John III Sobieski

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other monarchs with similar names, see John of Poland (disambiguation). For his descendant, see John Sobieski (U.S. Colonel).

John III Sobieski
Michael I
SuccessorAugustus II
Born(1629-08-17)17 August 1629
Olesko Castle, Olesko, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Died17 June 1696(1696-06-17) (aged 66)
Wilanów Palace, Warsaw, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Burial
Wawel Cathedral, Kraków
Spouse
Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien
​
​
(m. 1665)​
Issue
among others...
Sobieski
FatherJakub Sobieski
MotherZofia Teofillia Daniłowicz
ReligionRoman Catholicism
SignatureJohn III Sobieski's signature

John III Sobieski (

Grand Duke of Lithuania
from 1674 until his death in 1696.

Born into

King Michael
.

Sobieski's 24-year reign marked a period of the Commonwealth's stabilization, much needed after the turmoil of previous conflicts.

Lechistan", and the Pope hailed him as the saviour of Western Christendom.[3] Suffering from poor health and obesity in later life, Sobieski died in 1696 and was buried at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. He was succeeded by Augustus II of Poland and Saxony
.

Biography

Youth

Louis II de Bourbon, Charles II of England and William II, Prince of Orange, and learned 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

John II Casimir as one of the envoys in the diplomatic mission of Mikołaj Bieganowski to the Ottoman Empire.[5][13] There, Sobieski learned the Tatar language and the Turkish language and studied Ottoman military traditions and tactics.[5][13] 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

Charles X Gustav of Sweden.[5][13] However, around late March 1656, he abandoned their side, returning to the side of Polish king John II Casimir Vasa, enlisting under the command of hetmans Stefan Czarniecki and Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski.[5]

Commander

Portrait of John III by Jan Tricius

By 26 May 1656, he received the position of the

Treaty of Cudnów).[14]

Through personal connections, he became a strong supporter of the French faction in the Polish royal court, represented by Queen

Marie Casimire Louise de la Grange d'Arquien and was promoted to the rank of Grand Marshal of the Crown.[4]

Map of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1657

In 1662, he was again elected a deputy to the Sejm, and took part in the work on reforming the military. He was also a member of the Sejm in 1664 and 1665.

Field Crown Hetman.[16] Soon afterward, he was defeated at the Battle of Mątwy, and signed the Agreement of Łęgonice on 21 July, which ended the Lubomirski Rebellion.[16]

In October 1667, he achieved another victory over the Cossacks of

Polish–Cossack–Tatar War (1666–71).[13] This allowed him to regain his image as a skilled military leader.[16] Later that year, in November, his first child, James Louis Sobieski was born in Paris.[16] On 5 February 1668, 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.[13] Later that year he supported the French candidacy of Louis, Grand Condé for the Polish throne, and after this candidacy fell apart, Philip William, Elector Palatine.[16] Following the election of Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki he joined the opposition faction; he and his allies helped veto several sejms (including the coronation ones), and his attitude once again resulted in him losing popularity among the regular szlachta.[16] While his pro-French stance in politics alienated some, his military victories against invading Tatars in 1671 helped him gain other allies.[16]

John III Sobieski, the victor of the Battle of Khotyn

The year 1672 saw internal politics destabilizing the Commonwealth, as the pro-French faction of Sobieski and pro-court faction of King Michał formed two

major Ottoman incursions in the south seemed more concerned with one another than with uniting to defend the country.[17] The court faction called openly for confiscation of his estates and dismissal from office, and declared him an "enemy of the state".[17] This division culminated in the humiliating Treaty of Buchach, where the Commonwealth was forced to cede territories to the Ottomans, but promise an annual tribute.[18] Sobieski eventually succeeded in balancing politics and national defense, and a combination of his military victories over the invaders, and successful negotiations at the Sejm in April 1673, led to a compromise in which the court faction dropped its demands and challenges against him.[17]

In the year 1672, the Polish-Lithuanian Tatars rose up in open rebellion against the Commonwealth. This was the widely remembered Lipka rebellion. Thanks to the efforts of Sobieski, who was held in great esteem by the Tatar soldiers, many of the Lipkas seeking asylum and service in the Ottoman Army returned to his command.

On 11 November 1673, Sobieski added a major victory to his list, this time defeating the Ottomans in the

fortress located there.[13] The news of the battle coincided with the death of King Michal the day before the battle.[13] This made Sobieski one of the leading figures of the state, so on 19 May the following year, he was elected monarch of the Commonwealth.[4] His candidacy was almost universally supported, with only a dozen or so members of the diet opposing him (mainly centered around magnates of the Lithuanian Pac family).[17] In light of the war, requiring Sobieski to be on the front lines, the coronation ceremony was significantly delayed – he was crowned John III almost two years later, on 2 February 1676.[4][17]

King of Poland

Sobieski's coronation (1676), relief, Wilanów Palace

Though Poland-Lithuania was at that time the largest and one of the most populous states of Europe,[19] Sobieski became a king of a country devastated by almost half a century of constant war.[20] 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.[21][22]

Sobieski had a number of long-term plans, including establishing his own dynasty in the Commonwealth, regaining lost territories, and strengthening the country through various reforms.

Louis XIV of France promised to mediate a truce between the Ottomans and Poland so that Sobieski could focus his attentions on Prussia. The negotiations ended in failure and Sobieski's Baltic goals had to be tempered by the immediate reality of the Ottoman threat to the south.[18][22][24]

Sobieski with the Order of the Holy Spirit, circa 1676

In the autumn of 1674, he recommenced the war against the Ottomans and managed to recapture a number of cities and fortresses including

Żórawno, and a peace treaty (the Treaty of Żurawno) was signed soon afterwards.[17] Although Kamieniec Podolski and much of Podolia remained a part of the Ottoman Empire, Poland gained the return of the towns of Bila Tserkva and Pavoloch.[17]

The treaty with the Ottomans began a period of peace that was much needed for the repair of the country and strengthening of the royal authority. Sobieski managed to reform the Polish army completely.

battle-axes, and the Polish cavalry adopted hussar and dragoon formations.[26] Sobieski also greatly increased the number of cannon and introduced new artillery tactics.[26]

Sobieski wanted to conquer

Prussia defeated the Swedish invasion, and Sobieski's plans for the Commonwealth's own military campaign against Prussia was opposed by Commonwealth magnates, many of them taking the Prussian side.[17][22][25][27][28] Backed by Brandenburg and Austria, internal enemies of Sobieski even planned to dethrone him and elect Charles of Lorraine.[27]

Sobieski defeats the Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, by Martino Altomonte

The French-Prussian treaty of 1679 meant that Sobieski lost the major foreign ally for his planned campaign against Prussia; consequently, he started to distance himself from the pro-French faction, which, in turn, resulted in the cooling down of the Polish-French relations. During the Sejm of 1683, the French ambassador was expelled for involvement with a plan to dethrone Sobieski, which definitely marked the end of the Polish-French alliance.[27] At the same time Sobieski made peace with the pro-Habsburg faction and started to gravitate towards an alliance with Austria.[27][28] This did not end the existence of strong internal opposition to Sobieski; however, it changed a number of allegiances, and further opposition was temporarily weakened through the king's successful political maneuvering, including granting the Grand Hetman office to one of the opposition's chief leaders, Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski.[27][29]

Polish coin minted during John III Sobieski reign, c. 1682

Conscious that Poland lacked allies and risked war against most of its neighbours (a situation similar to the Deluge), Sobieski allied himself by 1683 with Leopold I, of the Holy Roman Empire.[27] Both sides promised to come to one's another aid if their capitals were threatened.[22] The alliance was signed by royal representatives on 31 March 1683 and ratified by the Emperor and Polish parliament within weeks.[30] Although aimed directly against the Ottomans and indirectly against France, it had the advantage of gaining internal support for the defense of Poland's southern borders.[27] This was a beginning of what would become the Holy League, championed by Pope Innocent XI to preserve Christendom.[31]

Meantime, in the spring of 1683, royal spies uncovered Ottoman preparations for a military campaign. Sobieski feared that the target might be the Polish cities of

Lwów and Kraków.[13] To counteract the threat, Sobieski began the fortification of the cities and ordered universal military conscription.[13] In July, the Austrian envoy asked for Polish assistance.[32] Soon afterward, the Polish army started massing for an expedition against the Ottomans, and in August was joined by Bavarians and Saxon allies under Charles of Lorraine.[30][32]

Battle of Vienna

Main article: Battle of Vienna
Victorious John III Sobieski at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, equestrian portrait by Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter

Sobieski's greatest success came in 1683, with his victory at the

husaria cavalry along with Austrians and Germans in a massive charge down the hillside. Soon, the Ottoman battle line was broken and the Ottoman forces scattered in disarray.[34] At 5:30 pm, Sobieski entered the deserted tent of Kara Mustafa and the Battle of Vienna ended.[30][32]

The Pope and other foreign dignitaries hailed Sobieski as the "Savior of Vienna and Western European civilization."[35] 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!'"[36]

Sobieski sending message of victory to the Pope after the Battle of Vienna, by Jan Matejko, 1880, Vatican Museums

The war against the Ottomans was not yet over, and Sobieski continued the campaign with the Battle of Párkány on 7–9 October.[37] After early victories, the Polish found themselves a junior partner in the Holy League, gaining no lasting territorial or political rewards.[37] The prolonged and indecisive war also weakened Sobieski's position at home.[37] For the next four years Poland would blockade the key fortress at Kamenets, and Ottoman Tatars would raid the borderlands. In 1691, Sobieski undertook another expedition to Moldavia, with slightly better results, but still with no decisive victories.[37]

Later years and death

Although the King spent much time on the battlefields, which could suggest a good state of health, towards the end of his life he became seriously and increasingly ill.[38]

King John III Sobieski died in

Augustus II.[42]

Legacy and significance

Portrayal of Sobieski's royal crown, Gdańsk

Sobieski is remembered in Poland as a "hero king", victor at Vienna who defeated the Ottoman threat, an image that became particularly well recognized after his story was told in many works of 19th-century literature.[43] In the Polish Biographical Dictionary he is described as "an individual above his contemporaries, but still one of them"; an oligarch and a magnate, interested in personal wealth and power.[43] His ambitions for the most part were instilled in him by his beloved wife, whom he undoubtedly loved more than any throne (when being forced to divorce her and marry the former Queen as a condition to gain the throne, he immediately refused the throne) and tended to obey, at times blindly.[44][45]

He failed to reform the ailing Commonwealth, and to secure the throne for his heir.[43] At the same time, he displayed high military prowess, he was well educated and literate, and a patron of science and arts. He supported the astronomer Johannes Hevelius, mathematician Adam Adamandy Kochański and the historian and poet Wespazjan Kochowski. His Wilanów Palace became the first of many palaces that would dot the lands of the Commonwealth over the next two centuries.[43]

Gallery

Family

Sobieski and his sons

On 5 July 1665, he married the widow of

Marie Casimire Louise de la Grange d'Arquien (1641–1716), of Nevers
, Burgundy, France. Their children were:

Royal titles

  • Official title (in Latin): Ioannes III, Dei Gratia rex Poloniae, magnus dux Lithuaniae, Russiae, Prussiae, Masoviae, Samogitiae, Livoniae, Smolensciae, Kijoviae, Volhyniae, Podlachiae, Severiae, Czernichoviaeque, etc.[46]
  • Official title (in Polish): Jan III, z łaski Bożej, król Polski, wielki książę litewski, ruski, pruski, mazowiecki, żmudzki, kijowski, wołyński, podlaski i czernichowski, etc.
  • English translation: John III,
    Podlasie, Severia, and Chernihiv
    , etc.

Literary references

  • Florence in 1684.[48]
  • the first known book review journal Nouvelles de la république des lettres (News from the Republic of Letters), edited and largely written by the Protestant philosopher Pierre Bayle, included a number of works about King Sobieski's victory in its 1st volume:[49] an address to the King (pp. 179–180), Motet Dramatique ou Oratoire (pp. 181–182), Paralelle de Jules Cesar et du Roi de Pologne ("Venit, vidit, vicit..." (pp. 183–185)[50]
  • William Wordsworth wrote on February 4, 1816, and published the same year among the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty"[51] (or "Poems dedicated to Independence and Liberty"[52]) his "Siege of Vienna Raised by John Sobieski", which was his take on da Falicaia's ode to Sobieski's victory, about which Wordworth wrote, "This, and his other poems on the same occasion [of Sobieski's raising the siege of Vienna], are superior perhaps to any lyrical pieces that contemporary events have ever given birth to, those of the Hebrew Scriptures only excepted.—W. W. (1816 and 1820.)"

Popular culture

When he turned to go back to the camp, he discovered that there was another man up on this hill, a stone's throw away: some kind of monk or holy man, perhaps, as he was dressed in a rough sackcloth robe, with no finery. But then the bloke whipped out a sword. It was not one of your needle-thin rapiers, such as fops pushed at each other in the streets of London and Paris, but some kind of relic of the Crusades, a two-handed production with a single crossbar instead of a proper guard—the sort of thing Richard the Lionhearted might've used to slay camels in the streets of Jerusalem. This man went down on one knee in the dirt, and he did it with verve and enthusiasm. You see your rich man kneeling in church and it takes him two or three minutes, you can hear his knees popping and sinews creaking, he totters this way and that, creating small alarums amongst the servants who are gripping his elbows. But this brute knelt easily, even lustily if such a thing were possible, and facing toward the city of Vienna, he planted his sword in the ground so that it became a steel cross. The morning light was shining directly into his grizzled face and glinting from the steel of the blade and glowing in some indifferent colored jewels set into the weapon's hilt and crossbar. The man bowed his head and took to mumbling in Latin. The hand that wasn't holding the sword was thumbing through a rosary—Jack's cue to exit stage right. But as he was leaving he recognized the man with the broadsword as King John Sobieski.

— Neal Stephenson, King of the Vagabonds, chapter "The Continent"

See also

References

  1. ISBN 83-01-00392-8
    .
  2. ISBN 978-81-7268-144-9
    .
  3. ISBN 978-1-906787-39-4
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 90-429-1298-7
    .
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Red. (Eds.), Jan III Sobieski, p. 413
  6. ^ J.B. Morton. Sobieski, King of Poland. pp. 30–31.
  7. ^ Tindal Palmer 1815, p. 5
  8. ISBN 0-295-98093-1
    .
  9. ^ Tindal Palmer 1815, p. 7
  10. ^ Tindal Palmer 1815, pp. 12–13
  11. ^ Tindal Palmer 1815, p. 20
  12. The Jamestown Foundation. p. 24. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 21 October 2013.
  13. ^
    ISBN 978-1-84603-231-8
    .
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i Red. (Eds.), Jan III Sobieski, p. 414
  15. ^ Tindal Palmer 1815, pp. 23–24
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i Red. (Eds.), Jan III Sobieski, p. 415
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Red. (Eds.), Jan III Sobieski, p. 416
  18. ^
    ISBN 978-1-135-92414-0
    .
  19. ISBN 978-1-135-18965-5
    .
  20. ISBN 978-1-61673-403-9
    .
  21. ISBN 978-0-521-04544-5
    .
  22. ^
    ISBN 978-1-135-92414-0
    .
  23. ^
    ISBN 978-1-00-128802-4
    .
  24. ^
    ISBN 0-520-02752-3
    .
  25. ^
    ISBN 978-1-00-128802-4
    .
  26. ^
    ISBN 83-11-08275-8
    .
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i Red. (Eds.), Jan III Sobieski, p. 417
  28. ^
    ISBN 978-1-00-128802-4
    .
  29. ISBN 978-1-00-128802-4
    .
  30. ^
    ISBN 978-0-87169-192-7
    .
  31. ISBN 978-1-00-128802-4
    .
  32. ^
    ISBN 978-1-00-128802-4
    .
  33. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4628-8082-9
    .
  34. ISBN 978-1-4628-8082-9
    .
  35. ISBN 978-0-7166-0107-4
    .
  36. ^ Mizwa, Stephen Paul (1942). Great Men and Women of Poland. New York: Macmillan. p. 103.
  37. ^ a b c d Red. (Eds.), Jan III Sobieski, p. 418
  38. ^ a b Red. (Eds.), Jan III Sobieski, p. 419
  39. ^ FM., RMF. "Kto przewiózł trumnę Marysieńki Sobieskiej do Polski?".
  40. ^ "Poland.Church of the Transfiguration (Kościół Przemienienia Pańskiego)".
  41. ^ "English: Sarcophagus with the heart of Jan III Sobieski in the Capuchin church in Warsaw". 15 May 2018.
  42. ISBN 978-1-00-128802-4
    .
  43. ^ a b c d Red. (Eds.), Jan III Sobieski, p.420
  44. ISBN 9781001288024
    .
  45. ^ Drohojowska, Countess Antoinette Joséphine Françoise Anne; Salvandy, Achille (Count.) (1856). Love of Country, or Sobieski and Hedwig. Compiled and translated from the French (of N. A. de Salvandy, the Countess Drohojowska, etc.) by Trauermantel. Crosby, Nichols, and company. pp. 87–88.
  46. ^ Ignacy Zagórski, Edward Rastawiecki (baron) (1845). Monety dawnej polski jakoteż prowincyj i miast do niéj niegdy należacych: z trzech ostatnich wieków zebrane (in Polish). S.H. Merzbach. p. 75.
  47. ^ "Treccani – la cultura italiana | Treccani, il portale del sapere".
  48. ^ Canzoni in occasione dell'assedio, e liberatione di Vienna ([Reprod.]) / Di Vincenzio da Filicaia. 1684.
  49. ^ "Nouvelles de la republique des lettres". 1684.
  50. ^ Jerzy Starnawski, Łacińska scenka dramatyczna ku czci Jana III Sobieskiego na łamach 'Nouvelles de la Republique des Lettres' /1684/, Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Pedagogicznej w Bydgoszczy. Studia filologiczne 1983 z. 18.
  51. ^ The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, Vol. VI (of 8). William Knight (ed.). Macmillan and Co. 1896. p. 110.
  52. ^ John Frederick Wyatt, "Wordsworth and the Geologists: A Correlation of Influences". 1991. pp. 292–293

Bibliography

  • Tindal Palmer, Alicia (1815), Authentic memoirs of John Sobieski, King of Poland, Printed for the author; and sold by Longman and Co
  • Red. (Eds.) (1962–1964). "Jan III Sobieski". Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). Vol. X.

Further reading

External links

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John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski
Sobieski
Born: 17 August 1629 Died: 17 June 1696
Regnal titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Michael I
Grand Duke of Lithuania

1674–1696 		Vacant
Title next held by
Augustus II
Political offices
Vacant
Title last held by
Stefan Czarniecki
Field Crown Hetman of Poland

1666–1667 		Succeeded by
Dymitr Wiśniowiecki
Vacant
Title last held by
Stanisław "Rewera" Potocki
Great Crown Hetman of Poland

1667–1674
Preceded by Great Marshal of the Crown of Poland
1667–1674 		Succeeded by
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