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 sixteenth centuries. Descendants of the line of Drăculești would eventually come to dominate the principality, until its common rule with Transylvania and Moldavia by Mihai Viteazul in 1600.

Etymology The line of the Drăculești began with Vlad II Dracul ("the Dragon"), son of one of the most important rulers of the Basarab dynasty, Mircea the Elder. The name is the patronymic of , which according to most historians is derived from the 1431 membership of Vlad II in the Order of the Dragon () that had been founded in 1408 AD by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund. Another proposal holds that Vlad II earned the nickname "Dracul" (at the time also meaning "Devil") by Romanians, who associated the dragon imagery on the Order's insignia with a demon. The Order's purpose was to defend the Hungarian royal house, where Sigismund ruled, as well as the Catholic Church. It created a strong solidarity among central and southeastern Europe's Christians, in their fight against Ottoman and Tartar (from the Golden Horde and Crimean Khanate) Muslims. Vlad II's son became known as Vlad Dracula () which meant "son of the Dragon", i.e. of Dracul.

Members of the Drăculești line Members of the Drăculești line who held the throne of Wallachia include the following: RulerRemarkVlad II, the Dragon1436–1442, 1443–1447; son of Mircea the ElderMircea II1442; son of Vlad IIVlad III, Drăculea1448, 1456–1462, 1476; son of Vlad IIRadu III, the Handsome1462–1473, 1474; son of Vlad IIVlad IV, the Monk1481, 1482–1495; son of Vlad IIRadu IV, the Great1495–1508; son of Vlad the MonkMihnea the Wrongdoer1508–1509; son of Vlad IIIMircea III, the Dragon1510; son of Mihnea the WrongdoerVlad V, the Younger1510–1512; son of Vlad the MonkVlad VI (Dragomir the Monk)1521; son of Vlad the YoungerRadu from Afumați1522–1523, 1524, 1524–1525, 1525–1529; son of Radu the GreatRadu VI Bădica1523–1524; son of Radu the GreatVlad VII, the Drowned1530–1532; son of Vlad the YoungerVlad VIII Vintilă from Slatina1532–1534, 1534–1535; son of Radu the GreatRadu VII Paisie1534, 1535–1545; son of Radu the GreatMircea V, the Shepherd1545–1552, 1553–1554, 1558–1559; son of Radu the GreatRadu VIII Ilie, the Hajduk1552–1553; son of Radu from AfumațiPătrașcu the Good1554–1558; son of Radu PaisiePetru the Younger1559–1568; son of Mircea the ShepherdAlexandru II Mircea1568–1574, 1574–1577; son of Mircea III, the DragonVintilă of Wallachia1574; son of Pătrașcu the GoodMihnea II, the Turned-Turk1577–1583, 1585–1591; son of Alexandru MirceaPetru II, Earring1583–1585; son of Pătrașcu the GoodMihai II, the BravePrince (or grand duke) of all three principalities: Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania (though for the last one, he was made German-Roman governor).1593–1601; son of Pătrașcu the GoodNicolae II Pătrașcu1599–1601; son of Mihai the Brave and co-ruler/ heirRadu IX Mihnea1601–1602, 1611, 1611–1616, 1620–1623; son of Mihai the BraveAlexandru V, the Little Prince1623–1627; son of Radu Mihnea, the last of Vlad the Impaler's Romanian bloodlineMihnea III Radualleged ancestry1658–1659 Trașcă Drăculescu – Wallachian boyar, inhabitant of Oltenia, the "last legitimate" descendant of the dynasty, who died in the 18th century.fictitious character laid out by Romanian writer, columnist and lawyer Păstorel Teodoreanu

See also List of rulers of Wallachia

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