TRENDEFRARAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Battle · 1476
Relations between Stephen III, voivode of Moldavia, and the Ottoman state had broken down. According to the TDV article on Moldavia, Mehmed II led a campaign into Moldavia in person in 1476, with Wallachian troops in his army. He first demanded the tribute, the return of Genoese captives and the surrender of Kiliya; when this was refused, the Ottoman army inflicted a heavy defeat on the Moldavian forces at Valea Albă (Akdere) and entered the capital Suceava, but could not take its fortress. As the Moldavians withdrew burning everything, famine and plague among the Janissaries, together with Hungarian war preparations, forced Mehmed to withdraw.
| Date | Summer 1476 |
|---|---|
| Location | Valea Albă (Akdere) and Suceava, Moldavia |
| Result | The Moldavian army was defeated; Suceava's fortress was not taken and the army withdrew |
| Belligerents | Ottoman state | Principality of Moldavia |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Mehmed II | Stephen III |
Took place during the reign of Mehmed II (1451–1481). Mehmed II
Open the reign of Mehmed II on the mapBy the atlas's calculation the Ottoman lands covered about 1,127,000 km² in 1476; at the start of Mehmed II's reign they measured 664,000 km², at its end 1,140,000 km².
During Mehmed II (1451–1481) the atlas records 13 regions gained and 0 regions lost.
Regions gained: Istanbul and the Straits (1453), Moldavia (1455), Athens–Central Greece (1456), Morea (Peloponnese) (1460), Trabzon (Pontus) (1461), Kastamonu–Sinop (Candar) (1461), Aegean Islands (Lesbos–Lemnos–Samos) (1462), Bosnia (1463), and 5 more.
The conquest of Constantinople (1453) ended the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), turned the Ottoman state into an empire and moved the centre of the state permanently to Istanbul. By eliminating most of the independent states in the Balkans and Anatolia he consolidated the borders between the Danube and the Euphrates; his first reign was in 1444–1446.
Areas are land area computed from the atlas's region data; see Method and sources.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “BOĞDAN” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.
Cite as: Atlas of the Sultans, “Battle of Valea Albă (1476): Date, Commanders and Outcome”, https://padisahlaratlasi.com/en/events/battle-of-valea-alba/ (last updated 12 November 2026). Corrections
Terms on this page: Janissaries