He was also a magnate, a royal official (starosta), a castellan, a member of the Polish nobility (szlachta), and the voivode (governor) of Sandomierz from 1625 until his death.

In 1634, he defeated a major Turkish invasion at Kamianets-Podilskyi (Kamieniec Podolski), in modern Ukraine, while in 1644, his victory against the Tatars at the Battle of Ochmatów brought him international fame and recognition.

What is known, though, is that his father, Aleksander Koniecpolski, was a wealthy magnate belonging to the szlachta (Polish nobility) and was also the voivode of Sieradz, and a staunch supporter of King Sigismund III of the Swedish House of Vasa.

[3] He may also have undertaken a tour of Western Europe for several months, spending the majority of his time in France before returning to his family's estates.

Under the command of Grand Lithuanian Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, he took part in the effort to relieve and supply the besieged Polish forces in the Moscow Kremlin.

[7] In 1612 Koniecpolski joined the wojsko kwarciane (regular Commonwealth army) in Ukraine under the command of Field Crown Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski,[7] who greatly influenced his career.

[10] Throughout 1615 and 1616 Koniecpolski gained further experience in Ukraine, fighting the Tatar hordes, but failed to destroy or capture any sizable enemy units.

[12] The following year, Koniecpolski took part in the Moldavian Magnate Wars alongside Żołkiewski, and stood against Iskender Pasha's powerful Turkish army.

[4][15] Soon afterward, Koniecpolski was defeated by the Tatars near Orynin, where he committed the mistake of pursuing the enemy against overwhelming odds and barely made it out of the battle alive.

Polish-Ottoman relations stabilized in the wake of the Ottoman defeat at Khotyn in 1621, and in the spring of 1623 the prisoners returned to Poland after a diplomatic mission by Krzysztof Zbaraski purchased their freedom for 30,000 thalers.

[28] Reasoning that the Tatars had their share of trouble with the Porte and that Kantymir's Budjak horde would be unable to send major assistance,[29] Koniecpolski gathered a 12,000-strong army of regular and private units to deal with the rebellion.

With an army estimated at between 15,000 and 20,000, they raided and pillaged territories as far north as the Podole Voivodeship, passing Ternopil and Terebovlia, while some advanced units reached the cities of Lutsk, Volodymyr-Volynskyi and Lviv.

[36] Later that year, fearing a repeat invasion, Koniecpolski violated a Sejm resolution in recruiting and fielding an army of 8,000 against an expected Tatar second wave.

In June, Gustavus Adolphus, with a fleet of 125 ships and an army of over 14,000 men, approached the Polish coast and began collecting tariffs on trade passing through Gdańsk (Danzig).

[40] In a battle that took place between 22 and 30 September 1626 near the village of Gniew, Gustavus defeated a Polish army led by King Sigismund, who retreated and called for reinforcements from other parts of the country.

[49] The Swedes then planned to strike Koniecpolski from two directions: Oxenstierna, from the Vistula River, and Johann Streiff von Lawentstein and Maxymilian Teuffl, from Swedish-held Pomorze.

[53] As a result of the series of Swedish defeats in spring 1627, they lost all their strongholds on the west bank of the Vistula, and with those, their hopes for a quick and decisive victory.

The situation also convinced the Elector of Brandenburg to declare his support for the Commonwealth, and afterwards the Lithuanian forces resumed their offensive in Livonia.

[62] The last major engagement of the year saw the surprising defeat of a Swedish flotilla by the small Polish Navy on 28 November 1627 at the Battle of Oliwa.

[64][65] Koniecpolski counterattacked, putting his small forces to most efficient use—quick cavalry melée attacks, combined with supporting infantry and artillery fire, guerrilla warfare, the use of engineers to raise fortifications, and clever use of terrain advantage.

Lacking artillery and infantry support, he could not breach its walls,[78] but the Cossacks, needing supplies and having suffered heavy casualties, agreed to negotiate.

[4][85] It had stood vacant for 12 years, since the death of Stanisław Żółkiewski; presumably King Sigismund had feared that Koniecpolski, if given the post earlier, would have become too powerful a magnate.

[88] Though generally seen as a supporter of the King, Koniecpolski opposed some of his plans aimed at increasing royal power in the Commonwealth and weakening the Golden Liberty of the nobility.

[93] In 1635, in the short lived Sulima Uprising, after Cossacks under Ivan Sulyma captured and destroyed the Polish Kodak Fortress (near modern Dnipro),[76] Koniecpolski led an expedition that retook the fort and punished the insurgents.

[95] Koniecpolski grasped the need to modernize the Commonwealth's military and worked with King Władysław IV to that end, including the recruitment of mercenaries experienced in western warfare, and further development of artillery (he supervised the construction of arsenals at Kudak, Bar and Kamieniec Podolski, and built forges on his Ukrainian estates).

[103][104][105] King Władysław IV continued to push for a crusade against Turkey, but it had little internal support and failed to achieve anything except to spread false hopes among the Cossacks, to whom he promised privileges and money in exchange for their participation.

[106] Koniecpolski remarried soon after, taking the hand of 16-year-old Zofia Opalińska, daughter of future Crown Marshal Łukasz Opaliński, on 16 January 1646.

[111][112] With the knowledge and support of the King, Koniecpolski sent and received diplomatic missions from Constantinople, carried out negotiations and signed treaties, and as the Grand Crown Hetman he directly controlled a substantial part of the Commonwealth's military.

[120] Koniecpolski fortified the town with a citadel and bastions in 1633 and set up workshops for producing Persian-type samite fabrics, carpets and rugs.

[122] Regarded as a courteous and educated man, Koniecpolski participated in all the Sejm sessions that he could, though he rarely spoke publicly due to his stutter.