Philippe de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (1655–1727) was the

Grand Prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be low ...

for France in the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. Vendôme held senior military positions throughout his life, in various command roles.

Life

Philippe was born in 1655, the second son of Louis de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme, and of his wife,

Laura Mancini Laura Mancini (6 May 1636 – 8 February 1657) was a niece of Cardinal Mazarin. She was the eldest of the five famous Mancini sisters, who along with two of their female Martinozzi cousins, were known at the court of Louis XIV of France as the ''M ...

. Among his earlier military campaigns was the

Siege of Candia The siege of Candia (modern Heraklion, Crete) was a military conflict in which Ottoman forces besieged the Venetian-ruled city. Lasting from 1648 to 1669, or a total of 21 years, it is the second-longest siege in history after the siege of Ce ...

in 1669, during which he fought against

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

forces. During the siege, his uncle,

François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort (16 January 1616 – 25 June 1669) was the son of César, Duke of Vendôme, and Françoise de Lorraine. He was a prominent figure in the Fronde, and later went on to fight in the Mediterranean. He is sometime ...

, was killed. In his later position of Grand Prior for France in the Order of Malta, Philippe was able to attain numerous military commands, fighting in engagements including

Fleurus Fleurus (; wa, Fleuru) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles. The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, ...

, Steenkirk and

Marsaglia Marsaglia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about east of Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Pied ...

. During the

Spanish War of Succession Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Philippe was briefly in command of French forces in Italy. The opposing

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

forces were commanded by

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...

, a more skilled commander than Philippe, whose brother Louis Joseph, another senior French commander, had to assist him during the Battle of Cassano. He was subsequently demoted to a position subordinate to that of his brother, and served in this role during further campaigning occurring in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

. After the death of Louis-Joseph, Philippe inherited his brother's ducal titles (except Duke of Penthièvre which had been sold to Marie Anne de Bourbon in 1696). He died without issue. The dukedom became extinct after his death.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * *
Les Bourbon-Vendôme
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philippe, Duke Of Vendome 1655 births 1727 deaths House of Bourbon-Vendôme Dukes of Vendôme People of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars Vendome