In 1576, the Polish Sejm elected Stefan Batory as the new king. He remained in the annals of history as a great commander, a talented leader of a strong army that managed to turn the tide of the Livonian War.
The origin of the future king
At the end of September 1533, a son named after his father was born in the family of the governor of Transylvania, Stefan Batory. By ethnic origin, he was a Hungarian and belonged to the noble family of Batoriev Shomlio.
In that era, Transylvania (now part of Romania) was a disputed territory claimed by both Romanians and Hungarians. In ancient times, it was inhabited by the Dacians, conquered by the Romans, after their departure, the Hungarians settled here, and during the time of Batory, Transylvania was under the protectorate of the Turkish Sultan.
Training and service
At the age of 15, Stefan entered the service of Ferdinand of Habsburg, who at that time was the king of Hungary, Germany and the Czech Republic. Being in his retinue, he came to Italy, where he entered the universityPadua. It is not known whether he graduated from it, however, of course, it was here that Batory perfectly mastered Latin, which at that time was not only the language of church services, but also the ruling European elite. Latin was useful to him when he began to rule the Commonwe alth without knowledge of local languages.
Career turn
Stefan Batory, on his own initiative, left the imperial court to go to the service of the Transylvanian voivode Janos Zapoyai. The latter led the part of Hungary that did not submit to Ferdinand Habsburg, being his personal opponent. Historians suggest that Batory was driven, as we would say today, by patriotic feelings.
This move made him an enemy of the Germans, since from that moment Stefan found himself in a politically hostile camp. During the war, he was captured by the Germans, where he stayed for 3 years. As in Italy, Bathory did not waste time, which was completely unusual for a man of his position. He took up self-education, studied ancient Roman lawyers and historians.
After his release from captivity at the age of 38, Batory was elected Prince of Transylvania. He was the first to receive a princely title, all previous rulers, including his father, were called governors. However, the royal crown was waiting for him ahead. The Polish Sejm offered it to Stefan Batory not without reason: he had a noble origin, military experience, which was very much appreciated in that era, an excellent education and the necessary personal qualities.
Marriage for the Crown
The gentry used hugepowers, she not only could veto any order of the king, but also had the right to elect him. After Heinrich of Valois secretly fled to his homeland in 1574, preferring the French throne to the Polish one, Bathory put forward his candidacy.
He was supported by representatives of the small and medium gentry. He attracted them with military experience, the presence of a trained army, consisting of Hungarians, and he himself was known as a recognized commander. But he was promised election only under one condition: Stefan Batory had to marry Anna, the sister of the last Jagiellon.
Family Life
At the time of his election as king, Batory was 43 years old, and his bride - 53. Of course, there could no longer be any talk of any heir. However, their union was initially purely political. But although Stefan shied away from fulfilling his marital duty, nevertheless, when the bishop suggested that he think about divorce and a second marriage, he flatly refused.
Reforms carried out
During the coronation ceremony, which took place in May 1576 in Krakow, Batory took a solemn oath on the Bible. He promised:
- observe Henryk's articles;
- ransom or release by force all captured Lithuanians and Poles;
- return the lands of Lithuania conquered by Muscovy;
- pacify the Crimean Tatars.
Indeed, Tatar raids on the eastern borders of the Commonwe alth under Bathory were rare. They were mainly repulsed by the Ukrainian Cossacks, who were given lands by the new king for good service. Apart fromThis, he recognized the right of the Cossacks to have their own banner, as well as the right to elect a military foreman and hetman. The latter's candidacy, however, had to be finally approved by the Polish king.
Stefan Batory throughout his 10-year reign supported the Jesuits, whose education system was the best at that time in Europe. Collegiums were founded by him in Drepta, Lvov, Riga, Lublin, Polotsk. In 1582, he introduced the Gregorian calendar throughout the Commonwe alth.
But his main activity was waging wars. To this end, the army of the kingdom was reformed, and its backbone was made up of well-trained mercenaries (Hungarians and Germans). In Europe, Bathory bought new guns and hired servants for them. Now one could think of a promise to return the lands occupied by Muscovy in the early stages of the Livonian War.
Stefan Batory changes the course of events
The beginning of the protracted conflict over the B altic coast was favorable for the Muscovite kingdom: Polotsk was conquered, access to the sea was obtained. But with the accession to the Polish throne of Stefan Batory, the Livonian War was actually lost by Ivan the Terrible.
Army of the Commonwe alth, whose elite part were Germans and Hungarians, was better armed and better trained. During its offensive, almost all the previous conquests of the Muscovite kingdom were lost: Polotsk, Livonia and Courland again went to the Commonwe alth.
The only major defeat of the Polish army was the unsuccessful campaign of Stefan Batory against Pskov. You can find out more about this eventfrom quite numerous sources - both Russian and Polish. The diaries of the participants of that military campaign have been preserved, for example, the castellan Jan Sborovsky, who commanded the elite part of the Batory army, Luka Dzilynsky, the commander of the avant-garde detachment.
The siege of Pskov by Stefan Batory
The army of the Commonwe alth approached the walls of the city in August 1581. Batory had no doubts about victory, because he had an army of many thousands at his disposal. To intimidate the enemy, he organized a military review under the walls of the city. He was supposed to make a strong impression on the few (compared to the besiegers) defenders.
The defense of Pskov from Stefan Batory was led by the princes Shuisky and Skopin-Shuisky. On their orders, the townspeople burned and devastated the surroundings in order to deprive the enemy of food and fodder.
The siege of the city walls began in early September. Unexpectedly for the Poles, the Pskovites put up strong resistance, which neither tunnels, nor assaults, nor red-hot cannonballs, nor breaches in the walls could break.
Then Batory decided to try another tactic: he offered the defenders of Pskov to surrender on favorable terms in order to avoid extermination. The townspeople refused, although the expected help from the king never came.
But the army of Stefan Batory suffered hardships. The siege continued longer than the king had originally intended. With the first frosts, food shortages, illnesses began, and the mercenaries demanded a salary. In such a situation, it became obvious that the city was to be takenfail. In November, the Polish king, having transferred command to Hetman Zamoysky, left for Vilna.
However, Ivan the Terrible also sought to conclude a truce. In January of the following year, through the mediation of the papal legate, it was concluded on terms that were extremely unfavorable to the Muscovite kingdom. Only after that the Poles finally lifted the siege of Pskov.
Sudden death
After the armistice, Bathory continued to reform within his vast kingdom. In Grodno, he took up the reconstruction of the Old Castle, where his residence was. Here Stefan Batory suddenly died at the end of 1586
As rumors of poisoning began to circulate, an official autopsy was performed. Doctors did not find traces of poison, but determined the cause of death of the king: acute kidney failure.
Stefan Batory was originally buried in Grodno, but later his remains were transferred to Krakow, reburied in the Wawel Cathedral, which is the burial place of many Polish monarchs.
