Zvyagina O. Foreign policy of the Kingdom of Poland in Central-Eastern Europe in terms of inter-dynasty competition between Jagiellonians and Habsburgs (1507–1548)

After the coronation of Sigismund I the Jagiellon significant changes have come in the foreign policy of the Kingdom of Poland. They were due to the desire of the king to strengthen the positions of his own dynasty in Central-Eastern Europe. At the same time, the identity of the interests between Jagiellonians and Habsburgs caused political confrontation. At the first stage, equality of forces made them to seek a compromise, which led to the First Congress in Vienna in 1515. The decisions of the Congress established a political equilibrium in the region until 1526. Death of Sigismund's I nephew Louis II in 1526 and the beginning of thestruggle for the crowns of the Bohemian and Hungary Kingdoms identified the future of the Jagiellonian dynasty. The highest point of confrontation in Central-Eastern Europe was the war in Hungary between archduke Ferdinand I Habsburg and Voivode of Transylvania John Zápolya, whom unofficially was supported by Polish king. Inclusion of the Ottoman Empire in this military confrontation complicated the political situation and threatened the emergence of Turks on the Poland’s borders. Sigismund's I foreign policy during this period represented a balancing between Habsburgs and Ottomans, in the goal to maintain his own pollical positions in the region. The degree of Polish involvement in the Hungarian conflict in 1526–1548 determined not only the status of the country in Central-Eastern Europe, but also its place in the system of European international relations and the priority directions of its foreign policy in the next period. Key words: Jagiellonians, Habsburgs, Kingdom of Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, Central-Eastern Europe, foreign policy, dynastic policy, diplomacy, international relations.