|
See also:ALEXANDER (ALEXANDER OF See also:BATTENBERG) (1857-1893) , first See also:prince of See also:Bulgaria, was the second son of Prince Alexander of See also:Hesse and the See also:Rhine by his morganatic See also:marriage with Julia, countess von Hauke. The See also:title of princess of Battenberg, derived from an old See also:residence of the See also:grand-See also:dukes of Hesse, was conferred, with the prefix Durchlaucht or " Serene See also:Highness," on the countess and her descendants in 1858. Prince Alexander, who was See also:born on the 5th of See also:April 1857, was See also:nephew of the See also:tsar Alexander II., who had married a See also:sister of Prince Alexander of Hesse; his See also:mother, a daughter of See also:Count See also:Moritz von Hauke, had been See also:lady-in-waiting to the tsaritsa. In his boyhood and See also:early youth he was frequently at St See also:Petersburg, and he accompanied his See also:uncle, who was much attached to him, during the Bulgarian See also:campaign of 1877. When Bulgaria under the See also:Berlin Treaty was constituted an autonomous principality under the See also:suzerainty of See also:Turkey, the tsar recommended his nephew to the Bulgarians as a See also:candidate for the newly created See also:throne, and
Prince Alexander was elected prince of Bulgaria by unanimous See also:vote of the Grand Sobranye (April 29, 1879). He was at that See also:- TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
- TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
- TIME, STANDARD
time serving as a See also:lieutenant in the Prussian See also:life-See also:guards at See also:Potsdam. Before proceeding to Bulgaria, Prince Alexander paid visits to the tsar at Livadia, to the courts of the See also:great See also:powers and to the See also:sultan; he was then conveyed on a See also:Russian warship to See also:Varna, and after taking the See also:oath to the new constitution at Tirnova (See also:July 8, 1879) he repaired to See also:Sofia, being everywhere greeted with immense See also:enthusiasm by the See also:people. (For the See also:political See also:history of Prince Alexander's reign, see BuDGARIA.) Without any previous training in the See also:art of See also:government, the See also:young prince from the outset found himself confronted with difficulties which would have tried the sagacity of an experienced ruler. On the one See also:hand he was exposed to numberless humiliations on the See also:part of the representatives of See also:official See also:Russia, who made it clear to him that he was expected to See also:play the part of a roi faineant; on the other he was compelled to make terms with the Bulgarian politicians, who, intoxicated with newly won See also:liberty, prosecuted their quarrels with a crude violence which threatened to subvert his authority and to plunge the nation in anarchy. After attempting to govern under these conditions for nearly two years, the prince, with the consent of the tsar Alexander III., assumed See also:absolute See also:power (May 9, 1881), and a suspension of the ultra-democratic constitution for a See also:period of seven years was voted by a specially convened See also:assembly (July 13). The experiment, however, proved unsuccessful; the Bulgarian Liberal and See also:Radical politicians were infuriated, and the real power See also:fell into the hands of two Russian generals, Sobolev and Kaulbars, who had been specially despatched from St Petersburg. The prince, after vainly endeavouring to obtain the recall of the generals, restored the constitution with the concurrence of all the Bulgarian political parties (See also:September 18, 1883). A serious See also:breach with Russia followed, which was widened by the part which the prince subsequently played in encouraging the See also:national aspirations of the Bulgarians. The revolution of See also:Philippopolis (September 18, 1885), which brought about the See also:union of Eastern See also:Rumelia with Bulgaria, was carried out with his consent, and he at once assumed the government of the revolted See also:province. In the anxious See also:year which followed, the prince gave See also:evidence of considerable military and See also:diplomatic ability. He rallied the Bulgarian See also:army, now deprived of its Russian See also:officers, to resist the Servian invasion, and after a brilliant victory at Slivnitza (See also:November 19) pursued See also:- KING
- KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
- KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
- KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
- KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
- KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
- KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
- KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
- KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
- KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
- KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
- KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)
King See also:Milan into Servian territory as far as See also:Pirot, which he captured (November 27). Although See also:Servia was protected from the consequences of defeat by the intervention of See also:Austria, Prince Alexander's success sealed the union with Eastern Rumelia, and after See also:long negotiations he was nominated See also:governor-See also:general of that province for five years by the sultan (April 5, 1886). This arrangement, however, cost him much of his popularity in Bulgaria, while discontent prevailed among a certain number of his officers, who considered themselves slighted in the See also:distribution of rewards at the See also:close of the campaign. A military See also:conspiracy was formed, and on the See also:night of the loth of See also:August the prince was seized in the See also:palace at Sofia, and compelled to sign his See also:abdication; he was then hurried to the See also:Danube at Rakhovo, transported on his yacht to Reni, and handed over to Russian authorities, by whom he was allowed to proceed to See also:Lemberg. He soon, how-ever, returned to Bulgaria, owing to the success of the See also:counter-revolution led by Stamboloff, which overthrew the provisional government set up by the Russian party at Sofia. But his position had become untenable, partly owing to an See also:ill-considered telegram which he addressed to the tsar on his return; partly in consequence of the attitude of Prince See also:Bismarck, who, in See also:con-junction with the Russian and See also:Austrian governments, forbade him to punish the leaders of the military conspiracy. He therefore issued a manifesto resigning the throne, and See also:left Bulgaria on the 8th of September 1886. He now retired into private life. A few years later he married Fraulein Loisinger, an actress, and assumed the See also:style of Count Hartenau (See also:February 6, 1889). The last years of his life were spent principally
1. 18at Gratz, where he held a See also:local command in the Austrian army. Here, after a See also:short illness, he died on the 23rd of See also:October 1893. His remains were brought to Sofia, where they received a public funeral, and were eventually deposited in a See also:mausoleum erected in his memory. Prince Alexander possessed much See also:charm and amiability of manner; he was tall, dignified and strikingly handsome. His capabilities as a soldier have been generally recognized by competent authorities. As a ruler he committed some errors, but his youth and inexperience and the extreme difficulty of his position must be taken into See also:consideration. He was not without aptitude for See also:diplomacy, and his intuitive insight and See also:perception of See also:character sometimes enabled him to outwit the crafty politicians by whom he was surrounded. His See also:principal See also:fault was a want of tenacity and See also:resolution; his tendency to
unguarded See also:language undoubtedly increased the number of his enemies.
See Drandar, Le Prince See also:Alexandre de Battenberg en Bulgarie (See also:Paris, 1884) ; See also:Koch, See also:Furst Alexander von Bulgarien (See also:Darmstadt, 1887) ; Matveyev, Bulgarien nach dem Berliner See also:Congress (Petersburg, 1887) ; See also:Bourchier, " Prince Alexander of Battenberg," in Fortnightly See also:Review, See also:January 1894. (J. D.
End of Article: ALEXANDER (ALEXANDER OF BATTENBERG) (1857-1893)
Additional information and Comments
There are no comments yet for this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.
Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.
|
del.icio.us it!