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

Early life

Wacław Rzewuski was born 15 December 1784 in Lwów. He was the son of field

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

Seweryn Rzewuski whose family held enormous estates in Ukraine, and Princess Konstancja Małgorzata Lubomirska of the influential

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

. His parents moved the family to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

after the

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

and he was educated at the elite

Theresianum Theresianum (or Theresian Academy; german: Theresianische Akademie) is a private boarding and day school governed by the laws for public schools in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1746 by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. History Early h ...

. In 1806 he married Alexandra, another descendant of the Lubomirski family. He served in the

Austrian army The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of nati ...

, fighting at Aspern-Essling in 1809, as a second lieutenant in the

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

Hussars A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely a ...

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

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

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

Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall Joseph Freiherr von Hammer-Purgstall (9 June 1774 – 23 November 1856) was an Austrian orientalist and historian. He is considered one of the most accomplished Orientalists of his time. He was critical of the trend of ascribing classical or a ...

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

Travels and publishing

He eventually became a member of the scientific society in

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

, the Munich Academy of Sciences and a member of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Learning. In the years 1818-1820 he travelled the Middle East, visiting Syria,

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, Palestine, after which he settled in

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

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

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

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

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and the Arabian Peninsula and he recorded the music of the Bedouin. He published ''Sur les chevaux orientaux et provenants des races orientales'' which contains more than 400 full-color drawings, recording culture and customs of Saudi Arabian Desert. He returned to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

settling in his native Podolia with a rich collection of Oriental

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

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

folk custom A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

s at this time.

Later years

From 1825 he belonged to the Patriotic Society and was arrested in 1826 and held for two years. He was later involved in the November Uprising of 1830 Commanding a Division in the battle of Daszowem. He was killed in mysterious circumstances on 14 May 1831.

References

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