The Moldavian Prince Ieremia Movilă had been an old enemy of Michael, having incited Andrew Báthory to send Michael the ultimatum demanding his abdication. His brother, Simion Movilă, claimed the Wallachian throne for himself and had used the title of Voivode since 1595. Aware of the threat the Movilăs represented, Michael had created the "Banate" of Buzău and Brăila in July 1598 and the new "ban" was charged of keeping an alert eye on Moldavian, Tatar, and Cossack moves, although Michael had been planning a Moldavian campaign for several years.