Alexandru cel Bun

Alexandru cel Bun, fresco in Neamț monastery

Alexandru cel Bun with his wife Ana, fresco in the Sucevița monastery

Alexandru cel Bun (German: Alexander the Good ; † January 3, 1432 ) ruled the Principality of Moldova from 1400 to 1432 .

Life

Alexandru cel Bun was the eldest son of voivod Roman I. Muşat. On April 23, 1400 he became ruler of the Principality of Moldova. His predecessor Iuga (1399-1400) had been driven out by the voivod of Wallachia , Mircea cel Bătrân . Initially, Alexandru cel Bun ruled together with his brother Bogdan until he became sole ruler in 1407.

After his accession to the throne, Alexandru cel Bun tried to be as close as possible to the Kingdom of Poland , which had been an important goal of the foreign policy of the Principality of Moldova since 1387. The main reason for this was the desire to counteract the expansionist efforts of Hungary under King Sigismund in the Danube Delta. Alexandru cel Bun achieved the rapprochement with Poland through personal ties, among other things, after the death of his wife Ana (1418) Rymgajla , a cousin of the Polish king Władysław II Jagiełło . Also married Iliaş , the son of Alexandru cel Bun, Marinca, the sister-in-law Jagiełłos. Beginning on March 2, 1402, Alexandru cel Bun repeatedly swore the feudal oath to Władysław II (1404, 1407, 1411). He supported him by sending troops in the war against the Teutonic Order , first at the Battle of Tannenberg (1410) and later at the siege of the Marienburg (1422).

On March 15, 1412, Sigismund and Jagiełło signed a treaty that included the Principality of Moldova in an alliance against the Ottomans and in support of Byzantium . This enabled Alexandru cel Bun to strengthen relations with the Byzantine court. In 1415 a Moldovan representation took part in the Council of Constance , which aimed to end the occidental schism . In 1420 there was a great attack by the Ottomans on Moldova, which could be repulsed.

At the end of his rule, the relationship with Poland cooled down until Alexandru cel Bun finally gave up the connection and sided with Poland's opponents, who were striving for Lithuania's independence . Moldovan troops took part in the armed conflict against Poland in Kamianets-Podilskyi and Halych (1431).

Alexandru cel Bu died in January 1432. His son Iliaș I followed him as ruler in the Principality of Moldova .

meaning

The rule of Alexandru cel Bun improved the situation in the Principality of Moldova. The economy developed positively after an administrative reform he carried out. He achieved a consolidation of domestic and foreign political relations, among other things through the improved relations with Poland and Byzantium. Relations with the Patriarch of Constantinople relaxed under his influence. He granted protection to the Hussites who had fled Hungary and Poland . The southern borders of the Principality of Moldova extended to the Black Sea coast and the Dniester during his reign .

Alexandru cel Bun promoted the arts and - influenced by his two Catholic wives - the Catholic Church. New bishoprics ( Roman , Rădăuăi , Suceava ) and monasteries ( Bistrița and Moldovița, destroyed at the end of the 15th century) were founded by him. He bought up numerous relics. So he brought the remains of St. John the New (Ioan cel Nou) to Suceava and had the monk Gregorios Tzamblak write a vita on the saint in Slavonian . He had copies of the homilies of Gregory of Nazianzen made for himself by the Moldovan calligrapher Gavriil, a monk of the Neamț monastery .

family

He had four lawful wives: Margareta Loszonc, Ana Neacșa, Rymgajla (sister of Vytautas ; the marriage was divorced in 1421) and Mariana, and at least three concubines . He had 17 daughters and 24 sons, 6 of whom later ruled the Principality of Moldova. He was the father-in-law of Vlad II Dracul .

literature

Dionisie Ghermani: Alexander the good , in: Biographisches Lexikon zur Geschichte Südosteuropas . Vol. 1. Munich 1974, p. 37 f.

Web links

Commons : Alexandru cel Bun - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Dionisie Ghermani: Alexander the Good. In: Biographical Lexicon on the History of Southeast Europe. Volume 1. Edited by Mathias Bernath, Felix von Schroeder. Munich 1974, pp. 37-38. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d A. I., d. Gute, Fs. Der Moldau In: Lexikon des Mittelalter. Volume 1. Artmenis & Winkler, Zurich 1980.
↑ Harald Heppner: The Romanians and Europe from the Middle Ages to the present. Böhlau Verlag Vienna, 1997, ISBN 3-205-98832-9 , p. 34.
↑ Rüdiger Kinsky: Diorthoseis: contributions to the history of Hellenism and the afterlife of Alexander the Great. KG Saur, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-598-77735-3 . P. 54.

personal data
SURNAME	Alexandru cel Bun
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Alexander the good
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Ruler of the Principality of Moldova
DATE OF BIRTH	14th Century
DATE OF DEATH	January 3, 1432

[suedost-1] Dionisie Ghermani: Alexander the Good. In: Biographical Lexicon on the History of Southeast Europe. Volume 1. Edited by Mathias Bernath, Felix von Schroeder. Munich 1974, pp. 37-38. Retrieved November 9, 2018.

[mittelalter-2] A. I., d. Gute, Fs. Der Moldau In: Lexikon des Mittelalter. Volume 1. Artmenis & Winkler, Zurich 1980.

[3] Harald Heppner: The Romanians and Europe from the Middle Ages to the present. Böhlau Verlag Vienna, 1997, ISBN 3-205-98832-9 , p. 34.

[4] Rüdiger Kinsky: Diorthoseis: contributions to the history of Hellenism and the afterlife of Alexander the Great. KG Saur, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-598-77735-3 . P. 54.