Old Orhei (Orheiul Vechi)

Moldova / Orhei /
 archaeological site, Medieval / Middle Ages, nature conservation park / area, interesting place, tourist attraction

Archaeological complex dating to several pre-modern periods. A settlement on this site was destroyed during the Mongol invasion of 1241-1242. It was later rebuilt and named Shahr al-Jadid or Yangishehir ("New City"), serving as a royal residence for the rulers of the Mongol Golden Horde for a while somewhere between 1330 and 1360. In 1369 the town was captured by the prince of Moldavia, and came to be referred to as Orhei ("fortress"). The town prospered for awhile, but declined as a result of Mongol raids and the cutting-off of the trade route along the Dniester after the Ottoman conquest of Belgorod Dnestrovskii (Akkerman) in 1484. Orhei was destroyed by the Ottoman Turks in 1538. The population gradually migrated to the present town of Orhei some 15 km to the northwest. In the seventeenth century the site was briefly occupied by a village called Movilă, but it was abandoned again.
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Coordinates:   47°18'19"N   28°58'38"E

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This article was last modified 8 years ago