Editing Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (section)

=== King of Hungary ===
[[File:Sigismund (Chronica Hungarorum).jpg|left|thumb|upright=.8|King Sigismund of Hungary ([[Chronica Hungarorum]], 1488)]]
On the death of her father in 1382, his betrothed, Mary, became queen of Hungary and Sigismund married her in 1385 in Zólyom (today [[Zvolen]]). The next year, he was accepted as Mary's future co-ruler by the [[Treaty of Győr (1386)|Treaty of Győr]]. However, Mary was captured, together with her mother, [[Elizabeth of Bosnia]], who had acted as regent, in 1387 by the rebellious [[House of Horvat]], Bishop [[Paul Horvat]] of [[Mačva]], his brother [[John Horvat]] and younger brother Ladislav. Sigismund's mother-in-law was strangled, while Mary was liberated.
[[File:Thuróczy krónika - Zsigmond király hadjárata a lázadó urak ellen.jpg|thumb|Campaign of King Sigismund of Hungary against the rebellious House of Horvat in 1387 ([[Chronica Hungarorum]], 1488)]]
Having secured the support of the nobility, Sigismund was crowned [[King of Hungary]] at [[Székesfehérvár]] on 31 March 1387.<ref>Michaud, "The Kingdoms of Central Europe in the Fourteenth Century", p. 743.</ref> Having raised money by pledging [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]] to his cousin [[Jobst of Moravia|Jobst, Margrave of Moravia]] (1388), he was engaged for the next nine years in a ceaseless struggle for the possession of this unstable throne.<ref name="EB1911" /> The central power was finally weakened to such an extent that only Sigismund's alliance with the powerful Czillei-Garai League could ensure his position on the throne.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ungarische geschichte |url=http://www.conflicts.rem33.com/images/Ungarn/hunhist_II.html}}</ref> It was not for entirely selfless reasons that one of the leagues of barons helped him to power: Sigismund had to pay for the support of the lords by transferring a sizeable part of the royal properties. (For some years, the baron's council governed the country in the name of the [[Holy Crown]]). The restoration of the authority of the central administration took decades of work. The bulk of the nation headed by the [[House of Garai]] was with him; but in the southern provinces between the [[Sava]] and the [[Drava]], the Horvathys with the support of King [[Tvrtko I of Bosnia]], Mary's maternal uncle, proclaimed as their king [[Ladislaus of Naples]], son of the murdered [[Charles II of Hungary]]. Not until 1395 did [[Nicholas II Garai]] succeed in suppressing them.<ref name="EB1911" /> Mary died heavily pregnant in 1395.

To ease the pressure from Hungarian nobles, Sigismund tried to employ foreign advisors, which was not popular, and he had to promise not to give land and nominations to anyone other than Hungarian nobles. However, this was not applied to [[Stibor of Stiboricz]], who was Sigismund's closest friend and advisor. On a number of occasions, Sigismund was imprisoned by nobles, but with the help of the armies of Garai and Stibor of Stiboricz, he was able to regain power.

==== Crusade of Nicopolis ====
[[File:Zsigmond Nikápolyban.jpg|thumb|King Sigismund of Hungary during the [[battle of Nicopolis]] in 1396. Painting by Ferenc Lohr (1896), main hall of the Castle of Vaja.]]
[[File:Flag of Sigismund of Hungary.svg|thumb|left|Royal Standard of Hungary under the rule of Sigismund (1387–1437).]]

In 1396, Sigismund led the combined armies of Christendom against the Turks, who had taken advantage of the temporary helplessness of Hungary to extend their dominion to the banks of the [[Danube]]. This crusade, preached by [[Pope Boniface IX]], was very popular in Hungary. The nobles flocked in their thousands to the royal standard and were reinforced by volunteers from nearly every part of Europe, the most important contingent being that of the [[Kingdom of France|French]] led by [[John the Fearless]], son of [[Philip II, Duke of Burgundy]]. Sigismund set out with 15,000 men and a flotilla of 70 galleys. After capturing [[Vidin]], he camped with his Hungarian armies before the fortress of [[Nicopolis, Bulgaria|Nicopolis]]. Sultan [[Bayezid I]] raised the [[Siege of Constantinople (1394–1402)|siege of Constantinople]] and, at the head of 10,000 men, completely defeated the [[Christianity|Christian]] forces in the [[Battle of Nicopolis]] fought between the 25 and 28 September 1396.<ref name="EB1911" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicolle |first=David |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm60188063 |title=Nicopolis, 1396: the last crusade |date=2005 |publisher=Praeger |isbn=978-0-275-98837-1 |series=Praeger illustrated military history series |location=Westport, Conn |oclc=ocm60188063}}</ref> Sigismund returned by sea and through the realm of [[Principality of Zeta|Zeta]], where he ordained the local [[Montenegrins (ethnic group)|Montenegrin]] lord [[Đurađ II]] with the islands of [[Hvar]] and [[Korčula]] for resistance against the Turks; the islands were returned to Sigismund after Đurađ's death in April 1403.[[File:765572.jpg|thumb|Gold coin of Sigismund of Hungary with his coat of arms (right), and the image of the King Saint [[Ladislaus I of Hungary]] (left).]]The disaster at Nicopolis angered several Hungarian lords, leading to instability in the kingdom. Deprived of his authority in Hungary, Sigismund then turned his attention to securing the succession in [[Kingdom of Germany|Germany]] and [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]], and was recognized by his childless half-brother [[Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia|Wenceslaus IV]] as Vicar-General of the whole empire. However, he was unable to support Wenceslaus when he was deposed in 1400, and [[Rupert of Germany]], Elector Palatine, was elected [[King of Germany|German king]] in his stead.<ref name=EB1911/>

==== Return to Hungary ====
[[File:Sigismundof Luxemburg.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.6|Sigismund of Luxembourg, official imprint.]]
[[File:Luxemburgi_Zsigmond_király_(1387-1437)_első_kettős_felségpecsétjének_hátlapja_(1384-1405).jpg|alt=Béla IV of Hungary, king, royal, seal, gold, golden bull, Hungary, double cross, Hungarian coat of arm|thumb|upright=.6|Reverse of the first double seal (1387–1405) of King Sigismund of Hungary]]
On his return to Hungary in 1401, Sigismund was imprisoned once and deposed twice. That year, he aided an uprising against [[Wenceslaus IV]], during the course of which the [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]]n king was taken prisoner, and Sigismund ruled Bohemia for nineteen months. He released Wenceslaus in 1403. In the meantime, a group of Hungarian noblemen swore loyalty to the last Anjou monarch, [[Ladislaus of Naples]], putting their hands on the relic of Saint Ladislas of Hungary in Nagyvárad (today Oradea). Ladislaus was the son of the murdered [[Charles II of Hungary]], and thus a distant relative of the long-dead King [[Louis I of Hungary]]. Ladislaus captured Zara (today [[Zadar]]) in 1403, but soon stopped any military advance. This struggle in turn led to a war with the [[Republic of Venice]], as Ladislaus had sold [[Dalmatian city-states|the Dalmatian cities]] to the Venetians for 100,000 ducats<ref name=EB1911/> before leaving for his own land. In the following years, Sigismund acted indirectly to thwart Ladislaus' attempts to conquer central Italy, by allying with the Italian cities resisting him and by applying diplomatic pressure on him.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

Due to his frequent absences attending to business in the other countries over which he ruled, he was obliged to consult Diets in Hungary with more frequency than his predecessors and institute the office of Palatine as chief administrator while he was away.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} In 1404, Sigismund introduced the ''Placetum Regium''. According to this decree, [[Papal bull]]s could not be pronounced in Hungary without the consent of the king. During his long reign, the royal [[Buda Castle]] became probably the largest Gothic palace of the [[Late Middle Ages]].{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

==== Crusade against Bosnia ====
[[File:Thuróczy krónika - A magyarok boszniai hadjárata Zsigmond király idején.jpg|thumb|The campaign of Hungarians against Bosnia during the reign of King Sigismund of Hungary ([[Chronica Hungarorum]], 1488)]]
[[File:Drinking horn of Sigismund of Luxemburg.PNG|upright=.6|thumb|[[Drinking horn]] of Sigismund of Luxembourg, before 1408]]

In about 1406, Sigismund married Mary's cousin [[Barbara of Celje]], daughter of Count [[Hermann II of Celje]]. Hermann's mother [[Catherine of Bosnia, Countess of Cilli|Catherine]] (of the House of [[Kotromanic]]) and Mary's mother Queen [[Elisabeth of Bosnia]] were sisters, or at least cousins who were adoptive sisters.

Sigismund managed to establish control in [[Slavonia]]. He did not hesitate to use violent methods (see [[Bloody Sabor of Križevci]]), but from the River [[Sava]] to the south his control was weak. Sigismund personally led an army of almost 50,000 "crusaders" against the [[Bosnians]], culminating with the [[Battle of Dobor]] in 1408, a massacre of about 200 members of various Bosnian [[nobility|noble]] families. However, although campaign militarily looked like a success, it ultimately failed politically and Hungarians retreated, while the [[Bosnian Kingdom|Bosnian crown]] slowly but surely slipped away out of the reach for Sigismund and Hungarians.<ref name="Maslo-2018-Slavni Pavle-p.57">{{cite journal |author1=Amer Maslo |title=Slavni i velmožni gospodin knez Pavle Radinović |journal=Cobiss+ |date=2018 |page=57 |url=https://www.ff.unsa.ba/files/zavDipl/17_18/his/Amer-Maslo.pdf |access-date=25 January 2024 |publisher=IZUM-Institut informacijskih znanosti |location=Maribor |language=bs}}</ref>

==== Possessions in Serbia ====
Threatened by Ottoman expansion, King Sigismund managed to strengthen the security of southern Hungarian borders by entering into a defensive alliance with Despot [[Stefan Lazarević]] of [[Serbian Despotate|Serbia]]. In 1403, Hungarian possessions in northwestern regions of Serbia (the city of [[Belgrade]] and the [[Banate of Macsó]]), were given to Despot Stefan, who pledged his allegiance to King Sigismund, remaining the king's loyal [[vassal]] until death in 1427. Stefan's successor [[Đurađ Branković|George Branković]] of Serbia also pledged his allegiance to Sigismund, returning Belgrade to the king. By maintaining close relations with Serbian rulers, Sigismund succeeded in securing the southern borders of his realm.{{sfn|Fine|1994|pp=501–502, 526–527}}{{sfn|Ćirković|2004|pp=89, 103}}

====Order of the Dragon====
Sigismund founded his personal order of knights, the [[Order of the Dragon]], after the victory at Dobor.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dracula |first=Matei |last=Cazacu |publisher=Brill  |year=2011 |editor-first=Stephen W. |editor-last=Reinert |page=XIV}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=yhoFEQAAQBAJ |title =Charter of the Order of the Dragon |isbn = 9798869346247 |last1 = Von Luxemburg|first1 = Sigismund|last2 = Curtin|first2 = D. P.|date = January 2024|publisher =Dalcassian Press }}</ref> The main goal of the order was fighting the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Members of the order were mostly his political allies and supporters. The main members of the order were Sigismund's close allies [[Nicholas II Garay]], [[Hermann II of Celje]], [[Stibor of Stiboricz]], and [[Pippo Spano]]. The most important European monarchs became members of the order. He encouraged international trade by abolishing internal duties, regulating tariffs on foreign goods and standardizing weights and measures throughout the country.