LADISLAS. or VLADISLAV. The name of several kings of Poland.—Lantsnas I.. surnamed Lokietek, 'the Short' f 1260-1333). was the son of Duke Casimir of Cujavia. and in I2AS made himself King of Poland with the assistance of a party among the nobility. Ile was compelled, however. to wage war against the Duke of Silesia and the King of Bohemia. and was driven by the latter from the country. After the death of the Bohemian King in 1305. be succeeded in making himself master of Cracow. and in 1312 completely crushed his enemies. thus reuniting the Polish territories under his rule. In 1:120 he was crowned King of Poland. with the sanction of the Pope. The marriage of his son Casimir with Anna, daughter of Gedimin. Prince of Lithuania, prepared the way for the union of that country with Poland.—LADISI.AS II. 1134S-143I( was the son of t tlgord. Prince of Lithuania. and succeeded his father in 1377, being known before his ac quisition of the Polish throne as Jagello. In 1356 he was converted to Christianity, adopted the name 14 La(lislas, and married lledwig., heir ess of Louis the Great. King of Hungary and Poland, ascending the throne as Ladislas II. lie became the founder of a dynasty which ruled over Poland until 1372. (See .1 AGELLONs.) Ills efforts were directed toward preserving, the union between Lithuania and Poland, and extending the power of the latter country. He carried on long wars against the Teutonic Knights. and in 1410 gained a decisive victory over them at Tan nenberg. He founded the University of Cracow
iu 1400.—LADISLAS Ill. (1424-44) was the son of Ladislas 11., and succeeded his father in 1434, assuming personal charge of the government in 1439. In the following year he was elected King of Hungary. but was compelled to make good his title by force of arms against Elizabeth. widow of the late monarch, Albert 11., who claimed the throne for her son. Ladislas Posthumus, born after the father's death. In 1442 he married Elizabeth, who died three days after the wedding. Under the great Hunyady (q.v.) the Hungarian armies were successful for a time in the struggle against the Turks; hut at Varna. on November 10. 1444, the Hungarian army was overwhelmed and the King with the greater part of his nobility perished.—LADISLAS 1 (1595-1648) was the son of Sigismnnd ill. In 1610 he was elected Czar by a part of the Russian nobility, and took up his residence in Moscow; but his father's am bition to bring Russia under the Polkh Crown led to a national uprising. and Ladislas was ex pelled from in 1612. Ile succeeded his father in 1632, and carried on war with marked success against the Russians and the Turks. lie sought to vindicate the royal power against the powerful nobility. but with little success. The last years of his reign were disturbed by a formi dable uprising of the Cossacks under Bogdan Chmielnicki (q.v.).