John Albert (1459-1501), the son of
Casimir Jagiellonian,
crowned king in 1492. He reigned in Poland, while his brother
Alexander
became the grand duke of Lithuania. He carried out reforms which strengthened
the position of the gentry. The Statute of Piotrkow of 1496 reserved higher
church positions for the gentry exclusively, barred the townspeople from
buying land, and restricted the peasants' freedom of movement. In foreign
policy, John Albert concentrated on the Turkish problem and wished to
improve Poland's standing by assuming control over Danube principalities.
In 1497, he set out on an expedition against the Turks, which ended in his
defeat.
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