The Wallachian Rising, 1594-1601



A.) Prehistory

The Principality of Wallachia, since 1396/1417, was an Ottoman vassall. The Habsburg-Ottoman war of 1592-1606 distracted Ottoman attention and forces.


B.) The Rising

In 1594, the Voyevode of Wallachia (since 1593), Mihai (Michael), rejected recognition of Ottoman sovereignty. At the outset of the rebellion, the Jewish community of Bucharest was massacred. In the Battle of Calugareni 1595 he defeated an Ottoman force sent against him. With the Habsburg mercenary forces that held Transylvania against the Turks, discredited in the country they held because of atrocities committed and because of their support for the (hated) Counterreformation, in 1599 Mihai invaded Transylvania and established his control. In 1600 he ousted Prince Ieremia Movila from Moldavia and united the three principalities, which later made up Romania, for the first time in history.
The ousted princely families recruited fresh troops, and in 1601 campaigned again; Voyevode Mihai was killed on August 9th 1601. With him died the short-lived union of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia.


C.) The Legacy

Ottoman control over Wallachia was reestablished in 1611.




EXTERNAL
FILES 		Museul National de Istorie a Romaniei
Mihai Viteazul, 1593-1601, from Twinsite Cluj-Napoca - Groningen
Rulers of Wallachia till 1859, by Info Romania
Principality of Wallachia, from European Kingdoms, has timeline
The House of Osman, the Sultanate of Murad III, 1574-1595, (- 1606) from The Age of Transition, 1350-1650 (timeline)
Chronology of the Ottoman Empire, by John Holevoet
Article Bucharest, from Jewish Encyclopedia
DOCUMENTS Painting featuring Mihai Viteazu, from Romanian Museum of Nat'l History
REFERENCE Istvan Lazar, Transylvania, a Short History, Safety Harbor : Ingram 1997, pp.94-96



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on June 8th 2003, last revised on November 17th 2004

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