Bârlad

Bârlad was a market town on its namesake river in southern Moldavia, on routes towards the Black Sea. The region was known as Terra Berladensis after the Berladnici.

Under Moldavia, Bârlad became a southern market and seat of the Lower Land vornic under Ștefan the Great. It was sacked in 1440, 1444 and 1450; after the victory at Vaslui in 1475, an earth fort rose in its river meadow against Ottoman armies. A major Tatar raid overran the town in 1758.