- Gheorghe Ştefan
:"For the Romanian politician, see
Gheorghe Ştefan (politician) "Gheorghe Ştefan (seldom referred to as "Burduja"; d. 1668 in
Szczecin ) wasVoivode (Prince) ofMoldavia betweenApril 13 andMay 8 1653 , and again fromJuly 16 1653 toMarch 13 1658 ; he was the son ofboyar Dumitraşcu Ceaur; Gheorghe Ştefan wasChancellor ("logofăt ") during the reign ofVasile Lupu .Biography
Citing Vasile's reliance on his Greek and
Levant ine retinue, as well as an alleged dishonoring of his wife by the Prince, he allied himself withWallachia n PrinceMatei Basarab andTransylvania n rulerGeorge II Rákóczi . He managed to expel Vasile Lupu, but the latter was helped to regain his position byBohdan Khmelnytsky 's force (under the command of theHetman 's son Tymofiy/Tymish), sent to Moldavia to depose him. Tymish and Lupu followed him to Wallachia, but their armies were crushed by Matei Basarab in theBattle of Finta . Gheorghe Ştefan regainedIaşi and remained on the throne, making sure that the Ottoman power was appeased - he bought his power inIstanbul , having to increase taxes in order to cover the expenses, and pay for the maintenance of his large mercenary force.The Turks grew weary of Gheorghe Ştefan's natural alliance with Transylvania and Wallachia (cemented in 1655 by the help he offered to
Constantin Şerban in crushing the rebellion of the "seimeni " inBucharest ), in which they saw the seeds of emancipation. The Sultan Mehmed Dördüncü was irritated further by the active part Moldavia played in Polish matters during The Deluge, in the same camp as Sweden, theCossack Hetmanate ,Brandenburg and Wallachia. Mehmed understood this to be a step towards the challenge of his own rule: in 1658, he deposed all three subject rulers (Rákóczi, Gheorghe Ştefan, Constantin Şerban), bringingGheorghe I Ghica as replacement in Iaşi. All three decided to resist, but Gheorghe Ştefan was defeated at Strunga (Iaşi County ), being discarded from the alliance in favor ofMihnea III of Wallachia.The Prince wandered through Poland and
Habsburg lands (1662), Brandenburg,Muscovy and Sweden (1665), seeking to find backing for his return. Severely ill and bankrupt, he ended his life inPomerania . His remains were brought back by his wife, and are thought to be buried atCaşin Monastery.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.