Louis II (Czech: Ludvík, Croatian: Ludovik, Hungarian: Lajos, 1 July 1506 – 29 August 1526) was King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia
Bohemia from 1516 to 1526. He was killed during the Battle of Mohács
Battle of Mohács fighting the Ottomans, whose victory led to the Ottoman annexation of Hungary.[1] He had no legitimate issue.

Contents

1 Early life 2 Coronation 3 King of Hungary
King of Hungary and Croatia 4 King of Bohemia 5 War with Turks 6 Jagiellons in natural line 7 Legacy 8 Ancestry 9 References 10 Bibliography 11 External links

Early life[edit] Born prematurely in Buda
Buda on 1 July 1506, the court doctors kept him alive by slaying animals and wrapping him in their warm carcasses as a primitive incubator.[2] He was the only son of Vladislaus II Jagiellon and his third wife, Anne of Foix-Candale. Coronation[edit] Vladislaus II took steps to ensure a smooth succession by arranging for the boy to be crowned in his own lifetime; the coronation of Louis as king of Hungary took place on 4 June 1508 in Székesfehérvár Basilica, and his coronation as king of Bohemia
Bohemia was held in 1509 in St. Vitus Cathedral. King of Hungary
King of Hungary and Croatia[edit] In 1515 Louis II was married to Mary of Austria, granddaughter of Emperor Maximilian I, as stipulated by the First Congress of Vienna
First Congress of Vienna in 1515. His sister Anne was married to Mary's brother Ferdinand, then a governor on behalf of his brother Charles V, and later Emperor Ferdinand I. King of Bohemia[edit] As king of Bohemia, Louis II became known as "Ludovicus the Child".[3] The first thaler coins were minted during his reign in Bohemia, later giving the name to the dollars used in different countries. War with Turks[edit]

Young Louis II, about 1515, by Bernhard Strigel

After his father's death in 1516, the minor Louis II ascended to the throne of Hungary and Croatia. Louis was adopted by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in 1515. When Maximilian I died in 1519, Louis was raised by his legal guardian, his cousin George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach. Following the accession to the throne of Suleiman I, the sultan sent an ambassador to Louis II to collect the annual tribute that Hungary had been subjected to. Louis refused to pay annual tribute and had the Ottoman ambassador executed and sent the head to the Sultan. Louis believed that the Papal States
Papal States and other Christian States including Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor would help him. This event hastened the fall of Hungary. Hungary was in a state of near anarchy in 1520 under the rule of the magnates. The king's finances were a shambles; he borrowed to meet his household expenses despite the fact that they totaled about one-third of the national income. The country's defenses weakened as border guards went unpaid, fortresses fell into disrepair, and initiatives to increase taxes to reinforce defenses were stifled. In 1521 Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent was well aware of Hungary's weakness. The Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire declared war on the Kingdom of Hungary, Suleiman postponed his plan to besiege Rhodes
Rhodes and made an expedition to Belgrade. Louis failed to coordinate and gather his forces. At the same time, Hungary was unable to get assistance from other European states, which Louis had hoped for. Belgrade
Belgrade and many strategic castles in Serbia were captured by the Ottomans. This was disastrous for Louis' kingdom; without the strategically important cities of Belgrade and Šabac, Hungary, including Buda, was open to further Turkish conquests.

Joachimsthaler of the Kingdom of Bohemia
Bohemia (1525) was the first thaler (dollar). This is its reverse side, with the Bohemian Lion and the name of Louis / Ludovicus.

After the siege of Rhodes, in 1526 Suleiman made a second expedition to subdue all of Hungary. Louis made a tactical error when he tried to stop the Ottoman army in an open field battle with a medieval army, insufficient firearms, and obsolete tactics. On 29 August 1526, Louis led his forces against Suleiman in the disastrous Battle of Mohács. The Hungarian army was surrounded by Ottoman cavalry in a pincer movement, and in the center the Hungarian heavy knights and infantry were repulsed and suffered heavy casualties, especially from the well-positioned Ottoman cannons and well-armed and trained Janissary musketeers. Nearly the entire Hungarian Royal army was destroyed on the battlefield. During the retreat, the twenty-year-old king died when he fell backwards off his horse while trying to ride up a steep ravine of Csele stream. He fell into the stream and, due to the weight of his armor, he was unable to stand up and drowned.[4] As Louis had no legitimate children, Ferdinand was elected as his successor in the Kingdoms of Bohemia
Bohemia and Hungary, but the Hungarian throne was contested by John Zápolya, who ruled the areas of the kingdom conquered by the Turks as an Ottoman client. Jagiellons in natural line[edit] Although Louis II's marriage remained childless, he probably had an illegitimate child with his mother's former lady-in-waiting, Angelitha Wass. This son was called John (János in Hungarian). This name appears in sources in Vienna
Vienna as either János Wass or János Lanthos. The former surname is his mother's maiden name. The latter surname may refer to his occupation. "Lanthos" means "lutenist", or "bard". He received incomes from the Royal Treasury
Royal Treasury regularly. He had further offspring. Legacy[edit] North of the town of Mohacs, there is a 5 meter high monument to the memory of Lajos II. It is located near the site of Louis' death in Csele Stream. On the monument there is a bronze plaque which depicts Lajos falling off his horse. On the top of the monument there is a figure of a sleeping lion. Soma Turcsányi, a hussar lieutenant, at his own expense, constructed the original commemorative column in 1864. It was reconstructed in 1897. The monument was restored by the local government in 1986. Ancestry[edit]

Ancestors of Louis II of Hungary

16. Algirdas, Grand Prince of Lithuania

8. Władysław II Jagiełło

17. Uliana of Tver

4. Casimir IV Jagiellon

18. Andrew Ivanovich of Halshany

9. Sophia of Halshany

19. Alexandra Dimitrievna of Drutsk

2. Vladislas II of Bohemia
Bohemia and Hungary

20. Albert IV, Duke of Austria

10. Albert II of Germany

21. Johanna Sophia of Bavaria

5. Elisabeth of Austria

22. Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor

11. Elisabeth of Bohemia

23. Barbara of Cilli

1. Louis II, King of Hungary
King of Hungary and Bohemia

24. Gaston I de Foix, Captal de Buch

12. John de Foix, 1st Earl of Kendal

25. Marguerite of Albret

6. Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale

26. John de la Pole

13. Margaret de la Pole, Countess of Candale

27. Marie dite de Sicile

3. Anna of Foix-Candale

28. John I, Count of Foix and Bigorre

14. Gaston IV, Count of Foix

29. Joan of Albret

7. Catherine of Foix

30. John II of Aragon

15. Eleanor of Navarre

31. Blanche I of Navarre

References[edit]

^ "Louis II". (2009). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 24, 2009. ^ Durant, Will (1957). The Reformation. The Story of Civilization. 6. Simon and Schuster. p. 440.  ^ http://www.dejepis.com/ucebnice/cesky-stat-za-jagelloncu/ Czech State under Jagellonian Dynasty ^ Library of World History. VI. Western Press Assoc. 1914. p. 2582. 

Bibliography[edit]

Takings, Endorser: II. Lajos kinkily fiat (A Son of King Louis II Jagiellon), Salado (Periodical Centuries), pp.& NBS;183–185, 1903  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Louis II. of Hungary". Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 49–50. 

External links[edit] Media related to Louis II of Hungary
Louis II of Hungary at Wikimedia Commons

Louis II of Hungary House of Jagiellon Born: 1 July 1506  Died: 29 August 1526

Regnal titles

Preceded by Vladislaus II King of Bohemia 1516–1526 Succeeded by Ferdinand I

King of Hungary
King of Hungary and Croatia 1516–1526 Succeeded by John I as king of Eastern Hungary

Succeeded by Ferdinand I as king of Royal Hungary

v t e

Monarchs of Bohemia

Přemyslid

c. 870–1198 (Dukes)

Bořivoj I Spytihněv I Vratislaus I Saint Wenceslaus Boleslaus I Boleslaus II Boleslaus III Vladivoj Boleslaus the Brave1 Jaromír Oldřich Bretislaus I Spytihněv II Vratislaus II (I)2 Conrad I Bretislaus II Bořivoj II Svatopluk the Lion Vladislaus I Sobeslaus I Vladislaus II (I)2 Frederick Sobeslaus II Frederick Conrad II Otto Wenceslaus II Ottokar I Henry Bretislaus Vladislaus III Henry

1198–1306 (Kings)

Ottokar I Wenceslaus I Ottokar II Wenceslaus II Wenceslaus III

Non-dynastic

1306–1310

Henry the Carinthian Rudolph I

Luxembourg

1310–1437

John the Blind Charles IV (I) Wenceslaus IV Sigismund

Habsburg

1437–1457

Albert Interregnum Ladislaus the Posthumous

Non-dynastic

1457–1471

George Matthias Corvinus3

Jagiellonian

1471–1526

Vladislaus II Louis

Habsburg

1526–1780

Ferdinand I Maximilian Rudolph II Matthias Ferdinand II Frederick4 Ferdinand III Leopold I Joseph I Charles II Charles Albert (II)3, 5 Maria Theresa

Habsburg-Lorraine

1780–1918

Joseph II Leopold II Francis II (I) Ferdinand V Francis Joseph Charles I (III)

1 Duke of Poland from the Piast dynasty 2 During his reign obtained non-hereditary royal title 3 Antiking 4 Elector Palatine from the Wittelsbach dynasty 5 Prince-elector
Prince-elector of Bavaria from the Wittelsbach dynasty

v t e

Monarchs of Hungary

Family tree

House of Árpád

Grand Princes

Álmos
Álmos (c. 850–c. 895) Árpád
Árpád (c. 895–c. 907) Zoltán (c. 907–c. 947) Fajsz
Fajsz (c. 947–c. 955) Taksony (c. 955–c. 972) Géza (c. 972–997) Stephen (997–1000)

Kings

Stephen I (1000–1038) Peter (1038–1041; 1044–1046) Samuel (1041–1044) Andrew I (1046–1060) Béla I (1060–1063) Solomon (1063–1074) Géza I (1074–1077) Ladislaus I (1077–1095) Coloman (1095–1116) Stephen II (1116–1131) Béla II (1131–1141) Géza II (1141–1162) Stephen III (1162–1172)

Ladislaus II (1162–1163) Stephen IV (1163–1165)

Béla III (1172–1196) Emeric (1196–1204) Ladislaus III (1204–1205) Andrew II (1205–1235) Béla IV (1235–1270) Stephen V (1270–1272) Ladislaus IV (1272–1290) Andrew III (1290–1301)

House of Přemysl

Wenceslaus (1301–1305)

House of Wittelsbach

Otto (1305–1307)

Capetian House of Anjou

Charles I (1308–1342) Louis I (1342–1382) Mary (1382–1385; 1386–1395) Charles II (1385–1386)

House of Luxembourg

Sigismund (1387–1437)

House of Habsburg

Albert (1437–1439) Ladislaus V (1440–1457)

House of Jagiellon

Vladislaus I (1440–1444)

House of Hunyadi

Matthias I (1458–1490)

House of Jagiellon

Vladislaus II (1490–1516) Louis II (1516–1526)

House of Zápolya

John (1526–1540) John Sigismund (1540–1570)

House of Habsburg

Ferdinand I (1526–1564) Maximilian (1564–1576) Rudolph (1576–1608) Matthias II (1608–1619) Ferdinand II (1619–1637) Ferdinand III (1637–1657)

Ferdinand IV (1647–1654)

Leopold I (1657–1705) Joseph I (1705–1711) Charles III (1711–1740) Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa (1740–1780)

House of Habsburg-Lorraine

Joseph II (1780–1790) Leopold II (1790–1792) Francis (1792–1835) Ferdinand V (1835–1848) Francis Joseph (1848–1916) Charles IV (1916–1918)

Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.

Authority control

WorldCat Identities VIAF: 58988207 LCCN: nr97026