Stephen Báthory | |
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An 18th-century depiction of Stephen Báthory by Bacciarelli
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King of Poland Grand Duke of Lithuania |
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Reign | 1 May 1576 – 12 December 1586 |
Election Coronation |
14 December 1575 1 May 1576 |
Predecessor | Anna Jagiellon |
Successor | Sigismund III Vasa |
Born |
Szilágysomlyó, Transylvania (now Şimleu Silvaniei, Romania) |
27 September 1533
Died | 12 December 1586 Grodno, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (now in Belarus) |
(aged 53)
Burial | Wawel Cathedral, Saint Mary's Crypt (buried May 1588) |
Spouse | Anna Jagiellon |
House | Báthory |
Father | Stephen Báthory of Somlyó |
Mother | Catherine Telegdi |
Signature |
Stephen Báthory (Hungarian: Báthory István; Polish: Stefan Batory; Belarusian: Sciapan Batura; Lithuanian: Steponas Batoras; Romanian: Ştefan Báthory; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was Voivode of Transylvania (1571–76), Prince of Transylvania (1576–86), from 1576 Queen Anna Jagiellon's husband and jure uxoris King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576-1586).
The son of Stephen VIII Báthory and a member of the Hungarian Báthory noble family, Báthory was a ruler of Transylvania in the 1570s, defeating another challenger for that title, Gáspár Bekes. In 1576 Báthory became the third elected king of Poland. He worked closely with chancellor Jan Zamoyski. The first years of his reign were focused on establishing power, defeating a fellow claimant to the throne, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, and quelling rebellions, most notably, the Danzig rebellion. He reigned only a decade, but is considered one of the most successful kings in Polish history, particularly in the realm of military history. His signal achievement was his victorious campaign in Livonia against Russia in the middle part of his reign, in which he repulsed a Russian invasion of Commonwealth borderlands and secured a highly favorable treaty of peace (the Peace of Jam Zapolski).