Ibrahim Petrovich Gannibal

Abram (Ibrahim) Petrovich Gannibal or Ganibal (1696 - 1781) was an African slave who was brought to Russia by Peter the Great and became major-general, military engineer and governor of Tallinn. He is perhaps best known today as the great-grandfather of Aleksandr Pushkin, who wrote an unfinished novel about him, The Blackamoor of Peter the Great.

Related Topics:
1696 - 1781 - Africa - Russia - Peter the Great - Major-general - Tallinn - Aleksandr Pushkin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His origins are uncertain. Early writings about Gannibal suggest he was born in 1696 in Ethiopia (now Eritrea). He was rumored to be the 19th son of some lesser ruler or warlord. "As the other sons were brought to their father with their hands trussed up with a rope, he enjoyed freedom of the youngest son swimming in his father's fountains" - (Pushkin's notes to Eugene Onegin). Modern research suggests he may actually be from what is now Chad.

Related Topics:
1696 - Ethiopia - Eritrea - Eugene Onegin - Chad

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the age of seven (c. 1703) Gannibal was taken to the court of the Great Sultan of Ottoman Empire at Constantinople. Based on the year the Sultan was either Mustafa II (reigned 1695 - 1703) or Ahmed III (reigned 1703 - 1730). The German biography of Gannibal, compiled anonymously from his own words, explains that "the children of the noble families were taken to the ruler of all the muslims, Turkish sultan, as hostages", to be killed or sold into slavery if their fathers misbehaved. Gannibal's sister Lahan was taken into captivity at the same time but killed herself during the voyage.

Related Topics:
1703 - Sultan - Ottoman Empire - Constantinople - Mustafa II - 1695 - Ahmed III - 1730 - Slavery

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1704, after one year in the capital, Gannibal was taken away by the deputy of the Russian ambassador Savva Raguzinsky, who was following the orders of his superiors (one of whom was Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy, great-grandfather of the great writer Lev Tolstoy.)

Related Topics:
1704 - Ambassador - Savva Raguzinsky - Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy - Lev Tolstoy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

All of this was done by order of Peter the Great. Apparently, Gannibal wasn't the only "arap" boy to be taken. While it was fashionable at the time to have black children at the courts of European monarchs, this was not the main reason for the Tsar's orders. Peter was pursuing an educational goal. "Araps" were considered to be savage and uncivilized at that time, but Peter wanted to prove that these children were as good in the arts and sciences as their Russian peers were and to show that he valued people by their abilities and not their skin color.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gannibal was baptized in 1705, in Vilnius, with Peter as his godfather. He has been suggested as a lover of Sophia Albertine, Countess of Erbach (1683 - 1742) during the early 1710s and possible father of her daughter Elizabeth Albertine, Princess of Saxe-Hildburghausen (4 August, 1713 - 29 June, 1761). Elizabeth was the maternal ancestor of the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Strelitz since 1752.

Related Topics:
1705 - Vilnius - 1683 - 1742 - 1710s - Elizabeth Albertine, Princess of Saxe-Hildburghausen - 4 August - 1713 - 29 June - 1761 - Mecklenburg-Strelitz - 1752

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1717, Gannibal was taken to Paris to continue an education in the arts, sciences, and warfare. By then he was fluent in several languages and knew mathematics and geometry. He fought with the forces of Louis XV of France against those of Louis' uncle Philip V of Spain and rose to the rank of captain. It was during his time in France that Gannibal adopted his surname in honor of the Carthaginian general Hannibal (Gannibal being the traditional transliteration of the name in Russian). In Paris he met and befriended such Enlightenment figures as Denis Diderot, the Baron de Montesquieu, and Voltaire. (This claim by his biographer Hugh Barnes is disputed by reviewer Andrew Kahn.) Voltaire called Gannibal the "dark star of the Enlightenment".

Related Topics:
1717 - Paris - Louis XV of France - Philip V of Spain - Carthaginian - Hannibal - Enlightenment - Denis Diderot - Baron de Montesquieu - Voltaire

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gannibal's education was completed by 1722 and he was due to return to Russia. He wrote to Peter (already Emperor, not Tsar) and begged for permission to return to Russia by land, not sea. It is rumored that he was met on his return by Peter himself, a few kilometers away from Moscow.

Related Topics:
1722 - Moscow

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After the death of Peter in 1725, Gannibal was exiled to Siberia in 1727. He was pardoned in 1730 for his skills in military engineering. After Peter's daughter Elizabeth became the new monarch in 1741, he became a prominent person at her court, rose to the rank of major-general and became governor of Tallinn. It is rumored that the great general Aleksandr Suvorov owed his life as a soldier to Gannibal, who convinced Suvorov's father to let his son pursue a military career.

Related Topics:
1725 - Siberia - 1727 - 1730 - Elizabeth - 1741 - Tallinn - Aleksandr Suvorov

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gannibal married twice. His first wife was a Greek woman and the couple had one daughter. Gannibal divorced her and married his second wife, Christina-Regina Scherberg. Gannibal and his new wife had several children, including a son Osip. Osip in turn would have a daughter Nadezhda, the mother of Aleksandr Pushkin.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~