Principality of Moldavia Moldova (Ţara Moldovei) (ro)
Vassal of the Ottoman Empire (1514-1859)
1346–1859 →   →   →
Flag Coat of arms
Moldavia under Stephen the Great, 1483
Capital	Baia, Siret 1343-1388 Suceava 1388-1564 Iaşi (Jassy) 1564-1859
Language(s)	Romanian (commonly used, later official), Church Slavonic (in early official use)
Government	Absolute monarchy
Princes of Moldavia (Voivodes, Hospodars)
- 1346-1353 (first)	Dragoş
- 1859-1862 (last)	Alexander John Cuza
History
- Foundation of the Moldavian mark	1346
- De Jure Union with Wallachia	1859
Currency	Taler

History of Moldova
This article is part of a series
Antiquity
Chernyakhov culture
Dacia, Free Dacians
Bastarnae
Early Middle Ages
Origin of the Romanians
Tivertsi
Brodnici
Golden Horde
Principality of Moldavia
Foundation
Stephen the Great
Early Modern Era
Phanariots
United Principalities
Bessarabia Governorate
Treaty of Bucharest
Moldavian Democratic Republic
Sfatul Ţării
Greater Romania
Union of Bessarabia with Romania
The Holocaust in Romanian-controlled territories
Moldavian ASSR
Moldovenism
Moldavian SSR
Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
Soviet deportations
Republic of Moldova
Independence of Moldova
War of Transnistria
History of independent Moldova
Moldova Portal v t e

History of Romania
This article is part of a series
Prehistory
Cucuteni-Trypillian culture
Hamangia culture
Bronze Age in Romania
Prehistory of Transylvania
Dacia
Dacian Wars
Roman Dacia
Thraco-Roman syncretism
Early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
History of Transylvania
Foundation of Wallachia
Foundation of Moldavia
Early Modern Times
Principality of Transylvania
Phanariotes
Danubian Principalities
National awakening
Transylvanian School
Organic Statute
1848 Moldavian Revolution
1848 Wallachian Revolution
United Principalities
ASTRA
War of Independence
Kingdom of Romania
World War I
Union with Transylvania
Union with Bessarabia
Greater Romania
Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
World War II
Communist Romania
Soviet occupation
1989 Revolution
Romania since 1989
Topic
Timeline
Military history
Christianity
Ethnogenesis
By region
Banat
Bessarabia
Bukovina
Dobruja
Crişana
Maramureş
Moldavia
Muntenia
Oltenia
Transylvania
Wallachia
Commons
Centuries in Romania
Romania Portal v t e

Moldavia (Romanian: Moldova pronounced [molˈdova]) is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river. An initially independent and later autonomous state, it existed from the 14th century to 1859, when it united with Wallachia as the basis of the modern Romanian state; at various times, the state included the regions of Bessarabia (with the Budjak), all of Bukovina and (under Stephen the Great) Pokuttya. The western part of Moldavia is now part of Romania and the eastern part belongs to the Republic of Moldova, while the northern and south-eastern parts are territories of Ukraine.

Name and etymology[link]

The original and short-lived reference to the region was Bogdania, after Bogdan I, the founding figure of the principality. The names Moldavia and Moldova are derived from the name of the Moldova River; however, the etymology is not known and there are several variants:^[1][2]

• a legend mentioned in Descriptio Moldaviae by Dimitrie Cantemir links it to an aurochs hunting trip of the Maramureş voivode Dragoş, and the latter's chase of a star-marked bull. Dragoş was accompanied by his female hound called Molda; when they reached shores of an unfamiliar river, Molda caught up with the animal and was killed by it. The dog's name would have been given to the river, and extended to the country.
• the old German Molde, meaning "open-pit mine"
• the Gothic Mulda (Gothic: 𐌼𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰, Runic: ᛗᚢᛚᛞᚨ) meaning "dust", "dirt" (cognate with the English mould), referring to the river.
• a Slavic etymology (-ova is a quite common Slavic suffix), marking the end of one Slavic genitive form, denoting ownership, chiefly of feminine nouns (i.e.: "that of Molda").
• a landowner by the name of Alexa Moldaowicz is mentioned in a 1334 document, as a local boyar in service to Yuriy II of Halych; this attests to the use of the name prior to the foundation of the Moldavian state, and could even be the source for the region's name.^{[citation needed]}

In several early references,^[3] "Moldavia" is rendered under the composite form Moldo-Wallachia (in the same way Wallachia may appear as Hungro-Wallachia). Ottoman Turkish references to Moldavia included Boğdan Iflak (meaning "Bogdan's Wallachia") and Boğdan (and occasionally Kara-Boğdan - "Black Bogdania"). See also: Name in other languages.

The name of the region in other languages: French: Moldavie, German: Moldau, Hungarian: Moldva, Russian: Молдавия, Moldaviya, Turkish: Boğdan Prensliği

History[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2011)

Early Middle Ages[link]

In the early 13th century A.D., the Brodniks, a possible Slavic–Vlach vassal state of Halych, were present, alongside the Vlachs, in much of the region's territory (towards 1216, the Brodniks are mentioned as in service of Suzdal). On the border between Halych and the Brodniks, in the 11th century, a Viking by the name of Rodfos was killed in the area by Vlachs who supposedly betrayed him.[1] In 1164, the future Byzantine Emperor Andronicus I Comnenus, was taken prisoner by Vlach shepherds around the same region.

High Middle Ages[link]

Neamţ Citadel

Outline of an image on stove remains excavated at the Piatra Neamţ Citadel, showing the Wisent/Aurochs coat of arms of Moldavia.

Căpriana Monastery (1429)

Later in the 13th century, King Charles I of Hungary attempted to expand his realm and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church eastwards after the fall of Cuman rule, and ordered a campaign under the command of Phynta de Mende (1324). In 1342 and 1345, the Hungarians were victorious in a battle against Tatars; the conflict was resolved by the death of Jani Beg, in 1357. The Polish chronicler Jan Długosz mentioned Moldavians (under the name Wallachians) as having joined a military expedition in 1342, under King Władysław I, against the Margraviate of Brandenburg.^[4]

In 1353, Dragoş, mentioned as a Vlach Knyaz in Maramureş, was sent by Louis I to establish a line of defense against the Golden Horde forces on the Siret River. This expedition resulted in a polity vassal to Hungary, centered around Baia (Târgul Moldovei or Moldvabánya).

Bogdan of Cuhea, another Vlach voivode from Maramureş who had fallen out with the Hungarian king, crossed the Carpathians in 1359, took control of Moldavia, and succeeded in removing Moldavia from Hungarian control. His realm extended north to the Cheremosh River, while the southern part of Moldavia was still occupied by the Tatars.

After first residing in Baia, Bogdan moved Moldavia's seat to Siret (it was to remain there until Petru Muşat moved it to Suceava; it was finally moved to Iaşi under Alexandru Lăpuşneanu - in 1565). The area around Suceava, roughly correspondent to future Bukovina, formed one of the two administrative divisions of the new realm, under the name Ţara de Sus (the "Upper Land"), whereas the rest, on both sides of the Prut River, formed Ţara de Jos (the "Lower Land").

Disfavored by the brief union of Angevin Poland and Hungary (the latter was still the country's overlord), Bogdan's successor Laţcu accepted conversion to Roman Catholicism around 1370, but his gesture was to remain without consequences. Despite remaining officially Eastern Orthodox and culturally connected with the Byzantine Empire after 1382, princes of the Muşatin family entered a conflict with the Constantinople Patriarchy over control of appointments to the newly founded Moldavian Metropolitan seat; Patriarch Antony IV even cast an anathema over Moldavia after Roman I expelled his appointee back to Byzantium. The crisis was finally settled in favor of the Moldavian princes under Alexandru cel Bun. Nevertheless, religious policy remained complex: while conversions to faiths other than Orthodox were discouraged (and forbidden for princes), Moldavia included sizable Roman Catholic communities (Germans and Hungarians), as well as non-Chalcedonic Armenians; after 1460, the country welcomed Hussite refugees (founders of Ciuburciu and, probably, Huşi).

The principality of Moldavia covered the entire geographic region of Moldavia. In various periods, various other territories were politically connected with the Moldavian principality. This is the case of the province of Pokuttya, the fiefdoms of Cetatea de Baltă and Ciceu (both in Transylvania) or, at a later date, the territories between the Dniester and the Bug Rivers.

Petru I profited from the end of the Hungarian-Polish union, and moved the country closer to the Jagiellon realm, becoming a vassal of Władysław II on September 26, 1387. This gesture was to have unexpected consequences: Petru supplied the Polish ruler with funds needed in the war against the Teutonic Knights, and was granted control over Pokuttya until the debt was to be repaid; as this is not recorded to have been carried out, the region became disputed by the two states, until it was lost by Moldavia in the Battle of Obertyn (1531). Prince Petru also expanded his rule southwards to the Danube Delta, and established a frontier with Wallachia^{[citation needed]}; his brother Roman I conquered the Hungarian-ruled Cetatea Albă in 1392, giving Moldavia an outlet to the Black Sea, before being toppled from the throne for supporting Theodor Koriatovich in his conflict with Vytautas the Great of Lithuania. Under Stephen I, growing Polish influence was challenged by Sigismund of Hungary, whose expedition was defeated at Ghindăoani in 1385; however, Stephen disappeared in mysterious circumstances, and the throne was soon occupied by Yury Koriatovich^{[citation needed]} (Vytautas' favorite).

Alexandru cel Bun, although brought to the throne in 1400 by the Hungarians (with assistance from Mircea I of Wallachia), shifted his allegiances towards Poland (notably engaging Moldavian forces on the Polish side in the Battle of Grunwald and the Siege of Marienburg), and placed his own choice of rulers in Wallachia. His reign was one of the most successful in Moldavia's history, but also saw the very first confrontation with the Ottoman Turks at Cetatea Albă in 1420, and later even a conflict with the Poles. A deep crisis was to follow Alexandru's long reign, with his successors battling each other in a succession of wars that divided the country until the murder of Bogdan II and the ascension of Petru Aron in 1451. Nevertheless, Moldavia was subject to further Hungarian interventions after that moment, as Matthias Corvinus deposed Aron and backed Alexăndrel to the throne in Suceava. Petru Aron's rule also signified the beginning of Moldavia's Ottoman Empire allegiance, as the ruler agreed to pay tribute to Sultan Mehmed II.

Late Middle Ages[link]

Suceava Seat Fortress

Under Stephen the Great, who took the throne and subsequently came to an agreement with Kazimierz IV of Poland in 1457, the state reached its most glorious period. Stephen blocked Hungarian interventions in the Battle of Baia, invaded Wallachia in 1471, and dealt with Ottoman reprisals in a major victory (the 1475 Battle of Vaslui); after feeling threatened by Polish ambitions, he also attacked Galicia and resisted Polish reprisals in the Battle of the Cosmin Forest (1497). However, he had to surrender Chilia (Kiliya) and Cetatea Albă (Bilhorod-Dnistrovs'kyi), the two main fortresses in the Bujak, to the Ottomans in 1484, and in 1498 he had to accept Ottoman suzereignty, when he was forced to agree to continue paying tribute to Sultan Bayezid II. Following the taking of Hotin (Khotyn) and Pokuttya, Stephen's rule also brought a brief extension of Moldavian rule into Transylvania: Cetatea de Baltă and Ciceu became his fiefs in 1489.

Early Modern Era and Renaissance[link]

Under Bogdan III cel Orb, Ottoman overlordship was confirmed in the shape that would rapidly evolve into control over Moldavia's affairs. Petru Rareş, who reigned in the 1530s and 1540s, clashed with the Habsburg Monarchy over his ambitions in Transylvania (losing possessions in the region to George Martinuzzi), was defeated in Pokuttya by Poland, and failed in his attempt to extricate Moldavia from Ottoman rule – the country lost Bender to the Ottomans, who included it in their Silistra Eyalet.

Hotin Fortress on the Dniester River, bordering the northern frontier

A period of profound crisis followed. Moldavia stopped issuing its own coinage circa 1520, under Prince Ştefăniţă, when it was confronted with rapid depletion of funds and rising demands from the Porte. Such problems became endemic when the country, brought into the Great Turkish War, suffered the impact of the Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire; at one point, during the 1650s and 1660s, princes began relying on counterfeit coinage (usually copies of Swedish riksdalers, as was that issued by Eustratie Dabija). The economic decline was accompanied by a failure to maintain state structures: the feudal-based Moldavian military forces were no longer convoked, and the few troops maintained by the rulers remained professional mercenaries such as the seimeni.

However, Moldavia and the similarly affected Wallachia remained both important sources of income for the Ottoman Empire and relatively prosperous agricultural economies (especially as suppliers of grain and cattle – the latter was especially relevant in Moldavia, which remained an under-populated country of pastures). In time, much of the resources were tied to the Ottoman economy, either through monopolies on trade which were only lifted in 1829, after the Treaty of Adrianople (which did not affect all domains directly), or through the raise in direct taxes - the one demanded by the Ottomans from the princes, as well as the ones demanded by the princes from the country's population. Taxes were directly proportional with Ottoman requests, but also with the growing importance of Ottoman appointment and sanctioning of princes in front of election by the boyars and the boyar Council – Sfatul boieresc (drawing in a competition among pretenders, which also implied the intervention of creditors as suppliers of bribes). The fiscal system soon included taxes such as the văcărit (a tax on head of cattle), first introduced by Iancu Sasul in the 1580s.

Moldavia (in orange) towards the end of the 16th century

The economic opportunities offered brought about a significant influx of Greek and Levantine financiers and officials, who entered a stiff competition with the high boyars over appointments to the Court. As the manor system suffered the blows of economic crises, and in the absence of salarisation (which implied that persons in office could decide their own income), obtaining princely appointment became the major focus of a boyar's career. Such changes also implied the decline of free peasantry and the rise of serfdom, as well as the rapid fall in the importance of low boyars (a traditional institution, the latter soon became marginal, and, in more successful instances, added to the population of towns); however, they also implied a rapid transition towards a monetary economy, based on exchanges in foreign currency. Serfdom was doubled by the much less numerous slave population, composed of migrant Roma and captured Nogais.

Trei Ierarhi Monastery, housed The Vasilian College, an institution of higher learning founded in 1640

The conflict between princes and boyars was to become exceptionally violent – the latter group, who frequently appealed to the Ottoman court in order to have princes comply with its demands, was persecuted by rulers such as Alexandru Lăpuşneanu and Ioan Vodă cel Cumplit. Ioan Vodă's revolt against the Ottomans ended in his execution (1574). The country descended into political chaos, with frequent Ottoman and Tatar incursions and pillages. The claims of Muşatins to the crown and the traditional system of succession were ended by scores of illegitimate reigns; one of the usurpers, Ioan Iacob Heraclid, was a Protestant Greek who encouraged the Renaissance and attempted to introduce Lutheranism to Moldavia.

In 1595, the rise of the Movileşti boyars to the throne with Ieremia Movilă coincided with the start of frequent anti-Ottoman and anti-Habsburg military expeditions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth into Moldavian territory (see Moldavian Magnate Wars), and rivalries between pretenders to the Moldavian throne encouraged by the three competing powers. The Wallachian prince Michael the Brave deposed Prince Ieremia in 1600, and managed to become the very first monarch to unite Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania under his rule; the episode ended in Polish conquests of lands down to Bucharest, soon ended by the outbreak of the Polish-Swedish War and the reestablishment of Ottoman rule. Polish incursions were dealt a blow by the Ottomans during the 1620 Battle of Cecora, which also saw an end to the reign of Gaspar Graziani.

The following period of relative peace saw the more prosperous and prestigious rule of Vasile Lupu, who took the throne as a boyar appointee in 1637, and began battling his rival Gheorghe Ştefan, as well as the Wallachian prince Matei Basarab – however, his invasion of Wallachia with the backing of Cossack Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky ended in disaster at the Battle of Finta (1653). A few years later, Moldavia was occupied for two short intervals by the anti-Ottoman Wallachian prince Constantin Şerban, who clashed with the first ruler of the Ghica family, Gheorghe Ghica. In the early 1680s, Moldavian troops under George Ducas intervened in Right-bank Ukraine and assisted Mehmed IV in the Battle of Vienna, only to suffer the effects of the Great Turkish War.

Phanariots (1711-1822)[link]

The Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1786, Italian map by G. Pittori, since the geographer Giovanni Antonio Rizzi Zannoni.

Siege and capture of Jassy (Iaşi) in 1788 by the Russian army

During the late 17th century, Moldavia became the target of the Russian Empire's southwards expansion, inaugurated by Peter the Great during the Russo-Turkish War of 1710-1711; Prince Dimitrie Cantemir's siding with Peter and open anti-Ottoman rebellion, ended in defeat at Stănileşti, provoked Sultan Ahmed III's reaction, and the official discarding of recognition of local choices for princes, imposing instead a system which relied solely on Ottoman approval – the Phanariote epoch, inaugurated by the reign of Nicholas Mavrocordatos. Short and frequently ended through violence, Phanariote rules were usually marked by political corruption, intrigue, and high taxation, as well as by sporadic incursions of Habsburg and Russian armies deep into Moldavian territory; nonetheless, they also saw attempts at legislative and administrative modernization inspired by The Enlightenment (such as Constantine Mavrocordatos' decision to salirize public offices, to the outrage of boyars, and the abolition of serfdom in 1749, as well as Scarlat Callimachi's Code), and signified a decrease in Ottoman demands after the threat of Russian annexation became real and the prospects of a better life led to waves of peasant emigration to neighboring lands. The effects of Ottoman control were also made less notable after the 1774 Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca allowed Russia to intervene in favour of Ottoman subjects of the Eastern Orthodox faith - leading to campaigns of petitioning by the Moldavian boyars against princely policies.

Principality of Moldavia, 1793-1812, highlighted in orange

In 1712, Hotin was taken over by the Ottomans, and became part of a defensive system that Moldavian princes were required to maintain, as well as an area for Islamic colonization (the Laz community). Moldavia also lost Bukovina, Suceava included, to the Habsburgs in 1772, which meant both an important territorial loss and a major blow to the cattle trade (as the region stood on the trade route to Central Europe). The 1792 Treaty of Jassy forced the Ottoman Empire to cede all of its holdings in what is now Transnistria to Russia, which made Russian presence much more notable, given that the Empire acquired a common border with Moldavia. The first effect of this was the cession of Bessarabia to the Russian Empire, in 1812 (through the Treaty of Bucharest).

Organic Statute, 1848 revolution, and union with Wallachia[link]

The Princely Palace of Moldavia

Phanariote rules were officially ended after the 1821 occupation of the country by Alexander Ypsilantis' Filiki Eteria during the Greek War of Independence; the subsequent Ottoman retaliation brought the rule of Ioan Sturdza, considered as the first one of a new system – especially since, in 1826, the Ottomans and Russia agreed to allow for the election by locals of rulers over the two Danubian Principalities, and convened on their mandating for seven-year terms. In practice, a new fundament to reigns in Moldavia was created by the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829, and a period of Russian domination over the two countries which ended only in 1856: begun as a military occupation under the command of Pavel Kiselyov, Russian domination gave Wallachia and Moldavia, which were not removed from nominal Ottoman control, the modernizing Organic Statute (the first document resembling a constitution, as well as the first one to regard both principalities). After 1829, the country also became an important destination for immigration of Ashkenazi Jews from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria and areas of Russia (see History of the Jews in Romania and Sudiţi).

Obelisk of Lions (1834), dedicated to the Organic Statute

The first Moldavian rule established under the Statute, that of Mihail Sturdza, was nonetheless ambivalent: eager to reduce abuse of office. Sturdza introduced reforms (the abolition of slavery, secularization, economic rebuilding), but he was widely seen as enforcing his own power over that of the newly instituted consultative Assembly. A supporter of the union of his country with Wallachia and of Romanian Romantic nationalism, he obtained the establishment of a customs union between the two countries (1847) and showed support for radical projects favored by low boyars; nevertheless, he clamped down with noted violence the Moldavian revolutionary attempt in the last days of March 1848. Grigore Alexandru Ghica allowed the exiled revolutionaries to return to Moldavia cca. 1853, which led to the creation of Partida Naţională (the "National Party"), a trans-boundary group of radical union supporters which campaigned for a single state under a foreign dynasty.

Moldavia (in orange) after 1856

Russian domination ended abruptly after the Crimean War, when the Treaty of Paris passed the two principalities under the tutelage of Great European Powers (together with Russia and the Ottoman overlord, power-sharing included the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Austrian Empire, the French Empire, the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, and Prussia). Due to Austrian and Ottoman opposition and British reserves, the union program as demanded by radical campaigners was debated intensely. In September 1857, given that Caimacam Nicolae Vogoride had perpetrated fraud in elections in Moldavia in July,^{[citation needed]} the Powers allowed the two states to convene Ad-hoc divans, which were to decide a new constitutional framework; the result showed overwhelming support for the union, as the creation of a liberal and neutral state. After further meetings among leaders of tutor states, an agreement was reached (the Paris Convention), whereby a limited union was to be enforced – separate governments and thrones, with only two bodies (a Court of Cassation and a Central Commission residing in Focşani); it also stipulated that an end to all privilege was to be passed into law, and awarded back to Moldavia the areas around Bolhrad, Cahul, and Izmail.

However, the Convention failed to note whether the two thrones could not be occupied by the same person, allowing Partida Naţională to introduce the candidacy of Alexander John Cuza in both countries. On January 17 (January 5, 1859 Old Style), in Iaşi, he was elected prince of Moldavia by the respective electoral body. After street pressure over the much more conservative body in Bucharest, Cuza was elected in Wallachia as well (February 5/January 24). Exactly three years later, after diplomatic missions that helped remove opposition to the action, the formal union created the United Principalities (the basis of modern Romania) and instituted Cuza as Domnitor (all legal matters were clarified after the replacement of the prince with Carol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in April 1866, and the creation of an independent Kingdom of Romania in 1881) - this officially ending the existence of the Principality of Moldavia.

Slavery[link]

Slavery (Romanian: robie) was part of the social order from before the founding of the Principality of Moldavia, until it was abolished in stages during the 1840s and 1850s. Most of the slaves were of Roma (Gypsy) ethnicity. There were also slaves of Tatar ethnicity, probably prisoners captured from the wars with the Nogai and Crimean Tatars. The institution of slavery was first attested in a 1470 Moldavian document, through which Prince Stephan the Great frees Oană, a Tatar slave who had fled to Jagiellon Poland.^[5]

The exact origins of slavery are not known, slavery being a common practice in Europe at the time. In the Byzantine Empire, they were slaves of the state and it seems the situation was the same in Bulgaria and Serbia until their social organization was changed by the Ottoman conquest. Historian Nicolae Iorga associated the Roma people's arrival with the 1241 Mongol invasion of Europe and considered their slavery as a vestige of that era, the Romanians taking the Roma from the Mongols as slaves and preserving their status. Other historians consider that they were enslaved while captured during the battles with the Tatars. The practice of enslaving prisoners may also have been taken from the Mongols. The ethnic identity of the "Tatar slaves" is unknown, they could have been captured Tatars of the Golden Horde, Cumans, or the slaves of Tatars and Cumans.^[5] While it is possible that some Romani people were slaves or auxiliary troops of the Mongols or Tatars, the bulk of them came from south of the Danube, making slavery a widespread practice. The Tatar slaves, smaller in numbers, were eventually merged into the Roma population.^[6]

Traditionally, Roma slaves were divided into three categories. The smallest was owned by the hospodars, and went by the Romanian-language name of ţigani domneşti ("Gypsies belonging to the lord"). The two other categories comprised ţigani mănăstireşti ("Gypsies belonging to the monasteries"), who were the property of Romanian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox monasteries, and ţigani boiereşti ("Gypsies belonging to the boyars"), who were enslaved by the category of landowners.^[7][8]

The abolition of slavery was carried out following a campaign by young revolutionaries who embraced the liberal ideas of the Enlightenment. In 1844, Moldavian Prince Mihail Sturdza proposed a law on the freeing of slaves owned by the church and state. By the 1850s, the movement gained support from almost the whole of Romanian society, and, in December 1855, following a proposal by Prince Grigore Alexandru Ghica, a bill drafted by Mihail Kogălniceanu and Petre Mavrogheni was adopted by the Divan; the law emancipated all slaves to the status of taxpayers (citizens).^[5][7]

Support for the abolitionists was reflected in Romanian literature of the mid-19h century. The issue of the Roma slavery became a theme in the literary works of various liberal and Romantic intellectuals, many of whom were active in the abolitionist camp. The Romanian abolitionist movement was also influenced by the much larger movement against Black slavery in the United States through press reports and through a translation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Translated by Theodor Codrescu and first published in Iaşi in 1853, under the name Coliba lui Moşu Toma sau Viaţa negrilor în sudul Statelor Unite din America (which translates back as "Uncle Toma's Cabin or the Life of Blacks in the Southern United States of America"), it was the first American novel to be published in Romanian, and it included a foreword study on slavery by Mihail Kogălniceanu.^[5]

Geography[link]

Geographically, Moldavia is limited by the Carpathian Mountains to the West, the Cheremosh River to the North, the Dniester River to the East and the Danube and Black Sea to the South. The Prut River flows approximately through its middle from north to south.

Of late 15th century Moldavia, with an area of approximately 97,000 km² (37,000 sq mi), the biggest part is located in Romania (47.5%), followed by the Republic of Moldova (30.5%) and Ukraine (22%). This represents 88% of the Republic of Moldova's surface, 19.5% of Romania's surface, and 3.5% of Ukraine's surface.

The region is mostly hilly, with a range of mountains in the west, and plain areas in the southeast. Moldavia's highest altitude is Ineu peak (2,279m), which is also the westernmost point of the region.

Population[link]

Historical population[link]

Contemporary historians estimate the populatian of the Moldavian Principality in the 15th century, at between 250,000 - 600,000 people,^[9][10] but an extensive catagraphy was first conducted in 1769-1774.^[11] In 1848, the northwestern part, annexed in 1775 by the Habsburg Empire, Bukovina, had a population of 377,571; in 1856, the eastern half of Moldavia, Bessarabia, annexed in 1812 by the Russian Empire, had a population of 990,274, while the population of Moldavia proper (the western half), in 1859, was 1,463,927.^[12]

Current population[link]

According to the latest Romanian Census (2002),^[13] Moldovan Census (2004)^[14] and Ukrainian Census (2001)^[15] data, the region has a total population of approximately 9,700,000 inhabitants, 48% of them living in Romania, 36% in Moldova and 16% in Ukraine, distributed among the ethnic groups as follows:

• In Romanian part^[16] - Romanians¹ (98%), Roma (1.3%), others (0.7%);
• In Moldovan part - Moldovans¹ (75.8%), Ukrainians (8.3%), Russians (5.9%), Gagauzians (4.3%), Romanians¹ (2.1%), Bulgarians (1.9%), others (1.7%);
• In Ukrainian parts:
  • Chernivtsi Oblast - Ukrainians (75%), Romanians¹ (12.5%), Moldovans¹ (7.3%), Russians (4.1%), others (1.1%);
  • Budjak (part of Odessa Oblast) - Ukrainians (40.1%), Bulgarians (20.9%), Russians (20.1%), Moldovans¹ (12.6%), Gagauzians (4%), others² (2.3%).

¹There is an ongoing dispute over whether Romanians and Moldovans are the same ethnic group, namely whether Moldovans' self-identification constitutes an ethnic group distinct and apart from Romanians or a subset. At the Moldovan and Ukrainian censa, citizens could declare only one nationality. Consequently, one could not declare oneself both Moldovan and Romanian.
²Includes people who declared themselves as Romanians.

Cities[link]

The largest cities (as per last censuses) in the Moldavia region are:

• Romania:
  • Iaşi (Jassy) (320,888)
  • Galaţi (298,861)
  • Bacău (175,500)
  • Botoşani (115,070)
  • Suceava (105,865)
  • Piatra Neamţ (104,914)
  • Focşani (101,854)
• Moldova:
  • Chişinău (589,446)
  • Bălţi (122,669)
  • Tighina (Bender) (97,027)
• Ukraine:
  • Chernivtsi (Cernăuţi) (236,700)
  • Izmail (Ismail) (84,800)

Flags and historical coats of arms[link]

• 

  Moldavian 15th century battle flag

• 

  Coat of arms of the Prince of Moldavia, in the Wijsbergen arms book

• 

  Coat of arms of the principality of Moldavia, at the Cetăţuia Monastery in Iaşi

• 

  Coat of arms of the Prince of Moldavia, on the Suceava bell

See also[link]

• Bessarabia
• Bukovina
• Budjak
• Hertza region
• History of Moldova
• History of Romania
• List of rulers of Moldavia
• Moldavian military forces
• Painted churches of northern Moldavia

References[link]

• Gheorghe I. Brătianu, Sfatul domnesc şi Adunarea Stărilor în Principatele Române, Bucharest, 1995
• Vlad Georgescu, Istoria ideilor politice româneşti (1369-1878), Munich, 1987
• Ştefan Ştefănescu, Istoria medie a României, Bucharest, 1991

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Moldavia

• Dimitrie Cantemir-Descrierea Moldovei
• The Princely Court in Bacău - images, layouts (at the Romanian Group for an Alternative History Website)
• Original Documents concerning both Moldavia and other Romania Principalities during the Middle Ages (at the Romanian Group for an Alternative History Website)
• Pilgrimage and Cultural Heritage Tourism in Moldavia
• Painted Churches in Bukovina
• Medieval Coins of Moldavia and Wallachia (Romanian) (English)

v t e Historical regions in Romania Banat (1918–)a Dobruja (Northern Dobruja (1878–) Southern Dobruja (1913–40) Moldavia (1866–) Bessarabia (1918–40; 1941–44)b Bukovinac Hertza (1866–1940; 1941–44) Transylvania (1918–)ad Crişanae Maramureş Wallachia (1866-) Muntenia Oltenia) aDe jure since 1920 bCahul, Ismail and Bolgrad in Romania, 1866–78 cSouthern Bukovina in Romania 1918–; Northern Bukovina, 1918–40; 1941–44 dNorthern Transylvania in Hungary, 1940–44. eOnly the eastern part.

v t e Administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire   Eyalets (1363–1864) Africa Algiers Egypt Habesh Tripolitania Tunis Anatolia Adana Aidin Anatolia Ankara Archipelago Diyarbekir Dulkadir Erzurum Hüdavendigâr Karaman Karasi Kars Kastamonu Rum Trebizond Van Asia Aleppo Baghdad Basra Childir Cyprus Damascus Lahsa Mosul Rakka Sharazor Sidon Tripoli Yemen Europe Adrianople Bosnia Budin Crete Egir Herzegovina Kanije Kefe Monastir Morea Niš Yanina Podolia Rumelia Salonica Silistra Temeşvar Uyvar Varat Widdin Zigetvar   Vilayets (1864–1922) Anatolia Adana Aidin Ankara Archipelago Bitlis Diyâr-ı Bekr Erzurum Hüdavendigâr Istanbul Kastamonu Konya Mamuret-ul-Aziz Sivas Trebizond Van Europe Adrianople Bosnia Crete Danube Janina Kosovo Monastir Salonica Scutari Elsewhere Aleppo Baghdad Basra Beirut Hejaz Mosul Syria Tripolitania Yemen   Vassals and autonomies Cossack Hetmanate Cretan State Crimean Khanate Khedivate of Egypt Sharifate of Mecca Principality of Moldavia Republic of Ragusa Eastern Rumelia Principality of Samos Serbian Despotate Duchy of Syrmia Principality of Transylvania Principality of Wallachia See also the list of short-lived Ottoman provinces

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2007)

Prince Saint Stephen the Great (Ștefan cel Mare)
Miniature from the 1473 Gospel at Humor Monastery
Reign	April 12, 1457 – July 2, 1504 (&1000000000000004700000047 years, &1000000000000008100000081 days)
Coronation	Direptate
Born	1433
Birthplace	Borzești(?), Moldavia
Died	July 2, 1504(1504-07-02)
Place of death	Suceava, Moldavia
Buried	Putna Monastery
Wives	Evdokia Olelkovici Maria din Mangop Maria Vochița
Royal House	House of Mușat
Father	Bogdan II of Moldavia
Mother	Lady Oltea

Saint Stephen the Great
Prince of Moldavia
Honored in	Romanian Orthodox Church
Canonized	July 12, 1992, Bucharest, Romania by Romanian Orthodox Church
Major shrine	Putna Monastery
Feast	July 2

Stephen III of Moldavia (also known as Stefan the Great, Romanian: Ștefan cel Mare, pronounced [ʃteˈfan t͡ʃel ˈmare] or Ștefan cel Mare și Sfânt, "Stefan the Great and Holy"; 1433, Borzești – July 2, 1504) was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 and the most prominent representative of the House of Mușat.

During his reign, he strengthened Moldavia and maintained its 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 46 of his 48 battles, and was one of the first to gain 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.

Early life and rise to power[link]

Stefan the Great was a member of the ruling House of Mușat. His father Bogdan II had ruled Moldavia for two years (1449 to 1451) before being killed in a stealthy raid led by Stephen's uncle, Petru Aron. Bogdan II was attending a wedding of one of his boyars - who apparently was in collusion with Petru Aron - and the surprise was complete. Stephen barely escaped with his life, but his father was captured and beheaded on the spot by his stepbrother Petru Aron. Between 1451 and 1457, Moldavia was in turmoil from the civil war between Petru Aron and Alexăndrel - a nephew of Alexander the Good.

Following the outbreak of the conflict, Stephen took refuge in Transylvania, seeking the protection of military commander John Hunyadi. After that, he moved to the court of his first cousin Vlad III Dracul and, in 1457, managed to receive 6,000 horsemen as military assistance, putting them to use in a victorious battle against Petru Aron at Doljești, near Roman. Following another lost battle at Orbic, Aron fled to Poland, while Stefan was crowned Prince. Two years later, he led an incursion into Poland in search of 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 banned from entering Moldavia.

Rule[link]

Menaced by powerful neighbours, he successfully repelled an invasion by the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus, defeating him in the Battle of Baia (in 1467), crushed an invading Tatar force at Lipnic and invaded Wallachia in 1471 (the latter had by then succumbed to Ottoman power and had become its vassal). When the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II launched a retaliatory attack on Moldavia, Stephen defeated the invaders at the Battle of Vaslui in 1475, a victory which temporarily halted the Turkish advance. 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 Neamțului) as a plague started to spread in the Ottoman army. Stephen's search for European assistance against the Turks met with little success, even though he had "cut off the pagan's right hand" - as he put it in a letter.

Stefan helped to oust Vlad Țepeș's brother, Radu the Handsome who had converted to Islam and later became the Ottoman commander of Wallachia, he then installed Laiotă Basarab the Old on the throne in the hope of bringing Wallachia back into the Christian camp. This proved to be illusory, as Laiotă quickly turned his back on Stephen, deeming that Ottoman protection would better help him consolidate his rule. With Stephen's support, Laiotă was removed from the throne in 1482 by Vlad Călugărul, brother to Vlad Tepes, and for the remainder of the 15th century Wallachia remained relatively stable under his rule.

After 1484, when he lost the fortresses of Chilia Nouǎ and Cetatea Albǎ to an Ottoman blitz invasion, Stephen had to face not only new Turkish onslaughts which he defeated again on November 16, 1485 at Catlabuga Lake and at Șcheia on the Siret River in March 1486, but also the Polish designs on Moldavian independence. Finally on 20 August 1503^[1] 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. In his late years, he dealt successfully with a Polish invasion, defeating the Poles at the Battle of the Cosmin Forest.

Main battles[link]

Battle of Baia[link]

The Battle of Baia was fought on 15 December 1467 against the armies of Hungarian King, Matthias Corvinus. The battle was the last Hungarian attempt to subdue the independent Moldavia, as previous attempts had ended in failure. Corvinus invaded Moldavia due to Stephen's annexation of Chilia — a fortress and harbour at the coast of the Black Sea, which at the time was controlled by Hungarian and Wallachian forces, though it had belonged to Moldavia centuries earlier.

The conflict ended with a bitter defeat for the Hungarians, who had an army more than three times the size of the Moldavian force. This put an end to all Hungarian claims on Moldavia. Corvinus almost died after being thrice wounded by arrows and barely made his escape to Transylvania.

In 1468, Stephen campaigned in Transylvania, found Aron and had him executed.^[2] Stephen and Corvinus would later negotiate a peace treaty and become allies; in 1475, Corvinus sent 1,800 soldiers that assisted Stephen in his victory at the Battle of Vaslui.

Battle of Vaslui[link]

Coat of arms of Moldavia in 1481, at Putna Monastery.

The Battle of Vaslui (also referred as Battle of Podul Înalt or the Battle of Racova) was fought on January 10, 1475, against the Ottoman Beylerbeyi of Rumelia, Hadım Suleyman Pasha. The battle took place at Podul Înalt (the High Bridge), near the town of Vaslui, in Moldavia (now part of eastern Romania). The Ottoman troops numbered up to 120,000, facing about 40,000 Moldavian troops, plus smaller numbers of allied and mercenary troops.^[3]

Stephen inflicted on the Ottomans a decisive defeat that has been described as "the greatest ever secured by the Cross against Islam,"^[4] with casualties, according to Venetian and Polish records, reaching beyond 40,000 on the Ottoman side. Mara Brankovic (Mara Hatun), who had formerly been the younger wife of Murad II, told a Venetian envoy that the invasion had been worst ever defeat for the Ottomans.^[5] Stephen was later awarded the title "Athleta Christi" (Champion of Christ) by Pope Sixtus IV, who referred to him as "Verus christiane fidei aletha" (The true defender of the Christian faith).^[6]

According to the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz, Stephen did not celebrate his victory; instead, he fasted for forty days on bread and water and forbade anyone to attribute the victory to him, insisting that credit be given only to "The Lord".

Battle of Valea Albă[link]

Battle flag of Stephen the Great: Saint George enthroned, trampling a dragon.

After the disaster of the Battle of Vaslui, the Sultan Mehmed II assembled a large army and entered Moldavia in June 1476. Meanwhile groups of Tartars from the Crimean Khanate (the Ottomans' recent ally) were sent to attack Moldavia. Romanian sources may state that they were repelled,.^[7] Other sources state that joint Ottoman and Crimean Tartar forces "occupied Bessarabia and took Akkerman, gaining control of southern mouth of Danube. Stephan tried to avoid open battle with the Ottomans by following a scorched-earth policy."^[8] In the process the Moldavians forces ended up being dispersed throughout the country, leaving only a small force of about 12–20,000 men, led by Ștefan cel Mare himself, to face the main Ottoman attack.

The battle began with the Moldavians luring the main Ottoman forces into a forest that was set on fire, causing some casualties to the attacking Ottoman army in the forest. According to another battle description, the defending Moldavian forces repelled several Ottoman attacks with steady fire from hand-guns.^[9] The attacking Turkish Janissaries were forced to crouch on their stomachs instead of charging headlong into the defenders positions. Seeing the imminent defeat of his forces, Mehmed charged with his personal guard against the Moldavians, managing to rally the Janissaries, and turning the tide of the battle. Turkish Janissaries penetrated inside the forest and engaged the defenders in man-to-man fighting.

The Moldavian army was utterly defeated (casualties were very high on both sides), and the chronicles say that the entire battlefield was covered with the bones of the dead, a probable source for the toponym (Valea Albă is Romanian and Akdere Turkish for "The White Valley").

Ștefan cel Mare retreated into the north-western part of Moldavia or even into the Polish Kingdom^[10] and began forming another army. The Ottomans were unable to conquer any of the major Moldavian strongholds (Suceava, Neamț, Hotin)^[7] and were constantly harassed by small scale Moldavians attacks. Soon they were also confronted with starvation, a situation made worse by an outbreak of the plague, and were driven out of the country, many of then dying while crossing the Danube river. The Sultan returned to Istanbul without considering himself defeated, but also without conquering anything.

Battle of the Cosmin Forest[link]

Coat of arms of Stephen the Great

After the Moldavian loss of Chilia and Cetatea Albă, the Ottoman threat seemed more evident. King John I Albert of Poland was suzerain of Moldavia, and, when Stephen asked him for military assistance, they met, in 1494 at the conference of Levoča, where together with King Ladislaus II of Hungary and Elector Johann Cicero of Brandenburg, they forged plans for an expedition against the Porte. The objective was to recapture Chilia and Cetatea Albă. However, in unexplained circumstances, Ștefan received reports from Hungary that John Albert prepared to place his own brother, the Polish prince Sigismund (later king, as Sigismund I the Old), on the Moldavian throne^{[citation needed]}. By 1497 John Albert managed to gather 80,000 men and was preparing for the expedition when Ștefan invaded Galicia and pillaged it^{[citation needed]}. The plans for the Ottoman invasion were put aside and John Albert went against Moldavia instead.

The campaign started on the wrong foot, with John Albert entering Moldavia at Hotin and - despite sound advice to the contrary - deciding not to take the fortress, but to go straight for the capital city of Suceava. After the abortive siege of Suceava (September 26 – October 16) - with the taking of the recently rebuilt and reinforced fortress nowhere in sight (despite having used heavy siege artillery on its walls), and facing famine, disease, bad weather plus the prospect of coming winter - John Albert was compelled to lift the siege. After some negotiations, the Poles left Suceava on October 19.

John Albert accepted Stephen's conditions for retreat, but later decided to break the arrangement. It was a mistake that Stephen was waiting for all along: on October 26 he ambushed the Poles while they were marching on a narrow road passing through a thickly wooded area known as The Cosmin Forest. Thus, John Albert was unable to deploy his forces, rendering the Polish heavy cavalry completely useless. The several phases of battle lasted for three days, with Stephen routing the invading army, which was forced to flee in disarray, harassed all the way by the forces of the prince. At the same time a Moldavian contingent intercepted on October 29 a hastily assembled Polish relief force and completely annihilated it at Lențești. However, once back in open space, the Poles were able again to take advantage of their heavy cavalry, and that part of the remaining troops which managed to retain a measure of order and discipline succeeded in crossing back into Poland - despite Stephen's last effort to engage the remnants of the king's army in a battle of annihilation when they were trying to ford the Prut river at Cernǎuți.

After the failed campaign the Poles no longer threatened Moldova for the rest of Stephen's reign.

Illness and death[link]

The tomb of Stephen the Great and his last wife, Maria Voichița, Putna Monastery.

In 1462, during the assault of Chilia Nouǎ, Stephen was shot in the leg. The wound never fully healed. In 1486, during the battle of Șcheia, his horse was injured. They both fell and Stephen was trapped under the horse. The incident aggravated his old leg injury. Over time, he summoned to his royal court many doctors, astrologists and other persons, who attempted to heal his wound. Among these were Hermann, "bacalaurio in medicina", astrologist Baptista de Vesentio, Maestro Zoano barbero from Genoa (in 1468), Isaac Beg (in 1473), Don Antonio Branca (skilled in fixing cut noses), Mateo Muriano from Venice (in 1502), and Hieronimo di Cesena from Venice (in 1503).

Towards the end of his life, Stephen suffered from gout, which immobilized his hands and legs. On November 9, 1503, Vladislav, King of Hungary wrote to the Doge of Venice: "The voivode of Moldavia is tormented by an old illness." On June 30, 1504 Stephen's wound was cauterized by the doctors present in Suceava (one of whom was Hieronimo di Cesena from Venice). The operation caused great pain to the old voivode, who died two days later, on the morning of July 2, 1504. He was buried in the Monastery of Putna.

Canonization[link]

Stephan the Great is perceived by the Romanian Orthodox Church as a defender of the faith, of the Church, and the whole of Christianity. Stephen's opposition to the Ottoman Empire protected the entirety of Europe from an invasion. After the Battle of Vaslui, Pope Sixtus IV named Stephen "the Champion of Christ" (Athleta Christi). It is said that he built 44 churches and monasteries, one for each battle that he won (44 out of a total of 48). At the end of the 20th century, the Romanian Orthodox Church decided to canonize Stephen. The canonization was enacted on June 20, 1992 by the Synodic Council of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Stephen is called "Saint Voivode Stephen the Great". His feast day in the Romanian Orthodox calendar is July 2, the day of his death.

Legacy[link]

Stephen III on the Moldovan 1 leu banknote.

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, including Voroneț, are now part of UNESCO's World Heritage sites.

Stephen was seen as holy by many Christians, soon after his death.^{[citation needed]} He has been canonized a saint by the Romanian Orthodox Church under the name "The Right-believing Voivode 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.

Coins and banknotes[link]

Stephen III on the Old Romanian 20 lei coin.

Stephen the Great's image was used on coins and banknotes both in Romania and Moldova.

The Romanian leu, the currency used in Romania, features Stephen on the coins of 20 lei, issued in the 1990s. These coins are no longer in use.

The Moldovan leu, established on 29 November 1993, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the creation of the independent republic of Moldova, features Stephen the Great on the front side of all the banknotes.

Monuments[link]

Stephen the Great Monument in Chişinău

The Stephen the Great Monument is a prominent monument in Chişinău, opposite the main government building.

Film[link]

Stephen, and his victory at Vaslui, were the subject of a 1975 film, Ștefan cel Mare - Vaslui 1475, by Romanian director Mircea Drăgan.

See also[link]

• Putna Monastery
• Voronet Monastery
• Neamț Monastery
• Neamț Citadel
• Borzești Church
• House of Mușat
• Vlad Dracula, cousin of Stephen the Great

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ștefan cel Mare

• Mușatin family
• Article in Romanian: Vlad Țepeș și Ștefan cel Mare - Prieteni sau dușmani?
• 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

Polish chronicles[link]

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

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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2011)

There are many people in history who are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as e Bozorg and e azam in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.^[1]

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus)^[2] assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "the Great".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers[link]

• Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran
• Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India
• Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat
• Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia
• Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia
• Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias
• Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex
• Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire
• Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty
• Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),
• Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire
• Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand
• Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)
• Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)
• Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden
• Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland
• Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia
• Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India
• Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans
• Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)
• Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks
• Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen
• Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor
• Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media
• Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire
• Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire
• Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse^[3]
• Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile
• Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia
• Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
• Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe
• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader
• Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea^[4][5]
• Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC
• Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)
• Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre
• Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea
• Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris
• Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France
• Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)
• Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat
• Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia
• John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve
• John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre
• Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor
• Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i
• Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India
• Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia
• Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty
• Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales
• Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland
• Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand
• Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan
• Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)
• Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)
• Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom
• Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus
• Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya
• Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)
• Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine
• Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)
• K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque
• Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka
• Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia
• Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia
• Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily
• Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar
• Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar
• Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.^[6][7][8]
• Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India
• Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt
• Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)
• Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties
• Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)
• Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders
• Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre
• Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire
• Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king^[9]
• Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia
• Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire
• Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)
• Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
• Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)
• Tamar (1160-1123), Queen of the Georgian Empire
• Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty
• Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie
• Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire
• Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor
• Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia
• Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia
• Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire
• Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark
• Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor
• Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus
• Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy
• William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon
• William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou
• Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)
• Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China