General Abraham Hannibal, General Ivan Hannibal, Alexander S. Pushkin and Descandants

FROM THE ERITREAN CAMEL TO THE RUSSIAN DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE TO THE BRITISH LION

TACKLING THE RUSSIAN BEAR: THE FOURTH GENERATION THE ODYSSEY CONTINUES

ALEXANDER S. PUSHKIN: THE SON AND SUN OF RUSSIA

PART FOUR

At this juncture, unlike the previous parts, I start this part differently. First, I will give quotes from various Russian and non-Russian sources to give one a feel as to how much Alexander S. Pushkin meant to Russia and everyone. Yes, everyone, as Mikhail Ivanov wrote in the June/July 1999 issue of Russian Life, entitled “My Pushkin, Our Pushkin”:


Everyone has their own vision of Pushkin. Russians, of course think
Pushkin is the pride of Russia, the sun of Russian poetry. The French,
I am told appreciate Pushkin’s prose more than his poetry. It is not
clear why. Perhaps because prose is easier to translate. Or perhaps
because it is hard for the French to admit that such fine verses were
written by a poet so nonchalantly killed by a French bon vivant.
The British may cherish Pushkin because he loved and translated
Lord Byron.


Second, I’ll write his story in brief, with highlights in his life, where I think were crucial. Without exaggeration, Alexander S. Pushkin is probably the only person on earth who has been studied to “death”. As Vyacheslav Skotorenko, National Pushkin Commemoration Commissioner, rightly said in 1999, “he just gets bigger and bigger”. There is a book, Puskhin’s Buttons, which deals with the last week of his life, detailing his activities from the time he woke up to the time he went to sleep. Heck, there is even a restaurant, CDL, which has a special Pushkin menu that will treat you to all the delicacies Pushkin sang in his verse (Dine with Pushkin in Russian Life June/July 1999). Elaine Fienstein in the Poet’s Fate writes, in Russia, Pushkin’s name has entered the spoken idiom. It is common place for a child to be scolded: “Who do you think will close the door after you, Pushkin?" In other words, there is not much to add here except to highly recommend to you to read Pushkin’s biography by various authors.

Third, I’ll start working my way backwards. A. I will quote from comments made at the time of his death and later. B. I will return back to the brief biography of his short but active life.

“The sun of our poetry has set. Pushkin is dead, dead in the full vigor of life in the midst of his magnificent career. We have not the courage to say more. Besides, what good could it do? Every Russian knows the meaning of this terrible loss; every Russian heart is torn by it. Pushkin! Our poet, our joy, our popular glory! Is it possible that we no longer have Pushkin? We can not get used to the thought”. Kraievsky, 1837.

“Pushkin was one of those creative geniuses, to be great historical personalities who working for the present paved the road toward the future, and therefore can not possibly belong only to the past”. V. Belinsky, 1837

“You were born among gods- go forward’. Zhukovsky, 1825.

“Russian language was created for Pushkin, Pushkin for the language: raise up Russian Poetry among the nations of the world, as Peter the Great made Russia a world power”. E.Baratynsky (Pushkin’s contemporary)

“Pushkin walks with the strides of a giant”. Decembrist poet, Konstantin Ryleev.

“Pushkin is rare and perhaps unique phenomenon of the Russian spirit: he is the Russian man in his supreme development, as he will appear perhaps 200 years hence. In him, the Russian nature, the Russian soul, the Russian language and the Russian characters are reflected in such purity; in the same refined beauty as a landscape seen reflected on the convex surface of a magnifying glass”. Nikolai Gogol in 1830’s


“Without Pushkin we should have lost, not literature alone, but much of our irresistible force, our faith in our rational individuality, our belief in the people’s power, and most of all our belief in our destiny”. Fydor Dostoeyvsky, 1857

“Pushkin! following on your steps we sang a secret freedom! give us your hand in these troubled times help us in our silent struggle”. Alexander Blok, 1921.

“Pushkin in our country; is the beginning of all beginnings”. Maxim Gorky

“Pushkin is an immense importance not only in the history of Russian literature, but also in the history of Russian Enlightenment. He was the first to teach the Russian public to read” N. A. Dobrolyubov

“Pushkin alone had to perform two tasks which took whole centuries and more to accomplish in other countries, namely to establish a language and create a literature”. I. Turgeniev

“The fire has gone out upon the altar”. ... "Pushkin loved life so much that he died so soon.” Henry Troyant.

“Love bard par excellence”. ... “He wrote of passion and regret; he defied Tsars to champion individual freedom and sing of “noble hearts in a cruel age”. He gave Russians a romantic image of themselves, and he is still their favorite poet” Mike Edward writing in the September issue of 1992, National Geographic.

“It was a white woman, Harriet Beetcher Stowe (author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin), whose writings lit the torch for “negro” freedom in America; it is a “negro”, Alexander Sergeevitch Pushkin, who did the same for white emancipation in Russia”. J. A. Rogers

“Any translation of Pushkin’s poetry that seeks to produce rhymes of poetry will be nothing but a pale reflection of the original”. Paul Richardson.

“Pushkin turns 200, but never grows old; Russians most revered writer touches his country’s psyche like no other. Culturally, he, Shakespeare, Jefferson and Elvis rolled into one”. Maura Reynolds (The Times) in 1999.

Finally, what does Alexander S. Pushkin had to say to all these attentions that he got? Well, prophetically, he had said it already, when he was still alive. Here is what he had to say:

“I shall not wholly die-but in my songs my spirit will, incorruptible and bodies survive-and I shall be renowned as long as under heaven one poet yet remains alive”.


Childhood

Alexander S. Pushkin was born to Sergei L. Pushkin (an impoverished and yet noble family) and Nadejda O. Hannibal (the granddaughter of General Araham P. Hannibal) on May 26th 1799. His mother, Nadejda Ossipovna Hannibal, (“The Beautiful Creole”) - who due to her abandonment by her father – was self-centered cold and vain. She was not fitted for the role of the “housewife” (Troyant.) She liked appearing in drawing rooms, ball rooms to show off her beauty and youth. Beside Alexander --the second child-- she had two other children from Sergei Lvovich Pushkin. And they were the oldest ,Olga and the youngest, Lev. (There were three others who died at early age.

Nadejda more or less resented that she had Alexander because of his supposed “blackness”, which she felt had resulted in ruining her beautiful image. As a result of this resentment, Alexander was really drawn to his and his sibling’s nanny, Arina Rodionovna. His isolation pushed him to search inwards. His siblings were also supportive of him. If I have to summarize his childhood; four people really influenced and molded him very much early on.

The first one was dead almost eighteen years earlier. It was Abraham P. Hannibal, his maternal great grandfather. Pushkin understood and respected Abraham Hannibal for what he had accomplished, despite the cruelty of the world around him, almost single handedly. The second was his maternal grandmother, Maria Alexeievna, who despite her husband’s abandonment was still warm, gentle, intelligent and good “house wife” (Troyant). Her knowledge of the Russian language and alphabet was very useful in instilling a sense of pride in young Pushkin. She was also the first one, to realize the genius in Pushkin. The third was his paternal uncle, Vasilli L. Pushkin, who in his own right was a good poet. Friends of Uncle Vasilli would gather and read poetry that also broadened young Pushkin’s mind.

All the books in the household were read by Pushkin at a very early age which also sparked his imagination. And finally, the most important influence in Pushkin’s life, ironically, was not an “educated”, but “uneducated emancipated serf woman”, Arina Rodionovna, whose encyclopedic mind and knowledge of the Russian language folk-tales, folk- songs, & proverbs sparked the genius in Pushkin.

School Days

Around 1811, Pushkin’s parents decided to send him to school. A friend of the family told them that Czar Alexander I had set up a Lyceum/ Lycee in a wing of his palace at Tsarskoe Selo, near St. Petersburg. Alexander Pushkin was accepted, and his paternal uncle, Vasili L. Pushkin took the future poet to St. Petersburg in July 1811. In school, he befriended many students who would become his life long friends. Among them were, I. Pushchin and Anton Delvig.

During his school days, he was known as the “Frenchman” because of his command of the language. He was also mocked for his appearance. He was teased and was given a nickname, “the monkey” because of his “blackness”. In all the six years Alexander stayed at the Lycee, he went to visit his family only once. While occasionally, his parents would visit him. According to Elaine Fienstien, the highlight of his stay at the Lycee was:

In January 1815 the boy received extraordinary recognition from
Derzhavin (the leading poet of the last generation). Invited to hear
recitations of the pupils at the Lycee, Derzhavin had fallen asleep
but was suddenly galvanized into attention when Pushkin began to
read his poem, “Recollections in Tsarskoe Selo”. After hearing of
Pushkin’s poem, the older poet said, “I live on. He is the one who
will replace Drzhavin”.

J.A.Rogers describing this event wrote, “Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the poem was that it was written not in the conventional French but in Russian. Russia had at last a great poet using her own language!" As one writer put it, “with one cut of the sword Pushkin had freed Russian literature from the ties that were keeping it enslaved”.

All the aforementioned accomplishment at the age of fifteen! The moment whereby the elder Derzhavin “passed the torch in surrender” was immortalized by the famous oil painting of Ilya Repin. (Note: French was the official language of the court of Russia and Russian was considered not a language of the elite but of the serfs that would not qualify for literature).

It is also very important to understand the political and social conditions of Imperial Russia at the time of the birth and childhood of Alexander S. Pushkin. After the era of Catherine II (Russia’s frontiers had expanded tremendously). Czar Paul I succeeded Catherine II. Paul I was killed when palace coup plotters during an attempt to arrest him was strangled. His son, Alexander I, succeeded him as czar. Czar Alexander begun his reign as a liberal and he started to liberalize Russia.

In foreign affairs, Alexander after a series of military defeats by Napoleon of France - who had been marching into various European capitals after defeating their armies - sued for peace. In 1807, at Tilsit on the river Niemen, Alexander and Napoleon signed a peace treaty. However, by 1812 the French had invaded Russia, aroused a great wave of patriotic indignation among the Russian people, though the westernizers among the elite of Russia had been very sympathetic to the French aspiration (Feinstein). According to John Oliver Killens, in his book, The Black Russian, also notes that “most of the Russian nobility worshiped the French as if it were a kind of fetish that would secure them the keys of the kingdom”.

On the military front, the Russian army under the famous Russian commander, Kutuzov, enticed the French army to penetrate deep into Russian soil, even allowing them to burn Moscow, so that the famous Russian winter could destroy Napoleon’s troops. After the defeat of Napoleon, Russian people’s hopes were restored. However, Alexander I took measures that retarded his earlier policies.

Forced Exile
Tackling the Russian Bear: The Fourth Generation

Pushkin’s fame grew like wild fire. His poems were recited by ordinary people. He took their fear, feeling, anxiety, joy, agony and translated them into beautiful words of “living hope”. Since, there were around forty million serfs during this period of time, Pushkin became their voice. He declared serfs to be men and women not chattels, thus he got the name of “Apostle of Freedom”. (Note: There were other people who were called “Apostle of Freedom”. Among them was the Bulgarian patriot, Vasil Levsky). The authorities fearing his poems which began to instill a sense of hope in the masses, started to censor his every line. The authorities finally exiled Pushkin. The hope of the authorities was that, like his predecessor ancestors, the untamed Russian bear, would devour him. One of the poems that pulled the last straw was entitled, “ole to freedom”.

Oh shake and shiver, tyrants of the world, but lend an ear ye fallen slaves,
gain courage and rise!

In her book, Distant Pleasures: Alexander Pushkin and the Writing of Exile, Stephanie Sandler states:

Throughout the western tradition, poets sent out of their native
lands have made their wonderings famous: exile produced Dante’s
Commedia and Ovid’s Tristia; expatriation formed the Sensibilities
of Henry James and Gertrude Stein, of Ezra Pound and T.S Elliot.
Russia has given the world a large share of writers in emigration…
Russia has another distinguishing feature among nations that writers
have been known to flee, for it is a country with a long tradition of an
internal exile. Russia’s vastness, juxtaposed to its concentration of
cultural life in it’s two capitals, St. Petersburg and Moscow, made it
possible to remove dangerous men and women to areas within the
country where they would be both less accessible to those who might
fall under their influence and less likely, because whey were deprived
of an audience to flourish.

“It was this forced internal exile, precisely because he was confined within Russia but sent to its periphery; Pushkin became acutely aware of his Russian-ness. It was indeed the experience of travel in exile immensely, which broadened his sense of what Russia was. But banishment meant that Pushkin could not speak with authority from the center of the country, only tentatively from its borders” (Sandler). Even though he was to communicate with his fellow Russians from a distance, for Russians, literature is both an affirmation and an expression of national identity called “narodnost”. Moreover, literature is regarded as an embodiment of social and moral truths. Therefore, the writer is viewed as a sacred voice, a prophet (Sonya Stephen Hoisington writing in Russian views of Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin). His sacred voice continued to instill narodnost to the fullest. The authorities could confine Pushkin within the borders of Imperial Russia and yet he still continued to inspire his fellow country men through his writings, despite the physical distance. In exile he went to the far frontiers of Imperial Russia. It was during his exile in the south that he wrote many works including, The Prisoner of the Caucasus, The Gypsies and The Fountain of Baktchisarai.

His friends back in St. Petersburg pleaded on his behalf and he was allowed to go to Odessa. “I put my appearance in Europe”, Pushkin wrote in 1823 after hearing of the news. After writing more poems from Odessa he was ordered to be confined to his ancestral home in the province of Pskov in the estate of Mikhaylovskoe. Even though life in Mikhaylovskoe was monotonous and boring, it was a turning point in Pushkin’s literary works because he departed from “subjective lyricism” and ventured into historical objectivism (Pushkin and His Works). He took a serious study of Shakespeare and produced his Boris Godunov. He also started his masterpiece Eugene Onegin.

During his exile in Mikhaylovskoe the authorities had spies following him, including monks and his own father. It was also during this time that great changes were taking place in St. Petersburg. After the death of Alexander I, in 1825, a revolt occurred in the guard troops that were organized by Pushkin’s friends. Pushkin almost participated in the revolt except that his belief in bad luck (superstition: few things crossed his path on his way to St. Petersburg) prevented him from coming to St. Petersburg disobeying orders.

Czar Nicholas I succeeded Alexander I. Czar Alexander I commenced his rule by hanging five brilliant guard officers and exiling over 100 to Siberia. As a footnote, when two of the condemned were supposed to be hanged the rope broke and in disgust one of the condemned commented, “That is why we revolted; poor Russia they can’t even hang us right”. The authorities found out that Pushkin’s poem was an inspiration- beside their efforts to change the conditions of Russia- of the secret society of the officers. As a result, the new czar sent for him. Thus, as E.A. Bradyley Hodgetts wrote in Court Of Russia In The Nineteenth Century, Volume I, 1908, One of the most interesting chapters in the history of European Literature is the history of the relations of Nicholas with Pushkin, the poet. It is also interesting to note that the new czar began his rule-after hanging the accused and exiling the rest--by having an audience with Alexander Pushkin for two hours. This famous meeting also has its own dramatic point to show.

According to J.A Rogers:

The Czar asked,” Were you a friend of the conspirators against me?” Pushkin, his back to the fire, his manner not showing the respect due to the czar of all Russias, replied frankly, “that is true, your majesty. I loved those so-called conspirators deeply, and I shall ever love and
esteem them”.“ What would you have done had you been in St. Petersburg on the 14th of December?” Nicholas asked. “I should have been in the ranks of the rebels,” was the fearless reply. “That would have caused us great sorrow.” replied the czar. “We are grateful for all you have done for Russia, and wish you to be always near us. We name you imperial historian.”

Nicholas I Czar of All Russia decided to be the personal censor of the writings of Pushkin and promised Pushkin to travel any where he wants to go. Actually, Pushkin had a short poem that he had written about Nicholas which began to circulate, it read:

He was made emperor, and right then displayed his fair and drive: sent to Siberia a hundred-twenty men and strung up five.

After six years of exile and a promise by Czar of All Russia to free him, Pushkin’s freedom was short-lived. Pushkin decided it was time to get married.


Marriage

Troyant in his brilliant biography of Pushkin ended the book by saying that “Pushkin loved life so much that he died so soon”. For Pushkin, one of the reasons that makes life so pleasurable and lovable is because of women. “Pushkin was so fond of women”, a contemporary acquaintance, S. V. Komovsky, wrote, “that even the touch of hand while dancing at school ball aged 15 or 16 was enough to make his eyes blaze, and he would redden and snort like an ardent stallion in a young herd” (Feinstein). His poems to various women were of superb quality. Finally, Pushkin decided to marry an eighteen year beauty called Natalia Gonchorova. Some commented that she was the most beautiful woman in all of Russia. It was rumored that Czar Nicholas I was even in love with her.

Pushkin and Natalia had four children. They were Maria, Alexander, Gregory and Natalia. With all the successes of his writings, prose and verse, his wife was oblivious to her husband’s genius. She had often wondered what all the fuss was about her husband being the greatest poet. Like Pushkin’s mother, Natalia, was more concerned with the ball rooms and court appearances than providing cushion and comfort that Pushkin had been longing for.


Death

His writing and popularity also created a lot of powerful enemies and court intriguers. This, of course, was deja-vu all over again: the fourth generation. Pushkin’s enemies plotted to get to Pushkin through his beautiful and naive wife. Anonymous letters saying that his wife was having an affair with the czar started to circulate. There was also another letter which read: “Pushkin was elected acting grand master of the order of cuckolds”. Pushkin challenged D’Anthes(whom Pushkin accused of being the originator of the letters) to a duel. D’anthes was the French adopted son of the Dutch Ambassador to Russia, Heckeren. D’anthes withdrew Pushkin’s challenge and decided to marry Natalia’s sister. More letters started to circulate indicating that D’anthes was courting Pushkin’s wife. Pushkin challenged D’anthes for a duel once again. This time around, D’anthes accepted.

It was on the fateful morning in February 1837, the son and sun of Russia was shot in a duel and died two days later. There were thousands of people who gathered outside Pushkin’s home. The authorities fearing revolt whisked the body away at night and buried him at the cemetery of the Svyatogorsky Monastery, near Mikhailovskoe. D’anthes and his “father” were whisked out of Russia.

Finally, the Russian Bear Tamed

If you recall in my earlier posts, I mentioned that Abraham Hannibal was occasionally sent to be devoured by the Russian bear because of court intrigues, jealousies and racism. Ivan Hannibal, the oldest son of Abraham Hannibal, also encountered the same fate. Both Abraham and Ivan Hannibal through their resolve and resilience tackled the Russian bear. Even though, both survived the Russian bear, the Russian bear was never tamed. It was only with the sacrifice of a member of the fourth generation- namely Alexander S. Pushkin – that the Russian bear was finally tamed. It was not building canals and bridges, it was not even conquering in the name of the Double-Headed Eagle that the Russian bear was tamed but rather, through literature. The supposedly untamable Russian bear, finally succumbed to the beautiful words of Alexander S. Pushkin: the son and sun of Russia. In another words, it was not the power of mechanical engineering, or military engineering that tamed the Russian bear, but the engineering of words that finally led the Russian bear to throw down its towel.

Some people argue that it is difficult to decide as to which one of the works of Pushkin is his greatest achievement. There is, however, a consensus that his novel in verse, Eugene Onegin, is considered to be his master piece. The famous Irish actor Ralph Fiennes in his article entitled “Shooting Pushkin”, quoting Vladimir Nabokov, in the forward to his deliberately literal version of Eugene Onegin writes: "it is impossible to translate the poem- that it is best to sacrifice “elegance, euphony clarity, good taste, modern usage, and even grammar” for something closer to Pushkin’s line-by-line meaning. Nabokov also insists that anyone who really wishes to appreciate “Onegin” should learn Russian."

It should also be noted that Pushkin’s works had and continues to inspire and influence various Russian art forms such as ballet, opera and music and artists such as Muggosorsky, Raimaninoff and others.

Here is a short list of (not complete) the works of Alexander S. Pushkin (not in chronological order)

1. The Moor of Peter the Great (unfinished book about Abraham Hannibal)
2. The Captain’s Daughter (inspiration for Tolstoy’s Anna Karanina and many other famous Russian writers.)
3. Dubrovsky
4. The Queen of Spades
5. The Tales of the Late Ivan Petrovich Belkin
6. The History of the Village of Gorukhino
7. Kirdjali
8. Egyptian Nights
9. Ruslan and Ludmila
10. Boris Godniov
11. The Bronze Horseman
12. The Golden Cockerel
13. History of Pugachev
14. Eugene Onegin
15. and many more.

Pictures;
1)Alexander S. Pushkin
2) Olga (Pushkin's sister)
3) Lev (Pushkin's brother)
4) Natalia Gonchorova (Pushkin's wife)
5) Pushkin's grave

General Abraham Hannibal, General Ivan Hannibal, Alexander S. Pushkin and Descandants

FROM THE ERITREAN CAMEL TO THE RUSSIAN DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE TO THE BRITISH LION


TACKLING THE RUSSIAN BEAR: THE SECOND GENERATION
THE ODYSSEY CONTINUES.

General Ivan Hannibal

PART THREE

For the purpose of this article, among General Abraham Hannibal's children, three (Ivan, Peter and Ossip Abramovich) stand out the most. Despite Abraham Hannibal's objection and reservation, the eldest son, Ivan Hannibal, had a distinguished and illustrious military career, which almost equals that of his father's.

According to Professor Allison Blakley,

By the 1760’s Ivan Hannibal had attained the rank of lieutenant colonel in the field artillery. In 1770 Ivan Hannibal was made section master of naval artillery in the fleet under Admiral G. A. Spiridov, he participated in the taking of Koron and Navarino and in the battle at Chesma(Chesmensk). It is said that the officer in charge of the Russian forces at Navarino, who happened to be none other than one of the princes Dolgoruky, decided the fortress could not be taken. The assignment was given by Spiridov to Ivan Hannibal, who planned and carried out a successful fifteen-day seige by land and sea (he is considered the hero of Navarino and Chesma) .

In 1772 he was promoted to major general of brigadiers, and in 1776 to general of naval artillery. He was appointed a member of the admiralty college in 1777. By the mid-eighteenth century, the palace "German coup” that General Abraham Petrovich Hannibal had feared was completed. Empress Catherine II with her lover Prince Serenissimus Potemkin were in charge. After the ending of the Russian-Turkish war the territory of the Steppe between South Bug and Dnipro (Dnieper) was passed to Russia (the History of Kherson).

During this long war, in 1737 Russia had made fortification on the high right bank of the river Dnieper called Alexander Shantz. On the other side, the Ottomans had kept a powerful fortress. As a result, Russia was worried that the southern front was open for invasion. To strengthen this front, Empress Catherine II (the Great), some say, Potemkin decided to create a port capable of building ships, trade, quay, shipyard and a fortress. Again, some say, it was Empress Catherine II who chose the name of the port to be called Kherson -in honor of ancient Greek Khersonesus -
(History of Kherson), and others point out that it was Potemkin who chose the sonorous name, ringing with his neo-classical and orthodox dreams of Khersoneses (Sebag-Montefiore). This was the period when like his father before him, the palace intrigue caught up with Ivan Hannibal.

On 31 may 1778, Empress Catherine II adapted Prince Potemkin’s plan of creating a Black Sea fleet to ensure safety for the southern boundaries of the empire. As a result, on July 25, 1778, Prince Potemkin chose General (Admiral) Ivan Hannibal to be the first Governor of Kherson (modern day Ukraine). For the second time, the second generation of General Abraham P. Hannibal, was sent to tackle the Russian bear. Or was it hoped that the Russian bear would tackle General Ivan Hannibal first? The task was so daunting. There were 500 carpenters and thousands of workers who were to build Kherson. Potemkin’s obsession to have Kherson build was driving Ivan Hannibal relentless (Sebag-Montfiore). By August, Ivan Hannibal had established twelve teams of workers and bought timber on the upper Dnieper in Belarus and Poland which had to be floated down the river to Kherson. Consequently, Kherson grew tremendously.

What Abraham Hannibal had feared came true when a dispute erupted between the all powerful Prince Potemkin and General Ivan Hannibal. According to Blakley, even though, supposedly, Empress Catherine II supported General Ivan Hannibal in this dispute, he nevertheless, retired due to “illness” (or rather disgust) to one of his estates in 1784. General Ivan Hannibal was not only a brilliant military strategist and commander but also a generous person. He looked after his siblings and their affairs. Ivan Hannibal was not only aware of his Africaness but was also proud of it. Kherson, in memory of its first governor, General Ivan Hannibal, had built him a monument. General Ivan Hannibal died in 1801. His tombstone, reads: “the sultriness of Africa bore him, the cold calmed his blood” (Sebag-Motefiore).

Ossip Abramovich: The Direct Line (Alexander Pushkin’s Grandfather)

Ossip Abramovich, Pushkin's maternal grandfather

The other son, Peter (1742-1822) had somehow a respectable military and civil service which was more or less a quiet one. On the other hand, Ossip Abramovich had a modest official career, however, he had a more agitated and romantic private life (Troyant)

Continuing quoting Troynat,

"Promoted to the rank of major, he was sent in 1773, to the cannon foundries at Lipetsk. Twenty-two verts from there lived a landed proprietor named Pushkin (not the poet) and his daughter, Maria Alexeievna. Ossip was a handsome blade, talkative, witty, unstable, and fiery. He soon won the heart of the young lady, married her in 1773, had a child, Nadejda (Alexander Pushkin‘s mother), by her, and abandoned her three years later, after having deceived her with a few of the neighbors farm girls."

A few years later, he moved to the province of Pskov and married a woman named Justine Tolstoya without the annulment of the first marriage. As a result, Maria Alexeievna denounced him forcing the annulment of the second marriage. Ossip Abramovich appealed to the Holy Synod and later to Empress Catherine II. After Empress Catherine II declared the second marriage invalid, Ossip then being a naval officer in the Black Sea fleet left Russia with the fleet.
General Ivan Hannibal, in the meantime, took care of his brother’s wife and daughter. Ossip’s daughter known for her striking beauty (the Creole Beauty) was brought in the house hold of Potemkin’s first governor of Kherson, General Ivan Hannibal (Sebag- Motefiore)

Nadeja, Alexander S. Pushkin's mother.



Sergei Pushkin, Alexander S. Pushkin's father.


Maria Alexeievna, according to Troyant, was intelligent, economical, and active. She had secured a fourth of Ossip’s property estate at Kobrino for her daughter. Nadeja, at the age of twenty-two married a distant cousin of her mother called Sergei Pushkin (the Pushkin family on the poet’s father side had been a noble family for 600 years). Seven years before Ossip Abramovich died in
1806, Maria Alexeievna sold her estate at Kobrino and freed among others, a serf girl by the name or Arina Rodionovna (who would become the real “mother” and inspiration to Alexander S. Pushkin). Arina refused to accept the freedom she was offered and remained with Maria Alexeievna. Arina was a peasant woman, of forty two, gentle and talkative, and she knew all the old tales, folk-songs, and the sayings of her country. (Troyant)

It was these folk tales, folk-lores, fables and folk-songs told by Arina Rodionovna, which fired up young Pushkin’s imagination, boundless.


Arina Rodionovna


Next, Part Four.


The Third Generation
Alexander S. Pushkin: the Son and Sun of Russia
The Odyssey Continues

General Abraham P. Hannibal, General Ivan Hannibal, Alexander S. Pushkin and Descendants

FROM THE ERITREAN CAMEL TO THE RUSSIAN DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE TO THE BRITISH LION: The Odyssey of Abraham P. Hannibal, Alexander S. Pushkin and Descendants.

Part Two

Introduction

Joel A. Rogers, the famous African American historian of Carribean descent wrote in his book, Great Men Of Color (Vol. II) that destiny had been good to Hannibal from the beginning (I'll use the complete quote at the end of the introduction). But has fame been fair to Abraham Hannibal when it comes to being known for his accomplishments, at least, for English language readers? I tend to think not. Unlike the norm, whereby the achievements of off spring have been overshadowed by famous parents, here is a case of a renowned literary genius, Alexander S. Pushkin, whose achievements overshadow those of his maternal great grand father, a "great man of color", the brilliant military and civil engineer, Abraham Petrovich Hannibal.

In my last post, I mentioned that two books had been published since I wrote a series of articles on Abraham Hannibal and his descendants in 2003. Thanks to the works of Hugh Barnes and Frances Somers Cocks, English language readers can finally read in detail about this incredible historical figure. In Gannibal: The Moor of Petersburg, Hugh Barnes brings Abraham P. Hannibal out from the shadows of Alexander S. Pushkin, and projects him into a full blown biography. Like a good eye surgeon, Barnes removes the cataract that had been obstructing us from seeing the complete life of Abraham P. Hannibal. Barnes succeeds in removing most of the cataract that had been the cause of the blurriness before. However, like a cataract that has not been fully removed and keeps coming back, Barnes' Gannibal's original birthplace remains opaque. To be fair though, it is understandable that proving a birthplace is very difficult given the unavailability of original documents and strong evidences from 17th century Africa.

It is normal when people or countries tend to claim renowned personalities as their own. In Africa, the number of countries claiming Hannibal or Pushkin (through Hannibal) as their own is increasing. The latest addition to the fold is Cameroon. One thing should be clear, though. First of all, all of Africa should be proud of the extraordinary lives and brilliant accomplishments of Hannibal and his descendants, because as you will see, their stories should not be confined to a particular place and time, but should be hailed as a triumph for the resilience and perseverance of the timeless human spirit.

Historian Dieudonne Gnammankou is the first advocate of Cameroon as the historical birthplace of Abraham P. Hannibal. He believes that Logone-Birni, which is located south of Lake Chad is the birthplace of Abraham P. Hannibal. Gnammankou wrote his book on Hannibal in French, therefore, I couldn't follow his argument first hand. However, through Hugh Barnes and Frances Somers Cocks (both of them visited Logone-Birini for their respective books), I am able to follow the argument of Logone-Birini as Hannibal's birthplace. Since this is not a book review, I'm not going to go in detail and argue as to why Logone-Birni is not a potential place as Hannibal's birth, but rather I will put forth the argument that Eritrea is the best candidate as Hannibal's origin of birth.

Oral Tradition/Orature (Oral Literature)

Oral history has a long tradition in Africa. It is important to note that there is a tendency to believe that oral tradition is suspect when it comes to recording history. Even though oral tradition might raise a red flag, it should not be dismissed outright, however. Oral tradition can be preserved in the form of poetry, songs, music and stories. Before people invented writing, their history was preserved and communicated to the next generation through oral tradition. Eritrea has a long history of both written and oral history. As a matter of fact, Eritrea is one of the very few countries in Africa that has its own script and has a long written tradition.

Early on, written tradition in Eritrea was limited mostly to the clergy, therefore, churches were the main depositors and chroniclers of local history. Eritrea also has a long history of customary laws. These customary laws were both written and oral. Many villages in Eritrea had their own customary laws (Note: For more discussion of Eritrean customary laws by Memher Tewoldebrhan Amdemeskel, check out my post entitled "Eritrea: sketches of a trip" Sketch four, part two). Since Eritrea was and still is an agrarian society, these customary laws addressed land issues, such as land usage, etc; they subliminally also addressed genealogy and census. Therefore, in Eritrea there is a long tradition of knowing one's genealogy. To give you an example from my family, I can recite up to twelve of my ancestors on my father's father side and more than ten on my father's mother side and also ten on my mother's side, which were all written and handed down to me.

In 2000, I videotaped my late grand-mother-in-law, who was 92 years old at the time and who recited for me the genealogy of her husband's famous great uncle, Degieat Bahta Hagos, the Eritrean patriot who fought and was killed by the Italians in late 19th century. In the same conversation, she also told me stories of Diegeat Bahta that I had never heard before, from oral tradition. In part one of the series that I am writing now, I mentioned that the village of Lagwen had published its own genealogy. As I have tried to argue above, oral and written tradition about one's genealogy (whether at the family or at the larger society level) is not unique but the norm in the narration of Eritrean history.

Logon, Logo, Logone, Lagwen, etc.

Looking at the number of villages that start with the letter "L", it would not be surprising if all the villages in Africa that start with the letter "L" claim to be the origin of Abraham's birthplace.
How did the letter "L" became the first candidate? The main source of the story is Abraham Hannibal himself. In a letter addressed to Czarina Elizabeth in 1742, Abraham mentioned that he was born in a place called Lagone in Africa. He also mentioned that he was the son of a local ruler, hence the source of the idea that Abraham was the son of a ruler or was a prince. The last part could be an exaggeration on the part of Hannibal since he was petitioning Empress Elizabeth in the same letter for the rank of the nobility. The notion that Abraham Hannibal was the direct descendant of the Carthaginian general, Hannibal, was first advocated by Abraham's son-in-law, Adam Rotkirkh. Abraham, it must be noted, did not add Hannibal to his name before he went to France. Rotkirkh is also believed to be the source of the"Abyssinian birth" of Abraham.

Abyssinia is the former name of Ethiopia. With the "Abyssinian birth" theory the area of Mereb which borders Eritrea (Ethiopia directly ruled Eritrea from 1962 to 1991) was the main candidate as the birthplace of Abraham. Hugh Barnes and Frances Somers Cocks both visited potential villages that would have qualified as the birthplace of Abraham. None of the people who had ever written or searched for the birthplace of Abraham ever visited a village called Lagwen, which is located 12 kms. outside of Asmara(the capital of Eritrea). That means all the researchers had been searching in the wrong area. None of the places (Logo, Logo Sarda, Logone..) that were visited by the aforementioned authors or the previous authors claimed that Abraham was from there. Even Logone-Birini was not aware of its "famous son" until researchers came and start asking them about Abraham and Pushkin. Unlike all the other potential villages, Lagwen, on the other hand, has an oral history and written genealogy of Abraham Hannibal. According to the oral tradition of Lagwen, Abraham was abducted from a small hill called Gobo Una Mariam. Lagwen's claim should be studied thoroughly.


Turkish Rule

Abraham was taken from Africa and then taken to Turkey. Hugh Barnes pretty much has covered Abraham's life from the time he left Turkey up to his death in Russia. How did Abraham get to Turkey? What was the relationship between the countries who claim Abraham's birth as their own and Turkey? Again, Eritrea is a much better candidate than Cameroon for the following reasons.

1.Parts of Eritrea (especially Massawa and the coastal areas) were under the direct rule of Turkey for centuries. Turkey's incursion into highland Eritrea is also known (Lagwen is located in the highlands of Eritrea). One might hear the term "Gez'at Turki" (the rule of Turkey) in Eritrea. This is in reference to an authoritarian and brutal domination that Eritrea went through under the rule of Turkey.

2. Geography. Eritrea which is located in the Horn of Africa on the Red Sea coast is much closer to Turkey than Logone-Birini's which is located south of Lake Chad in West Africa.

3. Abraham was taken by ship to Turkey. Massawa, a major port in Eritrea, was under the direct rule of Turkey. Massawa was a major port for exporting slaves and other commodities to the rest of the world. Most of the slaves taken through Massawa were taken to the Middle East and India. (Note: There are a group of people in India known as Habishis who had been in India for four centuries who claim the area of the Horn of Africa as their homeland).

Finally, I highly recommend that people read Hugh Barnes' Gannibal : The Moor of Petersburg for detailed life of Abraham P. Hannibal. There are several important findings in Barnes' book. The first is the information of the newly found book written by Abraham Hannibal entitled Geometry and Fortification and an unpublished book entitled Artificial Fireworks. The second important information concerns Abraham's life in France. Abraham knew leaders of the French Enlightenment. According to Barnes, Montesquieu even praised Abraham as the "dark star of Russia's enlightenment". Third is the fact that Abraham's role in using fireworks to investigate the military potential of rocketry is highly significant. Barnes in his book quotes works by Simon Werret entitled Projecting Modernity: A Social History of Rocketry, which argues that (H) Gannibal's work on the 'secret howitzer' paved the way for the development of the first military rockets by the British inventor Sir William Congreve in the early nineteen century. And much more.

Below is what I had posted in 2003.


TO THE RUSSIAN DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE
ABRAHAM P. HANNIBAL: THE ODYSSEY BEGINS


Double-headed eagle of Imperial Russia

J. A. Rogers in his book World’s Great Men of Color Vol. II starts Abraham Hannibal’s story like this: "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. Destiny was so kind to Hannibal from the beginning; instead of being sent to America, where he would have been at best a house servant, he was sent to Turkey…”

From Turkey he was taken to Russia where he became a general and one of the leading engineers of Imperial Russia. Abraham P. Hannibal’s odyssey begins in 17th century rural Eritrea. The Atlantic Slave Trade that took African people into bondage to the Americas and the Caribbean was beginning on the west coast of Africa. Turkey was ruling part of Europe and Asia. The coastal areas of Eritrea were also under Turkey. The Arab Slave Trade on the eastern part of Africa which predates The Atlantic Slave Trade had shown no sign of slowing down.

The destinations of the African people taken from East Africa were Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and India...). This was the situation of the world in which Abraham Hannibal was born. When he was eight years old he was kidnapped from Lagwen, Eritrea- according to Tweldi Lagwen from Gobo Enda Mariam- and was taken to Turkey. On his way with his abductors, legend has it that, his older sister followed them to Massawa and drowned in the Red Sea while trying to rescue her brother.

Once he was taken to Turkey he was sold as a slave to Sultan Mustapha II in Constantinople. While he was a slave at the palace, in a far away Russia, Czar Peter the Great (I) at the age of 25 was trying to “modernize/westernize” "old" Russia. He wanted to make Imperial Russia among equals of royals of Western Europe. He thus traveled disguised as a simple private individual among a Russian delegation of 250 supposedly headed by three ambassadors. Peter’s secret mission was two-fold. One, to secure Holland’s assistance in any future conflict with Turkey, and two, to apprentice himself and his men to Holland’s superior ship builders ( Lavlenko). This opportunity led him to personally witness the advancement of the various technological feats of Europe. He also witnessed the cultural aspects of the various European empires that he visited. As a sign of the times among royals of Europe, to have a portrait taken by famous artists with their black page boys was a sign of fashion, haute couture and vogue.

Back in Turkey, Russia’s Ambassador, Count Savva Raguinsky, was finishing up his duty and was returning to Russia. Being a “cultured” man himself whether through bribe or actual purchase he took back page-boys to Czar Peter. One of the pages was Abraham. It is not clear if Count Raguinsky took the boys from Turkey on his own or by a request from the Czar. Czar Peter was so determined to modernize Russia(the wife of Abraham or someone in her family) wrote the following : He (Czar Peter) wished to make examples of Russians and put them to shame by convincing them that out of every people and even from among wild men-such as “negroes”, whom our civilized nations assign exclusively to the class of slave, there can be formed men who by dint of application can obtain knowledge and learning and thus become helpful to their monarch.”(Pushkin Genealogy)

To Russia

Once in Russia, Abraham was unusually bright for his age. He quickly picked up the Russian language and alphabet. His inquiring mind was curious with numbers. The Czar realizing the potential of Abraham put him under his wings. Abraham started to accompany Peter through out Russia and foreign countries. It was during one of those trips, in 1707, in Vilno (Vilnius, Lithuania) that Abraham-since his days in Turkey was called Ibrahim- was re-baptized in the Russian Orthodox faith. His Father-in-Christ was none other than the Czar himself and Christina the Queen of Poland who became his god-mother (Hugh Barnes disputes that Christina Queen of Poland was even there).

In 1717, when Peter went on his second European trip, he took his god-son and private secretary, Abraham, to France and left him in Paris to study for a career as a military and civil engineer. He studied at the Ecole d’ Artillerie of la Fere under Bernard Forest de Belidor and afterwards, at the Ecole d’Artillerie of Metz, an institution founded by Sebastian le Preste, Marquis de Vauban. While in France a war broke out between France and Spain. He joined the French against the Spaniards and fought in many battles. It was in one of these battles in a place called Fontaine d’Arabie that he was hit in the head. After the war was over he returned to Paris. In Paris, he became the talk of town. With the women folk of Paris, shall we say, he was the most sought after, with his tall, dark and handsome complexion. His friends were people like Duke d’Orleans, who was the regent. According to J. A. Rogers, the Duke even asked him to remain in
France for a high position in court if Abraham transfers his allegiance to Duke d’Orleans. Abraham's allegiance was of course to Czar Peter.

To Russia with Love.

After his studies, it is believed that Abraham took with him over 400 volumes of books to Russia (Troyant). There is some debate whether the name Hannibal was added after he returned from France or when he was baptized in Vilno. After returning to Russia, Abraham Hannibal was appointed an officer in the perobrajensky guard-regiment. He became an engineer –lieutenant in the bombardier-company of which the Czar himself was the captain (Albert Parry). His career in Russia seemed to be promising. Czar Peter the Great appointed Abraham Hannibal to be the tutor of the crown prince, Peter II. His influence in the palace of Peter the Great became great. Consequently, with that influence came the jealousies, the distrust, and the hatred, ten-fold. Even though, he moved back from France to Russia with love to build Russia and serve his monarch, for those involved in the court intrigues, the response was from Russia with hate.

Tackling the Russian Bear.

On Czar Peter's death in 1725, the throne was seized by his wife, Catherine I, grandmother of Peter, the real heir (who was set aside). However, the real power was held by Prince Menshikov (J. A. Rogers). To diminish Abraham's influence on the real heir, Hannibal was first sent to Kazan and then to the Chinese frontier, where, under the pretext of being put in charge of fortification works, he was left to stagnate in a dreary exile (Troyant). Hannibal was sent to tackle the Russian bear (symbol of Russian beauty, wilderness, cold, country) in the hope that the bear would devour him. It was believed that Abraham would not survive the exile. The exile was imposed on him after Abraham declined a bribe from Menshinkov for trying to influence the real heir to the throne, Peter II. He was to remain in exile until the death of Catherine I in 1730. In the meantime, he was appointed to be in charge of the fortress at Pernau. It was here that
Abraham P. Hannibal resolved to marry Eudoxia the daughter of a Greek captain. After their marriage Eudoxia had a baby from a white navy officer. As a result Abraham asked for a divorce (which was ugly). The divorce would take almost five years to finalize.

Upon hearing of the ascension to the throne by Peter II and that of his old friend, Dolgouriki, Abraham decided to come back. But, he was arrested at Tomsk. Dolgouriki feared Abraham’s influence with Peter no less than that of Menshinkov's (who had been exiled). As a result, Abraham was held at Tomsk until Peter II’s death (J. A. Rogers). Peter was then succeeded by the niece of Peter the Great, Anna Ivanovna. Anna fearing that Abraham Hannibal belonged to a faction who wanted to put Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great(the real heir to the throne) wanted to arrest him. Field Marshall Munich, a friend from his France days, smuggled him out and sent him to the Swedish border near the city of Reval (modern day Tallinn in Estonia), where he would spent the next twelve years of Anna’s reign, forgotten (J. A. Rogers). In the meantime, in domestic life, Abraham Hannibal had remarried. His second wife, the daughter of a Baltic German captain, was called Regina Von Schellberg. Abraham and Regina had eleven children. And they were: 1. Ivan 2. Yevedkia (girl) 3 . Elizabeta 4. Anna 5. Peter 6. Ossip (grand father of Pushkin) 7. Agribna (girl) 8. Issac 9. Ekaterina (Catherine) 10. Yacov (Yacob) & 11. Sofia. I guess Abraham, despite being away from his birth place, had not forgotten the Eritrean psyche, Qol’U b’ Edlom iyom zAbyu , (children will grow up on their own luck), to heart.


General Abraham P. Hannibal (Barnes believes this is a picture of a white man not that of Abraham Hannibal's)

Engineering equipments of General Abraham
The Seal of General Abraham P. Hannibal


A Big Russian Bear-hug and an Offering of an Olive-branch from the Double-Headed Eagle.

While Abraham Hannibal was in exile and members of his family were increasing, Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great came to the throne. Instead of being devoured, Abraham had tamed the Russian bear and the bear had offered a big Russian bear hug. From St. Petersburg, the seat of Imperial Russia and home of the double-headed eagle (coat-of-arms of the Romanov's), Abraham was offered an olive branch. In her gratitude to Abraham's unswerving devotion and loyalty to the family of Peter the Great, Elizabeth Petrovna, Empress of All Russia, showered honors and riches upon him. Among the riches is found a vast property in the province of Pskov, where the estate of Mikhailovskoe is located. Mikhailovskoe would play a major role in Pushkin’s life. And it was in Mikhailovskoe that Pushkin would write his greatest works. The riches also included ten villages, with thousands of white serfs (Parry). Since all that exile life had worn Hannibal out he politely declined offers by Empress of All Russia, to stay in the royal court. He asked permission to return to Reval, for semi-retirement, where he was made a commander. With a border dispute between Russia and Sweden, he was recalled to active duty and was appointed head of the Russian commission.

By 1756, Abraham Hannibal had attained the rank of a major general. In 1759 he became the main director of the Lagoda canal, Kronstadt, and Rogervik construction projects. In 1762, fearing the “German coup” at the palace, Abraham retired to one of his estates in Suida(near St. Petersburg). Just before his death, around 1781, fearing the palace intriguers, unfortunately, he burned his memoirs. Speaking from his experience, Abraham advised his sons not to join the army, because of the intrigues involved. Finally, after a long extraordinary life, the lost son of Lagwen, Eritrea died in his estate in Russia. Allison Blakely in his book Russia and the Negro concludes General Abraham Hannibal' s life like this: "Hannibal appears to have been the first outstanding modern engineer in Russian history. He is credited with the building of a number of important fortresses, and his knowledge of canal construction surely made him a leading pioneer in an enterprise which had proven to be of utmost importance for Russia. As for Hannibal’s personality, it is difficult to see how he could have won such loyalty from his friends, allowing him not only to survive but to prosper during the turbulent politics of his era, if it had been devoid of positive traits."

General Abraham P. Hannibal’s study
The main house at Petrovskoe


The main house at Mikhailovskoe.


Next, part three.


Tackling the Russian Bear: the Second Generation
The Odyssey Continues

General Abraham Hannibal, General Ivan Hannibal, Alexander S. Pushkin and Descendants.

“I shall not wholly die-but in my songs my spirit will, incorruptible and bodies,
survive-and I shall be renowned as long as under heaven one poet yet remains alive”.
Alexander S. Pushkin


In mid-July 2008, I promised that I was going to re-post the articles that I had written in 2003 about General Abraham Hannibal, General Ivan Hannibal, Alexander S. Pushkin and his descendants . I waited until today to start reposting the articles, because I had to wait to confirm a good news that I was aware of for some time. With the news confirmed, I'm elated to let you know that a monument of Alexander S. Pushkin and a Pushkin Center (Library) will be erected in Asmara by May 2009. The agreement was signed between Asmara Administration and the Russian Federation earlier this year. It is worthwhile to note that the Russian delegation visited Lagwen and also Senafe area historical sites. The location of the monument of Pushkin will be adjacent to the Asmara Public Library and the Center(Library) will be adjacent to Milano Restaurant. According to the agreement, the pedestal of the monument, which is going to be from granite is going to be built by Eritrea, Central Zoba Administration, while the Russians are going to provide the life-size bronze statue.


A model statue of Alexander S. Pushkin to be built in Asmara, Eritrea.


Alexander S. Pushkin monument's future site.

Alexander S. Pushkin monument's future site.

The original articles that I wrote in 2003 had five parts. I will start reposting with part I. And in part II, I will add some new information, because two new major books in English had been published about General Abraham Hannibal since I posted the articles. I am keeping the original titles of the articles for old time sake.

Here is part I.

FROM THE ERITREAN CAMEL, TO THE RUSSIAN DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE, TO THE BRITISH LION: The Odyssey of General Abraham Petrovich Hannibal, Alexander S. Pushkin and Descendants


Seal of the Government of Eritrea


PART ONE: FROM THE ERITEAN CAMEL

INTRODUCTION.

At the outset, I would like to note that this is an on going research that needs more fillers. The animals mentioned in the title are/were the symbols of the governments of Eritrea, Imperial Russia and Royal Great Britain, respectively. Even though, there was no country named Eritrea in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the protagonist (using film terminology) in this story, General Abraham Petrovich Hannibal, who was the maternal great grandfather of Alexander Sergeyevitch Pushkin, was born in a place in what is now Eritrea. (Troyant, Blakley, Fienstien).
When I decided to write this article -even though I had written about Abraham Hannibal for Haben in Tigrigna before-I thought hard as to how to approach the subject because I had to decide which part to write and which part to leave out. I must admit it is difficult to do. Therefore, I decided to start it with this long introduction, I hope you don’t mind. I even thought how much harder it would be to direct a film about the life of Abraham. In film, whether you are following the Hollywood genre which follows the Aristotelian (three act dramatic structure) focusing on plots with its protagonist/antagonist, catalyst,confrontation, plot-point, mid-point,
climax and resolution; or the European(Italian, French , Swedish..) model whereby the film concentrates on characters; or on the Soviet model with their own theory of editing (Kuleshov , Pudovkin, Eisenstein); or focusing on realist theory with its mise-en-scene; or formalist(fictional ,fantasy) with its montage ,the dilemma would still be the same. The lives of Abraham Hannibal and his descendents , Ivan, Ossip, Nadezhda, Pushkin ... touch all the theories that I mentioned above.

In 1994, when I was volunteering for the Research and Documentation Center (RDC) in Asmara, I wrote an article in Tigrinya on Abraham Hannibal for Haben, a publication of the Association of the War-Disabled Veterans of Eritrea. A few days before I finished my assignment at RDC and was ready to return to the United States, I got a telephone call from tegadalai (a Tigrigna word for a person who fought for the independence of Eritrea) Solomon Dirar (of the Eritrean Commando fame), who was editor of Haben. Solomon told me that there was another tegadalai who read the article and had some information on Abraham Hannibal. I was surprised, to say the least. I got the name and phone number from Solomon and called. Unfortunately, tegadalai Kahsai Russom was leaving for Keren on a job related trip. Nevertheless, he was kind enough to give me names to contact who would know more about the story through oral tradition.

When I returned to Eritrea in 2000, I still had the notes that I had taken from Kahsai in 1994. The notes had not left my wallet for six years. I called on my friend Solomon Dirar and decided to visit one of the persons on the notes. We set out to visit Lagwen and to talk to Aboi (respect form for elder) Abraha Gebre-Amlak, a retired judge of Lagwen. I had been waiting for this visit for six years. As the moment of truth was approaching I began to get nervous, because I have been researching Abraham Hannibal, Pushkin, etc., since the mid 1980’s, therefore I was anxious to find out what kind of new information, or if any, awaited me. Lagwen is a quiet small village located some 12 kms. south of Asmara. It did not take us long to find out where Aboi Abraha Gebre-Amlak lived in Lagwen. We found the house located near the village church. We found Aboi Abraha reading and he was surprised by our visit. After we explained to him the purpose of our visit, he opened a wooden trunk and pulled out a book wrapped in plastic. The title of the book was “Tiwlidi Lagwen” (The Genealogy of Lagwen). The village had published its own history during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie. How that book was published is a story by itself for another time.


Aboi Abraha Gebre-Amlak of Lagwen in front of his house in January 2000.


The Book of Genealogy of Lagwen


Aboi Abraha on top of gobo (hill) Una Mariam showing me the area where according to oral tradition of Lagwen, one of its son “Abrha Zerai wedi inkab Adi Lagwen” [Abraha Zerai son of the village of Lagwen] was kidnapped. It is also the vicinity where old Lagwen used to be located.

Back in 1994, Kahsai Russom, recalling from oral tradition that he had heard from the elders, indicated to me that Abraham Hannibal was kidnapped from a small hill called Una Mariam. I asked Aboi Abraha about it. He turned to the book of Lagwen to page 11. To my surprise, not only did it mention the place but also the name of the real Abraham Hannibal.

It says,“a certain ‘Abraha Zerai wedi inkab Adi Lagwen’ [Abraha Zerai, son of the village of Lagwen]was kidnapped and sold and then taken to Turkey. From Turkey he was taken to Greece and from Greece back to Turkey. He was then taken to Russia, and in Russia he became the right-hand man of Peter the Great. He became popular because of his bravery.
So were descendants, who among them became generals and intellectuals.”

This was a shocker! This was a unique finding in all my research for the following reasons:

1. The original name never appeared. There were arguments whether his name was Abraham or Ibrahim. At least, Tiwlidi Lagwen’s version testifies to the argument that the name of Ibrahim emerged in Turkey and reversed back to Abraham when he was re-baptized in Vilnius (modern day Lithuania).

2. Greece was never mentioned.

3. The origin of Abraham’s birth was debatable, even in discussions in Dehai forum. For example, Abraham indicated that he was born in Lagon (with its so many variation in Russian, French, German, Latin, Italian, English, etc., translations) the focus had been to the south. Adi Logo (near Debarbua), Logo Sarda, Logo Chiwa, etc., were among the major candidates. And here, in Lagwen, not too far from Asmara, is a small village that had written its own history and claimed Abraham Hannibal as its lost son. Incredible if you ask me.

4. During our discussion with Aboi Abraha, he mentioned that Lagwen in the earlier times had been looted, burned, etc., by various conquerors, and had to move to its present location -- it used to be located not too far from where it is now. Because it was located at a crossroads, it had become the punching bag of various rulers and conquerors. I think the University of Asmara’s archeology department should look into this story.

5. At the end of our visit, Aboi Abraha was gracious enough to take me to gobo (hill) Enda Mariam, where Lagwen claims that one of it’s sons, Abraha Zerai, was kidnapped from and taken to Russia via Turkey to become one of the greatest generals of Russia who had among his descendants, Ivan Hannibal, Osip, Nadezhda, and the soul of Russia himself, Alexander Sergeyevitch Pushkin.

This is their incredible story that would put any Hollywood film to shame. If the claim of Lagwen is proven, then Lagwen and its long lost son and his descendants would be the only village and
family in the world who would claim royals in Russia, England, Germany, and etc. as their relatives.


Next part: TO THE RUSSIAN DOUBLE-HEADED EAGLE
ABRAHAM P. HANNIBAL: The Odyssey Begins

Conversation with Mr. Costas Stylianidis

Mr. Costas Stylianidis

Note: All pictures are courtesy of Mr. Costas Stylianidis.


Issayas: Can you tell us briefly about yourself?

Mr. Costas : I was born in Asmara in the mid-forties. My father was a Greek from the island of Lemnos who, at the age of 14 in 1910, arrived at Massawa to join an elder brother in search of a better future. Those days Greece was still suffering the burden of occupation and Lemnos was still under the heavy influence of Turkish rule.

At Massawa with his brother, he started by making ‘Greek coffee’, a trade he had picked up from his mother and father in his native land. With a lot of hard work and personal sacrifice, he managed to establish himself as a merchant, opening trade with Greece and Italy and establishing a cigarette factory and retail business. Sadly when Italy declared war against Greece during the Second World War, he saw all his wealth disappear from one day to the next after the devaluation of the Greek currency, leaving him a relatively poor man with broken dreams but still lucky to have a roof over his head and a family with a faithful wife and five children.

I grew up when Eritrea was under the English administration but Italian was still a dominant factor in the market place. I was thus able to pick up simultaneously three languages which were spoken at the time. Greek spoken at home, Tigrinia spoken with the people that worked with my family at home, and Italian which was spoken everywhere else.

During the first six years of my school life I attended the local Greek Elementary School. I then progressed to Comboni College which in those days was headed by Father Gasparini; an outstanding and educated personality who was able to deliver a speech in fourteen languages. Comboni was a microcosm of society as it was in Eritrea at that time. A blend of Eritreans, Greeks, Italians, Indians, Jews, Christians, Moslems.. all working together in love, respect and harmony. Regrettably I was not able to learn Tigrinia at School because after 1952, Amharic was the compulsory language instead. Upon completing my High School at Comboni, I started work in Assab as a ‘Shipping’ clerk. Languages being a catalyst for my employment.

In 1967 with a lot of soul searching I took the ‘heavy hearted’ decision to look elsewhere for my future and I came to the UK. My knowledge of languages and my experience in shipping enabled me to find employment with the Greek Airline Olympic Airways. Thus I had the opportunity of traveling around the world and meet with other people from Eritrea who shared the same background as mine.

I discovered that almost all those who left Eritrea, treasured three things; their love of Eritrea, their love of the people of Eritrea (both natives and expatriates) and their insatiable appetite for ‘zighni’.

Today, 40 years on, I take advantage of these friendships and with my website http://www.mybaobab.com I try to stimulate their support for various good causes that need the support of these good ‘Friends of Eritrea’.

Issayas: Many people are aware of the Greek presence in Ethiopia before 1974. If I’m not mistaken there were about 4000 Greeks in Ethiopia. There were also a large number of Armenians. But Greeks in Eritrea? Can you tell us briefly about the Greeks presence in Eritrea before? As a follow up, are there Greeks in Eritrea now?

Mr. Costas: Greeks may have been present in Eritrea from the fifth century BC when Aeschylus left the first known record of the Eritrean Coast describing its seas ‘gentle ripples that are a warm caress’. In the year 522 , the Egyptian Greek known as Cosmas Indicopleustes ‘the Indian navigator’ described the caravan route to Axum and other ancient cities. Today you can see the ‘Greek’ features in present day Eritreans. You can see a similarity with Greeks when it concerns their pride and their stubbornness!

In Eritrea Greeks arrived as early as the mid 19^th century. They settled down in Eritrean cities such as Keren, Agordat, Massawa and Asmara and established various businesses. At some stage Asmara had about 400-500 Greeks leaving there. They run their own School and a Greek Orthodox Church and lived in harmony with the local community and its people. There were several Armenian families too who because of the similarity in their religion, were very close to the Greeks and a lot of them worked with Greeks and studied in Greek Schools. At the moment however, there are only a few Greeks left. The Greek Church is closed and what used to be the Greek School, now houses the Greek Consulate. Many children of Greek mix marriages now have Eritrean Nationality.

Note: For further history on Greeks in Eritrea, check out the following url:
http://www.mybaobab.com/Gallery2.aspx

D. SOUVLIS,was the founder of the famous DONGOLO WATER FACTORY.


The Greek Orthodox Church in Asmara, Eritrea


The former Greek school.. Now the Greek Consulate in Asmara, Eritrea.

Issayas: Eritrea as you know is a name given by the Italians based on the Latinized version of a Greek word for the Red Sea. It was a Greek merchant who wrote the "Periplus of the Erythrean Sea" in 1^st Century AD. Therefore, the connection between Greek and Eritrea is long. Is Eritrea known in Greece today?

Mr. Costas: Because of its connection with Ethiopia most Greeks do not differentiate between Eritreans and Ethiopians. In Greece there is a considerable number of Eritreans and Ethiopians who live and work there. I have met with some of their children who now have Greek Nationality. There are also a number of authentic Restaurants specializing in ‘Zighni’ and other delicacies and to my surprise they are quite popular with the local community.

Issayas: People of European descent who were born in Eritrea and left Eritrea before 1974 have been meeting regularly since then. Do you have an organization? What are their numbers? Where do you meet?

Mr. Costas: In Eritrea many nationalities lived and worked in harmony with each other. It was a very Cosmopolitan environment where everyone respected each other both in terms of culture as well as Religion. Italians of course were the vast majority of this population but there were Greeks, Indians, Arabs, French,Jews, British and Americans too. The bond of friendship that was formed in Eritrea lingers on to this present day. An Italian bi monthly magazine called MAI TACLI which is distributed to its members throughout the world.

To check out the website of the magazine: http://www.maitacli.it

Mai Tacli Magazine

Mai Tacli organizes every year around May, a get together in Italy, generally a place near Rimini called Riccione. There have been 33 similar gatherings so far. Attendance to these meetings has declined in the recent years from the 500 to 600 people to a few hundred delegates at present. A similar gathering is organized by an Italian website called http://www.ilchichingiolo.it. At these meetings which take place over a long weekend people from all over the world as well all over Italy came to meet old friends and acquaintances and renew old friendships. There are various causes linked to present day Eritrea which are sponsored during these events such as the School at Massawa, the Church at Keren and various individual efforts to support local people in Eritrea.

34th annual Mai Tacli reunion held in Italy, May 2007.

There is an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia for the people and the country that was once their place of abode. Of course no get together is complete without the traditional dish of ‘Zighni’in its menu. I must mention that apart from these meetings, ‘Asmarinos’ take any opportunity to meet wherever they may be and many a time we have had ‘Zighni’ evenings even in Athens.

Issayas: If your common denominator is Eritrea, do you consider yourselves as "the other Eritreans"?

Mr. Costas: Most of the people have kept their European identity, however I know some who have since applied and obtained Eritrean citizenship. All of them however feel like part of the ‘Eritrean diaspora’.

Issayas: Have you been back to Eritrea?

Mr. Costas: The last time I was in Eritrea it was in 1971. I hope however to be able to go early next year in time for the inauguration of the project that I have co-sponsored …’The St Francis of Assisi School at Massawa.’ which is being built by Father Protasio.

Issayas: What is the main objective of your foundation, mybaobab?

Mr. Costas: MyBaobab is a website which is used as a platform for reviving lost friendships and its aim is to maintain contact and networking with ‘Friends of Eritrea’.

It is also a platform for sharing views, news and exchanging ideas, but above all one that will pass on to the younger ex-patriate generation the wealth of experiences that we have had throughout our lives and so to enable them to form a better identity of themselves which I hope, will give them a firm base on which to construct their future.

Mybaobab aims to contribute towards the well being of those less fortunate than ourselves, to sponsor various good causes in Eritrea and to maintain an update of the projects now in progress.

Issayas: What is the symbolism of the Baobab?

The Baobab tree, also known as the ‘upside down tree’ is known to live well over 1000 years. It is a tree which grew in the regions of the Eritrean savannah where Greeks once lived. One of them particularly in Keren is a shrine to the Madonna and is a landmark of the region with a long tradition of the Christian faith and its beliefs.

As the Baobab is able to live such a long time, it must have witnessed Eritrean History with all its hardships and its good times. I thought that ‘MyBaobab’ therefore would carry these attributes in its contents!!

Issayas: Can you tell us about the status of the School that you support in Massawa?

Mr. Costas: This was a ‘project’ that I decided to support with www.mybaobab.com after meeting Father Protassio at one of the MAI TACLI meetings at Rimini. An impressive commitment which started in October 2005 and which is nearing completion early next year. This wonderful establishment will educate about 400 students of all walks of life and religious belief. It will provide them with all their educational needs and train them as well in the Hotel and Catering Industry which will hopefully develop and flourish at Massawa. Of course ongoing help will be required also in the future and this regards people who may volunteer as teachers, trainers, craftsmen who may be willing to pass on their knowledge to these students who are so ‘thirsty for knowledge’ and who are so keen to learn.

Plan of the school in Massawa.

The present status of the school in Massawa.

Issayas: Mr. Costas, thank you for your time.

Mr. Costas: You're welcome.