Stephen III of Moldavia

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Saint Stephen the Great "The Right-believing Voivode Stephen the Great and the Holy"
Miniature from the 1473 Gospel at Humor Monastery
Prince of Moldavia
Born	1443, Borzeşti, Romania
Died	July 2, 1504, Suceava, Romania
Venerated in	Romanian Orthodox Church
Feast	July 2
Saints Portal

Stephen III of Moldavia or Stephen III (c. 1437 - July 2, 1504), also known as Stephen the Great (Romanian: Ştefan cel Mare; Ştefan cel Mare şi Sfânt, "Stephen the Great and Holy" in more modern versions) was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504.

During his reign, he turned Moldavia into a strong state and maintained her independence against the ambitions of Hungary, Poland, and the Ottoman Empire, which all sought to subdue the land. Stephen achieved fame in Europe for his long resistance against the Ottomans. He was victorious in 34 of his 36 battles, and was the first to inflict a decisive victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of Vaslui, after which Pope Sixtus IV deemed him verus christianae fidei athleta (true Champion of Christian Faith). He was a man of religion and displayed his piety when he paid the debt of Mount Athos to the Porte, ensuring the continuity of Athos as an autonomous monastical community.

Contents 1 Early life and rise to power 2 Rule 3 Legacy 4 See also 5 External links 5.1 Polish chronicles

[edit] Early life and rise to power

Stephen was a member of the ruling Muşatin family. His father Bogdan II had ruled Moldavia for two years (1449 to 1451) before being killed in battle by Stephen's uncle, Petru Aron. Between 1451 and 1457, Moldavia was turmoiled by civil war between Petru Aron and Alexăndrel - a nephew of Alexandru cel Bun.

Following the outbreak of the conflict, Stephen took refuge to Transylvania, seeking the protection of military commander John Hunyadi. After that, he moved to the court of Vlad III of Wallachia and, in 1457, managed to receive 6,000 horsemen as military assistance, putting them to use in a victorious battle against Petru Aron at Doljeşti, nearby Roman. Aron fled to Poland, while Stephen was crowned Prince. Two years later, he led an incursion into Poland in the search for Aron, but was met with resistance. Instead, a treaty was signed between Moldavia and Poland, through which Stephen recognized King Kazimierz IV Jagiellon as his suzerain, while Aron was barred from entering Moldavia.

[edit] Rule

Menaced by powerful neighbours, he successfully repelled an invasion by the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus, defeating him in the Battle of Baia (in 1467), and invaded Wallachia in 1471 (the latter had by then succumbed to Ottoman power and had become a vassal). When the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II launched a retaliation attack on Moldavia, Stephen defeated the invaders at the Battle of Vaslui in 1475, a victory which temporarily halted the Turkish advance into the Balkans.

Stephen was defeated at Războieni (Battle of Valea Albă) the next year, but the Ottomans had to retreat after they failed to take any significant castle (see siege of Cetatea Neamţului) as a plague started to spread in the Ottoman army. Stephen's search for European assistance against the Turks had little success, but he "cut off the pagan's right hand".

After 1484 Stephen had to face not only new Turkish onslaughts, but also the Polish and Hungarian designs on Moldavian independence. Finally in 1486 he concluded a treaty with Sultan Beyazid II that preserved Moldavia's self rule, at the cost of an annual tribute to the Turks. From the 16th century on, the Principality of Moldavia would spend three hundred years as an Ottoman vassal.

Stephen died in Suceava, and is buried in the Monastery of Putna.

[edit] Legacy

Though it was marked by continual strife, Stephen's long reign brought considerable cultural development; many churches and monasteries were erected by Stephen himself, some of which are now part of UNESCO's World Heritage.

Stephen was seen as holy by many Christians, soon after his death. He has been canonized by the Romanian Orthodox Church under the name "The Right-believing Voivod Stephen the Great and the Holy".

In a 2006 Romanian national television campaign on TVR 1 (see Mari Români), Stephen III was voted by almost 40,000 viewers as the "Greatest Romanian" of all times.

[edit] See also

• Borzeşti
• Borzeşti Church

[edit] External links

• Muşatin family
• Article in Romanian: Vlad Ţepeş şi Ştefan cel Mare - Prieteni sau duşmani?
• Map of Moldavia under Ştefan cel Mare, 1501
• The Princely Court of Ştefan's son, Alexandru, in Bacău - images, layouts (at the Romanian Group for an Alternative History Website)
• Map of Romania during Ştefan cel Mare

[edit] Polish chronicles

• Library of Wielkopolska the online access to the oldest Polish writing relicts

Preceded by Petru Aron

Prince/Voivode of Moldavia 1457-1504

Succeeded by Bogdan III cel Orb