How was it possible that members of a remote mountainous community in Epirus, Greece, emerged in the mid-sixteenth century as influential actors within the administration of Wallachia, on the far opposite side of the Balkan Peninsula? What social, economic, and cultural background did they come from, and through which institutions, networks, and strategies did they manage to rise to prominence in a foreign political environment? Which formal and informal mechanisms enabled their mobility, and how were these newcomers perceived by local elites and central authorities alike?

Equally important, how did local and central institutions respond to this unexpected presence, and what were the short- and long-term repercussions of their involvement for both Wallachian governance and the communities from which they originated? Were these developments perceived as temporary adaptations to crisis, or did they signal more durable transformations in patterns of administration and elite formation?

By attempting to answer these and related questions – shaped by the uneven survival of sources, both well known and largely unexplored – this paper examines the intersection between broader structural trends of the early modern period and the disruptive impact of contingent events. In doing so, it explores how individuals and groups navigated uncertainty, adjusted their strategies, and overcame constraints imposed by geography, politics, and institutional frameworks.