a monument of romanian medieval civilization-libre

8/16/2019 A Monument of Romanian Medieval Civilization-libre

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National University of Arts, Bucharest

Faculty of Art History and TheoryScientific PhD

PhD Dissertation(abstract)

SCIENTIFIC COORDINATOR

Acad. Răzvan Theodorescu PhD STUDENTVitalie Josanu

BUCHAREST

2013


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National University of Arts, Bucharest

Faculty of Art History and TheoryScientific PhD

PhD Dissertation

A Monument of Romanian Medieval

Civilization by the Great Sea:

Cetatea Alba - Moncastro

SCIENTIFIC COORDINATOR

Acad. Răzvan Theodorescu PhD STUDENT

Vitalie Josanu


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Key words: Cetatea Alba, Moncastro, Akkerman, Asprocastro, Belgorod, Moldavia, Black Sea,

The Byzantine Empire, The Golden Horde, The Genoese trade, Bessarabia, fortification, theRomanian medieval art, Moldovan commercial road, Genoa, Venice, Caffa, Constantinople,

Hungary, Poland, Walachia, Lvov, Trebizond, urban history, the medieval urban autonomy,

Armenians, Romanians, the Ottoman Empire.

Table of ContentsAbbreviations .................................................................................................................................. 5

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 6

Chapter 1: The Economic Revival of the Black Sea from Breaking the Byzantine Monopoly tothe Constitution of the Genoese Colonial System ........................................................................ 22

a.

All Roads Lead to... Constantinople ........................................................................... 22

b.

The First Steps towards Establishing the Genoese Monopoly on the Great Sea ....... 34

c.

Another Decision Factor in the Black Sea: the Mongols ............................................... 43

d. The Genoese Consolidation in the Black Sea ............................................................. 57

e. The Decline of the Mongols’ Power ............................................................................... 70

Chapter 2: Cetatea Alba – Moncastro in the Context of European Economy, from the TartarRuling until the Instauration of the Moldavian State’s Control .................................................... 79

a.

The Establishment of Commercial Networks Towards the Lower Danube ................ 79

b.

The Increase of the Commercial Importance of Cetatea Alba during the middle of the

14th

Century, in the context of the disintegration of the Golden Horde................................ 83

c. The Organization and Exploitation of the Moldavian commercial road ........................... 88

d.

Trading in Cetatea Alba..................................................................................................... 95

e. Several politico-religious implications, also influenced by trading ................................ 123

Chapter 3: The Exclusion of the Tartars and the Expansion of the Moldavian Authority to theBlack Sea .................................................................................................................................... 128

a.

The Anti-Tatar Offensive for Conquering the North-Western Pontic Coastline ............. 133

b. The Essence of Cetatea Alba’s Political Autonomy ......................................................... 147

c. Parathalassia under the Authority of the Moldavian Country ........................................ 159

d. Another Important Episode for the Assertion and the Consolidation of the Romanian

Statehood at the East of the Carpathians: the foundation of the Moldavian Metropolitanate

16

Chapter 4: The Moldavian Country Fighting for the Defence of Its Borders ............................. 214

a.

Around the Treaty of Lublin ............................................................................................. 214

b. The First Moldavian-Ottoman Battle and Its Implications.............................................. 223

c. The Watershed Years: the dynastic crisis between 1432 and 1457 ................................. 233


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Chapter 5: The Moldavian Country and the late crusade or the price of Kilia and Cetatea Alba

..................................................................................................................................................... 243

a. The Increase of the Ottoman Danger............................................................................... 243

b.

Stefan cel Mare and the Preparations for the Anti-Ottoman Defensive .......................... 252

1457-1470 ............................................................................................................................ 278

c. “Athleta Christi”, Defender of the Moldavian Country .................................................. 278

Chapter 6: The Last Stage of the Ottoman Project for Closing the Black Sea: .......................... 281

The Fall of Kilia and Cetatea Alba ............................................................................................. 294

a. Turkish Military Preparations ......................................................................................... 304

b. The Sieges that Changed the Fate of Moldavia ............................................................... 311

c. “My Lord, you whose thought is impenetrable, might there still be a hope or are we going

to perish now altogether?” (Miron Costin) ......................................................................... 311

Chapter 7: The Artistic Thesaurus of Cetatea Alba until the End of the 15 th century ................ 362

a.

The Building Stages of Cetatea Alba ............................................................................... 408

b.

The Fortified Complex: Defensive Furniture, Functionality, Origins ............................. 448

c. Civilization and art in the Moldavian Country, 14th

and 15th

centuries .......................... 450

Chapter 8: About the Issues of Cetatea Alba .............................................................................. 480

a. On Cetatea Alba’s Toponymy .......................................................................................... 506

b. On Cetatea Alba’s Political and Juridical Statute .......................................................... 521

c. The Castellans of Cetatea Alba........................................................................................ 538

Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 559


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Argument

The issue of Cetatea Alba [“The White Fortress”] constitutes an extensive research topic,as well as a challenging and varied matter inherently related to the history of the Moldavian

Country. In line with a current tendency – that can be felt in Romania – of bringing up

monographic historical studies exclusively dedicated to a certain area or monument, an initialassessment might make the topic seem common. Furthermore, the references to the baseline

study signed by Nicolae Iorga, Historical studies over Kilia and Cetatea Alba, published in

1899, seem to discourage any other enterprise in this direction today. And still, the subsequent

development of these researches has proved that the issue has not been exhausted and that it does

require further developments. It was not by coincidence that, shortly after Nicolae Iorga hadpublished his work, another great historian, George I. Bratianu, brought up a new fundamental

study concerning Cetatea Alba, which is Recherches sur Vicina et Cetatea Alba. Contributions à

l’ histoire de la domination byzantine et tatare et du commerce génois sur le littoral roumain dela Mer Noire. Both authors have added more than once remarks or clarifications upon the same

issue, and, also, other remarkable and mostly unprecedented studies have adjoined their works

while they were yet alive.The communist regime – with all its restrictions on matters regarding the Romanian

territories occupied by the Soviet Union – did not manage to hinder the Romanian historians’

interest for Cetatea Alba, and, after 1989, the topic returns at the forefront of historiographicaldebates. One can mention here the following problems: the still vigorous debates regarding the

continuity between Tyras and Cetatea Alba, and, implicitly, regarding the origin and the founders

of the fortification; the double toponym Cetatea Alba/Cetatea Neagra [“The White

Fortress”/”The Black Fortress”]; the stages of construction of the fortified ensemble (despite thestudy published by the architect Mariana Slapac) have still not been clarified; the incidental

presence of Demetrius at Cetatea Alba; the martyrdom of Saint Ioan cel Nou [The New John], its

location and the chronological considerations; the historical context in which The Moldavian

Country extended its power to the “middle sea” and its political connotations; the city’s politico -

legal statute in the Moldavian Country (the ASPROCASTRU monetary emissions; the Venetian

vice-consul at Moncastro, in 1435; the conquest of Lerici Castle by the people of Moncastro cityin 1455, without the knowledge of the Moldavian Ruler, and so on); the two lists of the fortress’scastellans succession asserted by I. Bogdan and N. Stoicescu show inconsistencies, and so on.

Besides all these debates, new chapters on “The Black Sea Art” – seen in lapidary sculpture and

architecture – and its eradiation towards the Moldavian Country through Cetatea Alba have beenopened; there seem to be new opportunities to identify the rulers of Moncastro community,

reconsidering the historical sources; shaping the hinterland constitutes a new issue; new attempts

to locate the mysterious Lerici castle and other incident topics have occurred.

The mere comparison of Cetatea Alba’s fortifications with other medieval stonefortresses from the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic area highlights the most complex architectural

monument of this kind in the Romanian space. Only the preserved plans of Kilia reveal some


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similarities, but at a reduced scale. A recent analysis shows that the fortifications of the fortress

on the Dniester River present every model of tower known in the 15th

century. Moreover, thestorey layout of the curtains and the other defensive elements behind them is one of the most

advanced techniques of the era and includes the fortress in the Constantinopolitan models

category. It is a landmark where the novelties of the era in fortress building have been initiated

and implemented.Besides the overall aspect of the fortified ensemble, another testimony is the inscription

from 1454 that places Cetatea Alba among the first medieval stone fortresses in Europe where,

after only one year following the fall of Constantinople, measures for adjusting the place forartillery had been taken and completed. Building works at Cetatea Alba, lasting for 30 years,

until the conquest in 1484, are frequently mentioned in Ottoman chronicles and are also

confirmed by other inscriptions, added at the end of different stages of the resort’s expansionschedule. The experiences acquired here have been useful and have represented the primary

inspiring sources that led to the constitution of the second Stefanian stage, among other things,

identified by exterior yards, bounded by bastion belts, added to the old rectangular forts of

Cetatea de Scaun a Sucevei [“The Capital Fortress of Suceava”] and Cetatea Neamtului [“The

Fortress of Neamt”] and even to the integral building of Cetatea Noua a Romanului [“The NewFortress of Roman”] and that of Kilia Noua [“New Kilia”]. Certainly, a monument of such

complexity and with such a wide surface required significant financial investments as well ashuman capital and with completely rightful reasons.

The major political actors of 15th century south-east Europe have left a few important

testimonies that highlight the place that the north-west Pontic regiune had among their political

priorities. At least three of them deserve to be quoted: the conqueror of Byzantium, the Turkishsultan Mehmed II declared that “as long as Kilia and Cetatea Alba belong to Romanians and the

Serbian Belgrade to the Hungarians we will not be able to defeat the Giaours”; the master of the

first two urban centres, Stefan cel Mare [Steven the Great] claimed through his embassador atVenice, Ioan Tamblac (8th May 1477), that “these two counties represent the whole of Moldavia

and that Moldavia, holding these counties, is a barrier for Hungary and Poland (...) if these two

fortresses are to be held, it might be possible that the Turks lose Caffa and Chersonesos as well.

And it would be easy”; the next Ottoman sultan, who managed – in July-August 1484 – to fulfilMehmed II’s goal of seizing the Black Sea, Bayezid II, utters his belief that Cetatea Alba “ is the

key to defeating the Polacks, the Czechs, the Russians and the Hungarians, a trade centre for the

neighboring lands (...), this victory has made future successive conquests possible for us, as ithas opened our way towards the Polacks and the Czechs, and the Russians and the Hungarians.

The advancement has now become simple, and sending reinforcements – without difficulty.”

The following events proved that the sultan had been right; after the conquests in 1484,the Danubian front was neutralized and Moldavia obeyed to the Ottoman Empire (1486); the

Genoese retreated from the Black Sea; the forces of the Ottoman Empire were unleashed

unhindered and managed to conquer the Serbian Belgrad in August 1521; Hungary became a

Pashalik, Transylvania became an autonomous principality (after the battle of Mohacs in 1521),the Turkish coming to a halt at Vienna in 1529; the Polish-Lithuanian state became a neighbour

of the Ottoman Empire and so the Polish-Ottoman confrontations begun, which had a decisive

role in the gradual unraveling of the kingdom.

The Moldavian Country – during its first decades – was recognized as a subject ofinternational law in the Orthodox-Byzantine environment due to Cetatea Alba, and this was

happening while the Kingdom of Hungary was not only refusing to accept the heirs of Bogdan I


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– who was obstinately named “infidelis” – as dialogue partners, but instead forwarded its own

claims over the young state at the east of Carpathians. The tense relations with the HungarianKingdom, which was invested by the papality with important Christian missions – in spite of the

fact that Latcu had become a Catholic, which was seen as an attempt to approach and to reach

direct political recognition from Rome1 – practically contributed to obstructing the liaisons with

Rome and with the rest of the Western world. Not even Stefan cel Mare – so much praised by thePope and greeted as an “athlete of Christ”, despite the direct diplomatic relations – did enjoy the

attention of Rome but through the disadvantageous mediation of Matthias Corvinus.

Since, until the age of Alexandru cel Bun [Alexander the Good], any conciliation with theHungarian royalty would have meant the actual abolition of the state – an outcome which might

have occurred as per the treaty of Lublin, in 1412 – , the Moldavian Country was forced to turn

towards the Kingdom of Poland from the start, during a time when, in the south, the connection

with Constantinople was anathemized for Moldavians’ insistence on having “vladica Iosif”(Bishop Joseph) on the Mitropolitan chair. He was a member of the Moldavian ruling family,

and he had been at first the head of the episcopate in Asprokastron, diocese that had been

founded after 1371 – yet outside Latcu I’s political domination – , and that had played, before all,

the catalytic role of Moldavian unification. Due to the Moldavian supervision imposed onParatalassia through Cetatea Alba, which was an outlet for the Polish merchandise at the Black

Sea, Petru I Musatinul (Peter I Musat) had the legal and political basis for a close partnershipwith the king of Poland.

The entitling of Alexandru cel Bun draws attention here, as it includes a name which was

distinct from the other known regions, Parathalasia – meaning “seashore”; Roman indicated by

his title the control over this region, named in Slavic words “ ”. By far, the situationin itself is similar to the one of the Romanian Country [Wallachia] after Dobrogea [Dobruja] was

annexed, when Mircea cel Batran [Mircea the Old] insisted on specifying legally the political

action by assuming the title of despot of the former dynasts from Dobrogea as well, with itsentire political weight and legitimacy. In the Moldavian Country, after the annexation of

Parathalassia, with the centre at Cetatea Alba – as Laonicus Chalkokondyles had remembered,

according to a late tradition – the voivode or the prince of Suceava assumed the name

“ ”, which was the Slavonic translation of the Greek autocrator. Just like in the

case of the Romanian Country, the voievodes or the princes of Moldavia expanded their ruling

over a historical region, Parathalasia, with a certain political identity recognized by

Constantinople, the true centre of the south-eastern European medieval world, who could place

the Caesar’s mantle on the shoulders of those who needed legitimacy. A reference to SultanMehmed II and his descendants, who, after the conquest of Constantinople in May 1453,

substituted the Basileus and asserted that they were legitimate unifiers of the former dominion of

the Byzantine Empire – others being treated as usurpers (see, for example, the situation of

Gheorghe Brancovici of Serbia) – , can only reinforce the above remark.

Cetatea Alba was the maritime outlet of the trading route that crossed the MoldavianCountry, from Poland and from Hansa merchants’ world towards the Genoese colonial system on

the Black Sea, its intensity having as effect the development of the Romanian country from theEast of Carpathians. The building and the urban development, the development of craftsmanship

and trade, the acknowledgment of the Moldavian Metropolitan Church, even the political

1We can refer here to, for example, the case of Louis IV of Bavaria (1314-1347), over which pope Ioan XXII cast an

anathema and interdicted his naming together with his royal title. Kel’nskaja korolevskaja hronika ( CHRONICA

REGIA COLONIENSIS), http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus8/Koeln_Koengs_Chr/frametext8.htm.

http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus8/Koeln_Koengs_Chr/frametext8.htmhttp://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus8/Koeln_Koengs_Chr/frametext8.htmhttp://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus8/Koeln_Koengs_Chr/frametext8.htmhttp://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus8/Koeln_Koengs_Chr/frametext8.htm


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recognition and the actual being of the state, the economic and military capacity, the finalization

of the country’s defence system at the end of the 15th

century, the support for the “late crusade”,the acceptance of the Ottoman suzerainty etc., all these led to the gates of this important

Romanian city. Therefore, developing and enhancing historical research regarding Cetatea Alba

are among the priority goals of the contemporary Romanian medievalists.

Three major pole-stages were outlined in the first stage of the remarks regarding theaddressed issue and these were the limits within which the historical analysis of the region was

organized, region named during the time of Alexandru cel Bun with the Byzantine name

“Parathalassia” or the Slavonic “ ” – from the entitling of Roman I Musatinul – ,bordered by the circumscription of Cetatea Alba, according to the late indications of The Kadi

Moustafa’s Report from 1486:

1. 1290 – the end of the 14th century – the first connections of the West with CetateaAlba, registered in writing, their progress and the development of commercial and

political relations under the flag of the Golden Horde.

2. The end of the 14th century – 1475 – the fulfilment of the political consolidation

process of the Moldavian Country, enforcing control over Cetatea Alba, which

implied the access and the imposition among the Pontic powers. The year 1475marks the irreversible decline of the Genoese trade on “the Great Sea”, after the

Turkish conquered Crimea and it main urban centres.3.

1475 – 1484 – the year 1484 corresponds to the Ottoman conquest of the last

Christian redoubts in Pontus. This period is characterized by the Genoese withdrawal

from the Black Sea and by the enhancement of the defensive actions of the states

interested in maintaining the last “strategic and economic corridor” in Pontus. For the medieval history of the Black Sea, the North-western region – especially Cetatea

Alba and its hinterland – can be singled out from a historical point of view alike other well-

defined areas: the Straits, the west Pontic centres, Bessarabia and Kilia, Crimea, south-east ofAzov (Tanais), the Trabzon coastline, the north of Asia Minor.

Despite this individualization, which was more of political essence, research has shown a

cultural and artistic synthesis of the Pontic world, completed right before the Ottoman conquest,

thus the expression “unity in diversity” being perfectly adequate here as well. Practically, what

contemporary historiography understands by “Ottoman culture”, which reached its climax duringthe 17

th century thanks to significant centres as Iznik or even Istanbul, is a continuation of the

artistic phenomenon that occurred before the Ottoman closure of the Black Sea, which, inessence, represents a Pontic feature of the Byzantine artistic language. In fact, the Ottoman

Turkish had the same cultural sources once they took over Asia Minor – together with the centres

at the north of the Black Sea or Cilicia, in the southwest end of the peninsula, where LittleArmenia had existed until the end of the 13th century – , then conquered Constantinople and then,

one by one, the other cities around the Black Sea.

As the rest of the “Pontic civilization” – underlining, though, that the Ottomans had an

important part as well – the art of the Ottoman Empire was inspired by the great culturaltraditions: Sassanid, Caucasian (particularly Armenian), Byzantine and, of course, Italian.

Therefore, the perpetuation of the Black Sea art – hastily attributed to the 15th century conqueror

– should be seen as a natural and predictable phenomenon. The contribution of the people exiled

in the major cities of the Ottoman Empire deserves to be remembered as well. The sultanMehmed II and his descendents spared the lives of the merchants and the craftsmen from the

conquered Pontic cities, but they were resettled in Istanbul and other major cities, continuing


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their work under the new authority. This phenomenon opens a new perspective that strengthens

the belief that – in fact – “the Ottoman culture” after the 15th

century is a perpetuation and adevelopment of the Pontic features of the Levantine art.

The stretch between the end of the 14th

century and 1484, proposed for research within

the pale of a PhD topic, outlines the peak period reached by Cetatea Alba within the boundaries

of the Moldavian Country, together with the second and last stage of Italian activity in the BlackSea, with the age of the major Ottoman conquests in Europe and of the greatest Christian and

Turkish army commanders.

The PhD thesis topic and the research objectives outlined above suggest a debate withinthe limits of the following plan:

Introduction

Taking into account the recent analysis regarding the historiography of Cetatea Alba

elaborated by Ionel Candea and published in two articles, resuming the topic has been avoided in

the present section, especially as, in this case, the novelty elements depend on the new releases.

Then, starting an analysis regarding Russian historiography is risky as it might outline,improperly, a disproportionate picture of two scientific environments’ contributions. The notes

above will be, however, completed by a brief overview of the archaeological researches atCetatea Alba, as the outcomes of many campaigns are less known. All the same, a significant

extent will be reserved for a brief introduction to the historical monument, a concise exposure of

the scientifical debates related to Cetatea Alba, of the encountered problems, the methods and the

tools that have been used, as well as a few details regarding the stages of evolution of theresearches on the theme.

Chapter 1: The Economic Revival of the Black Sea from Breaking the Byzantine Monopoly to

the Constitution of the Genoese Colonial System

The Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits represent the main access points to the Black Sea.

The Turkish historiographer Halil Inalcik notices from this point of view that the state whichcontrols these straits has control over the whole Pontic area. The emergence and the spectacular

development of Constantinople, the Eastern Roman Empire’s wealth and survival for yet another

millennium – since the fall of the Western Roman Empire – were due to these straits in a greatmeasure. The same strategic and economic point of convergence has raised the interest of more

than one political force in the medieval world, among which – taking into account the reference

period – the efforts made by Venice, Genoa or the Ottoman Empire are relevant. AlthoughGenoa was not one of the states which had effectively occupied and ruled Tsarigrad – unlike

Venice (after the Crusade in 1204) and the Ottoman Empire (in 1453) – , it was the naval power

which, by supporting Michael VIII Palaiologos in conquering back Constantinople, ensured its

monopoly on business in the Black Sea and managed to subordinate the entire Byzantineeconomy for two centuries. The relation system established in the Black Sea area after 1261

determined other agents as well to focus their attention to this major boarder of the world. Even

though they could not enforce their effective control over Constantinople, the khans of the

Golden Horde have known how to put pressure by establishing powerful military effectives atthe Lower Danube, commanded by the dreaded Nohay. The sultan Baybars of Egypt, who had

ensured that he had the Basileus’ willingness in his favour, has acted in the same way after he


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had occupied the south-west coast of Anatolia and had established its boarder the the threshold

of the Metropolis in the Straits.Cetatea Alba – as well as many other medieval fortifications in Pontus – is the result of

conjunctures and of the system of political alliances created around the Straits. That is why it has

been considered as necessary to present briefly the region’s situation, which was at the origin of

the Genoese trading system in the Black Sea.

a. All Roads Lead to... Constantinople

The first subchapter, thus entitled, treats a short description of Constantinople, the great

metropolis of the medieval world, which impressed its contemporaries by its location and its

extraordinary development. It was the convergence point of the most important commercial seaand land routes, which connected the East with the West and the Northern Merchants with the

ones from across the Mediterranean Sea. It was a genuine capital towards which caravans of

traders, diplomatic missions, scouts, groups of pilgrims, adventurers towards the Holy Places,

but also warriors strived. It was the environment that offered models for the world’s craftsmen, a

centre of medieval arts and sciences in various fields, the heart of eastern Christianity, the path torecognition on the political scene, but also the place of the most hidden and insidious intrigues.

This city represented the tradition and the former fame of the Roman Empire, it was the place

where Christianity admitted the divine source of the emperor’s power and recognized him as amediator of different religious issues that occurred in Orthodoxy – this being one of the ways in

which the Basileus exerted his control beyond political boundaries. All these were part of the

daily life in the Metropolis, making it highly attractive to the most various kinds of people andglobal powers.

b. The First Steps towards Establishing the Genoese Monopoly on the Great Sea

The debate advanced here continues the thread and outlines the process through the

pressures brought to bear on the Latin Empire of Constantinople that was founded after the

Fourth Crusade with the purpose of eliminating the Venetian control of the Straits by. The mainactors on this stage – among which there were the Empire of Nicaea, the empire of Thessaloniki

and the Bulgarian Tsardom – emphasize the particular importance and the attraction of

Constantinople, which was the holy core of Orthodoxy, found at the mercy of the Latins. Theevents that contributed to the fall of the Latin Empire and to the return of the Basileuses to

Constantinople, with the support of Genoa, are presented here broadly. Genoa was drawn into

the conflict not only by thirst of revenge for the ban of its merchants from the eastern

Mediterranean after the conflict in Accra in 1257, but especially because of the Basileus’willingness to offer them the Black Sea as a solution for reviving their business with the Orient.

c.

Another Decision Factor in the Black Sea: the Mongols

The treaty of Nymphaion ensured unrestricted access to the Pontic area for the Genoese,

but the shores were dominated greatly by the Tartar-Mongolians, the ones who had invaded and

frightened the entire Europe in 1241. The main points that marked the Black Sea region after theMongol invasion in 1241 are brought up here. Aspects related to the organization of the Golden


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Horde, the khans’ openness towards traders, the political and economic relations between the

Sarai and the Mongol rulers from the northeast Pontic region.

d. The Genoese Consolidation in the Black Sea

The Genoese presence in the Black Sea area and the colonial system they created did notimply an actual political domination. The colony represented at first a fondaco (a warehouse) and

a community of merchants settled in a place leased by the landlord in exchange for tax payment.

During the initial stage, particularly between 1261 and 1318, the Genovese trading centres wereopen settlements, without a defensive design. If at first the Genoese colonies were few in

number, around the year 1290 an actual numeric boom of these settlements along the entire

coastline was recorded. The phenomenon is related to the fall of Little Armenia (Cilician) causedby the strikes of the Egyptian Mamluks in 1285, which determined the emigration of a

significant part of the Byzantine urban civilization in the Black Sea area. The event in question

and the hostility of Sultan Baybars of Egypt towards the merchants also determined the primarily

orientation of Genoa towards the business in the Great Sea area, which implied a diversion of the

market outlets of the Asian trade routes towards Trebizond and Caffa.Almost simultaneously, during the first decades of the 14th

century – due to the arbitrary

relations between the Mongols and the Genoese merchants and to the exploitation of theperpetual crisis with which the Golden Horde confronted and which manifested during the early

reign of Uzbek Khan – , the Republic of Saint Mark initiated an extensive project for

strengthening the colonies in the Black Sea area. The first walls were built around Caffa, which

was followed, one by one, by the rest of the communities, so that in 1347 they were capable ofdefying the fury of Janybek Khan.

e. The Decline of the Mongols’ Power

The vast empire created by the Mongols – which, at first, abolished the old trade barriers

between the West and the East – was built by conquest by a union of nomadic tribes. From this

reason, the Mongolian model of statehood implied, by its essence, a mobile administrativesuperstructure for economic exploitation of those who were conquered, ensured through a

centralized and very well organized military control. The defeated human communities had their

own social hierarchies – recognized and authorized by the khan – , keeping some administrative, juridical and religious powers and responsibilities, but also the duty to collect the taxes owed to

the Khan. Seen in the smallest details, the Golden Horde’s economy was chaotic and lacked an

overall vision. The slave trade which was practiced by the Mongols during the whole duration ofthe Golden Horde and which meant draining the conquered territories by the main source of

income is a proof in this sense.

The Golden Horde but also the Persian Ilhanat benefited from exploiting the merchants

that swarm towards and from the East through a system of taxes and customs they imposed. Theinternal crisis that occurred at the end of the 13th century, generated by the battles between the

Khan Toktai and the Emir Nohay, weakened the khans’ power especially in the north-eastern

area of the Pontic coastline. Thus, the first attempts to resist, encouraged by Hungary and

Poland, occurred at the western borders of the Golden Horde – once held under the iron authorityof the dreaded Nohay. The Christian forces, which extended their control at the east of the

Carpathians and down the Dniester, allied, in the middle of the 13th

century, with the united


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forces of the Italians in the colonies that fought against the Tartar-Mongolians from the south.

The second offensive wave of the Christians against the Golden Horde was carried out during thesecond half of the 14th century, and this was the context in which the Moldavian country was

founded at the east of the Carpathians.

Chapter 2: Cetatea Alba – Moncastro in the Context of European Economy, from the Tartar

Ruling until the Instauration of the Moldavian State’s Control

The present chapter presents the mercantile and economic side of the political realities,

from the perspective of Cetatea Alba. Even though, in some cases, an overlapping of theeconomic, political and military issues can be observed, it has been considered that a distinct

economic part of the account will later prove to have a more efficient explanatory purpose. The

need of constantly referring to aspects of economic nature is avoided this way. These aspects are

discussed in subsections as well, trying to meet a certain chronological order of the account.

a. The Establishment of Commercial Networks Towards the Lower Danube

The topic continues the thread of the account on the Decline of the Tartar’s Power

targeting in particular the territories from the east of the Carpathians, thus narrowing from a

general framework to the territories and to the monument that are the subject of the historical

analysis. Three factors of major importance, which rushed the development of the commercialand urban networks at the east of the Carpathians are identified here, namely the Order of the

Hospitallers, who opened the exchange of goods on the thoroughfare that connected Kilia and

the Transylvanian cities, the Saxon colonists and the Armenian refugees from Cicilia, settled incompact communities in various places at the east of the Carpathians, who boosted the

commercial trade between the north and the south, crossing the territory of the Romanian

Country.

b. The Increase of the Commercial Importance of Cetatea Alba during the middle of the

14th

Century, in the context of the disintegration of the Golden Horde

The wars between Christians and Tartars that occurred at the middle of the 14 th century

have pushed the front across the Dniester and have disrupted the trade flows that ensured the

connection between Lviv and Caffa. By contrast, the territories on the right of Dniester haveknown stability and the state organization was able to provide additional guarantees for the

merchants’ safety. Beginning with the second half of the 14th century and until at least 1387, the

north-western sector of the Black Sea coastline was the only exchange gate between the Genoese

merchants and those from Central and Northern Europe. The northern Pontic coast, from

Dniester towards the mouth of the Dnieper, did not have major ports, and towards Caffa, theregion had become very dangerous. From the right of the Arm of St. George to the south, the

Genoese met the aversion of the despot Dobrotich and of the Bulgarians, who, in 1318 – during

the last moments of ruling over the area up to the Dniester – , martyrized a Minorite monk atCetatea Alba. These circumstances contributed decisively to the relocation of the Tartar road at

the right of the Dniester and to the growth of the importance of Cetatea Alba in the region,

outrunning Kilia and Vicina. The Moldavian port situated on the bank of the Dniester was aboutto play an important role that was stated in the privilege granted to the merchants from Lviv by


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Petru I Musatinul in 1387, a document which was repeatedly renewed and which was the

foundation of the traditional relationship between Moldavians and Polish.

c. The Organization and Exploitation of the Moldavian commercial road

The concept of Moldavian commercial road implies, in fact, a network of roads that

crossed the Moldavian Country from north to Cetatea Alba. This network followed the flow ofthe main rivers and the features of its exploitation created the ideal environment for the

development of boroughs, an intermediate evolutionary form, which emerged from the rural

world but without acquiring fully defined urban characteristics. The places that met the needs forstationing and sheltering caravans during the night were advantaged that way and gained more

pronounced business features.

d. Trading in Cetatea Alba

The main historical data regarding the commercial business done in the Cetatea Alba

harbour has been analyzed in this subchapter. Identifying the categories of traded goods and – tothe possible extent – the Cetatea Alba market specialization was attempted. Thereby, it can be

said that – besides the great diversity of goods – the merchants were specialized in tradinggrains, slaves and spices.

Withal, the merchants’ level of involvement in the trading at Cetatea Alba, but also thatof other ethnicities’ representatives, was pursued in the present analysis, as well as the economic

orientation of the market, identifying the business partners. Thus, it was concluded that – besidesthe fact that the Dniesterian city represented an entrance of Lviv towards the Black Sea – a

significant exchange of good with Trebizond, a port which represented the maritime outlet of the

trade route that led to China, through Tabriz. From another point of view, historical sources

reveal a special partnership between Caffa and Constantinople (Pera) regarding the grain

production. Even if, at least until now, there are relatively few known documentary notes, judging by the extent of the slave trade, it seems that the city of Alexandria in Egypt was an

important trading partner of Cetatea Alba.

e. Several politico-religious implications, also influenced by trading

The topic brings into question an incident that is only briefly recorded by historical

sources and that refers to the martyrdom of the Minorite monk Angelo de Spoleto by theBulgarians from Cetatea Alba, in 1314. It is not only the nature of the Bulgarian domination up

to the Dniester that interests here, but – especially – the background of this incident. The

Franciscans were among the first who defied the danger in their search of the legendary country

of Prester John, thought to be somewhere in the Extreme East, and who had, thus, to cross theareas that were controlled by Tartars.

Their presence in the Extreme East, the only missionaries that had the Pope’s per mission

to behave as the people within whom they were living, is directly related to the first series ofconnections between the Western world and Tartar-Mongolians. Following the Friars Minor and

benefiting from the information they had acquired, the Italian merchants’ ships set in. Among the“schismatics” and the “pagans”, founding monasteries, the Minorite monks performed what in

modern language is called “espionage activity” in the Pope’s and the nobles’ favour, who knew


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how much such details on the most sought goods, the most profitable business, on the means of

transport, as well as on the climate, the roads, the traditions and the behaviour of the peoplewithin whom they remained meant. The Franciscan Monastery chain in the east seems to have

represented the frame around which the subsequent Genoese colonial system in the Black Sea

was built up.

Chapter 3: The Exclusion of the Tartars and the Expansion of the Moldavian Authority to the

Black Sea

The historical process of the Moldavian Country’s crystallization is still in the middle ofscientific debate. The particularly valuable and prolific series of scientific contributions to this

topic sets Cetatea Alba as a milestone. It is considered without reservation that when theMusatini extended their control over this centre, in 1392, when voivode Roman I called himself

the only ruler of the entire Moldavian Country, the natural and ethno-graphical borders of

Moldavia were reached. In whole, and pursued from a final stage’s perspective, the matters seem

to be somewhat clear and set a terminus post quem non. Nevertheless, taking into account the

short reign of Roman I, which lasted for only three years, and certain turning points in thepolitical and social evolution of Moldavia during a previous stage, the role of the country’s

unifier, with its sanctioned frontiers, seems to have been played by another historical figure.As proposed below, the analysis focuses on several aspects that are considered to be

essential for the understanding of the formation process of the Moldavian Country, from a

perspective that is essentially related to Cetatea Alba. From this point of view, a few elements

that are usually less debated are emphasized, but also several points of view that can helpclarifying certain issues related to the unification of the Romanian country located at the East of

the Carpathians, as well as the nature of the special relations between the central power and the

community in Moncastro.

a.

The Anti-Tatar Offensive for Conquering the North-Western Pontic

Coastline

Taking into account the multiple studies regarding the formation of the Moldavian

Country, a brief retrospection on the two Christian offensive waves at the east of the Carpathiansduring the 14th century proved itself useful. References in this respect have also been made in

previous chapters, especially regarding external factors.

What is especially of interest here is precisely the historical circumstances in whichCetatea Alba was integrated in the Moldavian state, and, from the analysis of existing data, it

follows that, during an early stage, Bogdan I, who was seen as a rebel by the Kingdom of

Hungary, managed to strengthen his position at the east of the Carpathians with the tolerance of

the official ruler of the area during those times, namely the powerful khan of the Golden Horde,Berdibek. It was a political context which also drove the sovereign of the Kingdom of Poland,

who was in dispute with the Lithuanians and had become indebted to the Horde after obtaining

Ruthenia, to take a similar solution. The ring that was found in the grave which was assumed to

be of Latcu and which was engraved with the word Allah, but also the bull’s head representationon Moldavian Country’s coat of arms – which was very similar to the seal belonging to the Tatar

khan Tokhtamysh – are two pieces of evidence that claim increased attention in this direction.


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The emancipation of the Moldavian Country under the authority of the Golden Horde

seems to have been achieved – along with territorial expansion – in the context of the Battle ofBlue Waters, in 1363, when the Lithuanian expansion to the left of Dniester put in difficulty the

relations between Moldavia and the Tatars. Thus, the first Moldavian guards were settled along

the superior and the middle course of Dniester, and also, the cooperation of the bishop from

Cetatea Alba rushed the expansion and the establishment of the Moldavian Country’s control tothe seashore – without any battles – , before the Koriatovichs. This accomplishment of the

Moldavians had to be defended in a confrontation with the Lithuanians in 1377, which ended

with an agreement between the Moldavians and the Lithuanians, strengthening a “traditional”relationship that had a deep economic, political and military impact. The Polish-Hungarian

dynastic union in 1370 had a decisive role in the Moldavian-Lithuanian association as it

amplified the danger that menaced the Moldavian Country, a danger that had led to buildingseveral fortresses at the western and northern borders.

b. The Essence of Cetatea Alba’s Political Autonomy

The main landmark seems here to be a historical episode little debated in historiography.It is about the presence of Demetrius, the ruler of a Tatar political entity, who was a refugee after

the Battle of Blue Waters on the right of Dniester. The few documentary guidelines – which canbe found in the mails to and from the Kingdom of Hungary – were not enough to ensure him an

articulated space in the reconstitution of the historical picture of Cetatea Alba. The fact that the

privilege offered by Demetrius to the merchants from Brasov does not mention expressly Cetatea

Alba added to the confusion, and so other alternatives of location existed as well.The connection between Demetrius and Cetatea Alba is mentioned, however, by the

privilege accorded by Stefan cel Mare to the merchants of Lviv in 1460, through which the ruler

of the Moldavian Country announced the revocation of the customs duty which was charged bythe “Tatar prince” at the harbour on Dniester. This surprising reference alludes, in fact, to the

character and the tradition of the special administrative statute of Cetatea Alba within the

Moldavian Country. This Tatar prince is the authority of the city, known in the Italian sources

under the title of dominus, which also conveys, in 1386, one of the holder’s names: Constantino.

c. Parathalassia under the Authority of the Moldavian Country

The word “Parathalassia” from Alexandru cel Bun’s title or from Roman I’sis translated as « seashore » and it has been considered as such for a long time. Nevertheless, it

seems that the word itself represents a distinct historical region, well defined during that era.Several well-known, but unrelated elements plead in this respect. The Kadi Moustafa’s Report

from 1486 clearly demarcates such a territory, as per the indications of some elders, and also the

Byzantine historian Laonicus Chalkokondyles considered that Cetatea Alba was the capital ofBogdania Neagra [Black Bogdania]. The fact that the Ackerman district was bordered by Kiliadistrict is remarkable, reinforcing the series of observations regarding Bessarabia as a historical

region that corresponded to the Wallachian ruling from the south of the Moldavian Country,

around the harbour on the Danube.


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d. Another Important Episode for the Assertion and the Consolidation of

the Romanian Statehood at the East of the Carpathians: the foundation of the

Moldavian Metropolitan Church

The special role that the religious factor had in the state formation and strengthening

process at the east of the Carpathians has been well highlighted in the historiography treating thisproblem thanks to the contributions of V. Laurent, R. Theodorescu, St. S. Gorovei and others. It

is, however, required to emphasize here the fact that the expansion of Bogdan I’s followers’

political ruling was achieved due to an incipient – but still shaped – network, coordinate by anecclesiastical hierarchy.

The way in which this could have been associated to the central power had to respond to

the need for political affirmation. The inclusion of Parathalassia, which implied the emergence ofthe term autocrator in the title of Alexandru cel Bun, corresponds to the Asprokastron

Archiepiscopate exercising authority over the region north of the Danube and over the area

between Prut and Dniester.

The tight connection between the political and the religious spheres is also obvious in the

case of the Moldavian Country, and the implications of the community and the city on Dniesterturn out to be decisive in this case as well.

Chapter 4: The Moldavian Country Fighting for the Defence of Its Borders

The Moldavian Country’s final stage of individualization, in the ethno -geographic area

that was bounded by the Eastern Carpathians chain and by the Dniester, implied an importantdefence component that was meant to preserve and strengthen the political building of Bogdan

I’s descendants. The Hungarian Kingdom’s claims over the territory east of the Carpathians and

the way in which “Descalecatorul” [“the one who had dismounted”] and his heirs – once thesubjects of the King from Buda – were perceived as traitors and usurpers required, among other

things, the building of a fortified belt in front of the mountain passes, whereas the eastern borders

– facing the Tatars – were still defended, mostly and for a long time now, by the Dniester river.

The Polish-Hungarian dynastic union in 1370, after which Louis I of Anjou had become King of

Poland, accounts not only for Latcu I’s decision to convert to Catholicism, but also for Petru I’sefforts to build strong fortifications along the Carpathians and along the northern borders. From

this perspective, the episode requires the establishment of a chronological delimitation,beginning with the reign of Alexandru cel Bun and ending with Stefan cel Mare’s ascension tothe throne in Suceava.

Alexandru cel Bun’s diplomatic ability – also taking advantage of the strong relationcreated by Petru I Musatinul with the Kingdom of Poland – had its share in the extinguishment

of the former Hungarian claims. The collapse of the Danubian frontline and the fall of the

Romanian Country under Ottoman suzerainty represented a turning point in the whole of

political relations between Moldavia, Poland and Hungary. The proven inefficiency of the effortsmade by the Hungarian authority at the west of the Carpathians to expand obliged them to

identify the possibilities they had to attract the Moldavian Country on the Crusaders’ side,among which the Hungarian royalty had ensured it had a leading role. This objective remained a

priority for the Hungarian politics after the death of Alexandru cel Bun and while the MoldavianCountry plunged into a long dynastic crisis.


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The Hungarian military interventions in the Moldavian Country, although it was much

weakened, were aiming establishing loyal voivodes, as it happened in the case of Petru II,Bogdan II and Stefan cel Mare.

a. Around the Treaty of Lublin

The Treaty of Lublin, signed in 1412, after a negotiation phase between Poland andHungary that followed the Peace of Torun, signed in the previous year, restated in the secret

annexe the Hungarian claims over the Moldavian Country, which were forwarded to the King

Wladyslaw Jagiello. From the Moldavians’ point of view, however, this historical momentrecords the retreat of the Moldavian Country from the northern European political arena and its

primarily reorientation towards the Black Sea and the anti-Ottoman frontline.

b. The First Moldavian-Ottoman Battle and Its Implications

This shift was required not only by the instability regarding the Moldavian issue of thePolish Crown in its relations with Hungary, which were obvious after the negotiations at Lublin,

but also – and mainly – because of the arrival of the Ottoman danger in the proximity of theMoldavian Country’s borders. The Ottoman invasion at the north of Danube in 1420 had directconsequences on the Moldavian Country as well, which had to repel a powerful siege near the

walls of Cetatea Alba. The internal crisis that was generated by the death of the Sultan brought

the ruler of the Moldavian Country in a military camp near the Danube, from where he waswatching carefully the events that were happening in the Ottoman Empire, at the same time

taking the first measures for strengthening the southern flank, among which fortifying the

Palanca ford was planned in order to defend Cetatea Alba. Most probably, the plan to replace the

Hungarian garrison and to place the Moldavian flag on the walls of Kilia was also born in this

context, the goal being accomplished several years later, to the Hungarian King’s dismay.

c. The Watershed Years: the dynastic crisis between 1432 and 1457

At the end of Alexandru cel Bun’s ruling, the Moldavian Country was already statingitself as an important power in the region. Although he was under the Polish Kingdom’s

suzerainty, the voivode’s courage to get Pokuttya by force of arms was felt by the Sejm, as wellas the Kingdom of Hungary that also felt compelled to limit to protests for losing Kilia.

Therewith, the involvement in the politics in the Romanian Country by supporting certain

contenders for the throne, the court of Constantinople’s interest to attract Alexandru cel Bun

towards the anti-Ottoman front by starting direct negotiations, the role that was played insupporting the Lithuanian duke Swidrigiello against the King of Poland, but also the certainty

that was proven by disrupting the terrestrial communication means between the Tatars and the

Turkish, all these indicate a stage of stability and consolidation of the Moldavian Country.This success enabled the crossing of a long stage of dynastic crisis without reaching

territorial disintegration. The Moldavian Country was perceived and functioned as a whole

organism, even during the diarchy that was established during the age of Ilias-Stefan II. The need

to maintain safety along the entire Moldavian trade route, as well as the need to ensure a


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powerful ally on the Danubian front kept quite aflame the dispute between the Polish and the

Hungarians. The phase in itself highlights before all, however, the political recognition of thestatehood of the Moldavian Country along with the Musatini dynasty by Hungary.

Chapter 5: The Moldavian Country and the late crusade or the price of Kilia and Cetatea

Alba

The Ottoman Empire’s interest for Cetatea Alba was obvious even since 1420, when th e

main Turkish military operations in Moldavia involved the siege of the fortifications along theDniester. The voivodes of the Moldavian Country understood that maintaining their ruling over

Cetatea Alba would have led – inevitably – to a conflict with the Ottoman Empire. The effort

made to consolidate the southern front by conquering Kilia in 1424, but also in 1465, should beseen from this point of view, the fortress acquiring a double strategic importance: hindering the

Ottoman advancement on land towards north – deep in the Moldavian Country – , but also

towards Dniester, where the state’s leading economic power was located – Cetatea Alba. It is a

political continuity which seems to have been mainly promoted by the members of the Royal

Council, which had a relatively constant structure. The fortification works at Cetatea Alba,shortly after the fall of Constantinople, right during the reign of Alexandrel – probably the

dullest character among the throne-holders from Suceava during the dynastic crisis – , are onemore reason to take such a perspective. It was not by chance that the inscription that was placed

when the first defence structures in Europe against firearms were done awards special merits to

the great noble Stanciu, and not to the country’s ruler .

The early reign of Stefan cel Mare, which ended in the year 1473, contributes tofinalizing the project to reinforce the Moldavian Country and to the military preparations for

entering the anti-Ottoman front. The military actions triggered by Moldavia’s ruler have a

pronounced defensive character, aiming the emancipation from under Ottoman suzerainty and tokeep Kilia and Cetatea Alba as parts of the Moldavian Country.

From the Ottomans’ point of view – during this stage and having the weakness shown by

Petru Aron by accepting to pay the tribute without a fight as a precedent – , the subjection of the

Moldavian Country had to be accomplished by conquering the entire country, a strategy thatfailed after the grate battles between the Moldavians and the Ottomans of Vaslui (1475) and

Razboieni (1476). Ensuring Ottoman control over Kilia and Cetatea Alba thus became the goal

that could have been reached through a direct intervention, the Sultan being already convincedthat the success of this operation could have ensured subsidiary that the Moldavian Country

would fall to its knees.

a. The Increase of the Ottoman Danger

The topic in itself is approached from a Moldavian perspective, pointing out severalmilestones which – after the fall of Yildirim Bayezid and the Empire’s internal crisis –

succeeded in reviving the Ottoman state, until the fall of Constantinople and forcing the frontline

along the Danube. This admirable ability to restore the former fame and power proved by theOttomans allowed for the Byzantine Metropolis to be conquered and for a new conquering

campaign that sow fear in the Balkans and in the entire Black Sea world to be triggered. This is

the historical background that explains in great measure the fact that Petru Aron and the RoyalCouncil yielded without a fight against Sultan Mehmed II’s worship demands. The preserved


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documents, however, account for the act of obedience through the need for stability necessary for

the Moldavian Country, a time during which the extensive military preparations for resistancecould have been carried out.

b. Stefan cel Mare and the Preparations for the Anti-Ottoman Defensive

1457-1470

The period between 1457 and 1470, even after the dismissal of Petru Aron, ischaracterized by the thorough preparations meant to secure Stefan cel Mare’s reign and theMoldavian Country’s defence. Although he had been seen at first as representative of the

Hungarian interests, Stefan cel Mare managed to establish once again the relations with thePolish suzerain and to regain the fortress of Hotin. As the peace was ensured when it came to the

northern borders, the young voivode was able to start again the strategic plan regarding Kilia,

which had been carried out by Alexandru cel Bun, but undone by his descendants. Along with

regaining Kilia, the ruler started the works to increase defence capability by building a new

fortress on Danube, simultaneously planning extensive projects to adapt the old Moldavianfortifications to the new siege techniques of that age.

c. “Athleta Christi”, Defend er of the Moldavian Country

The European dimension of Stefan cel Mare’s epic, the one that delayed with almost halfa century the fall of the Serbian Belgrade and the Ottomans advancing toward the centre of

Europe, was captured in his contemporaries’ praises. The overall diplomatic relations led by the

Court from Suceava, through which the Moldavian Country became an active agent of the

Christian front and imposed itself to the world’s attention thanks to the great victory from PoduInalt [The High Bridge], are under review. The vanquisher from Vaslui considered that he had

serious bases for imposing himself as a lawful defender of Crimea, a measurement which – regardless of the Christian allies’ support, which was strongly demanded through his messengerat Venice, Ion Tamblac, since May 1477 – was aiming to hinder the Turkish avalanche as far

away as possible from the borders of his country.

Chapter 6: The Last Stage of the Ottoman Project for Closing the Black Sea:

the Fall of Kilia and Cetatea Alba

The two Moldavian harbours are the last two fortresses through which, once conquered,

in the summer of 1484, the Ottomans ensured their full control over the Black Sea coast. In order

to accomplish this goal, the Turkish had prepared for almost a decade. Sultan Bayezid II’s

perception over the perspectives that were opened after conquering Kilia and Cetatea Alba,supplemented by the numerous remarks made by the Turkish chroniclers, in parallel with the

meanings disclosed by Stefan cel Mare and the disastrous consequences for the Moldavian

Country, emphasizes the special significance of these two monuments in the region. The debatethat is proposed here allows – similarly to an epilogue – some references that enhance the

particular role played by Kilia and Cetatea Alba for the Moldavian Country. In order to regain

them, several reign were won and lost, valiant lives were cut short through savage cruelty,


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treaties and engagements were signed, some of which – to some extent – affect our existence

even today.

a. Turkish Military Preparations

The measures taken by the Moldavians and the Turkish for defending or conquering Kilia

and Cetatea Alba are presented here. An issue of particular relevance is emphasized by Istanbul’s

success in isolating the Moldavian Country on a diplomatic level, depriving Stefan cel Mareeven of the support of the two powerful Christian neighbours that had asserted their high

protection, Hungary and Poland. The truce obtained by Mathias Corvinus and the warranty that

Casimir received from the Tatars were ensured by the Sultan at the cost of Kilia and CetateaAlba.

b. The Sieges that Changed the Fate of Moldavia

The present subchapter recounts a rewording of the Ottoman campaign in 1484 – based

on the preserved historical sources – , as well as the way in which the two sieges were fought.

Considering the Ottomans’ behaviour towards the conquered – in various instances – , but alsothe hastily executed fortifications of Kilia, it all leads to the conclusion that the harbour on

Danube fell due to treachery. The besieged benefited from a benevolent treatment from theTurkish, who were also counting on the psychological effect such a gesture could have on thedefenders of Cetatea Alba. In the case of Cetatea Alba, this incident could occur after a few days

of fierce fighting, which culminated when the two castellans caved in and after the besiegers

managed to create a breach.Besides the analysis of the known historical data, an attempt to retrace the main

directions and stages of the siege on Cetatea Alba was made, taking into account the features of

the land and of the fortification.

c. “My Lord, thou whose thought is impenetrable, might there still be hope or are we

going to perish now altogether?” (Miron Costin)

The phrased used by the great politician of the 17th

century draws a perfect picture of ahectic time in the history of the Moldavian Country after losing the seaside area and of the

stringent actuality of the projects to retake what had been lost. The efforts that were made in this

sense, ever since the reign of Stefan cel Mare and until fairly late, when Dimitrie Cantemir

[Demetrius Cantemir] stated in the treaty signed with Peter I of Russia the Moldavian Country’sinterest to retrieve Kilia and Cetatea Alba, maintain their intensity, animating conscious –

although quite risky – attitudes, but also adventurers such as Iacob Heraclid Despot. The topic

gets in an obscure place on the Moldavian political agenda once the Phanariot regime isinstituted and returns to the attention of the Romanian elite – especially – starting with the

second half of the 19th century.

Chapter 7: The Artistic Thesaurus of Cetatea Alba until the End of the 15th

century

Commonly, a single point on a map – be it a urban settlement – integrates and has to be

perceived as a part of a much larger area of civilization. But then, it is true that the developed


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urban centres manage to bias and generate certain local particularities, more or less pronounced.

The individualization of the urban community is achieved depending on the ethno-professionalstructure, on the intensity and the marks left by particular initiatives, on the level of

responsiveness, but also on the incidence of external factors such as: the intervention of the

central power, the interrelationships with other communities and the degree of integration in the

state’s administrative, economic and socio-cultural system.One of the cities in the Moldavian country – thanks to the economic relations and to its

inhabitants – , Cetatea Alba is also a part of the world within which the Genoese colonial empire

was created. It is the Black Sea environment, part of the peripheral Byzantine civilization, which

– at the end of 13th century – received a strong refreshing breeze, originating in The Armenian

Kingdom of Cilicia. Together with the Genoese contribution and that of the local environment,

the Cilician immigrants groups in the Black Sea area managed to determine a cultural andeconomic levelling of the region. More than that, beginning with the end of 14th century, the

Black Sea world already had crystallized particular artistic features that also irradiated in

neighbouring areas.

Exactly these influences – in this case, those that irradiated from Cetatea Alba towards

the Moldavian Country – are followed up in the present chapter by discussing the topics below:

a. The Building Stages of Cetatea Alba

Until now, no historiographic agreement has been reached regarding the building stage ofthe citadel, with the four circular towers on the corners – this being the element that is

considered, for good reason, the core of the fortified complex. A chronological interval that sets

the beginnings of this fortress during the reign of Uzbek Khan, during the first half of the 14th

century, is proposed in this analysis. Withal, the phase established in the year 1421 is questioned

and the Slavonic translation of the khatchkar of 1440 implies erasing a building stage during the

reign of Stefan II.

The inscription of 1454 – known to have been the result of doubling walls and arrangingbastions – certifies, in fact, the building of the Garrison’s Court, which was the first stage in thedevelopment of the fortified complex. Although it represents a landmark by which some experts

established the start of the second phase, which consisted in adjusting the old Musatin fortressesin the Moldavian Country to artillery, the inscription of 1476 from Cetatea Alba displays,

however, a milessim – initially incorrectly read and imposed in a conventional way – that places

the end of the work in the year 1484. Recently, a team of archaeologists who carried out researchat the Harbour Court concluded that this sector was built after 1484, by the Ottoman authorities.

All these elements required a proper analysis in order to identify and convincingly document the

building stages of the fortified complex of Cetatea Alba.

b. The Fortified Complex: Defensive Furniture, Functionality, Origins

The subchapter is designed to guide the imaginary along the interior of the fortified

complex and to display a series of remarks that were reached after a field research, carried in

August 2010. A large portion of the commentaries are corroborated with the data regarding themost important restoration works carried during the Romanian city government, but also

regarding the archaeological research.


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During the conducted research, several elements, incorrectly interpreted or ignored, have

been identified. Among these, the castle’s water supply system, mistaken for a heating system,the wheat warehouse from the Harbour Court, mistaken for a bathroom, the bastions, the

defensive ditch, all these are of particular interest. The comparative study suggested here offers a

series of valuable clues on the influences and the origins of the fortress’s defensive elements, but

also of the development model of the fortified complex of Cetatea Alba.

c. Civilization and art in the Moldavian Country, 14th

and 15th

centuries

Part of the Byzantine civilization, which is shown by its Pontic features, Cetatea Alba hasrepresented an important outbreak for disseminate this tradition in the Moldavian Country, an

area where – along with Bogdan I – craftsmen drawn from the Romanesque-Gothic environment,

but also Armenian refugees (craftsmen, townsfolk, merchants) from Little Armenia had

dismounted. These two ethno-professional elements have established the necessary ground ofurban culture that hurried the state formation and strengthening process at the east of the

Carpathians, in many aspects of social life. If the Saxon craftsmen were involved in the

implementation of the central power’s investments – by their much needed ability to distinguish – , the Armenian groups managed to reinvigorate and nourish the entire Byzantine artistic

foundation, typical for the entire Romanian mass.

Chapter 8: About the Issues of Cetatea Alba

This chapter, separately, has been inserted here with the purpose of rendering fluency to

the exposure, so that the problems submitted to attention in this case have a complementary role,useful for the overall understanding of the past of Cetatea Alba during the reference period. The

pursued analysis requires browsing and extracting certain references that can be perceived and

accepted much more accurately during this reading stage. There are three fairly consistent and

actual debates in the historiography of the problem, and approaching them can have a doubleeffect of updating the previous notes, but also presenting the personal options and the raised

arguments.

a. On Cetatea Alba’s Toponymy

Usually, the current exposure techniques require that the debates on toponymy be inserted

at the beginning of a monographic study. Thus, the ordinary reader has the chance to get

acquainted with the place in itself, in terms of names and of its location on map. In the currentcase, the two form in which the fortress on Dniester was known and the multiple derivatives

have generated a lively scientific debate. That is why introducing the reader straight into themiddle of these historiographic debates would have damaged the entire message and the purpose

of this study. Getting acquainted with the fortress in terms of location and names is accomplishedfrom the first pages without referring to the debate in itself. Also, it has been preferred – as per

N. Iorga’s model – to mention Cetatea Alba under the name given by the quoted historical

source, related to a certain event that was subject to the debate.The suggestions forwarded by certain experts for identifying two fortresses on the

Dniester, one white and another one black, situated on the right, respectively on the left of the


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watercourse, are rejected through the analysis brought in here and based on the sources brought

to attention

b. On Cetatea Alba’s Political and Juridical S tatute

Part of the Moldavian Country even since the reign of Petru I Musatinul, Cetatea Alba

enjoyed a special juridical statute in comparison with other Moldavian cities. This remarkbelongs to N. Iorga and to Gh. I. Bratianu. Among all the obvious elements that support the

version of Cetatea Alba’s autonomy, the city’s right to coin its own currency has to be mentioned

and several definite external events, of which the intention of establishing a Venetianviceconsulate on the shore of Dniester in 1434-1435, without involving the ruler, and the

conquest of the Lerici castle, located at the entrance inside Dnieper’s estuary, by the townspeople

in the summer of 1455 can be mentioned here.

In fact, the topic is related to the subchapter entitled The Essence of Cetatea Alba’sPolitical Autonomy, but approaching it here was preferred due to the characteristic of the

analysis. As a novelty, identifying the name of the urban community’s political authority, as well

as the names of several holders of this dignity, has been attempted here. Also – to the extentpermitted by the sources – , clarifying the model of urban organization, the structure, the forms of

manifestation and relation with the state’s central administrative bodies was attempted.

c. The Castellans of Cetatea Alba

The historiography of the problem relates this topic as a list of castellans, in the most

elaborate forms produced by N. Iorga, I. Bogdan, N. Stoicescu. Although the starting point is

mostly the same, the three versions also have a few differences determined by the method of

interpretation of the underlying sources. None of the analyses that have been referred to,

however, imply – besides the actual list of castellans – the clues that led to drawing up a list in acertain way as well.

The verifications carried out on the lists of castellans required several importantadjustments, but also emphasized a series of too little previously explored details. Thus, a pair of

castellans – previous to the age of Stefan cel Mare – ensured by the Perecichi brothers, Costea

and Petru, and, after the conflicts with the Ottoman Empire had started, even three castellansseem to have resided at Cetatea Alba. Withal, the presence of Stanciu Ponici at Cetatea Alba

between 1453 and 1454 should be reassessed as the documentary sources do not mention him as

a castellan, and neither does the inscription of 1454.

Conclusions

The formation process of the Moldavian Country – understanding here not only military

forces’ movement direction – and the very structural being of the medieval Moldavian state wereachieved and maintained through two essential centralized poles: the political core established by

Bogdan I in the north-eastern part of the Eastern Carpathians’ mountainsides, with the centre

established at Suceava, and Cetatea Alba. Only after reaching the Dniester bank – withoutBessarabia, with the centre at Kilia, which was under the Romanian Country’s ruling – did the

Moldavian voivodes consider themselves the masters of the entire country, a fact proven by


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Roman I’s title. How could have they known, at the end of the 14th

century, that this was the

entire Moldavian Country unless there was an entrenched perception and an identity of the spacebetween the Carpathians and the Dniester? And this would have been possible only through

several essential elements, which existed right before the state formation and strengthening

process was complete – typical, in fact, for every case where there is a difference between the

unification process and occupation – , such as: ethnic unity, unity of faith and belief, commoncustoms and habits, all circumscribed in a geographical area able to emphasize their particularity

by landforms and large rivers, unlike other ethno-geographical and cultural environments.

The existence of the two “cores” of the Moldavian statehood could be seen during thetime when the Moldavian Country was divided between the descendants of Alexandru cel Bun.

From a socio-structural point of view, Cetatea Alba, through the eparchial seat, centralized the

Pruto-Dniesterian region and the area on the right of the Prut, with the land of Falciu, inheritancetaken by the Episcopate of Husi, right before the beginning of the 17th century, founded precisely

for replacing the uprooted Episcopal residence on the Dniester bank. The continuous and

particularly intense communication – on a political, economic, religious level – between the two

great cities gave a heart rate to the Romanian state at the east of the Carpathians. That is why

losing Cetatea Alba in 1484 represented the irreversible breakdown of the Moldavian Countryand animated constantly the Moldavian political elites’ efforts for retrieving it. Every ruler that

reigned after Stefan cel Mare was involved or constrained by the nobles to undertake all thepossible endeavours for regaining Cetatea Alba, even at the cost of life. The Moldavian

Country’s very fate depended on achieving this goal and none other than the chronicler MironCostin – leading political figure and scholar of his age – could not have better highlighted this

state of spirit: “My Lord, thou whose thought is impenetrable, might there still be a hope or are

we going to perish now altogether?”

Without Cetatea Alba, the Moldavian Country was like a bird with a broken wing and

was forced – because of this disablement – to accept the Ottoman suzerainty. The main anti-Ottoman diplomatic or military actions pursue – first of all – retrieving Cetatea Alba, a true

political desideratum of the Moldavians. Even Mihai Viteazul [Michael the Brave], ruler of the

Romanian Country, understood this reality. The Tsars of Russia, Aleksey Mikhailovich and Peter

I, ascertained the same primarily goal of the Moldavian ruling quarters – the achievement ofwhich depended reigniting the desire of the Moldavians to stand up against the Ottoman

suzerainty – and ensured through treaties, in front of the representatives of Gheorghe Stefan,

respectively Dimitrie Cantemir, the restoration, the recognition and the guarantee of the

Moldavian Country’s territorial integrity, within the boundaries that existed before the year 1484.

The overwhelming role played by them in the economic development of the medieval

Moldavian society is also reflected in the entire artistic heritage. An entire cultural baggage still

lives in the villages and the cities of the old Moldavia, among which the “traditional” thesaurus

of decorative motifs found in weaves, sculpture and architecture indicates a great power of

penetration and dispersion in the most various environments. The Seljuk belt, the rosace, the

palmettes, the burgeoning cross with Golgotha, the flowerpot, the grid motif, the decorative wayof organizing individual tombstones, the influences on the Moldavian vaulting system, the

trilobite arches, the style of adorning miniature paintings, all these are so many testimonials of

the Romanian-Armenian coexistence. By comparison, the Romanesque-Gothic style remains an

Auditorium style, distinct from the general artistic particularities in the Moldavian Country.

Therewith, these features of the Moldavian Country’s material culture in the 14th and 15th

century are related to artistic features that can be found in the entire Black Sea area, in


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Byzantium and in Anatolia, approximations which have not only manifested on a material level,

but also on all levels of interpersonal relationships, inconsistently captured by the preservedhistorical sources. The customization of a cultural space is, therefore, outlined on a Byzantine

background, a space that included the Moldavian Country within the same limits – cultural,

political, and economic – as other identities around the Black Sea, the kindredship being ensured

by the cooperation between the Genoese, the Armenians and the Mongolian political ruling.

a monument of romanian medieval civilization-libre

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