Wacław Seweryn Rzewuski (15 December 1784 – 14 May 1831) was a Polish explorer, poet, orientalist and horse expert.T. Miciński: "Emir Rzewuski"

Early life

Wacław Rzewuski was born 15 December 1784 in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

. He was the son of field

Hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

Seweryn Rzewuski Seweryn Rzewuski (; 13 March 1743 in Podhorce – 11 December 1811 in Vienna) was a Polish nobleman, writer, poet, general of the Royal Army, Field Hetman of the Crown, Voivode of Podolian Voivodeship and one of the leaders of the Targowi ...

whose family held enormous estates in Ukraine, and Princess

Konstancja Małgorzata Lubomirska Princess Konstancja Małgorzata Lubomirska (1761–1840) was a Polish noblewoman and artist. She was an amateur artist and some of her drawings are preserved. She married Seweryn Rzewuski Seweryn Rzewuski (; 13 March 1743 in Podhorce – ...

of the influential

Lubomirski family The House of Lubomirski is a Polish princely family. The Lubomirski family's coat of arms is the Drużyna coat of arms, which is similar to the Szreniawa coat of arms but without a cross. Origin and the coat of arms The Lubomirski f ...

. His parents moved the family to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

after the

Third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...

and he was educated at the elite

Theresianum Theresianum (or Theresian Academy; ) is a private Boarding school, boarding and day school governed by the laws for public schools in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1746 by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. History Early history (1614–1 ...

. In 1806 he married

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

, another descendant of the Lubomirski family. He served in the Austrian army, fighting at

Aspern-Essling In the Battle of Aspern-Essling (21–22 May 1809), Napoleon I of France, Napoleon crossed the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were attacked and forced back across the river by the Austrian Empire, Austrians under Archduke ...

in 1809, as a second lieutenant in the

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

Hussars A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

and was dismissed in 1811. During his time in Vienna, his relative, the famous traveler and adventurer,

Jan Potocki Count Jan Potocki (; 8 March 1761 – 23 December 1815) was a Polish nobleman, ethnologist, linguist, traveller and author of the Enlightenment period, whose life and exploits made him a celebrated figure in Poland. He is known chiefly for his ...

, stirred his interest in travel to the lands of the Middle East and he took up the study of Turkish and Arabic. Together with the pioneering Austrian orientalist,

Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall (; 9 June 1774 – 23 November 1856) was an Austrian orientalist, historian and diplomat. He is considered one of the most accomplished orientalists of his time. Life Born Joseph Hammer in Graz, Duchy of S ...

, he founded one of the first professional journals of Middle East and Islamic Studies, ''Mines de l'Orient'' (Fundgruben des Orients) (Fontes rerum orientalium)(Sources for Oriental Studies) which was published in six folio volumes from 1809 to 1819.

Travels and publishing

He eventually became a member of the scientific society in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

, the Munich Academy of Sciences and a member of the

Warsaw Society of Friends of Learning The Warsaw Society of Friends of Science (, ''TPN'') was one of the earliest Polish scientific societies, active in Warsaw from 1800 to 1832. Name The Society was also known as ''Warszawskie Królewskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk'' (Warsaw Ro ...

. In the years 1818-1820 he travelled the Middle East, visiting

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, after which he settled in

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

. During his year of travel he was admitted to 13 tribes and is reputed to have received the title of ''

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

, Taj al-Fahr'' ("Crown of glory") and ''Abd al-Niszan'' ("servant of the sign"). His Arabic name is a direct translation of his name in its old Slavonic meaning, Viacheslav, or "Crown of Glory," later, Wacław. His publications included the plan of the mosque in Mecca, maps of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

and he recorded the music of the

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

. He published ''Sur les chevaux orientaux et provenants des races orientales'' which contains more than 400 full-color drawings, recording culture and customs of Saudi

Arabian Desert The Arabian Desert () is a vast desert wilderness in West Asia that occupies almost the entire Arabian Peninsula with an area of . It stretches from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq. It is the fourth largest desert in the ...

. He returned to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

settling in his native Podolia with a rich collection of Oriental

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

s, books, costumes, weapons, and pipes. He also began researching Ukrainian

folk custom A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

s at this time.

Later years

From 1825 he belonged to the Patriotic Society and was arrested in 1826 and held for two years. He was later involved in the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

of 1830 Commanding a Division in the battle of

Daszów Daszów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Jemielno, within Góra County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Jemielno, south of Góra, and north-west of the regional capit ...

. He was killed in mysterious circumstances on 14 May 1831.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rzewuski, Waclaw 1784 births 1831 deaths November Uprising participants Writers from Lviv People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Polish explorers Polish male poets Waclaw Seweryn Writers from the Austrian Empire