(Redirected from Jan III Sobieski)
: ''For other monarchs with similar names, please see
John of Poland.''
'John III Sobieski', () (
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 stabilisation, much needed after the turmoil of
the Deluge and
Chmielnicki's Uprising. Popular among his subjects, he was also a brilliant military commander, most famous for the victory over the Turks in the 1683
Battle of Vienna. For his victories over the
Ottoman Empire, he was dubbed by the Turks the "Lion of
Lehistan."
Royal titles
★ Official title was (in Latin): ''Joannes III, Dei Gratia rex Poloniae, magnus dux Lithuaniae, Russie, Prussiae, Masoviae, Samogitiae, Livoniae, Smolenscie, Kijoviae, Volhyniae, Podlachiae, Severiae, Czernichoviaeque, etc.''
★ English translation: ''John III,
by the grace of God King of
Poland,
Grand Duke of
Lithuania,
Ruthenia,
Prussia,
Masovia,
Samogitia,
Livonia,
Smolensk,
Kiev,
Volhynia,
Podlasie,
Severia and
Czernichow, etc.''
Biography
Jan Sobieski was born 1629 in
Olesko, a small town near
Lwów (modern
Lviv,
Ukraine), to a notable
noble family
de Sobieszyn Sobieski of
Clan Janina. His father,
Jakub Sobieski, was the Palatine of
Ruthenia and
Castellan of
Kraków; his mother,
Zofia Teofilia née Daniłowicz was a granddaughter of
Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski. After graduating from the
Nowodworski College in Kraków, young Jan Sobieski graduated from the philosophical faculty of the
Jagiellonian University. After finishing his studies, together with his brother
Marek Sobieski (1628-1652), Jan left for western Europe, where he spent more than two years travelling. During that time he learned
French,
German and
Italian, in addition to
Latin. This proved to be vital during his later military career.
Sobieski (oval portrait) with his family. Painting by
Henri Gascar.
Both brothers returned to Poland in 1648 and volunteered for the army during the
Chmielnicki Uprising. Jan founded his own
banner of
cavalry and commanded it in the rank of
Rotamaster. After the
Battle of Zborów, the brothers were separated and Marek died in
Tatar captivity the following year. Jan was promoted to the rank of
pułkownik and fought with distinction in the
Battle of Beresteczko. A promising commander, Jan was sent by King
John II Casimir to
Ottoman Empire as an envoy. There, Sobieski learned the
Tatar language and studied the Turkish military traditions and tactics.
After the start of the
Swedish invasion of Poland known there as "
The Deluge", Jan Sobieski was among the
Greater Polish regiments led by
Krzysztof Opaliński,
Palatine of Poznań which capitulated at
Ujście, swearing allegiance to the Swedish king
Charles X Gustav. However, in less than a year he returned with his unit to the Polish side, and after April of 1656 he fought for the Polish king.
Commander
During the
three-day long battle of Warsaw of that year, Sobieski brilliantly commanded a 2000 men strong regiment of
Tatar cavalry, for which he was promoted to the title of Lord Standard-Bearer of
the Crown. A strong supporter of the French faction, Sobieski remained loyal to the King during the infamous
Lubomirski Rebellion, which also helped in 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. In 1667 he achieved another great victory over the Kossacks and their Tatar allies in the
battle of Podhajce. A famed and much esteemed commander, in
February 5 1668 he achieved the rank of Grand Hetman of the Crown, the highest military rank in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the ''
de facto''
commander-in-chief of the entire
Polish Army.
During the
Polish-Ottoman War (1672-1676), on
November 11,
1673 Sobieski added yet another brilliant victory to his list, this time defeating the Turks in the
battle of Chocim and capturing the
mighty fortress located there. The news of the battle spread across the country simultaneously to the news of the recent death of
Michał I, King of Poland, who had died only a day before the battle. This made Sobieski one of the most popular personalities in the state and the following year, on
May 19, he was
elected the new monarch of the
Commonwealth. The support of his candidacy was almost complete, with only a dozen or so members of the diet opposing him. Among the most notable partisans of his candidacy was his wife. Jan Sobieski was crowned Jan III
February 2,
1676
King
Although 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, which brought an end to Poland's economic well-being. The treasury was almost empty and the court had little to offer for the powerful
magnates, who often allied themselves with foreign courts rather than the state they lived in. Sobieski decided to stabilise the situation of the country 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 mighty fortresses of
Kamieniec Podolski,
Bar and
Reszków, which re-established a strongly-fortified line defending Poland's southern border in the
Ukraine. According to Polish historian
Oskar Halecki, Sobieski also planned to retake
Prussia with
Swedish cooperation and
French support. This undertaking was doomed because of war with Turkey and opposition from the Commonwealth's
magnates. The plan was torpedoed by
Michał Pac, the
hetman of Lithuania and a supporter of
Brandenburg, who simply defected with his army and disbanded it.
In 1675 the
Tatars started 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 levelled its significance by the construction of the
Stronghold of the Holy Trinity and return of the town of
Biała Cerkiev. With signing of the treaty a period of peace started, much needed to repair the country and strengthen the royal authority. Although constantly harassed by the magnates and foreign courts of
Brandenburg and
Austria (Austria even tried to oust Sobieski and replace him with
Charles of Lorraine), Sobieski completely reformed the Polish military. The military was reorganised into regiments, the infantry finally dropped
pikes replacing them with
battle-axes and the
Polish cavalry adopted the formations of
hussars and
dragoons. Also, Sobieski greatly increased the number of guns and developed a new tactics of artillery.
As a diplomat, Sobieski envisioned an alliance of Poland with
France and the Ottomans against the
Austrian empire and
Brandenburg. However, his plans never came true and finally in 1683 had to be completely abandoned. Conscious that Poland was risking a war against most of its neighbours similar to the Deluge and was lacking allies, Sobieski allied himself with
Leopold I, the
Holy Roman Emperor. 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 that year royal spies uncovered Turkish preparations for a military campaign, and Sobieski feared that the target might be the Polish cities of
Lwów and
Kraków. To prevent the risk, Sobieski started the fortification of the cities and ordered universal military
conscription.
Sobieski's military prowess demonstrated in war against the
Ottoman Empire contributed to his election as King of Poland. One of his ambitions was to unify Christian Europe in a crusade to drive the Turks out of Europe. He made alliance with the
Holy Roman Emperor and joined the
Holy League initiated by
Pope Innocent XI to preserve Christendom.
Battle of Vienna
Main articles: Battle of Vienna
Sobieski's greatest success came on
September 12 1683 with his victory at the
Battle of Vienna, in command of Polish, Austrian and German troops, against the invading
Turks under
Kara Mustafa.
Upon reaching Vienna, he joined up with the Austrians and Germans. Sobieski planned to attack on the 13th of September, but he had noticed that the Turkish resistance was weak and ordered full attack on September 12. At 4:00 a.m. a united army of about 81,000 men attacked a Turkish army that numbered about 130,000. At about five o'clock in the afternoon, four
husaria cavalry groups led by Sobieski charged forward, and soon after the Turkish battle line was broken as the Turks scattered in confusion. At 5:30 p.m., Sobieski entered the deserted tent of Kara Mustafa and the battle of Vienna was over.
The Pope and other foreign dignitaries hailed Sobieski as the "Savior of Vienna and Western European civilization." 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!'"
Portrayal of Sobieski's royal crown,
Gdańsk.
Later years
King Jan III Sobieski, nicknamed by the Turks the "Lion of
Lehistan", and the last great king of Poland, died in
Wilanów,
Poland on
June 17,
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 Jan 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.
Battles commanded by Sobieski
Marriage and family
Family tree
On
July 5,
1665, he married the widow of
Jan "Sobiepan" Zamoyski,
Marie Casimire Louise de la Grange d'Arquien (1641-1716), of
Nevers,
Burgundy,
France. Their children were:
#
Jakub Ludwik, (b. 1667 - d. 1737) - Crown Prince.
# twin daughters (b. and d. 1669).
# Teresa Teofila (b, and d. 1670).
# Adelaide Luise (b. 1672 - d. 1677).
# daughter (b. and d. 1673).
# La Mannone (b. 1674 - d. 1675).
#
Teresa Kunegunda, (b. 1676 - d. 1730) - In 1695, the Princess married
Maximilian II Emanuel, elector of Bavaria.
#
Aleksander Benedykt, (1677-1714).
# daughter (b. and d. 1678).
#
Konstanty Władysław, (1680-1726).
#
Jan, (1682-1685).
# daughter (b. 1691 - d. 1692).
# daughter (b, and d. 1694).
Further reading
★ Tatham, ''John Sobieski'', (Oxford, 1881)
★ Dupont, ''Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de Sobieski'', (Warsaw, 1885)
★ Salvandy, ''Histoire de Pologne avant et sous le roi Jean Sobieski'', (two volumes, new edition, Paris, 1855)
★ Coyer, ''Histoire de Jean Sobieski'', (Amsterdam, 1761 and 1783)
★ Waliszewski, ''Acta'', (three volumes, Cracow, 1684)
★ Rieder, ''Johann III., König von Polen'', (Vienna, 1883)
★ Chelmecki, ''König J. Sobieski und die Befreiung Wiens'', (Vienna, 1883)
★ Du Hamel de Breuil, ''Sobieski et sa politique de 1674 Ã 1683'', (Paris, 1894)
''Scutum Sobiescianum'' ''Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia''
1690 Trivia
★ After
World War II, a statue of Jan III Sobieski was "repatriated" to
Gdańsk from the
Ukrainian city of
Lviv (, formerly in the
Second Polish Republic). The statue overlooks a little park at the old Gdańsk
City Hall museum.
★ After the battle of Vienna, the newly identified
constellation Scutum (Latin for shield) was originally named ''Scutum Sobiescianum'' by the astronomer
Johannes Hevelius, in honour of Jan III Sobieski. While there are some few stars named after non-astronomers, this is the only ''constellation'' that was originally named after a real non-astronomer, who was still alive when the constellation was named.
★ The legend of the origins of the
bagel refer to Jan III Sobieski as the king to whom a
Jewish baker gave the very first bagel in commemoration of a military victory in 1683. The round bagels were said to resemble the
stirrups of Sobieski and his mounted warriors.
See also
★
History of Poland (1569-1795)
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