Description: Alexander Jagiellon(Polish:Aleksander Jagielloczyk,Lithuanian:Aleksandras Jogailaitis; 5 August 1461 19 August 1506) of theHouse of Jagiellonwas theGrand Duke of Lithuaniaand later alsoKing of Poland.He was the fourth son ofCasimir IV Jagiellon. He was elected grand duke of Lithuania on the death of his father (1492) and king of Poland on the death of his brotherJohn I Albert(1501). Alexander was born as the fourth son of KingCasimir IV of PolandandElisabeth, daughter of the KingAlbert of Hungary. At the time of his father's death in 1492, his eldest brotherVladislaushad already becomeking of Bohemia(1471) andHungaryand Croatia (1490), and the next oldest brother,Casimir, had died (1484) after leading an ascetic and pious life in his final years, resulting in his eventual canonization. While the third oldest brother,John I Albertwas chosen by the Polish nobility (szlachta) to be the next king of Poland, the Lithuanians instead elected Alexander to be their nextgrand duke. The greatest challenge that Alexander faced upon assuming control of the grand duchy wasan attack on Lithuaniaby Grand DukeIvan III of Russiaand his allies, theTatarsof theCrimean Khanate, which commenced shortly after his accession. Ivan III considered himself the heir to the lands ofKievan Rus', and was striving to take back the territory previously gained by Lithuania. Unable to successfully stop the incursions, Alexander sent a delegation to Moscow to make a peace settlement, which was signed in 1494 and ceded extensive land over to Ivan. In an additional effort to instill a peace between the two countries, Alexander was betrothed toHelena, the daughter of Ivan III; they were married inVilniuson 15 February 1495. The peace did not last long, however, as Ivan III resumed hostilities in 1500. The most Alexander could do was to garrisonSmolenskand other strongholds and employ his wife Helena to mediate another truce between him and her father after the disastrousBattle of Vedrosha(1500). In the terms of this truce, Lithuania had to surrender about a third of its territory to the nascent expansionist Russian state. On 17 June 1501, Alexander's older brother John I Albert died suddenly, and Alexander was crowned king of Poland on 12 December of that year. Alexander's shortage of funds immediately made him subservient to the Polish Senate andszlachta, who deprived him of control of the mint (then one of the most lucrative sources of revenue for the Polish kings), curtailed his prerogatives, and generally endeavored to reduce him to a subordinate position. In 1505, theSejmpassed the Act ofNihil novi, which forbade the king to issue laws without the consent of the nobility, represented by the two legislative chambers, except for laws governing royal cities, crown lands, mines, fiefdoms, royal peasants, and Jews. This was another step in Poland's progression towards a "Noble's Democracy". During Alexander's reign, Poland suffered additional humiliation at the hands of her subject principality,Moldavia. Only the death ofStephen, the greathospodarof Moldavia, enabled Poland still to hold her own on theDanube River. Meanwhile, the liberality ofPope Julius II, who issued no fewer than 29 bulls in favor of Poland and granted AlexanderPeter's Penceand other financial help, enabled him to restrain somewhat the arrogance of theTeutonic Order. Alexander Jagiellon never felt at home in Poland, and bestowed his favor principally upon his fellow Lithuanians, the most notable of whom was the wealthy Lithuanian magnateMichael Glinski, who justified his master's confidence by his great victory over the Tatars atKleck(5 August 1506), news of which was brought to Alexander on his deathbed inVilnius. Alexander was the last known ruler of theGediminiddynasty to have maintained the family's ancestralLithuanian language.After his death, Polish became the sole language of the family, thus fullyPolonisingtheJagiellons. In 1931, during the refurbishment ofVilnius Cathedral, the forgotten sarcophagus of Alexander was discovered, and has since been put on display.
Price: 77.99 USD
Location: Reading, Pennsylvania
End Time: 2024-08-18T12:15:31.000Z
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All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Denomination: 1 Grosz
Composition: Silver
Year: 1506
Country/Region of Manufacture: Poland
Certification: Uncertified
