, the result being that the allied
princes of Wallachia and Moldavia were soon able to report to Prince
Sigismund that both banks of the Danube eastward to the Black Sea had
been swept clear of the Ottoman forces.

III.

But Michael's troubles were far from terminated by these victories.
Before securing the co-operation of the Prince of Siebenbuergen, he had,
with a duplicity which characterised his whole career, agreed to
acknowledge Sigismund as his suzerain, his object being to free himself
from Turkish rule and then assume independent power. But the
Transylvanians were not to be so easily disposed of, and after the
victories over the Turks they in their turn demanded homage from the two
Voivodes, and backed their claim by an irresistible force. The Voivode
of Moldavia was seized and imprisoned, and Michael, deeming prudence the
better part of valour, submitted to the terms which were dictated to
him. These were in appearance worse even than the Turkish
'capitulations,' but, as they were never kept, it is unnecessary to
mention them. Sigismund assumed the title 'By the grace of God, Prince
of Siebenbuergen, of Moldavia and Wallachia, and of the Holy Roman
Empire, &c.' (he in his turn being the vassal of the German Emperor),
whilst Michael was denied the claim to divine right, was restricted in
his princely powers, and was addressed as 'Dominus Michael Voivoda regni
nostri Transalpinensis.' He was not permitted to employ the national
seal, but was allowed the use of red wax.

Perhaps it was well for Michael that he submitted to these humiliating
conditions at the hands of his ally, or his reign might have been even
shorter than it was, for the Turk was again at his gates with an
overwhelming army. The Sultan Murad III. was dead, January 1595, and was
succeeded by Mahommed III.; nineteen brothers, we are told, having been
slaughtered to obviate dissensions, a custom which is still followed, as
the reader is doubtless aware, in certain oriental realms. Shortly after
his accession, the Porte again proceeded to assume the sovereignty of
the Principalities, and an army variously estimated from 100,000 to
180,000 men, under Sinan Pasha, was concentrated at Rustchuk to take
possession of the provinces. Michael was at the time able to collect
only 8,000 men, for the Transylvanian troops had been withdrawn, but his
encounter with the overwhelming Turkish force arrayed against him on
this occasion undoubtedly presents the