Stephen the Great's expedition to Pokuttia
| Stephen the Great’s expedition to Pokuttia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Moldavian–Polish Wars | |||||||||
Map of historical Pokuttia by Paul Robert Magosci | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Moldavia | Kingdom of Poland | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Stephen III | Casimir IV | ||||||||
The Stephen the Great’s expedition to Pokuttia or Moldavian campaign in Pokuttia took place in summer 1490, during which Moldavian Voivode Stephen the Great sought to seize the Polish region of Pokuttia, resulting in Moldavian victory and successful occupation of the region.[1][2][3]
Prelude
Since late 14th century, the Principality of Moldavia and Kingdom of Poland both claimed the region of Pokuttia as their territory.[1] Stephen the Great also viewed Pokuttia as an integral part of Moldavia, combined with the grievances his grievances against the Polish King Casimir IV, which he believed had failed to provide a sufficient support against the Ottoman Empire.[4] Stephen intended to begin "wars of revenge" against Poland, with his expedition to Pokuttia in the summer of 1490.[1][5]
Expedition
In 1489, the Kingdom of Poland was invaded by Crimean Tatars and Kiev was sacked, which scientifically weakened the Polish state. On 15 March 1490, Stephen was likely informed of this event, which motivated him to exploit this moment of Polish confusion.[6]
Stephen the Great and his army invaded Pokuttia, facing minimal resistance and shocking the Polish King Casimir IV with his actions.[6] In August, Moldavian army captured Kołomyja and Halicz. The Polish army at this time was incapable of repelling the Moldavian invaders, since their main forces were busy dealing with Tatar raids and a peasant uprising.[7] On 16 September, John I Albert managed to gather the Polish forces at Bóbrka in order to repel the Moldavians. However, he had to overturn his forces at the news of Ottoman army heading to assist Moldavians.[8]
Aftermath
The expedition resulted in successful occupation of Pokuttia by the Principality of Moldavia.[1][2][3] Until the death of Casimir IV, on 7 June 1492, the Kingdom of Poland didn't attempt recapture Pokuttia.[8] However, after John I Albert was crowned as the new Polish King, he "could not endure this humiliation and such significant damage for long", which led to the Moldavian campaign in 1497, initially disguised as support for Stephen the Great against the Ottoman Empire in retaking Chilia and Cetatea Albă.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d Giurescu, Constantin C. (1974). Chronological History of Romania. Editura enciclopedică română. p. 101.
- ^ a b c Aurelian Lavric (2014). "APARIŢIA PROBLEMEI BUCOVINEI ÎN SPAŢIUL GEOPOLITIC EUROPEAN" [THE APPEARANCE OF THE BUCOVINA PROBLEM IN THE EUROPEAN GEOPOLITICAL SPACE] (PDF) (in Romanian). Universitatea de Stat din Moldova. p. 36.
- ^ a b Iorga 1904, pp. 219–222.
- ^ Iorga 1904, p. 219.
- ^ Iorga 1904, pp. 219–220.
- ^ a b Iorga 1904, p. 220.
- ^ Iorga 1904, p. 221.
- ^ a b Iorga 1904, p. 222.
Bibliography
- Iorga, Nicolae (1904). Istoria lui Ștefan cel Mare [The History of Stephen the Great] (in Romanian). Bucharest: MINER VA, INSTITUTE OF GRAPHIC ARTS AND PUBLISHING STR. REGALĂ NO. 6 (HOTEL UNION}.