# Stephen III of Moldavia

> He ruled Moldavia for forty-seven years, fought dozens of battles against three empires at once, and died in his bed. Stephen the Great held the line between Christian Europe and Ottoman expansion through a mix of fortresses, shock victories, and the kind of diplomatic pivoting that kept larger powers guessing which way he'd turn next.

*Prince of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/stephen-iii-of-moldavia

## Identity
- **Born:** 1433
- **Died:** 1504-07-02
- **Status:** deceased
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

Stephen took refuge in Transylvania after his father Bogdan II was assassinated in 1451, then seized the Moldavian throne six years later at the Battle of Orbic with help from his cousin Vlad the Impaler. He spent the next decades playing Poland, Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire against each other - acknowledging suzerainty when cornered, then breaking free when the moment allowed. In 1475 he crushed a massive Ottoman invasion at Vaslui, earning Pope Sixtus IV's title "Champion of Christ," though no Western army ever came. The Ottomans took his key Danube ports in 1484; Stephen spent the rest of his reign trying to burn them back and bleeding Polish and Ottoman raiding parties in ambush battles through Moldavian forests. He built dozens of stone churches and fortresses, died in 1504 after forty-seven years in power, and left Moldavia with borders intact. The Romanian Orthodox Church canonized him in 1992.

## Fame
- **Popularity score:** 58.4 / 100
- **Momentum:** 4.0 / 100  (trend: RISING)
- **Historical depth:** 24.6 / 100
- **Attention shift:** 21.0 / 100
- **Source confidence:** 60.0 / 100
- **Profile completeness:** 40.0 / 100

## Topics
#Politicians, #Politician, #Politics, #Medieval Era

## Sources
- [Estêvão III da Moldávia](https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Est%C3%AAv%C3%A3o_III_da_Mold%C3%A1via)
- [Stefanus III van Moldavië](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefanus_III_van_Moldavi%C3%AB)
- [Stefano III il Grande](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefano_III_il_Grande)
- [斯特凡三世](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%AF%E7%89%B9%E5%87%A1%E4%B8%89%E4%B8%96)
- [シュテファン3世 (モルドヴァ公)](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A5%E3%83%86%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%83%B33%E4%B8%96_(%E3%83%A2%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A1%E5%85%AC))
- [Стефан III Великий](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%84%D0%B0%D0%BD_III_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9)
- [Stefan III Wielki](https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_III_Wielki)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q218134)
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_III_of_Moldavia)
- [Pantheon 2.0](https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Stephen%20III%20of%20Moldavia)
- [Esteve III de Moldàvia](https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esteve_III_de_Mold%C3%A0via)
- [Štěpán III. Veliký](https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0t%C4%9Bp%C3%A1n_III._Velik%C3%BD)
- [Stefan 3. af Moldavien](https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_3._af_Moldavien)
- [Ștefan cel Mare](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C8%98tefan_cel_Mare)
- [Στέφανος Γ΄ ο Μέγας](https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A3%CF%84%CE%AD%CF%86%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%82_%CE%93%CE%84_%CE%BF_%CE%9C%CE%AD%CE%B3%CE%B1%CF%82)
- [Stephen the Great](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_the_Great)
- [Stefano la 3-a (Moldavio)](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefano_la_3-a_(Moldavio))
- [Esteban III de Moldavia](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esteban_III_de_Moldavia)
- [Ștefan cel Mare](https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C8%98tefan_cel_Mare)
- [Eztebe III.a Moldaviakoa](https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eztebe_III.a_Moldaviakoa)
- [Esteban III de Moldavia](https://ext.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esteban_III_de_Moldavia)
- [استفن سوم مولدووا](https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%81%D9%86_%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%85_%D9%85%D9%88%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%88%D8%A7)
- [Tapani III Suuri](https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapani_III_Suuri)
- [Étienne III (prince de Moldavie)](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_III_(prince_de_Moldavie))
- [Estevo III de Moldova](https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estevo_III_de_Moldova)
- [שטפן הגדול](https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%98%D7%A4%D7%9F_%D7%94%D7%92%D7%93%D7%95%D7%9C)
- [Stjepan III. Moldavski](https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stjepan_III._Moldavski)
- [III. István moldvai fejedelem](https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/III._Istv%C3%A1n_moldvai_fejedelem)
- [Стефан Велики](https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%84%D0%B0%D0%BD_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8)
- [Стэфан III Вялікі](https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%82%D1%8D%D1%84%D0%B0%D0%BD_III_%D0%92%D1%8F%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D1%96)

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