Dragoş was the first Romanian voevode ruling over the lands of Moldavia (ruled between 1351-1353). He left Maramureş by orders from the Hungarian king in order to establish a defense line against the Golden Horde. The campaign forced the Tartars to retreat east of Dniester. He was succeeded by his son, Sas (ruled 1354-1358). Sas was then succeeded by his own son, Bâlc, in 1359, but managed to rule the country for only one year before being disposed by another Romanian voevode from Maramureş, whose name was Bogdan. The bloodline of Dragoş in the Moldavian rulership ended there. Moldavia (Moldova in Romanian) was a Romanian principality, originally created in the Middle Ages, now divided between Romania, Moldovan Republic and Ukraine. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Suko of Japan, third of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders Start of the reign of Emperor Go-Kogon of Japan, fourth of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders May 1 Zürich joins the Swiss Confederation. ... Events The Decameron was finished by Giovanni Boccaccio. ... MaramureÅŸ (Hungarian: Máramaros) is a county (judeÅ£) in the MaramureÅŸ region, northen Romania, in the North of Transylvania with the capital city at Baia-Mare (population: 149,735). ... This article refers to the Mongol state in what is now Russia. ... Events End of reign of John VI Cantacuzenus, as Byzantine emperor. ... Events Jacquerie. ... Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Orhan I (1326-1359) to Murad I (1359-1389) Berlin joins the Hanseatic League. ... Bogdan of Cuhea (aka Bogdan-Vodă; Bogdan I of Moldavia) was a voivode of MaramureÅŸ who invaded Moldavia and disposed the-then voevod of Moldavia, Prince Bâlc, grandson of DragoÅŸ. He ruled Moldavia between 1359 and 1365 and secured her independence from Hungary. ...

Legends

A Romanian legend tells about Dragoş founding Moldavia when hunting an aurochs with the help of his hound bitch, Molda. The aurochs tries to flee and Molda pursues him. When Dragoş manages to subdue the animal, he finds Molda dead, having drowned in a river. In remembrence for his dog, Dragoş named the river Moldova. The same name was later adopted for the land. This legend was supported by the Wallachian chronicler, Radu Popescu, and the Moldavian hospodar, Dimitrie Cantemir, who described the legeld in his 'Descriptio Moldaviae'. The coat of arms of Moldavia, depicting an aurochs, relates to this legend. Map of Romania with Wallachia in yellow. ... Dimitrie Cantemir (Дмитрий Кантемир in Russian, Kantemiroğlu in Turkish), (October 26, 1673 - 1723) was a Moldavian linguist and scholar. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Bojanus, 1827 The aurochs (Bos taurus) is an extinct European mammal of the Bovidae family. ...

Recorded variants of the legend have some differences: while some say that Dragoş went alone for hunting, the variant of Grigore Ureche (which is also the most detailed) says that Dragoş of Cuhea (in Maramureş), a man of royal origins was accompanied by 300 men who would later be the founders of the village of Boureni (from 'bour', meaning aurochs), the first village of the principality of Moldavia.

The veracity of the founding ("descălecat") legend has been disputed starting with the 18th century by Dimitrie Cantemir and in the 19th century, Dimitrie Onciul argued that it was just a myth that was trying to explain the coat-of-arms of Moldova, featuring the aurochs. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Dimitrie Cantemir (Дмитрий Кантемир in Russian, Kantemiroğlu in Turkish), (October 26, 1673 - 1723) was a Moldavian linguist and scholar. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Another story tells that Dragoş named Moldova after a mountain stream that his forces crossed when entering the Carpathian area. The Carpathian Convention is a framework type convention pursuing a comprehensive policy and cooperating in the protection and sustainable development of the Carpathians. ...

Legacy

• It is believed that Dragoş founded the city of Vatra Dornei in memory of a beautiful shepherdess whom he met there.
• A wooden church at Putna (33km of Rădăuţi) was raised by Dragoş in 1346; it was restored in 1468.

Vatra Dornei Well known ski resort in the north of Romania. ... The Putna monastery is one of the most important cultural,religious and artistic centers of Medieval Moldova being among with many others monasteries the creation of Prince Stephen the Great ( Stefan cel Mare ). It was founded on the lands perambulated by the Putna river which has its source in the...

See also

• Etymology of Moldova