 = Jeremi Wiśniowiecki = 
 
 Jeremi Wiśniowiecki ( Ukrainian : <unk> <unk> - <unk> <unk> ; August 17 , 1612 – August 20 , 1651 ) nicknamed <unk> on the Cossacks or Iron Hand , was a notable member of the aristocracy of the Polish @-@ Lithuanian Commonwealth , Prince of <unk> , <unk> and <unk> in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the father of the future King of Poland , Michael I. 
 A notable magnate and military commander with Ruthenian and Romanian origin , Wiśniowiecki was heir of one of the biggest fortunes of the state and rose to several notable <unk> , including the position of voivode of the Ruthenian <unk> in 1646 . His conversion from Eastern <unk> to Roman Catholicism caused much dissent in Ruthenia and Ukraine ( parts of the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth ) . Wiśniowiecki was a successful military leader as well as one of the wealthiest magnates of Poland , ruling over lands inhabited by 230 @,@ 000 people . 
 
 = = Biography = = 
 
 
 = = = Youth = = = 
 
 Jeremi Michał <unk> Wiśniowiecki was born in 1612 ; neither the exact date nor the place of his birth are known . His father , Michał Wiśniowiecki , of the Lithuanian @-@ Ruthenian Wiśniowiecki family , died soon after Jeremi 's birth , in 1616 . His mother , Regina <unk> ( <unk> <unk> ) was a <unk> @-@ born noble woman of the <unk> family , daughter of the <unk> Prince <unk> <unk> , Jeremy 's namesake ; she died in 1619 . Both of his parents were of the Eastern Orthodox Church rite ; Jeremy 's uncle was the influential Orthodox theologian Peter Mogila , and his great @-@ uncle was George Mogila , the Metropolitan of Moldavia . 
 <unk> at the age of seven , Wiśniowiecki was raised by his uncle , Konstanty Wiśniowiecki , whose branch of the family were Roman Catholics . Jeremi attended a Jesuit college in Lwów and later , in 1629 , he traveled to Italy , where he briefly attended the University of Bologna . He also acquired some military experience in the Netherlands . The upbringing by his uncle and the trips abroad <unk> him , and turned him from a provincial Ruthenian <unk> into one of the youngest magnates of the Polish @-@ Lithuanian Commonwealth . 
 In 1631 Wiśniowiecki returned to the Commonwealth and took over from his uncle the management of his father 's huge estate , which included a large part of what is now Ukraine . In 1632 he converted from Eastern <unk> to Catholicism , an action that caused much concern in Ukraine . His decision has been analyzed by historians , and often criticized , particularly in Ukrainian historiography . The Orthodox Church feared to lose a powerful protector , and Isaiah <unk> , metropolitan bishop of Kiev and a friend of his mother , unsuccessfully plead with him to change his mind . Jeremi would not <unk> although he remained on decent terms with the <unk> Church , avoiding provocative actions , and supported his uncle and Orthodox bishop Peter Mogila and his Orthodox Church <unk> . 
 
 = = = Later life = = = 
 
 Wiśniowiecki 's <unk> and first biographer , Michał <unk> , counted that Jeremi participated in nine wars in his lifetime . The first of those was the <unk> Campaign of 1633 – 34 against the <unk> of Russia . In that war he accompanied <unk> Aleksander <unk> 's southern army and took part in several battles , among them the unsuccessful siege of <unk> ; later that year they took <unk> and <unk> before retreating . The following year he worked with Adam <unk> and <unk> <unk> , commanding his own private army of 4 @,@ 000 . As his troops formed 2 / 3 of their army ( not counting supporting Cossack elements ) , Jeremi , despite being the most junior of commanders , had much influence over their campaign . Lacking in artillery , they failed to take any major towns , but ravaged the countryside near <unk> and <unk> . The war ended soon afterward , and in May <unk> he returned to Lubny . For his service , he received a commendation from the King of Poland , Władysław IV Vasa , and the <unk> of Kiev . 
 After the war Wiśniowiecki engaged in a number of conflicts with neighbouring magnates and nobles . Jeremi was able to afford a sizable private army of several thousands , and through the threat of it he was often able to force his neighbours to a favourable settlement of disputes . Soon after his return from the Russian front , he participated on the side of the <unk> family in the quarrel over the estate of <unk> against another magnate , Samuel Łaszcz , located on his lands ; soon after the victorious battle against Łaszcz he bought the lands from the <unk> and incorporated them into his estates . 
 Around <unk> the Sejm ( Polish parliament ) opposed the marriage of King Władysław IV <unk> to Wiśniowiecki 's sister , Anna . Following this , Jeremi distanced himself from the royal court , although he periodically returned to Warsaw , usually as one of the deputies to the Sejm from the Ruthenian <unk> . Soon afterward , Jeremi himself married Gryzelda <unk> , daughter of Chancellor <unk> <unk> , on 27 February 1639 , on Gryzelda 's 16th birthday . 
 At that time Wiśniowiecki also engaged in a political conflict over nobility titles , in particular , the title of prince ( <unk> ) . The nobility in the Commonwealth was officially equal , and used different and non @-@ hereditary titles then those found in rest of the world ( see officials of the Polish @-@ Lithuanian Commonwealth ) ; the <unk> of the conflict , which took much of the Sejm 's time around 1638 – 41 , revolved around whether old prince titles ( awarded to families before their lands were incorporated into the Commonwealth in the 1569 Union of <unk> ) , and the new titles , awarded more recently by some foreign courts , should be recognized . Wiśniowiecki was one of the chief participants in this debate , successfully defending the old titles , including that of his own family , and succeeding in abolishing the new titles , which gained him the enmity of another powerful magnate , Jerzy <unk> . Other than this conflict , in his years as a deputy ( <unk> – 46 ) , Jeremi wasn 't involved in any major political issues , and only twice ( in 1640 and 1642 ) he served in the minor function of a <unk> for investigating the eastern and southern border disputes . 
 In 1637 Wiśniowiecki might have fought under Hetman Mikołaj Potocki against the Cossack rebellion of Pavel <unk> ( the <unk> Uprising ) ; Jan Widacki notes that historians are not certain whether he did and in either case , no detailed accounts of his possible participation survive . A year later , returning from the Sejm and from the engagement ceremony with Gryzelda , he gathered a 4 @,@ 000 strong division that participated in putting down of the <unk> Uprising and arrived at the region affected by the unrest in June that year . Together with Hetman Potocki he defeated the insurgents at the Battle of <unk> , which turned into a rather difficult siege of the Cossack camp that lasted from 13 June till the Cossack relief forces were defeated on 4 August , and the Cossacks <unk> on 7 August . 
 
 = = = Final years = = = 
 
 In 1641 , after the death of his uncle Konstanty Wiśniowiecki , Jeremi became the last adult male of the Wiśniowiecki family and inherited all the remaining estates of the clan , despite a brief conflict with Aleksander <unk> <unk> who also claimed the inherited land . The conflict stemmed from the fact that Konstanty asked Jeremi to take care of his grandchildren , but their mother , <unk> Eugenia <unk> , married Aleksander , who declared he is able and willing to take care of her children - and their estates . A year later , <unk> Eugenia decided to divorce Aleksander , and the matter was settled in favor of Jeremi . 
 Wiśniowiecki also fought against the <unk> in 1640 – 46 , whose raids on the south @-@ east frontier of the Commonwealth endangered his holdings . In 1644 together with Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski he took part in the victorious Battle of <unk> , in which they crushed forces of Crimean <unk> led by <unk> <unk> ( <unk> <unk> ) . 
 In 1644 , after the false news of the death of Adam <unk> , Wiśniowiecki took over his disputed estate of <unk> by <unk> . For this he was at first sentenced to exile , but due to his influence , even the King could not realistically expect to enforce this ruling without a civil war . Eventually after more discussions at local <unk> and then in the Sejm , he won the case and was granted the right for <unk> . In 1646 , after the death of Koniecpolski , he became the voivode of Ruthenia . He invaded and took over the town of <unk> which was also being claimed by a son of Koniecpolski , Aleksander Koniecpolski , but a year later , in 1647 , he lost that case and was forced to return the town . 
 On 4 April 1646 Wiśniowiecki received the office of the voivode of Ruthenia , which granted him a seat in the Senate of Poland . He was the third member of the Wiśniowiecki family to gain that privilege . Soon afterward , however , he refused to support King Władysław 's plan for a war against the Ottoman Empire , even though the King offered him the rank of a Field Crown Hetman . 
 Then the autumn of 1646 , Wiśniowiecki invaded and took over the <unk> <unk> vacated recently by banished Samuel Łaszcz . He did so without any legal <unk> , which caused a court ruling against him ; a ruling that was however never enforced . Later that year , he raised a large private army of about 25 @,@ 000 for a purpose unknown , as noted by Widacki , who writes that the army , which Jeremi raised with an immense cost for a short time , did not participate in any engagement , nor did it have any clear purpose . He notes that such an army might have been useful in provoking the Ottomans , but as Jeremi was opposed to the war with them up to the point of refusing the hetman office , his actions are <unk> even for the modern historians . 
 
 = = = Khmelnytsky Uprising = = = 
 
 Wiśniowiecki fought against the Cossacks again during Khmelnytsky Uprising in 1648 – 51 . He received information about a growing unrest , and began <unk> his troops , and in early May learned about the Cossack victory at the Battle of <unk> <unk> . <unk> no orders from <unk> Mikołaj Potocki and <unk> <unk> , he began moving on his own , soon learning about the second Cossack victory at Battle of <unk> , which meant that his troops ( about 6 @,@ 000 strong ) were the only Polish forces in <unk> at that moment . After taking in the situation , he began retreating towards <unk> ; his army soon became a focal point for various refugees . Passing <unk> , he continued through <unk> to <unk> . He continued to <unk> , <unk> , and <unk> , stopping briefly in <unk> for the local <unk> . After some <unk> near <unk> , <unk> and <unk> ( Battle of <unk> ) against the Cossack forces . By July he would arrive near Zbarazh . 
 Wiśniowiecki 's fighting retreat had a major impact on the course of the war . In the words of the historian Władysław <unk> , " he was not defeated , not victorious , and thus he made the peace more difficult . " <unk> in safe Warsaw tried to negotiate with the Cossacks , who in turn used <unk> 's actions as an excuse to delay any serious negotiations . 
 Around late August or early September , Wiśniowiecki met with the army <unk> Władysław <unk> <unk> @-@ <unk> , Mikołaj <unk> and Aleksander Koniecpolski . He was not on overly friendly terms with them , as he resented being passed in military nominations , but after short negotiations he agreed to follow their orders , and thus reduced to a junior commander status which had little impact over the next phase of the campaign . On 23 September , their forces were , however , defeated at the Battle of <unk> ; near the end of the battle some accounts suggest Wiśniowiecki was offered the hetman 's position , but refused . On 28 September in Lviv , Wiśniowiecki , with popular support , was given a field regimentarz nomination ; about a week later this nomination was confirmed by the Sejm . To the anger of Lviv 's <unk> , he decided to focus on retreating towards the key fortress in <unk> instead of Lviv ; he would leave garrisons on both towns , and keep his army in the field . In the end , the cities were not captured by the Cossacks , who in the light of the coming winter decided to retreat , after being paid a ransom by both town councils ; no other large field battle <unk> place that year . 
 Meanwhile , the <unk> <unk> of 1648 had elected a new king , Jan Kazimierz II Vasa . Wiśniowiecki supported other candidates , such as George I <unk> and Karol <unk> Vasa ( Jan Kazimierz 's brother ) . Due to the opposition from Jeremi 's detractors , he was not granted a hetman position , although after a full two days of debate on the subject he was granted a document that stated he had a " power equal to that of a hetman . " Wiśniowiecki faction , arguing for increase in army size , was once again <unk> by the faction that hoped for a peaceful resolution . In the end , the King and most of the <unk> were <unk> into a false sense of security , and the military was not reinforced significantly . To add an insult to an injury , the coronation <unk> of January – February 1649 , held in Kraków , revoked <unk> 's regimentarz rank . 
 In the first half of 1649 , the negotiations with the Cossacks fell through , and the Polish @-@ Lithuanian military begun gathering near the borders with the rebellious Ukraine , a major camp was in Zbarazh , where Wiśniowiecki would arrive as well in late June , after gathering a new army of 3 @,@ 000 in <unk> , which was all he was able to afford at that time , as due to most of his estates being overrun by the Cossacks . Wiśniowiecki 's arrival raised the morale of the royal army , and despite having no official rank , both the common soldiers and the new regimentarz promised to take his advice , and even offered him the official command ( which he refused ) . During the Siege of Zbarazh Wiśniowiecki was thus not the official commander ( role was taken by regimentarz Andrzej <unk> ) but most historians agree he was the real , if unofficial , commander of the Polish @-@ Lithuanian army . The siege would last until the ceasefire of the Treaty of <unk> . Wiśniowiecki 's command during the siege was seen as phenomenal , and his popularity among the troops and nobility rose again , however the King , still not fond of him , gave him a relatively small reward ( the land grant of <unk> <unk> , much less when compared to several others he distributed around that time ) . <unk> Wiśniowiecki 's support in December that year , the King granted him once again a temporary hetman nomination , and several more land grants . In April 1650 , Wiśniowiecki had to return his temporary hetman office to Mikołaj Potocki , recently released from Cossack 's captivity . During December that year , in light of the growing tensions with <unk> 's , Wiśniowiecki 's military faction succeeded in convincing the Sejm to pass a resolution increasing the size of the army to 51 @,@ 000 , the largest army since the Cossack unrest begun two years ago . 
 The truce of <unk> did not last long , and in the spring of 1651 Khmelnytsky 's Cossacks begun advancing west again . On June 1 , 1651 Wiśniowiecki brought his private army to face the Cossacks in <unk> . He commanded the left wing of the Polish @-@ Lithuanian army in the victorious Battle of <unk> on 28 – 30 June . The Polish @-@ Lithuanian army advanced after the retreating Cossacks , but on July 17 the King " left the whole army to Potocki ... and having given the order that the army march into Ukraine , the King himself parted ... to Warsaw to celebrate his victories over the Cossacks . " Later that year , on 14 August , Wiśniowiecki suddenly fell ill while in a camp near the village of <unk> , and died on August 20 , 1651 , at the age of only 39 . His cause of death was never known , while some ( even contemporaries ) speculated he was poisoned , but no conclusive evidence to support such a claim have ever been found . Based on sparse descriptions of his illness and subsequent investigations , some medical historians suggest the cause of death might have been a disease related to cholera . However , one account states , " following a cheerful conversation with other officers who had congregated for a military council in his tent on Sunday , 13 August <unk> he had eaten some <unk> with <unk> and washed them down with <unk> , and from that contracted <unk> . After lying ill for a week , he died there , at <unk> " . He was given a " ceremonial funeral with the entire army present . On August 22 , Wiśniowiecki 's body was seen off with the <unk> <unk> on its journey to his residence " . 
 Wiśniowiecki 's indebted family was not able to provide him with a funeral his rank and fame deserved . In the end , he never received the large funeral and the temporary location of his body , the monastery of the Holy Cross at <unk> <unk> , became his final resting place . His body was lost in the fire at the end of the 18th century , which also prevents a modern <unk> of the cause of his death . 
 
 = = <unk> = = 
 
 The majority of the Wiśniowiecki family estates were found on the eastern side of the <unk> River ( <unk> , Ruthenian and Kiev <unk> ) , and most of them were acquired by Jeremi 's grandfather , Aleksander Wiśniowiecki , in the 16th century . The capital of his estate was located at a fortified manor at Lubny , where his father rebuilt an old castle ; the population of the town itself could be estimated at about 1 @,@ 000 . Wiśniowiecki inherited lands inhabited , according to an estimate from 1628 , by about 4 @,@ 500 people , of which Lubny was the largest town . Smaller towns in his lands included <unk> , <unk> and <unk> . By 1646 his lands were inhabited by 230 @,@ 000 people . The number of towns on his lands rose from several to about thirty , and their population increased as well . The prosperity of those lands reflected Wiśniowiecki 's skills in economic management , and the income from his territories ( estimated at about 600 @,@ 000 <unk> yearly ) made him one of the wealthiest magnates in the Commonwealth . Because of its size and relatively consistent borders , Wiśniowiecki 's estate was often named <unk> ( " <unk> " ) . 
 Despite his wealth , he was not known for a lavish life . His court of about a hundred people was not know for being overly extravagant , he built no luxurious residences , and did not even have a single portrait of himself made during his life . It is uncertain how Wiśniowiecki looked , although a number of portraits and other works depicting him exist . Jan Widacki notes that much of the historiography concerning Wiśniowiecki focuses on the military and political aspects of his life , and few of his critics discuss his successes in the economic development of his estates . 
 
 = = Remembrance and popular culture = = 
 
 Wiśniowiecki was widely popular among the noble class , who saw in him a defender of tradition , a <unk> and an able military commander . He was praised by many of his contemporaries , including a poet , Samuel <unk> , as well as numerous diary writers and early historians . For his protection of civilian population , including Jews , during the Uprising , Wiśniowiecki has been commended by early Jewish historians . Until the 19th century , he has been idolized as the legendary , perfect " knight of the <unk> " , his sculpture is among the twenty sculpture of famous historical personas in the 18th century " Knight Room " of the royal Warsaw Castle . 
 In the 19th century this image begun to <unk> , as a new wave in historiography begun to <unk> his life , and as the era of <unk> in Poland put more value on builders , and less on warriors . Further , at that time the Polish historians begun to question the traditional view of the " Ukrainian problem " , and the way that the Polish noble class had dealt with the Cossacks . Slowly , Wiśniowiecki 's image as a hero began to <unk> , with various aspects of his life and personality being questioned and criticized in the work of historians such as Karol <unk> and <unk> <unk> . 
 While Wiśniowiecki 's portrayal ( as a major secondary character ) in the first part of Henryk <unk> 's trilogy , With Fire and Sword which describes the history of the Polish @-@ Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Uprising , was rather positive , criticism of his persona intensified , in particular from <unk> detractors such as <unk> <unk> and <unk> <unk> . The 1930s saw a first modern historical work about Wiśniowiecki , by Władysław <unk> . In the era of the People 's Republic of Poland , the Communist Party 's ideology dictated that all historians present him as an " enemy of the people " , although this began to be relaxed after 1965 . Widacki , <unk> the work of other historians notes that Władysław <unk> was rather sympathetic to Wiśniowiecki , while <unk> <unk> was critical of him . 
 Wiśniowiecki has made appearances in more recent media . He was the main subject of one of <unk> <unk> 's 1993 songs <unk> <unk> <unk> ( The <unk> of <unk> <unk> ) . Andrzej <unk> played Jeremi Wiśniowiecki in the 1999 film With Fire and Sword . 
 
 