Prince Valerian Grigoryevich Madatov (, Rostom Madatyan; 1782 – September 4, 1829) was a Russian-Armenian

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and a

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Sarkisyan, G. ''«Մադաթով»'' (Madatov). ''

Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia (also rendered ''Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia''; , ''Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran''; ASE) is the first general encyclopedia in the Armenian language. It was published in 1974-1987 by the main editorial office of th ...

'' vol. vii. Yerevan: Armenian SSR, 1981, p. 126.

Early life

Madatov was born Rostom Madatyan in 1782 in Avetaranots of the Principality of Varanda (nowadays

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

), in a minor

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

noble family as a ''

melik Мelik (, from ) was a hereditary Armenian noble title used in Eastern Armenia from the Late Middle Ages until the nineteenth century. The meliks represented some of the last remnants of the old Armenian nobility, as well as Persian nobility ...

'' (prince).

Валериан (Рустам) Григорьевич Мадатов — выходец из армянского княжеского рода…

At the age of 15 he left Karabakh for

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

with another senior nobleman to seek support from

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

in their efforts to abolish Muslim control of the region.

Military career

In St. Petersburg, young Madatov joined the

Leib Guard The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard ( ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from German language, German ''Leib'' "body"; cf. Lifeguard (military), Life Guards / Bodyguard), were combined Imperial Russian Army forces units serving as cou ...

Preobrazhensky Regiment The Preobrazhensky Lifeguard (military), Life-Guards Regiment (, ''Preobrazhensky leyb-gvardii polk'') was a regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard, Imperial Guard of the Imperial Russian Army from 1683 to 1917. The Preobrazhensky Regiment was ...

at the rank of ''

praporshchik (, , ) is a rank used by the Russian Armed Forces and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in the corresponding navies. It is usually equivalent to warrant officer class 1 or serge ...

'', and for the next 10 years spent his time training and serving in lower officer ranks. Madatov saw action for the first time in 1808 on the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

during the storming of the Brailov fortress, where he received his first order of commendation. In 1810 Madatov joined the Aleksandriya Hussar Regiment as a captain and later as a major. Madatov's first major combat experience was during the Russo-Turkish War, 1806–1812. For his actions against the Turks he was given on April 11, 1811 the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

of 4th degree. During

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...

, he commanded a detachment, and successfully served in

Kobryn Kobryn or Kobrin is a town in Brest Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Kobryn District. It is located in the southwestern corner of Belarus, where the Mukhavets river and Dnieper–Bug Canal meet. The town lies about east ...

and

Barysaŭ Barysaw or Borisov (, ; , ) is a city in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Barysaw District. It is located on the Berezina River and north-east from the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 134,732. ...

, as well as during the capture of

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. In 1812 Madatov received the rank of colonel. The next year he was injured in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. Although still not fully recovered from his wound, Madatov was there to march his men across Paris. He would remain in France as one of the commanders of the occupational forces and as the Commander of the Hussar Brigade.

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Hans Karl von Diebitsch Hans Karl Friedrich Anton Graf von Diebitsch und Narten (; 13 May 1785 – 10 June 1831) was a German-born soldier serving as Russian field marshal. Career Hans Karl was educated at the Berlin cadet school, but by the desire of his father ...

referred to Madatov as "the Russian Murat". Anon
Князь Валериан Григорьевич Мадатов
Black Hussars. Accessed July 28, 2006. He was called back in 1815 to serve in the Caucasus, due to his familiarity with the region and the fact that he knew most of the major languages spoken in the area. He managed to consolidate Russian power by brokering peace with the local regional rulers. In 1816 Madatov was appointed the commander-in-chief of the Russian forces of the

Karabakh Khanate The Karabakh Khanate (also spelled Qarabagh; ; ) was a Khanates of the Caucasus, khanate under History of Iran, Iranian and later Russian Empire, Russian suzerainty, which controlled the historical region of Karabakh, now divided between modern ...

, and was in command of the forces in several other former khanates. In 1818 Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov subjugated the

Chechens The Chechens ( ; , , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kistin, Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian languages, Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus. ...

with Madatov's aid. In 1826

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 ...

attacked Karabakh, starting the Russo-Persian War, 1826–1828. Madatov hurried to

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

to take command of the forces which would push the Persians out of the Southern Caucasus. The 2,000 men under Madatov's command routed the 10,000-man Persian army on the banks of the Shamkhor river and retook

Ganja ''Ganja'' (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for cannabis flower, specifically marijuana or hashish. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi (, IPA: �aːɲd͡ʒa� ...

on September 5. Upon hearing the news,

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

of Persia

Abbas Mirza Abbas Mirza (; 26 August 1789 – 25 October 1833) was the Qajar dynasty, Qajar crown prince of Qajar Iran, Iran during the reign of his father Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (). As governor of the vulnerable Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan province, he played ...

lifted the siege of

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

and marched towards Ganja. Additional Russian reinforcements under

Ivan Paskevich Count Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Erevansky, Serene Prince of Warsaw ( – ) was a Russian military leader who was the ''namiestnik'' of Poland. Paskevich is known for leading Russian forces in Poland during the November Uprising and for a s ...

arrived just in time to join their forces with Madatov and to form an 8,000-strong corps under Paskevich's command. Near Ganja they fell upon the Persians and forced them to retreat across the

Araks river The Aras is a transboundary river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, between Iran and both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and, fin ...

back to Persia. On 28 September of the same year Madatov was made lieutenant general. He concluded his career fighting the Turks once again on the Danube during the Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829. On September 4, 1829, two days after the signing of a peace treaty that ended the war, Madatov died from a

pulmonary disease Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, bron ...

, which was sharply aggravated as a result of the burdens of marching during the war. His remains are interred at the

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexa ...

in Saint Petersburg.

References

External links

*
Detailed biography
*

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Madatov, Valerian 1782 births 1829 deaths People from Askeran Province Armenian nobility Hussars Imperial Russian Army generals Russian people of Armenian descent Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars People of the Russo-Persian Wars Russian Imperial Hussars officers Nobility from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Russian military personnel of the Caucasian War Burials at Tikhvin Cemetery

Early life

Military career

References

Further reading

External links