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 ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

, magnate, 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 ( pl, Kresy Wschodnie) or simply Borderlands ( pl, Kresy, ) was a term coined for the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic, it ...

of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the invading armies of Ottoman Turkey, Cossacks and Tatars.

Biography

Andrzej Potocki was the son of

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

Stanisław "Rewera" Potocki. In 1660 he became the Great

Chorąży Standard-bearer ( Polish: ''Chorąży'' ; Russian and Ukrainian: , ''khorunzhiy''; ; ) 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 voi ...

of the Crown and later the

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...

of Kiev Voivodship (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 ( pl, Jan II Kazimierz Waza; lt, Jonas Kazimieras Vaza; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 until his abdication in 1668 as well as titular King of Sweden from 1648 ...

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, 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 The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

at the battle of Kałusz. In 1680 Potocki was appointed the governor of Kraków and subsequently the Kraków castellan 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, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

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

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

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

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

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

. He later took part in the unsuccessful expeditions against

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

in 1685. He was also starost of

Halicz Halych ( uk, Га́лич ; ro, Halici; pl, Halicz; russian: Га́лич, Galich; german: Halytsch, ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; yi, העליטש) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the ...

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 temp ...

Leżajsk Leżajsk (; yi, ליזשענסק-Lizhensk; uk, Лежа́йськ, Lezháysʹk), officially the Free Royal City of Leżajsk ( pl, Wolne Królewskie Miasto Leżajsk), is a town in southeastern Poland with 13,871 inhabitants. It has been situated ...

, Śniatyń, 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 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

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References