John III Sobieski becomes King of Poland

Historical Context Note

Pawel Styrna (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Ed. by Ewa M. Thompson, Rice University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.8.3: Polish Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Roman Koropeckyj (University of California, Los Angeles), Ewa M. Thompson (Rice University)

Domains

Changes of government, elections and reigns

Dates

Date of occurrence 1674-05-20-1696-06-17

Places

Poland (Location)

Resources

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John Sobieski (1629-1696) was elected King of Poland on 19 May 1674. Because of his military successes in fighting the Ottoman Empire, his reign is regarded as a period of glory regained after the decline following the destructive wars with the Cossacks, Swedes, Muscovites, and the Ottoman Turks

Sobieski's military career began with the outbreak of Bohdan Khmelnitzky's Uprising in 1648, fighting the Cossacks and Swedes. In 1666 he was nominated Crown Hetman. During the war with the Turks, Sobieski won an important victory at the Second Battle of Chocim on 11 November 1673. Owing largely to these successes, Sobieski was overwhelmingly elected king in 1674. Military operations against Turks and Tartars continued until 1676, but the Ottoman threat prevented Sobieski from fulfilling his plan

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183 words

Citation: Styrna, Pawel. "John III Sobieski becomes King of Poland". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 June 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=2635, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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