Battle of Baia
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Baia was fought on 15 December 1467 between the Moldavia
n Prince, Stephen the Great and Hungarian
King, Matthias Corvinus. The battle was the last Hungarian attempt to subdue the independent Moldavia, as previous attempts had ended in failure. Corvinus invaded Moldavia due to Stephen's annexation of Chilia — a fortress and harbour at the coast of the Black Sea
, which at the time was controlled by Hungarian and Wallachian forces, though it had belonged to Moldavia centuries earlier.
The conflict ended with a bitter defeat for the Hungarians, who had an army more than three times the size of the Moldavian force. This put an end to all Hungarian claims on Moldavia. Corvinus almost died after being thrice wounded by arrows and barely made his escape to Transylvania
.
rebelled against Hungary and founded an independent Moldavia. However, the Hungarian attempts to seize control over Moldavia did not end there, and in 1429, Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
, and also King of Hungary, met with Władysław Jagiełło
, King of Poland to try to persuade him to launch a common attack on Moldavia and divide the country in two equal parts—Polish and Hungarian. Sigismund argued that the Moldavian nation did not "owe allegiance to anyone, is accustomed to live by theft and brigandage and so is everyone's enemy." He also complained about not receiving any help for his struggle against the Turks
. In the Annals of Jan Długosz, the Polish
chronicler wrote the following on Władysław’s reply to Sigmund:
In 1442, Hungary again had to renounce its claims on Moldavia. On 17 October 1451, Prince Bogdan II
was assassinated by Petru Aron
, a pretender to the Moldavian throne. The country was thrown into civil strife which lasted until 1457, when Stephen, son of Bogdan, gained the throne and ousted the boyars loyal to Aron. The latter fled to Poland, but was later forced to seek asylum in Transylvania
, after Moldavia and Poland concluded a new treaty. Stephen’s objective was to regain the region of Budjak
with the castles of Chilia and Cetatea Albă
. The region had previously belonged to Wallachia, but had been incorporated into Moldavia in the late 14th century. Due to the decline of Moldavia during the civil war, the region reverted back to Wallachia, with Chilia being co-ruled by Hungary and Wallachia.
, asking him to return Chilia back to Moldavia — a demand that was most likely refused. On 22 June, when Vlad was fighting Sultan Mehmed II
of the Ottoman Empire
, Stephen launched an attack on Chilia, with some Turkish assistance, with the objective of capturing the fortress. The Wallachians rushed to the scene with 7,000 men, and together with the Hungarian garrison, battled the Moldavians and the Turks for eight days. The Turks were defeated and Stephen was wounded by a piece of shrapnel — an injury which would hasten his death. In 1465, when Dracula was imprisoned in Hungary, Stephen again advanced towards Chilia with a large force and siege weapons; but instead of besieging the fortress, he showed the garrison, who favoured the Polish King, a letter in which the King requires them to surrender the fortress. The garrison complied with the King's demand and Stephen entered the fortress escorted by Polish troops where he found “its two captains, rather tipsy, for they have been to a wedding.” Mehmed was furious about the news and claimed Chilia as being a part of Wallachia, which now was a vassal to the Porte, and demanded Stephen relinquish ownership. However, Stephen refused and recruited an army, forcing Mehmed, who was not yet ready to wage war, to accept the situation, if only for the time being. Długosz recalls that in the beginning of his reign, Stephen reformed his army by extending rights for men to bear arms:
In 1466, Stephen regained Khotyn
from Poland in a diplomatic victory, but in the same year, Corvinus became on bad terms with King Casimir IV Jagiellon
of Poland, which frustrated the Hungarian king further, knowing that Moldavia was a Polish fief. One year later, in 1467, the locals of Transylvania started an uprising in which Corvinus had a difficult time quelling the riots. He later found out that Stephen had supported the rioters, — probably in order to find and kill Aron. Długosz writes in his ‘’Annals’’ that in 1467, a certain "Berendeja" went to the court of Corvinus and promised to make Moldavia his vassal, if the King would in turn make him Prince of Moldavia. This was denounced by Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga
, who argued that Corvinus started recruiting troops and took Aron with him to put him on the Moldavian throne. This is disputed by Długosz though, who in ‘’Historiae Polonicae’’, adds that Corvinus brought with him both Aron and Berendeja, making unknown whom the king considered more worthy of the Moldavian throne.
. With them, they brought 500 cannons and other heavy siege equipment. The Moldavians, being fewer in number and seeing that the Hungarians were determined to wage war, started to evacuate the population close to the Hungarian border and blockaded the passages by cutting down trees and placing them on the roads.
. On 19 November, the Hungarians arrived at the Trotuş River
where they met some Moldavian resistance, but Corvinus, to ensure the "loyalty of his troops, avoids a pitched battle and limits his efforts to surprise attacks and ambushes, yet is himself prevented from foraging or doing further damage."
The town was destroyed and the Hungarians headed for Bacău
, which they also burned down; then they continued to Roman
and stayed there between 29 November and 7 December. According to a chronicle, Stephen sent envoys to negotiate a peace treaty, but the two factions could not agree and the war continued. Roman was put to flames and the Hungarians killed everyone they encountered, “without considering their sex, age, or looks.” After three days of marching and more pillaging, they reached Baia where Corvinus met with a Hungarian by the name of Sythotus, who revealed to him the Moldavian position, their numbers (12,000), and their plan to attack before dusk. The Moldavians were encamped further north, between Moldova River
and Şomuz creek. Corvinus ordered the city to be fortified with “ramparts, ditches and a ring of wagons,” as the men were told to be prepared for battle and guards were sent to guard strategic points.
A peculiar report mentions that Stephen himself was captured by the Hungarians on 14 December, but that he managed to trick them into releasing him. On 15 December, when dusk was approaching, Stephen sent smaller detachments that set the town on fire from three different places: thereafter, noise and confusion set in. Stephen ordered his men to dismount and soon after they launched their attack and made battle until dawn. Descriptions of the battle say that the fire made the night equally light as the day and that many Hungarians were consumed by the flames. The two armies started to butcher each other at the gate of the city; then the fighting continued onto the streets "with such a wrath, that nothing could be seen as more horrible than this." The Moldavians got the upper hand of the battle and launched another attack against the royal guard, which consisted of 200 heavily armed knights, the aristocrats and Corvinus. Many Moldavians were killed in the tumult that followed, as Báthory and the rest of the knights tried to defend the entrance to the market. Corvinus was wounded by three arrows in the back and had to be “carried from the battlefield on a stretcher, to avoid him falling into the hands of the enemy.”
The retreating Hungarian army, on its way to Transylvania, was stopped by a blockade; there they decided to bury the 500 cannons and other treasures, so the Moldavians would not be able to capture them. According to Długosz, Corvinus escaped the Moldavians due to the assistance of another Vlach (Romanian), whom Stephen found and had executed because of treachery. The Moldavian-German Chronicles say that someone named Isaia failed to launch the cavalry attack which would have blocked the path for the Hungarian retreat; for this, he and others were later executed. Around 10,000 Hungarians were said to have been killed; most of the barons escaped with their king. A Hungarian chronicle mentions 7,000 casualties for the Moldavians. This chronicle is disputed though, due to it being the only one mentioning the Moldavian casualites in numbers; and because the Hungarians did not have the opportunity to calculate the numbers of their fallen enemy. The entire conflict, with the Hungarian invasion and retreat, took around forty days.
on Christmas
day, Corvinus took revenge on the people who had rebelled against him by torturing them to death; thereafter he fined the Transylvanians a sum of 400,000 florins
, which they had to pay immediately, in gold. With this money he raised an army of foreign mercenaries, which would prove more loyal to him. In 1468, Stephen campaigned in Transylvania, found Aron and had him executed. Stephen and Corvinus would later negotiate a peace treaty and become allies; in 1475, Corvinus sent 1,800 soldiers that assisted Stephen in his victory at the Battle of Vaslui
.
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
n Prince, Stephen the Great and Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
King, Matthias Corvinus. The battle was the last Hungarian attempt to subdue the independent Moldavia, as previous attempts had ended in failure. Corvinus invaded Moldavia due to Stephen's annexation of Chilia — a fortress and harbour at the coast of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
, which at the time was controlled by Hungarian and Wallachian forces, though it had belonged to Moldavia centuries earlier.
The conflict ended with a bitter defeat for the Hungarians, who had an army more than three times the size of the Moldavian force. This put an end to all Hungarian claims on Moldavia. Corvinus almost died after being thrice wounded by arrows and barely made his escape to Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
.
Background
In 1359, Bogdan I of MoldaviaBogdan I of Moldavia
Bogdan I the Founder was the third or fourth voivode of Moldavia . He and his successors established the independence of Moldavia, freeing the territory east of the Carpathian Mountains of Hungarian and Tatar domination....
rebelled against Hungary and founded an independent Moldavia. However, the Hungarian attempts to seize control over Moldavia did not end there, and in 1429, Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
, and also King of Hungary, met with Władysław Jagiełło
Jogaila
Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...
, King of Poland to try to persuade him to launch a common attack on Moldavia and divide the country in two equal parts—Polish and Hungarian. Sigismund argued that the Moldavian nation did not "owe allegiance to anyone, is accustomed to live by theft and brigandage and so is everyone's enemy." He also complained about not receiving any help for his struggle against the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. In the Annals of Jan Długosz, the Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
chronicler wrote the following on Władysław’s reply to Sigmund:
In 1442, Hungary again had to renounce its claims on Moldavia. On 17 October 1451, Prince Bogdan II
Bogdan II of Moldavia
Bogdan II was the Prince of Moldavia between October 12, 1449 and October 17, 1451, when he was assassinated by Petru Aron. The assassination put Moldavia into a civil war which lasted until his son Stephen gained the Moldavian throne in 1457....
was assassinated by Petru Aron
Petru Aron
Peter III Aaron , bastard son of Alexandru cel Bun, was a Voivode of Moldavia on three separate occasions: October 1451 to February 1452, August 1454 to February 1455, and May 1455 to April 1457...
, a pretender to the Moldavian throne. The country was thrown into civil strife which lasted until 1457, when Stephen, son of Bogdan, gained the throne and ousted the boyars loyal to Aron. The latter fled to Poland, but was later forced to seek asylum in Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, after Moldavia and Poland concluded a new treaty. Stephen’s objective was to regain the region of Budjak
Budjak
Budjak or Budzhak is a historical region in the Odessa Oblast of Ukraine. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube and Dniester rivers this multiethnic region was the southern part of Bessarabia...
with the castles of Chilia and Cetatea Albă
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi is a city situated on the right bank of the Dniester Liman in the Odessa Oblast of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Bessarabia...
. The region had previously belonged to Wallachia, but had been incorporated into Moldavia in the late 14th century. Due to the decline of Moldavia during the civil war, the region reverted back to Wallachia, with Chilia being co-ruled by Hungary and Wallachia.
Foreign relations
In 1462, Stephen sent a letter to his cousin, Prince Vlad III of WallachiaVlad III the Impaler
Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia , also known by his patronymic Dracula , and posthumously dubbed Vlad the Impaler , was a three-time Voivode of Wallachia, ruling mainly from 1456 to 1462, the period of the incipient Ottoman conquest of the Balkans...
, asking him to return Chilia back to Moldavia — a demand that was most likely refused. On 22 June, when Vlad was fighting Sultan Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, Stephen launched an attack on Chilia, with some Turkish assistance, with the objective of capturing the fortress. The Wallachians rushed to the scene with 7,000 men, and together with the Hungarian garrison, battled the Moldavians and the Turks for eight days. The Turks were defeated and Stephen was wounded by a piece of shrapnel — an injury which would hasten his death. In 1465, when Dracula was imprisoned in Hungary, Stephen again advanced towards Chilia with a large force and siege weapons; but instead of besieging the fortress, he showed the garrison, who favoured the Polish King, a letter in which the King requires them to surrender the fortress. The garrison complied with the King's demand and Stephen entered the fortress escorted by Polish troops where he found “its two captains, rather tipsy, for they have been to a wedding.” Mehmed was furious about the news and claimed Chilia as being a part of Wallachia, which now was a vassal to the Porte, and demanded Stephen relinquish ownership. However, Stephen refused and recruited an army, forcing Mehmed, who was not yet ready to wage war, to accept the situation, if only for the time being. Długosz recalls that in the beginning of his reign, Stephen reformed his army by extending rights for men to bear arms:
In 1466, Stephen regained Khotyn
Khotyn
Khotyn is a city in Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, and is the administrative center of Khotyn Raion within the oblast, and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, it has a population of 11,124...
from Poland in a diplomatic victory, but in the same year, Corvinus became on bad terms with King Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV KG of the House of Jagiellon was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447, until his death.Casimir was the second son of King Władysław II Jagiełło , and the younger brother of Władysław III of Varna....
of Poland, which frustrated the Hungarian king further, knowing that Moldavia was a Polish fief. One year later, in 1467, the locals of Transylvania started an uprising in which Corvinus had a difficult time quelling the riots. He later found out that Stephen had supported the rioters, — probably in order to find and kill Aron. Długosz writes in his ‘’Annals’’ that in 1467, a certain "Berendeja" went to the court of Corvinus and promised to make Moldavia his vassal, if the King would in turn make him Prince of Moldavia. This was denounced by Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga
Nicolae Iorga was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, poet and playwright. Co-founder of the Democratic Nationalist Party , he served as a member of Parliament, President of the Deputies' Assembly and Senate, cabinet minister and briefly as Prime Minister...
, who argued that Corvinus started recruiting troops and took Aron with him to put him on the Moldavian throne. This is disputed by Długosz though, who in ‘’Historiae Polonicae’’, adds that Corvinus brought with him both Aron and Berendeja, making unknown whom the king considered more worthy of the Moldavian throne.
Preparations for war
The Hungarians recruited an army of 40,000, many drawn locally from Transylvania. Many knights and Hungarian aristocrats followed, one of them being Stefan BáthoryStephen V Báthory
Stephen Báthory of Ecsed was a Hungarian commander, 'dapiferorum regalium magister' , judge of the Royal Court and voivod of Transylvania...
. With them, they brought 500 cannons and other heavy siege equipment. The Moldavians, being fewer in number and seeing that the Hungarians were determined to wage war, started to evacuate the population close to the Hungarian border and blockaded the passages by cutting down trees and placing them on the roads.
Battle
The Hungarians departed in the middle of October and reached the realm of Moldavia at the beginning of November, using a passage near BacăuBacau
Bacău is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. It covers a land surface of 43 km², and, as of January 1, 2009, has an estimated population of 177,087. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, and on the Bistriţa River...
. On 19 November, the Hungarians arrived at the Trotuş River
Trotus River
The Trotuş River in eastern Romania emerges from the Ciuc Mountains in the Eastern Carpathians and joins the Siret River after passing through Comăneşti and Oneşti in Bacău County...
where they met some Moldavian resistance, but Corvinus, to ensure the "loyalty of his troops, avoids a pitched battle and limits his efforts to surprise attacks and ambushes, yet is himself prevented from foraging or doing further damage."
The town was destroyed and the Hungarians headed for Bacău
Bacau
Bacău is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. It covers a land surface of 43 km², and, as of January 1, 2009, has an estimated population of 177,087. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, and on the Bistriţa River...
, which they also burned down; then they continued to Roman
Roman, Romania
Roman is a mid-sized city, having the title of municipality, located in the central part of Moldavia, a traditional region of Romania. It is located 46 km east of Piatra Neamţ, in the Neamţ County at the confluence of Siret and Moldova rivers....
and stayed there between 29 November and 7 December. According to a chronicle, Stephen sent envoys to negotiate a peace treaty, but the two factions could not agree and the war continued. Roman was put to flames and the Hungarians killed everyone they encountered, “without considering their sex, age, or looks.” After three days of marching and more pillaging, they reached Baia where Corvinus met with a Hungarian by the name of Sythotus, who revealed to him the Moldavian position, their numbers (12,000), and their plan to attack before dusk. The Moldavians were encamped further north, between Moldova River
Moldova River
The Moldova River is a river in Romania, in the historical region of Moldavia. The river rises from the Obcina Feredeu Mountains of Bukovina in Suceava County and joins the Siret River near the city of Roman in Neamţ County....
and Şomuz creek. Corvinus ordered the city to be fortified with “ramparts, ditches and a ring of wagons,” as the men were told to be prepared for battle and guards were sent to guard strategic points.
A peculiar report mentions that Stephen himself was captured by the Hungarians on 14 December, but that he managed to trick them into releasing him. On 15 December, when dusk was approaching, Stephen sent smaller detachments that set the town on fire from three different places: thereafter, noise and confusion set in. Stephen ordered his men to dismount and soon after they launched their attack and made battle until dawn. Descriptions of the battle say that the fire made the night equally light as the day and that many Hungarians were consumed by the flames. The two armies started to butcher each other at the gate of the city; then the fighting continued onto the streets "with such a wrath, that nothing could be seen as more horrible than this." The Moldavians got the upper hand of the battle and launched another attack against the royal guard, which consisted of 200 heavily armed knights, the aristocrats and Corvinus. Many Moldavians were killed in the tumult that followed, as Báthory and the rest of the knights tried to defend the entrance to the market. Corvinus was wounded by three arrows in the back and had to be “carried from the battlefield on a stretcher, to avoid him falling into the hands of the enemy.”
The retreating Hungarian army, on its way to Transylvania, was stopped by a blockade; there they decided to bury the 500 cannons and other treasures, so the Moldavians would not be able to capture them. According to Długosz, Corvinus escaped the Moldavians due to the assistance of another Vlach (Romanian), whom Stephen found and had executed because of treachery. The Moldavian-German Chronicles say that someone named Isaia failed to launch the cavalry attack which would have blocked the path for the Hungarian retreat; for this, he and others were later executed. Around 10,000 Hungarians were said to have been killed; most of the barons escaped with their king. A Hungarian chronicle mentions 7,000 casualties for the Moldavians. This chronicle is disputed though, due to it being the only one mentioning the Moldavian casualites in numbers; and because the Hungarians did not have the opportunity to calculate the numbers of their fallen enemy. The entire conflict, with the Hungarian invasion and retreat, took around forty days.
Aftermath
Some of the Hungarian standards that were captured came with a "huge booty of tents, waggons and guns," which were sent to Casimir as proof of Stephen's victory. Upon his return to BraşovBrasov
Brașov is a city in Romania and the capital of Brașov County.According to the last Romanian census, from 2002, there were 284,596 people living within the city of Brașov, making it the 8th most populated city in Romania....
on Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
day, Corvinus took revenge on the people who had rebelled against him by torturing them to death; thereafter he fined the Transylvanians a sum of 400,000 florins
Italian coin florin
The Italian florin was a coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard. It had 54 grains of nominally pure gold worth approximately 200 modern US Dollars...
, which they had to pay immediately, in gold. With this money he raised an army of foreign mercenaries, which would prove more loyal to him. In 1468, Stephen campaigned in Transylvania, found Aron and had him executed. Stephen and Corvinus would later negotiate a peace treaty and become allies; in 1475, Corvinus sent 1,800 soldiers that assisted Stephen in his victory at the Battle of Vaslui
Battle of Vaslui
The Battle of Vaslui was fought on January 10, 1475 between Stephen III of Moldavia and the Ottoman Beylerbey of Rumelia, Hadân Suleiman Pasha. The battle took place at Podul Înalt , near the town of Vaslui, in Moldavia...
.