Battle of Olkieniki

Battle of Olkieniki
Part of Lithuanian Civil War (1700)
A pospolite ruszenie of szlachta. Painting by Józef Brandt.
Date November 18, 1700 Location Olkieniki, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now Valkininkai, Lithuania) 54°21′N 24°50′E / 54.350°N 24.833°E / 54.350; 24.833Coordinates: 54°21′N 24°50′E / 54.350°N 24.833°E / 54.350; 24.833 Result Victory for the anti-Sapieha coalition
Belligerents
Sapieha family and allies	Anti-Sapieha coalition
Commanders and leaders
Michał Franciszek Sapieha Jan Kazimierz Sapieha	Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki Grzegorz Antoni Ogiński Michał Kazimierz Kociełł
Strength
3,000 professional and mercenary soldiers and artillery.	Around 12,000 pospolite ruszenie (levée en masse).
Casualties and losses
Several thousand	Several thousand

The Battle of Olkieniki (Lithuanian: Valkininkų mūšis, Polish: Bitwa pod Olkienikami) took place on November 18, 1700, during the Lithuanian Civil War, between forces of the Sapieha family, led by Michał Franciszek Sapieha, and an anti-Sapieha coalition of Wiśniowiecki, Ogiński, Radziwiłł and Pac families and their supporters (including a pospolite ruszenie of Lithuanian and Samogitian szlachta), led by Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki.

The anti-Sapieha confederates were victorious.

Since the second half of the 16th century the Sapieha family of Lithuania and Belarus had risen to prominence and attained a premier rank among the magnate families of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Over the course of the 17th century, the family came to monopolize most of the top government offices of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. While these offices were not hereditary, the Sapiehas ensured that they remained within the family. Over time this contributed to growing resentment among Lithuania's other magnate clans and opposition to the Sapiehas began to form in various quarters. The Sapiehas attempts to control local politics through the sejmiks and their arrogation of other nobles' lands also led to dissatisfaction among rank-and-file szlachta.

The volatile situation was furthered acerbated by the actions of the King of Poland, Augustus II the Strong. Augustus aimed to transform the weak position of the Polish-Lithuanian monarch into one based on the then current Western (and Russian) model of an absolute monarch. He saw the potential conflict in Lithuania as a possible excuse for an intervention which could then be utilized to strengthen royal power, as well as a means of weakening powerful magnate families in the region.

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