The Moldavian campaign or the Polish–Ottoman War of 1497–1499 was an unsuccessful war led by John Albert of Poland against the Moldavians, supported by their Ottoman

suzerain A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy and economic relations of another subordinate party or polity, but allows i ...

s. John Albert set out with an army of 80,000 men with the objectives of deposing

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 ...

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 replacing him with Sigismund Jagiellon, reconquering the fortresses on the northern

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

coast and taking control of

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

and the

Danube Delta The Danube Delta (, ; , ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. Occurring where the Danube, Danube River empties into the Black Sea, most of the Danube Delta lies in Romania ...

Background

John I Albert John I Albert (; 27 December 1459 – 17 June 1501) was 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 Roy ...

was elected due to his advocacy for an offensive policy against the Ottomans, and he made an alliance with Venice and Hungary for a joint effort against them.History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280-1808
Stanford J. Shaw, Ezel Kural Shaw. Cambridge University Press

refused to join the alliance fearing that Moldavia would be the main scene of any Polish–Ottoman war. Albert's efforts to displace him led to a quarrel with Ladislas of Hungary who considered Stephen as his vassal. This broke up their recent alliance and as a result, Albert planned on achieving his objectives without any foreign help. After some years of preparation, Albert sent an envoy to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

asking for peace but Bayazid II rejected this and both sides were ready for war by 1497.

Battle

Albert was able to raise an army of 80,000 men and 200 cannons, in the summer of 1497 he set out planning to reconquer the fortresses on the northern Black Sea coast and take control of

and the

, while Stephen the Great of Moldavia was able to secure Ottoman support. The Polish offensive began in the month of June in 1497, but the Moldavians, supported by the Ottomans, crossed into

Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

and decisively defeated the Poles at Valea Cosminului (

Battle of the Cosmin Forest The Battle of the Cosmin Forest (1497) (; ) was fought between the Moldavian Prince, Ștefan cel Mare (''Stephen the Great''), and King John I of Poland (''John I Albert'') of the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland. The battle t ...

) and then proceeded to raid into Polish territory as far as

Lwów 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 ...

.''The Battle of Cosmin Forest'', Tadeusz Grabarczyk, ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology'', Vol. 1, ed. Clifford J. Rogers, (Oxford University Press, 2010), 434.The Crimean Tatars: The Diaspora Experience and the Forging of a Nation
Brian Glyn Williams. BRILL. Albert's campaign was disastrous and his objectives had failed, so he made peace with the Moldavians and Ottomans in 1499 and recognised Ottoman control of the Black Sea.The Turks: Ottomans (2 v.)
Hasan Celâl Güzel, Cem Oğuz, Osman Karatay. Yeni Türkiye.

Consequences

As a result of this campaign, the

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

were now left with a major empire including the entire steppe north of the Crimea from the

Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

to the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

under the suzerainty of the Ottoman sultan. After the

battle of the Cosmin Forest The Battle of the Cosmin Forest (1497) (; ) was fought between the Moldavian Prince, Ștefan cel Mare (''Stephen the Great''), and King John I of Poland (''John I Albert'') of the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland. The battle t ...

, John I Albert hastily returned to Poland (suffering another major defeat on the way where 5,000 Polish soldiers were killed in

) and built the

Kraków Barbican The Kraków Barbican () is a barbican – a fortified outpost once connected to the city walls. It is a historic gateway leading into the Old Town of Kraków, Poland. The barbican is one of the few remaining relics of the complex network of fo ...

, fearing an attack by 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 ...

after his successive defeats. The walls of Kraków were strengthened and additional fortifications were built to defend the city in case of a Turkish invasion.

References

{{Polish wars and conflicts Wars involving Moldavia Stephen the Great Military campaigns involving Poland Military campaigns involving the Ottoman Empire Polish–Ottoman War (1485–1503) 1490s in the Ottoman Empire