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MIRCEA CEL BATRAN. MIRCEA THE ELDER. Why ….the ELDER?. Mircea the Elder ( 1355–1418 ) was ruler of Wallachia from 1386 until his death. The byname "elder" was given to him after his death in order to distinguish him from his grandson Mircea II ("Mircea the Younger ").
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MIRCEA CEL BATRAN MIRCEA THE ELDER
Why ….the ELDER? • Mircea the Elder(1355–1418) was ruler of Wallachia from 1386 until his death. • The byname "elder" was given to him after his death in order to distinguish him from his grandson Mircea II ("Mircea the Younger"). • Starting in the 19th century, Romanian historiography has also referred to him as Mircea the Great
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 river Olt in the north to the Danube in the south, and from the Danube's Iron Gates in the west to the Black Sea in the east
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. Through the intermediary of PetruMuşat, the prince of Moldavia, he concluded a treaty of alliance with Władysław II Jagiełło, king of Poland in 1389. The treaty was renewed in 1404 and 1410. He maintained close relations with Sigismund of Luxembourg, the king of Hungary, relying on their common interest in the struggle against Ottoman expansion
Conflicts with the Ottoman Empire • His interventions in support of the Bulgarians south of the Danube who were fighting against the Turks brought him into conflict with the Ottoman Empire. In 1394 Beyazid I (also known as "YıldırımBeyazıt", "the Thunderbolt") crossed the Danube river, leading 40,000 men, an impressive force at the time. Mircea had only about 10,000 men so he could not survive an open fight. He chose what today we would call guerrilla warfare by starving the opposing army and utilizing small, localized attacks and retreats (a typical form of asymmetric warfare).
On October 10, 1394, the two armies finally clashed at the Battle of Rovine, which featured a forested and swampy terrain, thus preventing the Ottomans from properly spreading their army; Mircea finally won the fierce battle and threw the Ottomans out of the country.
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. In the next year, 1397, Mircea, having defeated Vlad the Usurper with Hungarian help, stopped another Ottoman expedition that crossed the Danube, and in 1400 he defeated yet another expedition of Turks crossing the country.
The defeat of Sultan Beyazid I by TimurLenk (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 Dobrogea 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
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").
