Michael the Brave
Michael the Brave invaded Transylvania and defeated Andrew Báthory in the Battle of Şelimbăr on 28 October 1599. He entered Alba Iulia where the Diet recognized him as the Emperor's lieutenant. Michael the Brave also occupied Moldavia in May 1600, uniting the three principalities under his rule. However, the Transylvanian noblemen rose up against Michael the Brave and defeated him in the Battle of Mirăslău on 18 September 1600. The Poles invaded Moldavia and Wallachia, assisting Ieremia Movilă and Simion Movilă to seize these principalities. Michael the Brave tried to return with Emperor Rudolph's assistance, but he was murdered on 19 August 1601 near Câmpia Turzii at the orders of Giorgio Basta, the commander of the imperial troops. The noblemen and nearly contemporaneous Hungarian and Saxon historians described Michael the Brave as a tyrant, willing to destroy the landowners with the assistance of Romanian and Székely commoners. On the other hand, the personal union of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia under his rule "became a symbol of Romanian national destiny" (the unification of the lands inhabited by Romanians) in the 19th century.