Alexandru (died on 26 July 1496) was the first-born son of

Stephen III of Moldavia Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

and his

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

. He participated in his father's fights against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

from the late 1470s. He had his own court in

Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of ...

from the early 1480s. He was made Stephen III's co-ruler in or before 1490. He predeceased his father.

Early life

Alexandru was the first-born son of

. His mother's identification is uncertain, because she may have been either one Mărușca (or Mărica), or

Evdochia of Kiev Evdochia of Kiev, also known as Evdokia ( uk, Євдокія Олельківна; died in 1467), was a Princess of Moldavia as the first or second wife of Stephen III of Moldavia. Biography She was the sister of Simeon of Kiev, and a cousin of I ...

, according to historian Jonathan Eagles. Assuming that Mărușca was Stephen's concubine, Eagles proposes that Alexandru could have been an illegitimate son. On the other hand, Stephen's charter of grant to the

Hilandar Monastery The Hilandar Monastery ( sr-cyr, Манастир Хиландар, Manastir Hilandar, , el, Μονή Χιλανδαρίου) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian monastery there. It wa ...

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

names Alexandru as one of the children of Stephen and Evdochia of Kiev. Consequently, according to Eagles, it is also possible, that Stephen fathered two sons named Alexandru, and his co-ruler was Evdochia's son. If Alexandru was Mărușca's son, he must have been born between 1457 and 1463; if Evdochia was his mother, he must have been born between 1463 and 1467. Alexandru participated in the

Battle of Valea Albă The Battle of Valea Albă, also known as the Battle of Războieni or the Battle of Akdere, was an important event in the medieval history of Moldavia. It took place at Războieni, also known as ''Valea Albă'', on July 26, 1476, between the Mold ...

in 1476, according to an inscription at the Church of Saint Michael in Războieni. An inscription at the Church of Saint Procopius in

Milișăuți Milișăuți (german: Milleschoutz) is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Milișăuți is the fifteenth largest urban settlement in the county, with a population of 4,958 inhabi ...

recorded that Alexandru also fought alongside his father against Basarab the Younger at

Râmnicu Vâlcea Râmnicu Vâlcea (also spelled ''Rîmnicu Vîlcea'' or, in the past, ''Rîmnic-Vâlcea'', ) (population: 92,573 as per the 2011 Romanian census) is the county capital ( ro, Reședință de județ) and also the largest town of Vâlcea County, cent ...

in 1481. Around that time, Alexandru, established his own court at

. He allegedly administered the Lower Country (the southern region of Moldavia), according to Eagles. In the 1480s, he only referred to himself as his father's son, showing that he was still not regarded his father's co-ruler.

Co-ruler

Alexandru was made his father's co-ruler before 1 January 1491. On this day he was styled ''

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

'' on an inscription at the church of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Bacău. The church had been built at Alexandru's order. He died on 26 July 1496. He was buried in the

Bistrița Monastery The Bistrița Monastery ( ro, Mănăstirea Bistrița, ) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery located 8 km west of Piatra Neamț. It was dedicated in 1402, having as original ctitor the Moldavian Voivode Alexandru cel Bun whose remains are buri ...

References

Sources

* * {{Refend House of Bogdan-Mușat 1496 deaths Stephen the Great