Alexandru cel Bun
 |
Alexandru cel Bun |
Alexandru cel Bun (
Alexandru I Muşat,
Alexander the Kind) was the
Voivode (
Prince) of
Moldavia 1400-
1432, son of
Roman I Muşat. He succeeded
Iuga to the throne, and, as a ruler, initiated a series of reforms while consolidating the status of the Moldavian Principality.
Alexandru cel Bun expanded the
bureaucratical system by creating the "Council of the Voivode", the
Chancellory and by adding (in
1403) the institution of
Logofăt - Chancellor of the official Chancellery.
During his reign, he introduced new fiscal laws, by adding commercial
privileges to the traders of
Lviv (
1408) and
Krakow (
1409), improved the situation of the trading routes (especially the one linking the port of
Cetatea Albă to
Poland), strengthened the forts guarding them, and expanded the Moldavian ports of Cetatea Albă,
Brăila and
Chilia.
He also had a role in ending the conflict of the Moldavian
Eastern Orthodox with the
Patriarch of Constantinople, and built the monasteries of
Moldoviţa and
Neamţ.
The main concern of Alexandru cel Bun was to defend the country in wars against superior armies. In order to do that, he forged a system of alliances with
Wallachia and Poland, generally against
Hungary (although he had been backed to the throne by
Sigismund of Hungary). In
1402, he was sworn
vassal of
Wladislaus II of Poland, the
king of Poland. The treaty was renewed in
1404,
1407,
1411 and
1415.
|
Alexandru cel Bun on a Moldovan coin |
Alexandru cel Bun participated in two battles against the
Teutonic Knights in
1410 at
Grunwald and in
1422 at
Marienburg. In
1420, he also defended Moldavia against the first incursion by
Ottomans at
Cetatea Albă.
He also got involved in the power struggles of Wallachia, by helping
Radu II Chelul in
1418-
1419 and
Alexandru I Aldea in
1429, mostly in order to prevent the capture of Chilia.
In
1431, due to a territorial claim of Poland and the previous failure of the Polish king to fulfill his part of the vassality treaty during an
Ottoman attack in 1420, Alexandru launched an attack on Poland, that ended with the treaty of
Suceava on
November 18.
Alexandru cel Bun had four legitimate wives -
Margareta Loszonc,
Ana Neacşa,
Rymgajla (daughter of
Butaw of
Black Ruthenia and sister of
Vytautas the Great of
Lithuania; divorced
1421), and
Mariana - and at least three concubines. He had twenty-four sons (including
illegitimate) - six of them later reigning in
Moldavia - and seventeen daughters. He was father-in-law to
Vlad II Dracul of Wallachia.
He died on
January 1 1432, and was buried in the monastery of Bistriţa-
Neamţ.
*
Muşatin family
