remark
Vlad II Dracul	1436–1442, 1443–1447; son of Mircea cel Bătrân
Mircea II	1442; son of Vlad II
Vlad III Drăculea	1448, 1456–1462, 1476; son of Vlad II
Radu cel Frumos	1462–1473, 1474; son of Vlad II
Vlad Călugărul	1481, 1482–1495; son of Vlad II
Radu cel Mare	1495–1508; son of Vlad Călugărul
Mihnea cel Rău	1508–1509; son of Vlad III
Mircea III Dracul	1510; son of Mihnea cel Rău
Vlad cel Tânăr	1510–1512; son of Vlad Călugărul
Radu de la Afumați	1522–1523, 1524, 1524–1525, 1525–1529; son of Radu cel Mare
Radu Bădica	1523–1524; son of Radu cel Mare
Vlad Înecatul	1530–1532; son of Vlad cel Tânăr
Vlad Vintilă de la Slatina	1532–1534, 1534–1535; son of Radu cel Mare
Radu Paisie	1534, 1535–1545; son of Radu cel Mare
Mircea Ciobanul	1545–1552, 1553–1554, 1558–1559; son of Radu cel Mare
Pătrașcu cel Bun	1554–1558; son of Radu Paisie
Petru cel Tânăr	1559–1568; son of Mircea Ciobanul
Alexandru II Mircea	1568–1574, 1574–1577; son of Mircea III Dracul
Vintilă	1574; son of Pătrașcu cel Bun
Mihnea Turcitul	1577–1583, 1585–1591; son of Alexandru II Mircea
Petru Cercel	1583–1585; son of Pătrașcu cel Bun
Mihai Viteazul	1593–1600; son of Pătrașcu cel Bun

Mircea the Elder
Vlad Dracul
Vlad III the Impaler
Michael the Brave

Reign

After a short stay in

scudi

by 1583.

He expanded and improved the Court in Târgoviște (largely ruined today), notably by adding (1584) the Casa Domnească (Princely House), a Renaissance-inspired small palace, by building a new wall and Princely church, and by introducing plumbing. Petru Cercel established a bronze cannon foundry in the city.

Downfall

The maneuvers of Mihnea and the hostility of certain Turkish

Maramureș

.

In 1587, Petru managed to escape by sliding down a rope out the open window. He traveled to Warsaw and then to Vienna, reaching Rome (where he enlisted Pope Gregory XIV's support for his cause); Henry III reassured him of his protection, and Petru headed for Istanbul – arriving in the city in July 1589. He tried to profit from Mihnea's second fall from grace (and exile), but he proved to be a feeble opponent: as Mihnea regained the throne, Petru was imprisoned at Yedikule. Mihnea advanced large sums to have him killed by the Ottomans, in order to eliminate the threat. In March 1590, Petru Cercel was embarked on a ship, under the pretext of sailing to exile in Rhodes, and was decapitated on the spot.

Note

All dates are given in New Style format (see Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe).

External links

Regnal titles
Petru Cercel House of Drăculești Died: 1590
Preceded by Mihnea Turcitul	Voivode of Wallachia 1583–1585	Succeeded by Mihnea Turcitul