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{{Short description|Ruler of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1576 to 1586}}
{{other people||Stephen Báthory (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Stefan Batory|the Polish ocean liner|TSS Stefan Batory}}
{{Eastern name order|Báthory István}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
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{{Infobox royalty
| name = Stephen Báthory
| image= Anonymous Stephen Báthory (detail) 01.jpg
| image_size = 235
| caption = A 19th-century copy of a portrait attributed to [[Martin Kober]] representing Stephen Báthory in decorative [[Sarmatism|Sarmatian attire]]
| succession = [[King of Poland]]<br />[[Grand Duke of Lithuania]]
| predecessor = [[Henry III of France|Henry of Valois]]
| successor = [[Sigismund III]]
| reg-type     = Co-monarch
| regent       = [[Anna Jagiellon]]
| succession1  = [[Prince of Transylvania]]
| reign1       = 1576–1586
| predecessor1 = [[John Sigismund Zápolya]]
| successor1   = [[Sigismund Báthory]]
| birth_date = 27 September 1533
| birth_place = [[Szilágysomlyó]], [[Eastern Hungarian Kingdom]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1586|12|12|1533|9|27}}
| death_place = [[Grodno]], [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]
| burial_date = May 1588
| burial_place = [[Wawel Cathedral]], [[Kraków]]
|moretext=(''[[jure uxoris]]'')| reign = 1 May 1576 – 12 December 1586
| coronation = 1 May 1576<br />[[Wawel Cathedral]]
| house = [[Báthory]]
| father = [[Stephen Báthory of Somlyó]]
| mother = [[Catherine Telegdi]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Anna Jagiellon]]|1576}}
| signature = Autograph-StefanBatory.svg
| religion = [[Roman Catholicism]]
}}

'''Stephen Báthory''' ({{langx|hu|Báthory István}}; {{langx|pl|Stefan Batory}}; {{Langx|lt|{{audio|Steponas-Batoras.ogg|Steponas Batoras|help=no}}}}; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was [[King of Poland]] and [[Grand Duke of Lithuania]] as well as [[Prince of Transylvania]] (1576–1586), after previously being [[Voivode of Transylvania]] (1571–1576).

The son of [[Stephen VIII Báthory]] and a member of the Hungarian [[Báthory]] noble family, Báthory was a ruler of [[Transylvania]] in the 1570s, defeating another challenger for that title, [[Gáspár Bekes]]. 

In 1576, Báthory became the husband of Queen [[Anna Jagiellon]] and the third [[royal election|elected]] king of Poland. He worked closely with chancellor [[Jan Zamoyski]]. The first years of his reign were focused on establishing power, defeating a fellow claimant to the throne, [[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor]], and quelling rebellions, most notably, the [[Danzig rebellion|Gdańsk rebellion]]. 

He reigned only a decade, but is considered one of the most successful [[Monarchs of Poland|kings]] in [[Polish history|Polish]] and [[Lithuanian history]], particularly in the military realm. His signal achievement was his victorious [[Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory|campaign in Livonia]] against [[Tsardom of Russia|Russia]] in the middle part of his reign, in which he repulsed a Russian invasion of Commonwealth borderlands and secured a highly favorable treaty of peace (the [[Peace of Jam Zapolski]]).

==Youth==
[[File:Coat of arms of Steponas Batoras.jpg|thumb|left|100px|Personal coat of arms]]
Stephen Báthory was born on 27 September 1533 in [[Șimleu Silvaniei Fort|the castle]] at Somlyó, also known as Szilágysomlyó (today's [[Șimleu Silvaniei]]).<ref name=psb114/> He was the son of [[Stephen VIII Báthory]] (d. 1534) of the noble [[Hungary|Hungarian]] [[Báthory family]] and his wife [[Catherine Telegdi]].<ref name="psb114"/> He had at least five siblings: two brothers and three sisters.<ref name=psb114/>

Little is known about his childhood. Around 1549–1550, he briefly visited Italy and probably spent a few months attending lectures at the [[Padua University]].<ref name=psb114/> Upon his return, he joined the army of [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor]], and took part in his military struggle against the [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]].<ref name=psb114/> Some time after 1553, Báthory was captured by the Turks, and after Ferdinand I refused to pay his ransom, joined the opposing side, supporting [[John II Sigismund Zápolya]] in his struggle for power in the [[Eastern Hungarian Kingdom]].<ref name=psb114/> As Zápolya's supporter, Báthory acted both as a feudal lord, military commander and a diplomat.<ref name=psb114/><ref name="psb115"/> During one of his trips to [[Vienna]] he was put under house arrest for two years.<ref name=psb115/> During this time he fell out of favor at Zápolya's court, and his position was largely assumed by another Hungarian noble, [[Gáspár Bekes]].<ref name=psb115/> Báthory briefly retired from politics, but he still wielded considerable influence and was seen as a possible successor to Zápolya.<ref name=psb115/>

After Zápolya's death in 1571, the Transylvanian estates elected Báthory [[Voivode of Transylvania]].<ref name=psb115/> Bekes, supported by the Habsburgs, disputed his election, but by 1573, Báthory emerged victorious in the resulting civil war and drove Bekes out of Transylvania.<ref name=psb115/> He subsequently attempted to play the Ottomans and the Holy Roman Empire against one another in an attempt to strengthen the Transylvania position.<ref name="psb116"/>

==Elected king==
[[File:Riehl Portrait of Stephen Bathory.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Stephen Báthory as King of Poland with a [[Mannerist]] crown from about 1584, most probably created for him in [[Gdańsk]] after [[Willem van den Blocke]]'s design.<ref name=artinpl/>]]
In 1572, the throne of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], at the time the largest and one of the most populous states in Europe, was vacated when King [[Sigismund II Augustus]] died without heirs.<ref name=psb116/> The [[Sejm]] was given the power to [[Royal elections in Poland|elect]] a new king, and in the [[1573 Polish–Lithuanian royal election]] chose [[Henry III of France|Henry of France]]; Henry soon ascended the French throne and forfeited the Polish-Lithuanian one by returning to France.<ref name=psb116/> Báthory decided to enter into the election; in the meantime he had to defeat another attempt by Bekes to challenge his authority in Transylvania, which he did by defeating Bekes at the [[Battle of Kerelőszentpál]].<ref name=psb116/>

On 12 December 1575, after an [[interregnum]] of roughly one and a half years, [[primate of Poland]] [[Jakub Uchański]], representing a pro-Habsburg faction, declared [[Archduke Maximilian III]] as the new monarch.<ref name=psb116/> However, chancellor [[Jan Zamoyski]], [[Piotr Zborowski]] and other opponents of Habsburgs argued against a Habsburg king, fearing the political power of a native Polish king.<ref name=psb116/><ref name="Stone2001-122"/><ref name="Lerski1996"/> Zborowski in particular supported electing a [[prince]]ly or [[ducal]] ruler. Bathory also pledged several bribes, including 200,000 [[florin]]s and ransoms for Polish captives taken by the [[Tatars]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roşu |first=Felicia |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/990854634 |title=Elective monarchy in Transylvania and Poland-Lithuania, 1569-1587 |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-878937-6 |edition= |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |oclc=990854634}}</ref> After a heated discussion, it was decided that [[Anna Jagiellon]], sister of the former King [[Sigismund II Augustus]], should be elected 'king' and marry Stephen Báthory.<ref name="psb117"/> In January 1576 Báthory passed the mantle of voivode of Transylvania to his brother [[Christopher Báthory]] and departed for Poland.<ref name=psb117/> On 1 May 1576 Báthory married Anna and was crowned [[king of Poland]] and [[grand duke of Lithuania]].<ref name=psb117/>  After being chosen as king in the [[1576 Polish–Lithuanian royal election]], Báthory also began using the title of the [[prince of Transylvania]].<ref name=psb115/>

==Establishing power==
[[File:Poland Seal of Stephen Báthory.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Seal of King and Grand Duke Stephen Báthory, circa 1576–1586]]
[[File:Blessed sword of Stephen Bathory.jpg|thumb|upright|Blade of the [[Blessed sword and hat|blessed sword]] received by Stephen Báthory in 1580 from [[Pope Gregory XIII]] for his struggles against Turks and Tatars.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Besala |first=Jerzy |title=Stefan Batory |year=1992 |pages=295–296}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Petrus |first=Jerzy T. |date=1977 |title=Miecze poświęcane królewicza Władysława Zygmunta i króla Jana III |trans-title=Blessed swords of Prince Władysław Zygmunt and King Jan III. |journal=Biuletyn Historii Sztuki |volume=39 |pages=157}}</ref> It was deposited in the royal treasury in [[Kraków]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Petrus |first=Jerzy T. |date=1977 |title=Miecze poświęcane królewicza Władysława Zygmunta i króla Jana III |trans-title=Blessed swords of Prince Władysław Zygmunt and King Jan III. |journal=Biuletyn Historii Sztuki |volume=39 |pages=157}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Żygulski |first=Zdzisław |date=1978 |title=Miecz i kapelusz poświęcany króla Jana III Sobieskiego |url=https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/sdw1978/0343/image,info |journal=Studia do Dziejów Wawelu |volume=4 |pages=356}}</ref>]]
Báthory's position was at first extremely difficult, as there was still some opposition to his election. Emperor Maximilian, insisting on his earlier election, fostered internal opposition and prepared to enforce his claim by military action.<ref name="psb118" /> At first the representatives of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania refused to recognize Báthory as a grand duke, and demanded concessions - that he return the estates of his wife Anne to the Lithuanian treasury, hold Sejm conventions in both Lithuania and Poland, and reserve the highest governmental official offices in Lithuania for Lithuanians. He accepted the conditions.<ref name="Greenbaum1995">{{cite book|author=Masha Greenbaum|title=The Jews of Lithuania: a history of a remarkable community, 1316-1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E2_ag8xGWMQC&pg=PA22|date=1 January 1995|publisher=Gefen Publishing House Ltd|isbn=978-965-229-132-5|page=22}}</ref> In June, Báthory was recognized as [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Grand Duke of Lithuania]].{{efn|The lands and territories he ruled were usually named one after another in written sources: ''Stephanus Dei gratia rex Poloniae et magnus dux Lithuaniae, Russiae, Prussiae, Masoviae, Samogitiae, Kiioviae, Voliniae, Podlachiae, Livoniaeque, necnon. princeps Transylvaniae.'' in [[Latin]].}}<ref name="psb117" /><ref name="psb118" /> On 29 May 1580, a ceremony was held in the [[Vilnius Cathedral]] during which bishop [[Merkelis Giedraitis]] presented Báthory a [[Blessed sword and hat|decorated sword and a hat adorned with pearl]]s (both were sanctified by [[Pope Gregory XIII]] himself), while this ceremony manifested the sovereignty of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and had the meaning of [[Gediminas%27 Cap#Inaugurations of Lithuanian monarchs|elevation of the new Grand Duke of Lithuania]], this way ignoring the stipulations of the [[Union of Lublin]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Vavelio pilies lobyne – ir Lietuvos, Valdovų rūmų istorija |url=https://www.valdovurumai.lt/lt/naujienos/i/2680/vavelio-pilies-lobyne-ir-valdovu-rumu-istorija20220721/ |website=Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania |access-date=6 November 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bues |first1=Almut |title=The year-book of Lithuanian history |date=2005 |page=9 |url=https://www.istorija.lt/data/public/uploads/2021/02/lim-2003-2-1-a.-bues-politine-ceremonialo-paskirtis-elekcineje-monarchijoje-p.-5-20.pdf |publisher=Lithuanian Institute of History |access-date=6 November 2023 |language=lt}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Stryjkowski |first1=Maciej |title=Kronika polska, litewska, żmódzka i wszystkiéj Rusi Macieja Stryjkowskiego. T. 2. |date=1846 |location=Warsaw |page=432 |url=https://polona.pl/preview/e45e12f2-4de5-4c17-b150-d7704ac29662 |access-date=6 November 2023 |language=pl}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2023}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ragauskienė |first1=Raimonda |last2=Ragauskas |first2=Aivas |last3=Bulla |first3=Noémi Erzsébet |title=Tolimos bet artimos: Lietuvos ir Vengrijos istoriniai ryšiai |date=2018 |page=67 |url=https://www.flf.vu.lt/dokumentai/TOLIMOS_BET_ARTIMOS_LIETUVOS_IR_VENGRIJOS_ISTORINIAI_RY%C5%A0IAI_LIT_2019.12.pdf |access-date=6 November 2023 |language=lt}}</ref> The Báthory's ceremony of 29 May 1580 coincided with the nobles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (e.g. [[Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł]], [[Eustachy Wołłowicz]], [[Jan Karol Chodkiewicz]], [[Konstanty Ostrogski]]) initial demands before the Union of Lubin to have a separate declaration act of the Grand Duke of Lithuania in Vilnius.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jasas |first1=Rimantas |title=Liublino unija |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/liublino-unija/ |website=[[Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija]] |access-date=8 November 2023 |language=lt}}</ref>

With Lithuania secure, the other major region refusing to recognize his election was [[Prussia]].<ref name=psb118/> Maximilian's sudden death improved Báthory's situation, but the city of [[Danzig]] (Gdańsk) still refused to recognize his election without significant concessions.<ref name=psb118/> The [[Hanseatic League]] city, bolstered by its immense wealth, fortifications, and the secret support of Maximilian, had supported the Emperor's election and decided not to recognize Báthory as the legitimate ruler. The resulting conflict was known as the [[Danzig rebellion]]. Most armed opposition collapsed when the prolonged [[Siege of Danzig (1577)|Siege of Danzig]] by Báthory's forces was lifted as an agreement was reached.<ref name=psb118/><ref name="psb119"/> The Danzig army was utterly defeated in a field battle on 17 April 1577.<ref name="Jabłonka2007"/> However, since Báthory's armies were unable to take the city by force, a compromise was reached.<ref name="Jabłonka2007"/><ref name="Stone2001-123"/> In exchange for some of Danzig's demands being favorably reviewed, the city recognised Báthory as ruler of Poland and paid the sum of 200,000 [[zloty]]s in gold as compensation.<ref name=psb119/><ref name="Stone2001-123"/> Tying up the administration of the Commonwealth's northern provinces, in February 1578 he acknowledged [[George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach|George Frederick]] as the ruler of [[Duchy of Prussia]], receiving his feudal tribute.<ref name=psb119/>

==Policies==
[[File:Amman Stephen Bathory.jpg|thumb|left|upright|King Stephen in [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] clothes, 1585]]
After securing control over the Commonwealth, Báthory had a chance to devote himself to strengthening his authority, in which he was supported by his [[kanclerz|chancellor]] [[Jan Zamoyski]], who would soon become one of the king's most trusted advisers.<ref name="Lerski1996"/><ref name="Stone2001-123"/> Báthory reorganised the judiciary by the formation of legal tribunals (the [[Crown Tribunal]] in 1578 and the [[Lithuanian Tribunal]] in 1581).<ref name="Stone2001-125"/> While this somewhat weakened the royal position, it was of little concern to Báthory, as the loss of power was not significant in the short term, and he was more concerned with the hereditary Hungarian throne.<ref name=psb119/><ref name="Stone2001-125"/> In exchange, the Sejm allowed him to raise taxes and push a number of reforms strengthening the military, including the establishment of the ''[[piechota wybraniecka]]'', an infantry formation composed of peasants.<ref name=psb119/> Many of his projects aimed to modernize the Commonwealth army, reforming it in a model of Hungarian troops of Transylvania.<ref name="psb124"/> He also founded the [[Academy of Vilnius]], the third university in the Commonwealth, transforming what had been a [[Jesuit]] college into a major university.<ref name="Stone2001-126"/> He founded several other Jesuit colleges, and was active in propagating [[Catholicism]], while at the same time being respectful of the Commonwealth policy of [[religious tolerance]], issuing a number of decrees offering protection to [[Polish Jews]], and denouncing any [[religious violence]].<ref name=psb124/>

In external relations, Báthory sought peace through strong alliances. Though remaining distrustful of the Habsburgs, he maintained the tradition of good relations that the Commonwealth enjoyed with its Western neighbor and confirmed past treaties between the Commonwealth and Holy Roman Empire with diplomatic missions received by Maximilian's successor, [[Rudolf II]].<ref name=psb120/> The troublesome south-eastern border with the [[Ottoman Empire]] was temporarily quelled by truces signed in July 1577 and April 1579.<ref name="psb120"/> The [[Sejm]] of January 1578 gathered in [[Warsaw]] was persuaded to grant Báthory subsidies for the inevitable war against [[Tsardom of Russia|Muscovy]].<ref name=psb119/>

A number of his trusted advisers were Hungarian, and he remained interested in Hungarian politics.<ref name=psb124/> In his last years, Báthory, with [[Pope Gregory XIII|Pope Gregory XVIII]]'s approval, made a plan with [[Antonio Possevino]] for the liberation of [[Ottoman Hungary]] by a well organized (mostly Polish) Christian army, and the creation of a strong and independent Hungarian-Polish union under his rule. However, the unfavorable international situation did not allow him significantly to advance any of his plans in that area.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Entz |first1=Géza |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FxIcSwAACAAJ |title=Tanulmányok Nyírbátor és a Báthori család történetéhez |last2=Benda |first2=Kálmán |last3=Péter |first3=Katalin |last4=Kahler |first4=Frigyes |last5=Takács |first5=Péter |last6=Jenei |first6=Károly |last7=Bán |first7=Imre |publisher=Báthori István Múzeum |year=1986 |isbn=963017782X |editor-last=Dám |editor-first=László |chapter=Báthory István tervei Magyarország egységének helyreállitására |trans-chapter=István Báthory's plans for the restoration of Hungary's unity |issn=0237-8779}}</ref> In addition to Hungarian, he was well versed in [[Latin]], and spoke Italian and German; he never learned the Polish language.<ref name=psb124/>

In his personal life, he was described as rather frugal in his personal expenditures, with hunting and reading as his favorite pastimes.<ref name=psb124/>

==War with Muscovy==
[[File:StefanBatory.jpg|thumb|Polish coin with likeness of Báthory]]
Before Báthory's election to the throne of the Commonwealth, [[Ivan the Terrible]] of Russia had begun encroaching on its sphere of interest in the northeast, eventually invading the Commonwealth borderlands in [[Livonia]]; the conflict would grow to involve a number of nearby powers (outside Russia and Poland-Lithuania, also [[Sweden]], the [[Kingdom of Livonia]] and [[Denmark-Norway]]). Each of them was vying for control of Livonia, and the resulting conflict, lasting for several years, became known as the [[Livonian War]].<ref name="Stone2006"/> By 1577, Ivan was in control of most of the disputed territory, but his conquest was short-lived.<ref name="Stone2006"/> In 1578, Commonwealth forces scored a number of victories in Liviona and began pushing Ivan's forces back; this marked the turning point in [[Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory|the war]].<ref name=psb120/> Báthory, together with his chancellor Zamoyski, led the army of the Commonwealth in a series of decisive campaigns taking [[siege of Polotsk (1579)|Polotsk]] in 1579 and [[siege of Velikiye Luki|Velikiye Luki]] in 1580.<ref name=psb120/>

In 1581, Stephen penetrated once again into [[Tsardom of Russia|Russia]] and, on 22 August, [[Siege of Pskov|laid siege to the city of Pskov]]. While the city held, on 13 December 1581 Ivan the Terrible began negotiations that concluded with the [[Truce of Jam Zapolski]] on 15 January 1582.<ref name="psb121"/> The treaty was favorable to the Commonwealth, as Ivan ceded [[Polatsk]], [[Velizh|Veliz]] and most of the [[Duchy of Livonia]] in exchange for regaining [[Velikiye Luki]] and [[Nevel (town)|Nevel]].<ref name=psb121/><!-- where Báthory revoked the noble privileges granted in the [[Treaty of Vilnius (1561)]] and initiated [[counter-reformation]].-->

==Final years==
[[File:Nagrobek Stefana Batorego.jpg|Bathory's tomb monument in the [[Wawel Cathedral]]|thumb|left]]
In 1584, Báthory allowed Zamoyski to execute [[Samuel Zborowski]], whose death sentence for treason and murder had been pending for roughly a decade.<ref name="Stone2001-125"/><ref name="psb123"/> This political conflict between Báthory and the [[Zborowski family]], framed as the clash between the monarch and the nobility, would be a major recurring controversy in internal Polish politics for many years.<ref name="Stone2001-125"/><ref name="psb123"/> In external politics, Báthory was considering another war with Russia, but his plans were delayed due to the lack of support from the Sejm, which refused to pass the requested tax raises.<ref name=psb123/>

Báthory's health had been declining for several years.<ref name=psb123/> He died on 12 December 1586.<ref name="psb125"/><!-- while in [[Old Grodno Castle]]--> He had no legitimate children, though contemporary rumours suggested he might have had several illegitimate children. None of these rumours have been confirmed by modern historians.<ref name=psb125/> His death was followed by an interregnum of one year. Maximilian II's son, [[Archduke Maximilian III]], [[1587 Free election|was elected king]] but [[War of the Polish Succession (1587–88)|was contested]] by the Swedish [[Sigismund III Vasa]], who defeated Maximilian at the [[Battle of Byczyna|Byczyna]] and succeeded as ruler of the Commonwealth.<ref name="Stone2001-132132"/>

==Remembrance==
Báthory actively promoted his legend, sponsoring many works about his life and achievements, from historical treatises to poetry.<ref name=psb124/> In his lifetime, he was featured in the works of [[Jan Kochanowski]], [[Mikołaj Sęp Szarzyński]] and many others.<ref name=psb124/> He became a recurring character in Polish poetry and literature and featured as a central figure in poems, novels and drama by [[Jakub Jasiński]], [[Józef Ignacy Kraszewski]], [[Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz]], [[Henryk Rzewuski]] and others.<ref name=psb126/> He has been a subject of numerous paintings, both during his life and posthumously. Among the painters who took him as a subject were [[Jan Matejko]] and [[Stanisław Wyspiański]].<ref name=psb126/><ref name="psb127"/>

A statue of Báthory by [[Giovanni Ferrari (sculptor)|Giovanni Ferrari]] was raised in 1789 in [[Padua]], Italy, sponsored by the last monarch of the Commonwealth, [[Stanisław August Poniatowski]].<ref name=psb127/> Other monuments to him include one in the [[Łazienki Palace]] (1795 by [[André-Jean Lebrun|André Lebrun]]) and one in [[Sniatyn]] (1904, destroyed in 1939).<ref name=psb127/> He was a patron of the [[Vilnius University]] (the university was named after him from 1919 to 1939) and several units in the [[Polish Army]] from 1919 to 1939.<ref name=psb127/> His name was borne by two 20th-century passenger ships of the [[Polish Merchant Navy]], the [[MS Batory]] and [[TSS Stefan Batory]].<ref name=psb127/> In modern Poland, he is the namesake of the [[Batory Steelmill]], a nongovernmental [[Stefan Batory Foundation]], the [[Polish 9th Armored Cavalry Brigade]], and numerous Polish streets and schools.<ref name=psb127/> [[Chorzów Batory|One of the districts]] of the town of [[Chorzów]] is named after him.<ref name=psb127/>
[[File:Stephen Báthory at Pskov by Jan Matejko (1872).png|thumb|''Báthory at [[Pskov]]'', by Jan Matejko]]
Immediately after his death, he was not fondly remembered in the Commonwealth. Many nobles took his behavior in the Zborowski affair and his domestic policies as indicating an interest in curtailing the nobility's [[Golden Freedoms]] and establishing an [[absolute monarchy]].<ref name=psb125/> His contemporaries were also rankled by his favoritism toward Hungarians over nationals of the Commonwealth.<ref name=psb123/> He was also remembered, more trivially, for his Hungarian-style cap and saber ([[szabla]] ''batorówka'').<ref name="psb126"/>

His later resurgence in Polish memory and historiography can be traced to the 19th-century era of [[partitions of Poland]] when the Polish-Lithuanian state lost its independence.<ref name=psb126/> He was remembered for his military triumphs and praised as an effective ruler by many, including [[John Baptist Albertrandi]], [[Jerzy Samuel Bandtkie]], [[Michał Bobrzyński]], [[Józef Szujski]] and others.<ref name=psb126/> Though some historians like [[Tadeusz Korzon]], [[Joachim Lelewel]] and [[Jędrzej Moraczewski]] remained more reserved, in 1887, [[Wincenty Zakrzewski]] noted that Báthory is "the darling of both the Polish public opinion and Polish historians".<ref name=psb126/> During the interwar period in the [[Second Polish Republic]] he was a cult figure, often compared - with the government's approval - to the contemporary dictator of Poland, [[Józef Piłsudski]].<ref name=psb126/> After the [[Second World War]], in the communist [[People's Republic of Poland]], he became more of a controversial figure, with historians more ready to question his internal politics and attachment to Hungary.<ref name=psb126/> Nonetheless, his good image remained intact, reinforced by the positive views of a popular Polish historian of that period, [[Paweł Jasienica]].<ref name=psb126/>

==See also==
{{commons category|Stefan Batory}}
* [[History of Poland in the early modern period (1569–1795)]]
* [[Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars]]
* [[Nyírbátor]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=artinpl>{{cite web|author=Marcin Latka |title= Detail of portrait of Stephen Bathory |url=https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/418905202840517837/ |work=artinpl |access-date=28 July 2019}}</ref>

<ref name="Jabłonka2007">{{cite book|author=Krzysztof Jabłonka|title=Wielkie bitwy Polaków: 40 potyczek, batalii i kampanii decydujących o losach Polski|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ErUjAQAAIAAJ|access-date=5 September 2013|year=2007|publisher=Rosikon Press|isbn=978-83-88848-43-8|page=49}}</ref>

<ref name="Lerski1996">{{cite book|author=Halina Lerski|title=Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=luRry4Y5NIYC&pg=PA678|access-date=2 July 2012|date=30 January 1996|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-03456-5|page=678}}</ref>

<ref name="Stone2001-122">{{cite book|author=Daniel Stone|title=The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386-1795|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&pg=PA122|access-date=5 September 2013|year=2001|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-98093-5|page=122}}</ref>

<ref name="Stone2001-123">{{cite book|author=Daniel Stone|title=The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386-1795|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&pg=PA123|access-date=5 September 2013|year=2001|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-98093-5|page=123}}</ref>

<ref name="Stone2001-125">{{cite book|author=Daniel Stone|title=The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386-1795|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&pg=PA125|access-date=5 September 2013|year=2001|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-98093-5|page=125}}</ref>

<ref name="Stone2001-126">{{cite book|author=Daniel Stone|title=The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386-1795|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&pg=PA126|access-date=5 September 2013|year=2001|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-98093-5|page=126}}</ref>

<ref name="Stone2001-132132">{{cite book|author=Daniel Stone|title=The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386-1795|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&pg=PA131|access-date=6 September 2013|year=2001|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-98093-5|pages=131–132}}</ref>

<ref name="Stone2006">{{cite book|author1-link=David R. Stone|author=David R. Stone|title=A Military History of Russia: From Ivan the Terrible to the War in Chechnya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ok7iVsgiNmAC&pg=PA15|access-date=6 September 2013|year=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-98502-8|pages=15–17}}</ref>

<ref name="psb114">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.114</ref>

<ref name="psb115">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.115</ref>

<ref name="psb116">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.116</ref>

<ref name="psb117">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.117</ref>

<ref name="psb118">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.118</ref>

<ref name="psb119">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.119</ref>

<ref name="psb120">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.120</ref>

<ref name="psb121">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.121</ref>

<ref name="psb123">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.123</ref>

<ref name="psb124">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.124</ref>

<ref name="psb125">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.125</ref>

<ref name="psb126">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.126</ref>

<ref name="psb127">Besala and Biedrzycka (2005), p.127</ref>
}}

==Bibliography==
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Stephen Báthory| volume= 25 |last= Bain |first= Robert Nisbet |author-link= Robert Nisbet Bain| page = 887 |short= 1}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|author1=Jerzy Besala|author2=Agnieszka Biedrzycka|author2-link=Agnieszka Biedrzycka|title=Stefan Batory |encyclopedia=Polski Słownik Biograficzny |volume=XLIII|year=2004–2005|language=pl}}
* [https://www.msz.gov.pl/resource/21badcbf-0c18-4fb8-8b19-3d382469d25f:JCR ''Winged Hussars''], Radoslaw Sikora, Bartosz Musialowicz, ''BUM Magazine'', October 2016.

==External links==
* {{in lang|pl}} Stephen Báthory's ''szkofia'' in the National Museum in Kraków [https://archive.today/20130113114248/http://www.muzeum.krakow.pl/Dzial-XIV-Galeria.362.0.html?&L=0&no_cache=1&tx_devablegallery_pi1].

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{{s-hou|[[Báthory|House of Báthory]]|1533|27 September|1586|12 December|name=Stephen Báthory}}
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|-
{{s-vac|last=[[István Dobó|Stephen Dobó]]<br />[[Francis Kendi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Voivode of Transylvania]]|years=1571–1576}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Christopher Báthory]]}}
|-
{{s-vac|last=[[John Sigismund Zápolya]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prince of Transylvania]]|years=1576–1586}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sigismund Báthory]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Anna of Poland|Anne]]|as=sole monarch}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[King of Poland]]<br />[[Grand Duke of Lithuania]]|years=1576–1586|regent1=[[Anna of Poland|Anne]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sigismund III]]}}
{{s-ref|{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20011106111853/http://ellone-loire.net/obsidian/regindex.html Regnal Chronologies]}} }}
{{Monarchs of Poland}}
{{Monarchs of Lithuania}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bathory, Stephen}}
[[Category:1533 births]]
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[[Category:16th-century Hungarian people]]
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