Romanian history / Dragoș I / Episode 14

 Dear Steemians,

I present today Dragoș I a leader of Moldavia (Romania)

 Dragoş I is known from the Moldavian chronicles as a tracer in Moldavia and her first Voivode, between 1347 - 1354.

Noble Family : The Drăgoşeştilor family

From the Chronicles we find out that the Romanian voivode Dragoş was hunting and following a zimbru, he passed from Maramureş to the water of Moldova. He liked the place, sat there and populated the country with Romanians from Maramures.

Dragoş I was the cousin of the former voivode Codrea, leader of the Romanian feudal political feudal formation, large Romanian feudalists from Maramureş, who in the 14th century ruled the vast and powerful Câmpulungul valley Cnezat on Tisa. Sarasau, it was for some time the center of the territorial clergy, which consisted of approx. 1618 settlements.

In the political context of that time, Dragoş is faithful to the King of Hungary, Ludovic I of Anjou, surnamed "the Great," the sovereign of Buda. A brave warrior and a skilled leader of the armies, who enjoyed the king's appreciation, gave him a great deal of confidence.

 He calls him, due to his skill in the war of war, among the chiefs of the military expeditions carried out between the summer of 1343 and the spring of 1354 by his armies against the Tartars ruling over Moldova.

Dragos I to the aurochs hunt

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In their conflict with the Golden Horde, the Hungarians were blessed and on the permanent struggle of the Estonian feudal Romanian feudal formations (which emerged from the 13th century), brought against the Tartar domination.

At the end of 1346, the southern region of Moldova was released.

In the liberated territory, where there were, in fact, a few important Romanians, the Hungarian kingdom proceeded to organize a trade mark (territorial-political and military unit), which was meant to defend the eastern boundaries of the Hungarian kingdom.

As a reward for the service to the Hungarian crown, the Maramurean prince receives, in 1347, from King Louis the Great, its leadership and, at the same time, the task of continuing the battles with the Tatars.

His appointment was made with the consent of the leaders of the Romanian native population, interested in the expulsion of the Tatars, but, and pleased with the fact that Dragos was the same with them.

Dragoș, Voivode of Moldavia

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Dragos I stopped in the valley of Bistrita, where, on a space between Bistrita, Nechid and Tazlau, or in time, more than twenty villages, this place being known for centuries under the name of "Field of Dragoş ".

Then Dragos was concerned about the strengthening and expansion of his dominion, releasing in a short time, but after extremely difficult confrontations, the Moldavian lands between the Carpathians and the Siret.

The ease with which he managed to achieve his goals was also due to the earlier commencement of the process of unification of the heretics, which was done around the existing one on the valley of the Moldavian river (which was connected to Maramureş through the Prislop step), on the territory of which and the trademark of Dragos.

The seal of Baia - the first capital of the country of Moldavia

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This unification continued in the time of Dragoş I, by joining the mentioned census and the other prestate formations, on the valley of Moldavia and Bistrita, which he gradually liberated from the rule of the Tatars.

Until the desertification of the northern part of Moldova, the capital of the future Moldovan state was maintained in Baia, which was, apparently, the first domicile in Moldova.

Extending and consolidating, a dominion that can be considered a true Moldavia, Dragoş moves his residence to Siret, where he takes a series of administrative measures (among others, he builds a fortress of land and an Orthodox stone church here) .

Wooden church from Volovăţ (Volhovăţ) 1346, seen today

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In addition to its massive participation in military operations meant to remove the Tatar dangers from the gates of Europe, the Romanian voivode has laid the foundations of new localities, creating a large feudal area whose residence was the village Volovăţ (formerly known as Volhovăţ ), founded by his subjects, coming from the village of Marhureş Olhovt, who accompanied him on Moldovan lands.

In 1353, Dragos ordered the construction of a wooden church (considered as the oldest princely church in Moldova), which the great Stephen would bring to Putna, building in its place between 1500 and 1502 another stone.

Born by the multitude of worries and years, he will associate with his son Sas, who, after the death of Dragoş, will take over the rule of his rule, ruling until the autumn of 1363, when he will be defeated in a short but bloody battle, and was taken prisoner, along with a large part of his relatives, by the Maramurean voivode Bogdan of Cuhea (the future ruler Bogdan I, the founder of the medieval state of Moldova).

Dragos will cease to live in 1354, aged over seventy years, finding rest in the modest building of Volovăţ.

Moldova with the true dynasty, that of Drăgoşeşti, now begins to be nothing more than a mere border marker, governed by the Hungarian king through its governors.

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