Mihnea II Turcitul ("Mihnea the Turned-Turk"; July 1564 – October 1601) was

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

(

Voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

) of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

between September 1577 and July 1583, and again from April 1585 to May 1591.

Rise to the throne

The only son of Alexandru II Mircea and Ecaterina Salvaresso, he ascended to the throne after events characteristic for the decline in prestige of local custom and princely power under pressure from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(Wallachia's suzerain): Mihnea had to compete with a foreign pretender, the Lombard physician Rosso, who claimed to be descended from a Wallachian ruler, and ultimately succeeded after enlisting the help of his grandmother, the influential Lady Chiajna.

Unpopular taxation policy

He, Ecaterina Salvaresso and Chiajna subsequently established what would become a highly unpopular rule, which followed the political guidelines imposed by Alexandru II, and saw a major increase in taxes — around 1583, the pressure was leading peasants to abandon their plots and flee to

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

in large numbers.

Exile to Tripoli

Local

boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russian nobility, Russia), Boyars of Moldavia and Wallach ...

unsuccessfully

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

ed the Porte citing Mihnea's youth, began talks with a certain Pătrașcu or ''Radul Popa'' (who claimed to be the son of Pătrașcu cel Bun), and eventually rebelled in

Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...

(under the leadership of the Craiovești family). A more powerful pretender was the real son of Pătrașcu cel Bun, Petru Cercel, who held the throne from 1583 to 1585, provoking Mihnea's

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

to Tripoli (where he was kept in custody by Ottoman authorities).

Financial promises to the Ottoman Grand Vizier and the Sultan

His wealthy mother's family gave gifts to the officials of the sultan, in order to purchase back the throne. The obligations he contracted in order to have Petru removed (around 700,000 '' scudi'') forced Mihnea to increase the fiscal burden, and especially the

quit-rent Quit rent, quit-rent, or quitrent is a tax or land tax imposed on occupants of freehold or leased land in lieu of services to a higher landowning authority, usually a government or its assigns. Under English feudal law, the payment of quit ren ...

, to even higher levels upon his return to

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. In addition, Mihnea allegedly promised

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Koca Sinan Pasha as many

gold coin A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are 90–92% gold (22fineness#Karat, karat), while most of today's gold bullion coins are pure gold, such as the Britannia (coin), Britannia, Canad ...

s as 600 horses could carry, in order to have Petru killed;Xenopol, p.32 in March 1590, his request was granted by

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Murad III Murad III (; ; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Safavid Iran, Safavids. The long-inde ...

, who ordered Petru's execution, in exchange for 70,000 gold coins.

Deposition

One year after his mother Catherine's death, the Turks removed Mihnea for the second time. Despite the established contacts, the Ottomans deposed Mihnea, in favor of Ștefan Surdul (who was allegedly a leather cutter and harness maker by trade).Xenopol, p.33 After moving to

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, he bade without success for the throne in

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

Conversion to Islam and life in Nikopolis

In a desperate attempt to regain the throne, Mihnea and his eldest son converted to Islam. This is why he is known as "Turcitul" or "the Islamized". The move qualified him for Ottoman administrative office - he was awarded the

sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

of Nikopolis (in today's

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

), under the name of Mehmed (or Mehmet) Bey.Ştefănescu, p.164 These un-traditional gestures did not prevent his youngest son, Radu Mihnea, from becoming Prince in 1601.

Death in Istanbul

He died in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

in 1601 and was buried in an unmarked grave.

Notes

References

''Letopisețul Cantacuzinesc''
*Ștefan Ștefănescu, ''Istoria medie a României'',

, Vol. I, 1991 * A. D. Xenopol, ''Istoria romînilor din Dacia Traiană'', Vol. V, cap. 3,

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, 1896 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mihnea Turcitul 1564 births 1601 deaths 16th-century princes of Wallachia 16th-century Muslims 17th-century Muslims Converts to Sunni Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy Political people from the Ottoman Empire House of Drăculești Romanian Muslims