Bogdan III the One-Eyed


Bogdan III the One-Eyed or Bogdan III the Blind was Voivode of Moldavia from July 2, 1504 to 1517.

Family

Bogdan was born in Huşi as the son of Voivode Ştefan cel Mare and his wife Maria Voichița. He was his father's only surviving legitimate son.

Conflict with Poland and Tatar incursions

Immediately after Bogdan came to the throne, he expressed his intent to marry Elisabeth, sister of Polish King Alexander the Jagiellonian. After being twice refused despite offering generous gifts, he raided southern Poland, and Alexander accepted his demands—provided that Bogdan be more lenient towards the status of the Roman Catholic Church in Moldavia—in 1506. Alexander's death and Sigismund the Old's ascendancy led to a breaking of the previous agreement, provoking further incursions on each side. In October 1509, Bogdan was severely defeated on the Dniester river; a peace was signed on January 17, 1510, when the ruler finally renounced his pretensions.
In the same year, Moldavia suffered two major Tatar devastations — in 1511, the Tatars even managed to occupy most of the country. The events forced Poland, still recovering from the great invasion of 1506, to send troops as aid, helping Bogdan regain his lands after a victory in May 1512.

Submission to Ottoman rule

In 1514, in order to block the Tatar threat by enlisting the help of a powerful overlord, Bogdan sent chancellor Tăutu to negotiate the terms of Moldavia's submission to the Ottoman Empire.
The Porte demanded that a certain sum be paid yearly, together with a ceremonial gift of 40 horses and 40 falcons, additional expenses and assistance in case of war — Princes themselves were required to lead a 4,000-strong army that would place itself under the orders of the Sultan. In exchange for these, Moldavia was allowed a high level of autonomy.

Life

Bogdan was blind in one eye, most likely after a wound received during one of his many battles. While the rules of succession to the throne did exclude an impaired individual, as însemnat, they seem to have applied just to people who had been afflicted before their candidacy to the throne, and certainly for those with congenital disorders.
He was married to Stana, Nastasia and finally to Ruxandra – daughter of Wallachian Prince Mihnea cel Rău.
He was buried next to his father in Putna Monastery.