Mircea the Elder

Mircea the Elder Mircea cel Bătrân (Romanian)
Mircea the Elder. Fresco in the Episcopal Church of Curtea de Argeș
Voivode of Wallachia
Reign	23 September 1386–1395 1397–31 January 1418
Predecessor	Dan I Vlad I Uzurpatorul
Successor	Vlad I Uzurpatorul Mihail I
Born	1355
Died	31 January 1418 (aged 62–63)
Burial	4 February 1418 Cozia Monastery, Vâlcea County
Spouse	Maria Tolmay Doamna Anca
Issue	Mihail I Radu II Prasnaglava Alexandru I Aldea Vlad II Dracul Ana Arina
House	Basarab
Father	Radu I
Mother	Kalinikia
Religion	Orthodox Christian

Mircea the Elder (Romanian: Mircea cel Bătrân, pronounced [ˈmirt͡ʃe̯a t͡ʃel bəˈtrɨn], d. 31 January 1418) was Prince of Wallachia from 1386 until his death. The byname "elder" was given to him after his death in order to distinguish him from his grandson Mircea II ("Mircea the Younger"). Starting in the 19th century, Romanian historiography has also referred to him as Mircea the Great (Mircea cel Mare).

Mircea was the son of voivode Radu I of Wallachia and his wife, Kalinikia, thus being a descendant of the House of Basarab. He was the father of Vlad II Dracul and Alexander I Aldea, and grandfather of Mircea II, Vlad Țepeș (Dracula), Vlad Călugărul and Radu the Handsome. All of these would at one time or the other rule Wallachia, with Mircea II and Vlad Țepeș both being able military commanders (the latter became one of the most notorious leaders in history, and the inspiration for the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker).

Mircea's reign is often considered to have brought stability to Wallachia. Found in a volatile region of the world, this principality's borders constantly shifted, but during Mircea's rule, Wallachia controlled the largest area in its history: from the Southern Carpathians in the north to the Danube in the south, and from today's Iron Gates on the Danube in the west to the Black Sea in the east.