Stefan cel Mare

What-does-it-mean.org

wrongtitle title: tefan cel Mare > Stephan the Great (Romanian icon) > tefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great or St. Steven the Great), born in 1434, was a voivod (prince) of Moldavia (1457-1504), who won renown in Europe for his long resistance against the Ottoman Empire. He was also the king of the lands on the other side of the town of Vatra Dornei.

With the help of the Wallachian prince Vlad III the Impaler, tefan secured the throne of Moldavia in 1457. Menaced by powerful neighbours, he successfully repulsed an invasion by Hungary in 1467, and invaded Wallachia in 1471, which had by then succumbed to Turkish vassalage. When the Ottoman Empire sultan Mehmed II launched an attack on Moldavia, Stephen defeated the invaders near Vaslui in 1475.

Near Vaslui is the site of Steven the Greats historic 1475 victory against the Turks, which temporarily halted the Turkish advance into the Balkans. Stephen was defeated at Rzboieni (Valea Alba) next year, but the Turks had to retreat after they failed to take any important fortress. His search for European assistance against the Turks had little success, but his determination to cut off the pagans right hand won him the acclaim of Pope Sixtus IV as Athleta Christi. After 1484 tefan had to contend not only with new Turkish onslaughts but also with Poland and Hungarian designs on Moldavian independence. Finally in 1503 he concluded with Sultan Beyazid II a treaty that preserved Moldavian independence, at the cost of an annual tribute to the Turks. From the sixteenth century the principality of Moldavia spent three hundred years under Ottoman sovereignity. Though it was marked by continual strife, tefans long reign nonetheless brought considerable cultural development, no less than 44 churches and monasteries were erected by tefan himself, some of which are now part of UNESCOs World Heritage. Stefan Cel Mare was called holy by many Christians, but it is said that he had more than 20 illegitimate children. He is buried in the Putna Monastery.