Alexandru II Mircea was Hospodar

Hospodar

Hospodar or gospodar is a term of Slavonic origin, meaning "lord" or "master".The rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia were styled hospodars in Slavic writings from the 15th century to 1866. Hospodar was used in addition to the title voivod...

 of Wallachia

Wallachia

Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...

 from 1568 to 1574 and 1574 to 1577. He was the father of Mihnea II Turcitul. His parents were Mircea III Dracul

Mircea III Dracul

Mircea III Dracul was Hospodar of Wallachia in 1510. He was married to Maria Despina and was the father of Alexandru II Mircea. His father was Mihnea cel Rău and mother, Mihnea's second wife, Voica. It is known that Mircea was a physically strong and brutal man since he had caught some of the...

 and Maria Despina. Raised by the Turks in Istanbul and hardly knew of his country of origin before gaining the throne of Wallachia.

Voivode of Wallachia

Alexandru and his wife Catherine Salvaresso came to Bucharest in June of 1574. Much like his great-grandfather, Vlad III Dracula, he was known for his extreme cruelty, beginning his reign by slaughtering dissident boyars. Eventually, however, Alexandru was poisoned by noblemen claiming to be loyal to him.