Andrzej Sapieha (1539 – October 11, 1621) was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman (''

szlachcic The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in th ...

'') of the

Sapieha family The House of Sapieha (; be, Сапега, ''Sapieha''; lt, Sapiega) is a Polish-Lithuanian noble and magnate family of Lithuanian and Ruthenian origin,Энцыклапедыя ВКЛ. Т.2, арт. "Сапегі" descending from the medi ...

, who served as the Great Royal Deputy Cup-bearer of Lithuania (''Podczaszy wielki litewski''), castellan of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, and Voivode of Polotsk and

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

. He was the son of Paweł Sapieha, and brother of Mikołaj and Bohdan. Between 1575–1578 he took part in the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) was the Russian invasion of Old Livonia, and the prolonged series of military conflicts that followed, in which Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia (Muscovy) unsuccessfully fought for control of the region (pre ...

, fighting against the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I i ...

. He was the second in command, after

Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł Mikołaj Radziwiłł, nicknamed ''The Red'' ( Polish ''Rudy'', Lithuanian: ''Radvila Rudasis''), also known as ''Mikołaj Radziwiłł the Sixth'' (1512 – 27 April 1584), was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman, Count Palatine of Vilnius, Grand ...

of the Polish-Lithuanian forces in the campaign of 1577–1578, and led allied Polish–Lithuanian and Swedish forces at the

Battles of Wenden (1577–1578) The Battles of Wenden were a series of battles for control of the stronghold of Wenden (Cēsis, Kiesia, Võnnu), in present-day Latvia, fought during the Livonian War in 1577 and 1578. Magnus of Livonia besieged the town in August 1577, but ...

, where with 5-6 thousand soldiers he defeated a numerically superior Russian army. After Zygmunt III Vasa came to the Polish throne in 1587, thanks to the support of the chancellor and kin

Lew Sapieha Lew Sapieha ( lt, Leonas Sapiega; be, Леў Сапега or Lieŭ Sapieha; 4 April 1557 – 7 July 1633) was a nobleman and statesman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He became Great Secretary of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1580, Gr ...

, Andrzej was made the Great Royal Deputy Cup-bearer of Lithuania. On May 29, 1592 he was named castellan of Minsk. He traveled abroad, mostly to Italy, in 1579, 1592 and 1608. Towards the end of his life he was made the voivode of Smolensk but most likely did not get to officially assume this office. He died on October 11, 1621.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapieha, Andrzej

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 ...

1539 births 1621 deaths Voivodes of Smolensk