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94-515: Jan Zamoyski , Polish grand crown chancellor ( kanclerz ) and military commander (grand crown hetman ), known for his opposition towards the Habsburgs, had been a vocal supporter of Commonwealth expansion in the southern direction. Since the early plans made by Commonwealth King Stefan Batory for the war against the Ottomans, Zamoyski supported them, viewing those plans as a good long-term strategy for

188-623: A Renaissance citta ideale or " ideal city " by the Italian architect Bernardo Morando . In the city, in 1595 he founded the Akademia Zamojska , the third university in the history of education in Poland . In addition to Zamość, he also funded four other towns: Szarogród , Skinderpol , Busza and Jasnogród . Zamoyski collected a significant library, and was a patron of numerous artists in his Fee Tail. Artists under his patronage included

282-635: A chorągiew of pancerni (cavalry unit) and participating in close combat on several occasions. In 1577 he married again, this time marrying Krystyna Radziwiłł, daughter of magnate Mikołaj Radziwiłł Czarny ; this made him a close ally of the Radziwiłł family , the most powerful family in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . In 1578 he received the post of the Grand Crown Chancellor . That year poet Jan Kochanowski dedicated his Odprawa Posłów Greckich ,

376-686: A Commonwealth vassal. This was seen by many as a very dangerous step because the Ottomans were preparing to place their own candidate on the Moldavian throne. Zamoyski contacted grand vizier Sinan Pasha and negotiated with the Ottoman governor on the Black Sea island of Tyahyn (near the Dnieper river) and convinced them of his peaceful intentions and that he did not want to fight with the Ottoman Empire. However,

470-516: 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. In 1594 Zamoyski once again failed to stop a Tatar incursion in the southern borders. The next year was much more successful, as in Moldavia in 1595 he was victorious in the Battle of Cecora , and helped hospodar Ieremia Movilă (Jeremi Mohyła) gain

564-510: A commendation letter from the senate of the Republic of Venice . After returning to Poland, he was appointed to the Royal Chancellery , and soon became a favorite secretary to King Sigismund II . In 1567 he commanded a royal task force, sent to remove the noble family of Starzechowscy from the royal lands they were decreed to hold illegally. Another major task he completed at that time

658-458: A doctorate in 1564. During his years abroad he converted from Calvinism to Roman Catholicism . During his education, he became active in university politics, and in 1563 he was elected the rector of the law department. Around that time he also wrote De senatu Romano , a brochure about Ancient Rome government. He returned to the Commonwealth in 1565, and was the first person to receive

752-508: 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

846-413: 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

940-547: 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

1034-632: A skilled commander in sieges, and latter events would prove him to be an equally able leader in the open field. Zamoyski gathered a significant fortune; his estates generated a revenue of over 200,000 zlotys in the early 17th century. His personal lands covered 6,445 square kilometres (2,488 sq mi), and included eleven towns and over 200 villages. He was a royal caretaker of another dozen or so cities and over 600 villages. Totaled, his personal and leased lands covered over 17,000 square kilometres (6,600 sq mi), with 23 towns and cities and 816 villages. In 1589 he succeeded in establishing

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1128-504: A stepping stone to gaining the Swedish crown, as Sigismund was plotting to cede the Polish crown to the Habsburgs in exchange for their support of his right to the Swedish throne. The new King feared the chancellor's power, but due to Commonwealth laws he was unable to dismiss him from his posts. He offered him a prestigious voivode of Kraków office, but Zamoyski declined, as if he was to accept,

1222-420: Is considered to be one of the most prominent statesmen in Polish history. 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. In his tactics, he favored sieges, flanking maneuvers, conserving his forces, and the new Western art of fortification and artillery. The war with Muscovy shown him to be

1316-435: Is mostly positive, and historian Janusz Tazbir remarked that Zamoyski's posthumous career was even more magnificent than his real one. Leśniewski, ending his recent biography of Zamoyski, concludes that he is a significant, if controversial, figure of Polish Renaissance . Zamoyski was the subject of several paintings and drawings. Most notably, he is one of the characters in two large paintings by Jan Matejko , featured on

1410-589: The Skarga's Sermon and Batory at Pskov . 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. He was responsible for much of the Polish internal and foreign policies. He

1504-863: The Black Sea almost yearly, usually attracting retaliatory 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. 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 Khan of Crimea , Ğazı II Giray (Gazi Gerej II), plundered Pokucie and moved to Hungary through mountain passes, in order to plunder Habsburg lands. Commonwealth troops gathered too late to intercept it. The Prince of Transylvania , Sigismund Báthory (Zsigmond Báthory), nephew of former Polish king Stefan Batory (István Báthory), had strengthened Habsburg influence in Moldavia after setting Ștefan Răzvan (Stefan Rozwan) on

1598-545: 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

1692-580: The Dobruja and Budjak hordes left Iskender's camp during talks. At first, Żółkiewki could not divide forces and Tatars plundered unopposed, but he met the Iskender Pasha's force near Kamianets-Podilskyi (Kamieniec Podolski). On September 28, 1618, he drove it back while enduring heavy losses. In 1617 and 1619 Żółkiewski forced Cossacks to sign new agreements ("umowa olszaniecka" and "biało-cerkiewna"). Boats were to be burnt and raids were forbidden. In exchange,

1786-481: The Jaruga River), but neither side could decide to attack, and letters between leaders had been exchanged since the start of Iskender's march. Żółkiewski had mostly magnate troops and no Cossack troops, as the Commonwealth waged war with Muscovy and with new Swedish aggression on Livonia at the same time, while the Ottomans were at war with Persia . Żółkiewski was forced to renounce all Polish claims to Moldavia through

1880-668: The Pasha ( paşa kapusu ). The building was badly damaged by fire in 1911. Today, the buildings house the Istanbul Governor's Office . "Sublime Porte" was used in the context of diplomacy by Western states, as their diplomats were received at the porte (meaning "gate"). During the Second Constitutional Era of the Empire after 1908 (see Young Turk Revolution ), the functions of the classical Divan-ı Hümayun were replaced by

1974-573: The Polish–Swedish war had just started and the majority of Commonwealth forces were desperately needed to protect Livonia (Inflanty). A year later, Simion Movilă was ousted from the Wallachian throne by local boyars who replaced him with Radu Șerban , with the consent of the Ottomans (relieved to see the Polish influence at the Danube diminish). The Commonwealth managed to retain control over Moldavia, and

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2068-668: 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

2162-659: The 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. However, few of the treaty provisions were ever fulfilled. The Tatar raids resumed in 1618 (or perhaps even 1617), as commanders of

2256-511: The Zamoyski Family Fee Tail ( ordynacja zamojska ), a de facto duchy . 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). His most prized creation was the capital of his Fee Tail, the city of Zamość , founded in 1580, built and designed as

2350-554: The Zborowski family , framed as a 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. After Báthory's death in 1586, Zamoyski helped Sigismund III Vasa gain the Polish throne , fighting in the brief civil war against the forces supporting Habsburg archduke Maximilian III of Austria . The camp supporting Sigismund

2444-564: The central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul . The name has its origins in the old practice in which the ruler announced his official decisions and judgements at the gate of his palace. This was the practice in the Byzantine Empire and it was also adopted by Ottoman Turk sultans since Orhan I . The palace of the sultan, or the gate leading to it, therefore became known as

2538-653: The "High Gate". This name referred first to a palace in Bursa , Turkey. After the Ottomans had conquered Constantinople , now Istanbul , the gate now known as the Imperial Gate ( Turkish : Bâb-ı Hümâyûn ), leading to the outermost courtyard of the Topkapı Palace , first became known as the "High Gate", or the "Sublime Porte". When Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent sealed an alliance with King Francis I of France in 1536,

2632-558: The 18th century, a new great Italian-styled office building was built just west of Topkapi Palace area, on the other side of Alemdar Caddesi (Alemdar street). This became the location of the Grand Vizier and many ministries. Thereafter, this building, and the monumental gate leading to its courtyards, became known as the Sublime Porte ( Bab-ı Ali ); colloquially it was also known as the Gate of

2726-520: The Commonwealth rule. At the same time, Tatars living under Ottoman rule were raiding the Commonwealth. However, they attacked mostly in the south-eastern areas of the Commonwealth, which were fairly sparsely inhabited, while the Cossacks were raiding the heart of the Ottoman Empire, wealthy merchant port cities just two days away from the mouth of the Dnieper river (which the Cossacks used as their main transportation route). By 1615, Cossacks had even burned

2820-598: The Commonwealth to the Central Danube . In 1600 and 1601 Zamoyski took part in the war against Sweden commanding the Commonwealth forces in Livonia (Inflanty). At the same time he was a vocal opponent of that war on the political scene. In 1600 he recaptured several strongholds from the Swedes and a year later captured Wolmar on 19 December 1601 Fellin on 16 May 1602, and Bialy Kamien on 30 September 1602. The rigours of

2914-535: 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. 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

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3008-535: The Commonwealth, and that he asked of him not to be a host to fugitives; Ahmed Pasha wrote hetman Żółkiewski asking for cooperation. Żółkiewski answered that he had already done a lot in order to curb Cossack attacks, and that most of the Cossacks raiding Ottoman lands were not the Zaporozhian Cossacks of the Commonwealth, but rather Don Cossacks (and thus Muscovy subjects). Żółkiewski's troops made another demonstration, but Ahmed Pasha did not attempt to cross

3102-639: The Commonwealth. Any policy that was against the Ottomans was also supported by the Holy See , and Pope Sixtus V strongly expressed his support for any war between the Commonwealth and the Ottomans. Three powerful magnate families from the Commonwealth, the Potockis , Koreckis and Wiśniowieckis , were related to the Moldavian Hospodar ( Prince or Voivode ) Ieremia Movilă (Jeremi Mohyła), and, after his death in 1606, they supported his descendants. Around

3196-632: The Commonwealth. Radu Mihnea pledged allegiance to the Polish king and promised not to allow the Tatars passage through his territory. However, northern and eastern wars with Sweden and Muscovy diverted the attention of the Commonwealth and strained its military might to the limit. In 1617, after yet another wave of Cossack raids, the Sultan sent a powerful force under Iskender Pasha to the Commonwealth borders. The army consisted of janissaries , Tatars and vassal troops form Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia (numbering up to 40,000). Żółkiewski met them near Busza (on

3290-416: 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

3384-499: The Cossack lifestyle required periodic hunts for glory and booty. Sometimes Cossacks just needed resources to ensure their subsistence, while on other occasions they were bribed by the Habsburgs to help ease Ottoman pressure on their borders. Also, there was widespread animosity between Cossacks and Tatars, after decades of border clashes and reciprocal looting of estates and villages. Cossacks raided Ottomans territories and their vassals near

3478-464: 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

3572-512: 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

3666-524: The French diplomats walked through the monumental gate then known as Bab-ı Ali (now Bâb-ı Hümâyûn ) in order to reach the Vizierate of Constantinople, seat of the Sultan's government. French being the language of diplomacy, the French translation Sublime Porte was soon adopted in most other European languages, including English, to refer not only to the actual gate but as a metonymy for the Ottoman Empire. In

3760-581: 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

3854-450: 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

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3948-499: The Habsburgs. During talks with Sigismund's son, Prince Władysław IV Waza , on his voyage to Silesia in mid-1619, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II , promised to allow a temporary occupation of part of Silesia by the Poles , with the possibility of incorporating those areas into Poland at a later date. Some of the Piast (old Polish dynasty) dukes of Silesia also supported returning their lands to

4042-478: The Khan of Crimea, Ğazı II Giray, reacted and entered Moldavia with about 20,000 men (but no cannons and few janissaries ). Zamoyski fortified his camp near 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

4136-566: 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,

4230-653: 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 Porte when the Commonwealth was anti-Habsburg or neutral. Therefore, when Emperor Rudolf II 's forces gained control of Moldavia, Transylvania ( Polish : Siedmiogród ) and started supporting Mihai Viteazul ( Polish : Michał Waleczny ), prince of Wallachia ,

4324-433: The Ottoman Empire. The Lisowczycy crushed Transylvanian forces led by George I Rákóczi (Jerzy Rakoczy) at Závada, Humenné District and Humenné (November 13 or 21–24, 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,

4418-526: The Ottoman Empire; this would lead to a lengthy campaign . 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. Zamoyski was dissatisfied with Sigismund's early plans to use Poland as

4512-420: 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 Dniester , defeated local opposition (while Transylvanian troops retreated to their own country) and Ottoman reinforcements, and set Ieremia Movilă on the Moldavian throne as

4606-518: The Polish crown. Later that year Zamoyski proposed a reform of the royal elections, which failed to pass the Sejm. 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

4700-477: 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

4794-451: 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 mercenary group called the Lisowczycy (name took from their founder Aleksander Józef Lisowski ), who were unemployed after

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4888-530: 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. Polish nobles ( Szlachta ) supported the Czechs (at least verbally) because the struggle of Czech and Hungarian nobles

4982-472: 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

5076-410: 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. In 1614 Sultan Ahmed I wrote Sigismund III that he was sending Ahmed Pasha to punish “those bandits”, that this was not meant as a gesture of hostility to

5170-418: The border, and settled for building new fortifications in the region of Ochakov (Oczaków, tr:Ozi) in order to prevent future raids. In 1615, Ieremia Movilă's widow and dukes Michał Wiśniowiecki and Samuel Korecki organized a third intervention, this time carried against King Sigismund's wishes. Their troops consisted of their own private troops, mercenaries , Cossacks and Moldavians loyal to Movilă. Tomșa

5264-532: The campaign, however, placed a strain on his health, and he resigned the command. 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 absolute monarchy . Later, he also opposed Sigismund's plans to intervene in the civil war plaguing Muscovy (the Time of Troubles and the Dymitriads ). He clashed with Sigismund for

5358-436: 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

5452-442: The country – the execution movement – preserving the unique constitutional and parliamentary government of the Commonwealth with the dominant role of poorer nobility ( Golden Freedom ). He was so influential and popular among the lesser nobility that he was known as the "first tribune of nobility" or "Polish Gracchus ." In that first election he was in favour of Henry de Valois (later, Henry III of France). Subsequently, he

5546-432: 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 Cossacks . From the second part of the 16th century, Cossacks started raiding the territories under Ottoman rule. The Commonwealth could not control the fiercely independent Cossacks, but was held responsible for them, since at that time they were nominally under

5640-449: The end of the wars with Muscovy ( Dymitriads ) and were plundering and terrorizing the entire region of Lithuania. Sigismund sent the Lisowczycy to aid the Habsburgs towards the end of 1619. In the end, Ferdinand did not agree to any permanent concessions in Silesia, and only made Prince Karol Ferdynand (Władysław's brother) bishop of Wrocław . Neither did Habsburgs provide any help against

5734-589: The final time during the Sejm of January 1605. Zamoyski died suddenly on 3 June 1605, due to a stroke . His fortune was inherited by his single son, Tomasz Zamoyski . The fame of Zamoyski, significance in life, endured after his death. He was praised by artists such as Szymon Starowolski and Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz , and historians, including Stanisław Staszic , Stanisław Tarnowski and Artur Śliwiński . There were also those critical of him: Hugo Kołłątaj , Józef Szujski , Michał Bobrzyński . Nonetheless, Polish historiography and culture treatment of Zamoyski

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5828-458: The first Polish tragedy , to him. He took part in the preparation for a war against Muscovy in 1579–1581, where he contributed a group of 400 or 600 mercenaries. Through he had little prior military background nor experience, he was interested in mastering the military art, and proved to be an adept learner. With Batory's support, he began filling in for some of the roles of Grand Crown Hetman Mikołaj Mielecki , particularly when Mielecki

5922-681: 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 ( Treaty of Khotyn ) was agreed, based on that at Busza , and the Commonwealth-Ottoman border was to be fairly quiet until the Polish–Ottoman War (1633–1634) . Jan Zamoyski Jan Sariusz Zamoyski ( Latin : Ioannes Zamoyski de Zamoscie ; 19 March 1542 – 3 June 1605)

6016-420: The law would require him to resign from his slightly less prestigious but more influential chancellorship. By 1590–1591 Zamoyski was seen as one of the king's staunchest opponents. 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. Despite their tensed relations, neither the king nor the chancellor wanted

6110-477: The lesser nobility, helped him regain his popularity. For the king, Zamoyski championed the case of a Polish candidate, which ended up in the marriage of Anna Jagiellon with the anti-Habsburg Stephen Bathory of Transylvania . Bathory thanked Zamoyski by granting him the office of Deputy Chancellor on 16 May 1576. He participated on Batory's side in the quelling of the Danzig rebellion in 1576–1577, sponsoring

6204-463: The limits of law instead, avoiding a war that could devastate the country, and thus curbing his own ambitions. Ottoman Porte The Sublime Porte , also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( Ottoman Turkish : باب عالی , romanized :  Bāb-ı Ālī or Babıali ; Turkish pronunciation: [baːbɯˈaːliː] ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to

6298-426: 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. The next phase of the Ottoman-Commonwealth conflict would begin in 1620:

6392-411: The nomination for the post of Grand Crown Hetman; this nomination, although uncontroversial at that time, was technically illegal . Following that he participated in the long and inconclusive Siege of Pskov , which ended with the Peace of Yam-Zapolsky in 1582. Though Zamoyski failed to capture Pskov, he drained the Russian resources, and the ongoing siege was a major reason for the final treaty, which

6486-424: The only side not to gain anything was the Habsburgs: in fact, they lost control over all of their former possessions in the region. However, the Peace of Žitava ended the Habsburg-Ottoman conflict known as the Long War , and forced the Ottomans to recognize the Habsburgs as equals, due to the former's inability to penetrate royal Hungary . This ended direct war between the Ottomans and the Habsburgs for decades, but

6580-439: The poets Jan Kochanowski and Szymon Szymonowic , and the writer and historian Joachim Bielski . Zamoyski was not a deeply religious person, and his conversion from Protestantism to Catholicism was primarily pragmatic. 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

6674-542: 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. In 1599, Mihai Viteazul, wishing to secure his back after Sigismund Báthory's departure from the Transylvanian throne, defeated the new ruler of Transylvania, Andrew Cardinal Báthory (Andrzej Batory), who lost his life fleeing after battle, and took over Transylvania as governor on behalf of

6768-540: The solution of George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach ; in both cases his decision was likely influenced by bribes or favors. 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. He further notes, critically, that with raising power and political success Zamoyski begun displaying negative qualities, such as egoism and arrogance. Zamoyski

6862-429: 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

6956-447: 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

7050-496: The throne. In 1600 he fought against Michael the Brave (Michał Waleczny, Mihai Viteazul), hospodar of Wallachia and the new Prince of Transylvania , who had conquered Moldavia a few months earlier. He defeated him on the Bukova (Bucovu) and restored Ieremia to the throne. He also helped his brother, Simion Movilă to become brief ruler of Wallachia, thus spreading the influence of

7144-414: The townships on the outskirts of Constantinople . Consecutive treaties between the Ottoman Empire and the Commonwealth called both parties to curb Cossack and Tatar activities, but they were never implemented on either side of the border. In internal agreements, pushed forward by the Polish side, the Cossacks agreed to burn their boats and stop their raiding. However, Cossack boats could be built quickly, and

7238-628: The two powers still struggled for influence in the region that constitutes modern-day Romania . 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

7332-401: The upcoming 1573 Polish–Lithuanian royal election ). However, his proposal for majority voting did not pass, which opened the process for abuses of liberum veto in the future. He was a colleague of Mikołaj Sienicki and Hieronim Ossolinski , and with them he was one of the leaders of a faction of the lesser and middle nobility ( szlachta ) in the Commonwealth, whose goal was the reform

7426-529: 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

7520-591: Was a Polish nobleman , magnate , statesman and the 1st ordynat of Zamość . He served as the Royal Secretary from 1565, Deputy 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

7614-406: Was a circuitous and clumsy counter-proposal against pro-Habsburg policy. From 1589 Zamoyski, in his role as the hetman, tried to prevent the intensifying Tatar incursions along the Commonwealth's south-eastern border, but with little success. 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

7708-403: Was highly favorable to Poland. In June 1583 Zamoyski took his third wife, Gryzelda Bathory , a relative of king Bathory himself. In May 1584 Zamoyski's men captured Samuel Zborowski , a noble whose death sentence for treason and murder had been pending for roughly a decade; shortly afterwards with Bathory's consent Zborowski was executed. This political conflict between Báthory, Zamoyski and

7802-579: 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 . In 1618, the Thirty Years' War began. Czech Protestants were supported by German and Hungarian Protestants. The Hungarians asked

7896-499: Was not present. While not campaigning, he was also instrumental in ensuring that the ongoing political support for the war continued. 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. Later that year, in August, he captured Velizh in September he participated in the siege of Velikiye Luki , and then took Zavoloc . On 11 August 1581 he received

7990-595: 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. Jan Zamoyski was born on 19 March 1542 to Stanisław Zamoyski and Anna Herburt in Skokówka . He started his education in a school in Krasnystaw but when he

8084-462: Was part of the diplomatic mission that traveled to France to finish formalities with the newly elected king. He also published a pamphlet praising the new king, and thus suffered a loss of face when Henry secretly abandoned Poland and returned to France. During the following 1575 election he was a vocal enemy of the Habsburg dynasty and its candidate , and this anti-Habsburg stance, resounding among

8178-564: Was rallied around Zamoyski, whereas Maximilian was supported by the Zborowski family. Zamoyski defended Kraków and defeated Maximilian's forces in the Battle of Byczyna in 1588. 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

8272-539: 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

8366-446: 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

8460-417: Was ruthless to those weaker than him. 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. 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

8554-448: 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, Radu Mihnea , in Braha . He was promised Moldavian mediation in patching up conflict between the Ottoman Empire and

8648-512: Was the reorganization of the Chancellery archive. In 1571 he married Anna Ossolińska; his wife and their young son died shortly afterwards, in 1572. After the extinction of the Jagiellon dynasty in 1572 during the election sejm (special session of the Commonwealth parliament) he used his influence to enforce the viritim election (meaning all nobles had the right to vote for the new king during

8742-561: Was thirteen years old he was sent to study abroad; from 1555 to 1559 he was a page at the royal court in Paris. Already at this young age he attended lectures at the Sorbonne University and Collège de France . In 1559 he briefly visited Poland, then attended the University of Strasbourg ; after a few months there he moved to University of Padua , where from 1561 he studied law and received

8836-515: Was viewed as a struggle of "free" nobility against absolutist monarchs. Nobles would not fight the Protestants, and the Sejm had even forbidden Sigismund III to send Polish armed forces as assistance to the Habsburgs. However, the king of Poland, Sigismund, was a devout Roman Catholic and a long time sympathizer of the Habsburgs. Additionally, some of the Polish magnates and szlachta hoped to get back some parts of Silesia in exchange for helping out

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