Last Friday, the Senate (upper house of parliament) passed a resolution commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Battle of Khotyn. “The victory at Khotyn is after 400 years a reason to be proud of the national history, but also to look into the future,” it was written in the resolution.
“The Battle of Khotyn, fought from September 2 to October 9, 1621, was a key moment in the history of Europe and Christian civilization” – it was written in the resolution. As recalled, 400 years ago a powerful Ottoman army stood at the gates of Europe, at the borders of our country. The Muslim troops were commanded by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Osman II. On the side of the Republic of Poland, he was opposed by the crown banners under the command of Prince Władysław Zygmunt Vasa, previously elected the great Moscow tsar, later king of Poland Władysław IV, Lithuanian banners under the command of the great Lithuanian Grand Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz and the Zaporozhian army under the command of Cossacks Hetman Piotr Konaszewicz – Sahajdaczny.
As emphasized in the resolution, “this battle decided the fate and future not only of Poles, Ruthenians and Lithuanians but also of the entire Christian Europe towards which Muslim troops were heading”.