# Michael the Brave: three crowns, one year (1593–1601)

In May 1600 a prince of Wallachia ruled, for the first time, all three Romanian lands. Four months later he held not one. This is the story of the three campaigns — and of the treasury that paid for them.

_By Marius Comper · 18 September 2026 · English edition_

## The short answer

Michael the Brave (1558–1601) took Wallachia in October 1593, defeated the Ottoman Empire at Călugăreni (13/23 August 1595), conquered Transylvania at Șelimbăr (18/28 October 1599), entered Alba Iulia on 1 November 1599 and seized Moldavia by surprise (6 May 1600). For four months — May–September 1600 — he held all three crowns in a personal union, not a national one. Defeated at Mirăslău (18 September 1600) and driven from Moldavia at Bucov, he returned with 100,000 florins from Prague, won at Guruslău (3 August 1601) and was assassinated at Câmpia Turzii (9/19 August 1601).

## The map of the three campaigns

Three campaigns on a single map, from October 1593 to August 1601. Press play and watch the empire grow while the treasury drains.

- **October 1593** — An enthronement on credit: 200,000 florins, the treasury full.
- **20 May 1595** — The treaty of Alba Iulia: alliance with Sigismund Báthory.
- **13/23 August 1595** — Călugăreni: victory over Sinan Pasha, then retreat.
- **October 1595** — Târgoviște and Giurgiu retaken beside the allies.
- **26 June 1599** — Peace with the Turks: without money or allies, the war stops.
- **18/28 October 1599** — Șelimbăr: Transylvania conquered by the sword.
- **1 November 1599** — The triumphal entry into Alba Iulia: the second crown.
- **6 May 1600** — The crossing into Moldavia: the third crown.
- **18 September 1600** — Mirăslău: Transylvania lost.
- **October 1600** — Bucov, on the Teleajen: Moldavia lost too.
- **February–March 1601** — Prague: an audience and 100,000 florins for a new host.
- **3 August 1601** — Guruslău: the last victory, between 9 and 19 o'clock.
- **9/19 August 1601** — Câmpia Turzii: assassinated on Rudolf II's order. The treasury: empty.

An illustrative counter: it joins two documented sums — 200,000 florins (1593) and 100,000 florins (1601) — with a linear drain. The real monthly wages are undocumented.

## The three campaigns and the fall

### I. The inheritance (1593–1595)

A throne bought with 200,000 borrowed florins — and defended with the first Christian victory against Sinan Pasha.

Mihai Pătrașcu — Ban of Mehedinți in 1588, stolnic, then Ban of Craiova in 1593 — quarrelled with Alexandru cel Rău in May 1593 and fled to Transylvania, then to Constantinople. With the support of his cousin Andronikos Kantakouzenos and of the English ambassador Edward Barton, plus a loan of 200,000 florins, he was invested prince by Sultan Murad III in September 1593; his effective rule begins on 11 October.
He joined Pope Clement VIII's Holy League and signed the treaty of Alba Iulia on 20 May 1595 — a regime of the 12 great boyars. Sinan Pasha crossed the Danube on 4 August with a host nearly three times larger; on 13/23 August 1595, on the marshy field of Călugăreni, Michael defeated him — but then had to retreat to Stoienești, while Sinan occupied Bucharest and Târgoviște and declared the country a pashalik.
Liberation came only in October 1595, beside Sigismund Báthory's 40,000 men under Bocskai: Târgoviște and Giurgiu were retaken. The Turkish war dragged on, with pauses on 7 January 1597 and 9 June 1598, until the peace of 26 June 1599 — signed because Michael had run out of money and allies.

> The sun was about to set below the horizon when the news that the awaited relief had arrived poured the hope of victory and new courage into the hearts of that handful of Romanian champions, who fought like dragons […] That relief, though, which our men imagined strong, was but a band of three hundred musketeers from Transylvania.

— Nicolae Bălcescu, Romanians under Prince Michael the Brave, book II (public domain; translated from the Romanian)

### II. Transylvania, by the sword (1599)

Peace with the Turks in June, war on the cardinal in October: crossing the Carpathians at Buzău and the hour of Șelimbăr.

The Ottoman peace, signed on 26 June 1599, freed his hands against Cardinal Andrew Báthory, who treated by turns with Basta, with Poland and with the Turks. Michael crossed the Carpathians at Buzău unopposed, won the Székelys with freedom from serfdom and advanced through Prejmer and Șercaia toward Sibiu.
On 18/28 October 1599 the Wallachian–Székely host destroyed the cardinal's army at Șelimbăr. Andrew Báthory fled toward Poland, was caught and killed by the Székelys, and his head was brought to Michael — who gave him a pompous funeral at Alba Iulia.
On 1 November 1599 he entered Alba Iulia in triumph as master of Transylvania. The diet, however, recognised him only as imperial governor subject to Rudolf II; he demanded the title of Prince of Transylvania and the Partium. Between 20 and 28 November 1599 he held his first diet.

> At that time, Michael arrayed his hosts anew against the enemy. He sent forward two companies of Poles who had not yet fought that day, who fell with fury upon the hosts of Barcsai and Moses, killing and overthrowing all before them.

— Nicolae Bălcescu, Romanians under Prince Michael the Brave, book IV (public domain; translated from the Romanian)

### III. Moldavia, by surprise (1600)

1 May: the camp at Prejmer. 6 May: the mountains crossed where no one waited. June: three crowns on a single head.

In the spring of 1600 Michael struck Moldavia on the declared pretext of avenging Ștefan Răzvan. Bălcescu writes that the host passed 50,000 men — 38,000 musketeers, 3,000 Cossacks, 4,000 Serb horsemen, 4,000 Székelys and 4,000 volunteers under Baba Novac — in two columns, via Trotuș and via Focșani. On 1 May he camped at Prejmer; on 6 May 1600 he crossed the mountains by an untrodden road, where the enemy least expected him.
Ieremia Movilă and Sigismund Báthory — caught at a wedding at Trotuș — fled all the way to Hotin. All Moldavia was occupied, and its government left to Marcu, son of Petru Cercel, beside Preda Buzescu. Michael changed his seal to show the personal union of the three lands: the same person, three crowns, three administrations.
For four months — May–September 1600 — he held everything. The emperor asked him to give up Transylvania and be content with Wallachia and Moldavia; Michael refused: Transylvania he had won “with the sword”. On 20 July 1600 he opened the diet at Alba Iulia and made it swear loyalty to him anew.

> On 6 May 1600, Michael […] set off for Moldavia; and wishing to arrive even before the news of his coming, with a haste all marvelled at, giving his hosts no rest, he crossed the mountains not by the usual road, where he knew the enemy awaited him, but climbing through the harshest mountains, among rocks and rugged defiles.

— Nicolae Bălcescu, Romanians under Prince Michael the Brave, book IV (public domain; translated from the Romanian)

### IV. The fall (1600–1601)

Mirăslău, Bucov, Prague, Guruslău, Câmpia Turzii: eleven months from summit to grave.

On 18 September 1600 the revolted nobility and Basta's army crushed him at Mirăslău. The Wallachian artillery, fallen into enemy hands, fired on its own ranks; Michael swam the Mureș on horseback and fled through Alba Iulia to Făgăraș. Meanwhile Jan Zamoyski's Poles entered Moldavia: defeats at Năieni, Ceptura and Bucov on the Teleajen — the third crown lost too.
At Prague, Rudolf II first refused him, then — after Basta lost Transylvania to Sigismund Báthory — granted him audience between 23 February and 5 March 1601, with 100,000 florins for a new army. In Wallachia, his son Nicolae Pătrașcu was driving Simion Movilă out of Moldavia.
On 3 August 1601, between 9 and 19 o'clock, Michael with 20,000 men and Basta with 14,000 defeated Sigismund's 18,000 horsemen and 12,000 foot with 45 guns at Guruslău. Days later, near Câmpia Turzii, Basta's men assassinated him on Emperor Rudolf II's order: 9/19 August 1601.

> Michael and his generals strove with all their might to stop the fugitives, pushing them toward battle, some with words, some with the hand, some with his shield. Vain toil!

— Nicolae Bălcescu, Romanians under Prince Michael the Brave, book V, ch. XXVII (public domain; translated from the Romanian)

## The figures

- **1558–1601** — the life of Mihai Pătrașcu
- **200,000** — florins, the loan for the throne (1593)
- **13/23 August 1595** — Călugăreni: victory, then retreat
- **18/28 October 1599** — Șelimbăr: Transylvania conquered by the sword
- **1 November 1599** — the triumphal entry into Alba Iulia
- **May–September 1600** — three simultaneous crowns: about four months
- **100,000** — florins, the Prague subsidy (1601)
- **3 August 1601** — Guruslău: the last victory, 9–19 o'clock
- **9/19 August 1601** — assassinated at Câmpia Turzii

## Myths to explode

### “The first union of the Romanians”

**A nineteenth-century label**. Michael held the three lands in a personal union — the same person, three crowns, three administrations — and the Transylvanian diet recognised him only as imperial governor. No national programme is documented; Bălcescu himself reproaches him that he “does nothing for the Romanians”. The idea of a “first union” belongs to Romantic historiography, 250 years after the events.

### “He ruled all three for a year”

**About four months**. Simultaneous rule begins with the occupation of Moldavia (May 1600) and ends at Mirăslău (18 September 1600). May–September 1600: about four months, not a year.

### “Călugăreni crushed the Empire”

**A tactical victory; the war went on**. On 13/23 August 1595 Michael defeated a far larger host, but then withdrew to Stoienești, while Sinan occupied Bucharest and Târgoviște and declared the country a pashalik. Liberation came only in October 1595, with the help of Sigismund Báthory's host.

## Sources

### The factual spine

- [EN Wikipedia — Michael the Brave: the factual spine (reigns, battles, treaties, money, assassination)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_the_Brave)
- [EN Wikipedia — Battle of Călugăreni: 23 August 1595](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_C%C4%83lug%C4%83reni)
- [EN Wikipedia — Battle of Șelimbăr: 18 October 1599 (Old Style)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_%C8%98elimb%C4%83r)
- [EN Wikipedia — Early modern Romania: 28 October 1599, 18 September 1600](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_modern_Romania)
- [EN Wikipedia — Battle of Mirăslău: 18 September 1600](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mir%C4%83sl%C4%83u)
- [EN Wikipedia — Battle of Guruslău: 3 August 1601, 9–19 o'clock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gurusl%C4%83u)
- [Agerpres via OrtodoINFO — the Alba Iulia entry, 1 November 1599](https://archive.org/download/tara_romaneasca/Mihai%20Viteazul%20%20-%201%20noiembrie.%20425%20de%20ani%20de%20la%20intrarea%20triumfal%C4%83%20a%20lui%20Mihai%20Viteazul%20%C3%AEn%20Alba-Iulia.pdf)
- [GURUSLĂU 1601 — the battle's strengths (18,000 + 12,000 + 45 guns against 20,000 + 14,000)](http://www.independentaromana.ro/read-offline/8569/guruslau-1601.pdf)
- [The Senate of Romania, L210/2020 — the disputed birthplace](https://www.senat.ro/legis/PDF/2020/20L210EM.PDF?nocache=true)

### Bălcescu (public domain)

- [Nicolae Bălcescu — Romanians under Prince Michael the Brave: the full text (public domain)](https://ro.wikisource.org/wiki/Rom%C3%A2nii_supt_Mihai-Voievod_Viteazul)
- [Book II, Călugărenii: the treaty of 20 May 1595, the battle scene](https://ro.wikisource.org/wiki/Rom%C3%A2nii_supt_Mihai-Voievod_Viteazul:_C%C4%83lug%C4%83renii)
- [Book IV, National unity: Șelimbăr, 1 May and 6 May 1600, the host of over 50,000](https://ro.wikisource.org/wiki/Rom%C3%A2nii_supt_Mihai-Voievod_Viteazul:_Unitatea_na%C8%9Bional%C4%83)
- [Book V, Mirislău: the diet of 20 July 1600, the defeat scene](https://ro.wikisource.org/wiki/Rom%C3%A2nii_supt_Mihai-Voievod_Viteazul:_Mirisl%C4%83u)

### The images

- [Sadeler 1601, Michael's portrait — Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MihaiViteazul.jpg)
- [Târgoviște 1595, a contemporary illustration — Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Targoviste1595.jpg)
- [Șelimbăr, Georg Keller, contemporary — Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_%C8%98elimb%C4%83r_-_Georg_Keller,_cropped.jpg)
- [The arms of the three lands — Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stema_Mihai_Viteazul.jpg)
- [Guruslău 1601, a contemporary engraving — Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guraslau1601.jpg)