Petru Rareș

Petru Rareș (pronounced [ˈpetru ˈrareʃ]; c. 1483 – 3 September 1546) or Petru IV was twice voivode of Moldavia from 20 January 1527 to 18 September 1538 and from 19 February 1541 to 3 September 1546. He was an illegitimate child born (probably at Hârlău) to Stephen the Great. His mother was Maria Răreșoaia of Hârlău, whose existence is not historically documented but who is said to have been the wife of a wealthy boyar fish-merchant nicknamed Rareș "rare-haired" (i.e. bald). Rareș thus was not Petru's actual name but a nickname of his mother's husband.

In his youth he was a fish merchant, but Prince Ștefăniță, grandson of Ștefan cel Mare, on his deathbed, recommended Petru as a suitable contender to the throne, thus acknowledging Petru's blood lineage from Ștefan cel Mare.

Petru is said to have exhibited many of his father's qualities, such as ambition, daring, bravery, piety, artistic taste. However, he was marked by inconstancy and a lack of political instincts.