Petru Rares
Encyclopedia
Peter IV Rareș was twice voievod of Moldavia
: 20 January 1527 to 18 September 1538 and 19 February 1541 to 3 September 1546. He was an illegitimate child born (probably at Hârlău
) to Ștefan cel Mare
. His mother was Maria Răreșoaia of Hârlău, whose existence is not historically documented but who is said to have been the wife of a wealthy boyar
fish-merchant nicknamed Rareș "rare-haired" (i.e., bald). Rareș thus was not Petru’s actual name but a nickname of his mother’s husband.
Petru exhibited many of his father’s qualities: ambition, daring, bravery, piety, artistic taste. However, he was marked by inconstancy and a lack of political instincts.
In the Hungarian battles between Ferdinand Habsburg
and John Zápolya, he initially sided with Ferdinand, but when the Ottomans awarded recognition to Zápolya, he switched allegiances. In exchange for the citadel of Bistrița
, he entered Transylvania
on Zápolya's side and crushed Ferdinand at Feldioara
on 22 June 1529. Zápolya then gave him Ungurașul but in spite of the efforts made Rareș was unable to occupy Bistrița. Neither could he subdue Brașov
, which he besieged again in October for several weeks. Thus he was far from realizing his plan of ruling Transylvania. He had to content himself with Ciceu
and Cetatea de Baltă
, ruled by his father, and with the bishopric of Vad.
He then shifted his attention to Poland
and in 1530 occupied Pokuttya
. The Polish general Jan Tarnowski
soon reconquered it, but when Petru re-entered Pokuttya, he was defeated by Tarnowski through superior tactics at Obertyn
on 22 August 1531.
Events forced him to return to Transylvania. Here, the Ottomans had dispatched an Italian adventurer, Ludovico Gritti, to restore order. Transylvanian voievod István Majláth and the country’s nobles forced him to close himself in Mediaș
. Since Petru had received orders from the sultan to free Gritti, he sent his trusted vassal Huru to do the job. However, instead of helping Gritti, Huru lured him out and delivered him to his enemies, who killed him on the spot. Rareș then killed Gritti’s sons, who had entered Moldova. The Ottomans could not presently retaliate, being occupied in Persia, so Petru was free to continue his intrigues between Ferdinand and Zápolya. The Poles tried in vain to have him replaced in 1538, appealing to the sultan to punish him. Then the over-zealous Petru, deserted by his own boyars, his capital Iași
ablaze, and faced with a Turkish-Tatar-Polish army headed by Suleiman the Magnificent
, who was bringing Ştefan Lăcustă to the throne, had to flee to his Transylvanian fortress of Ciceu.
It is said that, during this flight, Rareş wandered for two weeks in the impassable forests of Transylvania, with difficulty making his way through spiny vegetation and ancient bushes and trees. Overcome by hunger, thirst, shock and despair, he was seen by a group of fishermen. Since he himself had been a fisherman, he was recognized and they sheltered and cared for him. Once he had recovered, his hosts garbed him in fishermen’s clothes and showed him a shortcut to his citadel.
It took over two years and various political changes in Transylvania and Moldova before Petru was able to gain the sultan’s forgiveness and regain the Moldovan throne in early 1541. Entering the country, he captured voievod Alexandru Cornea and his faithful boyars and killed them. Now, however, he was no longer trusted to wage wars, especially because he no longer retained his special links with Muntenia, his son-in-law Vlad VII Vintilă having been slain. Nor could he take back the Budjak
, occupied by Suleiman, nor even the citadels of Ciceu and Cetatea de Baltă, except as simple fiefdoms (which he did in 1544), for their walls had been razed by George Martinuzzi
.
In 1541, Rareş caught Transylvanian voievod István Majláth at Făgăraş
, on the sultan’s orders, and sent him to Constantinople. In 1542 he tried unsuccessfully to take Bistriţa. Another failure was his enthusiastic involvement in plans for a crusade by Christian princes against the Ottomans. He lent the head of the proposed crusade, Joachim II of Brandenburg, 200,000 florins, but the initiative was abandoned when Buda
was besieged in 1542 and Rareş died, still a Turkish vassal, on 3 September 1546. He is buried in the monastery that he endowed, Probota Monastery.
On the ecclesiastical and artistic front, he continued the tradition inherited from Ştefan cel Mare. Aided by his wife Jelena, he built or repaired numerous churches, including in Baia
, Botoşani
, Hârlău
, Târgu Frumos
and Roman
. His most beautiful achievement is considered to be Probota Monastery.
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
: 20 January 1527 to 18 September 1538 and 19 February 1541 to 3 September 1546. He was an illegitimate child born (probably at Hârlău
Hârlau
Hârlău is a town in Iaşi County, Moldavia, Romania. the estimated population is 11,271. It was the capital city of Moldova in the 15th century. One village, Pârcovaci, is administered by the town.-Population:...
) to Ștefan cel Mare
Stephen III of Moldavia
Stephen III of Moldavia was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 and the most prominent representative of the House of Mușat.During his reign, he strengthened Moldavia and maintained its independence against the ambitions of Hungary, Poland, and the...
. His mother was Maria Răreșoaia of Hârlău, whose existence is not historically documented but who is said to have been the wife of a wealthy boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
fish-merchant nicknamed Rareș "rare-haired" (i.e., bald). Rareș thus was not Petru’s actual name but a nickname of his mother’s husband.
Petru exhibited many of his father’s qualities: ambition, daring, bravery, piety, artistic taste. However, he was marked by inconstancy and a lack of political instincts.
First period of rule
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
and John Zápolya, he initially sided with Ferdinand, but when the Ottomans awarded recognition to Zápolya, he switched allegiances. In exchange for the citadel of Bistrița
Bistrita
Bistrița is the capital city of Bistriţa-Năsăud County, Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistriţa River. The city has a population of approximately 80,000 inhabitants, and it administers six villages: Ghinda, Sărata, Sigmir, Slătiniţa, Unirea and Viişoara.-History:The earliest sign of...
, he entered Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
on Zápolya's side and crushed Ferdinand at Feldioara
Feldioara
Feldioara is a Romanian commune located in Transylvania, very close to Braşov . It is composed of three villages: Colonia Reconstrucţia , Feldioara and Rotbav ....
on 22 June 1529. Zápolya then gave him Ungurașul but in spite of the efforts made Rareș was unable to occupy Bistrița. Neither could he subdue Brașov
Brasov
Brașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania....
, which he besieged again in October for several weeks. Thus he was far from realizing his plan of ruling Transylvania. He had to content himself with Ciceu
Ciceu
Ciceu , or colloquially Csicsó, Hungarian pronunciation:) is a commune in Romania, located in Harghita County. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania...
and Cetatea de Baltă
Cetatea de Balta
Cetatea de Baltă is a commune in Alba County, Romania with a population of 3217. It is located between Târnăveni at 15 kilometers and Blaj at 21 kilometers on the county road DJ 117...
, ruled by his father, and with the bishopric of Vad.
He then shifted his attention to Poland
Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)
The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...
and in 1530 occupied Pokuttya
Pokuttya
Pokuttya or Pokuttia is a historical area of East-Central Europe, between upper Prut and Cheremosh rivers, in modern Ukraine. Historically it was a culturally distinct area inhabitated by Ukrainians and Romanians on the previously unpopulated borderlands between the lands of Lviv and Halych...
. The Polish general Jan Tarnowski
Jan Tarnowski
Jan Amor Tarnowski was a Polish szlachcic . He was Grand Crown Hetman from 1527 and was the founder of the city of Tarnopol, where he built the Ternopil Castle and the Ternopil Lake....
soon reconquered it, but when Petru re-entered Pokuttya, he was defeated by Tarnowski through superior tactics at Obertyn
Battle of Obertyn
The Battle of Obertyn was fought between Moldavian Prince Petru Rareş and Polish King Zygmunt Stary, in the town of Obertyn, north of the Dniester River, now in Ukraine. The battle ended with a Polish victory and the reconquest of Pokutia....
on 22 August 1531.
Events forced him to return to Transylvania. Here, the Ottomans had dispatched an Italian adventurer, Ludovico Gritti, to restore order. Transylvanian voievod István Majláth and the country’s nobles forced him to close himself in Mediaș
Medias
Mediaș is the second largest city in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania.-Geographic location:Mediaș is located in the middle basin of Târnava Mare River, at 39 km from Sighișoara and 41 km from Blaj. The health resort Bazna, officially recognized for the first time in 1302, is...
. Since Petru had received orders from the sultan to free Gritti, he sent his trusted vassal Huru to do the job. However, instead of helping Gritti, Huru lured him out and delivered him to his enemies, who killed him on the spot. Rareș then killed Gritti’s sons, who had entered Moldova. The Ottomans could not presently retaliate, being occupied in Persia, so Petru was free to continue his intrigues between Ferdinand and Zápolya. The Poles tried in vain to have him replaced in 1538, appealing to the sultan to punish him. Then the over-zealous Petru, deserted by his own boyars, his capital Iași
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
ablaze, and faced with a Turkish-Tatar-Polish army headed by Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
, who was bringing Ştefan Lăcustă to the throne, had to flee to his Transylvanian fortress of Ciceu.
It is said that, during this flight, Rareş wandered for two weeks in the impassable forests of Transylvania, with difficulty making his way through spiny vegetation and ancient bushes and trees. Overcome by hunger, thirst, shock and despair, he was seen by a group of fishermen. Since he himself had been a fisherman, he was recognized and they sheltered and cared for him. Once he had recovered, his hosts garbed him in fishermen’s clothes and showed him a shortcut to his citadel.
Second period of rule
Budjak
Budjak or Budzhak is a historical region in the Odessa Oblast of Ukraine. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube and Dniester rivers this multiethnic region was the southern part of Bessarabia...
, occupied by Suleiman, nor even the citadels of Ciceu and Cetatea de Baltă, except as simple fiefdoms (which he did in 1544), for their walls had been razed by George Martinuzzi
George Martinuzzi
George Martinuzzi was a Croatian nobleman, a monk, bishop of Oradea, archbishop of Esztergom, cardinal and Hungarian statesman.-Biography:Martinuzzi was born in Kamičac, Dalmatia...
.
In 1541, Rareş caught Transylvanian voievod István Majláth at Făgăraş
Fagaras
Făgăraș is a city in central Romania, located in Braşov County . Another source of the name is alleged to derive from the Hungarian language word for "partridge" . A more plausible explanation is that the name is given by Fogaras river coming from the Pecheneg "Fagar šu", which means ash water...
, on the sultan’s orders, and sent him to Constantinople. In 1542 he tried unsuccessfully to take Bistriţa. Another failure was his enthusiastic involvement in plans for a crusade by Christian princes against the Ottomans. He lent the head of the proposed crusade, Joachim II of Brandenburg, 200,000 florins, but the initiative was abandoned when Buda
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
was besieged in 1542 and Rareş died, still a Turkish vassal, on 3 September 1546. He is buried in the monastery that he endowed, Probota Monastery.
On the ecclesiastical and artistic front, he continued the tradition inherited from Ştefan cel Mare. Aided by his wife Jelena, he built or repaired numerous churches, including in Baia
Baia
Baia is a commune in the Suceava County, Romania with a population of 6,793 . It is composed of two villages, Baia and Bogata. Located on the Moldova River, it was one of the earliest urban settlements in Moldavia, originally inhabited by Germans...
, Botoşani
Botosani
Botoșani is the capital city of Botoșani County, in northern Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu and Nicolae Iorga.- Origin of the name :...
, Hârlău
Hârlau
Hârlău is a town in Iaşi County, Moldavia, Romania. the estimated population is 11,271. It was the capital city of Moldova in the 15th century. One village, Pârcovaci, is administered by the town.-Population:...
, Târgu Frumos
Târgu Frumos
Târgu Frumos is a town in Iaşi County, Moldavia, Romania. it has a population of 13,619...
and Roman
Roman, Romania
Roman is a mid-sized city, having the title of municipality, located in the central part of Moldavia, a traditional region of Romania. It is located 46 km east of Piatra Neamţ, in the Neamţ County at the confluence of Siret and Moldova rivers....
. His most beautiful achievement is considered to be Probota Monastery.
Children
- With Maria, killed 28 June 1529:
- Bogdan (d. 3 September 1534)
- Ana (d. 1545), wife of Wallachian prince Vlad VII ÎnecatulVlad ÎnecatulVlad VI of Wallachia was the voivode [prince] who ruled Wallachia between June 1530 and September 1532. He has been historically referenced as Vlad Înecatul ["Vlad the Drowned"], as a description of the manner of his death....
- Maria (d. 1614) wife of boyar Radu Balică, then of Ioan Movilă of Hudeşti, whom she bore the princes of Wallachia and of Moldavia, respectively Ieremia MovilăIeremia MovilaIeremia Movilă was a Hospodar of Moldavia between August 1595 and May 1600, and again between September 1600 and July 10, 1606.-Rule:...
and Simion I MovilăSimion MovilaSimion Movilă, a boyar of the Movileşti family, was twice Prince of Wallachia and Prince of Moldavia on one occasion .... - Chiajna (ca. 1525–1588, Constantinople), wife of Wallachian prince Mircea V CiobanulMircea CiobanulMircea the Shepherd was the Prince of Wallachia three times: January 1545 –16 November 1552; May 1553–28 February 1554 ; and January 1558–21 September 1559.-Biography:He was the fifth son of Radu cel Mare...
- With SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n princess Jelena Branković (ca. 1502–1552 (strangled)), daughter of despot Jovan BrankovićJovan BrankovićJovan Branković was the titular Despot of Serbia from 1496 until his death in 1502. He held the title of despot given to him by Vladislas II of Hungary, and ruled a region known as Racszag under the Kingdom of Hungary...
, married to Rareş in 1530:- Ilie II RareşIlie II RaresIlie II Rareş was Prince of Moldavia between 1546 and 1551.He succeeded his father Petru IV Rareş on September 3, 1546, after he converted to Islam, and took the name Mehmet in May 1546. In 1551 by order of Suleyman I was burgle in Transylvania. The transylvanians before long to defeat the...
, (b. 1531), prince of Moldavia - Ştefan VI RareşStefan VI RaresŞtefan Rareş was ruler of Moldavia in 1551 and 1552.Ştefan was a son of Petru Rareş and succeeded to the Moldavian throne on 11 June 1551 when his brother Ilie II Rareş was forced to abdicate by the Ottoman Empire....
(b. 1532), prince of Moldavia - Constantin (1542 – 26 March 1554, Constantinople)
- Ruxandra (d. 1570), wife of Moldavian prince Alexandru IV LăpuşneanuAlexandru LapusneanuAlexandru Lăpuşneanu was Prince of Moldavia between September 1552 and 18 November 1561 and then between October 1564 and 5 May 1568....
- Ilie II Rareş
- With the SaxonTransylvanian SaxonsThe Transylvanian Saxons are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania from the 12th century onwards.The colonization of Transylvania by Germans was begun by King Géza II of Hungary . For decades, the main task of the German settlers was to defend the southeastern border of the...
Ecatarina of KronstadtBrasovBrașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania....
(illegitimate issue):- Iancu SasulIancu SasulIancu Sasul or Ioan Vodă V was the bastard son of Petru Rareş from his relationship with the wife of Braşov Transylvanian Saxon Iorg Weiss, and Prince of Moldavia between November 1579 and September 1582.-Bid for the throne:Let in on the secret of his lineage by his mother, Iancu...
, prince of Moldavia
- Iancu Sasul
- With an unknown woman (illegitimate issue):
- Bogdan Constantin (d. 1573), pretender to the Moldavian throne