House of Jagiellon

Following the defeat of the Teutonic Order against a united Polish-Lithuanian army at the Battle of Grunwald, the House of Jagiellon emerged one of the leading arbiters of events throughout Eastern Europe at the dawn of the modern era. Having been born out of the union of the pagan Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila (later rechristened Władysław II Jagiełło) and the Roman Catholic Queen of Poland Jadwiga, the House of Jagiellon understood that to survive the threat of their powerful neighbors, disparate polities would have to unite under a common cause. This close relationship between Poland and Lithuania would eventually culminate in the Union of Lublin, which established a Commonwealth between the two kingdoms that would continue to rule the region for several generations after the house’s demise shortly thereafter. Throughout their existence, the Jagiellons oversaw the development of a multicultural society marked by religious toleration and decentralized rule. Turning to the west for inspiration, the Jagiellon dynasty would make contact with the royal lineages of Hungary and Bohemia, unions which would prove fruitful in the ensuing centuries. Through these connections, the Jagiellons imported ideals of the Renaissance and fostered their spread throughout their core domains. The Jagiellonian University in Kraków is one of the oldest and most prestigious centers of learning throughout Europe and a catalyst for the Polish Golden Age of the 1500s.

From the game's History encyclopedia, AoE3: DE 100.19.18309.