Petru II Cercel (''Peter Earring'' or ''Earring Peter''; c. 1545 – March 1590) was a

Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

(

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

) of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

from 1583 to 1585, legitimate son to Pătrașcu cel Bun and alleged

half-brother A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separa ...

of Mihai Viteazul. A

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all Eu ...

and a minor figure as a poet, Petru is noted for having written his verses in Tuscan.

In Europe

Petru spent his early years constantly traveling, trying to win support in his bid for the Wallachian throne. The fact that, as of 1579, he received unconditional support in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, coupled with the

jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a w ...

-wearing that attracted his

moniker A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

have led to speculations that Cercel belonged to the group of mignons of Henry III. It is even stated that Henry interceded with the

Porte Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

to award Petru the crown because of his affection for him. Petru traveled to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

in 1581, as constant backing by the French

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

had influenced the Porte to look into matters; he arrived there in May, after being welcomed and spending time in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and Ragusa. His stay in the Ottoman capital was marked by a competition in bribing and intrigue, carried out against

Ecaterina Salvaresso Catherine Salvaresso, or ''Ecaterina Salvaresso'' (died 1590 in Tripoli) was a princess consort of Wallachia. She was married to Alexandru II Mircea and was the mother of Mihnea Turcitul Mihnea II Turcitul ("Mihnea the Turned-Turk"; July 1564 ...

, mother to the child-voivode Mihnea (who was to be known as

Mihnea Turcitul Mihnea II Turcitul ("Mihnea the Turned-Turk"; July 1564 – October 1601) was Prince ( Voivode) of Wallachia between September 1577 and July 1583, and again from April 1585 to May 1591. The only son of Alexandru II Mircea and Ecaterina Salva ...

). Petru was to emerge the winner, with Mihnea and Ecaterina heading for a brief

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

in Tripoli.

Members of the Drăculești line

Members of the

House of Drăculești The House of Drăculești () were one of two major rival lines of Wallachian voivodes of the House of Basarab, the other being the House of Dănești. These lines were in constant contest for the throne from the late fourteenth to the early sixt ...

who held the throne of Wallachia include the following: File:MirceatheElder.jpg, File:Vlad Dracul.jpg, File:Vlad Tepes 002.jpg, File:MihaiViteazul.jpg,

Reign

After a short stay in

Adrianopole Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...

, the new Prince entered

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

on 19 August 1583, accompanied by a

retinue A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers. Etymology The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', ...

of foreigners. Apparently, he aimed to replace some of the

boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars wer ...

with his own protegees: he ordered the killings of several Sfat members. At the same time, Petru increased taxes - this was motivated not only by his own large debt, but also by the fact that the throne was awarded to him on the condition not to cease payments owed by Mihnea (as Petru had waited to be awarded the throne, all debts had accumulated interest); on the side, the Prince also amassed a large personal fortune - more than half a million scudi by 1583. He expanded and improved the Court in

Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște''; german: Tergowisch) is a city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița River. Târgoviște was one of ...

(largely ruined today), notably by adding (1584) the Casa Domnească (''Princely House''), a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

-inspired small

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

, by building a new wall and Princely church, and by introducing plumbing. Petru Cercel established a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

in the city.

Downfall

The maneuvers of Mihnea and the hostility of certain Turkish beys attracted Petru Cercel's fall from grace. He managed to gather his fortune and flee the country on 6 April 1585, avoiding being taken into custody by the Ottoman

kapucu A kapucu (; ro, Kapudju or ') was an official envoy of the Ottoman Sultan in medieval Wallachia and Moldavia. Their missions were mostly associated with the recalling of subject hospodars or voivodes, often followed by their imprisonment or ...

. He arrived in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

only to be arrested in

Mediaș Mediaș (; german: Mediasch, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Medwesch''/''Medveš'', hu, Medgyes) is the second largest town in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. Geographic location Mediaș is located in the middle basin of Târnava Mare River, ...

Sigismund Báthory Sigismund Báthory ( hu, Báthory Zsigmond; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duke of Racibórz and Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transylvania as vo ...

's orders after being deserted by his men. His belongings were confiscated and he was sent to prison in

Maramureș or Marmaroshchyna ( ro, Maramureș ; uk, Мармарощина, Marmaroshchyna; hu, Máramaros) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpathians, alon ...

. In 1587, Petru managed to escape by sliding down a rope out the open window. He traveled to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

and then to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, reaching Rome (where he enlisted

Pope Gregory XIV Pope Gregory XIV ( la, Gregorius XIV; it, Gregorio XIV; 11 February 1535 – 16 October 1591), born Niccolò Sfondrato or Sfondrati, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 December 1590 to his death in October ...

's support for his cause); Henry III reassured him of his protection, and Petru headed for Istanbul - arriving in the city in July 1589. He tried to profit from Mihnea's second fall from grace (and exile), but he proved to be a feeble opponent: as Mihnea regained the throne, Petru was imprisoned at

Yedikule Yedikule ( en, Seven Towers) is a neighborhood of Fatih, Istanbul in Turkey. It is named after the seven-towered Yedikule Fortress, which surrounds the neighborhood. Urbanized in the 16th century, the neighborhood became a hub for industrial and ...

. Mihnea advanced large sums to have him killed by the Ottomans, in order to eliminate the threat. In March 1590, Petru Cercel was embarked on a ship, under the pretext of sailing to exile in

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

, and was decapitated on the spot.

Note

All dates are given in New Style format (see Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe).

External links

Cristian Luca, ''Influssi occidentali sull’atteggiamento politico di alcuni principi dei Paesi Romeni nei secoli XVI e XVII''
*

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...

''Histoire des Roumains et de leur civilisation. Éléments de la civilisation roumaine à l'époque moderne''

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cercel, Petru 1590 deaths 16th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire 16th-century LGBT people 16th-century Romanian people 16th-century rulers in Europe Early Modern Romanian writers Executed Romanian people Executed royalty House of Drăculești LGBT royalty Romanian LGBT people People executed by the Ottoman Empire by decapitation Rulers of Wallachia Year of birth unknown