Jan Piotr Sapieha (English: ''John Peter Sapieha'', 1569–1611) was a Polish-Lithuanian

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 ...

, general, politician, diplomat,

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of Uświat county, member of the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and a skilled commander of the Polish troops stationing in the

Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...

. Sapieha was a participant of the

Polish-Swedish War This is a List of wars between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and 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 ...

– he brought a private

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of 100

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 commanded the right wing, consisting of 400 winged

hussars A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

and mounted 700 Cossack, of the Polish-Lithuanian army during the famous Battle of Kircholm in 1605. He also participated in the

Polish–Muscovite War (1605–18) Polish–Muscovite War can refer to: * Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars * Polish–Muscovite War (1605–18) * Smolensk War (1631–34) * Russo-Polish War (1654–67) {{Disambiguation ...

, where he commanded the failed siege of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra in 1608 and later fought anti-Polish Muscovite forces near Moscow, led by Prokopy Lyapunov. He died suddenly on 15 October, during the siege of the

. Known for his ruthlessness towards the Russian peoples, he was nicknamed ''Pan Hetman'', literally meaning Mr General.

Biography

Jan Piotr was born in 1569 as the son of Anna Chodkiewicz and Paweł Sapieha. He firstly studied at the

University of Vilnius Vilnius University (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a Public university, public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher e ...

(up to 1587) and then at the

University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

. After returning from abroad he accompanied his father in an expedition against the

Tartars Tartary (Latin: ''Tartaria''; ; ; ) or Tatary () was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bounded by the Caspian Sea, the Ural Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and the northern borders of China ...

and

Vlachs Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula ...

. In 1600 he became a member of the parliament from the district of

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

. Despite an initial refusal to accept the offer of Krzysztof Mikołaj "the Thunderbolt" Radziwiłł, he took part in the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

(1601–1605) and on 5 March 1603, his regiments distinguished themselves in the Battle of Rakibor, under the command of

Jan Karol Chodkiewicz Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (; 1561 – 24 September 1621) was a Polish–Lithuanian identity, Polish–Lithuanian military commander of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, who was from 1601 Field Hetman of Lithuania, and from 1605 Grand Hetman of Lit ...

. He also participated in the victorious Battle of Weissenstein (25 September 1604), where the Polish army besieging the city and crushed the Swedish forces. In recognition for his merits, Sapieha was given the temporary command of the Lithuanian army camp during the absence Chodkiewicz at

Dorpat Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

, and in the battle of Kircholm he commanded the whole left side of the Lithuanian army. The regiment commanded by Sapieha miraculously endured one of the main counter-attacks of the Swedish army, led personally by King

Charles IX of Sweden Charles IX, also Carl (; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I () and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric XIV and of ...

. The participation in the Livonian campaign earned him great fame among the Polish nobility – for this, in 1606, Sapieha received a title, the county of Uświat and the parliament, in 1607, awarded him with 10 000

Polish złoty The złoty (alternative spelling: ''zloty''; Polish: ''polski złoty'', ;The nominative plural, used for numbers ending in 2, 3 and 4 (except those in 12, 13 and 14), is ; the genitive plural, used for all other numbers, is abbreviation: z� ...

s. During the infamous and bloody Zebrzydowski Rebellion against king

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

, despite the initial sympathy for the rebels, eventually Sapieha supported the side of the king and continued to favour his royal policies. In August 1607, previously being persuaded by Lew Sapieha, he offered his services to False Dimitri. Under Dimitri he captured the city of Wiaźma and successfully crushed the Vasili IV Shuysky troops on 2 October 1608. In 1609, he commanded the unresolved battle near Kalyazin on the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

river. After the start of king Sigismund's Moscow expedition in 1605 (known as the Dimitriads), initially Sapieha preferred to live in peace and not support the monarch at this occasion, however, under the heavy pressure of the Polish nobility and the army, he was not able to refuse and decided to aid the king in the battles on Russian territory. On 25 June 1610 the gathered troops chose Jan Piotr Sapieha as their

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, ...

, who would replace the previously deceased General Różyński. In July, he sent Sapieha to Moscow where, on 27 August he signed an agreement with the

Boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

that deposed False Dimitri and instead give the tsarist crown to Prince Władysław (future king Władysław IV). After the death of Dmitri, in December 1610, Sapieha unsuccessfully tried to capture the village of

Kaluga Kaluga (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Its population was 337,058 at the 2021 census. Kaluga's most famous residen ...

, however, he was more successful in capturing the town of Peremyszl later on. From January to March 1611 he led the negotiations with the boyars and hoped to either weaken the position of the king's troops favoured, supported and personally commanded by the great Hetman

Stanisław Żółkiewski Stanisław Żółkiewski (; 1547 – 7 October 1620) was a Polish people, Polish szlachta, nobleman of the Lubicz coat of arms, a magnate, military commander, and Chancellor (Poland), Chancellor of the Polish Crown in the Polish–Lithuanian C ...

, or place himself on the Russian throne. On 27 March 1611 the king, worried about his "popularity" among the military commanders in the East, promised Sapieha payment and salaries in order to receive more troops. Eventually the monarch gained the trust of the Hetman. Jan Piotr joined him on 8 May, and on 18 June they arrived in Moscow; however, he was displeased and somewhat refused to fight that besieged the

. Demoralized by the lack of paid salaries and of poor hygienic conditions in the camps, the Polish soldiers fell into mental apathy and immediately stopped fighting. On 15 September Sapieha became seriously ill and was transferred to the central Kremlin palace, where he died on 15 October 1611.

Marriage and issue

Jan Piotr married Zofia Weiher h. Weiher and had nine children. Among others: * Andrzej Stanisław Sapieha, castellan of Troki and

Wilno Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, married Anna Heidenstein *

Paweł Jan Sapieha Paul John Sapieha () (1609–1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman (szlachcic). Sapieha became a Hussar Rotmistrz in 1633, courtier in 1635, Obozny of Lithuania in 1638, Podstoli of Lithuania in 1645, voivode of the Vitebsk Voivodeshi ...

, married firstly Zofia Zienowicz and secondly Barbara Kopeć * Krystyna Sapieha, married firstly

Voivode of Rawa Rawa Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland since 15th century until the partitions of Poland in 1795. It was part of the Greater Poland Province. Together with the Plock and Masovian V ...

and

Łęczyca Łęczyca (; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, ; ; ) is a town of inhabitants in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the Łęczyca County. Łęczyca is a capital of the historical Łęczyca Land. Or ...

Stanisław Radziejowski h. Junosza and secondly Voivode of Inowrocław Krzysztof Gembicki h. Nałęcz

Legacy

Jan Piotr Sapieha is one of the personas on the famous painting by

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...

: '' Kazanie Skargi'' (The Sermon of Piotr Skarga). Polish actor

Michał Żebrowski Michał Jan Żebrowski (born 17 June 1972) is a Polish actor and singer. He was the first actor to portray Geralt of Rivia, in the movie '' The Hexer''. Filmography Film Television Video games Discography Studio albums Other Music vi ...

portrayed Hetman Kybowsky (character loosely based on Jan Piotr Sapieha) in the 2007 Russian historical film ''

1612 Events January–March * January 6 – Axel Oxenstierna becomes Lord High Chancellor of Sweden. He persuades the Riksdag of the Estates to grant the Swedish nobility the right and privilege to hold all higher offices of governme ...

''.

Works

* ''Dzieje Marsa krwawego i sprawy odważne, rycerskie przez Wielmożnego Pana Jego Mości Pana Jana Piotra Sapiehę starostę uświadzkiego w monarchii moskiewskiej od roku 1608 do roku 1612 sławnie odprawowane.'' (diary)

Ancestors

Bibliography

* ''Moskwa w rękach Polaków. Pamiętniki dowódców i oficerów garnizonu w Moskwie.'' Marek Kubala and Tomasz Ściężor. Kraków: Platan, 2005 . .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapieha, Jan Piotr 1569 births 1611 deaths Polish nobility Jan Piotr Polish people of the Polish–Russian War (1609–1618)