Moldavia: Perbedaan antara revisi

The traditional border between the two [[Danubian Principalities]] - Moldavia and [[Wallachia]] - roughly coincided with the [[Milcov River]]. As a state, Moldavia also controlled a relatively narrow strip of land around [[Galaţi]], which granted it access to the [[Chilia branch]] of the [[Danube]].

 

The Romanian region itself spans over 46,173 km² (19.5% of Romania's territory), and consists of eight [[Counties of Romania|counties]]:

*[[Bacău County]]

 

In the early [[13th century]], the ''[[Brodnici|Brodniks]]'', a possible [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]]-[[Vlachs|Vlach]] [[Vassalage|vassal]] state of [[Halych-Volhynia|Halych]], were present, alongside the ''[[Bolohoveni]]'', in much of the region's territory (towards [[1216]], the Brodniks are mentioned as in service of [[Vladimir-Suzdal|Suzdal]]). On the border between Halych and the Brodniks, in the 11th century, a [[Viking]] by the name of ''Rodfos'' was killed in the area by Vlachs who supposedly betrayed him.[http://www.vikingart.com/VArt/PS_Sjonhem.htm] In [[1164]], the future [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] [[List of Byzantine Emperors|Emperor]] [[Andronicus I Comnenus]], was taken prisoner by Vlach shepherds around the same region.

 

===Foundation of the principality===

===Early Muşatin rulers===

:''Main article: [[Romania in the Middle Ages]].''

[[Petru I of Moldavia|Petru I]] profited from the end of the Hungarian-Polish union, and moved the country closer to the [[History of Poland (1385–1569)|Jagiellon realm]], becoming a [[Vassalage|vassal]] of [[Władysław II Jagiełło|Władysław II]] on [[September 26]], [[1387]]. This gesture was to have unexpected consequences: Petru supplied the Polish ruler with funds needed in the war against the [[Teutonic Knights]], and was granted control over [[Pokuttya]] until the debt was to be repaid; as this is not recorded to have been carried out, the region became disputed by the two states, until it was lost by Moldavia in the [[Battle of Obertyn]] ([[1531]]). Prince Petru also expanded his rule southwards to the [[Danube Delta]], and established a frontier with [[Wallachia]]{{Fact|date=January 2007}}; his son Roman I conquered the Hungarian-ruled [[Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi|Cetatea Albă]] in [[1392]], giving Moldavia an outlet to the [[Black Sea]], before being toppled from the throne for supporting [[Theodor Koriatovich]] in his conflict with [[Vytautas the Great]] of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]]. Under [[Stephen I of Moldavia|Stephen I]], growing Polish influence was challenged by [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund of Hungary]], whose expedition was defeated at [[Ghindăoani]] in [[1385]]; however, Stephen disappeared in mysterious circumstances, and the throne was soon occupied by [[Iuga of Moldavia|Yury Koriatovich]]{{Fact|date=January 2007}} (Vytautas' favorite).

 

[[Alexandru cel Bun]], although brought to the throne in [[1400]] by the Hungarians (with assistance from [[Mircea I of Wallachia]]), shifted his allegiances towards Poland (notably engaging Moldavian forces on the Polish side in the [[Battle of Grunwald]] and the [[Siege of Marienburg (1410)|Siege of Marienburg]]), and placed his own choice of rulers in Wallachia. His reign was one of the most successful in Moldavia's history, but also saw the very first confrontation with the [[Ottoman Turks]] at Cetatea Albă in [[1420]], and later even a conflict with the Poles. A deep crisis was to follow Alexandru's long reign, with his successors battling each other in a succession of wars that divided the country until the murder of [[Bogdan II of Moldavia|Bogdan II]] and the ascension of [[Petru Aron]] in [[1451]]. Nevertheless, Moldavia was subject to further Hungarian interventions after that moment, as [[Matthias Corvinus of Hungary|Matthias Corvinus]] deposed Aron and backed [[Alexăndrel]] to the throne in [[Suceava]]. Petru Aron's rule also signified the beginning of Moldavia's [[Ottoman Empire]] allegiance, as the ruler agreed to pay [[tribute]] to [[Ottoman Dynasty|Sultan]] [[Mehmed II]].

 

Under [[Stephen III of Moldavia|Stephen the Great]], who took the throne and subsequently came to an agreement with [[Kazimierz IV Jagiellon|Kazimierz IV of Poland]] in [[1457]], the state reached its most glorious period. Stephen blocked Hungarian interventions in the [[Battle of Baia]], invaded Wallachia in [[1471]], and dealt with Ottoman reprisals in a major victory (the [[1475]] [[Battle of Vaslui]]; after feeling threatened by Polish ambitions, he also attacked [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]] and resisted Polish reprisals in the [[Battle of the Cosmin Forest]] ([[1497]]). However, he had to surrender [[Kiliya|Chilia]] (Kiliya) and [[Bilhorod-Dnistrovs'kyi|Cetatea Albă]] (Bilhorod-Dnistrovs'kyi), the two main fortresses in the [[Bujak]], to the Ottomans in 1484, and in 1498 he had to accept Ottoman suzereignty, when he was forced to agree to continue paying tribute to Sultan [[Bayezid II]]. Following the taking of [[Khotyn]] and [[Pokuttya]], Stephen's rule also brought a brief extension of Moldavian rule into [[Transylvania]]: [[Cetatea de Baltă]] and [[Ciceu]] became his [[Fiefdom|fiefs]] in [[1489]].

 

A period of profound crisis followed. Moldavia stopped issuing its own coinage cca. [[1520]], under Prince [[Ştefăniţă]], when it was confronted with rapid depletion of funds and rising demands from the [[Porte]]. Such problems became endemic when the country, brought into the [[Great Turkish War]], suffered the impact of the [[Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire]]; at one point, during the 1650s and 1660s, princes began relying on [[counterfeit]] coinage (usually copies of [[Swedish riksdaler]]s, as was that issued by [[Eustratie Dabija]]). The economic decline was accompanied by a failure to maintain state structures: the [[Feudalism|feudal]]-based [[Moldavian military forces]] were no longer convoked, and the few troops maintained by the rulers remained professional [[Mercenary|mercenaries]] such as the ''[[seimeni]]''.

 

However, Moldavia and the similarly-affected Wallachia remained both important sources of income for the Ottoman Empire and relatively prosperous agricultural economies (especially as suppliers of grain and cattle – the latter was especially relevant in Moldavia, which remained an under-populated country of [[pasture]]s). In time, much of the resources were tied to the [[Economy of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman economy]], either through [[Monopoly|monopolies]] on trade which were only lifted in [[1829]], after the [[Treaty of Adrianople]] (which did not affect all domains directly), or through the raise in direct [[tax]]es - the one demanded by the Ottomans from the princes, as well as the ones demanded by the princes from the country's population. Taxes were directly proportional with Ottoman requests, but also with the growing importance of Ottoman appointment and sanctioning of princes in front of election by the [[boyars]] and the boyar Council – ''[[Sfatul boieresc]]'' (drawing in a competition among pretenders, which also implied the intervention of creditors as suppliers of [[bribe]]s). The fiscal system soon included taxes such as the ''văcărit'' (a tax on head of cattle), first introduced by [[Iancu Sasul]] in the 1580s.

 

The conflict between princes and boyars was to become exceptionally violent – the latter group, who frequently appealed to the Ottoman court in order to have princes comply with its demands, was persecuted by rulers such as [[Alexandru Lăpuşneanu]] and [[Ioan Vodă cel Cumplit]]. Ioan Vodă's revolt against the Ottomans ended in his execution ([[1574]]). The country descended into political chaos, with frequent Ottoman and [[Tatars|Tatar]] incursions and pillages. The claims of Muşatins to the crown and the traditional system of succession were ended by scores of illegitimate reigns; one of the usurpers, [[Ioan Iacob Heraclid]], was a [[Protestantism|Protestant]] Greek who encouraged the [[Renaissance]] and attempted to introduce [[Lutheranism]] to Moldavia.

 

In [[1595]], the rise of the [[Movileşti]] boyars to the throne with [[Ieremia Movilă]] coincided with the start of frequent anti-Ottoman and anti-[[Habsburg Monarchy|Habsburg]] military expeditions of the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] into Moldavian territory (see ''[[Moldavian Magnate Wars]]''), and rivalries between pretenders to the Moldavian throne encouraged by the three competing powers. The Wallachian prince [[Michael the Brave]] deposed Prince Ieremia in [[1600]], and managed to become the very first monarch to unite Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania under his rule; the episode ended in Polish conquests of lands down to [[Bucharest]], soon ended by the outbreak of the [[Polish-Sweden War (1600-1611)|Polish-Swedish War]] and the reestablishment of Ottoman rule. Polish incursions were dealt a blow by the Ottomans during the [[1620]] [[Battle of Cecora (1620)|Battle of Cecora]], which also saw an end to the reign of [[Gaspar Graziani]].

 

:''Main article: [[National awakening of Romania]].''

 

Phanariote rules were officially ended after the [[1821]] occupation of the country by [[Alexander Ypsilantis (1792-1828)|Alexander Ypsilantis]]' [[Filiki Eteria]] during the [[Greek War of Independence]]; the subsequent Ottoman retaliation brought the rule of [[Ioan Sturdza]], considered as the first one of a new system – especially since, in [[1826]], the Ottomans and Russia agreed to allow for the election by locals of rulers over the two [[Danubian Principalities]], and convened on their mandating for seven-year terms. In practice, a new fundament to reigns in Moldavia was created by the [[Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829|Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829]], and a period of Russian domination over the two countries which ended only in 1856: begun as a military occupation under the command of [[Pavel Kiselyov]], Russian domination gave Wallachia and Moldavia, which were not removed from nominal Ottoman control, the modernizing ''[[Regulamentul Organic|Organic Statute]]'' (the first document resembling a [[constitution]], as well as the first one to regard both principalities). After 1829, the country also became an important destination for [[immigration]] of [[Ashkenazi Jews]] from the [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria]] and areas of Russia (''see [[History of the Jews in Romania]] and [[Sudiţi]]'').

 

The first Moldavian rule established under the Statute, that of [[Mihail Sturdza]], was nonetheless ambivalent: eager to reduce abuse of office. Sturdza introduced reforms (the abolition of slavery, [[secularization]], economic rebuilding), but he was widely seen as enforcing his own power over that of the newly-instituted consultative Assembly. A supporter of the union of his country with Wallachia and of [[Romanians|Romanian]] [[Romantic nationalism]], he obtained the establishment of a [[customs union]] between the two countries (1847) and showed support for [[Radicalism (historical)|radical]] projects favored by low boyars; nevertheless, he clamped down with noted violence the [[1848 Wallachian revolution|Moldavian revolutionary attempt]] in the last days of March [[1848]]. [[Grigore Alexandru Ghica]] allowed the exiled revolutionaries to return to Moldavia cca. [[1853]], which led to the creation of ''[[Partida Naţională]]'' (the “National Party”), a trans-boundary group of radical union supporters which campaigned for a single state under a foreign dynasty.

 

Russian domination ended abruptly after the [[Crimean War]], when the [[Treaty of Paris (1856)|Treaty of Paris]] passed the two principalities under the tutelage of [[Great power|Great European Powers]] (together with Russia and the Ottoman overlord, power-sharing included the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]], the [[Austrian Empire]], the [[Second French Empire|French Empire]], the [[Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia]], and [[Prussia]]). Due to Austrian and Ottoman opposition and British reserves, the union program as demanded by radical campaigners was debated intensely. In September 1857, given that ''[[Kaymakam|Caimacam]]'' [[Nicolae Vogoride]] had perpetrated [[Electoral fraud|fraud]] in elections in Moldavia in July,{{Fact|date=January 2007}} the Powers allowed the two states to convene ''[[Ad-hoc divans]]'', which were to decide a new constitutional framework; the result showed overwhelming support for the union, as the creation of a [[Liberalism|liberal]] and [[Neutral country|neutral]] state. After further meetings among leaders of tutor states, an agreement was reached (the ''Paris Convention''), whereby a limited union was to be enforced – separate governments and thrones, with only two bodies (a [[High Court of Cassation and Justice|Court of Cassation]] and a Central Commission residing in [[Focşani]]; it also stipulated that an end to all [[privilege]] was to be passed into law, and awarded back to Moldavia the areas around [[Bolhrad]], [[Cahul]], and [[Izmail]].

 

However, the Convention failed to note whether the two thrones could not be occupied by the same person, allowing ''Partida Naţională'' to introduce the candidacy of [[Alexander John Cuza]] in both countries. On [[January 5]] ([[January 17]], [[1859]] [[Old Style and New Style dates|Old Style]]), he was elected prince of Moldavia by the respective electoral body. After street pressure over the much more [[Conservatism|conservative]] body in [[Bucharest]], Cuza was elected in Wallachia as well ([[February 5]]/[[January 24]]). Exactly three years later, after diplomatic missions that helped remove opposition to the action, the formal union created [[Romania]] and instituted Cuza as ''[[Domnitor]]'' (all legal matters were clarified after the replacement of the prince with [[Carol I of Romania|Carol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] in April [[1866]], and the creation of an independent [[Kingdom of Romania]] in [[1881]]).-->