Ioan Axente Sever (born Ioan Axente; 15 April 1821–13 August 1906) was a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

revolutionary in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

who participated in the

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

n Revolution of 1848.

Biography

Early years

He was born in Frâua (called Axente Sever since 1931), the son of Iacob Baciu and Ana, née Maxim. From 1831 to 1835 he studied in

Blaj Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 17,816 inhabitants as of 2021. The city administers eight villages: Deleni-Obârșie ('' ...

. He then returned to pursue his studies at the Gheorghe Lazăr Gymnasium in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

, after which he returned in 1840 to Blaj to study theology and philosophy, having

Simion Bărnuțiu Simion Bărnuțiu (; 21 July 1808 – 28 May 1864) was a Romanian historian, academic, philosopher, jurist, and liberal politician. A leader of the 1848 revolutionary movement of Transylvanian Romanians, he represented its Eastern Rite Catholi ...

as professor. He later went to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, where he was a teacher of Latin and Romanian language at a private school and at the

Saint Sava College Saint Sava College was one of the earliest academic institutions in Wallachia, Romania. It was the predecessor to both Saint Sava National College and the University of Bucharest. History It was the continuator of the Princely Academy from Buchare ...

The Revolutions of 1848

When the Wallachian Revolution broke out in 1848, he served as propaganda officer for the revolutionaries in

Ilfov County Ilfov () is the Counties of Romania, county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, whi ...

, and then was sent to

Dolj County Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)-Jiu River, Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to ''Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova. Demographics In 2011, ...

to restore the state's authority. After the defeat of the Wallachian Revolution, he returned to Transylvania in September 1848, where he participated in the border guards' assembly at

Orlat Orlat (; ) is a commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania, west of the county capital, Sibiu, in the Mărginimea Sibiului ethnographic area. It is composed of a single village, Orlat. The commune lies in the foothills of the Cindrel Mount ...

, and then in the third Blaj National Assembly. Named prefect of the Blaj district, he became commander of Legion I ''Blasensis'', which he turned into the strongest military unit in the army of

Avram Iancu Avram Iancu (; ; 1824 – September 10, 1872) was a Transylvanian Romanian lawyer who played an important role in the local chapter of the Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire, Austrian Empire Revolutions of 1848–1849. He was especiall ...

. From October 1848 to August 1849, with the objective of disarming Hungarian units, he saw action at Uioara,

Ciumbrud Aiud (; , , Hungarian pronunciation: ; ) is a city located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. The city's population is 21,307 (2021). It has the status of municipiu. The city derives its name ultimately from Saint Giles (Aegidius), to whom t ...

, Sâncrai,

Cricău Cricău (; ) is a Commune in Romania, commune located in the central part of Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 1,879 as of 2021 and is composed of three villages: Craiva (''Királypataka''), Cricău, and Tibru (''Tibor'') ...

Aiud Aiud (; , , Hungarian pronunciation: ; ) is a city located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. The city's population is 21,307 (2021). It has the status of municipiu. The city derives its name ultimately from Saint Giles (Aegidius), to whom t ...

Turda Turda (; , ; ; ) is a Municipiu, city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by the European route E81, and from nearby Câmpia ...

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

Cetatea de Baltă Cetatea de Baltă (; ) is a commune in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. The commune is composed of four villages: Cetatea de Baltă, Crăciunelu de Sus (''Christendorf''; ''Felsőkarácsonyfalva''), Sântămărie (''Frauenkirch''; ''Boldogfalva' ...

Ocna Sibiului Ocna Sibiului (; ) is a town in the centre of Sibiu County, in southern Transylvania, central Romania, to the north-west of the county seat, Sibiu. The town administers a single village, Topârcea (''Tschapertsch''; ''Toporcsa''). Demographics ...

, the

Apuseni Mountains The Apuseni Mountains (, "Western Mountains"; , "Transylvanian Mountains") are a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Romanian Carpathians. The highest peak is the Bihor Peak at . The Apuseni Mountains have ab ...

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; ; ) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the river Mureș (river), Mureș in the historical region of Transylvania, it has a ...

and elsewhere. The campaign ended with the

Surrender at Világos The Surrender at Világos (), which was the formal end of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, took place on 13 August 1849, at Világos (now Șiria, Romania). The terms were signed by General Artúr Görgey of the Hungarian Revolutionary Army on t ...

. He was the commander of the troops that killed 15–20% of the Hungarian population of Aiud in January 1849, while another 15–20% froze to death while fleeing. Arrested for this massacre in late 1849, he stood trial at Sibiu,

Bistrița (; , archaic , Transylvanian Saxon: , ) is the capital city of Bistrița-Năsăud County, in northern Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistrița River. The city has a population of 78,877 inhabitants as of 2021 and administers s ...

, and Cluj. Together with other commanders (chiefly, Iancu and ), he wrote reports on these events (published in German in newspapers from

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1850–1853), in which he argued that the Romanians in Transylvania were loyal to the Habsburg Emperor, and that they fought with Hungarian troops because the government in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

did not recognize the rights of the Romanians as a nation.

Later years

In 1850 he was a tenant farmer at Cenade; in 1851, he was named court secretary at Alba Iulia. In July 1852, he met with Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

at , and accompanied him to Sibiu. With this occasion, he was awarded the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

(Golden Cross with Crown) and the

Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph () was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. Classes The order was originally awarded in three classes: ''G ...

, 3rd class. He also received the

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

, 3rd class. Starting in 1881, Axente Sever was part of the

ASTRA Astra (Latin for "stars") may refer to: People * Astra (name) Places * Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina * Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey * Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet that became t ...

leadership in Sibiu. Ecaterina Țarălungă
''Enciclopedia identității românești''
, p.46. Editura Litera, 2011, He moved to

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

in 1892. His health began to decline in late 1900, and he was hospitalized in 1904. He died two years later, and was taken by train to Blaj, where he was buried in the cemetery next to the Church of the Holy Archangels.

Legacy

There are streets named after him in

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

Mediaș Mediaș (; , , Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Medwesch''/''Medveš''/''Medwisch'', ) is the second largest municipiu, town and municipality in Sibiu County, Transylvania, central Romania. Geography Mediaș is located in ...

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; ; ; or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the region of Maramureș, broadly part of Transylvania ...

Sighișoara Sighișoara (; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Schäsbrich'', ''Šesburχ'', or ''Scheeßprich''; ; or ) is a Municipiu, city on the Târnava Mare, Târnava Mare River in Mureș County, central Romania. Located in the ...

, and

, as well as a plaza in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

. A

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Mediaș also bears his name.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sever, Ioan Axente 1821 births 1906 deaths People from Sibiu County Romanian Austro-Hungarians Romanian Greek-Catholics Organizers of the Wallachian Revolution of 1848 Knights of the Order of Franz Joseph Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class