Stephen Báthory

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Stephen Báthory

(bä`tôrĭ), Pol. Stefan Batory, 1533–86, king of Poland (1575–86), prince of Transylvania (1571–75), son of Stephen BáthoryBáthory
, Pol. Batory, Hungarian noble family. Stephen Báthory, 1477–1534, a loyal adherent of John I of Hungary (John Zápolya), was made (1529) voivode [governor] of Transylvania.
..... Click the link for more information. (1477–1534). He was elected to succeed John II as prince of Transylvania. In Poland, he was elected by a majority to succeed Henry of Valois, who had left Poland in 1574 to rule France as Henry IIIHenry III,
1551–89, king of France (1574–89); son of King Henry II and Catherine de' Medici. He succeeded his brother, Charles IX. As a leader of the royal army in the Wars of Religion (see Religion, Wars of) against the French Protestants, or Huguenots, Henry, then
..... Click the link for more information. . A minority voted for Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian IIMaximilian II,
1527–76, Holy Roman emperor (1564–76), king of Bohemia (1562–76) and of Hungary (1563–76), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I.
..... Click the link for more information. , who died before he could make good his claim. As had been stipulated by the Polish diet, Stephen married Anna, daughter of Sigismund IISigismund II
or Sigismund Augustus,
1520–72, king of Poland (1548–72). Crowned in 1530 to assure his succession, he assumed the royal functions at the death of his father, Sigismund I.
..... Click the link for more information. , the last Jagiello king of Poland. To his brother, Christopher Báthory, he gave Transylvania. With his chancellor, Jan ZamojskiZamojski or Zamoyski, Jan
, 1542–1605, Polish statesman, general, and author. He championed the rights of the lesser nobility; after the extinction (1572) of the Jagiello dynasty, he used his influence to restrict
..... Click the link for more information. , Stephen fought several successful campaigns against Ivan IVIvan IV
or Ivan the Terrible,
1530–84, grand duke of Moscow (1533–84), the first Russian ruler to assume formally the title of czar. Early Reign

Ivan succeeded his father Vasily III, who died in 1533, under the regency of his mother.
..... Click the link for more information. of Russia in the lengthy war for the succession to LivoniaLivonia
, region and former Russian province, comprising present Estonia and parts of Latvia (Vidzeme and Latgale). It borders on the Baltic Sea and its arms, the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Finland, in the west and the north and extends E to Lake Peipus (Chudskoye) and the
..... Click the link for more information. . Peace was made in 1582 through papal mediation, and Poland retained Polotsk and its part of Livonia. Toward the end of his reign Stephen Báthory planned a Christian alliance against the Ottomans. He also schemed to make Russia a vassal state of Poland—a project that he considered a necessary step for his anti-Ottoman crusade. He supported the Society of Jesus (see Jesus, Society ofJesus, Society of,
religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. Its members are called Jesuits. St. Ignatius of Loyola, its founder, named it Compañia de Jesús [Span.,=(military) company of Jesus]; in Latin it is Societas Jesu (abbr. S.J.).
..... Click the link for more information. ) in Poland in an attempt to foster the Catholic Reform, and he effected useful judiciary reforms. After his death Sigismund III, a Swedish nephew of Sigismund IISigismund II
or Sigismund Augustus,
1520–72, king of Poland (1548–72). Crowned in 1530 to assure his succession, he assumed the royal functions at the death of his father, Sigismund I.
..... Click the link for more information. , was elected king.