one of the two Danubian Principalities under the sovereignty of Turkey, is bounded on the N. and E. by the Russian province of Bessarabia and the Black Sea, S. by the principality of Wallachia, along with the Danube and the Kilia branch of that river, which separate it from Turkey, and W. by the Austrian provinces of Transylvania and Bukowina; lying between N. Lat. 45. 15. and 48. 13., and E. Long. 25. 10. and 30. 13. It has a length of about 200 miles from N. to S., an average breadth of about 100, and contains an area of about 19,982 square miles. The Carpathians form the natural boundary on the W., and separate it from Transylvania. These mountains rise to the height of from 3000 to 5000 feet above the sea, and send off numerous branches to the eastward, gradually diminishing in height as they approach the banks of Moldavia, the Sereth, which traverses the country from N. to S. The general surface of the country, excepting the part occupied by the marsh-lands at the mouth of the Danube, slopes from W. to E., and terminates in an undulating plain of considerable extent. The principal rivers of Moldavia are the Sereth and the Pruth; the former rises among the highlands of Bukowina, flows first E. and then S., and finally falls into the Danube after a course of about 270 miles. The Pruth rises in the same region as the Sereth, flows S.S.E., and falls into the Danube at Reni after a meandering course of 360 miles. It forms the north-eastern boundary of Moldavia, and is navigable for three-fourths of its length. The other important rivers are the Bistritz, Birlat, Moldava, Tatros, and Tazjen, all of which flow southward, and fall into the Sereth. The soil of the country is rather stony in the E., but gradually improves in fertility as it approaches the rivers; and the greater part is abundantly productive, amply rewarding the labour which is applied to it, notwithstanding the excessive heat of the summers, and the intense cold of the winters. The corn is excellent, especially the summer or hard wheat. The wine is good, and produced in abundance. Excellent cattle are fattened in the meadows; and good flax, hemp, honey, wax, and all kinds of fruits, are most abundant. The mineral resources of Moldavia are very great; but little advantage is taken of their abundance. Rock-salt, saltpetre, and bitumen, are the principal minerals, and these are found chiefly in the Carpathian Mountains and towards the N. of the principality; while small quantities of gold-dust have been obtained from some of the rivers. Great numbers of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and hogs are reared in the meadows and forests of Moldavia; and some of the boyars or noblemen have studs of no fewer than 400 or 600 mares.

The climate of Moldavia is exposed to severe cold in winter and excessive heat during summer. Rain falls in large quantities in the months of June and September; but the weather in October and November is very mild. The vicinity of the marshes which occupy that section of the state between the Pruth and the Black Sea is, however, very unhealthy, especially during the hot season. The inhabitants live in a wretched manner in earthen huts, without windows or chimneys, and sometimes underground. The manufactures are few and rude in kind. But this want is fully compensated by the great advantages for importation and exportation afforded by the Danube, now open to all nations.

The three ports of Moldavia are Galatz, Ismail, and Reni, all on the Danube; but the first is by far the most important. In the year 1855, when the operations of the Russo-Turkish war were transferred from the Danube to the Crimea, and the trade of that river was thus enabled to resume its usual importance, the number of shipping and tonnage entering and clearing at Galatz amounted to a total of 1698 vessels, with 417,584 of aggregate tonnage. The following table shows the value of the imports and exports of Galatz from and to the various countries in 1855, as well as the amount and value of the chief articles imported and exported during the same year:

| Value of Imports from— | Value of Exports to— | |------------------------|---------------------| | Britain | Greece | | £1,258,240 | £698,920 | | France | Austria | | 152,460 | 180,280 | | Turkey | Holland | | 141,840 | 112,280 | | Holland | Sweden | | 38,480 | 78,480 | | Other countries | Tuscany | | 38,920 | 31,680 | | **Total** | **Other countries** | | 624,580 | 1,194,360 |

The population of Moldavia is almost identical in kind Moldavia, with that of the neighbouring principality of Wallachia, and seems to belong to the same race as the ancient Dacians, who inhabited this region from the earliest times. The Moldavians, indeed, differ very little from their ancestors in appearance, costume, and manner of life, and they still bear the name of Roumuni or Romans, while their dialect is a corruption of Latin with Slavonic, Turkish, and Tartar words. There are four classes of people in Moldavia, viz.—1. The boyars or nobility, and the clergy, who are exempted from taxation; 2. The privileged classes, such as the academic corporation at Jassy, but who are liable to taxation; 3. The villagers; and 4. The gypsies, who have no civil rights, and, till a recent period, were in a state of slavery either to the government or to private individuals. They have now, however, been released from servitude; those belonging to the government having been emancipated several years earlier than the slaves of the nobles, who received their liberty only in 1853. The established religion of Moldavia is that of the Greek church, superintended by a metropolitan and a vicar. The capital is Jassy; and the principality is divided into Upper and Lower Moldavia, and subdivided into districts, of which the former contains six, and the latter eight, as follows:

### Upper Moldavia

| Districts | Chief Towns | Pop. (1856) | |-----------|-------------|------------| | 1. Dorohoi | Mihaileni | 80,222 | | 2. Botoshani | Botoshani | 146,361 | | 3. Suczava | Falichieli | 71,044 | | 4. Nyenchoo | Nitra | 90,219 | | 5. Roman | Roman | 80,877 | | 6. Jassy | Jassy | 128,566 |

### Lower Moldavia

| Districts | Chief Towns | Pop. (1856) | |-----------|-------------|------------| | 1. Vasboul | Vasboul | 84,703 | | 2. Falchey | Koosh | 78,722 | | 3. Tutova | Birlat | 83,675 | | 4. Tacutel | Tacutel | 86,505 | | 5. Kowel | Kowel | 132,244 | | 6. Poohol | Poohol | 124,217 | | 7. Kovarhol | Galatz | 67,293 | | 8. Moldavian Bessarabia (ceded 1856) | Ismail | 42,600 |

**Total** | **1,297,047**

The principality of Moldavia occupies part of the region known in ancient times by the name of Dacia (which see). In the later times of the Byzantine Empire it was overrun by several barbarous tribes, and the inhabitants were driven across the Carpathian Mountains, where they remained until the thirteenth century, when a small colony, under a chieftain called Bogdan, re-established themselves in their country, which received from their leader the name of Bogdania, by which it is still known among the Turks and natives. This prince and his son gradually extended their power over the whole of Moldavia. The princes of Moldavia were at that time called voivodes, or military leaders; a name which was afterwards changed by the Turks to that of hospodars, which is still retained. In the thirteenth century Moldavia was frequently disturbed by civil war, occasioned by rival claimants for the crown, and these dissensions rose to such a height that the country was divided into two parts, one of which acknowledged the sovereignty of Poland, and the other that of Hungary. A union was, however, soon after effected, and Moldavia became subject to Hungary, paying at the same time a tribute to the Poles. In 1536 Moldavia came under the protection of the Sultan. For a considerable time after this period it was the scene of constant wars between the Poles and Turks, until the claims of the former to the sovereignty of the state were finally abandoned in 1621, and peace concluded between Turkey and Poland. But notwithstanding the authority of the Sultan was now unquestioned, the boyars still continued to elect their own voivodes, a proceeding which caused numerous disputes between them and the Moldavia. Porte. In 1710 Demetrius II., voivode of Moldavia, entered into negotiations with Peter the Great of Russia, by which the latter undertook to force the Turks to restore the principality to its former independence. On the failure of the Russian attempts, and the retreat of Peter, who was accompanied by Demetrius, the Sultan deprived the Moldavians altogether of the privilege of electing their princes. These were thenceforth nominated by the Porte direct, and received their modern title of hospodars. In 1738, during the war of Austria and Russia against Turkey, Moldavia was invaded by a Russian force under Münich, and occupied for two years, but was evacuated after the peace of Belgrade. In 1769 it was again occupied by the Russians, and in consequence of the victories gained by them over the Turks, became for a short time subject to the Czar. It was, however, restored to Turkey by the peace of Kutchuk Kainaryi in 1774. Three years later, Bukowina, which had before formed a part of Moldavia, was ceded to Austria. In 1789 this unfortunate principality was again the scene of contest between Russia and Turkey, until the peace of Jassy in 1792, when the Russian frontier was fixed by the Dniester. In the war of 1807-12 Moldavia again fell into the hands of the Russians, who, by the treaty of Bucharest, acquired possession of Bessarabia, and thus extended their frontier to the Pruth.

At the commencement of the Greek war in 1820 an insurrection broke out in the Danubian Principalities, but was suppressed by the Turks, who then occupied with an army the two principalities until the year 1826. It was then agreed by an article in the treaty of Ackermann, that the hospodars of Moldavia should be elected by the boyars out of their own number for a period of seven years. In 1828 another war between Turkey and Russia broke out; and Moldavia was occupied by the Russians without opposition until peace was established by the treaty of Adrianople in 1829. By this treaty it was stipulated that all the Turks should leave Moldavia, which was thenceforth to be under the protection of Russia. The hospodars were now to be elected for life, and their power was limited by a divan, consisting of ten boyars, and an assembly of deputies from the boyars, the clergy, the academic corporation, and the landowners, which was to meet annually. An annual tribute is paid to the Porte of three millions of piastres, or somewhat more than L27,000, and an additional tribute is paid at the accession of each new hospadar. The Moldavians were also bound to pay to the Porte a yearly sum as a compensation for the surrender by the latter of the fortifications N. of the Danube, and of the rights they formerly possessed. The principality was governed by the Russian general Kisseloff from 1832 to 1834, when the constitution was approved by the Porte; and in the same year Michel Stourdza was elected hospadar. A conspiracy was formed in 1840 to unite the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia into one state, but without success. In 1848 the influence of revolutionary sentiments was felt in Moldavia; the people of Jassy demanded a new constitution, and although the hospadar successfully resisted this movement, he laid down his authority in the same year. In 1849 the treaty of Balta Liman was concluded between Russia and Turkey, in accordance with which the hospodars were to be nominated by the Russian and Turkish courts for a period of seven years; and in June of that year Gregory Ghika was appointed hospadar. In 1853 a Russian army entered and seized possession of Moldavia and Wallachia, and the hospodars of the Principalities retired. After attempting in vain to cross the Danube in Wallachia, the Russians, in the spring of 1854 crossed that river at Galatz, and seized the fortresses in the Dobrudsha. They then proceeded to lay siege to Silistria, but this town was so vigorously defended that they were obliged to raise the siege, and the British and French troops having arrived at Varna, the Russian army evacuated the Principalities in the autumn of 1854. The hospodars then returned to their respective governments, and the Principalities were occupied by an Austrian army. At the conference of Vienna in March 1855 a proposal was made by Baron Boursqueny, the French plenipotentiary, to unite the two principalities under a foreign prince, subject to the sovereignty of Turkey; but the discussion of this proposal was deferred until the opinion of the Porte was known. By the treaty of Paris in 1856, a portion of Bessarabia was reunited to Moldavia, so that the Russian territory had no longer any communication with the Danube. At the same time the protectorate of Russia over the Principalities was abolished, and the continuance of all their rights and immunities was guaranteed by the European powers. The future organization of the Principalities was to be decided according to the wishes of the majority of the people. The treaty of Balta Liman, in accordance with which the hospadar Gregory Ghika governed Moldavia, being annulled, and at the same time the term of seven years for which he was appointed having expired, that prince laid down his authority, and the Sultan appointed Theodore Baltche hospadar in his stead. During his reign Ghika had granted to the Moldavians the liberty of the press, and had shown himself favourable to the union of the Principalities, which was the wish of the majority of the people; but the present hospadar, as well as the Sultan, is opposed to it, and the liberty of the press has been suppressed by the Sultan. The receipts of the principality in 1853 amounted to 13,235,230 piastres or L129,411, and the expenses to 12,456,324 piastres or L122,320, of which the tribute to the Sultan made up 715,000 piastres or L55,000. The army of Moldavia in the same year consisted of a force of 15,944 men. (For the more recent history, see Wallachia.)