He was the son of Franciszek Stefan Sapieha, father of Piotr Paweł Sapieha and
Paweł Sapieha. A supporter of
Stanisław Leszczyński, he took part in many battles of the
Great Northern War.
Charles XII of Sweden considered him a good commander, and influenced his relative,
Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Younger, to pass the grand hetman post to him. He defeated
Grzegorz Antoni Ogiński at the battle of
Lachowce, but in 1709, after the Russian victory of Swedes at
Battle of Poltava, he surrendered to
Augustus II the Strong and was forced to abandon his
hetmanship. In 1716, he joined the anti-
Saxon Tarnogród Confederation. In the last years of his life he became a supporter of the
Russian Empire, in particular, of
Catherine I of Russia, for which in 1726 he was rewarded with a rank of
field marshal, and in 1727,
governor-general of
Saint Petersburg (
Saint Petersburg Governorate) and
Ingria. == References ==