Sobieski was educated in Kraków and Paris. He was a famed orator and parliamentarian. He participated in the military expedition (Dymitriads) against Russia in 1617-1618 (wounded during the assault of Moscow), and was a member of the War Council (Rada wojenna) of King Władysław IV.[1] He took part in negotiations with Muscovy in the Truce of Deulino in 1618.[1] Subsequently, he fought in the Chocim expedition against the Ottoman Empire in 1621,[1] and the expedition against Abazy Pasa in 1633. He was one of the negotiations with Sweden in the Treaty of Stuhmsdorf (Sztumska Wieś) in 1635.[1]
He was considered by his contemporaries a wise and honorable person. Member of many commissions and diplomatic bodies, he often acted as a mediator or as a guardian of orphaned children. In politics, he usually supported king's plans, but was also a defender of the nobility rights and religious tolerance.
During the Chocim expedition in 1621 he wrote a diary called Commentariorum chotinensis belli libri tres (Pamiętnik wojny chocimskiej - Diary of the Chocim War), which was published in 1646 in Danzig. It was used by Wacław Potocki as a basis for his epic poem, Transakcja wojny chocimskiej (The Progress of the War of Chocim).
He authored Commentariorum Chotinensis belli libri tres (1646) and instructions for his sons journeying to Kraków (1640) and France (1645) which are seen as a prime example of liberal education of that era.[1]