Foundation of Moldavia

The foundation of Moldavia (in Romanian chronicles Descălecatul Moldovei) is linked by medieval chronicles to Dragoş, a Romanian nobleman from Maramureş (then in the Kingdom of Hungary, now in Romania and Ukraine). However, Dragoş took possession of the province in the name of the king of Hungary in the 1350s. Therefore, as an autonomous state – the second independent Romanian principality after Wallachia – Moldavia was established some years later by Bogdan I the Founder, another Romanian nobleman from Maramureş, who proclaimed himself independent of the kingdom.

But the existence of incipient states in the territory of the future Moldavia – that is in the region between the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, the lower branch of the Siret River, the Black Sea (Romanian: Marea Neagră), and the river Dniester (Romanian: Nistru) – is well documented by medieval sources even before the foundation of the principality. The process of political unification, however, was slower here than in Wallachia, because Moldavia was more exposed to the attacks and plunders of nomad peoples, such as the Pechenegs, the Cumans, and the Mongols.

After 1242, the territories between the Carpathians and the Dniester were under direct Mongol control. The formation of Moldavia took place within the external context created by the offensive of Poland and Hungary against the Golden Horde (the westernmost part of the Mongol Empire) from the 1340s. First a defensive border province was established in northern Moldavia by King Louis I which was ruled by Dragoş. Later, the local boyars rose up against Dragoş’s descendants, and the latter’s opponent, Bogdan I the Founder seized the throne. Afterward, none of the military campaigns undertaken by King Louis I could force Bogdan’s allegiance, and thus the independent Moldavia was created.

The initial centre of Moldavia was located in the Moldova River basin. The territories to the south of the central region fell under the jurisdiction of the voivodes or princes of Moldavia towards the end of the 14th century. The first silver and bronze coins were minted in the principality in 1377. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople acknowledged the Metropolitan See of Moldavia, after years of negotiations, in 1401.