King Stephen Bathory – from the Hungarian fringe to the trone of Jagiellons – Șimleu Silvaniei (Szilágysomlyó)
Fact of the Polish figure „The Meeting of the Jagiellonian Kings with Emperor Maximilian in Vienna” – painting by Jan Matejko”
Part of the „Legacy of the Jagiellonians and Habsburgs dynasties” topic
Relationship between Poland and Hungary, although severely damaged due to the decline of the southern Kingdom in the 16th century, was never fully lost. Few things proves it more explicitly than Stephen (István) Báthory. As Duke of Transylvania (remnant of the fallen Hungarian Kingdom), he became a consort of the elected monarch of Poland, Anna Jagiellon, thus becoming the King. Although his reign was just ten years, he left a lasting impact on Poland-Lithuania. He is mostly remembered as great commander and military reformer, responsible for making sabre a national Polish weapon.
