
Ivan Bohun (1618- 17 February 1664) was a Ukrainian Cossack colonel who was a close ally and friend of Bohdan Khmelnytsky and one of his commanders during the Khmelnytsky Uprising of the late 17th century.
Biography[]

Bohun in 1647
Ivan Bohun was born to a family of Ukrainian-Ruthenian nobility, and he was adopted by the Polish noblewoman Ewa Kurcewiczowa as her sixth son. Bohun was proud of his Cossack heritage and harbored a personal dislike for Poles, although he became enamored with the princess' niece Helena Kurcewiczowna, whom he sought to marry due to her beauty, and in order to inherit the Rozlogi estate from her. In 1647, however, he became rivals with the Polish nobleman and hussar lieutenant Mikolaj Skrzetuski, who earned the love of Helena while staying at Rozlogi as a guest of the elderly Princess. Bohun was told to leave the estate before he could pick a violent quarrel with Skrzetuski after growing jealous at the sight of Skrzetuski and Helena dancing together, but he and his Cossack regiment arrested Skrzetuski's messenger Rzedzian as he carried letters from Skrzetuski to the Princess and Helena; Bohun had been tasked with inspecting all mail that came through the area. In the process, Bohun discovered that the Princess had breached her promise to have Helena marry him, and that Helena was betrothed to marry Skrzetuski instead. Bohun knocked out Rzedzian in a fit of anger and returned to Rozlogi, where he killed the Princess and her sons, being wounded in the head during the fight. Bohun's drinking mate Jan Onufry Zagloba helped Helena escape the state overnight, and Bohun - now in rebellion against Poland-Lithuania - ordered his men to find Helena. Meanwhile, Rzedzian, still loyal to Skrzetuski, tended to Bohun's wounds and claimed that he had decided to join the Cossacks and had no master; he used his position to spy on Bohun for Skrzetuski and their friends.

Bohun singing a Cossack song
Bohun joined Bohdan Khmelnytsky's rebel Cossack army in 1648 and took part in the Siege of Bar, capturing Helena from the fallen Polish stronghold; she survived an initial suicide attempt, so Bohun took her to the witch Horpyna to recover. With Helena in his captivity, Bohun returned to Kyiv to rejoin Khmelnytsky. Khmelnytsky entrusted Bohun with serving as his emissary to King John II Casimir Vasa during the February 1649 peace talks, and, along the way, Bohun ran into his former friend-turned-rival Zagloba and Zagloba and Skrzetuski's friend Jerzy Wołodyjowski at a tavern. At Zagloba's instigation, Wolodyjowski challenged Bohun to a duel, during which he slashed Bohun across the chest and left him for dead.

Bohun on horseback
Bohun was nursed back to health by Rzedzian, who discovered from Bohun that Helena was alive and with the witch Horpyna; Rzedzian then deserted Bohun and told Skrzetuski's friends of Helena's location, enabling them to rescue her. Meanwhile, a recovered Bohun joined Khmelnytsky's army at the Siege of Zbarazh, and, upon hearing that the Crimean Khanate had betrayed the Cossacks by making peace with the Poles, Bohun rejected the new peace and decided to lead a suicidal Cossack charge against the walls of the city. Bohun was captured by Wolodyjowski's men after being unhorsed, and he was presented, tied-up to Skrzetuski and Helena at the royal castle of Toporow after Skrzetuski and Helena reunited. Skrzetuski decided to spare his mortal enemy, even as Bohun warned Skrzetuski that he would return to Khmelnytsky. Skrzetuski gave Bohun a sword and a horse, and Bohun rode off to rejoin the Cossacks.
In June 1651, Bohun was elected colonel of the troops of Braclaw and fought at the Battle of Berestechko, surviving the defeat and regathering his forces before winning the 1652 Battle of Batih. From 1654 to 1657, in alliance with Russia, he led his Cossacks in skirmishes with the Poles at Bratslav and Uman, and he also fought against the Crimean Tatars after they switched allegiances. Bohun opposed the Treaty of Pereyaslav in 1654, leading an anti-Russian uprising and being defeated by pro-Russian cossacks at the 1659 Battle of Konotop. Bohun was captured by the Poles in 1663, but he was offered his freedom in exchange for fighting alongside the Poles against the Tsardom of Russia. During the Siege of Hlukhiv, he handed over important military information to the Russian garrison, for which he was executed by firing squad.