Radu II Praznaglava (Radu II Empty Head/in Old Bulgarian/), (? – 1427?) was a

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale, line gauge, or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device. Usually, the instr ...

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 ...

in the 15th century, ruling for 4 terms, each time preceded by Dan II, his rival for the throne, and each time succeeded by him. Of those 4 periods on the throne of Wallachia, all were within a period of only 7 years, and 3 terms lasted less than a year. He ruled: * August 1420 – 1422 * summer of 1423 * autumn of 1424 * January – spring of 1427 Son of

Mircea cel Batran Mircea the Elder (, ; 1355 – 31 January 1418) was the Voivode of Wallachia from 1386 until his death in 1418. He was the son of Radu I of Wallachia and brother of Dan I of Wallachia, after whose death he inherited the throne. After the death ...

, he was probably the last

voievod 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 ...

to assert control of

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

and southern

Basarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

. Dobrogea was lost in 1417. His short intervals of rulership were marked by frequent and violent clashes with his rival and cousin, Dan II, for the throne of the principality. He found shelter and military support 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 ...

, and it was this submission to the Ottomans which ultimately caused Wallachia to lose Dobrogea and other territories. Radu II is last mentioned in the spring of 1427, when Dan II attacked him from

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 ...

, retook the throne, and most probably killed him. His nickname, as appears in Slavonic writings (''Praznaglava''), could also be translated as "simple-minded", but the more likely meaning is ”void of hair (bald)”. He is considered an obscure ruler, which placed Wallachia under Ottoman suzerainty.

References

, - 1427 deaths 15th-century princes of Wallachia Year of birth unknown House of Basarab {{Europe-royal-stub