Aleksander Paweł Sapieha (8 September 1672 -

Vilnius 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 ...

, 4 January 1734), was a Polish-Lithuanian Prince of the

Sapieha family The House of Sapieha (; ; ; ) is a Polish-Lithuanian noble and magnate family of Ruthenian origin,Энцыклапедыя ВКЛ. Т.2, арт. "Сапегі" descending from the medieval boyars of Smolensk and Polotsk. Vernadsky, George. ...

, Marshal of the Court of Lithuania (1692) and

Grand Marshal of Lithuania Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation) ...

(1699).

Biography

Aleksander Paweł Sapieha was the son of Kazimierz Jan Sapieha and Krystyna Barbara Hlebowicz. He studied at the Collegium Hosianum in

Braniewo Braniewo () (, , Old Prussian language, Old Prussian: ''Brus''), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital of Braniewo County. Braniewo is the seco ...

and then travelled in Europe. He returned to Poland at the end of 1689. In 1691 he married Maria Christina de Béthune, a niece of Polish Queen

Marie Casimire Sobieska Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien (, ; 28 June 1641 – 30 January 1716), known also by the diminutive form "Marysieńka", was a French noblewoman who became the queen consort of Poland and grand duchess consort of Lithuania from 1674 ...

. He and his wife had three sons and one daughter Ludvika Maria, who married

Antoni Michał Potocki Antoni Michał Potocki (died 11 April 1766) was the Lieutenant-General of the Crown Army of Poland in 1754, voivode of Belz between 1732 and 1763, and the Lithuanian Great Deputy Master of the Pantry. He was the son of Teresa Tarło and Aleksande ...

Anna Jabłonowska Princess Anna Paulina Jabłonowska née Sapieha (22 June 1728, Wołpa - 7 February 1800) was a Polish magnate and politician. She was known for her remarkable activity on her estates, in which she introduced social inventions as well as indust ...

and Aleksander Michał Sapieha were his grandchildren. In 1692, he took part in the Moldovan expedition of

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 ...

and received the title of Marshal of the Court of Lithuania. He participated in the life of the court all the time, being with the dying king until the end. During the election of a new King in 1697, he supported the candidacy of

François Louis, Prince of Conti François Louis de Bourbon, ''le Grand Conti'' (30 April 1664 – 22 February 1709),

. However, Augustus II was elected the following year. Sapieha was appointed

on 27 August 1699. In 1700, with his father and uncle, he took part in the Battle of Olkieniki, but he was forced to flee when the Lithuanian nobility, who had allied themselves against the Sapieha family, gained the upper hand. During the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

(1700-1721), Sapieha chose the side of

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

and supported his protégé, Stanislaus Leszczynski, who was elected King of Poland on 12 July 1704. In 1709, Charles XII was defeated by Peter I of Russia at Poltava.
Stanislaus Leszczynski was ousted from the Polish throne and Sapieha lost all his political functions. In 1713, the restored King Augustus II reinstated Sapieha as

and in 1715 awarded him the Order of the white Eagle. Aleksander Paweł Sapieha died in Vilnius on 4 January 1734.

Sources

* Anatoly Gritskevich, Sapieha // Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Encyclopedia. In 3 vols. Vol. 2: Cadet Corps – Yatskevich / Ed.: G. P. Pashkov (Gal.ed.) and others; Artist Z. E. Gerasimovich. – Mn.: BelEn, 2006. −792 p.: ill. p. 549. ISBN 985-11-0315-2, ISBN 985-11-0378-0 (vol. 2) (In Russian)
Encyklopedia PWN, Sapieha Aleksander Paweł
(In Polish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapieha, Aleksander Paweł Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 17th-century Polish nobility 18th-century Polish nobility 1672 births 1734 deaths Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Grand Marshals of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Court Marshals of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Sapieha family