Mihnea cel Rău (Mihnea the Wrongdoer/Mean/Evil; c.1460 – 12 March 1510), the son of Vlad III Dracula (Vlad Țepeș), and his first wife, was Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia from 1508 to 1509, having replaced his first cousin Radu cel Mare. During his reign, he ruled alongside his son Mircea III Dracul in the year 1509. Unpopular among the boyars, he was overthrown with Ottoman assistance, prompting him to take refuge in Transylvania – where he was murdered in front of the Sibiu Cathedral and buried inside it.
The fight for the throne
After his father's death, Mihnea ambitiously attempted to succeed him. He organized several raids with the aid of boyars, who supported his father and were eager to support his son. In 1508, Mihnea finally succeeded in gaining the throne, but it would not take long for the majority of noblemen oppose him.
Family
Historical documents reveal the two women whom Mihnea married. His first wife, Smaranda, died before 1485. His second, Voica, was widowed by Mihnea's assassination. She raised their two sons, Miloș and Mircea III Dracul (who later took the title "Mircea III"), and their daughter Ruxandra, and continued to reside in Sibiu, Transylvania. It is known that Mihnea had taken a preference to his younger son Mircea III Dracul, whom he named after his great-grandfather Mircea cel Bătrân.
His daughter Ruxandra later married Moldavian Prince Bogdan III cel Orb.
He was rumored to have had a second son, "Morsus Atrum", born in 1508, at the beginning of his reign.
"Cel Rău"
Mihnea was dubbed "Cel Rău" meaning "the Bad" or "the Evil One" by Vlad's enemies, the Craiovești faction of boyars. One of Mihnea's most vocal enemies was a monk named Gavril Protul who was an abbot and chronicler of this time period. He described Mihnea's actions as follows: