page_title: Moldavian Magnate Wars
section_title: 1599–1601
hierarchical_section_title: Moldavian Magnate Wars / The Magnate Wars (1593–1617) / 1599–1601
caption_attribution_description: English: Moldavia, Transylvania and Wallachia under Michael the Brave's authority (May–September, 1600)
context_page_description: The Moldavian Magnate Wars or Moldavian Ventures refer to the period at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century when the magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth intervened in the affairs of Moldavia, clashing with the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Empire for domination and influence over the principality.
context_section_description: In 1599, Mihai Viteazul, wishing to secure his back after Sigismund Báthory's departure from the Transylvanian throne, defeated the new ruler of Transylvania, Andrew Cardinal Báthory (Andrzej Batory), who lost his life fleeing after battle, and took over Transylvania as governor on behalf of the Habsburg emperor Rudolf II. Later on, Mihai defeated Ieremia Movilă and took control over almost all of Moldavia, with the exception of Khotyn (Chocim or Hotin, a castle and a city on the right bank of the Dniestr), which remained in Polish hands. Mihai used titles of voivode of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia for the first time in May 1600. He tried to get recognition from Emperor Rudolf II, offered his vassalage to the Commonwealth and organized an anti-Turkish league. After King Sigismund III Vasa (Zygmunt III Waza) refused, Mihai sent his troops to take over Pokucie (as an area Moldavians were claiming to be theirs) but Commonwealth hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski met them with resistance.
  In 1600 Zamoyski and hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz gathered Commonwealth forces, returning to Moldavia, where they fought Mihai. Zamoyski defeated Mihai Viteazul near Bucov (Bukova) in Wallachia, on the Teleajen river, near present-day Ploiești, restored Ieremia Movilă to the throne, and helped his brother Simion Movilă to gain the throne in Bucharest, thus temporarily extending the sphere of Commonwealth influence south all the way to the Danube. In the meantime, Mihai Viteazul traveled to Vienna to ask for the Emperor's help, in exchange for assisting the Habsburgs against the Ottomans and Imperial influence over Moldavia, previously aligned with the Commonwealth. The Emperor promised help and in 1601 sent an army led by Giorgio Basta that was to accompany Mihai on the way back. Upon their arrival in Transylvania, after the joint victory at Gurăslău against the prince of Transylvania, Sigismund Báthory, general Basta assassinated Mihai Viteazul during the night, on the field of Câmpia Turzii (south of Cluj), effectively taking Transylvania under Emperor's lead.
  Captain John Smith, the famous leader of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia and the Pocahontas story, was serving Sigismund Báthory as a mercenary. Smith was captured, and sold to Crimean Tatar slave traders. He later escaped to Poland before continuing on to England, from where he sailed to America in 1607.
  The Commonwealth was unable to capitalize on its gains, as the Polish-Swedish War had just started and the majority of Commonwealth forces were desperately needed to protect Livonia (Inflanty). A year later, Simion Movilă was ousted from the Wallachian throne by local boyars who replaced him with Radu Șerban, with the consent of the Ottomans (relieved to see the Polish influence at the Danube diminish). The Commonwealth managed to retain control over Moldavia, and the only side not to gain anything was the Habsburgs: in fact, they lost control over all of their former possessions in the region. However, the Peace of Žitava ended the Habsburg-Ottoman conflict known as the Long War, and forced the Ottomans to recognize the Habsburgs as equals, due to the former's inability to penetrate Royal Hungary. This ended direct war between the Ottomans and the Habsburgs for decades, but the two powers still struggled for influence in the region that constitutes modern-day Romania.
caption: The three Principalities and the territories united under Mihai's authority for four months.
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