Andronikos Kantakouzenos (1553–1601)

Andronikos Kantakouzenos (Greek: Ανδρόνικος Καντακουζηνός; Latin: Andronicus Cantacuzenus; Romanian: Andronic or Andronie Cantacuzino; 1553 – late 1601), also known as Mihaloğlu Derviş, was an Ottoman Greek entrepreneur and political figure, primarily active in Wallachia and Moldavia. He was the son of Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu, a powerful merchant of the Ottoman Empire, executed by Murad III in 1578. Forced to honor his father's outstanding debt, and briefly imprisoned as a galley slave, he rebuilt the fortune through commerce and political intrigues. In the 1590s, he was continuing his father's involvement as kingmaker for both Wallachia and Moldavia, acting as patron for a succession of Hospodars: Stephen the Deaf, Petru Cercel, Aaron the Tyrant and Peter the Lame all benefited f

Andronikos Kantakouzenos (1553–1601)

Andronikos Kantakouzenos (Greek: Ανδρόνικος Καντακουζηνός; Latin: Andronicus Cantacuzenus; Romanian: Andronic or Andronie Cantacuzino; 1553 – late 1601), also known as Mihaloğlu Derviş, was an Ottoman Greek entrepreneur and political figure, primarily active in Wallachia and Moldavia. He was the son of Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu, a powerful merchant of the Ottoman Empire, executed by Murad III in 1578. Forced to honor his father's outstanding debt, and briefly imprisoned as a galley slave, he rebuilt the fortune through commerce and political intrigues. In the 1590s, he was continuing his father's involvement as kingmaker for both Wallachia and Moldavia, acting as patron for a succession of Hospodars: Stephen the Deaf, Petru Cercel, Aaron the Tyrant and Peter the Lame all benefited f