Mircea the Elder

Mircea the Elder (, ; c. 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. During the reign of Mircea the Elder, Wallachia controlled the largest area in its history, gaining Dobruja in 1388, the Banate of Severin in 1388/9 and Podunavia (which is suspected to be the Timok Valley, or the name of the Danube river valley in Slavonic as stated in Mircea's letter "both sides of Danube"). In addition, he was also granted the fiefdoms of Amlaș and Făgăraș in Transylvania. The byname "elder" was given to him after his death in order to distinguish him from his grandson Mircea II ("Mircea the Younger"), although some historians believe the epithet was given to him as a sign of respect by later generations. He is considered the most important Wallachian ruler during the Middle Ages and one of the great rulers of his era, and starting in the 19th century Romanian historiography has also referred to him as Mircea the Great (Mircea cel Mare). Family Mircea was the son of voivode Radu I of Wallachia and his wife, Doamna Calinichia, thus being a descendant of the House of Basarab. He was the father of Michael I of Wallachia, Radu II of Wallachia, Alexander I Aldea and Vlad II Dracul, and grandfather of Mircea II, Vlad Țepeș (Dracula), Vlad Călugărul and Radu cel Frumos, all of whom became rulers of Wallachia. Mircea II and Vlad Țepeș were both able military commanders (Vlad Țepeș became one of the most famous leaders in history, and is commonly believed to be the inspiration for the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker).