Soon after Casimir's death Pomerania eman cipated itself from Polish rule. In the thirteenth century the Teut onie Knight s subdued t he heathen Prussians and established their dominion on the shores of the Baffle, becoming formidable neigh bors to the Poles. The :Mongols swept over the Polish territories in 1240, and defeated the Poles, Silesians, and Teutonic Knights in the battle of the Wahlstatt (April 9, 1241). This terrible invasion was followed by a period of general de cadence, and for a while the Polish realm as such almost ceased to exist. Poland was divided into a number of independent Principalities and their dissensions led to the loss of large districts. During this period many parts of the country be gan to be colonized by Germans, VII0 did much for Poland by establishing industries and devel oping municipal institutions. Large numbers of Jews, persecuted in Western Europe, took refuge about this time in Poland. The country recovered under Ladislas (Wladislaw) I. (1300-33). sur named Lekictek (the Short), who abolished ju dicial abuses and illegally acquired privileges, and assembled the first Diet for legislative pur poses. Ile carried on successful campaigns against the Teutonic Knights, supported by the Grand Prince of Lithuania, and came to be known as the 'father of his country.' Under hint Cracow became the permanent capital of Poland. His son, ('asimir 111, the Great (1333-70), in creased the power and prosperity of Poland by cultivating the arts of peace, amending the laws, and consolidating his territories by profitable ex changes with the neighboring powers. The Prin cipality of Haliez (Galicia) was annexed to Poland. Extensive privileges were conferred on the Jews at a time when the nations of Western Europe were visiting on them the rigor of perse cution. The foundations of the University of Craeow were laid. In the latter part of his reign ('asimir fought successfully against the Tatars and Lithuanians. With Casimir the Piast dy nasty became extinct. His nephew, Louis the Great, King of Hungary, succeeded him by the will of the deceased monarch and the election of the Diet; but during his reign Poland was treated merely as an appanage of Hungary. After the death of Louis of Hungary without male issue (1382) Iledwig, daughter of Casimir the Great, was chosen Queen of Poland in 1384 by the Diet, and two years later she married Jagello (Jagel Ion), Grand Prince of Lithuania. who ascended the throne as Ladislas II. (q.v.), and founded the Jagellon dynasty, which ruled over Poland, and Lithuania from 1386 to 1572, and under whip') Poland was at the height of its greatness. Jagello. at his accession, embraced Christianity, which was 110W introduced into Lithuania, hith erto a heathen country. Jagello inflicted a great defeat upon the Teutonic Knights at Tannen berg in 1410. He was succeeded in Poland by his elder son, Ladislas III. (1434-44), and in Lithuania by his younger son, Casimir. Ladislas, whom the Hungarians placed upon their throne, was overwhelmed by the Turks and slain in the battle of Varna. He was succeeded after an in terregnum by his brother. Casimir IV. (1447 92), during whose reign the Teutonic Knights, by the Treaty of Thorn (1460), ceded West Prus sia to Poland. and agreed to hold East Prussia as a Polish fief. Casimir rewarded the interior nobles, or warrior class, with more extensive privileges, putting them on an equality of rank with the great chiefs of the realm, and at the same time necessarily oppressing the peasantry. and commerce revived to a remark able extent in the western provinces. The brief reigns of his two elder sons. John 1. (1492-1501) and Alexander (1501-06), were marked only by the increased power of the Diet, which was stead ily absorbing the real authority. and converting Poland from a monarchy to an oligarchy.
Sigismund I., surnamed the Great (1506-48), the youngest son of Casimir IV., raised the coun try to the utmost pitch of prosperity. Generous and enlightened, he was beloved by the masses, while his firmness and justice commanded the respect of the turbulent nobles. In a war with Russia, however, in the early part of his reign, he lost Smolensk. His son Sigismund IL, Au gustus (1548-72), was a worthy successor to his father. During his reign the extraordinary priv ileges of the higher nobles were eurtailed or abolished. Lithuania was finally joined indis solubly to Poland, the union being proclaimed by a Diet held at Lublin in 1549. There was hut one Diet for the united realm, which was to he converted into an elective monarchy on the death of the reigning King, who had no heirs. Lithua nia retained, however, her own army, treasury, and laws. Lithuania was at the same time re duced in area by the annexation of Podlachia, Volhynia, and the Ukraine to Poland. Livonia was ceded to Poland by the Knights Sword-bear ers and successful wars were waged against the Russians and the Turks. The Polish realm then stretehed across Central Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Dniester, with its western boundary less than 90 miles from Berlin. and its eastern
frontier about 150 miles from Moscow. covering an area of more than 370.000 square miles. The population almost doubled under the two Sigis munds. The Reformation spread rapidly in Po land. but its progress was arrested by the Jesuits, who persuaded the nobles that their interests lay in the preservation of the Catholic hierarchy. With the death of Sigismund Augustus in 1572 the Jagellon dynasty became extinct and Poland passed under the regime of elected kings. The election was by the two chambers of the Diet, the Senate or Chamber of the Chief Nobles, and the Chamber of Nuncios, or Representatives of the Inferior Nobles. The Diet sat only six weeks, and its decisions were required to be unanimous; so that if the liberunt veto (the right of forbid ding the passing of any measure) were freely exercised even by a single member, all legislation was at a standstill. More unnatora I still was the recognized right of any number of nobles to confederate for the purpose of effecting their will by force of arms.
This singular constitution produced the most inefficient government that was ever established in a great State. Political factions could hamper all action in great national crises, and the so called repuhlic became a most perniebnis oligarchy. In the tiberuni veto might easily be found the seed which produced the final disinte gration. The first elective monarch was Henry of Duke of Anjou (1573-74), who had barely assumed the crown when lie laid it down to become King of France as Henry TH., and was succeeded by Stephen Biithory (1575-86). Voivode of Transylvania. Stephen's successor, ,`.sigisinund III., Vasa (1587-1632), was the son of John Ill. of Sweden by a daughter of Sigismund 1, llis claims to the crown of Sweden, which he wore for a time, brought on wars with that kingdom. Gustavus Adolphus carried on victorious cam paigns against the Poles in 1621-29 and con quered Livonia. After Sigismund 11 I., under whom Warsaw supplanted Cracow as the Polish capital, came his two sons, Ladislas IV. (11i3'2 48) and .John Casimir (1648-68). The impru dent attempts of the sovereigns of the House of Vasa to amend the Constitution only excited the suspicion of the nobles, and led to a further cur tailment of royal authority. In 1648 the Cos sacks, goaded by oppression, rose in rebellion under Bogdan Chmielnicki (q.v.), put themselves under the protection of Russia (1654), and ever afterwards proved themselves the most invete rate enemies of the Poles. In 1655 Charles X. of Sweden invaded Poland while the Poles were en gaged in war with Russia, and in 1656 he was joined by Frederick William, the Great Elector of Brandenburg. The Poles at first fought vic toriously under Czarnecki, but in Jul.y 16.56, they were vanquished in a great battle at Warsaw. In 1657 Brandenburg went over to the side of Po land, which then renounced its suzerainty over the Duchy of Prussia (East Prus sia). In the Peace of Oliva, in 1660, Po land formally ceded Livonia to Russia, and the Ukraine beyond the Dnieper was given up to Rus sia in the Treaty of Andrussovo, in 1667. _Michael Wisniowiecki (1669-73), the son of one of the ablest Polish leaders, but himself an was elected as successor to John Casimir. who hail abdicated the throne. A war with Turkey. concluded, in spite of the victories of John So bieski. by an ignominious peace. was the chief event of his reign. In 1674 the crown was con ferred on John Sobieski, who shed lustre on the Polish arms by overthrowing, in eonjune tion with the German princes, a vast Turkish army in front of Vienna in 1683. and saving the Hapsburg capital. His reign, however. was pro ductive of little good to the internal administra tion. lle died in 1696 and the French Prince de Conti was elected and proclaimed King. Lack ing efficient support from France, Conti renounced the odice; and Freileriek Augustus 1. of Saxony, surnamed the Strong, a pro(i'•gG of the (louse of Austria, entered Poland at the head of a Saxon army, and was chosen King as Augustus 11. (1697-17331. Augustus 'WNW identified his in terests with those of Polish subjects. The Treaty of Karlowitz, in 1699, brought the last struggle between Poland and Turk(y to a else and restored to Poland a large part of the Ukraine. In 1700 Augustus entered into an alliance with Russia and Denmark for a joint attack upon Sweden, then under the rule of Charles X11. This conflict brought nothing but misfortune. The War with Sweden was unpopular in Poland; in fact, the Poles of the eastern provinces received Charles with open arms; hut his attempt to force upon them Stanislas Eest•zviiski as their King deeply wounded their national pride. At Altran stiidt in 1706 Augustus was compelled to abdi cate, but after the defeat of Charles X11. by l'eter the Great at Poltava, in 1709, he returned, sup ported by Russia, aml Russian as well as Saxon troops were maintained in the country in spite of the protest of the people.