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Chocim is a town in the Chernivets'ka oblast' of Ukraine. In former times the town was part of the Bessarabia region, which between the 15th and the 20th centuries passed successively to Moldavia, the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Romania, the Soviet Union, and Ukraine and Moldova. Due to the frequent change of control the name also changed frequently, and there is a multitute of spellings for the town, including but not limited to Khotyn, Chotyn, Hotin, Choczim, or Khotin. The city is famous for its history and archaeology, and also the Khotyn Fortress. Khotyn was the place of two major battles in 1621 and 1673.
History
In the 1621 battle of Khotyn, an army of 160,000 Turkish veterans were led by Sultan Osman II from Adrianople towards the Polish frontier. The Turkish who after their victory at the Cecora had high hopes of conquering Poland altogether. Their opposing military commander and one of the most prominent szlachcic of the 17th century in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Jan Karol Chodkiewicz crossed the Dnieper in September 1621 and entrenched himself in the Khotyn Fortress right in the path of the Ottoman advance. Here for a whole month the Commonwealth hetman held the sultan at bay, till the first fall of autumn snow compelled Osman to withdraw his diminished forces. But the victory was dearly purchased by Poland. A few days before the siege was raised the aged grand hetman died of exhaustion in the fortress on September 24, 1621. The battle is described by Wacław Potocki in his most famous work Transakcja wojny chocimskiej.
In the 1673 battle of Khotyn, the Polish Hussars again fought a major battle at this location.
The Fortress was also occupied by Russian field marshal Burkhard Christoph von Munnich in the Russo-Turkish War on August 19 1739.
The town fell to the Ukraine in June 1940 as part of the Chernivtsi region, known by its ethnographic name Bukovina, after being taken from Romania by Soviet Union, as an outcome of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
Famous People
The Romanian philologist Bogdan Petriceicu-Hasdeu was bown in Chocim in February 16, 1836.
External Links
- xenophongi.org with a history of the Fortress
- Khotyn (Chernivtsi, Ukraine)]
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