| Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny Петро Конашевич-Сагайдачний |
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| Hetman of Registered Cossacks | |
| In office 1618–1622 |
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| Preceded by | Severyn Nalyvaiko |
| Succeeded by | Mykhailo Doroshenko |
| Kosh Otaman | |
| In office ~1601 – 1618 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 1570 Kulchyntsi, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth |
| Died | March 20, 1622 Kiev, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth |
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox |
Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachnyi, (Ukrainian: Петро Конашевич-Сагайдачний; Polish: Piotr Konaszewicz-Sahajdaczny; Russian: Пётр Конашевич-Сагайдачный; born 1570 in Kulchyntsi – March 20, 1622 in Kiev), was a Hetman of Registered Cossacks and the Kosh Otaman (leader) of Zaporozhian Host from 1601–1618,[1] a brilliant military leader both on land and sea. While being a Cossack Hetman, he transformed the Cossack Host into a regular military formation and imparted a statist character to the whole Cossack movement. He also demonstrated ability as a politician and a civic leader by uniting civilian Ukrainians, the cossacks and the Orthodox clergy into a nation. His troops played a significant role in the battle of Khotyn against the Turks in 1621. He also defeated the forces of the Moscovy Saviour of Motherland Dmitry Pozharsky in 1618 and together with Chodkiewicz stormed the Arbat Gates of the old Moscow.[2]
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Petro Konashevych was born in the village of Kulchyntsi (Przemysl land) three miles away from Sambir in the Ruthenian Voivodeship into a Ukrainian Eastern Orthodox szlachta family. His fathers surname was Kononovych.[3] He started school at the Ostroh Academy in Volhynia with Meletiy Smotrytskyi, author of the Hramatyka book, by which many generations of Ukrainians, Russians, and Belarusians learned the Slavic language. From an early age he learnt the skillful use of weapons and horsemanship. He joined the Zaporozhian Host and took part in campaigns in Moldavia in 1600 and Livonia in 1601. His skills in military strategy, courage and ability to show leadership under great adversity and hardship were acquired from Kosh Otaman Samiylo Kishka. With the years, Sahaidachny moved to Lviv, and later Kiev, where he was a tutor. Also while in Kiev, Sahaidachny worked for the Kievan judge I. Aksak.
By the end of the 16th century, Sahaidachny traveled to Zaporizhia, where in 1605, he was named the Kosh Otaman of the Zaporozhian Host. Under his control, the host participated in campaigns against the Crimean Tatars and the Turks. The Zaporozhian Host captured a Turkish fortress, Varnu, burned and destroyed a 10,000 strong Turkish navy. He is famous for his sea raids on Crimea and Turkey and in 1616 captured Caffa (Theodosia) on the Crimean peninsula, the largest centre for the human slave trade where many Christian men, women and children were freed from a life of slavery.
In 1618, Sahaidachny joined the Anti-Turkish Holy League.[3] While he was battling the Turks, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth requested his assistance in war with Moscovy; they wanted him to provide Władysław IV Vasa, the King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with 20,000 Cossacks near Moscow. Sahaidachny did, and seized the forts in the cities of Putivl, Kursk, Livny, Yelets and many others. Near Serpukhov Sahaidachny forced the army of Dmitri Pozharski to flee. The Muscovite forces of the voivode H.Volkonsky made the Otaman take a detour, but were unable to stop him. In September 1618 he destroyed the army of another Muscovite nobleman Vasilii Buturlin. Later uniting with Jan Karol Chodkiewicz he laid a siege to Moscow and was ready to storm the Arbat Gates. Luckily for the Muscovites the assault was unsuccessful. The whole campaign finally culminated in December 1618 when there was signed the Truce of Deulino.
Sahaidachny returned to Zaporizhia, and did not only become a Kosh Otaman, but was also the Hetman of Ukraine for 8 years. In order to avoid conflict with the Poles, Sahaidachny agreed to lower the Cossack register to 3,000 men, the remainder were regarded as the Zaporozhian Host. He also forbade unauthorized sea raids on Turkey and accepted the Polish king's right to confirm Sahaidachny's choice for Cossack officers.[4]
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Not only did Sahaidachny fight for control, he also fought for the religious and cultural rights of the Ukrainian people. In 1620, he registered himself and his entire Zaporozhian Host as students into the Kiev Epiphany Brotherhood School, that preceded the current Kyiv Mohyla Academy. It was done in order to protect the school from conversion from an Orthodox school into a Roman Catholic Jesuit Collegium. He also contributed to the establishment of a cultural center in Kiev and sought to unite the Cossack military with the Ukrainian clergy and nobility.
In 1620, Sahaidachny convinced the Patriarch Teophanes III of Jerusalem, who recently returned from Moscow, to reconstruct the Orthodox hierarchy, that was almost destroyed by the creation of the Greek-Catholic Church. The patriarch appointed Iov Boretsky as a Kievan Metropolitan bishop and five other bishops at the same time.[3] Because the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had threatened to arrest Teophanes III as a spy, Sahaidachny was guaranteed his protection by the patriarch. After the new metropoliten and bishops were installed, Sahaidachny escorted the patriarch to the Ottoman border with a 3,000 men Cossack army.[4]
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth accepted the appointment, because it wanted to keep close contacts with Sahaidachny after the Turks defeated the Polish army at the Battle of Ţuţora.
Because of Sahaidachny's moderate policies towards Poland, he provoked dissatisfaction among the Cossacks, and in 1620, they briefly elected Yatsko Borodavka as hetman.[3] In 1621, the famous Battle of Khotyn had occurred, where Sahaidachny's 30,000-40,000 men Cossack army, together with hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz Commonwealth army of similar size, held Turkish sultan, Osman II, at bay for a whole month, until the first snow of Autumn compelled Osman to withdraw his weakened forces. Sahaidachny and his army played a significant role in the battle, forcing the Turks to sign an unfavorable peace treaty.
During the battle, Sahaidachny was seriously wounded. After the battle, the Polish king rewarded Sahaidachny and his army for the service at the Polish cause.
On March 20, 1622, Sahaidachny died in Kiev due to the wounds he suffered at the Battle of Khotyn. He was later buried in the Bratsky Monastery of Kiev.[5] He left his assets to the brotherhood schools in Kiev and Lviv for church causes.[3] His legacy was so great, that most of the population of Kiev attended his funeral en masse.[4] Sahaidachny's work, "About Unia", was highly regarded by the Lithuanian Kanclerz Lew Sapieha.[6] In 1646, John III Sobieski, a monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, had said the following about Sahaidachny:
| “ | He was a man of great spirit who sought danger, did not care about his own life, was swift and energetic in battle, cautious, slept little and was sober... was careful at discussions, and non-talkative in conversations.[7] | ” |
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—John III Sobieski, 1646 |
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