Bogdan I of Moldavia
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Bogdan of Cuhea (or Bogdan-Vodă; Bogdan I of Moldavia) is the second founding-figure of the Principality of Moldavia, ruling between 1359 and 1365. He was previously an ethnic Romanian nobleman and Voivode of Maramureş.
In 1350, King Louis of Hungary entrusted Bogdan with land to the east of the Carpathians. The objective was to create a defensive barrier against the Mongols, who had frequently pillaged Hungarian lands. In 1359, however, Bogdan rebelled against Hungarian authority and crossed the mountains together with his followers, disposing of the then-voivode of Moldavia, Prince Bâlc, grandson of Dragoş.
The Ottoman chronicles started to refer to Moldavia as Bogdan or Bogdania in reference to the polity. During his reign, the first Moldovian coins were minted, bearing the inscription: Moneda Moldaviae-Bogdan Waiwo(da).
Unlike his deposed predecessors, who had been close to the Hungarian Crown, he reshaped Moldavia's position and secured her independence a decade after he seized the throne. He successfully resisted Hungarian and Polish ambitions whilst confronting Mongol rule to the east (see Golden Horde).
His first capital was located in Baia, then in Siret, but was soon moved to Suceava.
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