Vladislaus II of Hungary

Vladislaus II
Fresco from walls of the St. Wenceslas Chapel in St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague (1508)
King of Bohemia
Reign	1471–1516
Coronation	22 August 1471
Predecessor	George of Poděbrady
Successor	Louis
King of Hungary and Croatia
Reign	15 July 1490 – 13 March 1516
Coronation	18 September 1490
Predecessor	Matthias I
Successor	Louis II
Born	(1456-03-01)1 March 1456 Kraków, Kingdom of Poland
Died	13 March 1516(1516-03-13) (aged 60) Buda, Kingdom of Hungary
Burial	Székesfehérvár
Spouses	Barbara of Brandenburg (m. 1476; div 1490; legally dissolved 1500) Beatrice of Naples ​ ​ (m. 1490; ann. 1500)​ Anne of Foix-Candale ​ ​ (m. 1502; died 1506)​
Issue	Anne, Queen of Hungary Louis II, King of Hungary
Dynasty	Jagiellon
Father	Casimir IV of Poland
Mother	Elizabeth of Austria
Religion	Catholic Church

Vladislaus II, also known as Vladislav,^[1][2] Władysław^[3] or Wladislas^[4] (Hungarian: II. Ulászló; 1 March 1456 – 13 March 1516), was King of Bohemia from 1471 to 1516 and King of Hungary and of Croatia from 1490 to 1516. As the eldest son of Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was expected to inherit Poland and Lithuania. George of Poděbrady, the Hussite ruler of Bohemia, offered to make Vladislaus his heir in 1468. George needed Casimir's support against the rebellious Catholic noblemen and their ally King of Hungary Matthias Corvinus. The Diet of Bohemia elected Vladislaus king after George's death, but he could rule only Bohemia proper because Matthias, whom the Catholic nobles had elected king, occupied Moravia, Silesia and both Lusatias. Vladislaus tried to reconquer the four provinces with his father's assistance but was repelled by Matthias.

Vladislaus and Matthias divided the Crown of Bohemia at the Peace of Olomouc in 1479. The estates of the realm had strengthened their position during the war between both kings. Vladislaus's attempts to promote the Catholics caused a rebellion in Prague and other towns in 1483 that forced him to acknowledge the dominance of the Hussites in the municipal assemblies. The Diet confirmed the right of the Bohemian noblemen and commoners to adhere freely to Hussitism or Catholicism in 1485. After Matthias seized the Silesian duchies to grant them to his illegitimate son, John Corvinus, Vladislaus made new alliances against him in the late 1480s.

Vladislaus, whose mother, Elizabeth of Habsburg, was the sister of Matthias's predecessor, laid claim to Hungary after Matthias's death. The Diet of Hungary elected Vladislaus king after his supporters had defeated John Corvinus. The other two claimants, Maximilian of Habsburg and Vladislaus's brother, John Albert, invaded Hungary, but they could not assert their claim and so made peace with Vladislaus in 1491. He settled in Buda, which enabled the Estates of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and both Lusatias to take full charge of state administration. As he had in Bohemia, Vladislaus always approved the decisions of the Royal Council in Hungary, hence his Hungarian nickname "Dobzse László" (Czech: král Dobře, Latin: rex Bene – "King Very Well", from Polish: dobrze). The concessions that he had made before his election prevented the royal treasury from financing a standing army, and Matthias's Black Army was dissolved after a rebellion. However, the Ottomans made regular raids against the southern border and after 1493 even annexed territories in Croatia.