 His baptismal name was Dumitru and he married Chiajna, the daughter of Petru Rareș, whose name was in fact Ana.He was probably called "the Shepherd" because he bought sheep for the Istanbul markets before ascending the throne.The Ottoman Empire (Wallachia's suzerain) named him ruler in January 1545 in place of his stepbrother Radu Paisie and he entered Bucharest on 17 March 1545, ascending the throne on that day.