Iliaş or Ilie I (20 July 1409 – 23 April 1448) was

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. Th ...

(

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 ...

) of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

twice: from January 1432 to October 1433 and with his brother Stephen II from August 1435 to May 1443.

Life

The son of Prince

Alexandru cel Bun Alexander the Good ( ro, Alexandru cel Bun or ''Alexandru I Mușat''; c. 1375 – 1 January 1432) was a Voivode (Lord) of Moldavia, reigning between 1400 and 1432, son of Roman I Mușat. He succeeded Iuga to the throne, and, as a ruler, init ...

and Ana Neacşa, he was designated co-ruler and nominated successor by his father. In 1433, Iliaş pledged his

vassalage A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło ()He is known under a number of names: lt, Jogaila Algirdaitis; pl, Władysław II Jagiełło; be, Jahajła (Ягайла). See also: Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło. w ...

, Jagiellon King of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. He married Maria, a scion of the

Olshanski Olshanski or Olshansky is a Ukrainian or Belorussian habitational name for someone from Olshana or Olshanka in Ukraine or Olshany in Belarus or a americanized form of Polish and Jewish (from Poland) Olszanski. Notable people with the name include: ...

family of

Lithuanian nobility The Lithuanian nobility or szlachta ( Lithuanian: ''bajorija, šlėkta'') was historically a legally privileged hereditary elite class in the Kingdom of Lithuania and Grand Duchy of Lithuania (including during period of foreign rule 1795–1918 ...

(granddaughter of

Ivan Olshanski Ivan Olshanski (Olshansky) ( be, Іван Гальшанскі, lit=Ivan Halshansky, lt, Jonas Alšėniškis or , pl, Iwan Olgimuntowicz Holszański, died in or after 1402) was a member of the Lithuanian princely Alšėniškiai (Holshansky) fa ...

and sister of Władysław II's wife, Sophia of Halshany). Iliaş and Maria had at least two sons, Roman II and Alexăndrel. Iliaş faced the rebellion of his brother Stephen and several

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...

s, who, helped by

Vlad II Dracul Vlad II ( ro, Vlad al II-lea), also known as Vlad Dracul () or Vlad the Dragon (before 1395 – November 1447), was Voivode of Wallachia from 1436 to 1442, and again from 1443 to 1447. He is internationally known as the father of Vlad the Im ...

of neighboring

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 ...

, managed to dethrone him. Iliaş enlisted the help of Władysław II, but he was defeated by the new prince and escaped to Poland. After Stephen pledged allegiance to the Poles, the latter imprisoned Iliaş until the ascension of Władysław III. In 1434, Iliaş' Polish supporters facilitated his freedom and convinced the king to consider withdrawing his support for Stephen. After an indecisive battle in 1435 (at ''Podraga'' or ''Podagra'', the present-day village of Podriga in Drăguşeni), Władysław III intervened to appease the conflict and helped institute a shared rule of the two brothers over Moldavia (with Iliaş as nominal ruler and with Stephen as lord over the southeastern part of the country—in

Tecuci Tecuci () is a municipiu, city in Galați County, Romania, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. It is situated among wooded hills, on the right bank of the Bârlad River, and at the junction of railways from Galați, Bârlad, and Mără ...

, Kilia,

Vaslui Vaslui (), a city in eastern Romania, is the seat of Vaslui County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. The city administers five villages: Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu, and Viișoara. History Archaeological surveys indicate ...

, and Covurlui—although both shared residence in

Suceava Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central and Eastern E ...

). In return, Iliaş agreed to pay an annual

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

to Poland (100 horses, 400

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

sheets, 400 oxen, 300 cartfuls of

sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...

) and to concede rule over

Khotyn Khotyn ( uk, Хотин, ; ro, Hotin, ; see other names) is a city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of t ...

and

Pokuttya Pokuttia, also known as Pokuttya or Pokutia ( uk, Покуття, Pokuttya; pl, Pokucie; german: Pokutien; ro, Pocuția), is a historical area of East-Central Europe, situated between the Dniester and Cheremosh rivers and the Carpathian Moun ...

. A decrease in Poland's interest in the region led Stephen to rebel. Again deposed, Iliaş was blinded (as custom prevented disabled people from ascending to the throne) and thrown in jail. He died there at an unknown time. His wife Maria fled to Poland with her sons, where she took over rule over Pokuttya—defending it against the armies of Stephen.

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, Iliaş and Maria's son, remained ruler of the region, titling himself Prince of Moldavia and vassal to Władysław III; he was to be recognized as co-ruler by Stephen, and would eventually depose him.Ştefănescu, p.105; Xenopol, p.127-128 His other son was Alexăndrel.

Notes

References

*Ştefan Ştefănescu, ''Istoria medie a României'',

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, Vol. I, 1991 * A. D. Xenopol, ''Istoria romînilor din Dacia Traiană'', Vol. III, cap. 3, Iaşi, 1896

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilias Of Moldavia Blind royalty and nobility Rulers of Moldavia