Stephen the Great

Stephen the Great (http://www.google.ro)

Stephen the Great, as he was called by the Romanians, was an outstanding ruler of Moldavia in the 14th century. At that time, our country was divided into three provinces, Moldavia in the east, Wallachia at the south of the Carpathian Mountains, and Transylvania in the central and northwestern part of the territory of today's Romania. From historical point of view he was Stephen III of the House of Musat, Prince of Moldavia, and ruled Moldavia between 1457- 1504. He was born in 1433 in a small village called Borzesti, in a family of boyars, and his father also ruled Moldavia for two years, but was assassinated.

I consider Stephen a hero because he fought for his country and he did any sacrifice to defend his people from the Ottoman invasions. During his reign, Moldavia went through a period of flourishing, his people were proud to have such a brave ruler and were ready to die under his command in the battles against the invasions of the Ottoman, Hungary and Poland Empires. Due to his skills of a good leader, an excellent politician, strategist and diplomat, he managed to keep Moldavia a state with almost equal rights, and entered the history for these qualities.

The period he ruled Moldavia was a very agitated one, permanently being threatened by the powerful neighbours, so he constantly had to fight against them. Thus, he managed to reject the the invasions, defeating the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus in the Battle of Baia, in 1467. Later he defeated the Ottoman army led by Sultan Mehmed II, winning the Battle of Vaslui, in 1745, and this victory stopped the Ottoman expansion for a while. The history mentions his participation in 48 wars and battles, most of them (44) being won by him, so this is another reason why I consider him a real hero. The legends say that he built a church or a monastery after each battle, but on the map of Moldavia appear 44 churches and monasteries. Due to his great heroism and dedication to his people, his courage and the love he showed to his country, also a defender of Christianity and faith, at the end of the 20th century he was canonized by the Romanian Orthodox Church and now he is called "Saint Voivode Stephen the great". He was buried at Putna Monastery, one of the many churches built by him in Moldavia.

This is my hero, I am proud that such a ruler existed in my country and in my opinion he can stay next to any great leader of the world.