Principality of Moldavia

The Principality of Moldavia was a medieval state in the east of the Carpathian Mountains, between the Carpathians and the Dniester river, founded in the fourteenth century when voivode Bogdan I broke away from Hungarian control. It reached its height under Stephen the Great, who defended the principality against the Ottomans, Hungarians and Poles for nearly half a century and founded many churches and monasteries, such as those with painted exteriors in Bukovina. In the sixteenth century Moldavia accepted Ottoman suzerainty but kept its internal autonomy. Parts of its territory were lost to Austria and Russia. In 1859, the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as prince of both Moldavia and Wallachia was the first step towards the modern state of Romania.

Open on the timeline