to face stiff opposition from the part of Orthodox clergy and Metropolitan Dosiftei Filiti. The boyars also refused to sign the decree, and Hangerli had to bribe four of them (among them Nicolae Brâncoveanu and Cornescu) in order to agree to countersign it; so as to avoid a rebellion against Hangerli, all the boyars were subsequently exempt from this new tax. The early months of 1798, during which princely envoys raided the country while peasants attempted to hide their livestock, became known as "Hangerli's winter". Results of the inventory showed an abundance of cattle, but the population lacked access to currency. As a result, Hangerli enforced extortion through torture (it is probable that several peasants were killed in an attempt to collect their entire possessions – "if they pay, no one will get killed" was supposedly a reply uttered by Hangerli himself). The ensuing war between the Ottomans and Pazvantoğlu brought several defeats for the former, prompting Husein Küçük to take refuge in Bucharest. Fearing the anger of Selim III, he attempted to throw the blame on Hangerli for not having raised enough funds. Catching news of this, the prince tried to intrigue against Küçük, but was disfavored after a coalition of his political adversaries began campaigning against him. According to the chronicler Dionisie Eclesiarhul, Hangerli attempted to buy back Küçük's protection by having him attend a banquet during which prostitutes, disguised and introduced as members of the most powerful boyar families, competed for the pasha's attention. Execution On 11 February 1799, the sultan issued a firman to execute Hangerli on the spot, and a kapucu was dispatched to Bucharest, accompanied by an executioner (whom Dionisie described as "a frightening Moor"). The pair made efforts to travel in secrecy, and, upon their arrival, spent three days in seclusion at the Beilic Inn. Dismissing the warning of his postelnic (according to a contemporary account), Hangerli, after being read the firman, was attacked by the two as he was attempting to call his guards: he was strangled by the Moor, shot twice in the chest and stabbed once by the kapucu, and finally decapitated. The guards, who stormed in after hearing the shots, were shown the firman, and could no longer intervene. The kapucu displayed Hangerli's head for all witnesses to see, stating: "Here is the dog that ate away the sultan's rayah". He then presented it to Roxana, with the words: