Moldavian Magnate Wars

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The Moldavian Magnate Wars, or Moldavian Ventures,

Habsburgs and the Ottoman Empire for domination and influence over the principality
.

The Magnate Wars (1593–1617)

Causes

Chancellor Jan Zamoyski

Prince or Voivode) Ieremia Movilă
(Jeremi Mohyła), and, after his death in 1606, they supported his descendants.

The Commonwealth at its greatest extent (c. 1630)

Around the end of the 16th century, relations between the Commonwealth and the Ottomans, never too cordial, further worsened with the growing number of independent actions by

Tatar
raids (and vice versa). The vicious circle of chaos and retaliations often turned the entire south-eastern Commonwealth border into a low-level warzone.

1593–1595

Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski participated in the Moldavian campaign and the battle of Cecora of 1595, near the Prut river.

In 1593, war between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburgs started. In 1594 a very strong Tatar raid, carried out by about 20,000–30,000 men led by the

Stefan Batory (István Báthory), had strengthened Habsburg influence in Moldavia after setting Ștefan Răzvan (Stefan Rozwan) on the Moldavian throne. Ștefan Răzvan was a Roma from Wallachia (his father had been an Ottoman Muslim Roma, therefore not a slave) and had married a Moldavian noblewoman (his story was the basis of a play by 19th-century Romanian writer and historian Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu
).

A pro-Polish hospodar was mostly tolerated by the

Mihai Viteazul (Polish: Michał Waleczny), prince of Wallachia
, the Ottomans didn't look too favourably at the Commonwealth's meddling.

In 1595 Zamoyski, persuaded by Moldavian refugees, decided to intervene. The Commonwealth forces (numbering ~7,000–8,000 soldiers) under hetman Jan Zamoyski crossed the

Cecora at Prut river, withstood a three-day siege (17–20 October), and managed to obtain an agreement with the Ottoman Empire that recognized Movilă as hospodar (Treaty of Cecora). Moldavia became the Commonwealth's vassal and paid tribute to Constantinople at the same time (this is known as condominium—territory under rule of two sovereign powers). Not satisfied with this, previous hospodar Ștefan Răzvan invaded Moldavia, but his troops were crushed by Zamoyski and Răzvan was impaled
by Movilă.

1599–1601

Mihai Viteazul, Voivode of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia

In 1599, Mihai Viteazul, wishing to secure his back after Sigismund Báthory's departure from the Transylvanian throne,

Andrew Cardinal Báthory (Andrzej Batory), who lost his life fleeing after battle, and took over Transylvania as governor on behalf of the Habsburg emperor Rudolf II. Later on, Mihai defeated Ieremia Movilă and took control over almost all of Moldavia, with the exception of Khotyn (Chocim or Hotin, a castle and a city on the right bank of the Dniester), which remained in Polish hands. Mihai used titles of voivode of Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia for the first time in May 1600. He tried to get recognition from Emperor Rudolf II, offered his vassalage to the Commonwealth, and organized an anti-Turkish league. After King Sigismund III Vasa (Zygmunt III Waza) refused, Mihai sent his troops to take over Pokucie (an area Moldavians were claiming to be theirs) but Commonwealth hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski
met them with resistance.

The three Principalities and the territories united under Mihai's authority for four months.

In 1600 Zamoyski and hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz gathered Commonwealth forces, returning to Moldavia, where they fought Mihai. Zamoyski defeated Mihai Viteazul near Bucov (Bukova) in Wallachia, on the Teleajen river, near present-day Ploiești, restored Ieremia Movilă to the throne, and helped his brother Simion Movilă to gain the throne in Bucharest, thus temporarily extending the sphere of Commonwealth influence south all the way to the Danube. In the meantime, Mihai Viteazul traveled to Vienna to ask for the Emperor's help, in exchange for assisting the Habsburgs against the Ottomans and Imperial influence over Moldavia, previously aligned with the Commonwealth. The Emperor promised help and in 1601 sent an army led by Giorgio Basta that was to accompany Mihai on the way back. Upon their arrival in Transylvania, after the joint victory at Gurăslău against the prince of Transylvania, Sigismund Báthory, general Basta assassinated Mihai Viteazul during the night, on the field of Câmpia Turzii (south of Cluj), effectively taking Transylvania under the Emperor's lead.

Captain John Smith, the famous leader of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia and the Pocahontas story, was serving Sigismund Báthory as a mercenary. Smith was captured, and sold to Crimean Tatar slave traders. He later escaped to Poland before continuing on to England, from where he sailed to America
in 1607.

The Commonwealth was unable to capitalize on its gains, as the

royal Hungary. This ended direct war between the Ottomans and the Habsburgs for decades, but the two powers still struggled for influence in the region that constitutes modern-day Romania
.

1607–1613

Ieremia Movilă died in 1606. In 1607 Stefan Potocki set his brother-in-law (and son of Ieremia), Constantin Movilă (Konstanty Mohyła), on the Moldavian throne. However, Stefan Potocki was one of the pro-Habsburg magnates and Gabriel Báthory, the anti-Habsburg ruler of Transylvania, removed Constantin Movilă in 1611. The Moldavian throne now fell to Ștefan II Tomșa (Tomża).

A second intervention by Stefan Potocki (with tacit assistance from Sigismund III, but against the will of Sejm and Senate) in 1612 was a complete failure. Potocki's 7,000 strong army was defeated on 19 July in the Battle of Sasowy Róg (near Ștefănești) by troops of Tomșa and Khan Temir's Tatars of the Budjak Horde. Stefan Potocki and Constantin Movilă ended their lives in Ottoman captivity in Constantinople. A counter-raid of Tatars and Tomșa on the Commonwealth was stopped by Żółkiewski without a fight, and an agreement between Żółkiewski and Tomșa was signed in October 1612 (at Khotyn). Tomșa assured about his friendliness, that he will help to patch up conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Commonwealth and pledged allegiance to the Polish king.

In 1613, when Sigismund signed a de facto anti-Turkish defensive treaty with the Habsburgs, counting on their support for his restoration to the Swedish throne, Poland further moved into the enemy camp from the Ottoman point of view. Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski, with a show of force, induced Moldavians and Turks to compromise and signed an agreement in 1612 with Ștefan Tomșa at Khotyn.

1614–1617

In 1614

Ochakov
(Oczaków, tr:Ozi) in order to prevent future raids.

In 1615, Ieremia Movilă's widow and dukes

mercenaries, Cossacks and Moldavians loyal to Movilă. Tomșa was removed and the young Alexandru Movilă (Aleksander Mohyła) was set on the throne. But this situation was not to last: in August 1616 Iskender Pasha, beylerbey (bejlerbej) of Bosnia, defeated magnate forces on the very same spot at Sasowy Róg, with Duke Samuel Korecki and the Movilă family ending up as prisoners in Constantinople (Wiśniowiecki had died prior to imprisoning). Korecki managed to escape captivity, briefly reemerged, but was taken prisoner yet again after the defeat in the Battle of Cecora in 1620
and was strangled to death while in custody.

Again in 1616, Stefan Żółkiewski managed to cool the tensions, displaying Commonwealth military readiness and signing a new agreement with the new hospodar,

Treaty of Busza
(also known as the "Treaty of Jaruga") signed with Iskender Pasha. The treaty stated that Poland would not meddle in the internal affairs of Ottoman vassals in Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia, the Commonwealth was to prevent Cossacks from raiding lands in the Ottoman Empire, while ceding Khotyn. In return, the Turks promised to stop Tatar raids.

Prelude to the next conflict (1618–1620)

1618

However, few of the treaty provisions were ever fulfilled. The Tatar raids resumed in 1618 (or perhaps even 1617), as commanders of the

Cossack register was expanded, and the annual subsidy to Cossacks from the Crown was increased. However, Cossack raids did not cease, especially as they were encouraged by Muscovy. In July 1618, after many warnings to the Commonwealth, the young and ambitious Sultan Osman II sent a letter to King Sigismund III with the threats of a new war and the burning of Kraków. Since the Ottomans were involved in large-scale war with Persia, this was no more than a warning at the time. However, Osman planned for a war against the Commonwealth, in order to compensate for the heavy losses sustained against Persia, where, in the Ottoman–Persian Wars of 1603–1611 and 1617–1618/19, the Ottoman Empire lost the Caucasus
.

Sultan Osman II, leader of the Ottoman Empire who threatened war with Sigismund II and the burning of Kraków

In 1618, the

Protestants were supported by German and Hungarian Protestants. The Hungarians asked the then Prince of Transylvania, Gabriel Bethlen, for help and declared their wish to unite Hungary with Transylvania. Bethlen had been appointed to the office after the Sultan's removal of Gabriel Báthory (ordered to the troops of Iskender Pasha in 1613). He was anti-Polish and a loyal Ottoman vassal and had aspirations to extend his rule to Moravia, Bohemia and Silesia
. Polish hetman Stefan Żółkiewski warned Bethlen against joining the Protestant side and promised help against the Ottoman Empire; however, Bethlen answered that it was too late to change allegiances. When the fight was joined by Gabriel Bethlen on the Protestant side, his siege of Vienna threatened to extend Transylvanian rule (and thus Ottoman) to Bohemia and Silesia.

1619–20

Polish nobles (

Piast (old Polish dynasty) dukes of Silesia also supported returning their lands to the Polish realm, especially given the attractive religious tolerance
policy of the Commonwealth and the fact that the Polish western regions had been very peaceful and secure for a long time.

Sigismund III decided to help the Habsburgs and privately hired an infamous [

Karol Ferdynand (Władysław's brother) bishop of Wrocław. Neither did Habsburgs provide any help against the Ottoman Empire. The Lisowczycy crushed Transylvanian forces led by George I Rákóczi[2] (Jerzy Rakoczy) at Závada, Humenné District and Humenné (November 13[3] or 21–24,[4] sources vary; see Battle of Humenné) and started looting, plundering, killing even children and dogs (as a contemporary historian wrote), and burning Eastern Slovakia, thus forcing Bethlen to lift his siege of Vienna and try to save his own lands. Later, the Lisowczycy plagued Silesia and Bohemia and took part in the Battle of White Mountain
.

The ruler of Moldavia, another vassal of the Ottoman sultan, a hospodar of Italian origin, Gaspar Graziani (Kasper Gratiani in Polish), decided he would be better off under Polish rule and started talks with the Polish king, promising to send 25,000 men. The Polish envoy to Constantinople who arrived in April 1620, was received very coldly. Later Cossack raiding and burning of Constantinople suburbs did not help.

The Habsburgs had no qualms about repaying Sigismund's help with treachery. Their envoy actively worked against a new treaty between the Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire because the Habsburgs knew that any Polish-Ottoman conflict meant less trouble for themselves. This intrigue, coupled with Ottomans annoyance with Commonwealth pro-Habsburg actions and constant attempts by some Polish magnates to gain influence in Moldavia, caused a new war to be unavoidable. In Poland, the king and the hetmans exaggerated the danger in order to recruit more troops and raise taxes for the army. However, the nobles did not trust such measures, and could not be convinced to pay raised taxes for the army, speculating about the reasons behind the expedition. The nobles often thwarted the king's initiatives, even if these could prove to be in the interest of the country at large (including their own long-term purpose), becoming suspicious of any rise in the king's power as a potential reduction of their privileges. The status quo, which translated into their high standard of life, was generally favoured over any alternative.

Some historians say that King Sigismund decided to intervene in Moldavia because of internal problems caused mainly by the dispatch of Lisowczycy mercenaries to the Habsburg side and their conduct in war. Others point out that some nobles threatened with armed rebellion (rokosz), and, in case of a successful intervention, the king would increase his and the hetman's authority and focus noblemen's attention on external instead of internal problems. Additionally, hetman Żółkiewski, foreseeing confrontation with the Ottoman Empire, preferred to meet their troops on foreign soil.

In retrospect, this time the nobles were right about the lack of danger since neither Tatars nor Turks were ready in 1620. While the Sultan was indeed planning an expedition to Poland in 1621, this was to be done with a small contingent. However, it can be argued that the continuous policy of neglect for the military would dearly cost the Commonwealth in the coming decades.

Battle of Cecora and its aftermath (1620–21)

Main article: Polish–Ottoman War (1620–1621)

The next phase of the Ottoman-Commonwealth conflict would begin in 1620: the Cossacks' burning of Varna proved the last spark. The new young Ottoman sultan Osman II made peace with Persia and promised to burn the Commonwealth to the ground and "water his horses in the Baltic Sea". Żółkiewski's forces went deep into Moldavia to strike at Ottomans before they were ready, but a large Ottoman force had already invaded Moldavia to remove hospodar Graziani.

In early September 1620 the Royal Grand and Field Hetman's Zolkiewski and his protegee, future hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski, assembled 8,000 men and marched south. However, Graziani's contribution comprised just 600 men. At the Battle of Cecora (September 18 to October 6, 1620), on the river Prut, Zolkiewski met the 22,000-strong army of Iskender Pasha, withstanding repeated attacks during September 1620. On September 29 he ordered a retreat, and for eight difficult days discipline held despite enemy attacks. On approaching the Polish border, order in much of the army melted and the forces disintegrated on the spot. The Ottomans attacked and much of the Commonwealth army was destroyed. Zolkiewski was killed, his head sent to the Sultan as a trophy, while Koniecpolski was captured.

The following year, in 1621, an army of 100,000–160,000 Turkish soldiers led by Sultan Osman II in person advanced from

Adrianople towards the Polish frontier, but the disaster of Cecora caused the Commonwealth to mobilise a large army (of about 25,000 Poles and 20,000 Cossacks) in response. Hetman Chodkiewicz crossed the Dniester in September 1621 and entrenched himself in the fortress of Khotyn on the very path of Ottoman advance. It was here that, for a whole month (September 2 to October 9), during the Battle of Khotyn, the Commonwealth hetman held the sultan at bay, up until the first autumn snow. The deaths of his men compelled Osman to withdraw. However, the victory was to be dearly ransomed by Poland. A few days before the siege was raised, the aged grand hetman died of exhaustion in the fortress on September 24, 1621. After his death the Polish forces were led by Stanisław Lubomirski
.

Chodkiewicz wasn't the only one to die as a result. Sultan Osman himself paid the highest price for the failure of his plans. After the tides turned, the defeat and subsequent retreat of the Ottoman armies, coupled with internal matters, triggered the rebellion of janissaries in 1622, during which Osman II was murdered.

An honorable peace (

Busza, and the Commonwealth-Ottoman border was to be fairly quiet until the Polish–Ottoman War (1633–1634)
.

See also

References

  1. ^ Acta Poloniae Historica. Semper. 1975. p. 105.
  2. ^ "Homework Help and Textbook Solutions | bartleby". Archived from the original on 2005-03-08.
  3. ^ "Alafabetyczny spis bitew Polskich". edu.clk.pl. Archived from the original on 29 April 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Wirtualna Polska - Wszystko co ważne - www.wp.pl".
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