illegitimate son of Matthias I, king of Hungary (1458–90). When it became clear to Matthias that his wife, Beatrice, was barren, the king made Corvin prince of Liptó (a region in northern Hungary; now in Slovakia) and baron of Hunyad (in Transylvania). Matthias also succeeded in arranging for his own mother, Erzsébet Szilágyi, to leave her enormous fortune to Corvin. Matthias tried to oblige the leading nobles by oath to make his son king after his death, but his efforts were not successful. After his father's death, Corvin attempted by force to gain the throne, but he suffered defeat on July 4, 1490, at Csontmezõ and was forced to recognize the rule of Vladislas II, who was elected king of Hungary as Ulászló II. As viceroy of Croatia and Dalmatia and as prince of Oppeln, Corvin subsequently was entrusted with defending Hungary's southern borders against the Ottoman Turks.