John III the Terrible ( ro, Ioan cel Cumplit), also John III the Brave ( ro, Ioan cel Viteaz) (1521 – June 14, 1574) 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 ...
between February 1572 and June 1574.
He was the grandson of
Bogdan III and the son of
Stephen IV and his Armenian mistress Serpega. It is said he spent part of his life being a merchant in Constantinople, where he had closely studied the Ottomans and their weaknesses.
Ioan was one of the last medieval
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
n rulers to battle the Ottoman Turks. His nickname "the Terrible" was a result of his harsh treatment of the Boyars, the Moldavian nobility, which at that time were very influential in deciding the rulers of the small principality. Attempting to strengthen his rule and make an example out of disloyal nobles, Ioan III carried out several Boyar executions, thus earning his alias "the Terrible". The common people appreciated his courageous stand against the nobility's corruption and the harsh Turkish domination. He refused to double the amount of tribute paid to the Ottomans but the Moldovan army was defeated in the
Battle of Cahul Lake, he was captured and executed.
His short reign was marked by fierce combat 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 their
Crimean
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different allies. In order to counter the power of the Ottomans, he allied himself with the
Ukrainian Cossacks
The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...
. He was victorious at the battles of
Jiliște, the
Siege of Brăila,
Tighina
Bender (, Moldovan Cyrillic: Бендер) or Bendery (russian: Бендеры, , uk, Бендери), also known as Tighina ( ro, Tighina), is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under ''de facto'' control of the u ...
and
Cetatea Albă
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi ( uk, Бі́лгород-Дністро́вський, Bílhorod-Dnistróvskyy, ; ro, Cetatea Albă), historically known as Akkerman ( tr, Akkerman) or under different names, is a city, municipality and port situated on ...
. When an army of 150,000 Turks was sent against him, he personally surrendered, being promised that his Moldavian soldiers and Cossack allies would be spared in exchange for his capture. He was killed by the Ottomans by tying his body to four
camels, which were driven in different directions. His soldiers were nonetheless slaughtered mercilessly.
See also
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:John III
1521 births
1574 deaths
Rulers of Moldavia
Romanian people executed abroad
Romanian people of Armenian descent
Moldovan people of Armenian descent
16th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire
People executed by dismemberment