# Battle of the Cosmin Forest (26 October 1497)

URL: https://allhistories.com/romania/timeline/1497-battle-of-the-cosmin-forest
Location: Codrii Cosminului, Moldavia
Themes: War

In 1497 King John I Albert of Poland led a large army into Moldavia, officially against the Ottomans but, Stephen the Great suspected, to place his own brother on the Moldavian throne. The Poles besieged Suceava without success and, running short of supplies, began to withdraw. On 26 October 1497 Moldavian troops ambushed the retreating army in the Cosmin forest, felling trees onto the columns and attacking from all sides. The Poles lost many men, and in the following year Stephen raided deep into Poland. Peace was concluded in 1499. The episode entered Polish proverbs as a byword for disaster.

## Why it matters
Codrii Cosminului ended Polish claims to overlordship and confirmed Moldavia as an independent power in Stephen's final years.

Ruler at the Time: [Radu IV the Great](https://allhistories.com/romania/rulers/radu-iv-the-great)

Voivode of Moldavia: Stephen the Great
Voivode of Transylvania: Bartholomew Drágfi

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Battle of the Cosmin Forest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Cosmin_Forest)
- [Wikipedia — John I Albert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_I_Albert)
- [Wikipedia — Stephen the Great](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_the_Great)