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Alexander the Good

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Alexander the Good
Alexandru cel Bun
Alexandru cel Bun - lithograph published by Dimitrie Papazoglu in 1891 after the fresco in the Cozia Monastery.
Voivode of Moldavia
Reign23 April 1400 – 1 January 1432(1400-04-23–1432-01-01)
PredecessorIuga of Moldavia
SuccessorIliaș of Moldavia
Bornc. 1375
Died1 January 1432(1432-01-01)(aged 56–57)
Suceava,Moldavia
Spouse
Issue
DynastyBogdan-Mușat
FatherRoman I of Moldavia
ReligionEastern Orthodox

Alexander I,commonly known asAlexander the Good(Romanian:Alexandru cel Bun;c. 1375– 1 January 1432) wasVoivode of Moldaviabetween 1400 and 1432.[1]He was the son ofRoman Iand succeededIugato the throne.[2]As ruler he initiated a series of reforms while consolidating the status of thePrincipality of Moldavia.

Reign

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Internal politics

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Alexander expanded the bureaucratic system by creating the "Council of the Voivode", the Chancellory and by adding (in 1403) the institution ofLogofăt– Chancellor of the official Chancellery.

During his reign, he introduced new fiscal laws by adding commercial privileges to the traders ofLviv(1408) andKraków(1409), improved the situation of trading routes (especially the one linking the port ofCetatea Albăto Poland), strengthened the forts by guarding them and expanded the Moldavian ports ofCetatea AlbăandChilia.

He also had a role in ending the conflict of theMoldavian Orthodox Churchwith thePatriarch of Constantinople.He builtBistrița Monasterywhere he is buried and continued the building ofNeamț Monastery,which was started in the previous century.

Alexander made the first documented confirmation ofgypsy slavery in Moldavia,giving Bistrița Monastery 31 gypsy families along with some cattle.[3]

Foreign affairs

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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 withWallachiaand Poland, generally against Hungary (although he had been backed to the throne bySigismund of Hungary). In 1402, he was sworn vassal ofJogaila,theKing of Poland.[4]The treaty was renewed in 1404, 1407, 1411, and 1415.

Alexander participated in twobattles against the Teutonic Knights:theBattle of Grunwaldand theSiege of Marienburg.In 1420, he also with the help ofPolanddefended Moldavia against the first incursion byOttomansatCetatea Albă.He also got involved in the power struggles of Wallachia by helpingRadu II Prasnaglavain 1418 and 1419 andAlexandru I Aldeain 1429, mostly in order to prevent the capture of Chilia.[citation needed]

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 theLithuanian Civil War.The attack ended with the Treaty of Suceava on 18 November 1431.

Personal life

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Alexander had a number of wives: MargaretaBánffy de Losoncz,AnaJagiellonofPodolsk,Rimgailė(daughter ofKęstutisand sister ofVytautas the Great;divorced in 1421).[5]He had several children, among whom wereIliaș,Petru III,Stephen II,Peter Aaron,andBogdan II.[6]

He died on 1 January 1432 and was buried inBistriţa Monastery.

References

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  1. ^Vauchez, Andre (1 April 2001).Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages.Routledge.ISBN1-57958-282-6.
  2. ^Williams, Henry Smith (1909).The Historians' History of the World.Hooper & Jackson. p. 242.ISBN0-8419-0088-4.
  3. ^Achim, Viorel (2004).The Roma in Romanian History.Central European University Press. p. 14.ISBN963-9241-84-9.
  4. ^King, Charles H. (2000).The Moldovans: Romania, Russia, and the politics of culture.Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press. pp.15.ISBN0-8179-9791-1.Alexandru cel Bun
  5. ^"Alexandru cel Bun, Voivode of Moldova 1400-1430: Genealogics".
  6. ^"Alexandru cel Bun - Enciclopedia României - prima enciclopedie online despre România".
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