Marcu Cercel information

Marcu Cercel
Reconstruction of a terracotta plate from Cerbureni, which may depict Marcu Cercel as a young boy
Prince of Moldavia
Reign	July 23–September 4, 1600
Predecessor	Michael the Brave (de facto)
Successor	Ieremia Movilă
Born	ca. 1580
Died	before 1629 (aged 35–50) Dezna?, Principality of Transylvania
Spouse	unknown woman (before 1618) Druzsina Bogáthy (1620s)
Issue	1 daughter
Dynasty	Drăculești?
Father	Petru Cercel Aaron the Tyrant (adoptive)
Mother	Sultana (Stanca) Köprülü?
Religion	Orthodox
Signature

Marcu Cercel, also known as Marco Cercel, Marcu-Vodă, or Marco-Voevod ("Marcu the Voivode"; Hungarian: Markó vajda, Italian: Marco Circelli;^[1] fl. 1580 – 1620), was a Wallachian adventurer who served as Prince of Moldavia in July–September 1600. His father, Petru Cercel, was Prince of Wallachia in the 1580s, and alleged son of Pătrașcu the Good. This probably meant that Marcu was a nephew of Michael the Brave, who in 1599–1601 managed to control Wallachia, Moldavia, and the Principality of Transylvania, making Marcu his representative or regional co-ruler. It is not precisely known who Marcu's mother was, but she was likely Turkish and related to the Köprülüs; she may be the same as Lady Stanca, who went on to marry Aaron the Tyrant, also Prince of Moldavia.

Marcu had his first military engagements in the 1600 war for Moldavia, when he was chased out by the Polish army. He fled to Transylvania before 1601, and, after Michael the Brave's killing, rallied with the Holy Roman Empire, which was fighting a Long War against the Ottoman Empire. By 1602, he was given a small command function in the Imperial Army, under Giorgio Basta, and saw action at Teișani, helping to defeat the Crimean Tatars. He then renounced plans to obtain the Wallachian throne, ceding it to another Habsburg favorite, Radu Șerban. His subsequent attempts to invade Moldavia from Transylvania were curbed by the Bocskai uprising, during which he also lost control over his Transylvanian estates. He lived for several years in Austrian Bohemia at the court of Sigismund Báthory.

In the 1610s, Cercel switched allegiances and became a favorite of Gabriel Bethlen; this rebel Prince of Transylvania also recommended him to the Ottomans. His final bid for the Moldavian throne ended in 1618, when Cercel settled in Transylvania. He lived to see the Bohemian Revolt and the Thirty Years' War, acting as Bethlen's agent in Prague. He was rewarded for results achieved during this mission, emerging as the owner of Dezna estate. He was twice married, the second time to Druzsina Bogáthy, who survived his death.