Nikolai Spathari
Nicolae Milescu | |
---|---|
Born | 1636 |
Died | 1708 (aged 71–72) |
Citizenship | Moldavia |
Nikolai Spathari (
Early life
Spathari was born into a Greek family.[2] His prosonym Moldavo-Lacone[3] (Moldavan-Laconian) emphasizes his origins.[4] The name Milescu was adopted by his parents when they settled in Milești.[5] Prof. L. Turdeanu-Cartojan discovered at Oxford his autobiography, written in Greek (Λαζάρου, Lazarou).
A
Exile
Milescu had ambitions of his own, and conspired against Prince
Milescu again left for
One of Milescu's tasks was to reinforce the legitimacy of the
In Khrismologion ("Book of Prophecy", 1672) he analyzed commentary on the four kingdoms of Daniel prophecy, concluding that, due to its connection with Constantinople, Russia was the only true successor to the fourth kingdom, Rome. Going further, he asserted that the right of Roman succession belonged only to Russia, and not to the Holy Roman Empire. In setting forth his claim, he made reference to Anna Porphyrogenita, the sister of Byzantine emperor Basil II, who married Vladimir the Great. In his view, this union not only reinforced the strong connection between Byzantium and Russia, but also drew a dynastic line between Vladimir and Aleksey.[9]
In China
In 1675, he was named ambassador of the Russian Empire to Beijing, the capital of
Unlike previous Russians who had gone through Mongolia, Milescu chose to travel through Siberia as far as Nerchinsk, directly north of Peking. Upon reaching Yeniseysk, Milescu sent one of his men, Ignatiy Milovanov, to the Chinese court in order to inform the Kangxi Emperor about the purpose of their embassy. Milovanov was the first European known to have crossed the Amur (Heilong) River, reaching Beijing by the shortest route possible. Milescu followed the same route to the Chinese border, and established his camp on the Nen River in Heilongjiang, waiting for news from Milovanov. The latter returned to the camp on 18 February and, taking Milescu's report to the Tsar with him, proceeded to Moscow. Milescu, on the other hand, crossed into Beijing via Hebei in the middle of May, after being held up for two months at Kalgan (modern Zhangjiakou). Here he was able to communicate in Latin with the Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest. His diplomacy proved unsuccessful, and he returned to Siberia by the same route in Spring 1677.
Achievements
Milescu is the author of one of the first Russian works on arithmetic, "Arithmologion", which was written in 1672, based on his own Greek original. The manuscript was preserved in the Chudov Monastery, till it was discovered by church historian Nikolay Kedrov.[10]
In his
On his way through Siberia, Milescu used the astrolabe to establish coordinates of some settlements. His materials were later used by the Jesuits, who took considerable interest in China. Upon returning to Moscow, he submitted to the Foreign Ministry three volumes of notes: Travel notes and Description of China, alongside the Travels.
In his narratives, Milescu summed up the knowledge that Russian explorers had gathered about East Siberia. Although he believed that the Amur was the largest river in the world, he listed its main tributaries without mistake. His idea that there was a vast
Legacy
Milescu's name was assigned to several streets in localities throughout Romania and Moldova, including one in Bucharest named "Strada Spatărul Nicolae Milescu",[11] one in Chișinău named "Strada Nicolae Milescu Spătaru",[12] one in Constanța named "Strada Nicolae Milescu",[13] etc. Also there are scientific and education institutions named in Milescu's honor, among them a lyceum in Chișinău, Liceul Teoretic "Nicolae Milescu Spătarul",[14] and the Association of Scientists of Moldova "N. Spătaru Milescu".[15] Several busts of Milescu are across Romanian and Moldovan cities. The public library in Vaslui, his birthplace, bears his name.[16] Also in Moldova several stamps with Milescu on them were issued. In 2011, the National Bank of Romania issued a silver coin dedicated to the 375th anniversary of Nicolae Milescu's birth.[17]
See also
Notes
- ^ Olga Metchnikoff, Vie d'Elie Metchnikoff, Hachette, Paris, 1920
- ^ Limba română (in Romanian). Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Române. 1985. p. 24.
...căci Milescu, care era grec de origine (vezi Ștefan S. Gorovei, Nicolae (Milescu) spătarul.
- ^ Arnauld Antoine, Sur la créance des Grecs (Latin), pp. 1091–98 in La perpétuité de la Foi de l'Église Catholique touchant l' Eucharistie, Paris, 1781. Accessed 21 September 2012.
- ^ Daniela Dumbravă, The k’ou-t’ou, a political and religious ceremonial at the court of the Ch’ing dynasty: Brief note about the Milescu – K’ang-hsi case (June 1676) Archived 17 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine, University of Florence. Accessed 21 September 2012.
- ^ Lazarou Achilleas, Η ελληνικοτητα των βλαχων (He hellenikoteta ton Vlachon, "The Greekness of the Vlachs", in Greek.)
- ^ Ion Neculce, O samă de cuvinte, XLI
- ^ Pesenson and Spock, p.294
- ^ Pesenson and Spock, p.294-95
- ^ a b Pesenson and Spock, p.295
- ^ Andonie George Ștefan, Istoria Matematicii în România, 1965, vol. 1, pp. 45–47
- ^ Strada Spatarul Nicolae Milescu, bucurestiul.info
- ^ Strada Nicolae Milescu Spătaru (fosta Милеску). Blogul „Chișinău, orașul meu” al Bibliotecii Municipale „B.P. Hasdeu”
- ^ Strada Nicolae Milescu, Constanța, bulevarde.ro
- ^ Liceul Teoretic "Nicolae Milescu Spătarul", rson.justice.md
- ^ Asociația Oamenilor de Știință din Moldova "N. Spătaru Milescu", rson.justice.md
- ^ "Nicolae Milescu Spătarul" Library - Short history
- ^ "Banca Națională a României". www.bnro.ro.
References
- Michael A. Pesenson and Jennifer B. Spock, "Historical Writing in Russia and Ukraine", in The Oxford History of Historical Writing: Volume 3: 1400-1800, ed. José Rabasa, Andrew Feldherr, Daniel Woolf, Masayuki Sato, Grant Hardy. ISBN 978-01992-19-17-9