Marek Sobieski (24 May 1628 – 3 June 1652) was a Polish nobleman, starosta (tenant of the Crown lands) of Krasnystaw and Jaworów, and the older brother of King John III Sobieski of Poland. He graduated from Nowodworek College in Kraków and Kraków Academy, then traveled and studied in Western Europe. After returning to Poland in 1648 he fought against the Cossacks and Tatars at the Siege of Zbaraż and at the Battle of Beresteczko. He was taken captive by Tatars in 1652 and then killed by Cossacks. Childhood and studies Sobieski was the oldest child of Jakub Sobieski and his second wife Teofila Zofia Daniłłowicz. He was born on 24 May 1628 in Zolochiv and spent his childhood in Zhovkva. He grew up in a patriotic family, and his mother often took him and his brother to the grave of her grandfather Stanisław Żółkiewski, Grand Hetman of the Crown, who was killed in the battle of Cecora in 1620. Zofia Teofila Daniłłowicz taught her sons the inscription upon their great-grandfather's grave: "O quam dulce et decorum est pro patria mori!" (How sweet and glorious it is to die for one's homeland!). On 29 October 1639 Sobieski became Starosta of Yavoriv. Along with his brother John, beginning in 1640, Sobieski studied at the Nowodworski College in Kraków. On 29 April 1642 Sobieski made a speech on funeral of Jakub Zadzik, bishop of Kraków. The next year, on 2 June 1643, Sobieski made a speech where he thanked absent Władysław IV for everything he had done for Nodworski College. Two months earlier, in April 1643, Marek and John Sobieski began studies at Kraków Academy. In 1644 Sobieski became Starosta of Krasnystaw. In 1645 Jakub Sobieski, father of Marek and John, prepared special instructions and a guidebook for his sons, who were about to go abroad. Jakub Sobieski, who was inspired by Roman authors, emphasized learning foreign languages and physical exercises. He wanted to prepare his sons to be politics and diplomats. After completing their studies in 1646, the brothers started to travel around Europe under the tutelage of Sebastian Gawrecki. They departed Żółkiew on 21 February or 25 March 1646. They visited Berlin, Wittenberg, Leipzig, Halle, Amsterdam and Paris, where they arrived on 9 June 1646. They spent the next 16 months in France. In October 1647 Marek and John Sobieski went to England and subsequently studied mathematics in the Netherlands.