Toma Cantacuzino (, Bucharest, Wallachia – 22 December 1721, Trukhnovo, Russia) was a Romanian '' Spătar'' and general in the Tsarist army. He was a member of the

Cantacuzino family The House of Cantacuzino (; ) is a Romanian aristocratic family of Greek origin. The family gave a number of princes to Wallachia and Moldavia, and it claimed descent from a branch of the Byzantine Kantakouzenos family, specifically from Byzanti ...

and cousin of

Constantin Brâncoveanu Constantin Brâncoveanu (; 1654 – August 15, 1714) was List of Wallachian rulers, Prince of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714. Biography Ascension Constantin Brâncoveanu was the son of Pope Brâncoveanu (Matthew) and his wife, Stanca Can ...

and

Ștefan Cantacuzino Ștefan Cantacuzino, (c. 1675 – 7 June 1716) was a Prince of Wallachia between April 1714 and January 21, 1716, the son of '' stolnic'' Constantin Cantacuzino. He was married to Păuna Greceanu-Cantacuzino. Life Ștefan was involved in his ...

Biography

Toma Cantacuzino was born around 1670 in

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 ...

. His father was Matei Cantacuzino and mother was Bălașa Drugănescu. Both parents died when he was young and was raised by his uncle,

Șerban Cantacuzino Șerban Cantacuzino (), (1634/1640 – 29 October 1688) was a List of rulers of Wallachia, Prince of Wallachia between 1678 and 1688. Biography Șerban Cantacuzino was a member of the Romanian branch of the Cantacuzino family, Cantacuzino noble ...

. Brâncoveanu's Italian secretary, Anton Maria Del Chiaro, described Toma as a brave man with a vast culture and a good connoisseur of the Latin and Italian languages. In 1693, he was made second '' Logofăt'' and then assigned as '' Grand Postelnic'' in 1704. In 1706, he was made ''Grand Spătar'' which placed the entire

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

of the Wallachian army under his command. In April 1711, the Treaty of Lutsk was signed secretly between

Dimitrie Cantemir Dimitrie or Demetrius; Cantemir (; ; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Moldavian prince, statesman, and man of letters. He twice served as voivode of Moldavia (March–April 1693 and 1710–1711). Durin ...

and

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

, following which the

Principality of Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially independent and later auto ...

sided with Russia in the anti-Ottoman struggle.

hesitated to side with him. Toma Cantacuzino, who commanded the cavalry of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

, openly sided with the Russians on 22 June despite Brâncoveanu's orders. This betrayal contributed to the execution of Brâncoveanu and his four children. After joining the Russians with eight Wallachian cavalry

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s, the Tsar named him major general and offered him the command of a

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

regiment. He was then ordered to aid General

Carl Ewald von Rönne Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

in the capture of the Brăila fortress. After the conquest of Braila, Toma returned to his home in Filipeștii de Pădure on 25 July 1711, where he received the news of the conclusion of peace between the Sultan and the Tsar. In 1712, he went to 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 ...

where the Tsar granted him the title of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and appointed him as major general in the Russian imperial cavalry. In 1717, he brought his family to Russia after their lands were confiscated Prince

Nicholas Mavrocordatos Nicholas Mavrocordatos (, ; May 3, 1670September 3, 1730) was a Greek member of the Mavrocordatos family, Grand Dragoman to the Divan (1697), and consequently the first Phanariot Hospodar of the Danubian Principalities, Prince of Moldavia, an ...

. In December 1720, he received the command of the troops that supervised the construction of a canal that was supposed to connect the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

and

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...

. Due to the harsh northern climate, he died on 22 December 1721. He was transported to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

on 22 January 1722 where he was buried in the church of the Saint Nicholas Monastery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantacuzino, Toma 1670s births 1721 deaths 18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire