Iliaș 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. The ...

(

Voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

) of

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

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 I, commonly known as Alexander the Good (; – 1 January 1432) was Voivode of Moldavia between 1400 and 1432. He was the son of Roman I and succeeded Iuga to the throne. As ruler he initiated a series of reforms while consolidating ...

and Ana Neacșa, he was designated co-ruler and nominated successor by his father. In 1433, Iliaș 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 suzerai ...

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...

, Jagiellon King of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He married Maria, a scion of the

Olshanski Olshansky or Olshanski are East Slavic toponymic surnames associated with the places Olshana, Olshanka, Olshany, Halshany. The Belrusian-language rendering of the surname are Halshansky, Alshansky, Polish: Olszański, Holszański, Lithuanian: Olš ...

family of

Lithuanian nobility The Lithuanian nobility () or ''szlachta'' of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (, ) was historically a legally privileged hereditary elite class in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth (including during period of foreign r ...

(granddaughter of

Ivan Olshanski Ivan Olshanski or Olshansky (died in or after 1402) was a member of the Lithuanian princely Alšėniškiai (Holshansky) family. Historians only know his father's name, Algimantas. Ivan was a faithful companion of Vytautas the Great, Grand Duke o ...

and sister of Władysław II's wife,

Sophia of Halshany Sophia of Halshany (; ; ; – 21 September 1461 in Kraków), known simply as Sonka, was a princess of Lithuanian Alšėniškiai princely family who was Queen of Poland as the fourth and last wife of Jogaila, King of Poland and Supreme Duke ...

). Iliaș and Maria had at least two sons, Roman II and Alexăndrel. Iliaș faced the rebellion of his brother Stephen and several

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

s, who, helped by

Vlad II Dracul Vlad II (), 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 Impaler, or Dracula. Bo ...

of neighboring

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

, managed to dethrone him. Iliaș 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 Iliaș until the ascension of Władysław III. In 1434, Iliaș' 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 Drăgușeni), Władysław III intervened to appease the conflict and helped institute a shared rule of the two brothers over Moldavia (with Iliaș as nominal ruler and with Stephen as lord over the southeastern part of the country—in

Tecuci Tecuci () is a 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 Mărășești. ...

, 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 t ...

, and

Covurlui The Covurlui Plain is located in Galați County, Romania, having an altitude varying between 60 and 200 metres. Its name is derived from the river Covurlui and has a Cuman origin. Before World War II, Covurlui was the name of a county, but it w ...

—although both shared residence in

Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...

). In return, Iliaș 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 lands which the state con ...

to Poland (100 horses, 400

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

sheets, 400 oxen, 300 cartfuls of

sturgeon Sturgeon (from Old English ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''str̥(Hx)yón''-) is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the ...

) and to concede rule over

Khotyn Khotyn (, ; , ; see #Name, other names) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of th ...

and

Pokuttya Pokuttia, also known as Pokuttya or Pokutia, (; ; ) is an historical area of East-Central Europe, situated between the Dniester and Cheremosh rivers and Carpathian Mountains, in the southwestern part of modern Ukraine. Although the historic hear ...

. A decrease in Poland's interest in the region led Stephen to rebel. Again deposed, Iliaș 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

, Iliaș 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.Ștefănescu, p.105; Xenopol, p.127-128 His other son was Alexăndrel.

Notes

References

*Ștefan Ștefănescu, ''Istoria medie a României'',

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, Vol. I, 1991 *

A. D. Xenopol Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol (; March 23, 1847 – February 27, 1920) was a Romanian historian, philosopher, professor, economist, sociologist, and author. Among his many major accomplishments, he is credited with authoring the first major synthes ...

, ''Istoria romînilor din Dacia Traiană'', Vol. III, cap. 3,

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, 1896

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilias Of Moldavia Blind royalty and nobility Monarchs of Moldavia 15th-century Moldavian people

Life

See also

Notes

References

External links