The first conflict between
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 ...
and the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
for which there is a historical account occurred during the reign of
Alexandru cel Bun, in 1420, when the Ottomans tried to capture
Chilia. The attack was unsuccessful.
In 1439,
King Sigismund of
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
argued with
King Wladislaw of Poland about dividing Moldavia between their two countries. Sigismund complained that the Moldavians refused to aid him in his expeditions against the
Turks, but King Wladyslaw argued that the Moldavians couldn't aid Sigismund with troops because they aided him, instead, and Sigismund had to give up on his claims.
In 1444, Moldavia sent troops that joined King
Władysław III of Varna at the
Battle of Varna. The Turks had camels with them and in case of defeat, they would spill gold and silver coins on the ground in order to slacken the enemy. The Moldavians went after the camels for the money.
[The Annals of Jan Długosz, p. 496]
Between 1451 and 1457, Moldavia was in civil turmoil and under
Petru Aron, the principality paid the
Porte an annual tribute of 2,000
gold coins. In 1470, during the rule of
Stephen the Great
Stephen III, better known as Stephen the Great (; ; died 2 July 1504), was List of rulers of Moldavia, Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II of Moldavia, Bogdan II, who was murdered in ...
, the relationship between Moldavia and the Porte became hostile, and resulted in several confrontations, most notable being the
Battle of Vaslui, where the Ottomans were heavily defeated, and the
Battle of Valea Albă, where
Mehmed II
Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481.
In Mehmed II's first reign, ...
was victorious, but was forced to retreat. In 1484, the Ottomans managed to annex Chilia and
Akkerman. After the death of Stephen the Great, 1504, Moldavia fell into decline and was forced to accept
vassalage for the Porte in 1512, but conflicts continued to rage until the 19th century, giving the country brief periods of independence.
Footnotes
References
*
Długosz, Jan. "The Annals of Jan Długosz"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moldavian-Ottoman Wars
15th-century conflicts
16th-century conflicts
Wars involving the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman period in Moldova
Ottoman period in Romania
Medieval Moldavia