Bogdan IV.

Bogdan IV (Moldovan postage stamp 1999)

Bogdan IV. (* 1553 ; † 1574 in Moscow ) was voivode of the Principality of Moldova from March 1568 to February 1572 .

Bogdan was just 15 years old when his father, Prince Alexandru Lăpuşneanu, was murdered . For some time his mother Ruxandra took over the guardianship of her underage son. In terms of foreign policy, he was completely on the side of the Poles, he later took a Polish noblewoman as his wife. This clear statement offended many of the Moldovan boyars , especially the fear of a wave of Catholic proselytizing in the Orthodox country. The opposition directed against Bogdan was soon headed by the boyar Ieremia Golia Cernăuteanul.

When Bogdan was finally - forcibly - in Poland , the boyars complained to the Sublime Porte . This took the complainants' concerns seriously and appointed Ioan Vodă cel Viteaz (Prince John the Brave) as the new Moldovan ruler .

A little later, Bogdan tried to recapture the throne with Polish help. This attempt failed. For two years, the slain ruler moved from one European royal court to another, always looking for allies. In July 1574 he died in Moscow at the age of 21.

source

• Nicolae Iorga: History of the Romanian people in the context of their state formation . Gotha 1905, Vol. I, p. 394/95