Bogdan III the One-Eyed ( ro, Bogdan al III-lea cel Chior) or Bogdan III the Blind () (March 18, 1479 – April 20, 1517) was
Voivode of Moldavia
This is a list of rulers of Moldavia, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the Carpathians and until its disestablishment in 1862, when it united with Wallachia, the other Danubian Principality, to form the modern-day state of Ro ...
from July 2, 1504, to 1517.
Family
Bogdan was born in
Huşi as the son of Voivode
Ştefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great) and his wife
Maria Voichița
Doamna Maria Voichița (1457 – 26 February 1511) was a Princess consort of Moldavia (1480–1511), daughter of Radu III the Handsome and a niece of Vlad the Impaler. She was regarded to have an influence upon the policy of her spouse, Princ ...
. He was his father's only surviving legitimate son.
Conflict with Poland and Tatar incursions
Immediately after Bogdan came to the throne, he expressed his intent to marry Elisabeth, sister of
Polish King
Alexander the Jagiellonian
Alexander Jagiellon ( pl, Aleksander Jagiellończyk, lt, Aleksandras Jogailaitis; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) of the House of Jagiellon was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and later also King of Poland. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV Jagie ...
. After being twice refused despite offering generous gifts (including territorial concessions), he raided southern Poland, and Alexander accepted his demands—provided that Bogdan be more lenient towards the status of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in Moldavia—in 1506. Alexander's death and
Sigismund the Old
Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...
's ascendancy led to a breaking of the previous agreement, provoking further incursions on each side. In October 1509, Bogdan was severely defeated on the
Dniester
The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and t ...
river; a peace was signed on January 17, 1510, when the ruler finally renounced his pretensions.
In the same year, Moldavia suffered two major
Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different devastations (they are alleged to have carried away 74,000 as slaves) — in 1511, the Tatars even managed to occupy most of the country. The events forced Poland, still recovering from the great invasion of 1506 (''see
Tatar invasions''), to send troops as aid, helping Bogdan regain his lands after a victory in May 1512.
Submission to Ottoman rule
In 1514, in order to block the Tatar threat by enlisting the help of a powerful overlord, Bogdan sent
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Tăutu to negotiate the terms of Moldavia's submission to 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 ...
(then under the rule of Yavuz Sultan Selim, or
Selim I
Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite las ...
).
The
Porte
Porte may refer to:
*Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire
*Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy
*John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator
*Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...
demanded that a certain sum (initially expressed as 4,000
gold coins
A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are 90–92% gold (22 karat), while most of today's gold bullion coins are pure gold, such as the Britannia, Canadian Maple Leaf, and American Bu ...
) be paid yearly, together with a ceremonial gift of 40 horses and 40 falcons, additional expenses (such as for the celebration of ''
Eid ul-Fitr
, nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast
, observedby = Muslims
, type = Islamic
, longtype = Islamic
, significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan
, date ...
'') and assistance in case of war — Princes themselves were required to lead a 4,000-strong army that would place itself under the orders of the
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...
. In exchange for these, Moldavia was allowed a high level of
autonomy
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one' ...
.
Life
Bogdan was blind in one eye, most likely after a wound received during one of his many battles. While the rules of succession to the throne did exclude an impaired individual, as ''însemnat'' ("marked"), they seem to have applied just to people who had been affected before their candidacy to the throne, and to those with
congenital disorder
A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities c ...
s.
He was married to Stana, Nastasia and finally to Ruxandra, daughter of
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 s ...
n
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
Mihnea cel Rău
Mihnea cel Rău (''Mihnea the Wrongdoer/Mean/Evil''; c.1460 – 12 March 1510), the son of Vlad III Dracula (Vlad Țepeș), and his first wife, was Voivode (Prince) of Wallachia from 1508 to 1509, having replaced his first cousin Radu cel Mare. ...
.
He was buried next to his father (and other members of his family) in
Putna Monastery
The Putna monastery ( ro, Mănăstirea Putna) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery, one of the most important cultural, religious and artistic centers established in medieval Moldavia; as with many others, it was built and dedicated by Stephen the G ...
.
See also
External links
Putna Monastery*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bogdan 03 The One Eyed
1470s births
1517 deaths
15th-century Romanian people
16th-century Romanian people
Blind people from Romania
Blind royalty and nobility
Burials at Putna Monastery
House of Bogdan-Mușat
Rulers of Moldavia
Stephen the Great