caption native_lang_name father death_date death_place mother birth_place title name birth_date image article_title native_lang reign
miniature monastery from the 1473 '' gospel '' at humor Ștefan cel mare bogdan ii of moldavia 2 july 1504 suceava , moldavia maria oltea borzești , bacău county , moldavia , romania prince of moldavia stephen the great 1433 humorstefan.jpg stephen iii of moldavia
 romanian april 12 , 1457 -- july 2 , 1504
stephen iii of moldavia

stephen iii of moldavia , commonly known as stephen the great , -lrb- , or '' Ștefan cel mare și sfânt '' , `` stephen the great and holy '' ; 1433 -- july 2 , 1504 -rrb- was prince of principality of moldavia between 1457 and 1504 , and the most prominent representative of the house of mușat .
during his reign , he strengthened moldavia and maintained its independence against the ambitions of hungary , poland , and the ottoman empire , which all sought to subdue the land .
stephen achieved fame in europe for his long resistance against the ottomans .
he was victorious in 46 of his 48 battles , and was one of the first to gain a decisive victory over the ottomans at the battle of vaslui , after which pope sixtus iv deemed him `` verus christianae fidei athleta '' -lrb- `` true champion of christian faith '' -rrb- .
he was a man of religion and displayed his piety when he paid the debt of mount athos to the porte , ensuring the continuity of athos as an autonomous monastical community .
