The unsuccessful siege of the Khotyn fortress by the Ottoman army in the fall of 1621 occupies a special place in Ukrainian and Polish history. It symbolises the victory of Christian Europe over the Muslim East, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s importance as a bulwark of Christianity, and the Ukrainian Cossacks’ victorious power.
Tetiana Grygorieva’s book focuses on the diplomatic history surrounding the event, exploring the routes of peacemaking between the two worlds and the role of diplomats in this process. It also examines how narratives of significant historical events are constructed, and in turn, how these narratives shape notions of victory and defeat.