Petru Rares of Moldavia IV

Voivode of Moldova. Illegitimate son of Stephen III Cel al Mare, he accesses the throne of the principality only after the death of Stephen IV known as the younger (1527). He reigned in two times (1527-1538) and from 1541 to 1546, the year of his death. The interregnum was the consequence of his continuous attempts to seize some territories of Poland and Transylvania, hampered by the hegemonic policy of Sultan Suleiman. Petru Rares is remembered for his initiatives of patronage towards the Balkan Orthodox Church.