Ștefan III

\u0218tefan III, also known as Stephen the Great, was the prince of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He gained fame across Europe for his prolonged resistance against the Ottoman Turks. With assistance from Vlad III the Impaler of Walachia, \u0218tefan secured his throne. He successfully repelled a Hungarian invasion in 1467 and later defeated an Ottoman attack led by Sultan Mehmed II in 1475 near Vaslui. Despite a subsequent defeat in 1476, his defiance earned him the title "Athlete of Christ" from Pope Sixtus IV. Later in his reign, he faced new Ottoman threats as well as Polish and Hungarian ambitions, eventually securing Moldavian independence through a treaty that required an annual tribute to the Turks. His rule, though marked by conflict, also saw significant cultural development and ecclesiastical construction. Moldavia itself was a principality on the Danube River that eventually united with Walachia to form Romania.12