Jan Sariusz Zamoyski (; 19 March 1542 – 3 June 1605) was a Polish nobleman, magnate, and the 1st ordynat of Zamość. He served as the Royal Secretary from 1565, Deputy Chancellor from 1576, Grand Chancellor of the Crown from 1578, and Great Hetman of the Crown from 1581. Zamoyski was the General Starost of the city of Kraków from 1580 to 1585, Starost of Bełz, Międzyrzecz, Krzeszów, Knyszyn and Tartu. An important advisor to Kings Sigismund II Augustus and Stephen Báthory, he was one of the major opponents of Bathory's successor, Sigismund III Vasa, and one of the most skilled diplomats, politicians and statesmen of his time, standing as a major figure in the politics of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth throughout his life. Biography Childhood and education Jan Zamoyski was born on 19 March 1542 to Stanisław Zamoyski and Anna Herburt in Skokówka. He started his education in a school in Krasnystaw but when he was thirteen years old he was sent to study abroad; from 1555 to 1559 he was a page at the royal court in Paris. Already at this young age he attended lectures at the Sorbonne University and Collège de France. In 1559 he briefly visited Poland, then attended the University of Strasbourg; after a few months there he moved to University of Padua, where from 1561 he studied law and received a doctorate in 1564. During his years abroad he converted from Calvinism to Roman Catholicism. During his education, he became active in university politics, and in 1563 he was elected the rector of the law department. Around that time he also wrote De senatu Romano, a brochure about Ancient Rome government. He returned to the Commonwealth in 1565, and was the first person to receive a commendation letter from the senate of the Republic of Venice. Early career After returning to Poland, he was appointed to the Royal Chancellery, and soon became a favorite secretary to King Sigismund II. In 1567 he commanded a royal task force, sent to remove the noble family of Starzechowscy from the royal lands they were decreed to hold illegally. Another major task he completed at that time was the reorganization of the Chancellery archive. In 1571 he married Anna Ossolińska; his wife and their young son died shortly afterwards, in 1572. After the extinction of the Jagiellon dynasty in 1572 during the election sejm (special session of the