Bucharest was first mentioned on September 20, 1459, as one of the residences of Prince Vlad III Dracula. It soon became the preferred summer residence of the princely court - together with Târgovi?te, one of the two capitals of Wallachia - and was viewed by contemporaries as the strongest citadel in its country. In 1476, it was sacked by the Moldavian Prince Stephen the Great, but was nonetheless favoured as a residence by most rulers in the immediately following period and was subject to important changes in landscape under Mircea Ciobanul, who build the palace and church in Curtea Veche (the court's area), equipped the town with a stockade, and took measures to provide Bucharest with fresh water and produce (early 1550s).
When Mircea Ciobanul was deposed by the Ottoman Empire (Wallachia's overlord) in the spring of 1554, Bucharest was ravaged by Janissary troops; violence again occurred after Mircea returned to the throne and attacked those who had been loyal to P?tra?cu cel Bun (February 1558), during the 1574 conflict between Vintil? and Alexandru II Mircea, and under the rule of Alexandru cel R?u (early 1590s).