Today in History: April 20

Bogdan III the One-Eyed (Bogdan al III-lea cel Chior in Romanian) or Bogdan III the Blind (Bogdan al III-lea cel Orb in Romanian) was the Voivode of Moldavia from July 2, 1504 until his death in 1517. (Voivode /ˈvɔɪˌvoʊd/ is literally “war-leader” or “war-lord” in Old Slavic.) Moldavia was the region between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river and is part of modern-day Romania, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova.

When Bogdan took the throne, he went to Polish King Alexander the Jagiellonian and asked to marry his sister, Elisabeth. After Alexander refused him twice, Bogdan invaded southern Poland in 1506 and was conceded his demands. When Sigismund the Old came to power following Alexander’s death, the agreements were broken which provoked further battles. In October 1509, Bogdan was severely defeated on the Dniester river. A peace agreement was signed on January 17, 1510 and Bogdan finally renounced his claims.

Moldavia suffered two major Tatar invasions in 1510 and by the next year, the Tatars occupied most of the country. The events forced Poland, still recovering from the great Tatar invasion of 1506, to send troops, helping Bogdan regain his lands after a victory in May 1512. In 1514, in order to block the Tatar threat by enlisting the help of a powerful overlord, Bogdan sent chancellor Tăutu to negotiate the terms of Moldavia’s submission to the Ottoman Empire, although Moldavia still maintained a high level of autonomy.

After his death, he was succeeded by his son Ștefan IV the Younger on April 22, 1517. He was buried next to his father, Ştefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great), and other members of his family in Putna Monastery in Putna, Suceava County, Romania.