Mihnea III

Ancestry claims Radu's ancestry is uncertain. During his life, Radu claimed to be the son of Radu Mihnea, but other versions of his history give different accounts of his ancestry, such as claiming his true father was Radu Șerban or Mircea Ciobanu. Pârvu Cantacuzino claims that "Mihnea was originally a Greek money-lender. His father was called Iane the Deaf (Rom. “Surdul”), and he himself was baptized Franți. Thus, showing from a young age a propensity to follow Ishmael, Hagar's son, he ran away from his parents, went to Țarigrad, and bowed in allegiance to Kinan-pașa, telling him that he was the son of Radu-voivode and the grandson of Mihnea-voivode. And thus he spent his life with the Turks, around 40 years". ==Biography==

Early life According to a Turkish traveller, Mihnea was raised in the Greek community of Istanbul. He was a good friend of Grand Vizier Kenan Pasha and his wife Atike Sultan, and his status was reportedly comparable to that of an adopted son. Rise to power In July 1653, Mihnea was probably behind an assassination attempt on Matei Basarab's life. On 29 January 1658, Mihnea swore allegiance to Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV. A little over a month later, Ottoman troops invaded Wallachia and overthrew then-voivode Constantin Șerban, installing the more compliant Radu in his place on 5 March 1658. == References ==