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{{Short description|Historical region and former principality in Central and Eastern Europe}}
{{About|the historical principality|the modern state|Moldova|the region of Romania|Western Moldavia|other uses|Moldova (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{lang|ro|Moldova}}, {{native name|ro|Țara Moldovei}}
| conventional_long_name = Principality of Moldavia
| common_name            = Moldova
| government_type        = [[Principality]]
| status                 = Vassal
| empire                 = Ottoman Empire
| status_text            = {{Plainlist}}
* [[Vassal and tributary states of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman vassal]]<ref name="suzerainty">[https://www.britannica.com/place/Moldavia "Moldavia"]. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.</ref> (1498–1572; 1574–1600; 1618–1859)
* [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Polish]] vassal<ref name="suzerainty"/> (1601–1618)
* [[Protectorate#Russia's and the Soviet Union's protectorates and protected states|Russian protectorate]]<ref name="protectorate"> [https://www.britannica.com/topic/protectorate-international-relations "Protectorate"]. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.</ref> (1829–1856)
* International protectorate<ref name="protectorate"/> (1856–1859)
{{endplainlist}}
| year_start             = 1346
| year_end               = 1862
| event_start            = Foundation of the Moldavian [[march (territory)|mark]]
| date_start             = 
| event_end              = [[Unification of Moldavia and Wallachia|Union with Wallachia]]
| date_end               = {{OldStyleDateNY|5 February|24 January}}
| p1                     = Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526){{!}}Kingdom of Hungary
| image_p1               = [[File:Flag of Hungary (1301-1382).svg|x13px]]
| p2                     = Golden Horde
| image_p2               = [[File:Golden Horde flag 1339.svg|x13px]]
| p3                     = 
| image_p3               = 
| s1                     = United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia{{!}}United Principalities
| flag_s1                = Flag of the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia (1859 - 1862).svg
| s2                     = Bukovina District
| flag_s2                = Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy.svg
| s3                     = Bessarabia Governorate
| flag_s3                = Flag of Russia.svg
| image_flag             = Flag of Moldavia.svg
| image_flag2            = Flag of Moldavia in 1831.svg
| flag_type              = Top: [[Flag and coat of arms of Moldavia|Flag]]{{ref|flag|a}} (14th–15th cent.)
<br />Bottom: Flag according to the Organic Regulation (1831-1862)
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Moldavia.svg
| coa_size               = 75px
| symbol_type            = [[Flag and coat of arms of Moldavia|Coat of arms]]{{ref|arms|b}}<br />(14th–15th cent.)
<div style="padding:3px 0;">[[File:Drawing coat of arms of the Principality of Moldavia from a passport 1855.png|85px|Coat of arms]]</div><!--
   symbol_type2     = -->[[Flag and coat of arms of Moldavia|Coat of arms]]<br />(1855)
| image_map              = Voivodeship of Moldavia (1789).svg
| image_map2             = Moldova 1483 EnglishPNG.png
| image_map_caption      = Location of the Principality of Moldavia, 1789
| image_map2_caption     = Moldavia under [[Stephen III of Moldavia|Stephen the Great]], 1483
| national_motto         = 
| national_anthem        = 
| capital                = {{ubli|[[Baia]]/[[Siret]] (1343–1388)|[[Suceava]] (1388–1564)|[[Iași]] (from 1564)}}
| common_languages       = {{Plainlist}}
* [[Romanian language|Romanian]]<ref>Ștefan Pascu, ''România: documente străine despre români'', ed. Arhivelor Statului, București 1992, {{ISBN |973-95711-2-3}}</ref><ref>{{lang|fr|"Tout ce pays & Moldauie et la plus part de Transiluanie a esté peuplé des colonies romaines du temps de Traian l'empereur; [...] Ceux du pays se disent vrays successeurs des Romains & nomment leur parler romanechte, c'est a dire romain; [...]"}} "Călătoria lui Pierre Lescalopier în ţara romînească şi transilvania la 1574", in: Paul I. Cernovodeanu, ''Studii și materiale de istorie medie'', IV, 22.10.1960, p. 444</ref>
* [[Church Slavonic|Church&nbsp;Slavonic]]<ref>{{cite book   |last1=Panaitescu |first1=Petre P. |title=Începuturile şi biruinţa scrisului în limba română |date=1965 |publisher=Editura Academiei Bucureşti |page=5 |language=ro}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kamusella |first1=T. |title=The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe |date=2008 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9780230583474 |page=352 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JzkWDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA352}}</ref>{{efn|As written chancellery language until it was replaced by Romanian starting with the 16th century. Used for liturgical purposes until the end of the 18th century.}}
* [[Greek language|Greek]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Olson |first1=James Stuart |last2=Pappas |first2=Lee Brigance |last3=Pappas |first3=Nicholas Charles |last4=Pappas |first4=Nicholas C. J. |title=An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires |date=1994 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=9780313274978 |page=550 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CquTz6ps5YgC&pg=PA550}}</ref>{{efn|As chancellery and cultural language, especially during the Phanariot period of time.}}
{{Endplainlist}}
| religion               = [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]]
{{hidden |style=font-size:100%;padding:0.25em 0 0; |headerstyle=text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
 |header = Minority
 |content = {{unbulleted list|[[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]|[[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian]]|[[Judaism]]|[[Old Believers]]}}
}}
| title_leader           = [[List of rulers of Moldavia|Princes of Moldavia]] ([[Voivode]]s, [[Hospodar]]s)
| leader1                = [[Dragoș, Voivode of Moldavia|Dragoș]]
| year_leader1           = 1346–1353 (first)
| leader2                = [[Alexandru Ioan Cuza]]
| year_leader2           = 1859–1862 (last)
| currency               = {{ubl|{{ill|Moldavian gros|ro|Gros moldovenesc}}|[[Thaler|Taler]]}}
| demonym                = Romanian (endonym) / Moldavian (exonym)
| today                  = {{plainlist|
*[[Moldova]]
*[[Romania]]
*[[Ukraine]]}}
| footnotes              = {{ordered list|type=lower-alpha|{{note|flag}} Modern reconstruction of a Moldavian princely standard {{small|(attested versions of the number and general aspects of symbols other than the [[aurochs]] vary considerably)}}.|{{note|arms}} Modern reconstruction of a Moldavian coat of arms based on the seals of [[Stephen the Great]], [[Roman I of Moldavia |Roman I]] and others {{small|(attested versions of the field tincture and number and general aspects of symbols other than the [[aurochs]] vary considerably)}}.
}}
}}
{{History of Romania}}
{{History of Moldova}}

'''Moldavia''' ({{langx|ro|Moldova}}, {{IPA|ro|molˈdova |pron|Ro-Moldova.ogg}} or {{lang|ro|Țara Moldovei}} {{Lit|The country of Moldova}}; in [[Romanian Cyrillic alphabet|Romanian Cyrillic]]: {{lang|ro-Cyrl|Молдова}} or {{lang|ro-Cyrl|Цара Мѡлдовєй}}) is a [[historical region]] and former [[principality]] in [[Eastern Europe]],<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Janowski, Maciej |author2=Constantin, Iordachi |author3=Trencsenyi, Balazs |date=2005 |title=Why bother about historical regions?: Debates over central Europe in Hungary, Poland and Romania |journal=East Central Europe |volume=32 |issue=1–2 |pages=5–58 |doi=10.1163/18763308-90001031}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Klaus Peter Berger |title=The Creeping Codification of the New Lex Mercatoria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gEeP9NY2qGkC&pg=PA132 |date=1 January 2010 |publisher=Kluwer Law International B.V. |isbn=978-90-411-3179-9 |pages=132–}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Radu, Sageata |date=February 2015 |title=România – Ţară Central-Europeană |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282286375 |journal=Revista Română de Geografie Politică. IV. 15-20 |issn=2065-1619}}</ref> corresponding to the territory between the [[Eastern Carpathians]] and the [[Dniester]] River. An initially independent and later autonomous state, it existed from the 14th century to 1859, when it united with [[Wallachia]] ({{lang |ro |Țara Românească}}) as the basis of the modern [[Romania]]n state; at various times, Moldavia included the regions of [[Bessarabia]] (with the [[Budjak]]), all of [[Bukovina]] and [[Hertsa region |Hertsa]]. It also included the region of [[Pokuttya]] for a period of time.

The [[Moldavia (region of Romania) |western half of Moldavia]] is now part of [[Romania]], the eastern side belongs to the [[Moldova |Republic of Moldova]], and the [[Chernivtsi Oblast |northern]] and [[Budjak |southeastern]] parts are territories of Ukraine.

==Name and etymology==
{{Main|Etymology of Moldova}}

The original and short-lived reference to the region was ''Bogdania'', after [[Bogdan I]], the founding figure of the principality.{{efn|Historian {{ill|Ilona Czamańska|pl}} states that this name is "undoubtedly associated with Bogdan I", the first voivode of Moldavia in the 1360s.<ref>Ilona Czamańska. [https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/bp/article/download/38386/34775/93135 "Ottoman Supremacy and the Political Independence of the Balkan and Central European States."] ''Balcanica Posnaniensia: Acta et studia.'' '''30''' (December 2023). p. 80fn13. {{doi|10.14746/bp.2023.30.5}}</ref>}}

The names ''Moldavia'' and ''Moldova'' are derived from the name of the [[Moldova River]]; however, the etymology is not known and there are several variants:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rentmoldova.com/history-of-moldova/where-did-name-moldova.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127183235/http://rentmoldova.com/history-of-moldova/where-did-name-moldova.html|url-status=dead|title=Where did the name Moldova come from?|archivedate=January 27, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fasttravel.ro/owerview.moldova.romania/en/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919144321/http://www.fasttravel.ro/owerview.moldova.romania/en/|url-status=dead|title=Carpathian Mountains &#124; Fast Travel|date=November 3, 2020|archivedate=September 19, 2011}}</ref>
* A legend mentioned in ''[[Descriptio Moldaviae]]'' (1714–1716) by [[Dimitrie Cantemir]] links it to an [[aurochs]] hunting trip of the [[voivode]] of the [[Voivodeship of Maramureș]] [[Dragoș]] and the latter's chase of a star-marked aurochs. Dragoș was accompanied by his female hound, called ''Molda''; when they reached the shores of an unfamiliar river, Molda caught up with the animal and was killed by it. The dog's name would have been combined with the Romanian word for water, {{lang|ro|apă}}, and given to the river and extended to the country.
* the [[Gothic language|Gothic]] {{lang|got-Latn|Mulda}} ({{Langx|got|𐌼𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰}}, {{lang|got-Runr|ᛗᚢᛚᛞᚨ}}) meaning 'dust', 'dirt' (cognate with the English ''[[mold (fungus)|mould]]''), referring to the river.
* A [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] etymology ({{lang|sla|-ova}} is a quite common Slavic suffix), marking the end of one Slavic genitive form, denoting ownership, chiefly of feminine nouns (i.e., 'that of Molda').
* A landowner named Alexa Moldaowicz is mentioned in a 1334 document as a local [[boyar]] in service to [[Boleslaus George II of Halych|Yuriy II of Halych]]; this attests to the use of the name before the foundation of the Moldavian state and could be the source for the region's name.{{citation needed|date=April 2010}}

On a series of coins of [[Petru I of Moldavia|Peter I]] and [[Stephen I of Moldavia|Stephen I]] minted by [[Transylvanian Saxons|Saxon]] masters and with German legends, the [[obverse and reverse|reverses]] feature the name of Moldavia in the form {{lang|de|Molderlang}}/{{lang|de|Molderlant}} (recte: {{lang|de|Molderland}}).<ref name=LBieltz>L. Bieltz, "MOLDER LANT — o legendă inedită pe monedele emise de Ștefan I — 1394-1399" in ''Cercetări numismatice'' 7(1996), p. 155–157.</ref><ref name=KParvan>K. Pârvan, "Aspects of Moldavia’s coinage at the end of the fourteenth century", in ''130 Years Since the Establishment of the Modern Romanian Monetary System'', Bucharest, 1997, p. 204–214.</ref>

In several early references,<ref>Ion Ciortan, Măriuca Radu, Octavian Ion Penda, Descriptio Romaniae (cartographie), National Museum of Maps & old books, Autonomous regie Monitorul oficial, Bucharest 2004</ref> ''Moldavia'' is rendered under the composite form ''Moldo-Wallachia'' (in the same way [[Wallachia]] may appear as ''Hungro-Wallachia''). [[Ottoman Turkish language|Ottoman Turkish]] references to Moldavia included {{lang|ota-Latn|Boğdan Iflak}} ({{lang|ota|بغدان افلاق}}, meaning '[[Bogdan#Rulers of Moldavia|Bogdan]]'s Wallachia') and {{lang|ota-Latn|Boğdan}} (and occasionally {{lang|ota-Latn|Kara-Boğdan}}, {{lang|ota|قره بغدان}}, "Black Bogdania"). See also [[list of European regions with alternative names#M|names in other languages]].

The names of the region in other languages include {{langx|fr|Moldavie}}, {{langx|de|Moldau}}, {{langx|hu|Moldva}}, {{langx|ru|Молдавия}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|Moldaviya}}), {{langx|tr|Boğdan Prensliği}}, {{langx|el|Μολδαβία}}.

==History==

===Prehistory and antiquity===
{{Main|Prehistory of the Balkans|Cucuteni–Trypillian culture|Getae|Dacians|Costoboci|Carpi (people)|Dacia|Trajan's Dacian Wars|Roman Dacia}}

===Early Middle Ages===
{{Main|Origin of the Romanians|Romania in the Early Middle Ages}}

The inhabitants of Moldavia were Christians. Archaeological works revealed the remains of a Christian necropolis at [[Mihălășeni, Botoșani|Mihălășeni]], [[Botoșani County|Botoșani county]], from the 5th century. The place of worship, and the tombs had Christian characteristics. The place of worship had a rectangular form with sides of eight and seven meters. Similar necropolises and places of worship were found at Nicolina, in Iași<ref>Octavian-Liviu Șovan, Zorile creștinismului în nord-estul Moldovei-repere arheologice, Revista Forum cultural, Anul V, nr.4, decembrie 2005 (19)</ref>

The [[Bolokhoveni|Bolohoveni]] are mentioned by the ''[[Hypatian Codex|Hypatian Chronicle]]'' in the 13th century. The chronicle shows that this{{which one|date=March 2019}} land is bordered on the principalities of Halych, Volhynia and Kiev. Archaeological research also identified the location of 13th-century fortified settlements in this region.{{which one|date=March 2019}} Alexandru V. Boldur identified Voscodavie, Voscodavti, Voloscovti, Volcovti, Volosovca and their other towns and villages between the middle course of the rivers Nistru/Dniester and Nipru/Dnieper.<ref>A.V. Boldur, Istoria Basarabiei, Editura V. Frunza, p 111-119</ref> The Bolohoveni disappeared from chronicles after their defeat in 1257 by [[Daniel of Galicia]]'s troops. Their ethnic identity is uncertain; although Romanian scholars, basing on their ethnonym identify them as [[Romanians]] (who were called [[Vlachs]] in the [[Middle Ages]]), archeological evidence and the ''[[Hypatian Chronicle]]'' (which is the only [[primary source]] that documents their history) suggest that they were a [[Slavic peoples|Slavic people]].{{sfn|Spinei|1986|p=57}}<ref name="Bolokhovians">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Bolokhovians |url=http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages\B\O\Bolokhovians.htm |encyclopedia=Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine |publisher=Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies |year=2001 |access-date=11 December 2014}}</ref>

In the early 13th century, the ''[[Brodnici|Brodniks]]'', a possible [[Slavs|Slavic]]&ndash;[[Vlachs|Vlach]]{{citation needed|reason=I did not find anywhere to mention the Romanian element of brodniks.|date=August 2021}} [[vassal]] state of [[Halych-Volhynia|Halych]], were present, alongside the Vlachs, in much of the region's territory (towards 1216, the Brodniks are mentioned as in service of [[Vladimir-Suzdal|Suzdal]]).

Somewhere in the 11th century, a [[Viking]] named Rodfos [[Blakumen|was killed by Vlachs]] presumably in the area of what would become Moldavia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vikingart.com/VArt/PS_Sjonhem.htm |title=Picture Stone - Sjonhem Stone |access-date=2006-06-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20060616225750/http://www.vikingart.com/VArt/PS_Sjonhem.htm |archive-date=2006-06-16 }}</ref> In 1164, the future [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine emperor]] [[Andronikos I Komnenos]], was taken prisoner by Vlach shepherds in the same region.

===High Middle Ages===
{{Main|Founding of Moldavia}}
{{See also|Romania in the Middle Ages|Transylvania in the Middle Ages|Wallachia in the Middle Ages}}
[[Image:Constantin Lecca - Dragos Voda la vanatoarea zimbrului.jpg|left|thumb|alt=A bison, which was killed on the banks of a stream, is surrounded by a group of people |''The hunt of Voivode Dragoș' for the bison'' (by [[Constantin Lecca]])]]
[[File:Catedrala Catolică din Baia3.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the Roman Catholic Cathedral established by [[Transylvanian Saxons|Transylvanian Saxon]] colonists at [[Baia]] ({{langx|de|Moldenmarkt}}), [[Suceava County]], Romania]]
[[File:Suczawa twierdza.jpg|thumb|The Seat Fortress in [[Suceava]], Romania]]
[[File:Suceava - Stauia lui Stefan Cel Mare.jpg|thumb|Equestrian statue of Moldavian Prince [[Stephen III of Moldavia|Stephen the Great]] in [[Suceava]] ]]
[[File:CetateaNeamtului.jpg|thumb|[[Neamț Citadel]] in [[Târgu Neamț]], Romania]]
[[File:Сорокская крепость Cetatea Soroca Soroca Fortress (42928890910).jpg|thumb|[[Soroca Fort]] in [[Soroca]], [[Moldova|Republic of Moldova]]]]
[[File:Акерманська фортеця в Білгород-Дністровському8.jpg|thumb|Akkerman Fortress in [[Cetatea Alba]], Ukraine]]

The Franciscan Friar [[William of Rubruck]], who visited the court of the Great Khan in the 1250s, listed "the Blac",<ref>{{Harvnb|Jackson|2009|p=139}}</ref> or Vlachs, among the peoples who paid tribute to the Mongols, but the Vlachs' territory is uncertain.{{sfn|Sălăgean|2005|p=196}}{{sfn|Spinei|1986|p=131}} Friar William described "Blakia" as "[[Asen dynasty|Assan's]] territory"<ref>{{Harvnb|Jackson|2009|p=30}}</ref> south of the Lower Danube, showing that he [[Bulgarian lands across the Danube|identified it with the northern regions]] of the [[Second Bulgarian Empire]].{{sfn|Vásáry|2005|p=30}}
Later in the 14th century, King [[Charles I of Hungary]] attempted to expand his realm and the influence of the [[Catholic Church]] eastwards after the fall of Cuman rule, and ordered a campaign under the command of [[Phynta de Mende]] (1324). In 1342 and 1345, the Hungarians were victorious in a battle against [[Tatars|Tatar-Mongols]]; the conflict was resolved by the death of [[Jani Beg]], in 1357. The Polish chronicler [[Jan Długosz]] mentioned Moldavians (under the name ''Wallachians'') as having joined a military expedition in 1342, under King [[Władysław I the Elbow-high|Władysław I]], against the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]].<ref>''The Annals of Jan Długosz'', p. 273</ref>

In 1353, [[Dragoș]], mentioned as a Vlach ''[[Knyaz]]'' in [[Maramureș]], was sent by [[Louis I of Hungary|Louis I]] to establish a line of defense against the [[Golden Horde]] forces of Mongols on the [[Siret River]]. This expedition resulted in a polity vassal to Hungary, in the [[Baia]] (''Târgul Moldovei'' or ''Moldvabánya'') region.

[[Bogdan I of Moldavia|Bogdan of Cuhea]], another Vlach [[voivode]] from Maramureș who had fallen out with the Hungarian king, crossed the Carpathians in 1359, took control of Moldavia, and succeeded in wrenching Moldavia from Hungarian control. His realm extended north to the [[Cheremosh River]], while the southern part of Moldavia was still occupied by the Tatar Mongols.

After first residing in Baia, Bogdan moved Moldavia's seat to [[Siret]] (it was to remain there until [[Petru II of Moldavia|Petru II Mușat]] moved it to [[Suceava]]; it was finally moved to [[Iași]] under [[Alexandru Lăpușneanu]] - in 1565). The area around Suceava, roughly correspondent to future [[Bukovina]], would later constitute one of the two administrative divisions of the new realm, under the name ''Țara de Sus'' (the "Upper Land"), whereas the rest, on both sides of the [[Prut]] river, formed ''Țara de Jos'' (the "Lower Land").

Disfavored by the brief union of [[History of Poland during the Piast dynasty|Angevin Poland]] and Hungary (the latter was still the country's overlord), Bogdan's successor [[Lațcu of Moldavia|Lațcu]] accepted [[Religious conversion|conversion]] to [[Catholic Church|Latin Catholicism]] around 1370. Despite the founding of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Siret|Latin diocese of Siret]], this move did not have any lasting consequences. Despite remaining officially [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] and culturally connected with the [[Byzantine Empire]] after 1382, princes of the [[House of Bogdan-Mușat]] entered a conflict with the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Constantinople Patriarchate]] about control of appointments to the newly founded [[Metropolitan of Moldavia|Moldavian Metropolitan seat]]; [[Patriarch Antony IV of Constantinople|Patriarch Antony IV]] even cast an [[anathema]] over Moldavia after [[Roman I of Moldavia|Roman I]] expelled Constantinople's candidate, sending him back to Byzantium. The crisis was finally settled in favor of the Moldavian princes under [[Alexander I of Moldavia|Alexander I]]. Nevertheless, religious policy remained complex: while conversions to faiths other than Orthodox were discouraged (and forbidden for princes), Moldavia included sizable Latin Catholic communities (Germans and [[Magyars]]), as well as [[Armenians in Romania|Armenians]] of the non-Chalcedonian [[Armenian Apostolic Church]]; after 1460, the country welcomed [[Hussite]] refugees (founders of [[Ciuburciu]] and, probably, [[Huși]]).

The principality of Moldavia covered the entire geographic region of Moldavia. In various periods, various other territories were politically connected with the Moldavian principality. This is the case of the province of [[Pokuttya]], the fiefdoms of [[Cetatea de Baltă]] and [[Ciceu]] (both in [[Transylvania]]) or, at a later date, the territories between the Dniester and the Bug rivers.

Petru II profited from the end of the Hungarian-Polish union and moved the country closer to the [[History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty|Jagiellonian realm]], becoming a [[Vassalage|vassal]] of [[Władysław II Jagiełło|Władysław II]] on September 26, 1387. This gesture was to have unexpected consequences: Petru supplied the Polish ruler with funds needed in the war against the [[Teutonic Knights]], and was granted control over [[Pokuttya]] until the debt was repaid; as this is not recorded to have been carried out, the region became disputed by the two states, until it was lost by Moldavia in the [[Battle of Obertyn]] (1531). Prince Petru also expanded his rule southwards to the [[Danube Delta]]. His brother Roman I conquered the Hungarian-ruled [[Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi|Cetatea Albă]] in 1392, giving Moldavia an outlet to the [[Black Sea]], before being toppled from the throne for supporting [[Fyodor Koriatovych]] in his conflict with [[Vytautas the Great]] of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]]. Under [[Stephen I of Moldavia|Stephen I]].

Although [[Alexander I of Moldavia|Alexander I]] was brought to the throne in 1400 by the Hungarians (with assistance from [[Mircea I of Wallachia]]), he shifted his allegiances towards Poland (notably engaging Moldavian forces on the Polish side in the [[Battle of Grunwald]] and the [[Siege of Marienburg (1410)|Siege of Marienburg]]), and placed his own choice of rulers in Wallachia. His reign was one of the most successful in Moldavia's history, but also saw the first confrontation with the [[Ottoman Turks]] at Cetatea Albă in 1420, and later even a conflict with the Poles. A deep crisis was to follow Alexandru's long reign, with his successors battling each other in a succession of wars that divided the country until the murder of [[Bogdan II of Moldavia|Bogdan II]] and the ascension of [[Peter III Aaron|Petru III Aron]] in 1451. Nevertheless, Moldavia was subject to further Hungarian interventions after that moment, as [[Matthias Corvinus]] deposed Aron and backed [[Alexăndrel]] to the throne in [[Suceava]]. Petru Aron's rule also signified the beginning of Moldavia's [[Ottoman Empire]] allegiance, as the ruler agreed to pay [[tribute]] to Sultan [[Mehmed II]].

===Late Middle Ages===
{{Main|Stephen the Great}}
{{See also|Moldavian–Ottoman Wars}}

Under [[Stephen III of Moldavia|Stephen the Great]], who took the throne and subsequently came to an agreement with [[Kazimierz IV Jagiellon|Casimir IV of Poland]] in 1457, the state reached its most glorious period. Stephen blocked Hungarian interventions in the [[Battle of Baia]], invaded Wallachia in 1471, and dealt with Ottoman reprisals in a major victory (the 1475 [[Battle of Vaslui]]); after feeling threatened by Polish ambitions, he also attacked [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]] and resisted [[Moldavian Campaign (1497–1499)|a Polish invasion]] in the [[Battle of the Cosmin Forest]] (1497). However, he had to surrender [[Kiliia|Chilia]] (now Kiliia) and [[Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi|Cetatea Albă]] (now Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi), the two main fortresses in the [[Budjak]], to the Ottomans in 1484, and in 1498 he had to accept Ottoman suzerainty, when he was forced to agree to continue paying tribute to Sultan [[Bayezid II]]. Following the taking of [[Khotyn|Hotin]] (Khotyn) and [[Pokuttya]], Stephen's rule also brought a brief extension of Moldavian rule into [[Transylvania]]: Cetatea de Baltă and [[Ciceu]] became his [[Fiefdom|fiefs]] in 1489.

===Early Modern Era and Renaissance===
{{Main|Early Modern Romania}}
{{See also|Early Modern Wallachia|Early Modern Transylvania}}
[[File:Khotyn 3.jpg|thumb|[[Khotyn Fortress]] on the [[Dniester]] River, present-day [[Ukraine]], then bordering the northern frontier of the Moldavian Principality and southern [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]]]

Under [[Bogdan III the One-Eyed]], Ottoman overlordship was confirmed in the shape that would rapidly evolve into control over Moldavia's affairs. [[Peter IV Rareș]], who reigned in the 1530s and 1540s, clashed with the [[Habsburg monarchy]] over his ambitions in Transylvania (losing possessions in the region to [[George Martinuzzi]]), was defeated in Pokuttya by Poland, and failed in his attempt to extricate Moldavia from Ottoman rule – the country lost [[Bender, Moldova|Bender]] to the Ottomans, who included it in their [[Silistra Eyalet]].

A period of profound crisis followed. Moldavia stopped issuing its own coinage {{circa|1520}}, under [[Stephen IV of Moldavia|Prince Ștefăniță]], when it was confronted with rapid depletion of funds and rising demands from the [[Ottoman Porte|Porte]]. Such problems became endemic when the country, brought into the [[Great Turkish War]], suffered the impact of the [[stagnation of the Ottoman Empire]]; at one point, during the 1650s and 1660s, princes began relying on [[counterfeit]] coinage (usually copies of [[Swedish riksdaler]]s, as was that issued by [[Eustratie Dabija]]). The economic decline was accompanied by a failure to maintain state structures: the [[Feudalism|feudal]]-based [[Moldavian military forces]] were no longer convoked, and the few troops maintained by the rulers remained professional [[Mercenary|mercenaries]] such as the ''[[seimeni]]''.

[[File:Jassy (Iasi)-Trei Ierarhi Monastery (J.Rey, 1845).jpg|thumb|left|[[Trei Ierarhi Monastery]] in Iași, housed the [[Vasilian College]], an institution of higher learning founded in 1640]]
[[File:Mihai 1600.png|thumb|left|In 1600, [[Michael the Brave]] became Prince of Wallachia, of Transylvania, and of Moldavia.]]

However, Moldavia and the similarly affected Wallachia remained both important sources of income for the Ottoman Empire and relatively prosperous agricultural economies (especially as suppliers of grain and cattle – the latter was especially relevant in Moldavia, which remained an under-populated country of [[pasture]]s). In time, much of the resources were tied to the [[Economic history of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman economy]], either through [[Monopoly|monopolies]] on trade that were only lifted in 1829, after the [[Treaty of Adrianople (1829)|Treaty of Adrianople]] (which did not affect all domains directly), or through the raise in direct taxes - the one demanded by the Ottomans from the princes, as well as the ones demanded by the princes from the country's population. Taxes were directly proportional with Ottoman requests, but also with the growing importance of Ottoman appointment and sanctioning of princes in front of election by the [[boyar]]s and the boyar Council – ''{{ill|Sfatul boieresc|ro|Sfatul domnesc}}'' (drawing in a competition among pretenders, which also implied the intervention of creditors as suppliers of bribes). The fiscal system soon included taxes such as the ''[[Historical Romanian taxes|văcărit]]'' (a tax on head of cattle), first introduced by [[Iancu Sasul]] in the 1580s.

The economic opportunities offered brought about a significant influx of [[Greeks in Romania|Greek]] and [[Levant]]ine financiers and officials, who entered a stiff competition with the high boyars over appointments to the Court. As the [[Manorialism|manor system]] suffered the blows of economic crises, and in the absence of [[Salary|salarisation]] (which implied that persons in office could decide their own income), obtaining princely appointment became the major focus of a boyar's career. Such changes also implied the decline of free peasantry and the rise of [[serfdom]], as well as the rapid fall in the importance of low boyars (a traditional institution, the latter soon became marginal, and, in more successful instances, added to the population of towns); however, they also implied a rapid transition towards a [[monetary economy]], based on exchanges in foreign currency. Serfdom was doubled by the much less numerous slave population (''robi''), composed of migrant [[Roma in Romania|Roma]] and captured [[Nogais]].

[[File:Partitions of Moldavia.jpg|thumb|Moldavia through the ages]]

The conflict between princes and boyars was to become exceptionally violent – the latter group, who frequently appealed to the Ottoman court in order to have princes comply with its demands, was persecuted by rulers such as [[Alexandru Lăpușneanu]] and [[John III the Terrible|John III]]. Ioan Vodă's revolt against the Ottomans ended in his execution (1574). The country descended into political chaos, with frequent Ottoman and [[Tatars|Tatar]] incursions and pillages. The claims of Mușatins to the crown and the traditional system of succession were ended by scores of illegitimate reigns; one of the usurpers, [[Ioan Iacob Heraclid]], was a [[Protestantism|Protestant]] Greek who encouraged the [[Renaissance]] and attempted to introduce [[Lutheranism]] to Moldavia.

In 1595, the rise of the [[Movilești]] boyars to the throne with [[Ieremia Movilă]] coincided with the start of frequent anti-Ottoman and anti-[[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg]] military expeditions of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] into Moldavian territory (see ''[[Moldavian Magnate Wars]]''), and rivalries between pretenders to the Moldavian throne encouraged by the three competing powers.

The Wallachian prince [[Michael the Brave]], after previously taking over [[Transylvania]], also deposed Prince Ieremia Movilă, in 1600, and managed to become the first Prince to rule over Moldavia, Wallachia, and Transylvania;<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/379802/Michael Michael the Brave] at [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]</ref><ref name="White2000">{{cite book|author=George W. White|title=Nationalism and Territory: Constructing Group Identity in Southeastern Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-7TgkO8utHIC|year=2000|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8476-9809-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://tiparituriromanesti.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/document-emis-de-mihai-viteazul-la-iasi-in-1600/| title = A document issued by Michael the Brave in 1600, in Iași| date = 28 June 2012}}</ref> the episode ended in Polish conquests of lands down to [[Bucharest]], soon ended by the outbreak of the [[Polish–Swedish War (1600–1611)|Polish–Swedish War]] and the reestablishment of Ottoman rule. Polish incursions were dealt a blow by the Ottomans. 

During the 1620 [[Battle of Cecora (1620)|Battle of Cecora]], the voivode of the Principality of Moldavia, was assassinated by the [[Septilici family|Septilici]] noble family in which also saw an end to the reign of [[Gaspar Graziani]].

A period of relative peace followed during the more prosperous and prestigious rule of [[Vasile Lupu]]. He took the throne as a boyar appointee in 1637 and began battling his rival [[Gheorghe Ștefan]], as well as the Wallachian prince [[Matei Basarab]]. However, his invasion of Wallachia, with the backing of [[Cossack]] [[Hetmans of Ukrainian Cossacks|Hetman]] [[Bohdan Khmelnytsky]], ended in disaster at the [[Battle of Finta]] in 1653. A few years later, Moldavia was occupied for two short intervals by the anti-Ottoman Wallachian prince [[Constantin Șerban]], who clashed with the first ruler of the [[Ghica family]], [[George Ghica]]. In the early 1680s, Moldavian troops under [[George Ducas]] intervened in [[right-bank Ukraine]] and assisted [[Mehmed IV]] in the [[Battle of Vienna]], only to suffer the effects of the [[Great Turkish War]].

===Phanariots (1711–1822)===
{{Main|Phanariotes|Russo-Turkish wars}}
[[File:Principati1786.jpg|thumb|The Principalities of Moldavia and [[Wallachia]] in 1782, Italian map by G. Pittori, since the geographer Giovanni Antonio Rizzi Zannoni]]
[[File:Siege and capture of Jassy in 1788 by the Russian army.jpg|thumb|The siege and capture of [[Iași]] by the Russian Army during the [[Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)|Russo-Turkish War]] in 1788]]

During the late 17th century, Moldavia became the target of the [[Russian Empire]]'s southwards expansion, inaugurated by [[Peter the Great]] with the [[Pruth River Campaign|Russo-Turkish War of 1710-1711]]. Prince [[Dimitrie Cantemir]] sided with Peter in open rebellion against the Ottomans, but he was defeated at [[Stănilești]]. Sultan [[Ahmed III]] officially discarded recognition of local choices for princes, imposing instead a system relying solely on Ottoman approval: the [[Phanariotes|Phanariote epoch]], inaugurated by the reign of [[Nicholas Mavrocordatos]].

Phanariote rule was marked by [[political corruption]], intrigue, and high taxation, as well as by sporadic incursions of Habsburg and Russian armies deep into Moldavian territory. Nonetheless, they also attempted legislative and administrative modernization inspired by [[Age of Enlightenment|The Enlightenment]] (such as the decision by [[Constantine Mavrocordatos]] to salarize public offices, to the outrage of boyars, and the abolition of serfdom in 1749, as well as [[Scarlat Callimachi (hospodar)|Scarlat Callimachi]]'s ''Code''), and signified a decrease in Ottoman demands after the threat of Russian annexation became real and the prospects of a better life led to waves of peasant emigration to neighboring lands. The effects of Ottoman control were also made less notable after the 1774 [[Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca]] allowed Russia to intervene in favour of Ottoman subjects of the Eastern Orthodox faith - leading to campaigns of petitioning by the Moldavian boyars against princely policies.

In 1712, [[Khotyn|Hotin]] was taken over by the Ottomans and became part of a defensive system that Moldavian princes were required to maintain, as well as an area for Islamic [[colonization]] (the [[Laz people|Laz]] community).

===Fragmentation===
{{See also|Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca|Treaty of Bucharest (1812)}}
[[File:Rom1793-1812.png|thumb|The Principality of Moldavia, 1793–1812, highlighted in orange]]

In 1775, Moldavia lost to the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Empire]] its northwestern part, which became known as [[Bukovina]]. For Moldavia, it meant both an important territorial loss and a major blow to the cattle trade, as the region stood on the trade route to Central Europe.

The [[Treaty of Jassy]] in 1792 forced the Ottoman Empire to cede [[Yedisan]] to the Russian Empire, which made Russian presence much more notable, given that the Empire acquired a common border with Moldavia. The first effect of this was the cession of the eastern half of Moldavia (renamed as [[Bessarabia]]) to the Russian Empire in 1812.

===Organic Statute, 1848 revolution===
{{Main|National awakening of Romania|Regulamentul Organic|Moldavian Revolution of 1848|Wallachian Revolution of 1848}}
[[File:Princely Court of Jassy.jpg|thumb|Iași, [[Palace of Culture (Iași)|Princely Palace]] of Moldavia]]

Phanariote rule was officially ended after the 1821 occupation of the country by [[Alexander Ypsilantis]]'s [[Filiki Eteria]] during the [[Greek War of Independence]]; the subsequent Ottoman retaliation led to the rule of [[Ioan Sturdza]]. He was considered the first of a new system, since the Ottomans and Russia had agreed in 1826 to allow for the election by locals of rulers over the two [[Danubian Principalities]], and convened on their mandating for seven-year terms. In practice, a new foundation to reigns in Moldavia was created by the [[Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829)]], beginning a period of Russian domination over the two countries which ended only in 1856. Begun as a military occupation under the command of [[Pavel Kiselyov]], Russian domination gave Wallachia and Moldavia, which were not removed from nominal Ottoman control, the modernizing ''[[Regulamentul Organic|Organic Statute]]'' (the first document resembling a [[constitution]], as well as the first to regard both principalities). After 1829, the country also became an important destination for [[immigration]] of [[Ashkenazi Jews]] from the [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria]] and areas of Russia (''see [[History of the Jews in Romania]] and [[Sudiți]]'').

[[File:Obeliscul cu lei Iasi 02.JPG|thumb|Iași, [[Copou Park|Obelisk of Lions]] (1834), dedicated to the Organic Statute]]

The first Moldavian rule established under the Statute, that of [[Mihail Sturdza]], was nonetheless ambivalent: eager to reduce abuse of office, Sturdza introduced reforms (the abolition of slavery, [[secularization]], economic rebuilding), but he was widely seen as enforcing his own power over that of the newly instituted consultative Assembly. A supporter of the union of his country with Wallachia and of Romanian [[Romantic nationalism]], he obtained the establishment of a [[customs union]] between the two countries (1847) and showed support for [[Radicalism (historical)|radical]] projects favored by low boyars; nevertheless, he clamped down with noted violence the [[Wallachian Revolution of 1848|Moldavian revolutionary attempt]] in the last days of March 1848. [[Grigore Alexandru Ghica]] allowed the exiled revolutionaries to return to Moldavia c. 1853, which led to the creation of the [[National Party (Romania)|National Party]] ({{lang|ro|Partida Națională}}), a trans-boundary group of radical union supporters which campaigned for a single state under a foreign dynasty.

===Southern Bessarabia===
{{See also|Southern Bessarabia}}
[[File:Rom1856-1859.png|thumb|Moldavia (in orange) after 1856]]
In 1856, under the terms of the [[Treaty of Paris (1856)|Treaty of Paris]], the Russian Empire returned to Moldavia a significant territory in southern [[Bessarabia Governorate|Bessarabia]] (including a part of [[Budjak]]), organised later as the [[Bolgrad]], [[Cahul]], and [[Izmail|Ismail]] counties.<ref name=king23-hitch41>King, p.22-23; Hitchins, p. 41</ref>

===Union with Wallachia===
{{Main|Unification of Moldavia and Wallachia}}
Russian domination ended abruptly after the [[Crimean War]], when the Treaty of Paris also passed the two Romanian principalities under the tutelage of [[Great power|Great European Powers]] (together with Russia and the Ottoman overlord, power-sharing included the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the [[Austrian Empire]], the [[Second French Empire|French Empire]], the [[Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia]], and [[Prussia]]). Due to Austrian and Ottoman opposition and British reserves, the union program as demanded by radical campaigners was debated intensely.

In September 1857, given that ''[[Kaymakam|Caimacam]]'' [[Nicolae Vogoride]] had perpetrated [[Electoral fraud|fraud]] in elections in Moldavia, the Powers allowed the two states to convene ad hoc [[divan]]s, which were to decide a new constitutional framework; the result showed overwhelming support for the union, as the creation of a [[Liberalism|liberal]] and [[Neutrality (international relations)|neutral]] state. After further meetings among leaders of tutor states, an agreement was reached (the ''Paris Convention''), whereby a limited union was to be enforced – separate governments and thrones, with only two bodies in common (a [[High Court of Cassation and Justice|Court of Cassation]] and a Central Commission residing in [[Focșani]]); it also stipulated that an end to all privilege was to be passed into law, and awarded back to Moldavia the areas around [[Bolhrad]], [[Cahul]], and [[Izmail]].

However, the Convention failed to note whether the two thrones could not be occupied by the same person, allowing ''Partida Națională'' to introduce the candidacy of [[Alexandru Ioan Cuza]] in both countries. On January 17 (January 5, 1859, [[Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe|Old Style]]), in [[Iași]], he was elected prince of Moldavia by the respective electoral body. After street pressure over the much more [[Conservatism|conservative]] body in [[Bucharest]], Cuza was elected in Wallachia as well (February 5/January 24), this being considered as the day of the [[unification of Moldavia and Wallachia]] by means of a [[personal union]].

In 1862, after diplomatic missions that helped remove opposition to the action, the [[United Principalities]] (the basis of modern Romania) was formally created, and instituted Cuza as ''[[Domnitor]]'' – thus officially ending the existence of the Principality of Moldavia. All other pending legal matters were clarified after the replacement of Cuza with [[Carol I of Romania|Carol of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] in April 1866, and the creation of an independent [[Kingdom of Romania]] in 1881.

==Society==
[[File:Louis-Dupre-Pacha.jpg|thumb|190px|[[Michael Soutzos]] as [[Prince of Moldavia]], 1820]]
;Aristocracy:
* [[Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia|Nobility]]
* [[Historical Romanian ranks and titles|Ranks and titles]]

;Commoner:
* [[Obște]]
* [[Historical Romanian taxes|Taxes]]

;Law:
* [[Vlach law]] (common law)
* [[Byzantine law]]
* [[Regulamentul Organic|Organic Statute]] (1831–1858)

===Slavery===
{{Further|Slavery in Romania#Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia}}
[[File:Auguste Raffet, Famille tsigane en voyage en Moldavie, 1837.jpg|thumb|Nomadic [[Roma minority in Romania|Roma]] family traveling in Moldavia, [[Auguste Raffet]], 1837]]
Slavery ({{langx|ro|robie}}) was part of the [[social class|social order]] from before the founding of the Principality of Moldavia, until it was [[Abolitionism|abolished]] in stages during the 1840s and 1850s. Most of the slaves were of [[Roma minority in Romania|Roma]] (Gypsy) ethnicity. There were also slaves of [[Tatars|Tatar]] ethnicity, probably prisoners captured from the wars with the [[Nogai Horde|Nogai]] and [[Crimean Tatars]]. The institution of slavery was first attested in a 1470 Moldavian document, through which Prince [[Stephen III of Moldavia|Stephen the Great]] frees Oană, a Tatar slave who had fled to [[History of Poland during the Jagiellon dynasty|Jagiellon Poland]].<ref name=Achim>Viorel Achim, ''The Roma in Romanian History'', Central European University Press, Budapest, 2004, {{ISBN|963-9241-84-9}}</ref>

The exact origins of slavery are not known, as it was a common [[Slavery in medieval Europe|practice in medieval Europe]]. As in the [[Byzantine Empire]], the Roma were held as slaves of the state, of the [[boyars]] or of the monasteries. Historian [[Nicolae Iorga]] associated the Roma people's arrival with the 1241 [[Mongol invasion of Europe]] and considered their slavery as a vestige of that era; he believed that the Romanians took the Roma as slaves from the [[Mongols]] and preserved their status to control their labor. Other historians consider that the Roma were enslaved while captured during the battles with the Tatars. The practice of enslaving prisoners may also have been taken from the Mongols. The ethnic identity of the "Tatar slaves" is unknown, they could have been captured Tatars of the [[Golden Horde]], [[Cuman people|Cumans]], or the slaves of Tatars and Cumans.<ref name=Achim/> While it is possible that some Romani people were slaves or auxiliary troops of the Mongols or Tatars, most of them came from south of the [[Danube]], demonstrating that slavery was a widespread practice. The Tatar slaves, smaller in numbers, were eventually merged into the Roma population.<ref name=Stefanescu>Ștefan Ștefănescu, ''Istoria medie a României'', Vol. I, Editura Universității din București, Bucharest, 1991 {{in lang|ro}}</ref>

Traditionally, Roma slaves were divided into three categories. The smallest was owned by the ''hospodars'', and went by the Romanian-language name of ''țigani domnești'' ("Gypsies belonging to the lord"). The two other categories comprised ''țigani mănăstirești'' ("Gypsies belonging to the monasteries"), who were the property of [[Romanian Orthodox Church|Romanian Orthodox]] and [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] monasteries, and ''țigani boierești'' ("Gypsies belonging to the boyars"), who were enslaved by the category of landowners.<ref name=Djuvara>[[Neagu Djuvara]], ''Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne'', Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995. {{ISBN|973-28-0523-4}} {{in lang|ro}}</ref><ref name=Guy>Will Guy, ''Between Past and Future: The Roma of Central and Eastern Europe'', [[University of Hertfordshire Press]], Hatfield, 2001. {{ISBN|1-902806-07-7}}</ref>

The abolition of slavery was carried out following a campaign by young revolutionaries who embraced the [[Liberalism|liberal]] ideas of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]. In 1844, Moldavian Prince [[Mihail Sturdza]] proposed a law on the freeing of slaves owned by the church and state. By the 1850s, the movement gained support from almost the whole of Romanian society. In December 1855, following a proposal by Prince [[Grigore Alexandru Ghica]], a bill drafted by [[Mihail Kogălniceanu]] and [[Petre Mavrogheni]] was adopted by the Divan; the law emancipated all slaves to the status of taxpayers (citizens).<ref name=Achim/><ref name=Djuvara/>

Support for the abolitionists was reflected in [[Romanian literature]] of the mid-19th century. The issue of the Roma slavery became a theme in the literary works of various [[Liberalism and radicalism in Romania|liberal]] and [[Romanticism|Romantic]] intellectuals, many of whom were active in the abolitionist camp. The Romanian abolitionist movement was also influenced by the much larger movement against [[Slavery in the United States|Black slavery]] in the United States through press reports and through a translation of [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]]'s ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]''. Translated by Theodor Codrescu and first published in [[Iași]] in 1853, under the name ''Coliba lui Moșu Toma sau Viața negrilor în sudul Statelor Unite din America'' (which translates back as "Uncle Toma's Cabin or the Life of Blacks in the Southern United States of America"), it was the first American novel to be published in Romanian. The foreword included a study on slavery by Mihail Kogălniceanu.<ref name=Achim/>

==Military forces==
{{Main|Moldavian military forces}}
[[File:Kingdom of Hungary against Moldavians flag in battle.jpg|left|thumb|Moldavian troops in battle, as illustrated in [[Johannes de Thurocz]] (1488 edition); the [[Flag and coat of arms of Moldavia|Moldavian flag]] is displayed.]]

Under the reign of [[Stephen III of Moldavia|Stephen the Great]], all farmers and villagers had to bear arms. Stephen justified this by saying that "every man has a duty to defend his fatherland"; according to Polish chronicler [[Jan Długosz]], if someone was found without carrying a weapon, he was [[Death sentence|sentenced to death]].<ref>''The Annals of Jan Długosz'', p. 566</ref> Stephen reformed the army by promoting men from the landed free peasantry ''răzeși'' (i.e. something akin to [[freehold (law)|freeholding]] [[yeomen]]) to infantry (''voinici'') and light cavalry (''hânsari''), reducing his dependence on the [[boyars]], and introduced guns. The Small Host (''Oastea Mică'') consisted of around 10,000 to 12,000 men. The Large Host (''Oastea Mare''), which could reach up to 40,000, was recruited from all the free peasantry older than 14 and strong enough to carry a [[sword]] or use a [[Bow (weapon)|bow]]. This seldom happened, for such a [[levée en masse]] was devastating for both economy and population growth. In the [[Battle of Vaslui]], Stephen had to summon the Large Host and also recruited [[mercenary]] troops.

In the [[Middle Ages]] and early [[Renaissance]], the Moldavians relied on light [[cavalry]] (''[[Călărași (cavalry)|călărași]]'') which used [[hit-and-run tactics]] similar to those of the [[Tatars]]; this gave them great mobility and also flexibility, in case they found it more suitable to dismount their horses and fight in hand-to-hand combat, as it happened in 1422, when 400 [[horse archer]]s were sent to aid [[History of Poland (1385–1569)|Jagiellon Poland]], Moldavia's overlord against the [[Teutonic Knights]]. When making eye-contact with the enemy, the horse archers would withdraw to a nearby forest and [[camouflage]] themselves with leaves and branches; according to Jan Długosz, when the enemy entered the wood, they were "showered with arrows" and defeated.<ref>Długosz, p. 438</ref> The heavy cavalry consisted of the nobility, namely, the boyars, and their guards, the ''viteji'' (lit. "brave ones", small nobility) and the ''curteni'' (court cavalry). These were all nominally part of the Small Host. In times of war, boyars were compelled by the [[Feudalism|feudal system of allegiance]] to supply the prince with troops in accordance with the extent of their [[Manorialism|manorial domain]].
[[File:Modovian army - Kronika tho iesth Historya swiata 1564 (109729892).jpg|thumb|200px|Moldavian troops engaging the Poles in the [[Battle of Obertyn]], 1531]]
Other troops consisted of professional foot soldiers (''lefegii'') which fulfilled the [[Heavy infantry#Middle Ages|heavy infantry]] role, and the ''plăieși'', free peasants whose role was that of border guards: they guarded the mountain passes and were prepared to [[ambush]] the enemy and to fight delaying actions.

In the absence of the prince, command was assigned to the ''Mare Spătar'' (Grand Sword-Bearer, a military office) or to the ''Mare Vornic'' (approx. Governor of the Country; a civilian office second only to the ''[[Voievod#Moldavia and Wallachia|Voievod]]'', which was filled by the prince himself). Supplying the troops was by tradition-later-made-into-law the duty of the inhabitants of those lands on which the soldiers were present at a given time.

The Moldavians' (as well as Wallachians') favourite military doctrine in (defensive) wars was a [[scorched earth]] policy combined with harassment of the advancing enemy using [[hit-and-run tactics]] and disruption of communication and supply lines, followed by a large scale ambush: a weakened enemy would be lured in a place where it would find itself in a position hard or impossible to defend. A general attack would follow, often with devastating results. The shattered remains of what was once the enemy army would be pursued closely and harassed all the way to the border and sometimes beyond. A typical example of successful employments of this scenario is the [[Battle of Vaslui]].

Towards the end of the 15th century, especially after the success of [[gun]]s and [[cannon]]s, mercenaries became a dominant force in the country's military. With the economic demands created by the [[stagnation of the Ottoman Empire]], the force diminished and included only mercenaries such as the ''[[seimeni]]''.

The 1829 [[Treaty of Adrianople (1829)|Treaty of Adrianople]] allowed Moldavia to again maintain its own troops, no longer acting as an auxiliary under strict Ottoman supervision, and assigned red over blue [[Flag terminology|pennants]] (''see [[Flag and coat of arms of Moldavia]]''). Their renewed existence under [[Mihail Sturdza]] was a major symbol and rally point for the [[Romantic nationalism|nationalist]] cause, aiding in bringing about the [[1848 Moldavian revolution]].

===Fleet===
An early mention of a Moldavian [[naval fleet]] is found in connection with the rule of [[Aron Tiranul]], who used it to help [[List of rulers of Wallachia|Wallachian ruler]] [[Michael the Brave]] establish his control over the [[Chilia branch]] of the [[Danube]] and [[Dobruja]].

The Treaty of Adrianople provided for a Moldavian self-defense naval force, to be composed of [[caicque]] vessels. [[Schooner]]s armed with [[cannon]]s were first built in the 1840s. Along with patrolling the Danube, these made their way on its tributaries, the [[Siret River|Siret]] and the [[Prut River]].

==Geography==
{{See also|Moldavian Plateau}}
Geographically, Moldavia is limited by the [[Carpathian Mountains]] to the West, the [[Cheremosh River]] to the North, the [[Dniester River]] to the East and the [[Danube]] and [[Black Sea]] to the South. The [[Prut River]] flows approximately through its middle from north to south.

Of late 15th century Moldavia, with an area of {{convert|94862|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}},<ref name="histmold">{{cite journal |last1=Muntele |first1=Ionel |last2=Sîrbu |first2=Costel-Cosmin |last3=Ostopovici |first3=Ionuț-Vasile |date=2019 |title= Historical Moldavia – from Demographic Expansion to a Shrinking Region |url=http://www.rjgeo.ro/atasuri/revue%20roumaine_63_1/muntele%20et%20al..pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104232314/http://www.rjgeo.ro/atasuri/revue%20roumaine_63_1/muntele%20et%20al..pdf |archive-date=2019-11-04 |url-status=live |journal=Romanian Journal of Geography |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=3–17 |issn=2285-9675 |access-date=29 July 2021}}</ref> the biggest part and the core of the former principality is located in Romania (45.6%), followed by the [[Republic of Moldova]] (31.7%), and Ukraine (22.7%). This represents 88.2% of the Republic of Moldova's surface, 18% of Romania's surface, and 3.5% of Ukraine's surface.
<!-- 21,347 km2 in Ukraine + 33.592 km2 in Romania + 29,849 km2 in Moldova -->

The region is mostly hilly, with a range of mountains in the west, and plain areas in the southeast. Moldavia's highest altitude is [[Ineu Peak|Ineu peak]] (2,279&nbsp;m), which is also the westernmost point of the region.

The parts of Moldavia populated by [[Csángós|Csángó]] [[Hungarians]] are sometimes referred to as [[Csángó Land]].

===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Moldavia}}
{{clearleft}}

==Population==

===Historical population===
{{See also|Demographic history of Romania|Bessarabia#Population|Bukovina#Historical population|Chernivtsi Oblast#Population and demographics|Budjak#Ethnic groups and demographics}}
[[File:Moldo-Wallachian Peasantry, 1853.jpg|thumb|Moldo-Wallachian peasantry, 1853]]
Contemporary historians estimate the population (historically referred to as Moldavians) of the Moldavian Principality in the 15th century, at between 250,000 and 600,000 people,<ref>East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000–1500, Jean W. Sedlar, page 255, 1994</ref><ref>Cavalerii Apocalipsului: Calamitatile Naturale Din Trecutul Romaniei (Pana La 1800), Paul Cernovodeanu, Paul Binder, 1993, {{ISBN|973-95477-3-7}}, Romanian Edition</ref> but an extensive census was first conducted in 1769–1774.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.recensamantromania.ro/en/history/demographic-researches/| title = First activities of population counting conducted on the Romanian territory of today}}</ref>

In 1848, the northwestern part, annexed in 1775 by the Habsburg Empire, [[Bukovina]], had a population of 377,571; in 1856, the eastern half of Moldavia, [[Bessarabia]], annexed in 1812 by the Russian Empire, had a population of 990,274, while the population of Moldavia proper (the western half), in 1859, was 1,463,927.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.evenimentul.ro/articol/moldovenii-8211-vreo-5.html|title=Moldavians at the 2002 census}}</ref>

The contemporary population peaked in 1992, at 10.07 million inhabitants in all three historical divisions ([[Western Moldavia]], Bessarabia and Bukovina). As of 2011, the population was 8.63 million people, of which 3.67 million were in Western Moldavia, 3.86 million in Bessarabia and 1.08 million in Bukovina.<ref name="histmold"/>

===Cities===
[[File:AKauffmannJReyIasiFair.PNG|thumb|Lithograph of a cosmopolitan fair in [[Iași]] c. 1845; two [[History of the Jews in Romania|Orthodox Jews]] are visible to the right]]
The largest cities (as per last censuses) and [[Functional Urban Area|metropolitan areas]] in the Moldavia region are:{{cn|date=May 2021}}
* Romania:
** [[Iași]] – 290,422 (465,477 in metropolitan area) - capital of Moldavia between 1564 and 1859
** [[Galați]] – 249,432 (323,563)
** [[Bacău]] – 144,307 (223,239)
** [[Botoșani]] – 106,847 (144,617)
** [[Suceava]] – 92,121 (144,100) – capital of Moldavia between 1388 and 1564
** [[Piatra Neamț]] – 85,055 (131,334)
** [[Focșani]] – 79,315 (125,699)
* Ukraine:
** [[Chernivtsi|Chernivtsi (Cernăuți)]] – 264,298  
** [[Izmail|Izmail (Ismail)]] – 84,815
* Moldova:
** [[Chișinău]] – 532,513 (662,836 in metropolitan area)
** [[Bălți]] – 97,930 (102,457)
** [[Bender, Moldova|Tighina (Bender)]] – 91,882

==Education==
[[File:AcademiaMihaileana.jpg|thumb|[[Academia Mihăileană]] was the first modern institution of higher learning in Moldavia.]]
In 1562, the so-called [[Ioan Iacob Heraclid|Schola Latina]] (a Latin Academic College) was founded in [[Cotnari]], near [[Iași]], a school which marked the beginnings of the organized humanistic education institutions in Moldavia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.romanianweek.ro/educatie.html |title=Schola Latina - The Foundation of the first School in which mathematics was taught in Roumania |access-date=2014-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210258/http://www.romanianweek.ro/educatie.html |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The first institute of higher learning that functioned on the territory of Romania was [[Vasilian College|Academia Vasiliană]] (1640),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.study-in-romania.ro/historyofeducation.htm |title=History of Education |access-date=2014-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611181940/http://www.study-in-romania.ro/historyofeducation.htm |archive-date=2015-06-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> founded by Prince Vasile Lupu as a ''Higher School for Latin and Slavonic Languages'', followed by the [[Princely Academy, Iași|Princely Academy]], in 1707. The first high education structure in [[Romanian language|Romanian]] was established in the autumn of 1813, when [[Gheorghe Asachi]] laid the foundations of a class of engineers, its activities taking place within the Greek Princely Academy.

After 1813, other moments marked the development of higher education in Romanian, regarding both [[humanities]] and the technical science. [[Academia Mihăileană]], founded in 1835 by Prince Mihail Sturdza, is considered the first Romanian superior institute. In 1860, three faculties part of the Academia Mihăileană formed the nucleus for the newly established [[Alexandru Ioan Cuza University|University of Iași]], the first Romanian modern university.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.uaic.ro/en/university-2/university/| title = History of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași}}</ref>

==Culture==
[[File:Abdel Badana - Teatrul Naţional din Iaşi, inaugurat la 1 Decembrie 1896.jpg|thumb|The [[Iași National Theatre|Great Theatre of Moldavia]], Iași, 1896]]
[[File:Albina Romaneasca - Coperta - Nr. 9 - 1 februarie 1840.jpg|thumb|[[Albina Românească|Albina Românească (The Romanian Bee)]] was, in 1829, the first Romanian-language journal published in Moldavia.]]

===Literature===
====Old literature: chroniclers, religion, geography====
* [[Cazania lui Varlaam]] (the Homiliary of Varlaam, 1643)
* [[Chronicle of Huru]] (19th-century fake)
* [[Grigore Ureche]] (1590–1647), chronicler
* [[Miron Costin]] (1633-1691), chronicler
* [[Nicolae Costin (chronicler)|Nicolae Costin]] (1660–1712), chronicler
* [[Ion Neculce]] (1672–1745), chronicler
* [[Dimitrie Cantemir]] (1673–1723), ruling prince, man of letters and polymath
** ''[[Descriptio Moldaviae]]''
* [[Gheorghe Asachi]] (1788-1869), writer and polymath

===Magazines and newspapers===
* ''[[Alăuta Românească]]''
* ''[[Albina Românească]]''
* ''[[Dacia Literară]]''
* ''[[Propășirea]]''
* ''[[România Literară]]''
* ''[[Steaua Dunării]]''
* ''[[Zimbrul și Vulturul]]''

===Theatre===
* [[Iași National Theatre|The Great Theatre/National Theatre]]

===Architecture with World Heritage Sites===
* [[Moldavian style]]
* [[World Heritage Site]]s:
** [[Churches of Moldavia#World Heritage Site|"Churches of Moldavia" World Heritage Site]] (8 churches)
** [[Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans]]
** Tentative list:
*** [[Neamț Monastery]]
*** [[Trei Ierarhi Monastery]]

===Other World Heritage Sites===
* World Heritage Site:
** [[Rudi Geodetic Point]] (as part of the [[Struve Geodetic Arc]])
** Tentative list:
*** The Cultural Landscape Orheiul Vechi ([[Old Orhei]])
*** The Typical [[Cernozem]] Soils of the [[Bălți Steppe]]
*** [[Stulpicani|Slătioara Secular Forest]]

==See also==
{{Div col}}
* [[History of Moldova|History of the Republic of Moldova]]
* [[History of Romania]]
* [[Romanian Old Kingdom]]
* [[Kingdom of Romania]]
* [[Historical regions of Romania]]
* [[List of rulers of Moldavia]]
* [[Military history of Romania]]
* [[Balkan–Danubian culture]]
* [[Bulgarian lands across the Danube]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* [[Gheorghe I. Brătianu]], ''Sfatul domnesc și Adunarea Stărilor în Principatele Române'', Bucharest, 1995
* Vlad Georgescu, ''Istoria ideilor politice românești (1369-1878)'', Munich, 1987
* {{cite book |last=Ruysbroeck |first=Willem van |translator=Peter Jackson |title=The Mission of Friar William of Rubruck: His Journey to the Court of the Great Khan Möngke, 1253-1255 |location=Indianapolis/Cambridge |publisher=Hackett |date=2009 |orig-date=1990 |ref={{sfnref|Jackson|2009}} }} <!-- flagged |isbn=978-0-98220-981-7 -->
* {{cite book |last=Sălăgean |first=Tudor |editor1-last=Pop |editor1-first=Ioan-Aurel |editor2-last=Bolovan |editor2-first=Ioan | title=History of Romania: Compendium |publisher=Romanian Cultural Institute (Center for Transylvanian Studies) |year=2005 |pages=133–207 |chapter=Romanian Society in the Early Middle Ages (9th–14th&nbsp;Centuries&nbsp;AD) |isbn=978-973-7784-12-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Spinei |first=Victor |year=1986 |title=Moldavia in the 11th–14th Centuries |publisher=Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste Româna }}
* Ștefan Ștefănescu, ''Istoria medie a României'', Bucharest, 1991
* {{cite book |last=Vásáry |first=István |year=2005 |title=Cumans and Tatars: Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185–1365 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-83756-1 }}

==External links==
* {{Commonscat-inline|Principality of Moldavia}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071018031909/http://www.scribd.com/doc/27529/Dimitrie-Cantemir-Descrierea-Moldovei Dimitrie Cantemir-Descrierea Moldovei]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050524060804/http://www.patzinakia.ro/wallachiamediaevalis/bacau-index.htm The Princely Court in Bacău] – images, layouts (at the [https://web.archive.org/web/20060111120813/http://www.patzinakia.ro/ Romanian Group for an Alternative History Website])
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060222082415/http://www.patzinakia.ro/documenta/index.htm Original Documents] concerning both Moldavia and other Romania Principalities during the Middle Ages (at the [https://web.archive.org/web/20060111120813/http://www.patzinakia.ro/ Romanian Group for an Alternative History Website])
* [http://www.centruldepelerinaj.ro/index.php?&lang=en Pilgrimage and Cultural Heritage Tourism in Moldavia]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110421084717/http://romania-travelguide.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=48&Itemid=62 Painted Churches in Bukovina]
* [http://monederomanesti.cimec.ro/ Medieval Coins of Moldavia and Wallachia] {{in lang|ro|en}}

{{Romanian historical regions}}
{{Administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire|state=collapsed}}
{{Fiefs of the Polish Kingdom}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Moldavia| ]]
[[Category:History of Moldavia|*]]
[[Category:Historical regions in Moldova]]
[[Category:Historical regions in Romania]]
[[Category:Historical regions in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Historical regions]]
[[Category:Ottoman period in Moldova]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1346]]
[[Category:1859 disestablishments]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1859]]
[[Category:Fiefdoms of Poland]]
[[Category:Vassal states of the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Former principalities]]
[[Category:Christian states]]