Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2015 11:08:54 GMT
Jan III, z łaski bożej, król Polski, wielki książę litewski, ruski, pruski, mazowiecki, żmudzki, kijowski, wołyński, podlaski i czernichowski, etc.
Jan was born on the 17th of August 1629, in Olesko, a small town near Lwów. His father, Jakub Sobieski, was the Wojewod of Ruthenia and Castellan of Kraków; his mother, Zofia Teofillia Daniłowicz was a granddaughter of Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski. After graduating from the Nowodworski College in Kraków in 1643, young Jan Sobieski then graduated from the philosophical faculty of the Uniwersytet Jagiellonski in 1646. After finishing his studies, together with his brother Marek Sobieski, Jan left for western Europe, where he spent more than two years travelling. They visited Leipzig, Antwerp, Paris, London, Leiden and the Hague. During that time, he met influential contemporary figures such as Louis II de Bourbon, Charles II of England and William II, Prince of Orange, and learned French, German and Italian, in addition to Latin.
He 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, he volunteered for the army, founding his own chorągiew of cavalry. He won a number of victories, and was promoted rapidly. For this reason he was sent as part of a diplomatic envoy to Constantinople, where he learned Turkish and Tatar, and studied Ottoman military tactics.
During the Swedish Deluge, he was captured, and forced to fight for Carl X Gustav, but defected back to Jan II Kazimierz Wasa.
In 1665 he was elevated to Grand Marshall of the Crown, and a year later to Field Hetman of the Crown. He won further victories against the Ottomans, and in 1676 was elected almost unanimously as King, and was crowned Jan III.
As King he was a great military reformer, abandoning pikemen, and reforming the cavalry, with a hierarchy of Husarze (Winged Hussars), Towarzystwa pancerne (Armoured companions), and creating a formal Dragoon corps. He also greatly increased the amount of artillery used, learning lessons from the Swedes in the field, and Ottomans in the siege.
The pinnacle of his reign thus far was the victory over the Ottomans at Vienna in 1683 and has since continued to exert pressure on the Ottomans in conjunction with the Empire.
Książę Jakub Ludwig Sobieski
Born 1667, Jakub Sobieski is the first son and heir to Jan III, and the significant family wealth. Born in Paris, he is named for his Godfather, Louis XIV. He fought at Vienna side by side with his father, and won acclaim in the battle, being knighted into the Order of the Golden Fleece by the Emperor. He holds the strange honour of being popular in both the Bourbon, and Habsburg Courts, and has acted as ambassador to both. He studied, like all keen minded Polish aristocrats, at the Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, and actively supports his father's agenda in the Sejm.
Pan Janusz Bogdan Habasinski
Born to a minor noble house, the Habasinscy, in 1650, Janusz showed a remarkable astuteness and was sent at only 15 to the Uniwersytet Jagiellonski to study philosophy and law. After graduating he traveled Europe, as was the custom of the age, to the Low Countries, France, and England. He became fascinated by the stories of Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin, and the Henrician reformation in England, bringing his knowlege back to Poland-Lithuania in 1674 when he inherited the family land outside Wilno and Minsk. He joined the Royal Court, supporting the administration of the realm, and helping ease the passing of the Sejms for the King through a keen understanding of the political "dark arts". He fought at Vienna as a Husarz, gaining the eye of the King. He is now the closest advisor of Jan III supporting him in the planning of his campaigns, and setting out schemes for domestic reform.h
Jan was born on the 17th of August 1629, in Olesko, a small town near Lwów. His father, Jakub Sobieski, was the Wojewod of Ruthenia and Castellan of Kraków; his mother, Zofia Teofillia Daniłowicz was a granddaughter of Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski. After graduating from the Nowodworski College in Kraków in 1643, young Jan Sobieski then graduated from the philosophical faculty of the Uniwersytet Jagiellonski in 1646. After finishing his studies, together with his brother Marek Sobieski, Jan left for western Europe, where he spent more than two years travelling. They visited Leipzig, Antwerp, Paris, London, Leiden and the Hague. During that time, he met influential contemporary figures such as Louis II de Bourbon, Charles II of England and William II, Prince of Orange, and learned French, German and Italian, in addition to Latin.
He 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, he volunteered for the army, founding his own chorągiew of cavalry. He won a number of victories, and was promoted rapidly. For this reason he was sent as part of a diplomatic envoy to Constantinople, where he learned Turkish and Tatar, and studied Ottoman military tactics.
During the Swedish Deluge, he was captured, and forced to fight for Carl X Gustav, but defected back to Jan II Kazimierz Wasa.
In 1665 he was elevated to Grand Marshall of the Crown, and a year later to Field Hetman of the Crown. He won further victories against the Ottomans, and in 1676 was elected almost unanimously as King, and was crowned Jan III.
As King he was a great military reformer, abandoning pikemen, and reforming the cavalry, with a hierarchy of Husarze (Winged Hussars), Towarzystwa pancerne (Armoured companions), and creating a formal Dragoon corps. He also greatly increased the amount of artillery used, learning lessons from the Swedes in the field, and Ottomans in the siege.
The pinnacle of his reign thus far was the victory over the Ottomans at Vienna in 1683 and has since continued to exert pressure on the Ottomans in conjunction with the Empire.
Książę Jakub Ludwig Sobieski
Born 1667, Jakub Sobieski is the first son and heir to Jan III, and the significant family wealth. Born in Paris, he is named for his Godfather, Louis XIV. He fought at Vienna side by side with his father, and won acclaim in the battle, being knighted into the Order of the Golden Fleece by the Emperor. He holds the strange honour of being popular in both the Bourbon, and Habsburg Courts, and has acted as ambassador to both. He studied, like all keen minded Polish aristocrats, at the Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, and actively supports his father's agenda in the Sejm.
Pan Janusz Bogdan Habasinski
Born to a minor noble house, the Habasinscy, in 1650, Janusz showed a remarkable astuteness and was sent at only 15 to the Uniwersytet Jagiellonski to study philosophy and law. After graduating he traveled Europe, as was the custom of the age, to the Low Countries, France, and England. He became fascinated by the stories of Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin, and the Henrician reformation in England, bringing his knowlege back to Poland-Lithuania in 1674 when he inherited the family land outside Wilno and Minsk. He joined the Royal Court, supporting the administration of the realm, and helping ease the passing of the Sejms for the King through a keen understanding of the political "dark arts". He fought at Vienna as a Husarz, gaining the eye of the King. He is now the closest advisor of Jan III supporting him in the planning of his campaigns, and setting out schemes for domestic reform.h