Уладysław IV Ваза: Польша мен Литваның патшасы және оның мұрагерлігі

Ruler of Poland Lithuania from 1632 to 1648
the 17th century Polish king

Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV of Poland (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Sweden and Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince of Poland and of Sweden, Władysław IV was the eldest son of Sigismund III Vasa and Sigismund's first wife, Anna of Austria. Władysław was elected as the tsar of Russia by the Seven Boyars in 1610, when the Polish army captured Moscow, but did not assume the throne because of his father's position and a popular uprising. Nevertheless, until 1634 he used the titular title of Grand Duke of Muscovy, a principality centred on Moscow. Elected king of Poland in 1632, he was largely successful in defending the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against foreign invasion, most notably in the Smolensk War of 1632–1634 in which he participated personally. He supported religious tolerance and carried out military reforms, such as the founding of the Commonwealth Navy. Władysław was also a renowned patron of the arts and music. He gained fame by defeating the Ottoman Empire, strengthening royal power, and reforming the Commonwealth's political system, although he failed at reclaiming the Swedish throne. Despite that failure, his personal charisma and popularity among all segments of society contributed to relative internal calm in the Commonwealth. He died without a legitimate son and was succeeded to the Polish throne by his half brother, John II Casimir Vasa. Władysław's death marked the end of relative stability in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as conflicts and tensions that had been growing over several decades came to a head with devastating consequences. The Khmelnytsky Uprising in the east (1648) and the subsequent Swedish invasion ("the Deluge", 1655–1660) weakened the country and diminished Poland's status as a regional power. For that reason, Władysław's reign was seen in following decades as a bygone golden era of stability and prosperity.

Latin: Vladislaus Quartus Dei gratia rex Poloniae, magnus dux Lithuaniae, Russiae, Prussiae, Masoviae, Samogitiae, Livoniaeque, Smolenscie, Severiae, Czernichoviaeque necnon Suecorum, Gothorum Vandalorumque haereditarius rex, electus magnus dux Moscoviae. Translated: Władysław IV, by God's grace, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, Livonia, Smolensk, Siewiersk and Chernihiv, hereditary king of Sweden, the Goths and Vandals, elected Grand Duke of Moscow.

Władysław IV's father, Sigismund III Vasa, grandson of Sweden's King Gustav I, had succeeded his father to the Swedish throne in 1592, only to be deposed in 1599 by his uncle, subsequently King Charles IX. This resulted in a long standing feud, with the Polish kings of the House of Vasa claiming the Swedish throne. This led to the Polish–Swedish War of 1600–1629 and later to the Deluge of 1655.

The marriage of Anne of Austria to Sigismund III was a traditional, politically motivated marriage, intended to tie the young House of Vasa to the prestigious Habsburgs. Władysław was born 9 June 1595 at the King's summer residence in Łobzów, near Kraków, a few months after the main Wawel Castle had been consumed by fire. Władysław's mother died on 10 February 1598, less than three years after giving birth to him. He was raised by one of her former ladies of the court, Urszula Meierin, who eventually became a powerful player at the royal court, with much influence. Władysław's Hofmeister was Michał Konarski, a Polish Prussian noble. Around early 17th century Urszula lost much of her influence, as Władysław gained new teachers and mentors, including such priests
as Marek Łętkowski, Gabriel Prowancjusz, and Andrzej Szołdrski and in military matters by Zygmunt Kazanowski. Much of his curriculum was likely designed by Father Piotr Skarga, much respected by Sigmismund III. Władysław studied for several years in the Kraków Academy, and for two years, in Rome. At the age of 10, he received his own prince court. He formed a friendship with brothers Adam and Stanisław Kazanowski. It was reported that young Władysław was interested in arts; later this led to him becoming an important patron of the arts. He spoke and wrote in German, Italian and Latin. Władysław was liked by the szlachta (Polish nobility), but his father's plans to secure him the throne of Poland (vivente rege) were unpopular and eventually crushed in the Zebrzydowski Rebellion (rokosz).

With the intensification of the Polish intervention in Muscovy, in 1609, the royal family moved to their residence in Vilnius, capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, where he witnessed the fire of Vilnius, which required the royal family to evacuate from Vilnius Castle. Later that year, Władysław, aged 15, was elected Tsar by Muscovy's aristocracy council of Seven boyars, who overthrew tsar Vasily Shuysky during the Polish Muscovite War and Muscovy's Time of Troubles. His election was ruined by his father, Sigismund, who aimed to convert Muscovy's population from the Eastern Orthodox religion to Roman Catholicism. Sigismund refused to agree to the boyar's request to send prince Władysław to Moscow and his conversion to Orthodoxy. Instead, Sigismund proposed that he should reign as a regent in Muscovy instead. This unrealistic proposal led to a resumption of hostilities. In 1611 12, silver and gold coins (kopecks) were prematurely stuck in the Russian mints in Moscow and Novgorod with Władysław's titulary Tsar and Grand Prince Vladislav Zigimontovych of all Russia. Władysław tried to regain the tsar's throne himself, organizing a campaign in 1616. Despite some military victories, he was unable to capture Moscow. The Commonwealth gained some disputed territories in the Truce of Deulino, but Władysław was never able to reign in Russia; the throne during this time was instead held by tsar Michael Romanov. He held on to the title, without any real power, until 1634. Likely, the failure of this campaign showed Władysław the limits of royal power in Poland, as major factors for the failure included significant autonomy of the military commanders, which did not see Władysław as their superior, and lack of funds for the army, as the Polish parliament (sejm) refused to subsidize the war.

Before he was elected king of the Commonwealth, Władysław fought in many campaigns, seeking personal glory. After his final campaign against Russians in 1617–18 (the end of Dymitriads), he went to Silesia in 1619 looking for an opportunity to aid the Habsburgs in their struggle against the Czech Hussites in the Thirty Years' War, an opportunity that never materialized. In 1620, he took part in the second phase of the Polish–Ottoman War, a consequence of the long series of struggles between Poland and the Ottomans over Moldavia. In 1621, he was a Polish commander at Chocim. He reportedly he was stricken with illness but despite that proved a voice of reason, convincing other Polish commanders there to stay and fight. His advice was correct, and the battle eventually ended with a peace treaty that returned the status quo from before the Ottoman invasion. This peace treaty also gave Władysław an international reputation as a "defender of the Christian faith", and increased his popularity in the Commonwealth itself. In 1623, while near Gdańsk (Danzig), he witnessed Gustavus Adolphus's Swedish Navy use its naval superiority to demand concessions from Gdańsk (the Commonwealth had no navy). In 1624, King Sigismund decided that the time had come for Władysław to travel, like many of his peers, to Western Europe. For security reasons, Władysław traveled under a fake name, Snopkowski (from Polish Snopek, meaning sheaf, as seen in the Vasa's coat of arms). On the long voyage (1624–25), he was accompanied by Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł and other courtiers. First, he travelled to Wrocław (Breslau), then Munich, where he met Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria. In Brussels he met Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain; in Antwerp, Rubens. Near Breda he met Ambrosio Spinola. It was during his stay with Spinola that he was impressed by Western military techniques; this was later reflected when he became king, as military matters were always important to him. While not a military genius, and surpassed by his contemporary, Commonwealth hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski, Władysław was known as a fairly skillful commander on his own. In Rome he was welcomed by Pope Urban VIII, who congratulated him on his fighting against the Ottomans. During his stay in Florence he was impressed by opera, and decided to bring this form of art to the Commonwealth, where it was previously unknown. In Genoa and Venice he was impressed by the local shipyards, and in Pisa he witnessed a specially organized mock naval battle, experiences that resulted in his later attempt to create the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy. After returning to Poland, he fought in 1626 against the Swedes in the last phase of the Polish–Swedish War, where he took part in the battle of Gniew. His involvement in this conflict, which lasted till the Truce of Altmark in 1629, was rather limited, and he spent much time in other parts of the country. During that period and afterward, he lobbied for support of his candidature for the Polish throne, as his father, Sigismund, was getting more advanced in his age, and the succession to the Polish throne did not occur through inheritance but rather through the process of royal elections. While Władysław, and his father tried to ensure Władysław's election during Sigismund's lifetime, this was not a popular option for the nobility, and it repeatedly failed, up to and including at the sejm of 1631. Sigismund suffered a sudden stroke in late April 1632 and died in the morning hours of 30 April, forcing the matter to be raised again.

The election sejm of 1632 eventually chose Władysław; there were no other serious contenders. The decision reached on 8 November, but as the pacta conventa were not yet ready, the official announcement was delayed until 13 November. In the pacta conventa, Władysław pledged himself to fund a military school and equipment; to find a way to fund a navy; to maintain current alliances; not to raise armies, give offices or military ranks to foreigners, negotiate peace treaties, or declare war without the Sejm's approval; not to take a wife without the Senate's approval; to convince his brothers to take an oath to the Commonwealth; and to transfer the profits from the Royal Mint to the Royal Treasury rather than to a private treasury. When the election result was announced by the Crown Grand Marshal, Łukasz Opaliński, the szlachta (nobility), who had taken part in the election, began festivities in honor of the new king, which lasted three hours. Władysław was crowned in the Wawel Cathedral, in Kraków on 6 February in the following year.

In an attempt to take advantage of the confusion expected after the death of the Polish king, Tsar Michael I of Russia invaded the Commonwealth. A Muscovite army crossed the Commonwealth eastern frontier in October 1632 and laid siege to Smolensk (which was ceded to Poland by Russia in 1618, at the end of the Dymitriad wars). In the war against Russia in 1632–1634 (the Smolensk War), Władysław broke the siege in September 1633 and then in turn surrounded the Russian army under Mikhail Shein, which was then forced to surrender on 1 March 1634.

Władysław had many plans (dynastic, about wars, territorial gains: regaining Silesia, Inflanty (Livonia), incorporation of Ducal Prussia, creation of his hereditary dukedom etc. ), some of them with real chances of success, but for various reasons, most of them ended in failure during his 16 year reign. Though his grand international political plans failed, he did improve the Commonwealth foreign policy, supporting the establishment of a network of permanent diplomatic agents in important European countries. Throughout his life, Władysław successfully defended Poland against foreign invasions. He was recognized as a good tactician and strategist, who did much to modernize the Polish Army. |5= 5. Catherine of Poland
|7= 7. Duchess Maria Anna of Bavaria
|9= 9. Margaret Leijonhufvud
|10= 10. Sigismund I of Poland
|11= 11. Bona Sforza
|12= 12. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
|13= 13. Anne of Bohemia and Hungary
|14= 14. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
|15= 15. Archduchess Anna of Austria