10 January 1475, Moldavian–Ottoman Wars: Stephen the Great, the Voivode (ruler) of Moldavia, led Moldavian forces to defeat an Ottoman army under Hadım Suleiman Pasha near Vaslui in what is now Romania.

9 comments

  1. The Battle of Vaslui (also referred to as the Battle of Podul Înalt) was fought on 10 January 1475, between Stephen III (“The Great”) of Moldavia and the Ottoman governor of Rumelia, Hadım Suleiman 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.

    Stephen inflicted a decisive defeat on the Ottomans, with casualties according to Venetian and Polish records reaching beyond 40,000 on the Ottoman side. Mara Branković (Mara Hatun), the former younger wife of Murad II, told a Venetian envoy that the invasion had been the worst ever defeat for the Ottomans.

    Stephen was later awarded the title “Athleta Christi” (Champion of Christ) by Pope Sixtus IV, who referred to him as “verus christianae fidei athleta” (“the true defender of the Christian faith”).

    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.

  4. If you go to Moldova (the country), everything is named after Stephan cel Mare. The streets, the parks, museums, monuments, theaters, he’s on the banknotes (on all denominations). You’d think the guy is a dictator currently ruling the country. Then you go to Moldova (Romanian province), and…he’s almost as intensely present. It’s unusual to see a figure from as far back as the middle ages being so prominent in the modern day.

Leave a Reply