The Glorious Commonwealth: The Alternative History of Poland and Lithuania 1492-1820

Chapter I

Difficulty: Very Hard
Agressiveness: Furious

Chapter I, The Years of Grief and The First Northern War (1492 – 1494)

The Commonwealth is rich and quite stable (stability=0). Its armies are strong and numerous, and they are commanded by good leaders (one of the Radziwill family in Posen and Michal Glinski in Mazovia). However, the realm is not secure as long as it has no ally. The old King, Casimir the IV, who streingthened the country and lead it to a victorious war against the Teutonic Order of Prussia, is weak and many people fear, that he might not survive the harsh winter of 1491 – 1492.

The King’s Council, also known as the Senate, decides to avoid any wars and conflicts during the next few years. There is a threat of a civil war, because there are four candidates for the throne: Jan Olbracht, the Duke of Glogow (Silesia), Vladislavus the King of Bohemia and Hungary, Alexander Jagiellonian, and Sigismund Jagiellonian. They are all sons of the dying King.

To prepare for the forthcoming confrontation more money from the taxes is spent on improving land technology, so that the Poles could use artillery, which is a regular weapon in the mighty realms of the West. The Senate also decides that the power of the Commonwealth has to be based on ground forces rather than the navy (land + 1).
In the same time, wars begin everywhere. In the Holy Empire Saxony and Hessen start fighting for supremacy over the North Germany. What is more important for the politicians of the Commonwealth, in January Russia declares war upon the Khanat of Kazan. The Senators hoped that they could ally with Kazan to weaken the position of the tzars, but it seems that it is too late for any move.

Before a diplomat could be sent to Kazan in order to forge an alliance, Kazan surrenders (November 1493) and cedes Tampow to Russia. Fortunatelly, the Muscovites lost many soldiers during the hard winter campaigns and they do not pose a threat to lands of Lithuania. Some senators and commanders with Michal Glinski insist upon declaring a war against Moscow now, when they are weak, but un uncertain political situation and the King’s bad health do not allow such hazardous expeditions.

The other thing that made Poland – Lithuania unable to wage a war against Russia was the Pskovian War, which begun on 10th of February, 1492. Teutonic Order of Livonia attacked the merchant republic and quickly besieged its capital. By this time the Senate was quite convinced, that the united might of the Crown and Grand Duchy should be targeted against the Germans. Armies under Radziwill and Glinski were taking positions along the border of Prussia, Kurland and Livonia. Both commanders were waiting for the order, but the Senators decided to see, how the Pskovian war will end. If the Teutonic Order would annex the whole Pskov, the Commonwealth could receive it after a victorious war.

June the 8th will forever be remembered as the day of grief and sadness. On this day, our Great King, Casimir IV, who ruled the Commonwealth for fourty four long years (1448 – 1492), has passed away. During his times united Poland and Lithuania became the strongest power of the region, and Jagiellonians sat on the thrones of Hungary and Bohemia. During the royal funeral in Cracow thousands of people came to give the honors to the grand monarch. Even his political enemies, members of the opposition cried in the Church of Saint Mary, when the Archbishop talked about his life and glory. Later, the King’s body has been transported to the royal castle of Wawel, where Casimir was buried in the Crypt, with all others Kings of Poland before him.

The nobility and the aristocrats understood the complications this royal death could cause. A new king had to be elected as fast as possible. Jan Olbracht was at the time the only one of the Jagiellonian brothers, who stayed in Cracow. He was quickly elected as the King of Poland. His first decision was to make Alexander, who came to the capitol as soon as he could with lots of his supporters, the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Olbracht said it was far high time for the Grand Duchy to have its own ruler, who could counter any actions of Russia or the Teutons. Alexander swore to obey his brother’s commands and quickly set off for Vilno.

However, the situation of the young King was not easy. Vladislavus of Hungary and Bohemia had to be satisfied with something, else he could risk a war to gain the polish throne. A costly state gift was sent to Buda Pest in order to make Vladislavus more peaceful. The diplomatic action in Hungary gave very good effects, and Jan Olbracht even hoped for an alliance with Hungary. However, Vladislavus had other ideas. He allied with Venice to counter the might of the Ottoman Empire. So be it, decided the King of Poland. Another state gift was sent to Republic of Venice and by the end of 1492 the Commonwealth became the member of the great central – european alliance.

Now the Commonwealth was finally secure in the south, and the Pskovian War was almoust over. To the King’s surprise, the Teutons did not decide to annex Pskov. The republic was forced to pay a mere 54 ducats, give military entrance and change state religion to catholic. Well, after all that’s what the Order was created for. The King was furious, and the decision of war has been taken. The declaration was sent to Koninsberg and Dorpat on 1st of February, 1493. The Commonwealth decided not to trouble its allies. This war was to be the clash between the powers of Poles and Lithuanians on one side, and Germans on the other.

1st Polish Army under Radziwill was sent to Livland and quickly besieged Dorpat. 2nd Polish Army under Glinski (30 thousand men, cavalry and infantry) marched into Kurland and besieged Ryga. Teutonic forces, weakened during the war with Pskov, could not face the Poles in open combat. After few skirmishes they retreated to Estland, beaten and frightened.

Soon the reinforcements from Prussia reached Kurland. The battle was difficult and in the beggining it looked like everything was lost, but Glinski did not loose his nerves and finally numerical superiority of the Commonwealth forces prevailed. Prussians retreated to their homeland, only to see... that their homeland was already being burned and pillaged by another polish army, which came from the south. Koningsberg and Memel were both besieged by strong forces. However, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order of Prussia decided to bring the war into the heart of the Crown, and he attacked Wielkopolska. He even tried to capture the strongly fortified fortress of Gniezno, but without success.

On 10th of July Ryga surrendered to Michal Glinski. Exactly four months later polish troops marched into Dorpat, however the commander in Livland, Radziwill, died during the long siege. Before the fall of Dorpat, half of the 2nd Army was sent to Estland to capture the province. After an unsuccessful assault Glinski had to go there personally with an extra one thousand of cavalry.

1st day of the New Year 1494 is also very happy for the Commonwealth. On this day Memel falls. The crew of the fortress of Estland surrenders after an assault lead personally by Michal Glinski on 1st of March.

Despite all these successes, the peasants of the Commonwealth begun to feel the costs of the war. Revolt exploded in Wielikieje Luki in April, forcing Glinski to send there nine thousand cavalry force. The revolt was soon drowned in blood, but the situation did not look good any more. Poland and Lithuania had to finish this war fast, or face the risk of a bigger rebellion. On 12th of May Koninsberg finally surrendered. Peace treaty was signed between the member of the Senate, Ostrorog, and the diplomat of Prussia, Albrecht Hohenzollern.

Prussia ceded Memel to Poland – Lithuania, payed 200 ducats and became the vassals of Jan Olbracht. On the same day, 15th of May, the diplomat of Teutonic Order also signed a peace treaty, stating that the Order had to cede Kurland and Estonia to the Commonwealth. The First Northern War has ended, and the united realms of Poland and Lithuania were victorious.

Chapter II

Chapter II, Diplomacy and the First Eastern War (1494 – 1496)

Although the citizens of Estland and Kurland greated the Poles with satisfaction, there was some opposition in Memel. The teutonic conspiracy lead to insurection. The uprising lasted for two months. During the time Germans killed many polish nobles, who got new lands from the King, as a reward for valour in combat. The new lands of Michal Glinski had been totally pillaged and he had to escape to save his own life. He reached Vilno, where he gathered a strong army and than he came back to Memel. Not a single Teuton was left alive after the Battle of Memel (4th of September). This was the end of german influences in this province.

The problems in newly acquired provinces turned the King’s attention from more important places. Soon the results started being visible. On 20th of October Hungary broke the royal marriage it had with Poland – Lithuania, and became the vassal of Austria. Damned Habsburgs! They must have seduced Vladislavus with some price! Propably they supported him against the aristocratic opposition in Bohemia. Well, the lack of Hungarian support was already visible during the Venetian – Ragusian war (1493 - 1494, ended with annexation of Ragusa), in which Hungary did not take part (Poland – Lithuania was at the time fighting the Northern War, but expressed moral support to Venice, declared war on Ragusa and made peace two months later).

So, the Commonwealth stayed in an alliance with Venice, that by the time could not help much in conflicts that were to come. The first half of 1495 was peaceful, but Jan Olbracht already decided the war with Russia must begin. Michal Glinski supported the King, however the Senate was weary. In March, the polish Seym gathered in Piotrkow. War with the tzars was very popular among the lesser nobility, who awaited glory and new lands. In the atmosphere of victorious Northern War, the Seym expressed support for the King’s plans and enacted high taxes. The situation in Lithuania was easier – Grand Duke Alexander ordered the preparations for war and even the Radziwills could not do anything to stop them.

Two armies were sent to the borders of Russia. Michal Glinski commanded the lithuanian forces, stationed in Wielikieje Luki, while polish regiments stood in Kursk. On 1st of April declaration of war was delivered to the tzar, who at the time was Ivan III. The Muscovites had at the time about 35 thousands, while the Commonwealth fielded more than 50 thousands (plus 30 thousands left in the Crown, to watch if Brandenburg or Czech wouldn’t take advantage of the Eastern War...). Venice supported Poland – Lithuania, but did not send any troops (and neither Jan Olbracht nor Alexander asked for any).

Later, many people said that the Eastern War was the effect of Glinski’s intrigues and that by then he had already been a spy of the tzar. However, the last months of the war showed that he remained loyal to the Commonwealth’s cause.

Michal Glinski marched with his Lithuanian army against Tver, while Polish host, gathered near Kursk attacked from the south and besieged Tula. Soon the Muscovites began their counter offensive. A strong Russian army landed in Estland. Meanwhile tzar’s best leader, Striga – Obolensky with a huge army massed around Moscow set off against the Lithuanians.

In July disaster came. After an unsuccessful assault on walls of Tver, Lithuanian army had to face the might of Striga – Obolensky’s host. In the same time soldiers besieging Tula were attacked by the third Russian army. Somehow Moscow found enough streingth to rebuild its power ruined during the war with Kazan in few months. Both battles have been lost by the Commonwealth. By 16th of July Poles and Lithuanians were in full retreat towards the strongly fortified castle of Wielikieje Luki. Thanks to Glinski’s abilities the retreat did not change into a mass escape, and only a small number of soldiers deserted.

By 4th of August all Polish and Lithuanian armies arrived in Wielika, and Michal Glinski started to regroop and reorganise them. Extra troops had been sent from Wielkopolska and 8 thousand infantry was raised in Lithuania and Belarus. 7 days later the host of Striga – Obolensky, who chased Glinski all the way from Tver, attacked again. This time he suffered an enourmous defeat and had to save his life by leaving the remains of his army and running for Moscow. Battles around Wielikiej Luki lasted for almoust a month (until the end of August), and on 5th of September Lithuanians besieged Tver for the second time. It fell after two weeks, on 21th of September. Glinski continued the victorious offensive and on 16th of October landed near Novgorod. 12 days later, after a bloody assault, the richest and most beautiful of all the Russian cities surrendered. The flag with the Polish Eagle and the Lithuanian Knight appeared at the top of all the highest towers of the novgorodian fortress. Glinski did not allow any pillaging: next day after the fall of Novgorod, he took his army (leaving only a 5 thousand garrison) and marched towards Moscow. The capitol of the tzars never looked so weak and fragile.

Meanwhile the Poles had their own successes. The siege of Tula was going good, although the Russians got support from a mercenary band from Denmark. The Danes tried to surprise the Polish host, but with no success. After the defeat, Danes retreated and the king of Denmark, who supported the tzars, offered peace with no indemities from both sides. Jan Olbracht agreed, because he had no plans towards the Scandinavian empire. Soon reinforcements arrived in Tula and the town gave up on 8th of July, 1496, more than a year after the initial skirmishes with the Muscovites.

Tzar Ivan III left Moscow, when he heard about the fall of Novgorod. The siege of the capital was initiated when the hard Russian winter has already begun, on 1st of December, 1495. Michal Glinski decided to continue with the siege during winter. These were hard four months for the Lithuanians, who had to fight both: snow and the Muscovites. It did not save Moscow, however. The capitol of the tzars finally capitulated on 28th of April. This time Glinski allowed his soldiers to burn and sack the city (this decision strongly streingthened the troops’ morale). After eight days of massacres, he gathered his scattered soldiers and chose the next target: a town of Narva in Ingria. From Moscow he also sent six thousand cavalry force to take the unfortified provinces of Russia, Vologda and Archagnielsk. They did not face any resistance and from Archagnielsk half of the raid, 3 thousand cavalry were sent to capture Far Karelia and Kola. Which they did, without any resistance also.

On 2nd of October Narva fell, and the Muscovites coming back from Estland (they did not manage to capture the province during two years of siege) were cut off. By the time whole western and northern Russia was in the hands of the Commonwealth’s forces. The tzar stayed in Vladimir, and Striga – Obolensky in Nizhorod, but none of them had any soldiers left. In this situation tzar pleaded for peace. Jan Olbracht and Alexander both agreed.

On 18th of October, two weeks after the fall of Narva, peace was signed there, between Michal Glinski and Russian diplomat, Kourbski. Russia gave away the provinces of Inger – Marland (with it’s only port, Narva...), Novgorod (with its only center of trade, and a rich one), and Tver to the Commonwealth. The First Eastern War was finished. After the initial defeats, the nobility of Poland and Lithuania was stubborn enough to continue the campaign (Jan Olbracht had a mental breakdown after hearing about the lost battles of Tver and Tula and wanted to plead for peace, even for a big price). Polish Seym in Piotrkow gathered every year and enacted high taxes for military purposes. Finally, the potential of the Commonwealth appeared to be greater than the one of the Muscovites.

The fame of this victorious war made many countries envious. There was strong support for Russia in western Europe during this war, despite the fact that Russia was a schizmatic state, while Poland – Lithuania was catholic. Many countries, like Denmark, Austria, France and Brandenburg helped Muscovy, by sending weapons, leaders and money. The King had to start some diplomatic action to lessen the Russian influences in central nad western part of the continent. Thanks to excellent diplomats, like Szydlowiecki, Laski and Tomicki, royal marriages united the Jagiellons with the greatest dynasties of Europe. In November and December of 1496 the members of Jagiellon dynasty married the Habsburgs of Austria, the Tudors of England and some minor families of Scotland, Portugal and Helvetia.

It had also been decided by the King and the members of Senate (later this decision was supported by the Seym), that the alliance with Venice did not suit the needs of the Commonwealth. On 22nd of December 1496 Jan Olbracht dishonoured the alliance, and soon joined an other – more powerful one. After sending the state gifts to Vladislavus Jagiellonian and the Habsburgs, the Commonwealth became a part of the great Central – European pact between Austria, Hungary, Bohemia and some minor German countries. Now the position of the united states of Poland and Lithuania was secure – for the moment.

Screens

Unfortunatelly, I did not make screens before and now I'm in a year 1517... Maybe I'll do some now.

By the way, how do I put the screens on the forum?

And answering your questions:
Gre mam od znajomego, a on sciagnal ja z sieci. Biorac jednak pod uwage problemy, jakie mam z zaimplementowaniem patcha, zrobilem sobie noworoczne postanowienie, ze kupie oryginal, jak tylko wyjdzie w Polsce. Podobno ma byc wydany i przetlumaczony lepiej niz EU 1...

Chapter III

Chapter III Glorious Years, Easy Annexations (1497 – 1501)

Now the King could take a breath and watch the situation changing in the West. During long and chaotic wars in the Holy Roman Empire, there was no real winner. However, the states of Brandenburg and Saxony grew beyond expectations: Brandenburg took Mecklemburg and Bremen, while Saxons declared war upon them, and took Magdeburg after a bloody campaign. Brandenburg was at the moment fighting with Denmark, and loosing this war. Jan Olbracht liked the way in which the situation was developping. On 3rd of October 1497, Brandenburg signed a peace treaty with Denmark, losing both Bremen and Meclenburg. It seemed that the March of Brandenburg is far too weak to be a danger to the Commonwealth. And Saxony was quite friendly (although the duke of Saxony did not like the way Poland – Lithuania coped with the Teutonic Orders...).

On 12th of September an excellent leader joins the ranks of the Lithuanian military. Duke Konstany Ostrogski, from a rich dynasty of lithuanian ‘kniazs’ was the best commander Poland – Lithuania had so far. It soon appeared that he is popular among the nobility, and it helped to weaken the influences of allmighty Michal Glinski.

Meanwhile, something interesting started happening in the East. It seemed that Russia did not get the beating it deserved. Less than a year after The Peace of Narva, Russia broke the royal marriage with Ryazan and declared war upon this small state. Poland – Lithuania expressed strong support for Ryazan, but because of a truce Jan Olbracht could not declare war upon Moscow for the next four years. The conflict ended in July next year. There could be only one possible outcome: Russia completely annexed its small but brave enemy.

Unable to help the citizens of Ryazan, Olbracht found other way to profit from the situation. On 9th of May the Commonwealth declared war upon Pskov. This time Konstanty Ostrogski has been chosen to lead the expeditionary force (he was at the time the best expert in siege technology). The citizens of the merchant republic did not hold long; the decisive assault against the walls began in June and on 13th of June 1498 the whole city was in the hands of Ostrogski’s Lithuanians. Two days later the independant city state ceased to exist and Pskov became only a geographical term. Russians, finishing the last Ryazan defenders, decided not to protest openly.

Much happened during the next year, Anno Domini 1500. In the West, Hannover became a vassal of Brandenburg (some Senators even suspected that soon the might of the March can pose a threat to Posen and Danzig). In the North, Sweden decided to stay in Kalmar Union for a few years more, which streinghtened Denmark, loyal ally of Russia. However the Seym which gathered in Piotrkow this year didn’t consider Sweden a dangerous power, and did not enact any taxes for war, so Jan Olbracht had to agree with the facts. The health of the King turned worse and many people in the realm feared for his life.

Meanwhile Alexander, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, struck a quiet deal with Michal Glinski. They knew that war with Sweden would mean the war with the whole North, and they did not want this to happen. If it began, Lithuania would have to take greatest costs than the Crown. So, to reverse the King’s attention from the mighty Kalmar Union, they decided to provoke another conflict, with much weaker foe.

On 16th of January, 1501, Glinski’s German mercenaries, dressed in white cloaks with black crosses, assaulted a Polish fortress guarding the border with Teutonic Order of Livonia. Only few Poles have been spared, so they could tell the King about what happened. The result was quick, especially in spite of King’s illness. Jan Olbracht ordered to attack the lands of both Teutonic Orders. On 7th of February Glinski’s host of 20 thousand Lithuanians besieged weakly garrisoned port of Dorpat, the capitol of Livland. On 3rd of April Konstanty Ostrogski lead the Poles into the very heart of Prussia – the city of Koninsberg. On 1st of June the Grand Master of the Prussian Order capitulated. A large sum was payed to the Polish treasury and then Ostrogski retreated to Mazovia. However, the King and the Grand Duke had other plans towards the Order of Livonia.

On 18th of June, terrible news struck at the Alexander’s court at Vilno. The beloved King of Poland – Lithuania, Jan Olbracht the Jagiellonian, victorious over the Teutons and Muscovites, has left the world of the living. Having heard about this, Alexander quickly set off for Cracow, because he knew, that the Jagiellonian who will first reach the capitol, will be elected the new King. He arrived in Cracow before his other brothers (although Sigismund, who was at the time Vladislavus’ regent over Silesia, also wanted the crown) and four days after the burial ceremony of Jan Olbracht, Alexander I became the new ruler of the Commonwealth. Again the titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania were united in a single person.

The death of the monarch did not change the tide of war, however. Dorpat fell on 17th of July, almoust a month after Jan Olbracht had passed away. Alexander decided that there will be no mercy for the Teutonic Order of Livonia. Their country has been incorporated into the Commonwealth, and German supporters of the Grand Master were forced to go to exile.

This small, victorious clash was later called The Second Northern War. The period of 1497 – 1501 seriously changed the map of the Eastern Baltic region. Numerous tiny states dissapeared almoust completely (only Prussia – a Polish vassal survived), and the strong and vast countries remained to fight on for hegemony of the harsh and cold North.

That's it for today. I'll post next episode on Tuesday. See you all then !

Chapter IV

Chapter IV, the Clouds are Gathering (1501 – 1505)

Next few years were quite peaceful, Polish and Lithuanian merchants profited from 3 centers of trade in the realm, enemies of the Commonwealth had been destroyed or weakened so much that they did not pose any threat at the time. Some peasant revolts exploded in Memel and Novgorod, but they were quickly pacified by Ostrogski’s armies. State gifts were sent to Prussia in order to fix relations with this state (King Alexander planned a diplomatic annexation). In 1501 a royal foundry had been built in Cracow, and first 50 cannons were constructed for the military (40 for army in Wielkopolska, 10 for Ukraina). Land Level of Poland – Lithuania was the highest in the region, which seemed to be good for the future of the country.

In Western Europe a League of Cambrai has been created to minimize Venetian influences in Mediterrean Region (1502). In 1503 Golden Horde declared war upon Astrachan, to finish what they had started several years earlier. By the time Atrachan had only one province and the hordes had no problems with annexing it into their sphere of influence. However, this renaissance of Golden Horde has proven to be short. Soon Russia will become a real hegemon in the region. In 1504 Ottoman Empire declared war upon Dulkandir. Noone in Poland – Lithuania believed that Dulkandir stood any chance, however the war lasted for several months and costed the Empire... 2/3 of its soldiers. Finally, in 1504 a great war broke out in The Holy Roman Empire. Austria, supported by Bohemia, The Palatinat, Bavaria, Cologne, Wurtemberg and the Commonwealth attacked Gelre, who got support from Oldenburg. Soon Helvetia and Strasbourg joined the conflict and attacked the Palatinat (although these two states were not allied with Gelre or Oldenburg). Poland – Lithuania joined both bloody conflicts (although the Seym was not happy with such situation), without any plans for real military action. Soon Alexander made peace with the Habsburg antagonists and concentrated on the interiour problems of the Commonwealth.

And the problems were great, some said that even too great for a weak King like Alexander. The opposition was growing, secretly funded by Russian and Prussian ducats. The country needed reforms: taxation, infrastructural and military ones. However, the nobility was more and more narrow minded, and the projects of reforming the Commonwealth had been abolished after the Seym of 1505. The nobles forced the King to sign the constitution „Nihil Novi” which stated that from this day forward King cannot change laws, declare wars, enact taxes or change anything in the Commonwealth, without Seym’s permision. This constitution was another step towards creating a republican system, where the King would only be a governor of the realm, not its actual ruler.

On 2nd of February, 1505, Michal Glinski, Lithuanian commander, glorious leader during the two Northern Wars and the Eastern War, left the lands of the Commonwealth, to serve his new master: the tzar of Russia, Ivan III (soon he died, and Glinski became a trusted man of the next tzar, Vasili III). Why he did it? There were many opinions about his motives. After the death of Jan Olbracht, Alexander left Lithuania to rule the country from Cracow. Glinski soon became the most powerful man in the Grand Duchy. His military and political successes streinghtened his position so much, he began to see himself as the Grand Duke. Alexander countered his power by supporting a young ‘kniaz’, Konstanty Ostrogski, who quickly appeared to be as good commander as Glinski himself. Or even a better one. Michal Glinski was to ambitious, to let anyone among the Lithuanian nobility to stand in front of him. In order to secure his position, he agreed to cooperate with agents of Muscovy, became the leader of the pro – Russian opposition in the Eastern parts of the Grand Duchy. He and his party supported the secession of Lithuania – and the breaking of the Union of Chorodlo (1413). Glinski wanted the Grand Duchy to be an independant state, like it was before Vladislavus Jagiello’s times. If he could become its Duke, he was even willing to give some parts of the realm to the expansive empire of the Muscovites (propably Novgorod, Pskov, Tver and Tula would be the provinces acquired by the Tzars). Alexander could not allow this to happen.

While the King was searching for a way to crush the disobedient and mighty aristocrate, Glinski delivered it to him. He had a long quarell with a Lithuanian noble, Zabrzezinski. In 1505 the conflict ended in a tragical way: Glinski ordered his men to murder Zabrzezinski. This crime strongly angered the lesser nobility of the Crown and the Grand Duchy. The King ordered Michal Glinski to come to the Seym of 1505 (the same which created the constitution of Nihil Novi) to respond to the accusations. He disobeyed the King’s orders and asked for guarantees that nothing would happen to him during the Seym. Alexander was not willing to give such promises. In this situation a Russian diplomat, Kourbski, reached Glinski and offered him to join the cause of the tzars. He would become the main commander of the Muscovite army (Ivan III was impressed by the way Glinski lead the campaign in 1496 and wanted someone like him to command his soldiers), that did not have a good general since the death of Striga – Obolensky. After 10 days and getting no guarantees, Glinski heard that the King sent Konstanty Ostrogski to bring him in front of the Seym, which already started gathering in Piotrkow (Mazovia). He did not hesitate any longer – and on 2nd of February 1505 he set off with Kourbski for Moscow.

This treason strongly iritated the King. Alexander wanted taxes and soldiers, to crush the trickish Muscovy. The situation was good, Ivan III has died and Vasily III did not have strong support during first few months of his rule. However, the Seym responded to Alexander’s demands with Nihil Novi and opposed the war. The Senators also did not want conflict at the moment. Especially when there was no independant Hungary any more...

This was another case that concerned the King during the difficult year 1505. King Vladislavus of Hungary and Bohemia, has died. However, situation in these countries developped in different directions. In Bohemia, the nobility and aristocrasy opposed the Habsburg intervention and gave power to the Council of Regents. The Council was supposed to rule until king Ludwik, Vladislavus’ only son (was 1 year old when his fathered died) will be old enough, to claim the throne. Here Austria did not insist too much. However, they had other plans towards Hungary. This kingdom found itself in a very difficult situation – surrounded by expansive Turkey from one side and Austria from another. Poland – Lithuania had other problems at the time (trying to stay united, for example) and could not help their allies from across the Carpatia Mountains. In 1505 Hungarian nobility finally agreed to have Maximilian of Austria as their king. The powerful central – European state became another province of the fast growing Habsburg Empire.

...So, the beggining of year 1505 appeared to be very bad for the Commonwealth. It appeared that under the rule of Alexander, Poland – Lithuania, victorious on the field of battle, was totally uneffective in times of peace. Great talents in diplomacy (Szydlowiecki, Ostrorog) were wasted by a weak King, limited by a narrowminded and conservative nobility gathered in the Seym. If such a situation was going to continue, the future of the Commonwealth did not look bright any more.