Pages: 91-102

Tint is shortly described by Dimitrie Cantemir as a fortress, edified by Stephen the Great in the vicinity of the mouth of Ialpuh river in the south of Moldova and subsequently destroyed by the Turks. For a long time, the insufficient data did not allow for a deeper study of this defensive complex.
Having compiled and analyzed diverse data on this topic, the author has identified the fortress of Tint in the remains of some fortifications near the village of Ciumai, Taraclia district, Republic of Moldova. Here, earthworks and moats could be observed, forming a closed rhomboid space with the surface of 0.7 hectares. The inhabitants of the modern village have been discovering here different Turkish artefacts, including coins.
Probably, the fortress appeared around 1486 on the new border with the Turks, after the cession of the fortresses Kiliya and Akkerman. The fortress of Tint could protect the country from the south, near the forest region of Chigheci (Tigheci). The population of Tigheci woud assure the combativity of the fortress. Tint was presumably destroyed short after 1538, when the Ottoman Empire ultimately conquered the Moldovan territory.
Some of the conclusions presented in this article are hypothetical and shall be corrected after future archaeological investigations.

Keywords: fortress Tint, fortress Skarlat, Chigheci, Tigheci, Ialpuh, Salcea, Ciumai, Stephen the Great, Moldovan-Turkish relations

Information about author:

Nicolai Russev (Kishinev, Moldova). Doctor Habilitat of History. High Anthropological School University, Zimbrului St., 10a, Kishinev, MD-2024, Moldova
E-mail: [email protected]