Roman I of Moldavia
Encyclopedia
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...
from December 1391 to March 1394. He was the second son of Costea Muşat, the first ruler from the Muşatin family.
During his reign, Moldova incorporated all the territories between the Carpathians and Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
, Roman I becoming the first Moldavian ruler to call himself "voivode from the [Carpathian] mountains to the [ Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
] shore". The important fortress of Belgorod
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi is a city situated on the right bank of the Dniester Liman in the Odessa Oblast of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Bessarabia...
also came under Moldavian rule during this period.
Like the previous Moldavian rulers, he paid homage to the Polish king Władysław II Jagiełło. However, in 1393 he supported Fyodor Koriatovych
Fyodor Koriatovych
Fyodor Koriatovych was a Ruthenian prince of Lithuanian origins, son of Karijotas, Duke of Navahrudak, and grandson of Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. Fedir inherited Navahrudak Castle from his father and after his other brothers died ca. 1389, became ruler of all Podolia as a result of the...
, the prince of Podolia
Podolia
The region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...
, in the war against Władysław II and Lithuanian
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
grand duke Vytautas
Vytautas the Great
Vytautas ; styled "the Great" from the 15th century onwards; c. 1350 October 27, 1430) was one of the most famous rulers of medieval Lithuania. Vytautas was the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which chiefly encompassed the Lithuanians and Ruthenians...
. After their defeat at Braclaw, Roman was forced to give up the throne in favour of his son, Stephen I.
Roman I built the first church and fortifications in the town of 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....
, considered to be named in his honour.
He was interred in the princely church of Rădăuţi
Radauti
Rădăuţi is a municipality in Suceava County, Romania with a population of 27,759 inhabitants.-Geography and demographics:Rădăuţi is situated in Bucovina, northern Moldavia, on a plain between the Suceava and Suceviţa rivers, north from Suceava, at 375 m altitude...
.