Yurii Khmelnytsky
Encyclopedia
Yurii Khmelnytsky (1641–1685), younger son of the famous Ukrainian Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky
and brother of Tymofiy Khmelnytsky
, was a Zaporozhian Cossack political and military leader. Although he spent half of his adult life as a monk, he also was Hetman of Ukraine
on several occasions — in 1659-1660 and 1678–1681 and starost of Hadiach
.
near Chyhyryn
in central Ukraine. In 1659 the Cossack Rada
elected 17-year-old Yurii as their hetman in Bila Tserkva
instead of deposed Ivan Vyhovsky
. The young hetman was faced with the uneasy alliance with Tsardom of Russia
and the ongoing wars against Poland-Lithuania
and the Crimean Khanate
.
In 1659 he was granted nobility by parliament (sejm walny) of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. On 24 March 1661 he became starost of Hadiach
.
During the latter conflict, Yurii Khmelnytsky's Cossacks were defeated near the town of Korsun
, he was captured by the Poles and later pledged loyalty to king Jan II Kazimierz. This provoked a civil war within Ukraine in 1661, when the new ataman
Yakym Somko
led the pro-Moscow Cossacks against Yurii and his new Polish allies. At the battle near the town of Pereiaslav
in the Summer of 1662 Yurii Khmelnytsky was defeated by Somko's Cossacks and the Russians under Grigory Romodanovsky
.
After the defeat, Khmelnytsky entered an alliance with the Crimean Khanate
but this resulted in little beyond massive looting and raiding of Ukrainian towns and villagesby the Tatars. Thereupon Yurii gave up his hetman title and became a monk at the Mharsky Monastery
in the autumn of 1662. Between 1664 and 1667 he was imprisoned in Lviv
by hetman Pavlo Teteria
.
and brought to Constantinople
, where he was allowed to live in a Greek Orthodox monastery. In 1676 — after the Sultan's ally, Petro Doroshenko
, surrendered to the Russians — the Porte decided to use Khmelnytsky's famous name to reinforce their claim to the Right-bank Ukraine
starting the Russo-Turkish War (1676–1681).
In 1678 the Turkish army captured Chyhyryn and declared Yurii Khmelnytsky as a new hetman
of Ukraine, although in reality he was only a puppet for the Ottoman Sultan
. Ottoman Turkish army with Yurii in tow captured and burned down Kaniv
and other Ukrainian towns. He then retired to his Sultan dictated capital at Nemyriv
in Turkish occupied parts of Ukraine, as a vassal of sultan Mehmed IV
until 1681, when the Turks removed him from power due to his unstable mental health and unprecedented cruelty. Two years later, he was briefly re-instated by the Poles. Finally in 1685 the Turks captured Yurii and executed him (strangled) in Kamianets-Podilskyi
.
Unlike his father, Yurii was unable to master the very complex situation he faced and was often manipulated by foreign powers.
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky was a hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state...
and brother of Tymofiy Khmelnytsky
Tymofiy Khmelnytsky
Tymofiy Bohdanovych Khmelnytsky or Tymish Khmelnytsky was the eldest son of Cossack hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky....
, was a Zaporozhian Cossack political and military leader. Although he spent half of his adult life as a monk, he also was Hetman of Ukraine
Hetman of Ukraine
Hetman of Ukraine may refer to:* Hetmans of Ukrainian Cossacks* Pavlo Skoropadskyi...
on several occasions — in 1659-1660 and 1678–1681 and starost of Hadiach
Hadiach
Hadiach is a historic city in Poltava Oblast in the central-east part of Ukraine. Located on the Psel River the city is an administrative center of the Hadyatskyi Raion...
.
Hetman of Ukraine
Yurii Khmelnytsky was born in 1641 in SubotivSubotiv
Subotiv is a village in central Ukraine. It is located in the Chyhyrynskyi Raion of the Cherkasy Oblast , near Chyhyryn city....
near Chyhyryn
Chyhyryn
Chyhyryn is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast of central Ukraine. In 1648 to 1669 the city was the capital of Ukraine .- Location :...
in central Ukraine. In 1659 the Cossack Rada
Cossack Rada
Cossack Rada was a general cossack meeting often military in nature. It was also known as the Chorna Rada, from the Slavic chern - mob.The Rada was an institution of cossack administration in Ukraine from 16th to 18 centuries. One of the famous such councils was the Chorna rada of 1663 described...
elected 17-year-old Yurii as their hetman in Bila Tserkva
Bila Tserkva
Bila Tserkva is a city located on the Ros' River in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine, approximately south of the capital, Kiev. Population 203,300 Area 34 km².-Administrative status:...
instead of deposed Ivan Vyhovsky
Ivan Vyhovsky
Ivan Vyhovsky was a hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks during three years of the Russo-Polish War . He was the successor to the famous hetman and rebel leader Bohdan Khmelnytsky...
. The young hetman was faced with the uneasy alliance with Tsardom of Russia
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
and the ongoing wars against Poland-Lithuania
Poland-Lithuania
Poland–Lithuania can refer to:* Polish–Lithuanian union from 1385 until 1569* Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 until 1795See also: Polish-Lithuanian...
and the Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
.
In 1659 he was granted nobility by parliament (sejm walny) of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. On 24 March 1661 he became starost of Hadiach
Hadiach
Hadiach is a historic city in Poltava Oblast in the central-east part of Ukraine. Located on the Psel River the city is an administrative center of the Hadyatskyi Raion...
.
During the latter conflict, Yurii Khmelnytsky's Cossacks were defeated near the town of Korsun
Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi
Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine. The city rests on the banks of the Ros' River, and is the administrative center of the Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi Raion ....
, he was captured by the Poles and later pledged loyalty to king Jan II Kazimierz. This provoked a civil war within Ukraine in 1661, when the new ataman
Ataman
Ataman was a commander title of the Ukrainian People's Army, Cossack, and haidamak leaders, who were in essence the Cossacks...
Yakym Somko
Yakym Somko
Yakym Somko , was a Ukrainian Cossack military leader of the Pereyaslav regiment and was the Acting Hetman of Left-bank Ukraine in 1660-1663, during The Ruin....
led the pro-Moscow Cossacks against Yurii and his new Polish allies. At the battle near the town of Pereiaslav
Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi
Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi is a town located where Alta River flows into Trubizh River in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi Raion , the town itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
in the Summer of 1662 Yurii Khmelnytsky was defeated by Somko's Cossacks and the Russians under Grigory Romodanovsky
Grigory Romodanovsky
Prince Grigory Grigoryevich Romodanovsky was a leading Russian general of Tsar Alexis's reign who promoted the Tsar's interests in Ukraine.Romodanovsky belonged to the Rurikid clan of Romodanovsky...
.
After the defeat, Khmelnytsky entered an alliance with the Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
but this resulted in little beyond massive looting and raiding of Ukrainian towns and villagesby the Tatars. Thereupon Yurii gave up his hetman title and became a monk at the Mharsky Monastery
Mharsky Monastery
The Mharsky or Mgarsky Monastery was founded in 1619 on the bank of the Sula River near Lubny by Isaia Kopynsky and Princess Rayina Vyshnevetska as a bratstvo designed to become a bulwark of Orthodoxy in the eastern part of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth.The Ukrainian...
in the autumn of 1662. Between 1664 and 1667 he was imprisoned in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
by hetman Pavlo Teteria
Pavlo Teteria
Pavlo Teteria was Hetman of Right-Bank Ukraine .Before his hetmancy he served in a number of high positions under Bohdan Khmelnytsky, and Ivan Vyhovsky....
.
Hetman of Right-bank Ukraine
After his release, in 1672 he participated in a campaign against the Tatars and was captured near UmanUman
Uman is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. The city rests on the banks of the Umanka River at around , and serves as the self-governing administrative center of the Umanskyi Raion ....
and brought to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, where he was allowed to live in a Greek Orthodox monastery. In 1676 — after the Sultan's ally, Petro Doroshenko
Petro Doroshenko
Petro Dorofeyevych Doroshenko was a Cossack political and military leader, Hetman of Right-bank Ukraine and a Russian voyevoda.-Earlier life:...
, surrendered to the Russians — the Porte decided to use Khmelnytsky's famous name to reinforce their claim to the Right-bank Ukraine
Right-bank Ukraine
Right-bank Ukraine , a historical name of a part of Ukraine on the right bank of the Dnieper River, corresponding with modern-day oblasts of Volyn, Rivne, Vinnitsa, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad and Kiev, as well as part of Cherkasy and Ternopil...
starting the Russo-Turkish War (1676–1681).
In 1678 the Turkish army captured Chyhyryn and declared Yurii Khmelnytsky as a new hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
of Ukraine, although in reality he was only a puppet for the Ottoman Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
. Ottoman Turkish army with Yurii in tow captured and burned down Kaniv
Kaniv
Kaniv is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is also one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper...
and other Ukrainian towns. He then retired to his Sultan dictated capital at Nemyriv
Nemyriv
Nemyriv is a historic city in the Vinnytsia Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Nemyriv Raion . Nemyriv is one of the eldest cities in Vinnytska oblast, Ukraine...
in Turkish occupied parts of Ukraine, as a vassal of sultan Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV Modern Turkish Mehmet was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687...
until 1681, when the Turks removed him from power due to his unstable mental health and unprecedented cruelty. Two years later, he was briefly re-instated by the Poles. Finally in 1685 the Turks captured Yurii and executed him (strangled) in Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamyanets-Podilsky or Kamienets-Podolsky is a city located on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi...
.
Unlike his father, Yurii was unable to master the very complex situation he faced and was often manipulated by foreign powers.