Order of Michael the Brave
The Order of Michael the Brave (Ordinul Mihai Viteazul) is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign of the First World War, and was again awarded in the Second World War. The Order, which may be bestowed either on an individual or on a whole unit, was named in honor of Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul), the late 16th-century Prince of Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia.
Order of Michael the Brave

Bain News Service · This image is available from the United States Library of Congress 's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ggbain.34963. This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attache · Public domain
- Name
- Order of Michael the Brave Ordinul Mihai Viteazul
- Period
- 1916
- Region
- Romania
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
The Order of Michael the Brave (Ordinul Mihai Viteazul) is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign of the First World War, and was again awarded in the Second World War. The Order, which may be bestowed either on an individual or on a whole unit, was named in honor of Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul), the late 16th-century Prince of Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Order of Michael the Brave. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q1536698 · wikipedia · Order of Michael the Brave
In this article
Overview
Overview
Recorded constituent parts are Order of Michael the Brave, 1st class, Order of Michael the Brave, 2nd class, Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd class and Order of Michael the Brave, 3rd class with swords. It is associated with Romania. The record gives 1916 as its date of establishment or first appearance.

- Ordinul Mihai Viteazu - Restricții - fără restricții fiind o componentă a sistemului de decorații de stat
Macreanu Iulian

Photo portrait of Ion Antonescu, published by Scrisul Romanesc (Marschall Antonescu in German / Il maresciallo Antonescu in Italian) in 1941; the photographer is not credited. Ion Antonescu (1882 – 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II. Having been responsible for facili
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Order of Michael the Brave Ordinul Mihai Viteazul • Presenter — The King of Romania (1916 – 1947) The President of Romania (since 2000) • Type — Military Award • Eligibility — Military personnel on active service • Status — Awarded only in time of war • Established — 1916, re-instituted 2000 • Firstawarded — 1916 • Lastawarded — 1944 and disbanded in 1947 • Higher — None (Highest) • Lower — Order of the Star of Romania • Image2 Size — 80px • Caption2 — Ribbon of the Order of Michael the Brave
Data
Data
• Requirements: Awarded to officers only for exceptional deeds on the battlefield. It is the highest ranking Romanian military order. • Classes: 3rd, 2nd and 1st • Date Instituted: September 26, 1916 • Number awarded: 2184 • During WW1: • 1st class: 16 • 2nd class: 12 • 3rd class: 336 (of which 43 awarded to military units) • During WW2: • 1st class: 15 • 2nd class: 76 (of which 13 awarded to military units) • 3rd class: 1628 (of which 118 awarded to military units) • Illustration — A 1941 war flag of the Knights of the Military Order "Mihai Viteazu" (Romania)
Recipients
Recipients
• Illustration — Order of Michael the Brave 2nd class (1916) • Józef Piłsudski • Ion Antonescu • Josip Broz Tito • Vasile Atanasiu • Alexandru Averescu • Radu Bâldescu • Henri Mathias Berthelot • Nicolae Dabija • Corneliu Dragalina • Grigore Gafencu • Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim • Eremia Grigorescu • Douglas Haig • Michael I of Romania (as Commander-in-Chief of the Romanian Army in 1941) • John J. Pershing • Radu Korne • Mihail Lascăr • Leonard Mociulschi • Paolo Morrone • Ioan Pălăghiţă • Constantin Prezan • Corneliu Teodorini • Constantin Mihalcea • Gheorghe Băgulescu • Virgil Bădulescu During the Second World War, while Romania was allied with Germany, the Order was awarded to several military members of other Axis powers, many in the Wehrmacht: • Erwin Rommel • Theodor Busse • Fedor von Bock • Walther von Brauchitsch • Dietrich von Choltitz • Karl Dönitz • Hermann Göring • Hermann Hoth • Erich von Manstein • Friedrich Paulus • Wolfram von Richthofen • Gerd von Rundstedt • Wilhelm Schöning • Walter Warlimont • Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist • Helmuth von Pannwitz • Erwin Jaenecke
Identity
Identity
Order of Michael the Brave is associated with Romania. Recorded from 1916.
Chronology
Dated record
Chronology
The full dated record · 2 entries
1916
Order of Michael the Brave first recorded.
1916
Order of Michael the Brave is recorded from 1916.
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Medals
1,069 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Order of KutuzovTerminology
- Order of LāčplēsisTerminology
- Order of LiberationTerminology
- Order of Loyalty and ValourTerminology
- Order of Military GloryTerminology
- Order of Military Medical MeritTerminology
- Order of Military MeritTerminology
- Order of Military Merit (Brazil)Terminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with Order of Michael the Brave?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.