Khemelnitski formed an alliance with the Tartars and the Zaporojie Cossacks and led an invasion of Poland.

In addition to the continued persecution of the Orthodox Church, the exposure of LadislasР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћs secret treaty led the Cossacks under Bohdan Khmelnitsky to rise up against Poland in 1648, the very year that the Treaty of Westphalia sought to bring peace to Europe by ending the Thirty YearsР Р†Р вЂљРІвЂћСћ War (1618Р Р†Р вЂљРІР‚Сљ48). When his plans were revealed, the Cossacks feared becoming the scapegoats for the two countries. In 1645, Ladislas IV sought to involve the Cossacks, who by now were within the boundaries of Polish power, in war against the Ottoman Empire. The Uniate Church began a persecution of Orthodox believers who would not convert, and perhaps thousands fled to the Sech Commonwealth of the Cossacks.

In 1596, the Union of Brest united the Russian Orthodoxy of Lithuania with the Roman Catholicism of Poland to form what was known as the Uniate Church. The pact that set the state for his marriage to the queen of Poland stipulated that he become a Roman Catholic, the religion of Poland. Lithuanian grand duke Jogaila ruled the united monarchy as Ladislas (WР вЂўРІР‚С™adysР вЂўРІР‚С™aw) II Jagiello, first of the Jagiello dynasty. In 1569, Poland and Lithuania formally became the Union of Lublin.

At the same time, when the frontiers of the powers in East Europe were so fluid, each county could see the value of the Cossacks as frontier troops, perfectly suited to counter raiders from enemy lands. Brave and daring boys were noticed by the leader and were marked from an early age for advancement.Р вЂќР’В¬ossacks began to use their centralized position to raid the domains of the nations growing around them, although most of their attacks were directed toward the Muslim Tartars of the Crimea and the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. The atamans staged sham battles with the younger boys to accustom them to a military life from as early an age as possible. Indeed, the main strength of the Cossacks came from the quick charges they could execute on their horses. Boys were given weapons almost as soon as they could hold them and taught to ride sometimes before they could even walk. Their lifestyle reflected the influence of the Mongols before them. The Cossacks realized that keeping their freedom meant keeping their military skills at a high degree of readiness. During wartime, the ataman served as the supreme war commander. The Cossacks were governed by the Rada, or Legislative Assembly, led by the ataman.

Most of the Cossacks were of Slavic descent, and the majority Christian, usually of the Russian Orthodox faith. The word Cossack is derived from the Turkic term kazak, meaning Р Р†Р вЂљРЎС™free man.Р Р†Р вЂљРЎСљ Many serfs, or slaves, ran off to join the Cossacks because the measure of freedom enjoyed under the Cossack leaders (called atamans or hetmans) was not found anywhere else in Russia or East Europe during that period. While surrounded by the power of the growing Russian state of Poland in addition to the Crimean Tartars (or Mongols), the Cossacks still managed to keep a large measure of independence because of their military prowess. (Zaporojie is translated as Р Р†Р вЂљРЎС™below the bend in the river.Р Р†Р вЂљРЎСљ) Other historians have pointed to additional areas of Cossack settlement as time progressed, including areas in which entire settlements of Cossacks resided. On September 8, 1380, Dmitri won a decisive victory over the Mongols at Kulikovo by the Don River, effectively marking the end of Mongol rule over much of Russia.Р вЂќР’В«y the 16th century, the Cossacks had merged into two large autonomous bands, the Don Cossacks and the Zaporojie, who lived along the bends of the river Dnieper. As early as 1380, the Cossacks along the Don River are recorded as fighting with the Russian grand duke Dmitri against the Mongols. The Cossacks originally settled in the southern steppes of Europe and into Russia.

Cossacks and jews