Barthelemy Semino | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1797-11-19)19 November 1797 Nice, France |
| Died | 14 July 1852(1852-07-14) (aged 54) Izmir, Turkey |
| Allegiance |  Qajar Iran |
Branch | Persian Army |
Service years | c. 1824–1852 |
Rank | General |
| Commands | Aide-de-camp to Abbas Mirza |
Conflicts |
|
| Awards | (see Honours and decorations) |
Barthelemy Semino[a] (19 November 1797 – 14 July 1852), also known as General Semino, was a French-born general and linguist who served in the Qajar army for approx. 25 years. A former officer of the Napoleonic army, he was one of several European military officers recruited into Persian service during the reign of Abbas Mirza. He also served under three successive Qajar monarchs: Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, Mohammad Shah Qajar, and Naser al-Din Shah Qajar. He also participated in various diplomatic missions, including one to Russia in 1829.[1]
Early life and education
Semino was born in Nice (now in France), on 19 November 1797, to a French mother and a Sardinian father who served as consul of the French First Republic. He graduated from the military school of Naples and subsequently joined Napoleon army.[1]
Following the collapse of Napoleon and the subsequent Bourbon restoration, Semino, like many other Bonapartist officers, chose not to serve the new French monarchy.[1] He spent several years in Russia, where he engaged in various occupations, including printing. Due to health concerns, his doctor advised him to relocate to Tabriz, Iran, where he arrived around 1824.[1]
Career
Under Abbas Mirza
After arriving in Tabriz, Semino joined the East India Company before being invited by Abbas Mirza to join his military. He subsequently entered his military and became involved in modernization attempts by the same army.[1]
His first major military engagement was the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828). Despite Mirza's defeat, Semino was promoted to the rank of colonel, and was awarded the Order of the Lion and the Sun (2nd class).[1] He was subsequently appointed aide-de-camp to Abbas Mirza, and received a specially minted medal. In the aftermath of the war, he reportedly assisted Russian prisoners suffering from famine, an action that later earned him the Order of Saint Vladimir by the Russian government.[1]
Semino later accompanied Mirza on all his military expeditions, including campaigns in Khorasan and southern Persia in 1832, and the siege of Herat in 1833.[1]
Under Fath-Ali Qajar
He also participated in diplomatic missions.[1] In 1829, during the final years of Fath-Ali Shah's reign, Semino was selected as a member of Iranian deligation to Russia, headed by Khosrow Mirza. The mission was dispatched by Fath-Ali Shah Qajar to offer an official apology to Tsar Nicholas I following the killing of the Russian envoy Alexander Griboedov in Tehran. Semino, serving as a military advisor to Abbas, was one of the members of the delegation. The delegation traveled from Tabriz to St. Petersburg, where the official apology ceremony took place in the Winter Palace in August 1829. For this service, Semino received the Order of Saint Anna (3rd class).[2]
Under Mohammad Shah Qajar
After Abbas Mirza's death, his son Mohammad Shah Qajar continued to trust Semino, assigning him to various diplomatic and military missions.[1] In 1838, he participated in the siege of Herat, a major campaign aimed at reasserting Persian influence in Afghanistan. During the expedition he reconciled with Izydor Borowski, a Polish officer serving Persia, with whom he had previously maintained strained relations.[1] Before the final battle, both officers were wounded; Borowski died from his wounds, while Semino recovered. Following the siege, Shah promoted Semino to general and awarded him the Order of the Lion and the Sun.[1]
Following Shah's death, Semino's prominence declined after the arrival of new monarch Naser al-Din Shah Qajar in 1848. The new political system, particularly under the influence of prime minister Amir Kabir, was reportedly less favorable toward foreign military officers.[1] Although he participated in suppressing the Salar rebellion in Khorasan between 1847 and 1850. With growing tensions with the Persian administration, unfriendly attitude towards him, and unresolved financial disputes eventually led him to leave Iran.[1]
Lithography
Semino was involved in technical works, including printing. Having previous experience in printing acquired while living in Russia, he played a central role in introducing one of the earliest lithographic presses in Iran.[1] He also prepared maps for a Iran translation of Voltaire's Histoire de Russie sous Pierre le Grand, though sources differ on whether he translated the text himself or only prepared the accompanying cartographic materials.[1]
In early 1848, Semino met Xavier Hommaire de Hell, a French engineer and geographer, in Tehran. Although a ban was already imposed by the Russian ambassador, Count Semyonich, Semino shared his geographical and scientific notes with him. Following Hell's death in Isfahan later that year, Semino erected a tombstone at his grave in the Jolfa cemetery.[3][4]
Later life
Throughout his later years, he documented his unpaid salary claims, military affairs, and his unsuccessful attempts to secure compensation of both of his own service and Borowski's estate.[1] A collection of his letters, written in French between December 1843 and April 1852, documents these disputes. He appears never to have recovered the money owed to him or his wife's inheritance.[1]
Honours and decorations
Persian honours
Second Class of the Order of the Lion and the Sun – awarded after the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828)
Order of the Lion and the Sun – awarded following the Siege of Herat (1838)
Foreign honours
Order of Saint Vladimir – awarded by the Russian Empire for assistance to Russian prisoners after the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828)- Third class of the Order of Saint Anna – awarded by the Russian Empire following the Persian diplomatic mission to Russia in 1829
Appointments
- Aide-de-camp to Abbas Mirza
- Promoted to colonel following service in the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828)
- Promoted to general after participation in the 1838's Siege of Herat
Personal life
Semino married twice. His first wife, a Kurdish woman, died during a cholera epidemic, leaving him with two infant daughters.[1] He later married Isidore Borowski's widow, an Armenian from Julfa,[5] with whom he had one son and one daughter.[1] However, a 2016 publication in Encyclopædia Iranica suggests that Borowski had two sons, including Stanislaus Borowsky both of whom came under Semino's care after the marriage. Another of Borowski’s sons, who had been employed in the Persian government, later committed suicide.[5]
His children married into prominent Iranian and foreign families. His daughter Louise married Conrad Gustaf Fagergren, a Swedish physician; another daughter, Emilie, married Dr. Morel, secretary and doctor to the French embassy.[1] His son Nicola converted to Islam, married various Iranian women, including Gowhar Taj of the Qaraguzlu family, where he became known as Zulfiqar Khan Mobasher al-Mamalek. Semino's descendants remained in Iran and entered prominent Iranian circles through marriage alliances.[1]
Semino died in Izmir, Ottoman Empire (in modern-day Turkey), on 14 July 1852.[1]
Bibliography
- "کتابخانه دانشگاه اصفهان ، کتابخانه 2.0 ثنا". جستجو مدارک (in Persian). Retrieved 2026-06-25.
Notes
References
- Mahdavi, Shireen (2026-04-30). "SEMINO, Barthélémy". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
- George A., Bournoutian (2026-04-30). "ḴOSROW MIRZĀ QĀJĀR". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
- "HOMMAIRE de HELL, IGNACE XAVIER MORAND". Encyclopaedia Iranica. 2026-04-30. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
- Alai, Cyrus (2023-01-30). Special Maps of Persia 1477-1925. BRILL. p. 245-246. ISBN 978-90-04-20130-9. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
- Utas, Bo (2026-04-30). "BOROWSKY, ISIDORE". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2026-06-25.