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 the status of the
Principality of Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in 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 independent and later auto ...
.
Reign
Internal politics
Alexander expanded the bureaucratic system by creating the "Council of the Voivode", the Chancellory and by adding (in 1403) the institution of
Logofăt – Chancellor of the official Chancellery.
During his reign, he introduced new fiscal laws by adding commercial privileges to the traders of
Lviv
Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
(1408) and
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
(1409), improved the situation of trading routes (especially the one linking the port of
Cetatea Albă to Poland), strengthened the forts by guarding them and expanded the Moldavian ports of
Cetatea Albă and
Chilia.
He also had a role in ending the conflict between the
Moldavian Orthodox Church and the
Patriarch of Constantinople. He built the
Bistrița Monastery, where he is buried, and continued the building of the
Neamț Monastery, which was started in the previous century.
Alexander made the first documented confirmation of
gypsy slavery in Moldavia, giving Bistrița Monastery 31 gypsy families along with some cattle.
Foreign affairs
The main concern of Alexander the Good was to defend the country in wars against superior armies. In order to do that, he forged a system of alliances with
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 ...
and Poland, generally against Hungary (although he had been backed to the throne by
Sigismund of Hungary). In 1402, he was sworn vassal of
Jogaila, the
King of Poland
Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
.
The treaty was renewed in 1404, 1407, 1411, and 1415.
Alexander participated in two
battles against the Teutonic Knights: the
Battle of Grunwald and the
Siege of Marienburg. In 1420, he also, with the help 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 ...
, defended Moldavia against the first incursion by the
Ottomans
Ottoman may refer to:
* Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire
* Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II"
* Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...
at
Cetatea Albă. He also got involved in the power struggles of Wallachia by helping
Radu II Prasnaglava in 1418 to 1419 and helping
Alexandru I Aldea in 1429, mostly in order to prevent the capture of Chilia.
Due to a territorial claim of Poland and the previous failure of the Polish king to fulfill his part of the vassalic treaty during an Ottoman attack in 1420, Alexander launched an attack on Poland during the
Lithuanian Civil War. The attack ended with the Treaty of Suceava on 18 November 1431.
Personal life
Alexander had a number of wives: Margareta
Bánffy de Losoncz, Ana
Jagiellon of
Podolsk,
Rimgailė (daughter of
Kęstutis and sister of
Vytautas the Great; divorced in 1421). He had several children, including
Iliaș,
Petru III,
Stephen II,
Peter Aaron, and
Bogdan II.
He died on 1 January 1432 and was buried in
Bistriţa Monastery.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander 01 of Moldavia
15th-century Moldavian people
1370s births
1432 deaths
Burials at Bistrița Monastery
House of Bogdan-Mușat
People in the Battle of Grunwald
Monarchs of Moldavia
Year of birth uncertain