Dragoș, Voivode of Moldavia

Dragoș, also known as Dragoș Vodă, or Dragoș the Founder was the first Voivode of Moldavia, who reigned in the middle of the , according to the earliest Moldavian chronicles. The same sources say that Dragoș came from Maramureş while chasing an aurochs or zimbru across the Carpathian Mountains. His descălecat, or "dismounting", on the banks of the Moldova River has traditionally been regarded as the symbol of the foundation of the Principality of Moldavia in Romanian historiography. Most details of his life are uncertain. Historians have identified him either with Dragoș of Bedeu or with Dragoș of Giulești, who were Vlach landowners in the Kingdom of Hungary. Most Moldavian chronicles write that Dragoș came to Moldavia in 1359, but modern historians tend to propose an earlier date (1345, 1347, and 1352). Dragoș became the head of a march of the Kingdom of Hungary, which emerged after a Hungarian army inflicted a crushing defeat on a large army of the Golden Horde in 1345. Early sources say that he founded Baia and Siret, and invited Saxon settlers who introduced viticulture in Moldavia. According to the traditional dating, he died in 1361, but earlier years (1353, 1354 and 1357) have also been suggested by historians. Dragoș did not establish a royal dynasty, because his grandson, Balc, was expelled from Moldavia by Bogdan of Cuhea, another Vlach landowner from Maramureş. The early 16th-century Moldo-Ruthenian Chronicle, which contains the most detailed description of the foundation of Moldavia, described Dragoș as one of the "Romans" who had received estates in Maramureș from "King Vladislav of Hungary". According to the chronicle, the king invited the "Romans" to fight against the Tatars and settled them in Maramureș after their victory over the invaders. Modern historians' attempts to determine Dragoș's family connections and to describe his early life have not produced a broad consensus. According to a scholarly theory, he was identical with Dragoș of Bedeu, mentioned in a royal charter which was issued in late 1336.