Sobieski Ian: government and politics

Jan Sobieski, whose biography (short) is the subject of this review, was a Polish king, a Lithuanian prince, and also held a number of important political and administrative posts and posts. He also became famous as a talented military commander, who won victories over the Tatars, the Turks. The Polish ruler kept the whole kingdom for a while and did a lot to strengthen the supreme power, at least for the time of his reign.

Some facts of life

Sobieski Ian was born in 1629 in a castle near the city of Lviv. He came from a middle-family family, whose representatives, however, managed to break out into the upper circles through successful and profitable marriages. The future king received an excellent education at Krakow University. He traveled a lot with his brother in Western European countries, where he learned several languages.

He is considered one of the most educated monarchs in the Polish-Lithuanian dynasty. Sobieski Ian went to the delegation to the Ottoman Empire, where he got acquainted with the structure of this state and learned the Turkish language. In 1655, during the Swedish invasion of the country, first sided with the pro-Swedish party. However, soon passed to the side of the lawful king and fought with him.

Marriage

In 1665 he married Marisenka Zamoyskaya - a Frenchwoman who was at the court of King Louis XIV. The girl counted on the fact that her husband would take the Polish throne. And she suggested using French help for this. She promised the government of her country that, in the event of an alliance with her husband, the latter would assist the king in the fight against his longtime adversaries, the Habsburgs.

Success

Sobieski Ian at that time claimed to be a Polish ruler. To do this, he had chances: in 1668 he became a great hetman - a position that is very important in the state-administrative structure of Poland. However, then he failed to achieve his goal, since the nobility preferred to place another prince - his protege - on this place.

However, very soon Sobieski Jan perfectly established himself as a talented military commander. In the 1660s he repulsed the invasion of the Tatars, in 1673 he won a brilliant victory over the rounds at the Battle of Khotin. The latter circumstance gave him the popularity, which, together with the French gold, contributed to his elevation, and subsequently election to the Polish king.

Foreign policy

Jan III Sobieski, the main task of his reign saw the return of the Podolsk lands to the Polish state. The fact is that in this area many representatives of the szlachta had their possessions. Therefore, the loss of territories had a very negative impact not only on the economic, but also on the socio-political situation.

In 1675 he signed a secret alliance with the French government, which, however, pursued different goals. It was interested in stopping military operations against the Ottoman Empire, concentrating on combating its main enemy, the Habsburgs. This position caused displeasure in Poland, which the French ruler regarded only as a means to fight in the international arena. Therefore, King Jan Sobieski went on a break with Versailles and on rapprochement with the Austrian authorities to fight the common enemy - the Turks. The treaty was signed in 1683. And he expected mutual help in the attack.

A Major Victory

In the same year, the Polish king, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, hurried to the capital of the Austrian state to help the ally in repulsing another Turkish attack. He brought his own armed forces with him, and the united army, nevertheless, was smaller than the Turkish one. However, it was in this battle that Sobieski's generalship talent especially manifested itself, who took command of the common forces and defeated the Turks.

He also made an attempt to liberate the Hungarian territories. However, here he did not succeed. At the same time, contradictions began between him and the Austrian ruler. The fact is that the king wanted to expand the borders of the Commonwealth to the Black Sea borders, but his campaigns ended in failure.

The last years of government

Another landmark event of his reign was the signing of "Eternal Peace" with Russia in 1686. The king went to this treaty in order to jointly fight against the Ottomans. One of the most important directions in his policy was the desire to make Poland a strong centralized state.

He wanted to secure the throne for his successor son, but he met opposition from France and England. Those were not interested in the appearance on the European continent of a new strong power. Sobieski also contributed to the strengthening of the Polish army, strengthening it with Lithuanian forces. However, these measures did not lead to the desired result. And the king died in 1696 in Warsaw in the midst of civil strife.