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). During his second term he allied his state with
Russia in a
war against Moldavia's
Ottoman overlords; Russia's defeat forced
Cantemir's family into exile and the replacement of the native
voivodes by
Greek phanariots. Cantemir was also a prolific writer, variously a
philosopher,
historian,
composer,
musicologist,
linguist,
ethnographer, and
geographer. His son
Antioch, Russia's ambassador to
Great Britain and
France and a friend of
Montesquieu and
Voltaire, would become known as "the father of
Russian poetry".
Provided by Wikipedia
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