Valerian Zubov
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (February 2024) |
Persian Expedition of 1796
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| Relations | House of Zubov |
Count Valerian Aleksandrovich Zubov (Russian: Валериа́н Алекса́ндрович Зу́бов; 1771–1804) was a Russian general who led the
Persian Expedition of 1796. His siblings included Platon Zubov and Olga Zherebtsova
.
As a young man Zubov had flattering prospects of a brilliant military career due to his brother Platon's ascendancy at Catherine II's court. He was reputed by contemporaries as "the handsomest man in Russia". The legend has it that the aged Empress flirted with him, secretly from his brother.
During her reign he was much lionized as a military hero of incredible valor. He was appointed General-Major and sent to assist
Suvorov in quelling the Kościuszko Uprising in Poland, where he was said to treat both the Polish noblemen and their wives brazenly and "in the most lowly manner". During this stay in Poland, he married Teodor Lubomirski
's granddaughter and lost his left leg in the autumn of 1794 while crossing the Western Bug, as he was wounded by a cannonball.
Several months before Catherine's death, 24-year-old Zubov was invited to take charge of the army heading for
Imperial Russia
.
Zubov started the expedition much promising,
Russo-Persian War (1722-1723). By November, they were stationed at the confluence of the Araks and Kura Rivers, poised to attack mainland Iran. It was in that month that the Empress of Russia died and her successor Paul I, who detested the Zubovs and had other plans for the army, ordered the troops to retreat back to Russia. Zubov's return from his luckless expedition occasioned an ode by Derzhavin
, meditating on the fleeting nature of fortune and success.
References
- ^ a b Alexander 1989, p. 321.
Sources
- Alexander, John T. (1989). Catherine the Great: Life and Legend. Oxford University Press. pp. 321. ISBN 0199874301.
valerian zubov.
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