Commonwealth power began waning after a series of blows during the following decades.Ī major rebellion of Ukrainian Cossacks in the southeastern portion of the Commonwealth the Khmelnytskyi Uprising in modern-day Ukraine began in It resulted in a Ukrainian request, under the terms of the Treaty of Pereyaslavfor protection by the Russian Tsar. In several invasions during the Time of TroublesCommonwealth troops entered Russia and managed to take Moscow and hold it from 27 September to 4 Novemberwhen they were driven out after a siege. The Commonwealth was able to hold its own against Swedenthe Tsardom of Russiaand vassals of the Ottoman Empireand even launched successful expansionist offensives against its neighbors. Its powerful parliament was dominated by nobles Pic. The Commonwealth reached its Golden Age in the early 17th century. His death in was followed by a three-year interregnum during which adjustments were made to the constitutional system these adjustments significantly increased the power of the Polish nobility and established a truly elective monarchy. Sigismund believed he could preserve his dynasty by adopting elective monarchy. This agreement was one of the signal achievements of Sigismund II Augustuslast monarch of the Jagiellon dynasty. Poland and Lithuania underwent an alternating series of wars and alliances during the 14th century and early 15th century. Western Europeans often simplified the name to Poland and in most past and modern sources it is referred to as the Kingdom of Polandor just Poland. Its growing weakness led to its partitioning among its neighbors AustriaPrussia and the Russian Empire during the late 18th century. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was marked by high levels of ethnic diversity and by relative religious toleranceguaranteed by the Warsaw Confederation Act however, the degree of religious freedom varied over time.Īfter several decades of prosperity, it entered a period of protracted political, military and economic decline. This idiosyncratic system was a precursor to modern concepts of democracy, constitutional monarchy and federation.

These checks were enacted by a legislature sejm controlled by the nobility szlachta. Its political system was characterized by strict checks upon monarchical power. The First Partition of Poland in and the Second Partition of Poland in greatly reduced the state's size and the Commonwealth collapsed as an independent state following the Third Partition of Poland in The Union possessed many features unique among contemporary states. It was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th- to 17th-century Europe.

Crusader kings 2 decisions