Youth , the birthplace of John Sobieski John Sobieski was born on 17 August 1629, in
Olesko, now in
Ukraine, then part of the
Ruthenian Voivodeship in the
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland,
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to a renowned
noble family
de Sobieszyn Sobieski of
Janina coat of arms. His father,
Jakub Sobieski, was the Voivode of
Ruthenia and
Castellan of
Kraków; his mother,
Zofia Teofillia Daniłowicz was a granddaughter of
Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski. After finishing his studies, John and his brother
Marek Sobieski left for western Europe, where he spent more than two years travelling. They visited
Leipzig,
Antwerp,
Paris,
London,
Leiden, and
The Hague. Both brothers returned to the Commonwealth in 1648. Upon receiving the news of the death of King
Władysław IV Vasa and the hostilities of the
Khmelnytsky Uprising, they volunteered for the army. They both fought in the
siege of Zamość. John was promoted to the rank of
pułkownik and fought with distinction in the
Battle of Berestechko. In 1653, he voluntarily spent time as a hostage in the Crimean Tatar capital of
Bakhchysarai. A promising commander, John was sent by King
John II Casimir Vasa as one of the envoys in the diplomatic mission of Mikołaj Bieganowski to the
Ottoman Empire. There, Sobieski learned the
Tatar language and the
Turkish language and studied Ottoman military traditions and tactics. During the
three-day-long battle of Warsaw of 1656, Sobieski commanded a regiment of 2,000 men of
Tatar cavalry. He took part in a number of engagements over the next two years, including the
Siege of Toruń in 1658. He participated in the Sejm of 1665, and after some delays, accepted the prestigious office of the
Marshal of the Crown on 18 May that year. The court faction called openly for confiscation of his estates and dismissal from office, and declared him an "enemy of the state". 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. Sobieski became a king of a country devastated by almost half a century of constant war. 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. 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. At the beginning of his reign, however, the Polish state was in dire fiscal straits and faced military threats to the north. King
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. Sobieski also greatly increased the number of cannon and introduced new artillery tactics. Regaining control of this autonomous province was in the Commonwealth's best interest, and Sobieski also hoped for it to become part of his family domain. 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. 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. 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. 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. men (including 22,000,–27,000 Poles At 5:30 pm, Sobieski entered the deserted tent of
Kara Mustafa Pasha and the Battle of Vienna ended. 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!" The war against the Ottomans was not yet over, and Sobieski continued the campaign with the
Battle of Párkány on 7–9 October. After early victories, the Poles found themselves a junior partner in the Holy League, gaining no lasting territorial or political rewards. King John III Sobieski died in
Wilanów,
Poland on 17 June 1696 from a sudden heart attack. although his heart is interred separately in the Church of the Transfiguration in
Warsaw, Poland. He was succeeded by
Augustus II the Strong. == Legacy and significance ==