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.

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.

Marcu was born at a time when Wallachia and Moldavia, the two Danubian Principalities, were tributary states of the Ottoman Empire, which had a growing influence on the appointment of local rulers.

A letter from this "Io Marco voevod", although dated 1542,[2] was read by historian Nicolae Iorga as a possible reference to the much younger Cercel.

[3] It is unclear what became of this historical figure: some authors hypothesize that he embraced Islam upon Paisie's downfall; others believe that he was in fact the same person as Pătrașcu.

The chronicler Ciro Spontone similarly notes that Marcu was aged eighteen in September 1601,[17] an account also backed by historian Constantin Rezachevici.

Ottoman sources of the period suggest that he was a polygamist, keeping three mistresses, all of whom were Turkish and Muslim apostates; this would also make Marcu, and possibly his two brothers as well, half-Turkish.

She believes that a connected site in Cerbureni may preserve Marcu's only known portrait, done in terracotta by Italian artisans, and showing him as a young child.

The allegations surrounding Petru Cercel's amorous life and encouragement of apostasy produced a fatwa, and played a significant part in Sultan Murad III decision to shun his vassal.

They subsequently joined the retinue of Ferenc II, the Count Kendi, who regarded them as "his own sons" and granted them domicile in Dátos (Dătășeni).

[47] Michael's anti-Ottoman rebellion, and his entry into the Long Turkish War as an ally of the Holy Roman Empire, also resulted in Wallachia's conquest of Transylvania (October 1599).

One report by the English Ambassador Henry Lello, written in March 1599, suggests that Marco may have been groomed to take over in Moldavia even before its conquest.

[51] After renouncing other plans to make his own son, Nicolae Pătrașcu, ruler of that country, Michael finally sent Marcu to Iași, preparing him for his coronation.

[52] A regency council was eventually appointed, generally believed to have comprised Andronikos Kantakouzenos, Hetman Udrea Băleanu, Spatharios Negrea, and Armaș Sava.

[55] A Moldavian writer, Miron Costin, notes that Marcu, or Marcul vodă, was "princelet" for "a short while", but also that his reign was entirely omitted in the succession lists.

An 18th-century author, Johann Filstich, records that Marcu commanded some of the Moldavian military forces, but was easily defeated by Stanisław Żółkiewski.

In Transylvania, Michael's regime was destabilized by a revolt of the Hungarian nobility, which won backing from the Imperial general Giorgio Basta (see Battle of Mirăslău).

This implied using a heraldic seal with the Moldavian aurochs and the Wallachian bird, on Hungarian-language letters which he signed as Marko vaijvoda Moldvania (in Latin: Marcus Vayvoda C.czel).

[66] In March of that year, Polish King Sigismund Vasa received reports that Cercel was gathering a 10,000-strong army of Serb and Wallachian mercenaries, with which he planned to retake Iași.

[71] His troops defended Teișani from the Crimean Tatars, alongside forces led by Basta, Prince Radu and Stroe Buzescu.

[73] Basta praised his skill in directing hajduk raids, during which Cercel collected various bounties, but in the end ordered him to return, fearing Polish reprisals.

One record suggests that Marcu, alongside Count Dampierre, Boldizsár Kornis and Pongrác Sennyey, defended Szepesváralja (Spišské Podhradie) against troops led by the eponymous rebel leader, Stephen Bocskai.

[80] Marcu's estranged cousin and competitor, Nicolae Pătrașcu, also settled in the Habsburg lands, but not before attempting to seize Wallachia from Radu Șerban.

[89] In early 1613, he was involved again on the front against Báthory, asking Matthias to make him commander of the loyalist Transylvanian corps, which had been left leaderless by the death of Lajos Rákóczi.

[91] Nevertheless, the records of Schäßburg show that Marcu was bribing the Ottoman envoy Iskender Pasha and his son, hoping to obtain their goodwill.

According to István Szamosközy, Marcu arrived in Prague as early as July 1618, and even obtained from the rebels promises that they would make Bethlen ruler of the Czech lands.

[101] Cercel's services were rewarded by Bethlen: in August 1619, Marcu received the citadel and estate of Dezna, in Zaránd County; in October, while he was still away, Stanca was granted provisional ownership of Sóspatak (Șeușa) by its lord, the Canon Debreczeni.

[104] Kemény reports, with a dose of uncertainty ("as I remember it"), that Marcu and his daughter were guests at his wedding, which took place in Halmi (Halmeu) on June 14, 1632.

[107] Before 1620, he was supporting another one of Wallachia's intermittent rulers, Radu Mihnea, who made him an adjunct Postelnic and owner of Belizvor estate, in Mehedinți County.

[112] In the late 1860s, Mihai Eminescu began, but never finished, a romantic play which depicts a "Marcu Voivode" (wrongly credited as Michael the Brave's son).