Alexander Hangerli

Alexander Hangerli or Handjeri (, , or Hangerliu, Russian: Александр Ханжерли, Aleksandr Hanzherli, Александр Хангерли, Aleksandr Hangerli or Александру Хангерли, Aleksandru Hangerli), (1768 – 12 June 1854) was a Dragoman of the Porte of the Ottoman Empire, and Prince of Moldavia between March 7 and July 24, 1807. He spent the latter part of his life as a refugee in the Russian Empire, where he became noted as a linguist. He was the brother of Constantine Hangerli, who reigned as Prince of Wallachia before being executed in 1799. Life Born in Constantinople, Hangerli received a thorough education, was trained to speak several European languages, as well as Ottoman Turkish and Arabic, and prepared for a high-ranking position in the Danubian Principalities. In his twenties, he married a princess of the Callimachi family. Although coming into conflict with Ottoman officials on several occasions, Hangerli was advanced to the position of Dragoman of the Porte in 1805, and maintained the office for the following two years, until Sultan Selim III appointed him Prince of Moldavia in place of the deposed Alexander Mourousis. He was nevertheless prevented from reaching his court in Iaşi by the Russian occupation of the country, and instead followed the Ottoman Army in their offensive (see Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812)). He was able to gain his throne after the Treaty of Bucharest, and played a major part in reestablishing the country's administration. Hangerli was ultimately deposed from his throne and replaced by Scarlat Callimachi. Sources diverge in respect to the reason for this measure: according to the 1858 Nouvelle biographie générale, feeling insecure of his position as opposition to Sultan Selim mounted throughout the Empire, he had asked for his own deposition; a French traveler to the region, Captain Aubert, recorded that pressures had been made on him by the Porte to provide it with more income, and he had been ousted after not being able to fulfill the requirements.