Battle of Baia

In 1359, Bogdan I of Moldavia rebelled against the King of Hungary and founded an independent Moldavia. However, the Hungarian attempts to seize control over Moldavia did not end there, and in 1429, Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, and also King of Hungary, met with Władysław Jagiełło, King of Poland to try to persuade him to launch a joint attack on Moldavia and divide the country in two equal parts—Polish and Hungarian. Sigismund argued that the Moldavian nation did not "owe allegiance to anyone, is accustomed to live by theft and brigandage and so is everyone's enemy." He also complained about not receiving any help for his struggle against the Turks. Due to the decline of Moldavia during the civil war, the region reverted to Wallachia, with Chilia being co-ruled by Hungary and Wallachia. Foreign relations On 22 June 1462, when Prince Vlad III Dracula of Wallachia was fighting Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire, Stephen launched an attack on Chilia (which was under Hungarian rule), with some Turkish assistance, with the objective of capturing the fortress. The Wallachians rushed to the help with 7,000 men and, together with the Hungarian garrison, battled the Moldavians and the Turks for eight days. The Turks were defeated and Stephen was wounded by a piece of shrapnel Mehmed was furious about the news and claimed Chilia as being a part of Wallachia, which now was a vassal to the Porte, and demanded Stephen relinquish ownership. However, Stephen refused and recruited an army, forcing Mehmed, who was not yet ready to wage war, to accept the situation, if only for the time being. which frustrated the Hungarian king further, knowing that Moldavia was a Polish fief. One year later, Transylvanian locals started an uprising which Corvinus had a difficult time quelling. He later found out that Stephen had supported the rioters – probably in order to find and kill Aron. Długosz writes in his ‘’Annals’’ that in 1467, a certain "Berendeja" went to the court of Corvinus and promised to make Moldavia his vassal, if the King would in turn make him Prince of Moldavia. bringing 500 cannons The Moldavians, being fewer in number and seeing that the Hungarians were determined to wage war, started to evacuate the population close to the border and blockade routes with felled trees. ==Battle==

The Hungarians departed in the middle of October On 19 November, On 15 December, when dusk was approaching, Stephen sent smaller detachments that set the town on fire from three different places: thereafter, noise and confusion set in. According to Długosz, Corvinus escaped the Moldavians due to the assistance of another Vlach (Romanian), whom Stephen found and had executed because of treachery. The Moldavian-German Chronicles say that someone named Isaia failed to launch the cavalry attack which would have blocked the path for the Hungarian retreat; for this, he and others were later executed. 4,000–10,000 Hungarians were said to have been killed; most of the barons survived, following their king. Janus Pannonius mentions totally 11,000 casualties for the Moldavian, with 4,000 "cut down while retreating". ==Aftermath==

Some sources claim the battle resulted in Moldavian victory. However, others claim Hungarian victory. Some of the Hungarian standards that were captured came with a "huge booty of tents, waggons and guns", which were sent to Casimir as proof of Stephen's victory. In 1468, Stephen campaigned in Transylvania, found Aron and had him executed. Stephen and Corvinus would later negotiate a peace treaty, with Stephen accepting Corvinus as his de jure liege lord. In 1475, Corvinus sent 6,800 soldiers that assisted Stephen in his victory at the Battle of Vaslui. ==Footnotes==