page_title: Polish–Ottoman War (1672–1676)
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Polish–Ottoman War (1672–1676) / Aftermath
context_page_description: Polish–Ottoman War (1672–1676) was a conflict between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire, as a precursor of the Great Turkish War. It ended in 1676 with the Treaty of Żurawno and the Commonwealth ceding control of most of its Ukraine territories to the Empire.
context_section_description: The Sejm rejected the treaty, through the actions of Austrian diplomats and Pope Innocent XI.  Sobieski also was forced to reduce his army from 30,000 to 12,000 men. 
  The war showed the increasing weakness and disorder of the Commonwealth, who by the second half of the 17th century had started its gradual decline that would culminate a century later with the partitions of Poland. The unruly Sejm, paralyzed by liberum veto and foreign bribery, was dominated by politicians who thought in short term gains only and constantly refused the funds to raise an army, as it appeared that most of the Commonwealth would not be ravaged by the Ottoman armies. Even after the unfavourable Buczacz treaty, which convinced the Sejm to raise the taxes,  once initial successes were achieved, the majority of the Sejm again couldn't be convinced to keep up the pressure on the enemy; soldiers were left unpaid and desertions on a mass scale negatively affected the Polish cause. This apparent inability to defend itself, also seen in the other recent and future conflicts the Commonwealth was involved in, increasingly invited foreign forces to prey on the Commonwealth.
  On the Polish side the fighting was done mostly by a force privately financed by John Sobieski. He gained reputation as an able, courageous commander and a patriot, having invested part of his personal fortune in the defense of the Commonwealth. In 1674 he was elected King of Poland and ruled now as John III. Sobieski's reputation also preceded him in the Ottoman Empire, and his victory several years later at the battle of Vienna would ensure his reputation as the top commander fighting the Ottomans — however even he would not be able to stop the Commonwealth from decline and introduce reforms that would save the country.
  The Commonwealth did regain the territories lost in this war after the Polish–Ottoman War (1683–1699) in 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz, but that was one of the last of its victories.
caption: Coffin portrait of captain Zygmunt Dziembowski, who died during the war against Ottoman Empire on December 16th, 1674[5]
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