Battle of Vaslui
Conflict: Moldavian–Ottoman Wars
Date: January 10, 1475
Place: near Vaslui, Romania
Outcome: Major victory for Moldavia
Combatants
Moldavia	Ottoman Empire
Commanders
Ştefan cel Mare	Suleiman Pasha
Strength
40,000 Moldavians, 5,800 allied troops	60,000–120,000 (incl. Tatar troops)
Casualties
unknown	45,000

The Battle of Vaslui (also referred to as the Battle of Podul Înalt) (January 10, 1475) was fought between the Moldavian (Romanian) Prince, Ştefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great) and the Ottoman General Suleiman Pasha. The battle took place at Podul Înalt (the High Bridge), near the town of Vaslui, in Moldavia (now part of Eastern Romania). The Ottoman troops numbered between 50,000 and 120,000, facing about 40,000 Moldavian troops, plus smaller numbers of allied and mercenary troops. Image File history File links Vaslui_15cMD.png Summary Vaslui in Moldova, 1475 AD Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events August 29 - Treaty of Picquigny ends a brief war between France and England. ... Vaslui (population: 70,000) is a city in Vaslui county, Romania. ... Moldavia (Moldova in Romanian) was a Romanian principality, originally created in the Middle Ages, now divided between Romania, Moldovan Republic and Ukraine. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (the Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Bursa (1335 - 1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Ä°stanbul (Constantinople) (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40... Stephan the Great (Romanian icon) Åžtefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great or St. ... January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events August 29 - Treaty of Picquigny ends a brief war between France and England. ... Moldavia (Moldova in Romanian) was a Romanian principality, originally created in the Middle Ages, now divided between Romania, Moldovan Republic and Ukraine. ... Stephan the Great (Romanian icon) Åžtefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great or St. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (the Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Bursa (1335 - 1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Ä°stanbul (Constantinople) (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40... Vaslui (population: 70,000) is a city in Vaslui county, Romania. ...

Ştefan inflicted a decisive defeat on the Ottomans, with casualties, according to Venetian and Polish records, reaching beyond 40,000 on the Ottoman side. The invasion was the worst ever defeat for the Ottomans at that time, and Ştefan was later awarded the title "Athleta Christi" (Champion of Christ) by Pope Sixtus IV. The Polish chronicler, Jan Długosz, hailed Ştefan after his victory in the battle by saying: "Praiseworthy hero, in no respect inferior to other hero soldiers we admire. Athleta Christi (Latin: Champion of Christ) is a title granted by the pope to men who have led military campaigns to defend Christianity. ... Sixtus IV, born Francesco della Rovere (July 21, 1414 – August 12, 1484) was Pope from 1471 to 1484, essentially a Renaissance prince, the Sixtus of the Sistine Chapel where the team of artists he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance to Rome with a masterpiece. ... Jan DÅ‚ugosz Jan DÅ‚ugosz, also known as Joannes Longinus or Joannes Dlugossius (1415-1480) was a Polish historian (a chronicler) and a secretary of Bishop Zbigniew OleÅ›nicki of Kraków. ...

He was the first contemporary among the rulers of the world to score a decisive victory against the Turks. To my mind, he is the worthiest to lead a coalition of the Christian Europe against the Turks." According to Długosz, Ştefan did not celebrate his victory; instead, he fasted for forty days on bread and water and forbade anyone to attribute the victory to him, insisting that credit be given only to "The Lord." A lord is a male who has power and authority. ...

Background

The Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed II, demanded tribute from the Romanian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, as well as their recognition of Ottoman sovereignty. Ştefan and his cousin Vlad Ţepes, of the Order of the Dragon, together with the Hungarian King, John Hunyadi, successfully fought off the Ottoman invasions, until Vlad was imprisoned by Hunyady's successor, Matthias Corvinus. The Sultan then subdued Wallachia and put Vlad's brother, Radu cel Frumos, on the throne. From 1473 onward, Ştefan started to annoy the Sultan by getting involved in Wallachian policy; first, when he announced to the Sultan that he would stop paying tribute, and secondly, when he joined other European powers in their struggle against the Porte. In 1474, Ştefan managed to replace Radu cel Frumos with the seemingly loyal Prince, Basarab Laiota. The Sultan then gave Ştefan an ultimatum to pay the five-year-old delayed tribute, and, to cede Chilia and Akkerman (Cetatea Albă) to the Porte, or face invasion. Mehmed II Mehmed II, or Muhammed II, (also known as el-Fatih, the Conqueror, in Ottoman Turkish, or, in modern Turkish, Fatih Sultan Mehmed, sometimes spelled as Mehmet) (March 30, 1432 – May 3, 1481) was first the sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to 1446... Map of Romania with Wallachia in yellow. ... Portrait of Vlad III Vlad III Dracula (also known as Vlad Å¢epeÅŸ IPA: in Romanian or Vlad the Impaler) (November/December, 1431 – December 1476) reigned as Prince of Wallachia 1448, 1456–1462 and 1476. ... The Order of the Dragon (German: Drachenorden; Latin: Societas Draconistrarum) is an order of selected nobles modeled on the Order of St. ... John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (Latin: Ioannes Corvinus, Hungarian: Hunyadi/Hunyady János, Romanian: Iancu de Hunedoara) (c. ... Matthias Corvinus (Mátyás in Hungarian), (February 23, 1443 (?) - April 6, 1490) was one of the greatest Kings of Hungary, ruling between 1458 and 1490. ... Radu cel Frumos (Radu the Handsome), (c. ... Events Ottoman sultan Mehmed II defeats the White Sheep Turkmens lead by Uzun Hasan at Otlukbeli Axayacatl, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan invades the territory of neighboring Aztec city of Tlatelolco. ... Synonym of the government of the Ottoman Empire. ... Events December 12 - Upon the death of Henry IV of Castile a civil war ensues between his designated successor Isabella I of Castile and her sister Juana who was supported by her husband, Alfonso V of Portugal. ... Chilia can mean: Chilia, a branch of the Danube Delta Chilia-, a Greek numerical prefix for 1000 This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (Ukrainian: ; Romanian: Cetatea Albă; Turkish: Akkerman; Russian: , Belgorod-Dnestrovsky; Hungarian: Nyeszterfehérvár; Italian: Moncastro) is a city in southern Ukraine. ...

Mehmed II.

The region of Bessarabia, with its capital Chilia, was Moldavia's sole access to the Black Sea coast. The port of Chilia was essential for Moldavian commerce, hosting Armenian merchants who made trade a very profitable business. To the Ottomans, having Chilia would give them a better grip on Moldavia, and also a valuable strategic point from which naval attacks could be launched against the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania; they also pursued the goal of taking control of the Black Sea (this goal was later achieved, though only briefly.) Image File history File links FatihSultanMehmet. ... Image File history File links FatihSultanMehmet. ... Old map of Bessarabia Bessarabia or Bessarabiya (Basarabia in Romanian, Besarabya in Turkish) was the name by which the Imperial Russia designated the eastern part of the principality of Moldavia annexed by Russia in 1812. ... Map of the Black Sea. ... The Jagiellon Era 1385-1572, was dominated by the union of Poland with Lithuania under the Jagiellon Dynasty, founded by the Lithuanian grand duke Jagiello. ...

Preparations for the war

The Ottomans

Mehmed ordered his great general, Suleiman Pasha, to end the siege of the fortress of Iskenderiye (Shkodër), Albania, to assemble his troops in Sofia, and from there to advance with additional troops towards Moldavia. The Ottoman army consisted of Janissaries and heavy infantry, which were supported by the heavy cavalry sipahis and light cavalry — known as Akinci, which would scout ahead; there was also Tatar cavalry and other troops (such as the Timariots ) from vassal states. In September 1474 the Ottoman army gathered in Sofia, and was joined by a Wallachian contingent under Basarab Laiota, who had changed sides in favour of the Ottomans. From there, Mehmed ordered Suleiman Pasha and Beylerbey of Rumelia to advance towards Moldavia. Shkodër Shkodër is a city located in North West Albania, in the District of Shkodër and it is the capital of the County of Shkodër. ... The city of Sofia (Bulgarian: София), at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, has a population of 1,208,930 (2003), and is the biggest city and capital of the Republic of Bulgaria. ... YOUNG GREEKS AT THE MOSQUE - This oil painting done by Jean Léon Gérôme portrays Greek Christian Youths who were taken from their parents and converted to Islam and given the finest training to became the elite of the army (Turkish yeniceri, “recruit”) Janissaries - oil painting on canvas... Woodcut by Melchior Lorch (1646), originally engraved in 1576. ... Historically, the term Tatar (or Tartar) has been ambiguously used by Europeans to refer to many different peoples of Inner Asia and Northern Asia. ... A timariot (or timar holder; timarlu in Turkish) was an irregular cavalryman that served the Ottoman sultan and in return was granted a fief called a timar. ... The city of Sofia (Bulgarian: София), at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, has a population of 1,208,930 (2003), and is the biggest city and capital of the Republic of Bulgaria. ...

Venetian documents put the number of Ottoman troops as high as 120,000, but more realistically the number would have been between 60,000 and 80,000. Of this number, about 40,000 constituted a standing army, while the rest were to be paid in booty. When they campaigned against Wallachia and Moldavia, the Ottomans usually attacked with an army of no more than 60,000.

Stephen the Great (Romanian icon).

Stefan the Great This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

The Moldavians

Ştefan was hoping to gain support from the West, and more specifically from the Pope. The help that he received was very modest in numbers. The Hungarian Kingdom sent 1,800 Hungarians and 2,000 Szekely – which were mostly infantry – and Poland sent 2,000 men. The Moldavian army consisted of twenty cannon, light cavalry (Călăraşi), elite, heavy cavalry – named Viteji, Curteni, and Boyars – and professional foot soldiers. The rest of the force, composed mainly of peasants, was recruited under Oastea Mare (the Great Army), which all able-bodied free males over fourteen had to join. They were lightly armed, mainly with bows. The army reached a strength of up to 40,000, of whom 10,000 to 15,000 comprised the standing army. The pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and leader of the Catholic Church. ... A small cast-iron cannon on a carriage A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. ... An army unit consisting of mounted soldiers are commonly known as cavalry. ... A boyar (also spelt bojar; Romanian: boier) was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Russian and Romanian aristocracy, second only to the ruling princes, from the 10th through the 17th century. ...

The battle

The invading army entered Moldavia in December 1474. Ştefan had instituted a scorched earth policy in order to inflict fatigue on the Ottomans, while harassing their advance with troops specialised in setting ambushes. Ottoman scouts reported to Suleiman that there were untouched villages near Vaslui, and the Ottomans headed for that region. The winter made it difficult to set camp, which forced the Ottomans to move quickly and head for the Moldavian capital, Suceava. In order to reach Vaslui, where the Moldavian army had its main camp, they needed to cross the Podul Înalt (High Bridge) over the River Bârlad. The area was ideal for the defenders: the bridge was not too broad, and the valley was a semi-oval surrounded by hills covered by forest on all three sides. Inside the valley the terrain was marshy, which restricted troop movement. Events December 12 - Upon the death of Henry IV of Castile a civil war ensues between his designated successor Isabella I of Castile and her sister Juana who was supported by her husband, Alfonso V of Portugal. ... A scorched earth defence is a military tactic which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy whilst advancing through or withdrawing from an area. ... An ambush is a long established military tactic in which an ambushing force uses concealment to attack an enemy that passes its position. ... Vaslui (population: 70,000) is a city in Vaslui county, Romania. ... Suceava (German Suczawa, Yiddish שאָץ Shots) is a city in the Suceava county, Bucovina, Romania. ...

On January 10 the battle began. The weather was frigid, and a dense fog limited vision. Ştefan fortifed the bridge while setting his cannon to aim at the structure. Peasants and archers were hidden in the forest, together with their Prince and his boyar cavalry. The Moldavians made the first move by sending musicians to the middle of the valley. The sound of drums and buglers made Suleiman think that the entire Moldavian army awaited him there. Instead the centre of the valley held the Moldavian professional army, which was ordered to make a slow retreat when it encountered the enemy. Suleiman ordered his troops to advance and, when they made enough progress, the Moldavian artillery started to fire, followed by archers firing from three different directions. The Moldavian light cavalry then helped to lure the Ottoman troops into the valley by making hit-and-run attacks. January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Those Ottoman soldiers who did manage to survive the attacks from the artillery and the archers, and who did not get caught in the marshes, had to confront the Moldavian army, together with the Szekely soldiers further up the valley. The Ottoman cavalry reached the Moldavians and attacked their centre, while the remaining Ottoman infantry attacked the Moldavian flanks. Suleiman tried to reinforce his offensive, but then Ştefan ordered a major attack, and all his troops, together with peasants and the heavy cavalry, attacked from all sides. The Székely (Szeklers in English, Secui in Romanian) are a Hungarian-speaking ethnic group, historically centered in the Transylvanian town of Székelyudvarhely, (now Odorheiu Secuiesc, Harghita county, Romania). ...

Simultaneously, Moldavian buglers concealed behind Ottoman lines started to sound their bugles, and in great confusion some Ottoman units changed direction to face the sound. When the Moldavian army hit, Suleiman lost control of his army and signalled a retreat. The fleeing Ottoman army was pursued by Moldavian light cavalry for days until they reached the town of Obluciţa (now Isaccea, Romania), in Dobruja. The Wallachians fled the field without joining battle. Jan Długosz writes that the majority of the Ottoman prisoners were impaled, and their corpses burned. Map of Romania showing Isaccea Isaccea (population: 5,614) is a small town in the Tulcea county, in Dobruja, Romania, on the right bank of the Danube, 35 km north-west of Tulcea. ... Dobruja, or sometimes Dobrudja (Dobrogea in Romanian, Добруджа—transliterated Dobrudzha—in Bulgarian, Dobruca in Turkish), is the territory between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, including the Danube Delta and the Romanian coast. ... Jan DÅ‚ugosz Jan DÅ‚ugosz, also known as Joannes Longinus or Joannes Dlugossius (1415-1480) was a Polish historian (a chronicler) and a secretary of Bishop Zbigniew OleÅ›nicki of Kraków. ...

Aftermath

The High Bridge

The following year the Sultan sent an even greater army, which was joined by Tatars from the Crimea, and Ştefan was defeated at the Battle of Valea Albă, Războieni. The Ottomans unsuccesfully besieged the fortresses of Suceava and Neamţ, and because their troops were suffering from a plague, the Ottomans retreated. Ştefan assembled his army and invaded Wallachia, sacking Brăila and Bucharest and freeing the principality from Ottoman dominion. In 1490, he built the church of Saint John the Baptist, in remembrance of his great victory at Vaslui (the Moldavian churches built by Ştefan are on UNESCO's World Heritage list). Image File history File links Highbridge_vaslui. ... Image File history File links Highbridge_vaslui. ... The Crimea (officially Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Russian transliteration: Avtonomnaya Respublika Krym, Russian: Автономная Республика Крым, Ukrainian: Автономна Республіка Крим, , pronounced cry-MEE-ah in English) is a peninsula and an autonomous republic of Ukraine on the northern coast of the Black Sea. ... The Battle of Valea Alba was an important battle in the medieval history of Romania. ... Suceava (German Suczawa, Yiddish שאָץ Shots) is a city in the Suceava county, Bucovina, Romania. ... Brăila is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of the Brăila county, in the close vecinity of GalaÅ£i. ... The DâmboviÅ£a River in central Bucharest Bucharest is situated on the banks of the DâmboviÅ£a river, a tributary of the Danube. ... John the Baptist (also called John the Baptizer or John the Dipper) is regarded as a prophet by at least three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Mandaeanism. ... UNESCO logo The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, commonly known as UNESCO, is a specialized agency of the United Nations system established in 1945. ...

The Ottomans would eventually conquer southern Bessarabia and incorporate it into their empire under the name of Bugeac, leaving Moldavia a landlocked vassal of the Porte until it was conquered by Mihai Viteazul. Old map of Bessarabia Bessarabia or Bessarabiya (Basarabia in Romanian, Besarabya in Turkish) was the name by which the Imperial Russia designated the eastern part of the principality of Moldavia annexed by Russia in 1812. ... Budjak, Budzhak, or Buchak (Ukrainian: Буджак [Budžak], Romanian: Bugeac, Turkish: Bucak) is the southern part of Bessarabia, now part of Odesa region of Ukraine. ... Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul) was one of the greatest of Romanias national heroes. ...

References

The Ottoman defeat was recorded by several historians, including the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz, Croatian historian Felix Petančić, Polish historian Joachim Curius (Ioachimus Cureus) in his Gentis Silesiæ annales, Ahmed bin Suleiman and Lütfi Pasha in their Tevarih-i al-i Osman (The history of the Ottoman dynasty), and Kara-Celebi-zade Abdul-Aziz efendi in his book, The garden of the virtuous one.

According to Venetian chronicles, the Ottomans lost 45,000 men, which included four pashas, one hundred standards, plus all their artillery. The Ottoman chronicler Sa's ed-Din wrote that the majority of the Turkish army was killed.

• Annales seu cronici incliti regni Poloniae by Jan Dlugosz
• Historia Pannonica ab Origine Gentis AD Annum 1495 by Antonius Bonfinius
• Letopiseţului Ţării Moldovei by Grigore Ureche
• (On the expedition roads against the Turks) by Felix Petančić
• Gentis Silesiæ annales by Joachim Curius
• Tevarih-i al-i Osman (The history of the Ottoman dynasty), by Ahmed bin Suleiman and Lütfi Pasha
• The garden of the virtuous one by Kara-Celebi-zade Abdul-Aziz efendi

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz, also known as Joannes Longinus or Joannes Dlugossius (1415-1480) was a Polish historian (a chronicler) and a secretary of Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. ... Grigore Ureche (1590 - 1647) was a Moldavian chronicler who wrote on Moldavian history in his LetopiseÅ£ul Ţării Moldovei (The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia), covering the period from 1359 to 1594. ...

External links

• Detailed article describing the strategy and the units used in the battle
• Brief history of Moldavia covering the Vaslui battle
• Short essay about Stephen the Great with a description of the Vaslui battle
• Short article describing the battle