The fall of Constantinople is not the end of the Ottomans’ story.[335] While it is known as their most famous effort, they were expansionists at heart. From Constantinople, the Ottomans pushed west, reaching Eastern Europe. This would have long-standing consequences for Hungary and Bohemia. Another power The Girl in Kherson was on the rise, and they challenged the Ottoman advance and dominated Eastern Europe for the next two centuries. This power was the Habsburgs.[336]
The Hungarians: The Last Stop for the Ottomans
After the Mongols left their destruction of Hungary behind, the country had more than its fair share of rebuilding to do.[337] The chaos of picking up the pieces of a broken country, in turn, broke the Árpád dynasty, which died out at the dawn of the 14th century. Instead of tempting more civil war, Hungary asked the French Anjou dynasty to take the throne. The eighty-year period of French rule did much to help Hungary recover. Using sophisticated state-building methods, the French built Hungarian relationships with their neighbors. By the end of the 14th century, Hungary was strong enough to resist Ottoman intervention.
After Anjou rule, Hungary was ruled by another foreign king: Sigismund from the Luxembourg royal family. His reign was most remembered not for his successes but his failures, like the 1396 defeat at the Battle of Nicopolis. Hungary continued its pattern of foreign rule, choosing a Polish king, Władysław III, in 1437. He also failed to push back the Ottomans, although he organized a crusade to return the Balkans to Eastern Europe.[338] In November 1444, Władysław died on the battlefield in the Battle of Varna, which was one of the last battles of the Crusades. His general, John Hunyadi (also written as János Hunyadi), returned to Hungary and ruled over the country as a governor.
In 1456, under John Hunyadi, the Hungarians stopped the Ottomans at Belgrade.[339] This would be the first but not the last time that the Hungarians would stop Ottoman plans for domination of Eastern Europe. Not only would Hungary successfully defend its lands, but it would also grow under John Hunyadi’s son, King Matthias Corvinus (r. 1458–1490).
A 15th-century image of Matthias Corvinus.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:M%C3%A1ty%C3%A1s_kir%C3%A1ly_fiatalkori_eszm%C3%A9nyes%C3%ADtett_domborm%C5%B1-k%C3%A9pm%C3%A1sa_a_milan%C3%B3i_Castello_Sforzesco_m%C3%BAzeum%C3%A1ban.jpg
Matthias Corvinus was responsible for the cultural growth of Hungary, building libraries full of Renaissance texts and bringing in the shining stars of the architectural world to beautify the country. Matthias Corvinus conquered new lands, making Hungary larger and more powerful than it had ever been. Most importantly, he kept the country safe from the Ottomans.
A map showing the territories Matthias Corvinus added to Hungary during his reign.
Lajbi at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_wars_of_Matthias_Corvinus_of_Hungary_(1458-1490).png
After Matthias Corvinus died, Hungary went into decline. It had its share of domestic unrest, and the Ottomans would take advantage of that. In 1526, the Ottomans laid a decisive blow to the Hungarian forces at the Battle of Mohács. There was nothing stopping the Ottomans from moving into Europe.
The Ottomans reached as far inland as Austria. Using the Danube River, the Ottomans arrived in Vienna in 1529. The plague stopped any designs the Ottomans had on the city, though. As it was, the Ottoman Empire stretched well into Eastern Europe. The 16th century saw the area from the Balkans to European (western) Russia under Ottoman dominion.
Surprisingly, despite the constant warfare, Christians and Jews thrived under Ottoman rule.[340] Uninterested in conversion, the Ottomans labeled them dhimmi, a special group of the population that was under Ottoman protection in exchange for tax payments called jizya. Dhimmi included Christians and Jews, who both found safe havens in Ottoman lands as they escaped violence and persecution in their homes in Europe. Jews formed the merchant class of most Ottoman cities, finding more economic opportunities than they could in Christian Europe.
In the Balkans, this tax was paid in the form of both money and Christian children. Christians had to send their sons to the Ottoman Empire, where they were taught military strategy and defense and became valued members of the Janissaries. Although this may sound harsh, very few Balkan Christians converted to Islam to avoid the tax.
Religious Warfare in Bohemia: The Hussite Wars
When King Louis II of Hungary (r. 1490–1516) died in the Battle of Mohács, he also left the throne of Bohemia empty.[341] The power of Hungary would soon shatter into a fractured territory, and Bohemia would emerge from religious warfare to foreign rule.
Luckily, Bohemia didn’t have much recovering to do after the Mongol invasions.[342] However, the country would soon be split apart by religious warfare. Since the 10th century, Bohemia had been a Christian nation closely allied with the Holy Roman Empire. The most famous of the medieval kings, Ottokar II of Bohemia (r. 1253–1278), was a “conversion by conquest” king. He conquered Silesia and eastern Austria, hoping the growth of his Christian lands would help him become Holy Roman emperor. In 1273, Ottokar lost his bid for that title to Rudolf of Habsburg. For five years, Ottokar stewed in his defeat and prepared for battle. In 1278, he met Rudolf at the Battle on the Marchfeld in the modern-day Czech Republic. Unfortunately, Rudolf had the better army, and he slew the Bohemian forces; Ottokar lay among the dead on the battlefield. In the aftermath of the battle, Rudolf took Austria from the Bohemian landholdings. Austria would famously remain in Habsburg hands until the end of World War I.
A king of Bohemia would eventually become the Holy Roman emperor but not until almost a century later.[343] Přemyslid rule died out in Bohemia in 1310, and the throne passed to a member of the royal family in Luxembourg. What is special about this dynasty is that it would achieve Ottokar’s goals.
In 1346, Prince Charles of Luxembourg was crowned king of Bohemia after his father died in battle. Born and raised in Prague, he spent his reign beautifying the city. In 1355, he was the first king of Bohemia to become the Holy Roman emperor. Crowned Charles IV, he remained loyal to Prague, ruling the Holy Roman Empire from there.[344] That means that the center of Christian Europe lay just at the western boundary of Eastern Europe, not in Rome.
Soon, Bohemia would become the center of religious turmoil that would escalate into warfare. At the turn of the century, a religious reformer named Jan Hus started spreading ideas about the corruption of the Catholic Church. Spearheading the ideas of John Wycliffe from England, Hus stirred up resentment toward the church in Bohemia, which led to unrest.
Hus found allies in the royal family of Bohemia, but they were also anxious to end the burgeoning tensions in the country.[345] At the end of 1414, King Wenceslaus IV (r. 1378–1419) and his brother Sigismund (who was the king of Hungary) promised Hus he would be safe if he addressed the Council of Constance in southern Germany. King Sigismund himself presided over the council. When Hus arrived, he was arrested. Hus was burned alive for heresy in 1415. How much Wenceslaus IV and Sigismund protested is up for debate.
Johann Hus auf dem Konstanzer Konzil (“Jan Hus at the Council of Constance”). Karl Friedrich Lessing, 1842
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Hus_%28Lessing_1842%29.jpg
The execution of Jan Hus could not silence his followers.[346] The Hussites were incensed by the betrayal of their leader and attacked city officials, throwing them out of windows. Hus had not chosen someone to continue his movement after his death, so factions of Hussites spread throughout Bohemia, ranging from moderate to radical. These factions still had to contend with fervent Catholics who still lived in the country.
An image from a 15th-century manuscript, the Jena Codex, showing the burning of Jan Hus.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jan_Hus_at_the_Stake.jpg
Decades of struggle and tensions took a toll on the king of Bohemia. When King Wenceslaus IV died in 1419, the Hussites lost their king and a powerful ally. Although he was married twice, he never had any children. Sigismund was Wenceslaus’s heir, and the throne of Bohemia automatically passed to him. Due to his role in Hus’s assassination, the Hussites rejected Sigismund’s ascension to the Bohemian throne. Fed up with the turmoil that divided the country, Sigismund launched several crusades against them over the next fifteen years. The Hussites, as divided as they were, recognized their common enemy, and they fought together to drive the Catholic forces back.
Another image from the Jena Codex showing a battle from the Hussite Wars.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hussitenkriege.tif
In 1434, the Catholic forces finally defeated the Hussites.[347] They were down, but they were not out. Hussite support remained so strong in Bohemia that it would eventually become a state-protected religion. In the 15th century, about one hundred years before the Protestant Reformation, Bohemia became the first country in Europe where Protestantism was practiced.
The Restructuring of Bohemia and Hungary
The Ottomans understood the importance of controlling Hungary. It was centrally located within Eastern Europe; if they could control Hungary, the Ottomans would have a stable footing in Europe.[348] However, the circumstances surrounding the outcome of Mohács made this impossible.
The Habsburgs didn’t want the Ottomans to come too far east, so they snatched up the crown of Bohemia, which also extended their power. The Habsburgs saw themselves as the inheritors of the Carolingians and the Franks, who were the stalwart defenders of Christendom. This would eventually destroy Bohemia’s place as the first practicing Protestant country.
However, in Hungary, it wasn’t as easy as snatching a crown and occupying a country. Louis II’s death led to a brutal civil war.[349] As it was, Louis was the last of his line, and there were multiple rivals for the throne. Each claimant, John Zápolya and Ferdinand I, each had their own support among the Bohemian elite. Their struggles ended in a stalemate. Bohemia turned to the other great power in the region to negotiate for them: Suleiman the Magnificent, the sultan of the Ottomans and the victor of the Battle of Mohács.
The trouble was, Suleiman didn’t want a united Hungary to challenge his power. So, he recognized both claims. After occupying the center of the country himself, Suleiman created a vassal state out of southern Hungary, effectively separating John’s and Ferdinand’s claims in half. Western Hungary belonged to the Habsburg dynasty, and the east was renamed Transylvania. John died in 1540, passing his claim to his newborn son. This allowed the sultan to turn Transylvania into a vassal state of the Ottomans, and it was ruled by the Hungarian nobility.
The Romanian States under Ottoman Control
Despite the Ottoman threat to their security, the first Romanian states (Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia) were the products of making the best out of a bad situation.[350] Cooperating with powers like the Ottomans and the Hungarians, they were able to enjoy some freedom in ruling themselves.
Desperate to avoid another Mongol invasion, Hungary and its neighbor Poland drove the Mongols out of Eastern Europe. To keep the Mongols away, Hungary bargained with the Vlachs, creating the states of Wallachia and Moldavia. They were the first line of defense against another Mongol invasion, allowing the Hungarians and the Poles to organize their defenses.
While this was a good plan, the people of Wallachia and Moldavia didn’t see it that way. By the mid-14th century, they resisted Hungarian domination and created their own independent states.[351] Independence came at a cost, though, as they had to deal with the Ottomans alone. After a brief alliance with the Hungarians to resist the Ottomans at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, Wallachia succumbed to the Ottoman hold on the area, paying tribute to keep the Ottomans out of their lands.[352]
Throughout the rest of the 14th century, Moldavia avoided Ottoman domination because it was farther inland than Wallachia. However, as the Ottomans spread west from the Black Sea and dominated Wallachia, the Moldavians were in trouble. Instead of succumbing to the Ottomans, Moldavia sought protection from Poland.[353]
A map of Moldavia in 1483.
Spiridon Manoliu, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moldova1483.jpg
In Moldavia, Stephen III (r. 1457–1504) would become legendary for his resistance to the Hungarians and Ottomans. The Ottomans tightened their grip on the Balkans, but Stephen stopped both the Ottomans and the Hungarians from invading his lands. Fourteen years into his embattled rule, he formed an alliance with a weakening Wallachia. His efforts fell short, and another invasion from the Ottomans, which lasted from 1484 to 1486, made Stephen realize that help wasn’t coming. The other nations of Christian Europe, as much as they supported the Crusades, were surprisingly quiet when the Ottomans were encroaching on Christian nations in Eastern Europe. After years of struggle, Stephen finally gave in, negotiating a tribute to the Ottomans to end the hostilities. Wallachia and Moldavia would soon find themselves under direct Ottoman control. After the Ottoman victory at the Battle of Mohács and with their hold on the area nearly secure, Ottoman soldiers permanently occupied the territories.
It was in this period that the three Romanian states would unite under one rule, even though it only lasted a few years.[354] At the close of the 16th century, the Ottomans placed Michael the Brave on the throne of Wallachia. It was a mistake because Michael had his own plans. Instead of playing the puppet to the Ottomans, he brought both Transylvania and Moldavia under his rule. It was the first time Romania would be united. Unfortunately, Michael was murdered in 1601, and the Ottomans quickly moved in and reclaimed their hold on the territory.
The Introduction of Prussia
Remember the Teutonic Knights? When we saw them in the last chapter, they were founding Crusader states along the Polish-Lithuanian-Kaliningrad border.[355] The German Crusader states made it easier for the Teutonic Knights to defend the Polish border, and they dominated the southern Baltic. These states formed the beginnings of the new states of Prussia.
However, these Teutonic Knights were anything but holy. They may have started out that way, but they soon became obsessed with secular power. The knights conquered cities, building up their own control over the Baltic through military invasions and occupations. They soon became persona non grata in Eastern Europe and the target of a wide-reaching alliance.
Poland grew alarmed at the rate that the Teutonic Knights acquired territory.[356] It had already lost its northern borders to the knights, and it feared losing more. The apprehension among the northern Eastern European states made allies out of traditional enemies, as they were all united in a common cause.
The three major powers in the Baltic region—Poland, Lithuania, and the Novgorod Republic (a former state of Kievan Rus located in modern-day western Russia that had carved out its own autonomy against the Mongol Horde)—united against the Teutonic Knights. That wasn’t the only problem the knights had; they were also starting to irritate their own people. The Teutonic Knights heavily taxed the German workers, craftsmen, and merchants who settled their lands, and they eventually rebelled against the knights.
A late 15th-century map of the territories held by the Teutonic Order.
S. Bollmann, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teutonic_Order_1466.png
This early period in Prussian history laid the groundwork for what was to come. The Prussia of later centuries would use both military force and commercial endeavors to spread its influence throughout Europe. Memories of the Teutonic Knights would reverberate through the centuries, inspiring a cult of personality and warrior mentality of later Prussian monarchs. The rise of the Hanseatic League would produce a new type of foreign policy, one focused on a global economy.[357]
The Hanseatic League
The Baltic Sea was a highly concentrated area of trade, one that drew people to the region. Goods from all over Eurasia made their way to the Baltic after traveling along the Silk Road and other trade highways.
Most of the Germans who moved to live in the Crusader states were merchants. The sheer amount of them meant that the Teutonic Knights could tax them enough to raise money for their wars. However, it ruined the merchants’ ability to make a living.
A map showing the territories of Northern Europe that were part of the Hanseatic League in 1400
Droysen/Andrée, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ausbreitung_der_Hanse_um_das_Jahr_1400-Droysens_28.jpg
The Hanseatic League, founded in 1267, was an organization of trade cities that stretched from England to Eastern Europe. It included all the major trade areas that could be reached by land and sea. The Hanseatic League effectively acted as its own state. It had an organized military designed to defend merchant ships against pirate attacks, as well as enforced agreed-upon terms with other league cities. Traders associated with the league enjoyed several benefits, such as protection in other countries and no restrictions or taxes on their products.
The trading routes used by the Hanseatic League.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Haupthandelsroute_Hanse.png
Almost two hundred cities belonged to the Hanseatic League when it was at its most powerful in the 1300s. During the medieval period, many states were not strong enough to offer the type of protection that the league provided. For this reason, it lasted until the 1660s.[358] By this time, countries were stronger and able to control their own trade. Although it didn’t last, the Hanseatic League was instrumental in protecting the burgeoning Baltic trade. It would flourish under the league’s direction.
Russian Beginnings: Novgorod and Muscovy
Kievan Rus was a shell of what it once was.[359] The former Viking states that had united into a force that dominated Eastern Europe at the height of the Middle Ages was now a wasteland. The Mongol invasion had ripped through Rus, decimating everything in their path. The survivors then had to suffer the indignity of Mongol occupation.[360] The Rus states were forced to submit and offer yearly tributes as vassal states. The Mongols cemented the fall of Kievan Rus, which was already in decline.[361]
The Novgorod Republic
To the north, the Novgorod Republic escaped the Mongol Horde.[362] The city-state paid off their attackers if they would leave them in peace, which became a repeating theme throughout Eastern Europe. The Mongols got what they wanted: wealth, riches, and submission to their authority.
Since it escaped the Golden Horde unscathed, Novgorod could focus on building itself up. It had been on the rise since the 12th century, flourishing from its important trade relationships. Located to the east of the Gulf of Finland, which is a smaller body of water connected to the eastern Baltic Sea, it benefited from its prime location in the Baltic trade. Although Kievan Rus had severely declined by the time the Mongols showed up, the cities that escaped the Mongols’ wrath were able to prosper.
Using its wealth from trade, Novgorod invested in itself, building up its defenses and training its military. In the 1240s, it had pushed back invasions from both the Swedes and the Teutonic Knights. Thanks to the victories by Prince Alexander Nevsky, Novgorod was in the perfect position to expand. It was already a metropolis in Eastern Europe, with trade being the key to its success. Of course, the people of Novgorod would want to defend it. Traders from all over Eurasia did business there. It gained even more power and influence thanks to its membership in the Hanseatic League. With its success on the battlefield and its riches from trade, Novgorod spread out, conquering lands in every direction. Over the years, Mongol power faded. They went from keeping their lands on a tight leash to barely exerting any control at all. As Lithuania started spreading to the east, conquering the western border of the Rus lands, the Mongols pulled back. They rebuilt their center of power southeast of Novgorod in a smaller settlement: Moscow.
Muscovy Russia under the Rurik Princes
As Mongol power fell in the region, their control was relegated to a series of successor states that tried to keep their dominance. Rus city-states also became major powers.[363] Moscow was only one of many city-states that exerted its influence in former Rus lands. Established on the Volga River in the 12th century, Moscow thrived as a trading center.[364] Soon, it became the dominant Rus city-state in the region. The Mongols showed a preference for Moscow, allowing the city’s officials to collect their tributes.[365]
Ivan III and the “Gathering of the Russias”
The Rurik dynasty princes would come to power in Moscow in the early 15th century, and they would define modern Russia.[366] Just like Novgorod, Moscow used its wealth to build its defenses and expand its dominions.[367] The second Rurik prince, Ivan III, took on the Golden Horde and won in 1480.[368]
A photograph taken of Ivan III featured on the “Millennium of Russia” monument, located in Veliky Novgorod, Russia.
Дар Ветер, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1000_Ivan_III.jpg
Ivan III was the strong leader that the fledgling Rus states needed. His wife was a Byzantine princess, and he longed to replicate the power of Constantinople in his domain. He spread out the Rurik landholdings, and he built the city of Moscow to be the most beautiful and modern city in the region.
Under Ivan’s leadership, Moscow developed into the state of Muscovy. Muscovy and the Novgorod Republic became rivals, and their enmity ended in a showdown in the late 15th century. Muscovy was victorious, establishing its place as a force to be reckoned with in Eastern Europe. By the end of the 1470s, Moscow had defeated its two most intimidating foes: Novgorod and the Mongols. Ivan’s “Gathering of the Russias” initiative pulled the rest of the Rus territories under his rule. While this may have given Ivan III his nickname of “The Father of Russia,” his grandson is the more well-known of the Rurik princes. His grandson was none other than Ivan IV, better known as Ivan the Terrible.
The Terrifying Reign of Ivan IV
Ivan IV continued his grandfather’s work in consolidating the Russian state.[369] Through warfare and terror, he created a centralized state that would become a major force in Europe. The territories gained by both Ivan III and Ivan IV set the course for the formation of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 18th century.
Despite his success in expanding and centralizing the state, Ivan the Terrible had a series of hits and misses on the battlefield. He fought several conflicts during his lifetime, destroying the Russian landscape and taxing Russian resources.[370] His wars with Poland and Sweden were failures, but he had more success with subduing the successor Mongol states east of Muscovy.
Ivan IV “the Terrible.” Viktor Vasnetsov, 1897.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vasnetsov_Ioann_4.jpg
Between 1547 and 1550, Ivan attacked the Kazan Khanate, located along the Volga River, twice. Russian forces were pushed back on both campaigns. Finally, in 1552, the city of Kazan fell to Ivan’s army after a lengthy siege. Four years later, Ivan secured control over the Volga River by conquering the Astrakhan Khanate, located at the mouth of the river. With these successes came more territory to incorporate into his realm. Ivan’s control over the Volga also meant that he secured a viable trading route to the Caspian Sea.
The Livonian War
With control over trade to the east, Ivan looked west for more trading opportunities in the Baltic. He attacked the state of Livonia, located on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. Situated in modern-day Estonia and Latvia, Livonia was occupied by the German crusaders, the Livonian Brotherhood.
The last time we saw the Livonian Brotherhood, they had suffered a humiliating defeat at the Battle of Saule in 1236.[371] When they joined the Teutonic Knights, they changed their name to the Livonian Order. The Teutonic Order allowed the Livonians to operate independently, so the Livonian Order established a state as their base of operations: the Confederation of Livonia. It would be the last of the German Crusader states, and it was centered in present-day Estonia and Latvia.
Now that the Livonian Order had gotten their bearings, they went back to doing what they did best: terrorize pagans into submission and conversion. They were especially active in the Northern Crusades that targeted the Baltic, Finnic, and Slavic states.
The Confederation of Livonia wasn’t just a religious center; it also had ties to the secular world. The German merchants who lived in the Livonian state hated war and violence; they just wanted to trade in peace. They used the Hanseatic League to ensure that the Livonian Order’s crusading didn’t affect their ability to do business.
And the Livonian Order listened. They established government structures designed to mediate between the Livonians and the people. This method, unlike the Teutonic method of riding roughshod over their people, actually worked. The Livonian Order and the German merchants lived in relative peace until the mid-16th century, when Ivan the Terrible set his sights on their territory.
The Livonian War (1558–1583) was a fifteen-year conflict that the newly united Russia didn’t need.[372] Although Ivan did eliminate the Livonian Order for good, that was his only real success. Things became complicated when Poland and Lithuania finally merged into one state in 1569, which we will learn about soon. Lithuania and Livonia were allies, as were Poland and Sweden. Everyone jumped into the fray, which resulted in disaster for Russia.
With their allies in tow, the Tatars of Crimea, another one of the Mongol successor states, stormed into Muscovy. From their base in the peninsula between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov (which is now part of the modern-day borders of Ukraine), the Tatars attacked Astrakhan on the Volga, pushing further into Ivan’s domain. When they reached Moscow in 1571, Ivan’s beleaguered army retreated into the city. The Tatars ravaged the city, setting the city ablaze. The Fire of Moscow destroyed the city and the population. While there isn’t any clear number on how many died in the attack, it is most likely that tens of thousands died in the chaos.
The divisions of Livonia, 1600. On the map, Poland-Lithuania is marked in rose pink, the vassals of Poland-Lithuania are in magenta, the Kingdom of Sweden is in lavender, Denmark-Norway is in burnt orange, and Russia is in green.
Rzeczpospolita_1600.png: User:Halibuttderivative work: Grandiose, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Poland_and_Lithuania_in_1600.svg
The trouble for Ivan didn’t stop there. Poland attacked the Russians on their own turf while the Swedes moved in and occupied Livonia. Exhausted from years of warfare, Ivan threw his hands in the air. The Livonian War ended in 1583 with a peace treaty of humiliating terms for Russia. Ivan had to give up all of his gains made during the war. As for Livonia itself, the remnants of the state were split between Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.[373] After years of struggle, Russia was left with nothing; Ivan’s attempts to reach the Baltic to capitalize on its trade had failed.[374]Russian forces eventually mustered an offensive and drove the Tatars out a year later, but the damage was done.[375]
The Oprichnina
Ivan IV was a mentally unstable child-king who secured absolute power through terror and violence, and he earned his heinous nickname through his oppressive Oprichnina policy.[376] He held a horrible grudge against the nobles who fought for power during his regency. When Ivan came of age, the regent council of elites didn’t want to release their hold on power. Although he was the tsar—the first Russian ruler to hold that title—Ivan was limited in what he could do.
In 1564, Ivan negotiated with the council, agreeing to grant them the power they wanted if there was a section of the country where he could rule unopposed. The nobles balked at first, but they eventually agreed.
Ivan confiscated the best lands for himself, and he ruled them with absolute power. These lands were called the Oprichnina. He established a secret police force, the Oprichnik, that ran roughshod over the lands, tormenting and assassinating who Ivan saw as an enemy. His attacks could have been defensive or not; it didn’t matter. He called for someone’s assassination if he thought they were talking about him, if he thought they betrayed him, or if he was in a bad mood and needed cheering up.
Ivan the Terrible used the Oprichnik to target the landowners who had been so restrictive during his regency. He used this method of rulership to eliminate his enemies or anyone he perceived as an enemy. The 1571 invasion of the Crimean Tatars into Moscow, which destroyed the city, was the turning point for Ivan’s rule. Although Russian forces eventually mustered an offensive and drove the Tatars out a year later, the damage was done.[377] After nearly ten years of violence, Ivan was forced to banish his Oprichnina policy. However, it mattered little. With a destroyed state and a decimated population, Ivan could exact absolute power over all of Russia.
Ivan’s reign of terror undoubtedly stunted Russia’s growth, and it wouldn’t become a major political player until the early 17th century. Ivan’s disastrous reign was followed by another regency for his heirs. Known as the “Time of Troubles,” regent Boris Godunov usurped power, making himself Tsar of all the Russia. From the years 1598 to 1613, Russia was engulfed in a civil war that only ended with the ascension of the most recognizable dynasty in Russian history: the Romanovs.
The Kievan Rus states at their decline in the 13th century.
SeikoEn, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:001_Kievan_Rus%27_Kyivan_Rus%27_Ukraine_map_1220_1240.jpg
Creating the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Two powers in Europe emerged after the evacuation of the Golden Horde: Poland and Lithuania. Throughout the medieval period, the neighbors expanded their territories. By the end of the 16th century, they would be a united country.[378]
Poland: A Christian Nation
In the last chapter, we saw Mieszko I turn Poland into a Christian nation.[379] Polish rulers spent nearly two centuries expanding the kingdom’s territory, only for Boleslaw III’s heirs to rip it apart. For over one hundred years, Boleslaw III’s sons and their successors claimed their own lands and fought with each other for more territory, turning Poland into a warring collection of small states.
Until the 14th century, Poland was made up of regional territories ruled by the elite. There was no center of power in Poland for almost two centuries. The elites liked the power they wielded over their individual territories, and although members of the Piast family attempted to reclaim the monarchy, the nobles pushed back time and time again. They didn’t want another king telling them what to do!
In the middle of Poland’s civil war, the Mongols ripped through Poland, destroying its cities and infrastructure. The Mongols left behind a wasteland that the rulers of Poland were ill-prepared to fix.
In 1304, Poland would finally become a united country again, thanks to the campaigns of Ladislaus the Short (also known as Władysław I Łokietek). Ladislaus was a member of the Piast dynasty, and he was one of many that tried to return Poland to Piast rule. He fought off several invasions from Bohemia, Brandenburg, and the Teutonic Knights. Ladislaus lost a significant amount of border territories, but he was successful in reuniting the country under one rule. His final step in bringing the country back together was appealing to the pope to recognize Poland as a united Christian nation; the pope granted the request in 1320.
Ladislaus’s son, Casimir III, succeeded his father as the king of Poland in 1333. He was a reformer, and he restored Poland’s infrastructure and reorganized the legal system. One significant improvement that Casimir made was the granting of more rights to Jews who sought refuge in Poland.
Casimir III died without an heir in 1370, and the Polish crown passed to the Capetian House of Anjou. Their rule would soon meet a difficult obstacle. In 1382, the reigning Anjou king died, leaving behind only one heir: his twelve-year-old daughter, Jadwiga (also known as Hedwig in Hungary).
As a reigning monarch, Jadwiga was one of the most eligible women in Eastern Europe. Her marriage could change the fate of nations. Soon after taking the throne, she received a very unexpected marriage proposal.[380]
This map shows how Lithuania expanded from the 13th to 15th centuries. It was once the largest territory in Europe.
You must make credit to author of this image for using this image elsewhere., CC BY-SA 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lithuanian_state_in_13-15th_centuries.png
Lithuania: A Growing Pagan Power
In the 13th century, Lithuania had grown to dominate Eastern Europe, thanks to the efforts of its king, Mindaugas. After defeating the Livonian Brotherhood in 1236, Mindaugas set his sights on creating his own empire.[381]
He acquired neighboring lands through alliances and conquests, shoring up Lithuanian power. The Livonian Brotherhood, now merged with the Teutonic Knights and known as the Livonian Order, was still a significant threat from the west, so the Lithuanian king did an about-face.[382] In the 1250s, he converted to Christianity.
Now that Lithuania was a Christian nation, the Livonian Order no longer encroached on Mindaugas’s territory. The king turned east, pushing the Mongols back across the Baltic Sea. He even took some of their Russian territories in the process.
After Mindaugas died in 1263, Lithuanian rulers rejected Christianity. Since they returned to paganism, they lost their titles as kings of a Christian nation. During the reign of Gediminas (r. 1316–1341), Lithuania expanded into the largest territory in Europe. He conquered the lands to the south, reaching the Black Sea. He also absorbed the western lands of former Kievan Rus.
Gediminas did something unique among rulers that would have long-term effects on Eastern Europe today. He now had a large population of Slavs living in his dominions, and they spoke a language called Ruthenian. Instead of forcing them to assimilate, Gediminas gave them important political and civil rights. Among the freedoms the Slavs enjoyed was that they could retain their language and culture. Gediminas went a step further, adopting Ruthenian as Lithuania’s state language. This Slavic population would eventually become two distinct cultures of their own. The Slavs living in areas closer to Moscow, in lands that were still under Mongol occupation, would become Russians. To the west, the Slavs living in Lithuanian lands would develop into the people of Ukraine and Belarus.
After Gediminas died in 1341, his son Algirdas continued his expansionist policies, but their neighbors were growing too. Lithuania soon faced the increasing influence of the Teutonic Knights, as well as Poland and Muscovy Russia. When Jogaila ascended the throne in 1377, Lithuania was strong, but it had enemies on all sides.
Poland-Lithuania: A Marriage of Monarchs and Territories
In 1384, Jogaila approached his neighbor, Poland, with a marriage proposal.[383] He wished to marry Jadwiga of Poland—the first female monarch of the country. He was the twenty-six-year-old grand duke of Lithuania. Jadwiga was only about eleven years old, but she was hardly the passive party. She may have just arrived in the country she was meant to rule, but she was crowned “Rex”—a title reserved for kings.
Such marriages were commonplace in the medieval period. What was so shocking about this union was that Jadwiga was a Christian while her proposed husband was a pagan. The marriage proposal was simple. After Jogaila and Jadwiga married, he would be crowned king of Poland, and they would rule together. In exchange, Jogaila would Christianize Lithuania.[384] Both countries would form a union, but each would retain its own identity and culture.
The marriage proposal was accepted, and the union between Poland and Lithuania was finalized with the Union of Krewo in 1385. After his conversion, Jogaila took the name King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland. He also remained Lithuania’s ruler, retaining the title of grand duke. Although the Union of Krewo formalized the alliance between Poland and Lithuania, they were both still distinct states with their own rulers; sometimes, as was the case with Jogaila, the same monarch would rule both states.[385] Together, the two countries would have the power to resist their enemies and retain and even extend their borders. The marriage between Jogaila and Jadwiga founded the Jagiellonian dynasty, a line of kings and queens that would rule as the dukes of Lithuania and the kings of Poland, as well as the monarchs of Hungary and Bohemia.[386]
The most significant benefit of Poland-Lithuania was that both countries could now defend their lands against the Teutonic Order. Although Poland-Lithuania was technically a Christian nation and had been since the marriage of Władysław II Jagiełło and Queen Jadwiga, the Teutonic Order was still interested in expanding its territory.[387] The knights took advantage of a family rivalry between Jogaila and his cousin Vytautas to threaten the borders of Poland-Lithuania.[388] Ruling two countries took its toll on Jogaila, and he appointed his cousin as his regent in Lithuania. Despite the tensions between the cousins, they took their rulership seriously, and they put aside their squabbles for the good of the union.[389]
Tensions continued to brew between Poland-Lithuania and the Teutonic Order for the next ten years, culminating in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410.[390] It was a devastating loss for the knights. In just six hours, the Polish-Lithuanian forces decimated the Teutonic Order’s high command, leaving the order essentially headless.
The Teutonic Order was down, but it wasn’t out. The Teutonic Knights were not as powerful as they had been, though, and they would never expand into Eastern Europe again. However, they could still muster an offense. They antagonized Poland-Lithuania for years, taxing the residents of the lands to raise money for defenses. In 1440, the Prussian merchants tried to protect themselves against the knights’ brutal taxation laws, forming their own union called the Preußischer Bund (also known as the Prussian Confederation). By 1454, the merchants had had enough of the heavy-handed Teutonic Knights and rebelled against them.
That same year, the Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466) began. When the Prussian Confederation rebelled against the Teutonic Order, they asked Poland-Lithuania’s king, Casimir IV Jagiellon (r. 1447–1492 as king of Poland; r. 1440-1492 as grand duke of Lithuania), if he would rule them. The king accepted, and Poland-Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights went to war.
The war concluded in 1466, resulting in Prussia being split into two territories. Western Prussia (known as “Royal Prussia”) was under Casimir’s control, while the Teutonic Order remained overlords of Eastern Prussia (“Ducal Prussia”). Although the knights still had control over Ducal Prussia, they were a vassal to Poland.
Hostilities continued between Poland-Lithuania and the Teutonic Order for nearly six decades until they went to war again in 1520. This time, the Polish-Teutonic War was a much shorter affair, lasting until 1521. By the end of it, the Teutonic Order disintegrated, losing its lands in Ducal Prussia to Poland. Prussia was now completely under Poland-Lithuania’s control, and it would remain so until 1657.
A map of Poland-Lithuania in 1526. The lands of Poland are in beige, and the land of Lithuania is in bright yellow. The vassal states are in yellow and brown lines
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Although the union between Poland and Lithuania could be considered a successful one, Lithuania was always worried it would lose part of its identity to Poland.[391] Throughout the years of the union, Lithuania protested any attempt by Poland to overwhelm its government structure and culture. Even though Lithuania was triple the size of Poland, the connection forced out many Lithuanian customs.
These points of contention made themselves known early. During Władysław II Jagiełło’s reign, his cousin, Vytautas, convinced Władysław to grant Lithuania more rights than it had under the original union treaty. Yet, the Jagiellonian dynasty reigned over both countries for almost two hundred years. It was inevitable that the countries would merge and share political, economic, and social characteristics.
The matrimonial merger had proved to be a fruitful one, at least by political standards. Poland-Lithuania’s power grew, and its coffers filled up with wealth from trade with other European nations. The last king of the Jagiellonian dynasty, Sigismund II, knew that he would die without a successor, so he took steps to protect Poland and Lithuania.[392]
In 1569, despite heavy protests from Lithuania, he signed the Union of Lublin. The document officially joined Poland and Lithuania as the same country; it was known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Although Sigismund II was the first ruler of the commonwealth, he wouldn’t be for long. He died without heirs in 1572, and the Jagiellonian dynasty died with him. However, his preemptive plan to officially unite Poland and Lithuania had its benefits. The two countries of the commonwealth wielded much more power together than they ever had before. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth became a major political player until the mid-17th century.