STEPHEN THE GREAT

In 1497 Prince Stephen ‘the Great’ of Moldavia’s most trusted ally turned against him. In the four decades he had ruled the Danubian principality, the Poles had steadfastly stood behind Stephen when he was assailed first by Catholic Hungarians, hoping to recover what they believed were their lands and then by the Muslim Ottoman Turks fanning out in the Balkans.

Showing great disregard for his predecessor King Casimir IV’s guardian-like relationship with Stephen, Polish King John Albert had in the final decade of the 15th century negotiated with the Sublime Porte over Moldavia’s territories with scant regard for past precedent as it related to Moldavia. When John Albert entered into a treaty with the Ottomans and confirmed that the Moldavian ports of Chilia and Cetatea Alba, which the Turks had seized by force in 1484, rightfully belonged to the Turks, Stephen was furious. In his eyes, the Polish King’s decision was an affront that violated the northern kingdom’s longstanding commitment to protect Moldavian lands.

John Albert assembled 80,000 troops and a long supply train for his campaign against the principality. Marching in the ranks were Poles, Lithuanians, Teutonic Knights