Bogdan I of Moldavia - Voivode of Moldavia

Voivode of Moldavia

The immediate cause of Bogdan's crossing the Carpathian Mountains into Moldavia is difficult to define. According to Vlad Georgescu, the local boyars, disgruntled perhaps by the presence of Hungarians and Catholics, rose up against the Romanian voivodes appointed by the king of Hungary. Tudor Sălăgean suggests that Bogdan, having failed to get rid of the Hungarian hegemony in Maramureş, left the province with his supporters and crossed the mountain into Moldavia where he started a rebellion against the Hungarian Kingdom.

In his history, the chronicler of King Louis I, John of Küküllő states:

Bogdan, the voivode of the Romanians of Maramureş, gathering the Romanians from this district, secretly passed into Moldavia, which was subject to the Hungarian Crown, but had been abandoned by its inhabitants because of the vicinity of the Tatars. —John of Küküllő: King Louis’s Chronicle

Bogdan may have gone to Moldavia immediately after the death of Sas (the successor of Dragoş who is traditionally considered as the first prince of Moldavia). The brunt of the fighting was born by Balc, the son of Sas. Balc, who fought valiantly at the head of his men against Bogdan, was severely wounded and lost several members of his family and retinue. Bogdan seized Balc’s throne and declared himself independent ruler of Moldavia.

None of the military campaigns undertaken by King Louis I – and John of Küküllő's chronicle says that "he made war (…) against the Moldavians almost every year" – could force Bogdan's allegiance. Nevertheless, the domains around Cuhea belonging to Bogdan and his sons in Maramureş were confiscated by the king and given to Balc and his brothers.

John of Küküllő sustains that the king's suzerainty was restored in Moldavia and Bogdan was obliged to pay homage to the king as a vassal. But, according to Victor Spinei, the obvious prejudice of Louis I's biographer inspires little evidence; the formal recognition of vassalage probably occurred only under Laţcu, after Louis I became king of Poland in 1370.

Bogdan was buried in the church founded by him at Rădăuţi.