Johann Joseph von Semlin (born Mostafa Ali Mirza Khan; 1736–1824) was the reputed son of

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...

. After his father's murder, a loyalist brought Ali Mirza Khan to

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, who named him ''"Johann Joseph Freiherr von Semlin"''. In 1746, when Von Semlin was 10 years old, he was sent to

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

to learn the German language and European culture. In 1756, he converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and two years later returned to Vienna.

Early life

Von Semlin was born in 1736

Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels The ''Almanach de Gotha'' (german: Gothaischer Hofkalender) is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published ...

, ''Adelslexikon'' Band XIII, Band 128 der Gesamtreihe, Limburg an der Lahn 2002, S. 293 in

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

, Persia. In 1746, at age 10, he moved to Graz and began learning German.

Military service

On completing his education at a Viennese military school, Von Semlin joined the Austrian army, rising after a few years to the rank of Commander. Von Semlin entered the service of the

Russian empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

and fought in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

as a

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. At the end of the war, he received a Medal of Honor. Captured in war in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, he was known as the Prince of Persia among his troops.

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

invited him to his palace and returned him to Maria Theresa. With two injuries received during his military service, Von Semlin retired in 1792 on a monthly pension of 810

florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

Retirement

Upon his retirement from the military, Von Semlin caught the attention of the French government. An ambassador of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

requested Von Semlin to attempt to take the throne of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, offering him military support. Von Semlin rejected the offer, saying "Neither me nor my children think about the

Peacock Throne The Peacock Throne ( Hindustani: ''Mayūrāsana'', Sanskrit: मयूरासन, Urdu: تخت طاؤس, fa, تخت طاووس, ''Takht-i Tāvūs'') was a famous jewelled throne that was the seat of the emperors of the Mughal Empire in India ...

. Even if I have any rights to become king of Iran, I cede them to

Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

, who supported me to this age."

Death

Von Semlin died at the age of 90 in

Mödling Mödling () is the capital of the Austrian Mödling (district), district of the same name located approximately 14 km south of Vienna. Mödling lies in Lower Austria's industrial zone (Industrieviertel). The Mödlingbach, a brook which rises ...

, near Vienna, and was buried in his home garden. In line with his

will and testament A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person ( executor) is to manage the property until its final distributi ...

, 5 gulden was paid to each poor person who attended his

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

.Ahmad Saberi, ''Ein persischer Prinz in Wien'', in: TAWAN, Magazin des Vereins Iranischer Ingenieure/innen in Österreich, Wintersemester 2002/2003, S. 8
Digitalisat
He signed bills using his Persian name, Ali Mirza Khan, up to his death.

Personal life

Von Semlin married Roza, a Turkic woman, in 1792. They had two sons, Johann (Yahya) and Joseph (Yusef). After attaining the legal age, they both joined the

Austrian army The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...

. Franz Gräffer, ''Conversationsblatt. Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Unterhaltung'', Band 1, Wien 1821
S. 186 f.
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Semlin, Joseph von 1736 births 1824 deaths Iranian emigrants to Austria Afsharid dynasty Austrian Christians 18th-century Austrian military personnel Austrian military personnel of the Seven Years' War Iranian former Muslims People from Isfahan 18th-century Iranian people