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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_III_Sobieski
John III Sobieski (
Polish:
Jan III Sobieski,
Lithuanian:
Jonas Sobieskis; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was one of the most notable monarchs of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, from 1674 until his death
King of Poland and
Grand Duke of Lithuania.
Sobieski's 22-year-reign was marked by a period of the Commonwealth's stabilization, much needed after the turmoil of
the Deluge and
Khmelnytsky Uprising.
[1] Popular among his subjects, he was an able military commander, most famous for the victory over the Turks in the 1683
Battle of Vienna.
[2] Following his victories over the
Ottoman Empire, he was called by the Turks the "Lion of
Lechistan" and held as the saviour of European Christendom by the pope.
[3]
John Sobieski was born on 17 August 1629 in
Olesko, a small town near
Lwów in
Galicia, now Ukraine, then part of the
Ruthenian Voivodeship in the
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland,
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to a notable
noble family
de Sobieszyn Sobieski of
Janina coat of arms.
[4][5] His father,
Jakub Sobieski, was the Voivode of
Ruthenia and
Castellan of
Kraków; his mother,
Zofia Teofillia Daniłowicz was a granddaughter of
Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski.
[5] John Sobieski spent his childhood in
Żółkwia.
[5] After graduating from the
Nowodworski College in Kraków in 1643, young John Sobieski then graduated from the philosophical faculty of the
Jagiellonian University in 1646.
[5][6] After finishing his studies, together with his brother
Marek Sobieski, John left for western Europe, where he spent more than two years travelling.
[5][7] They visited
Leipzig,
Antwerp,
Paris,
London,
Leiden and
Hague.
[5] During that time he met influential contemporary figures such as
Louis II de Bourbon,
Charles II of England and
William II, Prince of Orange, and learnt French,
German and Italian, in addition to
Latin.
[8]
Both brothers returned to the Commonwealth in 1648, upon receiving the news of the death of king
Władysław IV Waza and the hostilities of the
Khmelnytsky Uprising, volunteered for the army.
[5][9] They both fought in the
siege of Zamość.
[5] They founded and commanded their own
banners (
chorągiew) of
cavalry (one light, "
cossack", and one heavy, of
Polish hussars).
[5] Soon the fortunes of war separated the brothers. In 1649 Jakub fought in the
Battle of Zboriv.
[5] In 1652
Marek died in Tatar captivity after his capture at the
Battle of Batoh.
[5][10] John was promoted to the rank of
pułkownik and fought with distinction in the
Battle of Berestechko.
[11] A promising commander, John was sent by King
John II Casimir to
Istanbul in the
Ottoman Empire as one of the envoys in a diplomatic mission of
Mikołaj Bieganowski.
[5][12] There, Sobieski learnt the
Tatar language and the
Turkish language and studied Turkish military traditions and tactics.
[5][12] It is likely he participated as part of the briefly allied Polish-Tatar forces in the 1655
Battle of Okhmativ.
[5]
After the start of the
Swedish invasion of Poland known as "
The Deluge", John Sobieski was among the
Greater Polish regiments led by
Krzysztof Opaliński,
Palatine of Poznań which capitulated at
Ujście, and swore allegiance to King
Charles X Gustav of Sweden.
[5][12] However, around late March 1656 he abandoned their side, returning to the side of Polish king
Jan Kazimierz Waza, enlisting under the command of
hetmans Stefan Czarniecki and
Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski.
[5]
During the
three-day long battle of Warsaw of 1656, Sobieski's command of a 2,000-man strong regiment of
Tatar cavalry earnt him promotion to the title of Lord Standard-Bearer of
the Crown.
[14] A strong supporter of the French faction, Sobieski remained loyal to the King during the infamous
Lubomirski Rebellion, which further helped his military career. In 1665 he married
Marie Casimire Louise de la Grange d'Arquien and was promoted to the rank of Grand
Marshal of the Crown, and the following year, to the rank of Field
Hetman of the Crown.
[4] In 1667 he achieved another great victory over the Cossacks and their Tatar allies in the
Battle of Podhajce during the
Polish–Cossack–Tatar War (1666–71).
[12]
On 5 February 1668, by now a famed and esteemed commander, he achieved
the rank of Grand Hetman of the Crown, the highest military rank in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and thereby the
de facto commander-in-chief of the entire
Polish Army.
[12]
On 11 November 1673, during the
Polish–Ottoman War (1672–76), Sobieski added yet another major victory to his list, this time defeating the Turks in the
battle of Chocim and capturing the
fortress located there.
[12] The news of the battle coincided with the news of the death of
Michael I, King of Poland, who had died the day before the battle.
[12]
This made Sobieski one of the most leading figures in the state, and on
19 May the following year, he was elected as monarch of the
Commonwealth.
[4]
His candidacy was almost universally supported, with only a dozen or so
members of the diet opposing him. Among the most notable backers of his
candidacy was his wife. Jan Sobieski was crowned Jan III 2 February
1676.
[4]
Though Poland-Lithuania was at that time the largest and one of the
most populous states of Europe, Sobieski became a king of a country
devastated by almost half a century of constant war. The treasury was
almost empty and the court had little to offer the powerful
magnates,
who often allied themselves with foreign courts rather than the state.
Sobieski decided to stabilise the situation by forcing the Ottomans to
accept a peace treaty to end the constant wars on the southern border.
In the autumn of 1674 he recommenced the war against the Turks and
managed to recapture the fortresses of
Kamieniec Podolski,
Bar and Reszków, which re-established a strongly fortified line defending Poland's southern border in the
Ukraine.
[15] Polish historian
Oskar Halecki and others noted, that Sobieski also planned to conquer
Prussia with
Swedish troops and French support.
[16]
This secret pact, later exposed, failed because the war with Turkey
took too long, by which time the Great Elector had made treaties with
France, the Swedes had been repelled, and by increased opposition from
the Commonwealth's
magnates, with many of them on the Great Elector's side. Sobieski's plan was also hurt by
Michał Pac, the
hetman of Lithuania and a supporter of
Brandenburg, who simply defected with his army and then disbanded it.
In 1676 the
Tatars began a counter-offensive and crossed the
Dneper, but could not retake the strategic town of
Żórawno,
and the peace treaty was signed soon afterwards. Although Kamieniec
Podolski remained a part of Turkey, Poland counteracted its significance
with the construction of the
Stronghold of the Holy Trinity and return of the town of
Bila Tserkva.
The signing of the treaty began a period of peace that was much needed
for the repair the country and strengthening of the royal authority.
Although constantly hampered by the magnates and foreign courts of
Brandenburg and
Austria (Austria even tried to oust Sobieski and replace him with
Charles of Lorraine), Sobieski managed to completely reform the Polish army.
[16] The military was reorganised into regiments, the infantry finally dropped
pikes replacing them with
battle-axes, and the
Polish cavalry adopted
hussars and
dragoons formations.
[17] Sobieski also greatly increased the number of guns and introduced new artillery tactics.
[17]
As a diplomat, Sobieski envisioned an alliance with France and the Ottomans against the
Austrian empire and
Brandenburg.
[16]
However, his plans never eventuated and finally, in 1683, had to be
completely abandoned. Conscious that Poland lacked allies and risked war
against most of its neighbours (similar to the Deluge), Sobieski allied
himself with
Leopold I, of the
Holy Roman Empire.
The alliance, although aimed directly against Turks and indirectly
against France, had the advantage of gaining support for the defence of
Poland's southern borders.
In the spring of 1683 royal spies uncovered Turkish preparations for a
military campaign, and Sobieski feared that the target might be the
Polish cities of
Lviv and
Kraków.
[12] To counteract the threat, Sobieski began the fortification of the cities and ordered universal military
conscription.
[12]
Sobieski's military skill demonstrated in war against the
Ottoman Empire
contributed to his prowess as King of Poland. One of his ambitions was
to unify Christian Europe in a crusade to drive the Turks out of Europe.
He joined the alliance of the
Holy Roman Emperor and joined the
Holy League initiated by
Pope Innocent XI
to preserve Christendom. The Alliance was unusual in that a number of
Protestants, from Germany and even the son of Prince Rupert of the
Stuarts fought.
Sobieski's greatest success came in 1683 with his victory at the
Battle of Vienna, in joint command of Polish, Austrian and German troops, against the invading
Turks under
Kara Mustafa.
Upon reaching Vienna, Sobieski had planned to attack on 13 September,
but with the Turkish army close to breaching the walls he ordered a
full attack on 12 September. At 04:00 the united army of about 81,000
men attacked a Turkish force of about 130,000 men. At about five o'clock
in the afternoon, after observing the infantry battle from the hilltop,
Sobieski led Polish
husaria
cavalry along with Austrians and Germans into a massive charge down the
hillside. Soon, the Turkish battle line was broken and the Ottoman
forces scattered in confusion. At 17:30 Sobieski entered the deserted
tent of Kara Mustafa and the battle of Vienna ended.
The Pope and other foreign dignitaries hailed Sobieski as the "Savior of Vienna and Western European civilization."
[18]
In a letter to his wife he wrote, "All the common people kissed my
hands, my feet, my clothes; others only touched me, saying: 'Ah, let us
kiss so valiant a hand!'"
[19]
Later years
King John III Sobieski died in
Wilanów,
Poland on 17 June 1696. His wife,
Maria Kasimira, died in 1716 in
Blois, France, and her body was returned to Poland. They are interred together in
Wawel Cathedral,
Kraków, Poland.
King John III was succeeded by
Augustus II
who stayed in power primarily because of Russian support. On his death
in 1733, a struggle for the crown of Poland ensued, referred to as the
War of the Polish Succession.
The Reincarnation of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth
http://continuingcounterreformation.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-reincarnation-of-polish-lithuanian.html
