Editing Wallachia (section)

===17th century===
{{Main|Early Modern Romania}}
[[File:Mihai Viteazul fighting the Turks, Giurgiu, October 1595.jpg|thumb|left|Fighting between Michael the Brave and the Ottomans in [[Giurgiu]], 1595]]

Initially profiting from Ottoman support, [[Michael the Brave]] ascended to the throne in 1593, and attacked the troops of [[Murad III]] north and south of the Danube in an alliance with Transylvania's [[Sigismund Báthory]] and Moldavia's [[Aron Vodă]] (see [[Battle of Călugăreni]]). He soon placed himself under the suzerainty of [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor|Rudolf II]], the [[Holy Roman Emperor]], and, in 1599–1600, intervened in [[Transylvania]] against [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland]]'s [[List of Polish monarchs|king]] [[Sigismund III Vasa]], placing the region under his authority; his brief rule also extended to [[Moldavia]] later in the following year.<ref>Ștefănescu, pp. 169–180</ref> For a brief period, Michael the Brave ruled (in a personal, but not formal, union)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://epa.oszk.hu/00400/00476/00005/pdf/13.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116172337/http://epa.oszk.hu/00400/00476/00005/pdf/13.pdf |archive-date=2007-01-16 |url-status=live |title=Cãlin Goina : How the State Shaped the Nation : an Essay on the Making of the Romanian Nation |website=Epa.oszk.hu |access-date=11 November 2017}}</ref> most of the territories where Romanians lived, rebuilding the base of the ancient Kingdom of [[Dacia]].<ref>Rezachevici, Constantin, Mihai Viteazul et la "Dacie" de Sigismund Báthory en 1595, Ed. Argessis, 2003, 12, pp. 155–164</ref> The rule of Michael the Brave, with its break with Ottoman rule, tense relations with other European powers and the leadership of the three states, was considered in later periods as the precursor of a modern Romania, a thesis which was argued with noted intensity by [[Nicolae Bălcescu]].{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} Following Michael's downfall, Wallachia was occupied by the Polish–Moldavian army of [[Simion Movilă]] (see [[Moldavian Magnate Wars]]), who held the region until 1602, and was subject to [[Nogais|Nogai]] attacks in the same year.<ref>Giurescu, pp. 65, 68</ref>

[[File:Tara Romaneasca judete 1601-1718.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|Counties of Wallachia, 1601–1718]]

The last stage in the [[Growth of the Ottoman Empire]] brought increased pressures on Wallachia: political control was accompanied by Ottoman economical hegemony, the discarding of the capital in [[Târgoviște]] in favour of [[Bucharest]] (closer to the Ottoman border, and a rapidly growing trade center), the establishment of [[serfdom]] under Michael the Brave as a measure to increase [[Manorialism|manorial]] revenues, and the decrease in the importance of low-ranking boyars (threatened with extinction, they took part in the ''[[seimeni]]'' rebellion of 1655).<ref>Giurescu, pp. 68–69, 73–75</ref> Furthermore, the growing importance of appointment to high office in front of land ownership brought about an influx of [[Greeks in Romania|Greek]] and [[Levant]]ine families, a process already resented by locals during the rules of [[Radu Mihnea]] in the early 17th century.<ref>Giurescu, pp. 68–69, 78, 268</ref> [[Matei Basarab]], a boyar appointee, brought a long period of relative peace (1632–1654), with the noted exception of the 1653 [[Battle of Finta]], fought between Wallachians and the troops of Moldavian prince [[Vasile Lupu]]—ending in disaster for the latter, who was replaced with Prince Matei's favourite, [[Gheorghe Ștefan]], on the throne in [[Iași]]. A close alliance between Gheorghe Ștefan and Matei's successor [[Constantin Șerban]] was maintained by Transylvania's [[George II Rákóczi]], but their designs for independence from Ottoman rule were crushed by the troops of [[Mehmed IV]] in 1658–1659.<ref>Giurescu, p. 74</ref> The reigns of [[Gheorghe Ghica]] and [[Grigore I Ghica]], the sultan's favourites, signified attempts to prevent such incidents; however, they were also the onset of a violent clash between the [[Băleanu family|Băleanu]] and [[Cantacuzino family|Cantacuzino]] boyar families, which was to mark Wallachia's history until the 1680s.<ref>Giurescu, p. 78</ref> The Cantacuzinos, threatened by the alliance between the Băleanus and the [[Ghica family|Ghicas]], backed their own choice of princes ([[Antonie Vodă din Popești]] and [[George Ducas]])<ref>Giurescu, pp. 78–79</ref> before promoting themselves—with the ascension of [[Șerban Cantacuzino]] (1678–1688).