The Drăculeşti were one of two major rival lines of Wallachian voivodes of the House of Basarab, the other being the Dăneşti. [1] These lines were in constant contest for the throne from the late fourteenth to the early sixteenth centuries. Descendents of the line of Drăculeşti would eventually come to dominate the rule of this principality until its unification with Transylvania and Moldavia by Mihai Viteazul in 1600.
As the house of Dăneşti, the line of the Drăculeşti began with Vlad II Dracul , one of the sons of one of the most important rulers of Basarab dynasty, Mircea cel Bătrân. The name Drăculeşti is derived probably from the membership of Mircea's son Vlad II Dracul "the Dragon" in the Order of the Dragon (founded 1408). The son of Vlad II was Vlad III Drăculea ("Dracula", i.e. "[son] of Dracul").
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Members of the Drăculeşti line who held the throne of Wallachia include the following:
| Ruler | Remark |
|---|---|
| Vlad II Dracul | 1436-1442, 1443-1447; son of Mircea cel Bătrân |
| Mircea II | 1442; son of Vlad II |
| Vlad III Drăculea | 1448, 1456-1462, 1476; son of Vlad II |
| Radu cel Frumos | 1462-1473, 1474; son of Vlad II |
| Vlad Călugărul | 1481, 1482-1495; son of Vlad II |
| Radu cel Mare | 1495-1508; son of Vlad Călugărul |
| Mihnea cel Rău | 1508-1509; son of Vlad III |
| Mircea III Dracul | 1510; son of Mihnea cel Rău |
| Vlad cel Tânăr | 1510-1512; son of Vlad Călugărul |
| Radu de la Afumaţi | 1522-1523, 1524, 1524-1525, 1525-1529; son of Radu cel Mare |
| Radu Bădica | 1523-1524; son of Radu cel Mare |
| Vlad Înecatul | 1530-1532; son of Vlad cel Tânăr |
| Vlad Vintilă de la Slatina | 1532-1534, 1534-1535; son of Radu cel Mare |
| Radu Paisie | 1534, 1535-1545; son of Radu cel Mare |
| Mircea Ciobanul | 1545-1552, 1553–1554, 1558-1559; son of Radu cel Mare |
| Pătraşcu cel Bun | 1554-1558; son of Radu Paisie |
| Petru cel Tânăr | 1559-1568; son of Mircea Ciobanul |
| Alexandru II Mircea | 1568-1574, 1574-1577; son of Mircea III Dracul |
| Vintilă | 1574; son of Pătraşcu cel Bun |
| Mihnea Turcitul | 1577-1583, 1585-1591; son of Alexandru II Mircea |
| Petru Cercel | 1583-1585; son of Pătraşcu cel Bun |
| Mihai Viteazul | 1593-1600; possibly a son of Pătraşcu cel Bun |