Jan Zamoyski

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This article is about the hetman and chancellor. For other uses, see Jan Zamoyski (disambiguation).

Great Crown Hetman
In office
1581–1605
MonarchsStephen Bathory
Sigismund III
Preceded byMikołaj Mielecki
Succeeded byStanisław Żółkiewski
Personal details
Born19 March 1542
War of the Polish Succession (1587–88)
: Livonian War

Jan Sariusz Zamoyski (

Chancellor from 1576, Grand Chancellor of the Crown from 1578, and Great Hetman
of the Crown from 1581.

Zamoyski was the General

Starost of the city of Kraków from 1580 to 1585, Starost of Bełz, Międzyrzecz, Krzeszów, Knyszyn and Tartu. An important advisor to Kings Sigismund II Augustus and Stephen Báthory, he was one of the major opponents of Bathory's successor, Sigismund III Vasa, and one of the most skilled diplomats, politicians and statesmen of his time, standing as a major figure in the politics of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
throughout his life.

Biography

Zamoyski coat of arms

Childhood and education

Jan Zamoyski was born on 19 March 1542 to

Roman Catholicism.[4]

During his education, he became active in university politics, and in 1563 he was elected the rector of the law department.[4] Around that time he also wrote De senatu Romano, a brochure about Ancient Rome government.[4] He returned to the Commonwealth in 1565, and was the first person to receive a commendation letter from the senate of the Republic of Venice.[4][5]

  • Bust of Zamoyski in the University of Padua, where he was a student and rector of the Universitas Iuristarum.
    Bust of Zamoyski in the University of Padua, where he was a student and rector of the Universitas Iuristarum.

Early career

After returning to Poland, he was appointed to the

royal lands they were decreed to hold illegally.[5] Another major task he completed at that time was the reorganization of the Chancellery archive.[7]

In 1571 he married Anna Ossolińska; his wife and their young son died shortly afterwards, in 1572.

Golden Freedom).[9][10][11] He was so influential and popular among the lesser nobility that he was known as the "first tribune of nobility"[12][13] or "Polish Gracchus."[8]

Chancellor and Hetman

Jan Zamoyski, engraving by Dominicus Custos

In that first election he was in favour of

Stephen Bathory of Transylvania.[9][16]

Bathory thanked Zamoyski by granting him the office of Deputy

Grand Crown Chancellor.[5][9][19] That year poet Jan Kochanowski dedicated his Odprawa Posłów Greckich, the first Polish tragedy, to him.[19]

Griselda Báthory
Stephen Bathory at Pskov

He took part in the preparation for

Grand Crown Hetman Mikołaj Mielecki, particularly when Mielecki was not present.[22] While not campaigning, he was also instrumental in ensuring that the ongoing political support for the war.[23] In 1580 he was hit by another personal tragedy, as his wife died in labor, together with their child; entering a short period of depression.[23]

Later that year, in August, he captured

Peace of Yam-Zapolsky in 1582.[27] Though Zamoyski failed to capture Pskov, he drained the Russian resources, and the ongoing siege was a major reason for the final treaty, which was highly favorable to Poland.[27]

In June 1583 Zamoyski took his third wife,

Zborowski family, framed as the clash between the monarch and the nobility, would be a major recurring controversy in internal Polish politics for many years, beginning with a major dispute at the Sejm of 1585.[29][30][31]

Later years

Zamoyski at Byczyna. Sketch by Jan Matejko

After the death of Batory in 1586, Zamoyski helped Sigismund III Vasa

Maximilian III of Austria.[32] The camp supporting Sigismund was rallied around Zamoyski, whereas Maximilian was supported by the Zborowski family.[33] Zamoyski defended Kraków[32] and defeated Maximilian's forces in the Battle of Byczyna in 1588.[34] In that battle, which Sławomir Leśniewski describes as "one of the most important in Polish history, and the most important in Zamoyski's military career", Maximilian was taken prisoner and in the resulting Treaty of Bytom and Będzin of 1589 had to give up all pretenses to the Polish crown.[35] Later that year Zamoyski proposed a reform of the royal elections, which failed to pass the Sejm.[35] Zamoyski presented to this Sejm a project that in case the present King should die without issue none but a candidate of some Slav stock should henceforth be eligible to the Polish throne. This was a project which could even imagine the possibility of some kind of union between Catholic Poland, Orthodox Moscovy and semi-Protestant Bohemia. In fact, it was a circuitous and clumsy counter-proposal against pro-Habsburg policy.[36]

From 1589 Zamoyski, in his role as the hetman, tried to prevent the intensifying

Tatar incursions along the Commonwealth south-eastern border, but with little success.[37] In order to deal with the recurring disturbances in that region Zamoyski developed a plan to turn Moldavia into a buffer zone between the Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire; this would lead to a lengthy campaign.[38][39]

In opposition to the throne

Bacciarelli

Meanwhile, in internal Commonwealth politics, early on in Sigismund III's reign, Zamoyski, who was once a staunch supporter of the Commonwealth kings, begun to distance himself from the King. Sigismund had quickly allied himself with the Habsburgs, much to chancellors dissatisfaction.

voivode of Kraków office, but Zamoyski declined, as if he was to accept, the law would require him to resign from his slightly less prestigious but more influential chancellorship.[35] By 1590–1591 Zamoyski was seen as one of the king's staunchest opponents.[42] Open quarrel between king and chancellor broke out during the Sejm of 1591, culminating in a heated exchange of words and the king storming out of the chamber.[43] Despite their tensed relations, neither the king nor the chancellor wanted a civil war; soon after their quarrel Zamoyski would issue a public apology to the king and their uneasy relationship would continue until Zamoyski's death.[43][nb 1]

Portrait of Zamoyski, Wilanów Palace collection, 19th century

In 1594 Zamoyski once again failed to stop a

defeated him on the Bukova (Bucovu) and restored Ieremia to the throne.[45] He also helped his brother, Simion Movilă to become brief ruler of Wallachia, thus spreading the influence of the Commonwealth to the Central Danube.[46]

In 1600 and 1601 Zamoyski took part in the

Fellin on 16 May 1602, and Bialy Kamien on 30 September 1602.[49] The rigours of the campaign, however, placed a strain on his health, and he resigned the command.[49]

At the Sejm of 1603 Zamoyski led opposition to the governance reforms proposed by Sigismund; seeing in them intentions of transforming the Commonwealth into an

Dymitriads).[51] He clashed with Sigismund for the final time during the Sejm of January 1605.[52]

Zamoyski died suddenly on 3 June 1605, due to a stroke.[49] His fortune was inherited by his single son, Tomasz Zamoyski.[53]

Assessment and legacy

Remembrance

Bust of Hetman Jan Zamoyski in the Royal Castle in Warsaw

The fame of Zamoyski, significance in life, endured after his death. He was praised by artists such as

Polish Renaissance.[54]

Zamoyski was the subject of several paintings and drawings. Most notably, he is one of the characters in two large paintings by

Batory at Pskov.[56]

Political and military leader

Having control of both the Chancellorship and the Grand Hetman office, Zamoyski was one of the most powerful people in the country, having obtained both the power of Grand Hetman (commander in chief of the armed forces) and that of chancellor, combined for the first time in the hands of one person.[25] He was responsible for much of the Polish internal and foreign policies.[9] He is considered to be one of the most prominent statesmen in Polish history.[9]

Even though his military career begun almost as an afterthought, or by accident, Zamoyski is also remembered as one of the most accomplished Polish military commanders.[49][57] In his tactics, he favored sieges, flanking maneuvers, conserving his forces, and the new Western art of fortification and artillery.[49] The war with Muscovy shown him to be a skilled commander in sieges, and latter events would prove him to be an equally able leader in the open field.[58]

Wealth and cultural patronage

Zamoyski gathered a significant fortune; his estates generated a revenue of over 200,000

Zamoyski Family Fee Tail (ordynacja zamojska), a de facto duchy.[61] Zamoyski supported economical development of his lands, investing in colonization of frontiers, and the development of industry, both small (sawmills, breweries, mills and such) and large (his lands had four iron mills and four glass factories).[62]

Cathedral of the Resurrection, Zamość

His most prized creation was the capital of his Fee Tail, the city of

Busza and Jasnogród.[65]

Zamoyski collected a significant library, and was a patron of numerous artists in his Fee Tail.[65] Artists under his patronage included the poets Jan Kochanowski and Szymon Szymonowic, and the writer and historian Joachim Bielski.[65]

Personality

Zamoyski was not a deeply religious person, and his conversion from Protestantism to Catholicism was primarily pragmatic.[66] Leśniewski notes that Zamoyski was often motivated by greed, for example during the Danzig Rebellion, when he supported lenient treatment of the rebels, and during the 1577–1578 negotiations with, when he favored the solution of George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach; in both cases his decision was likely influenced by bribes or favors.[67] In another example, Leśniewski describes how Zamoyski openly demanded rewards following his victory at Byczyna, and tried to include an article favoring him in the Bytom and Będzin treaty.[68] He further notes, critically, that with raising power and political success Zamoyski begun displaying negative qualities, such as egoism and arrogance.[19] Zamoyski was ruthless to those weaker than him.[59] At the same time, he was respected by his opponents, widely recognized as highly intelligent, a cunning strategist and tactician in matters political and military, and a popular political leader.[8] He valued the good of the country at least as high as his own, and although he could have become the king after a victorious civil war against Sigismund, he preferred to act within the limits of law instead, avoiding a war that could devastate the country, and thus curbing his own ambitions.[43]

See also

  • Army of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Notes

  1. Zebrzydowski's Rokosz (1606–1608).[9][12][44]

References

  1. ^ Zamoyski, Jan (1904). Archiwum Jana Zamoyskiego, kanclerza i hetmana wielkiego koronnego: 1553–1579. Druk P. Laskauera i s-ki. p. 27. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-83-11-08275-5
    . Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  3. ^ a b Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 9–10. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  4. ^ a b c d e Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski - hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 11–15. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-83-11-08275-5
    . Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  6. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 18. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  7. ^ a b Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 20–21. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  8. ^ a b c d Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 24–26. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-0-313-03456-5
    . Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  10. ISBN 978-83-7311-565-1
    . Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  11. ISBN 978-83-904121-2-2
    .
  12. ^ a b Janusz P. Waluszko (25 May 2000). "Rzecz o Sarmacyi – Taraka" (in Polish). Taraka.pl. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  13. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 22–23. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  14. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 30. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  15. ^ a b c Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 32–35. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  16. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 37–38. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  17. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 41. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  18. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 44. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  19. ^ a b c d Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 50–51. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  20. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 54. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  21. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 554. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  22. ^
    ISBN 978-83-11-08275-5
    . Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  23. ^ a b Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 60–61. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  24. ISBN 978-83-11-08275-5
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  25. ^
    ISBN 978-83-11-08275-5
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  26. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 63–66. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  27. ^ a b Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 70–78. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  28. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 80–81. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  29. ^
    ISBN 978-0-295-98093-5
    . Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  30. ^ a b Jerzy Besala; Agnieszka Biedrzycka (2004–2005). "Stefan Batory". Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). Vol. XLIII. p. 123.
  31. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 84–89. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  32. ^
    ISBN 978-83-11-08275-5
    . Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  33. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 96. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  34. ISBN 978-83-11-08275-5
    . Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  35. ^ a b c Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 111–118. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  36. ^ Bain, R. Nisbet, Slavonic Europe, Cambridge University Press, 1908, p.137.
  37. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 121–122. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  38. ^
    ISBN 978-83-11-08275-5
    . Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  39. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 122–123. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  40. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 119. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  41. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 120. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  42. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 124. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  43. ^ a b c Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 124–126. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  44. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 168–169. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  45. ^
    ISBN 978-83-11-08275-5
    . Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  46. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 137. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
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    ISBN 978-83-11-08275-5
    . Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  48. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 139. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  49. ^
    ISBN 978-83-11-08275-5
    . Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  50. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 161–162. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  51. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 163–164. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  52. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 165–166. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  53. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 152. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  54. ^ a b c d Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 169–171. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  55. ^ "Skargi księdza Skargi". Wiz.pl. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  56. ISBN 978-0-19-925339-5
    .
  57. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 143. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  58. ISBN 978-83-11-08275-5
    . Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  59. ^ a b Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 145. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  60. ^ a b Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 146. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  61. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 147. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  62. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 158. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  63. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 147–150. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  64. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 150–152. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  65. ^ a b c Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 153–157. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  66. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. p. 12. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  67. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 45–47. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.
  68. ^ Sławomir Leśniewski (January 2008). Jan Zamoyski – hetman i polityk (in Polish). Bellona. pp. 114–117. GGKEY:RRA1L0T4Y81.

External links

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