Roustam Raza
Encyclopedia
Roustam Raza Rostom Razmadze, also known as Roustan or Rustam was Napoleon Bonaparte's famous mamluk
bodyguard. Roustam was born in Tbilisi
, Georgia
to Armenian parents. At thirteen Roustan was kidnapped and sold as a slave
in Cairo
. The Turks
gave him the name Idzhahia. The sheikh of Cairo presented him to General Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798. Roustan served as a bodyguard of Napoleon until 1814, when the Roustan married Mademoiselle Douville in Dourdan
, France
and refused to follow the Emperor
in his exile to Elba
.
On 7 December 1845, Roustam died in Dourdan
.
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
bodyguard. Roustam was born in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
to Armenian parents. At thirteen Roustan was kidnapped and sold as a slave
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. The Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
gave him the name Idzhahia. The sheikh of Cairo presented him to General Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798. Roustan served as a bodyguard of Napoleon until 1814, when the Roustan married Mademoiselle Douville in Dourdan
Dourdan
Dourdan is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.It is located in the metropolitan area of Paris.-Géography:Dourdan is located on the river Orge in the western Essonne...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and refused to follow the Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
in his exile to Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
.
On 7 December 1845, Roustam died in Dourdan
Dourdan
Dourdan is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.It is located in the metropolitan area of Paris.-Géography:Dourdan is located on the river Orge in the western Essonne...
.