This amazing man, a comrade-in-arms of Peter I and an outstanding statesman, made a significant contribution to world culture as a writer, historian, philosopher and orientalist. A member of the Berlin Academy since 1714, in his writings he marked the transition from scholastic medieval thinking to modern rational forms. His name is Dmitry Cantemir.
Childhood and primary education
The future politician was born on October 26, 1673 in the Moldavian village of Silishteni. Subsequently, it went to Romania, and today it is called Vaslui. At the end of the 17th century, it housed the residence of Constantin Cantemir, the Moldavian ruler and father of the newborn Dmitry. It is known about his mother Anna Bantysh that she was a representative of one of the oldest boyar families.
From early childhood, the formation of Dmitry Konstantinovich’s personality was greatly influenced by his teacher, an extremely educated man, the monk I. Kakavela. At one time, he was known for numerous publications polemicizing against the preachers of Catholicism, and also as the author of a textbook on logic, from which many generations of future philosophers and theologians comprehended this science.
Years spent in the Turkish capital
At the age of fifteen, Dmitry ended up in Istanbul. He arrived there not of his own free will, but as a hostage of a state subject to Turkey, which in those years was the Principality of Moldova. Being in such an unenviable position, he, nevertheless, does not waste time and continues to improve his education. In this he received invaluable assistance from many scientists of the Patriarchal Greco-Latin Academy, which at that time, like him, was located in the capital of the Illustrious Porte.
During the three years spent on the shores of the Bosphorus, the young man, hungry for knowledge, learned Greek, Turkish, Arabic and Latin, and also attended a course of lectures on history, philosophy and theology. His worldview was formed in those years under the influence of the philosophical works of Anthony and Spandoni, as well as as a result of his acquaintance with the natural philosophical ideas of Meletius of Artsky.
Military campaign and political intrigue
When Dmitry Cantemir returned to his homeland in 1691, he found himself in the thick of the war that the Principality of Moldova was waging with Poland. As the son of a ruler, Dmitry was among the commanders leading an army of thousands. In 1692, he distinguished himself during the siege of the Soroka fortress, captured by the Poles. This was his first experience of conducting combat operations and making decisions on which the lives of a large number of people depended.
The next year, 1693, brought him numerous problems related to the internal political struggle in the country. The fact is that Cantemir’s father, who until the last days of his life was the ruler of Moldova, died, and after his death the boyars chose Dmitry as a successor. But boyar will alone was not enough.
Since the principality was under Turkish protectorate, the election result had to be confirmed in Istanbul. Cantemir's political opponent, the ruler of Wallachia, Constantin Brancoveanu, took advantage of this. He managed to influence the Sultan, and as a result, Dmitry’s candidacy was rejected.
At diplomatic work
After a failure that cost him the highest government position, Cantemir returns to Istanbul again, but this time not as a hostage, but on a diplomatic mission. He was appointed to the post of official representative of the Moldavian ruler at the court of the Sultan. This time his stay on the banks of the Bosphorus turned out to be longer. With minor interruptions, he lived in the Turkish capital until 1710.
This period in the life of Dmitry Kantemir was filled with events. He had to fight, but this time in the ranks of the Turkish army. And although the battle with the Austrians on the Tisza River, in which he took part, ended in a crushing defeat for the Sultan’s troops, nevertheless, it gave him rich military experience. While on diplomatic work, Cantemir made an extensive circle of acquaintances.
Among his new friends were representatives of science, the most famous of whom was the famous Turkish scientist Saadi Effendi, and ambassadors of many European states. He became close to the Russian envoy, Count, an acquaintance with whom had far-reaching consequences.
Secret agreement with the Russian Tsar
In 1710, when the war between Russia and Turkey broke out, Cantemir, having received the Moldavian principality from the Turkish government, was obliged to participate in hostilities. However, secretly hating the enslavers of his homeland and pinning his hopes on Russian bayonets, he came into contact with the Russian government in advance, using his new acquaintance, Count Tolstoy.
The Turkish authorities, placing high hopes on Cantemir, without doubting his loyalty, entrust him with preparing the Moldovan army for the war with Russia. Dmitry’s responsibilities include building bridges and crossings across the Danube, as well as providing winter quarters for the Swedes who survived the disastrous Battle of Poltava, ready to take revenge for their past defeat. To complete the mission, he was obliged to conduct secret surveillance of his former political opponent Brancoveanu, whom the Sultan suspected of treason.
While in 1711 in Slutsk, one of the largest cities in Western Ukraine, Prince Dmitry Cantemir, with the assistance of Count P. A. Tolstoy, sent his envoy Stefan Luka to St. Petersburg, who was tasked with conducting secret negotiations with Peter I and concluding an unspoken alliance with him about joint actions against the Turks.
A treaty that was not destined to come true
From this time on, Cantemir’s close cooperation with the Russian monarch began. In the same year, 1711, he took an active part in drawing up an agreement that provided for the voluntary entry of Moldova under the jurisdiction of Russia on the basis of autonomy. One of the seventeen points of this document declared him personally, Dmitry Cantemir, the monarch, with the right to transfer power to his direct heirs. At the same time, all the privileges of the boyars remained inviolable.
The most important point of this agreement was the return to Moldova of all territories captured by the Porte and the abolition of Turkish tribute. The implementation of the agreement meant the end of the Ottoman yoke. This met with enthusiastic support in all layers of Moldovan society and provided Cantemir with nationwide support.
Prut Treaty
However, such rosy plans were not destined to come true. To liberate the Moldavian lands in 1711, the thirty-eight thousand Russian army set out on a campaign under the leadership of Count Sheremetyev. During all hostilities, Peter I was personally present at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief.
This campaign, which went down in history as the Prut campaign after the name of the river where a general battle took place with an enemy army of one hundred and twenty thousand, was unsuccessful for the Russians. To avoid defeat from the superior forces of the Turkish army, Peter I signed a peace treaty, according to which Russia lost the previously conquered Azov and a significant part of the coast of the Azov Sea. Thus, Moldova still remained under Turkish rule.
Moving to Moscow and royal favors
Of course, after everything that had happened, there could be no question of returning to their homeland for all Moldovans who served under Russian banners. A thousand boyars arrived in Moscow, where they were given a very cordial welcome. Cantemir also came with them. Dmitry Konstantinovich was awarded the title of count with the right to be called “lordship” for his loyalty to Russia.
In addition, he was awarded a substantial pension, and was given extensive land in what is now the settlements of Dimitrovka and Kantemirovka, located on their territory, which have survived to this day. The first of them acquired the status of a city with a population of five and a half thousand people, and the second became an urban-type settlement. To top it all off, Cantemir, as the ruler of all Moldovan immigrants who arrived with him, received the right to dispose of their lives at his own discretion.
European recognition of scientific works
In 1713, Dmitry Cantemir's wife Cassandra Kontakuzin died. After her death, he continued to live in Moscow, maintaining contact with the most advanced people of that time. Among them, the most famous were the founder of the Latin-Greek Academy Feofan Prokopovich, V. N. Tatishchev, princes A. M. Cherkassky, I. Yu. Trubetskoy, and the outstanding statesman B. P. Sheremetyev. He invited the famous writer and playwright as his personal secretary and children's teacher
By that time, many scientific works that Dmitry Cantemir created over the years of his wanderings had gained European fame. Descriptions of Moldova and Turkey, works on linguistics and philosophy brought him universal fame. The Berlin Academy of Sciences accepted him into its ranks as an honorary member in 1714. Of course, Russian scientists also paid their debt to the merits of their colleague.
Second marriage, moving to the banks of the Neva
In 1719, a significant event occurred in his life - he entered into a new marriage. This time Princess A.I. Trubetskaya becomes his chosen one. During the wedding ceremony, the crown over the groom's head was personally held by Emperor Peter I. It is difficult to imagine a greater honor for a subject of the Russian monarch. At the end of the celebrations, Dmitry Kantemir and his family moved to St. Petersburg, where he occupied a prominent government post as advisor to Peter I on Eastern Affairs. Here he is one of the people closest to the king.
When in 1722 the sovereign undertook his famous Dmitry Konstantinovich was next to him as head of the state chancellery. On his initiative, a printing house appeared where materials were printed in Arabic. This made it possible to compose and distribute the emperor’s appeal to the peoples inhabiting Persia and the Caucasus.
Scientific works and evolution of philosophical views
Even in wartime conditions, Kantemir, like many Russian scientists who found themselves in similar circumstances, did not stop scientific work. During these years, a number of historical, geographical and philosophical works came from his pen. As a tireless archaeologist, he studied the ancient monuments of Dagestan and Derbent. His views on the basic issues of the universe had undergone significant evolution by that time. In the past, an adherent of theological idealism, over the years he became a rationalist, and in many cases even a spontaneous materialist.
So, for example, in his writings he argued that the entire world, visible and invisible, develops on the basis of objective laws predetermined by the Creator. However, the power of scientific thought is able to study them and direct world progress in the direction necessary for people. Among Cantemir's historical works, the leading place is occupied by works on the history of Porta and his native Moldova.
The end of a colorful life
Dmitry Cantemir, whose biography is inextricably linked with the era of Peter the Great's transformations and reforms, passed away on September 1, 1723. He spent the last period of his life in the Dimitrovka estate granted to him by the sovereign. The ashes of the faithful were buried in Moscow within the walls of the New Greek Monastery, and in the thirties of the 20th century they were transported to Romania, to the city of Iasi.
Daughter of the Moldavian ruler
In one of the subsequent eras, during the reign of Empress Elizabeth, Cantemir’s daughter from her second marriage, Katerina Golitsyna, born in 1720, became widely famous. She received this surname when in 1751 she married an officer of the Izmailovsky regiment, Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn. After the wedding, she was promoted to a real lady of state by the empress who favored her.
Possessing a significant fortune and traveling a lot, Katerina Golitsyna spent several years in Paris, where she enjoyed extraordinary success in high society and at court. Her salon was one of the most fashionable in the French capital. When her husband was appointed Russian Ambassador to Paris, she became a real star.
Her life was cut short in 1761 due to illness. Dmitry Mikhailovich had a hard time with the death of his beloved wife. Having outlived her by almost thirty years, in his declining days he bequeathed to build a hospital for the poor in memory of his wife. This wish was fulfilled, and the Golitsyn Hospital, which became part of the First City Hospital at the beginning of the 20th century, became a kind of monument to the beloved woman.
Palace on the Neva embankment
The majestic building that adorns the Palace Embankment in St. Petersburg reminds posterity of Dmitry Cantemir himself. This is the former palace of Dmitry Cantemir. Erected in the twenties of the 18th century, it is the first building built in the Northern capital by the outstanding Italian architect B. F. Rastrelli. You can see his photo above. However, the Moldavian ruler himself did not have a chance to live in it. He died while finishing work was still underway in the palace, but his name is forever associated with this masterpiece of architecture.
History does not know many examples when one person could successfully combine the talent of a statesman with the talent of a scientist. Dmitry Konstantinovich Kantemir was a rare exception, although in science he was perhaps helped to realize his greatest political failure.
Dmitry Cantemir was born on October 26, 1673 in the family of the Moldavian ruler Konstantin Cantemir the Old.
The position of the ruler of Moldova during this period was precarious: the country was in vassal dependence on the Ottoman Empire, and the Turkish rulers regularly removed unwanted or overly independent princes. Often this ended with the death penalty for disgraced rulers.
At the same time, there was a desperate struggle among the Moldovan elite for the favor of the Turkish Sultan. All this was very reminiscent of the internal conflicts of the Russian princes in the struggle for the label for the great reign during the period of Rus'’s dependence on the Golden Horde.
Dmitry's father, Konstantin Cantemir, turned out to be one of the few rulers who died a natural death without losing power. True, to achieve this goal, Constantine had to constantly confirm his loyalty to the Sultan.
This affected Dmitry directly - in 1687, a 14-year-old teenager was sent to Constantinople as a hostage. It was assumed that if his father was unfaithful to his obligations to the Sultan, Dmitry would simply be executed.
Such a practice of hostages was not something unique for that time, but this hardly made Dmitry Kantemir feel any calmer. Perhaps it was then that he developed a brilliant ability to hide his real thoughts and plans, which was later repeatedly emphasized by his contemporaries.
Hunger for knowledge
Dmitry Cantemir was drawn to science from a young age, which was the complete opposite of his father: Konstantin Cantemir was illiterate.
Finding himself a hostage in Constantinople, Dmitry did not mourn his fate, but continued his studies. Fortunately, the position of a hostage of this rank allowed him to live quite freely. He studied ancient Greek, modern Greek, Latin, Arabic and Turkish, listened to lectures on history, theology and philosophy, met with scientists from the patriarchal Greco-Latin Academy, and also attended the Academy of the Padishah, an educational institution at the court of the Sultan for foreigners or Ottoman Christian subjects.
The young man’s talent was noted at the court of the Sultan, but he did not take the place of ruler of Moldavia after the death of his father. Despite the fact that Konstantin Cantemir directly pointed to Dmitry as the heir, as a result of court intrigues the Sultan did not approve him.
After the place of the ruler was taken by Dmitry's elder brother Antiochus, he became the envoy of the ruler at the court of the Sultan.
The time spent in Constantinople gave Cantemir a lot as a scientist - there he began collecting materials for his scientific works. Kantemir was interested in general history, the history of the Ottoman Empire, the morals and customs of this country.
In Constantinople, Kantemir met and became quite close with the Russian envoy Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy. Perhaps it was then that he conceived plans, the implementation of which he proceeded to implement ten years later.
Union with Russia
In 1710, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire appointed Dmitry Cantemir as ruler of Moldavia. This step was forced - a war with Russia was imminent, and an active and capable person, such as Cantemir, was needed in this post.
The Sultan did not take into account only one thing - the politician’s ability to hide his plans. Dmitry Cantemir conceived the idea of withdrawing Moldova from vassal dependence on the Ottoman Empire. To implement such plans, a powerful ally was needed, which Kantemir saw in Russia.
By that time, Russia, led by the Tsar Peter I conquered the Azov fortress from the Turks, and then during the Russian-Swedish war defeated the troops that were considered invincible Charles XII near Poltava.
The Swedish king took refuge in the Ottoman Empire, and this became one of the reasons for the ambitious Peter to launch a new military campaign against the Turks. The Russian troops, according to the Tsar's plan, were to raise the Christian peoples living under the Turkish yoke to revolt. Peter I hoped that as a result it would be possible to split off vast territories from the Ottoman Empire.
Dmitry Cantemir, who, at the behest of the Sultan, was supposed to build bridges across the Danube for the Turkish troops to march on Russia, intended to do the opposite - together with the Russian troops, start a war against the Sultan.
In April 1711, Peter I and Dmitry Cantemir concluded the Treaty of Lutsk. According to it, after victory in the war, the Principality of Moldova was supposed to enter into Russian citizenship, maintaining the status of an independent, sovereign state and the same customs within the country. The privileges of the Moldavian boyars were also preserved. The Gospodar throne was assigned to the Kantemirov dynasty.
Cantemir's intentions attracted the support of the majority of the Moldovan population and the country's elite, who believed that rapprochement with Russia was better than being a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.
Peter's Word
However, the Prut Campaign, as historians call this military campaign of Peter I, ended sadly. South of Iasi, the 38,000-strong Russian army was pressed against the Prut River by the allied 120,000-strong Turkish army and 70,000-strong Crimean Tatar cavalry. The position of the Russians was almost hopeless, but their fierce resistance cooled the ardor of the attackers. Remembering the results of the Battle of Poltava, the Turks chose to end the matter peacefully. Moreover, his conditions turned out to be even easier than Peter I expected: the Russians had to return Azov and tear down a number of new fortifications on the Sea of Azov, as well as make a number of other minor concessions.
Charles XII, having learned about the success of the Turks, rushed to the scene of events after the conclusion of the treaty, was indignant, and demanded an army to defeat Peter completely. However, the malicious Turks noticed that the Swedish king had already lost his battle with the Russians near Poltava, and if he wanted, he could pursue Peter I with his people (of which Charles had very few), and he would not receive another army.
If Peter I, as they say, managed to get out, then for Dmitry Cantemir everything was extremely sad - the Turks demanded that he be extradited in order to be executed for treason.
However, the Russian Tsar, despite the difficult situation, showed firmness: “I would rather cede to the Turks all the land extending to Kursk than hand over the prince who sacrificed all his property for me. Lost weapons are returned; but the violation of this word is irrevocable. To renounce honor is the same as not being a sovereign.”
So Dmitry Cantemir with 1000 Moldavian boyars, over whom he retained the right of life and death, went to Russia.
Here he received from Peter I the title of prince, vast lands near Kharkov, an estate near Moscow, as well as considerable funds.
Prussian academician and Russian senator
Despite all this, another politician who lost his state might have fallen into despair. But Dmitry Kantemir remained with his scientific talent. And in Russia he wrote his main works, which brought him the fame of a great European scientist. Cantemir, who had brilliant abilities for languages, mastered Russian, German and French, in addition to those he already knew.
Photo: AiF / Dmitry Zakharchenko
He wrote an outstanding work in Latin, “The History of the Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Court.” For more than a century, Cantemir's work has been considered the most fundamental that has been devoted to Turkey. This was followed by “Description of Moldavia”, “Life of Constantine Cantemir”, “Chronicle of the Antiquity of the Roman-Moldo-Vlachs”, “The Book of Sistima, or the State of the Muhammadan Religion”, as well as other works.
Cantemir's works were admired by his contemporaries, and the Prussian Academy of Sciences elected him as a member. Dmitry Cantemir became the first scientist from Moldova and Russia to be elected a member of the Academy of another state. In addition, Kantemir actively contributed to the creation of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
After the death of his first wife, Dmitry Cantemir married the princess Nastasya Ivanovna Trubetskoy and moved to St. Petersburg. Cantermere's knowledge and intelligence were highly valued by Peter, who made him an adviser on Eastern affairs, and then appointed him a member of the Governing Senate and elevated him to the rank of Privy Councilor.
From that moment on, Dmitry Cantemir became a member of Peter the Great's inner circle.
Photo: AiF / Dmitry Zakharchenko
In 1722, during the Persian campaign, Peter Cantemir was in charge of the campaign office. He produced Arabic typeface, organized a special printing house and printed in Tatar, Turkish and Persian the Manifesto of Peter I, composed and translated, to the peoples of the Caucasus and Persia.
In negotiations between Peter I and the rulers of the Caspian territories, Dmitry Cantemir acted as a translator. At the same time, he left literary notes about the campaign, and also described the ancient city of Derbent and a number of unique archaeological sites of the Caucasus.
But the Persian campaign finally undermined the health of Dmitry Cantemir. In the fall of 1722, with the permission of the tsar, he went to his estate due to an exacerbation of diabetes. Dmitry Konstantinovich Kantemir died on August 21, 1723 at 7:20 pm in his estate Dmitrovka, Oryol province, Kyiv province.
Moldavian trace in Russian history
Few people know, but the descendants of Dmitry Cantemir could ascend to the Russian throne. Daughter of the Moldavian ruler Maria Cantemir was the mistress of Peter the Great and was even pregnant by him. The Emperor was seriously considering replacing his disgraced wife with Maria. Ekaterina, however, these plans did not come true - the child did not survive, and Catherine managed to avoid the fate Evdokia Lopukhina.
Photo: AiF / Dmitry Zakharchenko
One of the sons of Dmitry Cantemir, Antiochus Cantemir, was a famous diplomat, Russian envoy first to England and then to France. Antioch Cantemir is also known as the largest Russian poet of the so-called syllabic era of Russian versification, which ended after the works Mikhail Lomonosov And VasilyI'm Trediakovsky, who introduced syllabic-tonic verse into Russian versification.
The name of Dmitry Kantemir is also associated with the events of the Great Patriotic War. On the lands that the Moldavian ruler owned in Russia, first a settlement and then a village appeared, named Kantemirovka in his honor.
In 1942, fierce battles with the Nazis broke out near Kantemirovka, in which the 4th Tank Division, formed near Voronezh, received a baptism of fire. After the liberation of Kantemirovka in December 1942, the division became a guards division, receiving the honorary name Kantemirovskaya.
Nowadays it is one of the elite units of the Russian Armed Forces. In turn, Kantemirovskaya Street in Moscow was named after the division.
Dmitry Konstantinovich Kantemir was buried in Moscow, in the New Greek Monastery, next to his first wife Cassandra.
In 1935, by agreement between the Romanian government and the Soviet Union, the remains of the great politician and scientist were transferred to the Moldavian city of Iasi and reburied in the Church of the Three Saints.
Moldavian writer, philosopher, historian and orientalist, ruler of Moldova. In 1711 he emigrated to Russia, where he became a political adviser to Peter I. Member of the Berlin Academy (1714). In his works he reflected the transition of philosophical thinking from the Middle Ages to modern times, from scholasticism to rationalism.
The youngest son of the Moldavian ruler Constantin Cantemir and Anna Bantysh, who came from an ancient boyar family. His first marriage was to Cassandra Cantacuzene, who came from a family of Byzantine emperors. Cantemir's teacher and educator was the educated monk I. Kakavela, the author of a textbook on logic and a number of anti-Catholic works. In November 1688, Cantemir was sent as a hostage to Istanbul, where he met with scientists from the Patriarchal Greco-Latin Academy, studied Greek, Latin, Arabic and Turkish, and listened to lectures on history, philosophy, and theology. The formation of Cantemir’s worldview was influenced by the works of the philosophers Anthony and Spandoni, and the natural philosophical ideas of Meletius of Artsky. Returning three years later to Moldova, D.K. Cantemir took part in the siege of the Soroca fortress, occupied by Polish troops (1692). After the death of his father (1693), he was elected by the boyars as the ruler of Moldova, but as a result of the machinations of the Wallachian ruler Constantin Brancoveanu, his candidacy was not approved by Sultan Ahmed I. Cantemir again left for Istanbul, where he remained until 1710 (with short breaks) as the representative of the Moldavian ruler at the Sultan's court. In 1697 he took part in the Battle of Zenta (now Senta, on the Tisza River), which ended in the defeat of the Turkish army from Austrian troops. Established friendly relations with the famous Turkish scientist Saadi Effendi, the ambassadors of Russia (P.A. Tolstoy), Holland (J. Collier), France (C. Ferriol). In 1710, the Sultan appointed the ruler of Moldavia with the obligation to prepare the Moldavian army for the war with Russia, build bridges and crossings across the Danube, arrange winter quarters for the remnants of the Swedish army of Charles XII defeated at Poltava, and monitor the actions of Brancoveanu, who was suspected of treason against the Porte. Cantemir, who sought to liberate Moldova from the Ottoman yoke, sent secret ambassador Stefan Luca to Russia, who entered into negotiations with Peter I on a joint fight against Turkey. In 1711; With the participation of Kantemir, a draft agreement was drawn up on the voluntary entry of Moldova into Russia on the basis of autonomy, on the establishment of a hereditary monarchy on its territory by Kantemirov, etc. He called on the population of Moldova to support the Prut campaign of 1711. After the conclusion of the Prut Peace of 1711, he and his family left Moldova. In August 1711 he was granted the title of His Serene Highness Prince, lands and estates, a house in Moscow and an annual pension of 6 thousand rubles. From 1713, after the death of his wife, he lived in Moscow, where he maintained contacts with Feofan Prokopovich, V.N. Tatishchev, Prince A. M. Cherkassky, Prince I.Yu. Trubetskoy, B.P. Sheremetev. He invited the writer I.I. to the position of secretary and teacher of his children. Ilyinsky. Cantemir's scientific works gained European fame. In 1714 he was elected a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. In 1719 he married Princess A.I. Trubetskoy (Peter I himself held the wedding crown over his head). Having moved with his family to St. Petersburg, he became the sovereign’s adviser on Eastern affairs and became one of the emperor’s closest associates. During the Persian campaign of 1722 he was in charge of the state chancellery. On Kantemir’s initiative, a special printing house with Arabic script was organized, in which Peter I’s appeal to the peoples of the Caucasus and Persia was published. In between hostilities, he undertook a series of geographical, historical, and archaeological studies, collected materials on the history of Dagestan, and studied the ancient monuments of Derbent. Cantemir is known as the author of philosophical, historical and philological works. Cantemir’s philosophical works include “Divan, or the Dispute of the Sage with the World” (1698), “Metaphysics” (1700), “General Abbreviated Logic” (about 1700), “Investigation of the Nature of Monarchies” (1714), “Dark Places in the Catechism "(1720). Cantemir's philosophical views underwent an evolution from theological idealism to rationalism and spontaneous materialism. Atomistic views were combined with a deistic understanding of the correlation between God and nature, soul and body. Cantemir argued that the world develops according to objective laws predetermined by God, but man, with the help of science, can study the secrets of the universe. Cantemir's historical works are mainly devoted to
om Ottoman Porte and Moldavia (“History of the rise and decline of the Ottoman Empire”, 1714-1716; “Description of Moldavia”, 1716; “Life of Constantine Cantemir”, 1716-1718; “Events in the life of the Cantacuzins and Brynkovians”, 1717-1718; “ System, or the State of the Mohamedan religion", 1719). Cantemir's work on the history of the Ottoman Empire was considered a classic study and was translated into English, German, and French; Voltaire called this work his handbook on the East. Kantemir was a supporter of a centralized state and an opponent of boyar tyranny. He studied the negative consequences of the Turkish yoke on the political, economic and cultural development of the peoples subject to the Ottoman Porte. He argued that history is a combination of progress and regression, that “states must appear and disappear, change and be reborn and die, have some kind of end.” He considered this process to be historically natural, for “from the death of one object another is born.” One of Cantemir’s most important literary works was “Hieroglyphic History” (1704-1705) - the first novel in the Moldavian language. This work, in an allegorical form, told about the dynastic feuds of the Cantemirs and Brynkovyans, about the tragedy of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, whose sovereigns, at enmity with each other, helped the sultans to oppress the peoples under their control. In 1703-1704 he wrote a musical treatise, where he outlined his ethical views, and also, based on the Arabic alphabet, gave a musical notation system for Turkish music. In 1723, due to illness, he returned to his Oryol estate Dmitrovka. Buried in the Moscow New Greek Monastery; in 1935, at the request of the Romanian government, his remains were transferred to Iasi.
Gospodar of the Moldavian Principality in 1693 and in 1710-1711. Famous Moldovan and Russian scientist, statesman, writer.
Childhood and youth: Turkish hostage
Dmitry Konstantinovich Cantemir was born on October 26, 1673 in the Moldavian village of Silishten. His family came from a noble boyar family. Cantemir was lucky enough to receive an excellent education: his teacher and educator was the monk Kakavela, the author of a textbook on logic and several anti-Catholic works. Thanks to Kakavela’s supervision, Cantemir began studying Romance and Oriental languages as a child, gained fundamental knowledge in historical and philosophical science, and studied architecture and the exact sciences. It was this hardening, received by Cantemir in early childhood, that, according to the scientist’s own admission, determined his future life path, and subsequently helped him work in Porte. Although the circumstances under which his true calling was revealed to him could not be considered favorable: in 1687, Dmitry ended up as a prisoner in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), where he found himself in an intelligent environment. His interlocutors were scientists from the Greco-Latin Academy, who highly valued the remarkable mind and abilities of young Cantemir. In addition, Dmitry also attended the Padishah Academy, an educational institution designed specifically for Christian subjects and foreigners. Young Dmitry's stay in Istanbul served as a guarantee of the fidelity of his father, Prince Constantine, on the throne.
Despite the fact that Dmitry was in Istanbul as a hostage, he managed to benefit from the situation in which he found himself. A born diplomat, Dmitry perfectly mastered the art of persuasion and often used his connections, which were growing stronger every day, for personal advancement. Thus, one of his closest friends was the Turkish scientist Saadi Effendi. Secrecy allowed Dmitry to collaborate with the famous Russian diplomat Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy. Passionate about science since childhood, he continued to expand his knowledge, using the treasures of local libraries, improved his knowledge of languages, and tirelessly read books. In total, Dmitry remained a hostage of Constantinople for four years (from 1687 to 1691).
When Prince Konstantin died in 1693, Dmitry, according to the will of the deceased, was elected ruler by the boyars. But his reign was by no means short-lived: it lasted only three weeks and was interrupted due to the intrigues of the local ruler Constantin Brancoveanu. Ahmed II became Sultan. Dmitry did not allow himself to be upset, being firmly convinced that he would definitely wait in the wings. He subsequently described all these political intrigues and conspiracies, not without irony, in one of his novels, “Hieroglyphic History.” Throughout his entire life, Dmitry was distinguished by rare productivity, which allowed him to succeed in almost any activity in which he was engaged.
Return to Istanbul
After this, Cantemir again found himself in Istanbul, where this time he went on his own initiative. Dmitry Konstantinovich stayed in this city intermittently until 1710, being the representative of the Moldavian ruler at court. Despite his sociability, outward openness and ability to win over, Cantemir never sincerely loved Turkey. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, his native Moldavian principality had already been under the yoke of the Ottoman yoke for more than one hundred and fifty years. Dmitry remembered constant humiliation and oppression from the Turks from childhood. Despite the fact that the Moldavian people several times found the strength to repel the invaders, all attempts to change the situation still ended in defeat. After another victory over the conquered, the Turks imposed even greater taxes on the Moldovans, who, despite all their hardships, could not finally stop the people’s struggle for the right to be free. The main problem of Moldova was the lack of unity among the ruling class: the preferences of the top were heterogeneous. There were both supporters and fierce enemies of the Turkish regime. If the working class treated the Turkish proteges with hatred, then the boyars, largely owing their high position and privileges to the Porte, advocated a pro-Turkish direction in politics.
Cantemir's activities were not limited to diplomacy. So, in 1697 he took part in the Battle of Zenta. Despite the fact that the battle ended in the complete defeat of the Turkish army by the Austrians, Dmitry Konstantinovich received invaluable military experience and new connections. His circle of close acquaintances now included the Dutch ambassador Collier and the French diplomat Ferriol. Fluency in several foreign languages allowed Kantemir to easily expand his circle of acquaintances, expand his knowledge base, and read even the most difficult to understand military, diplomatic and historical publications.
Meanwhile, Cantemir’s desire to free his native people from Turkish rule only grew every year. In 1710 he was appointed ruler of Moldavia. The Sultan set a condition for him: Cantemir receives such a high post with the obligation to prepare the Moldavian army for the war with Russia. Dmitry Konstantinovich had to thoroughly engage in military preparations.
Cantemir made use of the opportunities that opened up to him in his own way: he immediately sent secret ambassador Stefan Luca to Russia, who in turn entered into negotiations with Peter I. Cantemir was going to agree on a joint war against the Porte. He once again proved himself to be a brilliant diplomat when a year later, in 1711, with his participation, a draft agreement was drawn up on the voluntary entry of Moldova into Russia on the basis of autonomy. The so-called Lutsk Treaty obliged Cantemir to inform Peter I everything he knew about Turkish affairs. Peter, in turn, guaranteed any assistance in the fight against Turkey. The agreement contained a total of seventeen points, one of which was that the Kantemirov dynasty retained the royal throne. Moreover, all lands captured by the Turks were returned to the Principality of Moldova, which, in turn, was completely released from the obligation to pay tribute to the Turks. The majority of the population greeted the agreement with delight and warmly supported Cantemir's idea of a commonwealth with Peter the Great against the Turks. Only a minority of the population was outraged by the break with the Porte.
Cantemir understood perfectly well how beneficial this agreement was for his principality. After its implementation, the Moldovans were freed from many years of oppression and oppression by the Turks, separated from the fading (both economically and politically) Porte and joined Russia, which by all indications promised to become a great power. Indeed, only a few years will pass, and Russia, thanks to its triumphant victory over the Swedes in the Northern War, will become an empire, and Peter I will become the first Russian emperor.
Tsar Peter I personally led the liberation army and headed to Moldova. A battle took place on the Prut River, during which the Russian 38,000-strong army faced the Turks and Crimean Tatars, whose number of troops was almost five times greater. The Russians resisted to the last. As a result, a peace agreement was concluded: Peter’s army broke out of the encirclement, but in return was forced to cede Azov to Turkey, conquered by Peter during his campaign in 1696. Moldova still remained dependent on Turkey.
Kantemir in Russia
After the unsuccessful end of the Prut campaign, Cantemir, together with a thousand Moldavian boyars, went to Russia. Here he received princely dignity with the title of lordship and other privileges granted to him by Peter I, including the title of lordship, a significant pension, and extensive estates on the territory of the modern Kharkov region.
Until the death of the king, Cantemir enjoyed his favor. Peter I not only granted Dmitry Konstantinovich vast lands; It was thanks to the king that Cantemir received a high government post. He became a privy councilor and senator, and subsequently took part in the Persian campaign. Moreover, when Cantemir married for the second time (Anastasia Ivanovna Trubetskaya became his wife), the tsar personally held the wedding crown over his head. Relations with Peter were based not only on Cantemir’s diplomatic talent and rare education for his time. Cantemir's daughter from her first marriage was distinguished by her amazing beauty, which, according to rumors, Peter I could not resist. Rumor claimed that Maria Cantemir captivated the king so much that he seriously wanted to divorce Catherine in order to marry Maria, who was already expecting from Peter heir. However, the boy was stillborn. Soon after this, Peter I died, and Catherine, having ascended the throne, made sure that her rival was sent into exile.
In total, Dmitry Konstantinovich had eight children from two marriages. It is noteworthy that almost all of them lived to old age, although the eldest son Dmitry died in infancy.
Throughout his subsequent life, Cantemir kept literary diaries, describing not only the current political situation in the country, but also devoting time to the creation of orientalist works. Unfortunately, little was published during Cantemir's lifetime. But it was precisely thanks to Cantemir’s extensive knowledge that Peter I appointed him head of the campaign office during the Persian campaign. Knowledge of several foreign languages was typical of educated circles, but Cantemir, who knew Italian, Russian, Moldavian, Turkish, Arabic, Tatar, Persian and Latin, stood out against this background. Dmitry Konstantinovich largely perceived the Persian campaign not as a military enterprise, but as an opportunity to expand knowledge, a scientific expedition.
In 1703-1704 he was writing a musical treatise. Based on the Arabic alphabet, he described the notation system of Turkish music and also outlined his own ethical views.
For his time, he was better known as a statesman and an important person at the Russian court: indeed, very few could boast of such a disposition from the sovereign that Dmitry Konstantinovich enjoyed. However, his merits do not end with administrative work alone. The literary legacy left by Cantemir is priceless: he proved himself not only as a brilliant orientalist and expert in almost ten foreign languages, but also as a writer, geographer, and philosopher. The talent of this man was confirmed by thousands of pages of writings left after his death.
Unfortunately, Cantemir's life was short-lived. Death overtook Dmitry Konstantinovich at a relatively young age. Suffering from diabetes for a long time, he felt so bad during the Persian campaign that he left his retinue. The Emperor allowed his advisor to linger for a while.