Hardest years of the great commander? John III Sobieski and the military effort of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1690–1696

The paper presents actions of John III as related to waging war against the Ottoman Empire in 1690–1696. It was arguably the most difficult period of his reign because of the constitutional and fiscal crisis of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One of the main military duties of the king was the overall coordination of the military effort. The ruler mediated between military commanders and informed the public opinion about the course of warfare. He also vigorously acted within the Council of Senate for better garrisoning and provisioning of the frontier fortresses. Even though the result of the final years of John Sobieski’s reign cannot be regarded as positive (also because of the king’s political mistakes), his military activity in 1690–1696 probably exhausted all his possibilities within the frames of the constitution of the Commonwealth and he could do nothing more to support the Polish-Lithuanian military effort