Jakub Sobieski (5 May 1590 – 23 June 1646) was a Polish

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

, parliamentarian, diarist, political activist, military leader and father of King

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 ...

. He was the son of

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 ...

and

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 ...

Marek Sobieski and Jadwiga Snopkowska.

Biography

Sobieski was educated in Kraków and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was a famed orator and parliamentarian. He participated in the military expedition ( Dymitriads) against

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in 1617-1618 (wounded during the assault of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

), and was a member of the War Council (Rada wojenna) of King Władysław IV. He took part in negotiations with

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...

in the

Truce of Deulino The Truce of Deulino (also known as Peace or Treaty of Dywilino) concluded the Polish–Russian War of 1609–1618 between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia. It was signed in the village of on 11 December 1618 and t ...

in 1618. Subsequently, he fought in the Chocim expedition against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in 1621, and the expedition against Abazy Pasa in 1633. He was one of the negotiations with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in the

Treaty of Stuhmsdorf The Treaty of Stuhmsdorf (), or Sztumska Wieś (), was a treaty signed on 12 September 1635 between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Swedish Empire in the village of Stuhmsdorf, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Poland (now Sztumska Wi ...

(Sztumska Wieś) in 1635. After his marriage to Zofia Teofillia Daniłowicz his wealth increased significantly, as Zofia brought in her inheritance after the Żółkiewski family and part of the Daniłowski family estates, including Żółkiew Castle.

Official career

He was

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

since 1617, Krajczy of the Crown since 1626, Podczaszy of the Crown since 1636,

of Belz Voivodeship since 1638 and of

Ruthenian Voivodeship The Ruthenian Voivodeship (; ; ) was a voivodeship of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1434 until the First Partition of Poland in 1772, with its center in the city of Lwów (lat. Leopolis) (modern day Lviv). Together with a number of ot ...

since 1641 and

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

since 1646.

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 ...

Trembowla Terebovlia (, ; ; ) is a small city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. Terebovlia hosts the administration of Terebovlia urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: 13,661 (2001). History Terebovlia is one of ...

Krasnystaw Krasnystaw is a town in southeastern Poland with 18,630 inhabitants (31 December 2019). It is the capital of Krasnystaw County in the Lublin Voivodeship. The town is famous for its beer festival called ''Chmielaki'' ( means hops, hop), and for i ...

, Jaworów, Stryj, Kałusz, Bar and Gniewo. Elected Deputy to seven

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

s between 1623 and 1632, as Sejm Marshal he led the ordinary Sejm in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

from 24 January to 5 March 1623 and from 27 January to 10 March 1626, the extraordinary Sejm in Warsaw from 27 June to 18 July 1628 and the Election Sejm in

from 24 September to 15 November 1632.

Character

He was considered by his contemporaries a wise and honorable person. Member of many commissions and diplomatic bodies, he often acted as a mediator or as a guardian of orphaned children. In politics, he usually supported king's plans, but was also a defender of the nobility rights and religious tolerance.

Children

* Marek became

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 ...

. * John became

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

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, ...

and King of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. * Katarzyna married Władysław Dominik Zasławski and

Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł Prince Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł (; 26 October 1625 or 26 October 1635 – 14 November 1680) was a Polish–Lithuanian noble and magnate. He is sometimes referred to as ''the first'' Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł, to distinguish ...

. * Anna Rozalia became a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

nun in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Works

During the Chocim expedition in 1621 he wrote a diary called ''Commentariorum chotinensis belli libri tres'' (Pamiętnik wojny chocimskiej - Diary of the Chocim War), which was published in 1646 in Danzig. It was used by Wacław Potocki as a basis for his epic poem, ''Transakcja wojny chocimskiej'' (''The Progress of the War of Chocim''). He authored ''Commentariorum Chotinensis belli libri tres'' (1646) and instructions for his sons journeying to Kraków (1640) and France (1645) which are seen as a prime example of liberal education of that era.

References

External links

*
Jakub Sobieski, entry from PSB

at the Wilanów Palace Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Sobieski, Jakub Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1590 births 1646 deaths Jakub Castellans of Kraków Polish people of the Polish–Russian War (1609–1618) 17th-century Polish people