Casimir Jagiellonian

Casimir Jagiellonian (1427-1492), the younger son of Ladislaus Jagiello and Sophia of Holszany; grand duke of Lithuania, crowned king of Poland in 1447. He restricted the powers of Cardinal Zbigniew Olesnicki and the latter's supporters among the nobles, who held sway during the reign of his predecessor. He carried out an active dynastic policy: his son Ladislaus became king of Bohemia in 1471 and succeeded to the Hungarian throne in 1490. In his efforts to strengthen royal authority, he sought supporters among the knights and limited the influence of the nobles. Under the terms of the treaty of Torun, which ended the so-called Thirteen Years' War with the Teutonic Knights, he incorporated Royal Prussia, that is, the western parts of the Teutonic Knights' state. After years of conflict, he finally won the right to appoint bishops (who were members of the Royal Council). His long reign contributes to economic and cultural development, and to Poland becoming a European power. [art]