Cossack campaigns of the late 70s of the 16th century to Moldavia: Interpretations and realities

Abstract

The article analyzes military and political events that took place in the Moldavian State in the reign of Peter V the Lame (1574-1591, intermittently), interpretations and realities of the Cossack campaigns in Moldavia in 1577-1578. The end of the 16th century proved to be quite difficult and tense for the Moldavian lands. During the reign of the hospodar Peter V the Lame the territory of Moldavia became the scene of confrontation between the Ottoman Empire, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ukrainian Cossacks, which led to fierce Cossack-Moldavian-Ottoman armed clashes. For Poland, the Moldavian lands were a kind of buffer zone against the Turks, and for the Ottoman Empire, they brought significant profits through the payment of various tributes and a lot of money for the selling of the hospodar throne. The Ukrainian Cossacks understood that if they drove the Ottomans out of Moldavia, it would ease Ukraine’s plight and change the military-political situation in the Carpathian-Dniester region. In spring 1577, Ivan Pidkova appeared as candidate for Moldavian throne. He was a Cossack, introducing himself as a brother of the hospodar John III the Terrible. At the end of November 1577 he conquered Jassy and started ruling as John IV. But it did not last long. On December 31, 1577 he leaved from Moldavia. I. Pidkova was arrested and executed on 16 June 1578 in Lviv. Taking advantages of his popularity, several Zaporozhian leaders pretended to be Ivan Pidkova’s brothers and invaded Moldavia. Oleksandr and Petro the Cossacks, for a short time even captured the voivodship throne. Since 1577 by 1578 the Cossacks carried out 8 campaigns, the main purpose of which there was the expulsion of Turks and Tatars from the territory of Moldavia, the conquest of Moldavian throne and creating a Cossack-Moldavian state. At the same time, successful military actions of the Ukrainian Cossacks gained considerable publicity in Central and Eastern Europe. Thus, the Cossack campaigns in Moldavia in 1577-1578 negatively affected the military and political situation in the country, led to frequent changes of hospodars and posed a real threat to Polish-Turkish peaceful relations.

Keywords

• Moldavian State
• military and political relations
• Ivan Pidkova
• Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
• Ottoman Empire
• Cossacks