Andrzej Potocki (; 1630 – 30 August 1691) was a Polish

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

, politician, general and military commander. He held a number of political and military positions and was a skilled commander and successfully protected the

Eastern Borderlands Eastern Borderlands (), often simply Borderlands (, ) was a historical region of the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic. The term was coined during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic with ...

of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the invading armies of Ottoman Turkey,

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

and Tatars.

Biography

Andrzej Potocki was the son of

Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

Stanisław "Rewera" Potocki Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, Kherson Oblast, a coastal village in Ukraine * Stanislaus County, ...

. In 1660 he became the Great

Chorąży A standard-bearer ( Polish: ''Chorąży'' ; Russian and ; , chorunžis; ) is a military rank in Poland, Ukraine and some neighboring countries. A ''chorąży'' was once a knight who bore an ensign, the emblem of an armed troops, a voivodship, a l ...

of the Crown and later the

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

Kiev Voivodship The Kiev Voivodeship (; ; ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1471 until 1569 and of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1569 until 1793, as part of Lesser Poland Province of ...

(from 1668) and voivode of Kraków Voivodship (from 1682). He distinguished himself in the battle of Khotyn, where he commanded the left wing of the royal army (1673). After the abdication of

John II Casimir John II Casimir Vasa (; ; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 to his abdication in 1668 as well as a claimant to the throne of Sweden from 1648 to 1660. He was the first son of Sigis ...

in 1668, he strongly supported the candidacy of the Tsarevich Feodor, for which he was disliked by other nobles. He was a member of the Confederation of Malcontents in 1672. He participated in the Battle of Khotyn in 1673. Potocki later was one of the electors of

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

, representing the Kiev province in 1674, although he opposed the pro-French and anti-Brandenburgian policies of the king. In 1675 he was responsible for defeating the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

at the battle of Kałusz. In 1680 Potocki was appointed the governor of Kraków and subsequently the Kraków

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

in 1682. In 1683 during an expedition to Vienna, Potocki was nominated as the chief ruler of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, while Sobieski was absent. Potocki successfully conducted warfare in the south-eastern parts of the country, known as

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

, and regained large parts of the land (including Niemirów) from the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

. For this, in 1684, he was appointed the Field Crown

. He later took part in the unsuccessful expeditions against

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

in 1685. He was also

starost Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

Halicz Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Halychyna), and the Kingdom of Galicia–V ...

Wyszogród Wyszogród is a town in central Poland, in Masovian Voivodeship, in Płock County, by the Vistula River. The population of Wyszogród was 2,793 in 2004. History The settlement dates back to the 7th century, when there was a Slavic pagan temple ...

Leżajsk Leżajsk (; ; ), officially the Free Royal City of Leżajsk (), is a town in southeastern Poland with 13,871 inhabitants. Since 1999, it has been situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and is the capital of Leżajsk County. Leżajsk is famed f ...

Śniatyń Sniatyn (, ; ; , older ; ) is a city located in Kolomyia Raion of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, in western Ukraine along the Prut river, in the historic region of Pokutia. Sniatyn hosts the administration of Sniatyn urban hromada, one of the hromadas ...

, Kołomyja, Mościsk and Medyka. After his death in 1691, Potocki was buried in the city of Stanisławów (named after his father), where he founded a new catholic collegiate church. His remains were desecrated and thrown out of the tomb, during the planned destruction of the church by

Ukrainian communists Ukrainian may refer or relate to: * Ukraine, a country in Eastern Europe * Ukrainians, an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine * Demographics of Ukraine * Ukrainian culture, composed of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian peopl ...

after 1963.

Bibliography

* Polski Słownik Biograficzny t. 27 s. 773

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potocki, Andrzej Castellans of Kraków Field Crown Hetmans Ruthenian nobility of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Andrzej Andrzej is the Polish form of the given name Andrew. Notable individuals with the given name Andrzej * Andrzej Bartkowiak (born 1950), Polish film director and cinematographer * Andrzej Bobola, S.J. (1591–1657), Polish saint, missionary and ...

Starost of Halych Starost of Leżajsk Year of birth unknown 1630 births 1691 deaths Voivodes of Kiev

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References