232 CHRONOGRAPHY. 



thus subjected it to a civil war. Casimir III., the Great, formed a 

 written code of laws ; and founded the Academy at Cracow. He 

 was succeeded, in 1370, by his son-in-law, Jagellon, grand-duke of 

 Lithuania; who took the name of Ladislaus V., (or Uladislas), the 

 first" of the house of Jagellon. In the reigns of Sigismund I., com- 

 mencing in 1506, and Sigismund II., (Augustus), commencing in 

 1548, Poland acquired large territories, and became the leading 

 Northern power. On the death of the latter, in 1572, the house of 

 Jagellon became extinct; and Poland, thenceforward an elective 

 monarchy, fell, at length, a prey to internal factions. 



The most illustrious of the remaining monarchs, was John Sobi- 

 eski, who aided Austria in defeating the Turks at Vienna, in 1683. 

 His successor, Frederick Augustus, of Saxony, involved Poland 

 in the wars against Charles XII. of Sweden ; but was defeated by 

 Charles, whose influence deprived him of his throne, in 1704. The 

 last king, Stanislaus Poniatowski, was elected by the influence of 

 Catharine II. of Russia; who took advantage of Poland's dissatisfac- 

 tion and dissensions, to deprive it of a national existence. The first 

 partition was made, in 1772, by Catharine II. of Russia ; Frederick II. 

 the Great, of Prussia ; and Joseph II., of Austria. The final parti- 

 tion, was begun, in 1792, by Catharine II. , Frederick William II., 

 and Francis II. ; and, in despite of the efforts of Kosciuszko and his 

 compatriots, Poland was completely dismembered, in 1795, and her 

 name blotted from the list of nations. 



The first civilized inhabitants of Russia, appear to have been the 

 Sclavonians : who, in the fifth and sixth centuries, built Kiev and 

 Novgorod. The Varangians, (Warangians), a piratic tribe from 

 the Baltic, entered Russia, and made Ruric, their leader, its first 

 duke, A. D. 862. His great-grandson, Vladimir I., (or Wladimir), 

 the Great, embraced Christianity, in 987 ; and George I., (or Jurge), 

 built Moscow, in 1147. Russia was invaded by Tamerlane, in 

 1395 ; and became subject to the Tartars, till they were subdued, in 

 1477, by John Basil, (Ivan Vasilovitz, or I wan Wasiliewitsch), who 

 united the country under one government, and assumed the title of 

 Czar, or king. John Basil II., conquered the kingdom of Astra- 

 chan, in 1554 ; and Theodore, (Feodor), his successor, conquered 

 Siberia, in 1587. In 1613, the house of Ruric being extinct, Mi- 

 chael Theodore JRomanoff (Romanov?) was elected czar, with abso- 

 lute and hereditary power. 



In 1689, Peter the Great became sole ruler of Russia; with 

 whom commenced its rapid progress in power and civilization. He 

 defeated Charles XII. of Sweden, at Pultowa, in 1709 ; and built 

 St. Petersburg. In 1757, his daughter, Elizabeth, assisted Austria 

 against Piussia, in the Seven years' war; and her successor, Catha- 

 rine II., took part in the unhallowed partition of Poland. The 

 emperor Alexander took an active part in the French Revolutionary 

 wars ; and though he concluded the peace of Tilsit with Bonaparte, 

 in 1807, his opposition to French measures commenced the war of 

 1812. The destruction of Moscow, in that year, saved Russia from 

 the French invasion: and it is now a first-rate European power, 

 under the government of the emperor Nicholas I. 



