9-th, 2004 - 17: 0   (Posted By: Webmaster)
Abraham Hannibal    

Abraham Hannibal
RUSSIAN GENERAL AND COMRADE OF PETER THE GREAT (d. 1782)

HISTORY CONTAINS FEW FIGURES more extraordinary than Abraham Hannibal. Stolen from his parents in Africa and sold into slavery, he became general-in-chief of one of the leading white empires of his day. His great-grandson became one of the world's greatest poets, while other of his descendants became members of the leading royal families of Europe.
Destiny was kind to Hannibal from the beginning; instead of being sent to America, where he would have been at best a house servant, he was taken to Turkey. At that time, while Africans were languishing in slavery in America, some of their brothers, also from the jungles, were the pampered pets of European royalty, especially at the court of Russia.
Still a child, Hannibal was sold as a slave to Sultan Selim IV at Constantinople, where he attracted the attention of Count Raguinsky, the Russian ambassador. Wishing to take an unusual gift to the czar, Raguinsky secured Hannibal either by kidnapping or as a gift, and took him back to Russia.

Merry, vivacious, and intelligent, the ten-year-old boy captivated Peter the Great, who adopted him immediately. With Christina, Queen of Poland, as his godmother, Hannibal was baptized into the Christian faith. Peter gave him his own name, but the boy, whose real name was Ibrahim, wept so bitterly at the change that thereafter he was called Abraham, the Christian equivalent of his own name. Hannibal was later added as a tribute to his military skill. However, his parents, who later appeared on the scene, claimed that he was descended from the great Carthaginian and that his real name was Hannibal. The lad showed special talent for mathematics and engineering and Peter sent him to Paris to study. There, as the czar's protégé, he was received in the highest circles. His exotic appearance won him the favor of the ladies of the gay court of the Duke of Orleans, who was then regent; indeed the duke himself offered Hannibal a high position if he would transfer his allegiance to him. But Hannibal, though preferring the gayer and more cultured French atmosphere, remained loyal to his master, even though at this time Peter, preoccupied with the affairs of state, had quite forgotten Hannibal who, finding himself without money, thought of returning on foot to Russia.

While Hannibal was pursuing his studies war broke out between France and Spain. He accepted a commission in the French army, serving with valor until he was wounded in the head. Soon afterward he returned to Russia where he became an officer in the engineers' corps, winning rapid promotion on his own merits. About this time his people in Africa, discovering his whereabouts, sent a rich ransom for him, but he refused to leave his benefactor. Peter appointed him tutor in mathematics to the crown prince, later Peter II. As this post gave him great influence with the future ruler, he became of considerable importance to those engaged in court intrigue. As a result of this, fortune was to turn

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