"Father of the Registry Cossacks" Stefan Batory: how a Transylvanian brought fame to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and aided Ukraine.

The son of the Prince of Transylvania, Stephen IV, of Hungarian descent, holds a prominent place in the historical pantheon of our western neighbors, the Poles, alongside King Jan III Sobieski – the celebrated victor over the Turks at Vienna in 1683.

Struggle for the Vacant Throne

Stephen was born on September 27, 1533, in the town of Șimleu Silvaniei (Hungarian: Siladьshomь) in the northwestern part of modern-day Romania. His mother, Catalina Telegdi, was a Hungarian noblewoman and the daughter of a royal treasurer. He studied in Italy – at the University of Padua.

At the age of 16, Stephen joined the military service of King Ferdinand I Habsburg of Bohemia and Hungary and accompanied him to Italy. A few years later, the young magnate came under the command of Prince of Transylvania John II Sigismund Zápolya, who occupied the Hungarian throne as a vassal of the Ottoman Turks. However, the Habsburgs continued to consider themselves the kings of Hungary…

In a battle against the Austrians, Stephen was captured and spent three years in prison, where he focused on self-education. Upon returning to Transylvania, Stephen Batory gradually climbed the hierarchical ladder of the state. Despite their dependence on the Ottoman Empire, its princes attempted to exploit the contradictions between the great powers.

In 1571, following the death of John II Sigismund Zápolya, the struggle for the vacant throne began. The magnate Gaspar Bekesh de Korjat, supported by the Habsburgs, claimed the throne. The Batory family opposed him and triumphed in a bloody civil war. Stephen became the prince of this land, which was surrounded by several often-hostile states – the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Habsburg Empire, the Ottoman Empire (to which it paid tribute), and the principalities of Wallachia and Moldova…

Sigismund III Vasa, the last Polish king from the Lithuanian Jagiellonian dynasty, had no heirs; therefore, his sister Anna Jagiellon remained the last link connecting the Poles and Lithuanians. After his death in June 1572, a period of "interregnum" ensued.

In May 1574, a French prince, Henry of Valois, was elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The choice proved unsuccessful. The Frenchman was 28 years (!) younger than Anna Jagiellon and for a long time was reluctant to marry her – he feigned illness, hired prostitutes, and more (he was bisexual). A scandal was brewing…

On June 14, 1574, Henry learned of the death of his childless older brother, Charles IX of Valois. In the night of June 19, he fled from Krakow and returned to Paris, where he was crowned as Henry III of Valois.

Marriage to 52-Year-Old Anna Jagiellon

The coalition government found itself in a difficult situation. New candidates for the throne were discussed at the electoral sejm. Among others were the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian, his brother Ferdinand, and son Archduke Ernest, Swedish King John, Duke Alfonso of Ferrara, Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Muscovy, and the sultan's protégé, Stephen Batory… The votes of the magnates and nobility were evenly split, and on December 12 and 14, 1575, Maximilian and Anna Jagiellon were simultaneously recognized as monarchs, respectively (with the condition of her marriage to Stephen Batory).

Many officials of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were well aware of the military experience of the Transylvanian. For instance, on July 15, 1575, he defeated the forces of their long-time enemies, the Habsburgs, who continued to support the magnate Bekesh.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth gradually lost control and found itself on the brink of civil war. The crisis culminated the following year: on January 18, 1576, 20,000 nobles from the common militia, supporters of Stephen Batory, occupied Krakow to prevent the Habsburg from being crowned. On March 30, Stephen Batory crossed the border into Poland near Snyatyn in Ukrainian Pokuttya, where he was greeted by a crowd of admirers…

On April 5, 1576, despite the emperor's protests, he arrived in Krakow with a large entourage – 1,200 cavalrymen. On May 1, in Wawel Cathedral, Bishop Stanisław Karnkowski married 42-year-old Stephen Batory to 52-year-old Anna Jagiellon and crowned him King of Poland. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Royal Prussia remained loyal to the Habsburgs. However, the death of Emperor Maximilian II Habsburg on October 12 obliterated all arguments against Stephen Batory.

The armed uprising of his army forced his opponents in Poland to accept the new ruler. Soon, Batory was recognized by Lithuania and Prussia; after a short war, the city of Gdańsk also capitulated.

42-year-old Stephen Batory felt on the throne like "on a hot plate": the magnates and nobility wanted him to be a compliant puppet. During the coronation in Wawel, an incident occurred: most senators opposed this marriage and refused to release the sacred regalia of the Polish rulers from the Royal treasury.

The king relied on the middle stratum of the nobility – European-educated administrators and seasoned warriors. Among them was Jan Zamoyski – chancellor and later crown hetman. After being elected king, Stephen resolved matters at home by appointing his own brother Krzysztof as regent (voivode).

Stephen managed to tame the discontented nobility, who were constantly trying to "cut" the ruler's limited powers ("I want to be king not just on paper and will not listen to instructions on what to do"). He ordered the execution of Grigory Osik for secret negotiations with Ivan the Terrible, as well as the all-powerful magnate Samuel Zborowski.

War with Muscovy and Cossack Privileges

Having settled domestic political issues and achieved reconciliation with the Porte, the king began preparing for war with the Tsardom of Muscovy, which had seized Livonia (historical region in present-day Latvia and Estonia) after defeating the Livonian Order. The northern Baltic Sea was contested not only by the Tsardom of Muscovy and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth but also by two other kingdoms – Denmark and Sweden.

The Zaporizhian Cossacks, serving as a shield on the southeastern borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, played a significant role in Stephen Batory's plans. Like his predecessors, he deemed it necessary to have them in military service. Sigismund III Vasa had already accepted an oath from 300 Cossacks.

However, it was Stephen Batory who effectively established the registered Cossacks (accountable only to the Warsaw government), issuing a decree in September 1578 titled "Regulation with the Commoners." The king increased the number of registered Cossacks to 500, and by 1583, to 600.

According to the agreement with the king, the Cossacks were exempted from taxes; they received full independence from local administration. An officer corps and headquarters with a scribe were created, who could replace the "registered elder" (later the hetman) if necessary. The Cossacks received the privilege to own the town of Trachtomir – the center of the Kyiv Voivodeship, located on the Dnieper River above Kaniv. There, in the Zarubyn Monastery, the Cossacks opened a hospital. The Zaporizhian Cossacks had their own arsenal; a very important privilege was granted that legitimized the establishment of the "commoners": the king transferred the regalia (banner, bulawa, mace, and seal).

During Stephen Batory's reign, registered Cossacks, along with numerous volunteers from Zaporizhzhia, actively participated in the final stage of the Livonian War, including battles in the North. The king conducted three victorious campaigns into the territory of the Tsardom of Muscovy, mobilizing about 48,000 warriors against the enemy's 200,000-strong army. Stephen Batory reorganized the army (creating elite infantry equipped with guns and axes for building bridges and field fortifications). He used Hungarian infantry, which proved very useful for capturing fortresses.

The troops of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth besieged and captured Polotsk in August 1579 by storm (previously occupied by Muscovites), and then in the territory of the Tsardom of Muscovy – Velikiye Luki and Nevel, Holm and Sebezh. The siege of Pskov lasted almost four months. The defenders of the city held out.