Stephen the Great (1457-1504)

On February 3rd, 1531, less than three decades after the passing of Stefan III , the principle of Moldova, Sigismund I, the king of Poland (1506-1548), referred to him as Stephanus ille magnus (“that great Ştefan”). Bernard Wapowski, the official cartographer and historiographer of the same king, wrote that the Moldavian ruler was “the most famous principle and warrior” of his time. Doctor Matteo Muriano, sent to Suceava from Venice in the summer of 1502, in order to provide medical assistance to the Moldavian principle, wrote in his report that “he is a very wise man, worthy of much praise, loved by his subjects as he is merciful and righteous, always vigilant and generous”. Considered by his contemporary fellow Europeans as a head of state who had managed to hold the reins of the country for 47 years, Stefan was seen by the people as a symbol of stability, consistency, economic development and justice and, at the time of his funeral, Moldova was “in mourning, and everyone was weeping as they had lost a parent…” (Grigore Ureche).

Origin

Stephen the Great, son of Bogdan II (1449-1451) and his wife, Oltea, was most probably born in 1438. Following the death of his father, Stefan sought shelter in Transilvania, ruled at the time by Iancu de Hunedoara (1441-1456), where he became familiar with his military tactics that combined elements of Eastern, Central and Western European military art. Aided by the troops provided by Vlad Ţepeş (1448; 1456-1472; 1476), and subsequently joined by his partisans from the south of Moldavia, Ştefan cel Mare defeated Petru Aron at Doljeşti (Dolheşti), conquering the throne of Moldavia on April 12^th, 1457. He found the country depleted and torn apart by the fights between the various pretenders to the throne of Moldavia, a country that had been paying dues to the Ottoman Empire since 1456.

Head of state

Under such circumstances, the ruler had to take extensive measures to remedy the social and economic situation. In order to gain the political support he needed for steady governance, Stefan cel Mare annihilated the aristocrats’ penchant for anarchy and disobedience to the central government, facilitated the economic strengthening of the free peasants (yeomen), and encouraged the merchants and foreign trade agreements. Moreover, he manifested particular interest in the traditional military structures of the country (“the small army” – a permanent military structure and “the large army” – summoned only in case of foreign siege), advocating the introduction of a more rigorous training routine and improved weaponry. His military measures were also directed at strengthening the country’s defence capacity, by consolidating and restoring the Hotin, Tighina, Soroca, Chilia, Cetatea Albă, Suceava, Neamt and Crăciuna fortresses.

Patron of the arts

The country’s economic prosperity enabled Stephen the Great to implement specific policies to support the construction of places of worship that had an important role in terms of culture, artistic achievement as well as military tactics. This very effort is believed to be the Moldavian ruler’s most everlasting achievement. His reign is a landmark in the history of Moldavian art, as that was the time when the so-called “Moldavian style” was first recorded in religious paintings and architecture. The iconographic art of his time is illustrated in the mural art of the churches in Lujeni (present Ukraine), Dolheşti, Bălineşti, Sf. Nicolae in Rădăuţi, Pătrăuţi, Voroneţ and Sf. Ilie. The first complete ensembles that were preserved from the original style of the time are the ones from Pătrăuţi (1487), Voroneţ (1488), Sf. Ilie (1488), a collection that may be completed by the one that existed in Milişăuţi before the church was destroyed during the First World War. One particularly interesting fact is that the depictions of the evangelists on the walls of Voronet are exact replicas of the prototypes set by Gavril Uric in his Tetra-Gospels of 1429, thus hinting at a certain continuity in the traditional 15th century Moldavian painting. The wall paintings from the altar and the nave of the Neamt monastery (1497) are the last to be preserved from the time of Stephen the Great’s reign.

Diplomatic abilities

Stephen the Great’s spectacular military triumphs against practically all his neighbours (Turks, Tatars Hungarians, Poles) have always been backed by very skilful foreign policies which allowed the ruler, who was surrounded by three powerful adversaries (Hungary, Poland and the Ottoman Empire), to never engage in a two-front conflict. In terms of diplomatic abilities, depending on the circumstances, Stephen the Great has conducted negotiations and formed alliances with a number of powerful states from the Eastern, Central and Western Europe (the Crimean Khanate, the Ottoman Empire, the Grand Duchy of Moscow, Poland, Hungary, Venice , the Papal State). Additionally, he conducted negotiations in order to organise an anti-Ottoman coalition with Uzun Hassan, the Padishah of the Turcoman state of Eastern Anatolia and Western Iran.

Military leader

The military history of Moldova in the times of Stephen the Great was defined by the occurrence of the so-called “asymmetrical conflicts”, characterised by the unequal armed forces of the assailants and the assailed. In classical conflicts, the expedition troops sent by the conquerors are less numerous than the army of the country under attack, the lack in numbers being counterbalanced by the superior tactics and strategy, weaponry, well-trained officers and generals and high military training of the soldiers.

There are numerous such examples in military history, starting with the wars waged by Alexander the Great or the Romans’ conquest of Britain and Gaul, up to the British imperial wars or Germany’s attack against the Soviet Union. In the case of asymmetrical conflicts, the number of soldiers sent by the assailant against the people under siege is higher than that of the defenders.

Stephen the Great has managed to deal with these “asymmetrical conflicts” due to the efficiency of his tactics and strategy employed, which combined the initial defence with subsequent decisive counterattacks against the assailants. Military history documents a series of tactical procedures used by the armies of this prince, which were in no way inferior to those used by his contemporaries in Central and Western Europe: flanking manoeuvre; encirclement; combined use of the heavy cavalry with the infantry or light cavalry; ambush in a wooded territory; secret alliance with the dwellers of a fortress under attack; battle with the dismounted cavalry units, depending on the particular circumstances in the tactical field; surprise attack over the adversary’s night quarters, etc.

Due to the inequality between the Moldavian armed forces used during Stephen the Great’s rule and those of the country’s powerful neighbours, the Moldavian military art during those times was mainly defensive, relying on a maximum number of soldiers, who were not employed as mercenaries (as was the case in Central and Western Europe) but instead consisted of the people that had been called to battle.

This enabled Stephen the Great to dispose of an army that amounted to maximum 50.000 people, a considerable number for those times. Moreover, he made sure he was never attacked in a fortress or a town, and maintained his freedom of movement in order to mobilise his loyal subjects. His skirmish battles always prepared the field for the decisive battle with the assailants that were thus gradually weakened and dispirited.
Alongside a well-thought domestic policy and skilful diplomatic measures, the Moldavian army has been the main instrument Stephen the Great has resorted to in order to defend and preserve the country’s independence.

His qualities as organiser, protector of the arts and promoter of Orthodoxy, as skilful diplomat and armed forces leader, have been acknowledged both in the country and abroad while he was still alive and they have passed both the test of time and the analyses of modern historiography.

Moreover, these qualities have become the central motif of popular traditions. According to tradition, the prince is called “a Saint” and was endowed with supernatural qualities, including that of defender of his country and his people even after his death. This popular belief was officially acknowledged in June 1992, as the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church made the decision to sanctify Stephen the Great.