Published: 2025-05-19

Swedish Captives in Crimea and Budjak in the Years 1656–1661

Sławomir Augusiewicz
Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings
Section: Rozprawy i Artykuły
https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2025.32.1.9

Abstract

During the military operations in Poland and Ducal Prussia in 1656, a Tatar auxiliary unit commanded by Subchan Ghazi Aga captured several dozen Swedish officers and non-commissioned officers. Among them were Major General Israel Ridderrhielm, Colonel Hans Engel, and Lieutenant Colonel Koch. The article discusses issues related to the ransom of these prisoners from Tatar captivity, based on preserved records in the Riksarkivet in Stockholm. These records include personal details of the captives, the determined ransom amounts, and correspondence between Ridderrhielm and the Swedish King Charles Gustav, his brother Prince Adolf John, and Bogusław Radziwiłł. The article also examines the efforts of Swedish diplomats in Ukraine and Moldova aimed at securing the prisoners' release, which ultimately took place in 1661 following an agreement with a Tatar delegation in Sweden.

Keywords:

Polish-Swedish War (1655–1660), Crimean Khanate, Tatars, captivity, Sweden, Israel Ridderrhielm

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Citation rules

Augusiewicz, S. (2025). Swedish Captives in Crimea and Budjak in the Years 1656–1661. Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings, 32(1), 122–135. https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2025.32.1.9

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