Editing Sigismund I the Old (section)

===Europe===
{{more|Franco-Polish alliance (1524)|Duchy of Masovia|Neapolitan sums}}
[[File:Lucas Cranach d.J. - Bildnis einer Frau, 1549 (MFA Boston).jpg|thumb|left|175px|Queen [[Bona Sforza]] was instrumental in establishing alliances for Poland. She was known for being a notorious conspirator.]]

In 1515 Sigismund entered into an alliance with the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]]. In return for Maximilian lending weight to the provisions of the [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)]], Sigismund consented to the marriage of the children of [[Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary]], his brother, to the grandchildren of Maximilian. Through this double marriage contract, [[Bohemia]] and [[Hungary]] passed to the House of [[Habsburg]] in 1526, on the death of Sigismund's nephew, [[Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia|Louis II]], who led his forces against Suleiman the Magnificent of the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the disastrous [[Battle of Mohács]].

Worried about the growing ties between the [[Habsburgs]] and Russia, in 1524 Sigismund signed a [[Franco-Polish alliance (1524)|Franco-Polish alliance]] with King [[Francis I of France]] to avoid a possible war on two fronts.<ref name="Halecki">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N883AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA309|title=The Cambridge History of Poland|publisher=CUP Archive|isbn=9781001288024|via=Google Books}}</ref> Francis I himself was looking for allies in [[Central Europe]] to curtail the increasing power of Habsburg Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], whose realms were labelled "[[the empire on which the sun never sets]]".<ref name="Setton312"/> Furthermore, Queen Bona was instrumental in establishing an alliance between Poland and France, with the objective of recovering [[Milan]].<ref name="Halecki"/> The official negotiations were conducted by [[Antonio Rincon]] in 1524, who was then followed by [[Jerome Laski]].<ref name="Setton312"/> Through the agreement, the son of Francis, [[Henry II of France|Henry, Duke of Orléans]], was to marry one of Sigismund's daughters, and Sigismund's eldest son was to marry a daughter of Francis I.<ref name="Setton312"/>

The negotiations came to an end and the alliance was disbanded when Francis' troops were defeated by Charles V at the [[Battle of Pavia]] in 1525.<ref name="Setton312">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EgQNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA312|title=The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571|first=Kenneth Meyer|last=Setton|date=2 January 1976|publisher=American Philosophical Society|isbn=9780871691613|via=Google Books}}</ref> Disturbed by the failure of his campaign, Francis turned to Hungary instead and formed a [[Franco-Hungarian alliance]] with King [[John Zápolya]] in 1528.<ref name="Setton312"/>

After the death of [[Janusz III of Masovia]] in 1526, Sigismund succeeded in uniting the [[Duchy of Masovia]] and [[Warsaw]] with the Kingdom of Poland. There was speculation whether Janusz and his younger brother [[Stanisław of Masovia|Stanisław]] were poisoned by a subject of Queen Bona.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://muzeumwarszawy.pl/en/obiekt/fragment-of-a-robe-of-the-dukes-of-masovia/|title=Fragment of a robe of the dukes of Masovia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://przekroj.pl/nauka/malo-czarujacy-koniec-piastow-mazowieckich-adam-weglowski|title=Mało czarujący koniec Piastów mazowieckich - Kwartalnik Przekrój|website=przekroj.pl|date=20 February 2018 }}</ref> The accusations were so pervasive and rampant that Sigismund ordered an investigation, as a result of which a special edict was declared on 9 February 1528 confirming that the Masovian princes died naturally or due to related illness. According to chronicler [[Jan Długosz]], the real cause of the death of both princes could have been inherited [[tuberculosis]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wilanow-palac.pl/ostatni_ksiazeta_mazowieccy.html|title=Ostatni książęta mazowieccy|website=www.wilanow-palac.pl}}</ref>

In other matters of policy, Sigismund sought peaceful coexistence with the [[Khanate of Crimea]], but was unable to completely end [[Crimean–Nogai slave raids in Eastern Europe|border skirmishes]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historia.org.pl/2014/06/14/stosunki-polsko-tureckie-w-czasach-zygmunta-iii-wazy-1587-1632/|title=Stosunki polsko-tureckie w czasach Zygmunta III Wazy &#124; HISTORIA.org.pl - historia, kultura, muzea, matura, rekonstrukcje i recenzje historyczne|date=14 June 2014}}</ref>