The War of the Polish Succession or the Habsburg-Polish War took place from 1587 to 1588 over the election of the successor to the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

and

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...

. The war was fought between factions of

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

and Maximilian III, with Sigismund eventually being crowned. Two major battles of this conflict included the Siege of Kraków, in which Maximilian III failed to capture the capital of the Commonwealth, and the

Battle of Byczyna The Battle of Byczyna, also known as the Battle of Pitschen (; ), was the deciding battle of the 1587–1588 War of the Polish Succession, which erupted after two rival candidates were elected to the Polish throne. The two opposing sides had f ...

, in which Maximilian was forced to surrender. Sigismund's victory was significantly the doing of

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

and

Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

Jan Zamoyski Jan Sariusz Zamoyski (; 19 March 1542 – 3 June 1605) was a Polish nobleman, magnate, statesman and the 1st '' ordynat'' of Zamość. He served as the Royal Secretary from 1565, Deputy Chancellor from 1576, Grand Chancellor of the Crown f ...

, who stood behind both the political intrigue and the military victories of this conflict.

Background

In 1586, following the death of the previous

Polish king Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

, Stefan Batory, the Swedish crown prince

and

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria Maximilian III of Austria (12 October 1558 – 2 November 1618), was a member of the House of Habsburg and the Archduke of Further Austria from 1612 until his death. He was also briefly known as Maximilian of Poland during his claim for the Polish ...

, took part in the election to the joint Polish–Lithuanian throne. Each of the two candidates had supporters in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

with the two opposing sides gathered around pro-Sigismund

and

and the

Primate of Poland This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.Stanisław Karnkowski Stanisław Karnkowski of Junosza (1520–1603) was the Great Referendary of the Polish Crown (since 1558), the Great Secretary of Poland (since 1563), bishop of Włocławek (1567-1580) as well as archbishop of Gniezno and Primate of Poland (sin ...

, on one side and the pro-Maximilian

Zborowski family Zborowski (feminine Zborowska, plural Zborowscy) is a Polish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andriy Zborovskyi (born 1986), Ukrainian footballer * Eliot Zborowski (1858–1903), American racing driver * Helmut Zborowski (1905� ...

on the other. Bad blood between Zamoyski and the Zborowski family dated years past; tensions during the elections ran high. Sigismund, supported by Zamoyski and the former king's wife,

Anna Jagiellon Anna Jagiellon (, ; 18 October 1523 – 9 September 1596) was King of Poland, Queen of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Grand Duchess of Lithuania from 1575 to 1587. Daughter of Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund I the Ol ...

, was elected King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on 19 August 1587 and recognized as such by the ''

interrex The interrex (plural interreges) was an extraordinary magistrate during the Roman Kingdom and Republic. Initially, the interrex was appointed after the death of the king of Rome until the election of his successor, hence its name—a ruler "betwee ...

'', the Primate Karnkowski. However, the election was disputed by the other candidate, Maximilian III of Austria, and opponents of Sigismund chose not to respect the election outcome, decreeing that Maximilian was the rightful monarch three days later, on 22 August. Zborowscy called for the

rokosz A rokosz () originally was a Meeting, gathering of all the Polish ''szlachta'' (nobility), not merely of deputies, for a ''sejm''. The term was introduced to the Polish language from Hungary, where analogous gatherings took place at a field calle ...

(legitimate right to rebel) and the election ended in chaos, with several killed and many wounded. For both Zamoyski and Zborowski, losing was not an option, as they knew the losing side would likely pay a severe price, from confiscations and prestige loss to a possible death sentence for treason. Neither Sigismund nor Maximilian were present in the Commonwealth at that time. After receiving news of his election, both Sigismund and Maximilan made haste for Poland. Sigismund arrived at

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

on the 28 September, and after approximately two weeks he had departed to

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, where he arrived on 9 December and was crowned on 27 December.

War

Maximilian attempted to resolve the dispute by bringing a military force to Poland – thereby starting the War of the Polish Succession. He took Lubowla, but after a failed attempt to storm Kraków (the capital of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

) in late 1587, successfully defended by Zamoyski, he retreated to gather more reinforcements, pursued by the forces loyal to Sigismund. While waiting for reinforcements, he was defeated at the

in January 1588, and forced to surrender. This marked the end of this conflict.

Aftermath

After the intervention of a Papal envoy and the Spanish diplomacy, Maximilian was released, but only after spending thirteen months as a "guest" of Zamoyski. In the

Treaty of Bytom and Będzin Treaty of Bytom and Będzin or Treaty of Będzin and Bytom ( or ''traktat będzińsko-bytomski'') was a treaty signed between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Austrian House of Habsburg on 9 March 1589. It was favorable to the Common ...

(signed on 9 March 1589) Maximilian had to renounce the Polish crown and

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–16 ...

had to pledge not to make any alliances against Poland with

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The town of Lubowla, taken early in the conflict by Maximilian, was returned to Poland. Upon his return to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

he failed to honor his pledge and renounce his claim to the Polish crown (he would do so only in 1598). Nonetheless, there would be no serious military tensions between the Commonwealth and the Habsburgs, as each would quickly become concerned with other issues.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:War of the Polish Succession (1587-88) Polish Wars involving the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Warfare of the early modern period Conflicts in 1587 Conflicts in 1588 Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Europe 1587 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1588 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Background

War

Aftermath

See also

References