Wi?niowiecki, Jeremi°
WI?NIOWIECKI, JEREMI°
WI?NIOWIECKI, JEREMI ° (1612–1651), a Polonized Russian prince, one of the most powerful magnates of Poland-Lithuania in the 17th century. Wi?niowiecki owned enormous estates in the Ukraine on the Dnieper River which were exposed to Cossack and Tatar invasions. The Jews who settled there were murdered during the Cossack riots. Wi?niowiecki had a private army of about 3,000 soldiers. He was a gifted military commander and was successful in many battles against the Cossacks and Tatars, especially in the years 1648–51. Wi?niowiecki also defended the Jews living on his estates against the Cossack units under *Chmielnicki. Nathan Nata *Hannover, author of the chronicle Yeven Me?ulah, written in the 17th century, glorified Wi?niowiecki. He wrote that the latter was the mainstay in the fight against the Cossacks, the cruel enemy of the Jews.
bibliography:
W. Tomkiewicz, J. Wi?niowiecki (1612 – 1651), 1933.
[Jacob Goldberg]