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<\/a><\/p>\nBy the end of the 16th century, Ottoman suzerainty had become extremely oppressive, particularly due to increased tribute, frequent changes in rulers, the purchase of the throne for large sums of money, and other injustices and obligations. The princes of the three lands were often overwhelmed by this Ottoman oppression, particularly those of Wallachia, who were far more vulnerable, even from a geographical standpoint. The princes of Transylvania held greater power, as the region was shielded by the Carpathian Mountains and benefited from Habsburg \u201cprotection.\u201d In Wallachia, where the situation was most dire, a savior emerged. This was Prince Mihai, who, in order to ascend the throne in 1593, swore allegiance to the sultan and paid large sums of money in Istanbul (Constantinople).<\/p>\n
Once he became ruler, Mihai consolidated his power at home and prepared for the anti-Ottoman revolt. He brought his country into an alliance against the Turks, known as the \u201cHoly League,\u201d initiated by the Habsburgs and the Pope. There was already a European tradition, dating back about two centuries, of organizing such alliances, usually under the authority of the Holy See. For a time, in the second half of the 15th century, these leagues took the form of \u201ccrusades,\u201d convened periodically, almost every four years. This alliance also included Spain, Venice, several Italian duchies, Moldavia, and Transylvania. In this context, the Hungarian prince of Transylvania considered himself a sort of suzerain over the three lands, which in antiquity had formed Dacia and which, often in the spirit of the Renaissance, were still referred to as Dacia. The envoy sent from Rome to recruit the prince of Wallachia into the league was instructed by the pope to encourage Michael by reminding him of his Roman origins, as well as those of the Romanian people. Moreover, it is known that Michael the Brave was sensitive to this matter, since at times, to encourage his soldiers to fight with greater zeal, he would remind them of the glory of their Roman ancestors.<\/p>\n
The anti-Ottoman revolt began in Bucharest in 1594<\/p>\n
With the help of the Transylvanians and in agreement with the ruler of Moldavia, Mihai launched the anti-Ottoman revolt in Bucharest in 1594. With his own army of mercenaries and support from allies, the prince of Wallachia achieved brilliant victories against the Turks and Tatars, both north and south of the Danube, rekindling hope among the Christian peoples of the Balkans. The Romanian prince had earned a reputation in Europe as a hero of Christendom, capable of liberating even the Balkans and Constantinople. His most famous battle was that of C\u0103lug\u0103reni, on August 13\/23, 1595, followed by the Battle of Giurgiu in October 1595, after which, with Transylvanian aid, the Ottoman threat was averted. Before long, the Turks sought peace and, out of necessity, recognized Mihai as prince. But the peace was short-lived, as long as Poland and Transylvania were inclined to make agreements with the Ottoman Empire directed against the Romanian prince. To strengthen his country\u2019s position, he concluded a treaty with the Habsburg Empire (1598), which to some extent balanced the situation. The Romanian prince\u2019s anti-Ottoman sentiments and attitudes were clear, accompanied by the idea of defending the entire European Christian civilization. In a memorandum addressed by Michael the Brave in 1601 to Emperor Rudolf II, he writes: \u201cMy province, Wallachia, is no more than a five-day journey from the tyrant\u2019s seat, known as Constantinople, and only the Danube separates it from the enemy\u2019s territory. In this land I could have lived peacefully, safely, and without any fear, had I not felt called by my loyalty to Your Majesty and to all of Christendom. I, however, not wishing to increase the power of the Turks through my soldiers for the destruction of Christians, willingly declared myself ready to join the Christian League\u2014an act by which I made the tyrant my mortal enemy, thirsting for my blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the effective defense of his country and of all Christendom, however, something else was also needed: namely, vigorous action to expand the human, territorial, and economic foundations of his reign, to consolidate the prince\u2019s power, and to grant him true independence, especially in relation to the Ottoman Empire. Mihai decided, taking advantage of his alliance with the emperor, to bring under his own authority the three lands referred to by humanists as Dacia. They had an advantage over the Balkan lands in that they were not occupied by the Ottomans, which gave the prince greater freedom of movement. Their economies complemented one another, trade routes crossed the Carpathians with ease, Transylvanian merchants enjoyed privileges south and east of the Carpathians, the princes and certain boyars from this region ruled over hundreds of fortresses, market towns, and villages in Transylvania, and the Metropolis of the Romanians in Transylvania (with its suffragan bishoprics) was under the jurisdiction of the Metropolis of Wallachia. Another important factor was the common ethnic and demographic foundation: Romanians constituted the majority population in all three countries.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the Sz\u00e9kelys of Transylvania sided with the Romanian prince against their own princely family, which had curtailed some of their ancient privileges. As a result, in 1599, the army of Wallachia, led by Mihai Viteazul (theoretically in the name of the Habsburg emperor), crossed the mountains into Transylvania via the Buz\u0103u Valley and defeated the army of the local prince, Andrei B\u00e1thory, near Sibiu. The ruler of Wallachia was also proclaimed Prince of Transylvania at Alba Iulia in November 1599. At that time, the Romanians also rose up to fight alongside Mihai, \u201cdriven by the confidence that they had a ruler of their own kin\u201d (contemporary account).<\/p>\n
In Ia\u0219i, in the summer of 1600, he styled himself \u201cruler of Wallachia, Transylvania, and all of Moldavia.\u201d<\/p>\n
In May 1600, Mihai\u2019s army crossed the mountains once more, this time heading east, and incorporated Moldavia into the new political entity. Thus, in Ia\u0219i, in the summer of 1600, Mihai the Brave meaningfully styled himself \u201cprince of Wallachia, Transylvania, and all of Moldavia.\u201d It was also here, in Ia\u0219i, that Prince Mihai designed for the first time the common coat of arms, consisting of the combined symbols of the three lands. Mihai Viteazul had thus become, as his contemporaries assessed in a humanist spirit, a \u201crestitutor Daciae\u201d\u2014that is, the restorer of Dacia. He had restored it, however, for the benefit of the Romanians\u2014as some witnesses would note, timidly and indirectly, and as his successors would later emphasize with increasing clarity. The union did not last, because not only the Hungarian nobles but also the Poles, the Habsburgs, and the Ottomans were opposed to Mihai, and because the restoration of Dacia in a modern spirit and under the leadership of a Romanian prince did not yet benefit from the necessary institutions and conditions. For this reason, the unifying prince was assassinated from behind, with the complicity of the nobility, near Turda, on August 9\/19, 1601. As early as the century in which he died, Mihai had caught the attention of great artists, such as the Spanish poets and playwrights Calder\u00f3n de la Barca (1600\u20131681), who dedicated the play \u201cEl prodigioso capit\u00e1n\u201d to him, and Lope de Vega (1562\u20131635), who described him in glowing terms.<\/p>\n
For Romanians, Mihai eventually became a national hero, a model for the unification of all Romanians. He did not create a unified Romania in 1600, but he took a series of measures in Transylvania and Moldavia that paved the way for the great unification between 1848 and 1918. In Transylvania, he appointed Romanian officials to central and local institutions; he issued decrees and documents in Romanian, thereby making the language official alongside the established ones; he granted grazing rights to the herds of Romanian villages; he exempted the Romanian clergy from corv\u00e9e labor, placing them on equal footing with Hungarian, Szekler, and Saxon priests; and he brought priests and bishops from Wallachia to Transylvania. Mihai founded Romanian churches in Transylvania, and painters immortalized his image in votive paintings. Before the Great Union, some Romanian peasant homes in Transylvania were required to display a portrait of the Austro-Hungarian emperor, but on the back of these paintings was the image of Michael the Brave, which could be seen when the painting was turned over\u2014a sight reserved for when only the Romanian family was at home. An eyewitness once asked the head of the household why these double portraits existed, and he reportedly replied, \u201cWe honor the Lord of the Union as we do the saints in the icons.\u201d That is why, 425 years after his ascension to heaven, it is right and fitting to honor the memory of this great man, \u201cby the grace of God, ruler of Wallachia, Transylvania, and all of Moldavia.\u201d Mihai was fully aware that he had served his country and Christendom.<\/p>\n
source: Ioan Aurel Pop<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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