page_title: Michael the Brave
section_title: Wallachia
hierarchical_section_title: Michael the Brave / Wallachia
caption_attribution_description: English: Sigismund Báthory defeating the Turks at Giurgiu, October 1595. Sinan Pasha slips from the bridge. Published in Pannoniae historiae hronologica, 1596
context_page_description: Michael the Brave was the Prince of Wallachia, Prince of Moldavia and de facto ruler of Transylvania. He is considered one of Romania's greatest national heroes. Since the 19th-century Michael was seen by nationalists as a symbol of Romanian unity, as under his reign was the first time when all principalities inhabited by Romanians were under the same ruler.
  His rule over Wallachia began in the autumn of 1593. Two years later, war with the Ottomans began, a conflict in which the Prince fought the Battle of Călugăreni, considered one of the most important battles 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, Prince Sigismund Báthory of Transylvania and Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. The war continued until a peace finally emerged in January 1597, but this lasted for only 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 1599, Michael won the Battle of Șelimbăr and soon entered Alba Iulia, becoming the imperial governor of Transylvania.
context_section_description: Not long after Michael became Prince of Wallachia, he turned against the Ottoman Empire. The next year he joined the Christian alliance of European powers formed by Pope Clement VIII against the Turks, and signed treaties with his neighbours: Sigismund Báthory of Transylvania, Aaron the Tyrant of Moldavia and the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II (see Holy League of Pope Clement VIII). 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 Moldavia. Mihai continued his attacks deep within the Ottoman Empire, taking the forts of Nicopolis, Ribnic, and Chilia and even reaching as far as Adrianople.
  In 1595, Sigismund Báthory staged an elaborate plot and had Aaron the Tyrant, voivode of Moldavia, removed from power. István Jósika (Báthory's chancellor and an ethnic Romanian) masterminded the operation. Ștefan Răzvan arrested Aron on charges of treason on the night of 24 April (5 May) and sent him to the Transylvanian capital at Alba Iulia (Gyulafehérvár) with his family and treasure. Aron would die poisoned by the end of May in the castle of Vinc. Sigismund was forced to justify his actions before the European powers, since Aron had played an active role in the anti-Ottoman coalition. Later on, in the same city of Alba Iulia, Wallachian boyars signed a treaty with Sigismund on Michael's behalf. 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 was forced to comply. Prince Michael said in a conversation with the Polish envoy Lubieniecki: … they did not proceed as stated in their instructions but as their own good required and obtained privileges for themselves. He would try to avoid the obligations imposed on him for the rest of his reign.
  During his reign, Michael relied heavily on the loyalty and support of a group of Oltenian lords, the most important of whom were Buzescu Brothers (Romanian: Fraţii Buzeşti) and his own relatives on his mother's side, the Cantacuzinos. 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: it placed all the Eastern Orthodox bishops in Transylvania under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Seat of Târgovişte.
  During this period, the Ottoman army, based in Ruse, was preparing to cross the Danube and undertake a major attack. Michael was quickly forced to retreat and the Ottoman forces started to cross the Danube on 4 August 1595. As his army was outnumbered, Michael avoided carrying the battle in open field, and decided to give battle on a marshy field located near the village of Călugăreni on the Neajlov river. The Battle of Călugăreni started on 13 August and Michael defeated the Ottoman army led by Sinan Pasha. Despite the victory, he retreated to his winter camp in Stoieneşti because he had too few troops to mount a full-scale war against the remaining Ottoman forces. He subsequently joined forces with Sigismund Báthory's 40,000-man army (led by István Bocskay) and counterattacked the Ottomans, freeing the towns of Târgovişte (8 October), Bucharest (12 October) and Brăila, temporarily removing Wallachia from Ottoman suzerainty.
  The fight against the Ottomans continued in 1596 when Michael made several incursions south of the Danube at Vidin, Pleven, Nicopolis, and Babadag, where he was 
caption: A depiction the Battle of Giurgiu in October 1595, first published in 1596
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