1471-1526 - Jagellon Dynasty
Czech-Slovak relations were strengthened with the forming of the Czech-Hungarian union under the Jagellons after the death of Matthias Corvinus in 1490; and after the Kralice Bible began to be used by the Slovak Evangelical Church. In spite of conflicts both foreign and domestic, and even under the rule of the Jagellon dynasty's two Catholic kings, Vladislav and Ludwig, religious pluralism and freedom of religion were maintained in the Czech lands, with Protestants and Catholics living together in harmony. All during this time of weak royal leadership, the power of the nobility and towns (the Estates) continued to increase - even as central authority diminished.
The downfall of the old Moravian kingdom made room for the development of other Slavonic States which had existed under the protection and government of the Moimirid Empire at the time of its highest power; such were the Bohemian duchy on the west and the Polish duchy on the northeast of Moravia. The fortunes of Bohemia in particular were, during the ninth century, often closely linked with those of her more important neighbour on the east.
Silesia suffered no less than Bohemia and Moravia under the unhappy government of King Wenzel. At the outset of his reign he interfered in a violent quarrel between Breslau and the local chapter, and espoused the cause of the town against the despotic aggression of its opponents (1381). Shortly afterwards he involved this important commercial center in a long feud with the dukes of Oppeln upon the question of a heavy guarantee for the king's financial necessities. In the course of this struggle the travelling merchants of Breslau suffered heavy losses in property and purse. Some of the Silesian princes, in particular those of Teschen, remained faithful to Wenzel and secured high offices at the Bohemian court; others, however, broke their feudal ties with Bohemia and formed connections with Vladislav Jagellon, the reigning king of Poland.
On the 22d of July, 1515, that memorable treaty between the three monarchs as to the succession, which was decisive not merely for the history of Poland, was arranged in Vienna. The granddaughter of the emperor, Maria, was to marry Lewis, the eon of Ladislaus, and Anna, his daughter, was to wed one of the two grandsons of the emperor, Charles or Ferdinand; the emperor went through the form of betrothal with Anna in the name of the not yet selected grandson, in the church of St. Stephen. It was further decided that, in the event of Lewis dying without issue, the Hungarian crown should devolve on his sister Anna. This treaty meant the renunciation by the Jagellons of their claims to the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary, and therefore to any power in the West, and founded the world power of the house of Hapsburg, just as it laid the foundations of the later empire of Austria.
In truth, in 1522 the Turks had already devastated a part of Hungary and were meditating an incursion into Lower Austria and Bavaria. Mehemed Bey had occupied Wallachia; in May he ravaged the whole of the Karst to Friuli, and sat down before Laibach. The Venetians made no effort upon the loss of Rhodos; they remained secure in Candia. Francis I, " the most Christian king of France," actually sought an alliance with the Sultan against the emperor. The noble oligarchy in Hungary were not indisposed to accept the Grand Turk as their ruler. John Zapolya, count of Zips and voivode of Transylvania, attempted to secure the Hungarian throne with the Sultan's help. Peterwardein on the Danube was captured by the Grand Vizier. Then on August 29, 1526, followed the decisive battle in the plain of Mohdcs, where the Christian army with its king was defeated after a heroic struggle. Louis II himself, the last Jagellon ruler of Hungary, was drowned in a swamp while in flight. Two thousand heads were placed on pikes before the grand master's tent. Four thousand prisoners were massacred. The day which saw the last Hungarian Jagellon fall at Mohacs, the 29th of August, 1526, was the birthday of the Austrian monarchy.
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