The Giurgiu fortress was raised on older ruins, possibly Roman, Byzantine or Bulgarian, most likely much before 1386. On that latter date it appears, as a possession of Wallachia’s rulers. It was rebuilt by Mircea the Elder in 1386, and destroyed in the Ottoman invasion led by Murad I, when the Turks conquered most of the territories south of the Danube. As of 1420, for 400 years, the fortress is dominated by the Turks. The Giurgiu fortress was affected after each conquest. The fortress was remade every time either by the Romanian rulers or by the Ottoman sultans.