In his final months, Leon, persuaded that he owed his triumph to Saint George, was a noted patron of religious art, building Slobozia Church and refurbishing Viforâta Monastery.

[12] In 1629, both countries were still struggling with the consequences of the Long Turkish War, when Michael the Brave and Radu Șerban successively attempted to restore Wallachian independence.

As historian Ion-Radu Mircea notes, "a grave conflict opposing Wallachia to the Sublime Porte had occurred in 1595–1611, provoked by heavy feudal duties and the Turks' ever-increasing interference in country affairs".

[14] As scholar Neagu Djuvara notes, the Ottomans made sure that both Wallachia and Moldavia were "militarily insignificant" by this moment in time, on their way to becoming "mere pawns in games of the great powers".

[28] Leon's own court was largely perceived by adversaries as a "Greek" cabal, but, according to Rezachevici, this point is rhetorical, not factual: "We must not view 'Greeks' as meaning only persons of this background, but generally south-of-the-Danube people, and even Romanians, who were loyal to the Prince.

"[30] As Rezachevici notes, in 1630 Leon's Boyar Divan comprised four Greeks, including Postelnic Alexandri and Paharnic Balasache Muselim, four Romanians, and one Albanian—Miho, brother of the more famous Leca Racotă.

[34] Leon's retinue also included a Muslim convert, Apostolos or Kürt Salman Çavuş, who was the son of a Ban Iane,[35] and as such probably a renegade member of the Cantacuzino family.

In 1629, George Apafi, an itinerant Hungarian aristocrat, noted that tax increases had "depleted the country", pushing taxpayers into hiding or exile, to the point where even horses had become a scarce commodity.

"[42] The series of rebellions and riots was resumed in October 1630, when Aslan, deposed Ban of Oltenia, led the local boyars into open revolt, aiming to crown himself Prince.

[44] According to various reports, Catargiu "invaded" land retained by the Craiovești house in Romanați County, splitting the Aga's inheritance; as a tax farmer, Matei was also confronted with the massive flight of his fiscal base into the Principality of Transylvania.

[47] One contemporary account suggests that they were able to enlist 1,000 runaway Wallachian serfs, whom they also used to confirm petitions they addressed to the Sultan and to George II Rákóczi, the reigning Prince of Transylvania.

At the end of the proceedings, Leon granted tax privileges and a degree of immunity to the major boyar families, including their virtual exemption from the capital punishment.

[57] The Divan was supposedly purged, though, as Rezachevici notes, only some of the Greek "Divanites" were ever demoted; others, such as Constantin Cantacuzino and Pavlakis Caradja, were simply moved to a privy council.

[58] The new measures mostly affected lesser categories: all Greek property owners were made subject to the income tax, while males who had married locals were required to perform military service alongside free peasants and burghers, as "Redcoats".

[54] Tomșa's reign provided an additional landmark case in Wallachian law, reinforcing existing provisions against the spread of Islam and dismissing equality for Muslims.

In late 1631, the Divan ruled against Leon's Muslim courtier, Kürt Salman, preventing him from recovering property his father had owned in Wallachia; the plaintiff was described as being "unprotected by laws".

[60] Leon's other nativist concessions included an order to dispossess Mount Athos of some Wallachian monasteries, namely those that Greek monks had received, as metochia, without explicit consent from the ktitors.

[66] The main rebel force pushed toward Bucharest, but, following his grants of privilege, Leon had fuller confidence in his own troops,[37] to whom he promised payments in bullion coin;[67] he was also backed by a native Logothete, Papa Greceanu.

[26] A final punitive expedition, led by Pătrașco Boul and Nedelco Boteanu,[73] drove Aslan, Matei and their followers to the northwestern corner of Oltenia.

"[75] Following these setbacks, Matei switched tactic, moving to another section of the border, at Făgăraș Citadel, and making more overtures to obtain help from Abaza.

[79] Leon believed that he owed his triumph to the miraculous intervention of Saint George, to whom he dedicated a place of worship, built on the very spot of the Bucharest battle—a building currently known as Slobozia Church.

Of this group, Mihai Coțofeanu helped the intruding force take control of Buzău; Barbu Brădescu was appointed Matei's Paharnic, commanding upon a section of his troops.

"[102] Rezachevici notes that the local boyars lost interest in "anti-Greek" agitation; the revolutionary initiatives fell exclusively on Seimeni and other mercenaries, as with Hrizea of Bogdănei's rebellion.

[106] In addition to sponsoring this venture and erecting Slobozia's cross, Prince Leon influenced the art of Romania through his furbishing of Viforâta Monastery, which celebrated his victory at Aninoasa.

[110] The Strassburg visit is also one of the early recorded instances of a monarch employing Lăutari for musical entertainment, with a repertoire of patrium carmen ("songs of the country").

This relatively unknown figure claimed to be Prince Leon's son, but was more likely a Greek commoner; his political rise is attributable to him being a favorite of Ahmed Köprülü, the Grand Vizier.

He populated the Divan with recent immigrants such as Nicula Sofialiul and Paharnic Manolache, while preserving a major role for Leon's boyar, Balasache Muselim; he was also especially unpopular for welcoming in an unusually large number of Greek bankers.

During his second reign from 1664, he and his Greek boyars sparked outrage by overseeing a major confiscation of monastery assets, which included melting down silver artifacts and desecrating the relics of Saint Nicodim.

The latter prevented his collection of revenue for the haraç, endangering Radu Leon's reign; he also launched credible rumors that Greeks were preparing a massacre of the Wallachian natives, creating a panic.

In his dedication to Zlataust Church of Iași, the Beizadea presented himself as heir to a long line of royals, probably leading back to Stephen VIII of Moldavia.