472 R U S 
cannon ball killed both horses in the litter; and scarcely were 
these replaced by a fresh pair, when a second ball broke the 
litter in pieces, and overturned the king. The Swedish sol¬ 
diers believing him killed, fell back in consternation. The 
first line was completely broken, and the second fled. 
Charles, though disabled, did every thing in his power to re¬ 
store order; but the Russians, emboldened by success, pressed 
so hard on they flying foe, that it was impossible to rally them. 
Benschild and several other general officers were taken pri¬ 
soners, and Charles himself would have shared the same fate, 
had not Count Poniatofski with 500 horse, surrounded the 
royal person, and with desperate fury cut his way through ten 
regiments of the Russians. With his small guard the king 
arrived on the banks of the Dnieper, and was followed by 
Lewenhaupt with 4000 foot, and all the remaining cavalry. 
The Russians took possession of the Swedish camp, where 
they found a prodigious sum in specie; while Prince Menzi- 
koff pursued the flying Swedes: and as they were in want of 
boats to cross the Dnieper, obliged them to surrender at dis¬ 
cretion. Charles escaped with the utmost difficulty, but at 
length reached Otchakofon the frontiers of Turkey. 
By this decisive victory, Peter remained in quiet possession 
of his new acquisitions on the Baltic, and was enabled to 
carry on, without molestation, the improvements which he 
had projected at the mouth of the Neva. His haughty rival, 
so long and so justly dreaded, was now completely humbled, 
and his ally, the king of Poland, was again established on his 
throne. During the eight years that had elapsed from the 
battle of Narva to that of Pultava, the Russian troops had 
acquired the discipline and steadiness of veterans, and had at 
length learned to beat their former conquerors. Peter made 
his triumphal entry into Moscow for the third time, and the 
public rejoicings on this occasion far exceeded all that had 
before been witnessed in the Russian empire. 
The vanquished Charles had, in the mean time, found a 
valuable friend in the monarch in whose territories he had 
taken refuge. Achmet II., who then filled the Ottoman 
throne, had beheld with admiration the warlike achieve¬ 
ments of the Swedish hero, and, alarmed at the late successes 
of his rival, determined to afford Charles the most effectual 
aid. In 1711, the Turkish emperor assembled an immense 
army, and was preparing to invade the Russian territories, 
when the tzar, having intimation of his design, and ex¬ 
pecting powerful support from Cantemir, hospodar of Mol¬ 
davia, a vassal of the Porte, resolved to anticipate the Turks, 
and to make an inroad into Moldavia. Forgetting his usual 
prudence and circumspection, Peter crossed the Dnieper, and 
advanced by rapid matches as far as Yassy or Jassy, the 
capital of that province, situated on the river Pruth ; but his 
temerity had nearly cost him his liberty, if not his life. 
Here he was surrounded, and but for the prudent and sage 
counsels of his consort, Catharine I., he would most probably 
have been taken prisoner, or reduced to the most humiliating 
terms. But by the treaty which was concluded, Peter was 
extricated from a dangerous enemy, and returned to his 
capital. 
The year 1718 is memorable in the history of Peter, as 
the aera of two important events—the death of his rival, 
Charles XII., and the execution of his son, Alexis. The 
latter prince was the offspring of Peter’s first marriage. 
The education of Alexis was much neglected; and he was 
chiefly left to the tuition of ignorant priests, from whom he 
imbibed all the vulgar prejudices of their station, with a 
rooted aversion to his father’s improvements. As he grew 
up, he contracted habits of intemperance and gross debau¬ 
chery, with a fondness for the lowest company. His father 
seems never to have felt any affection for him, and treated 
him with a harshness that rendered him always uneasy in his 
presence. In the year 1716, renouncing his right of suc¬ 
cession in favour of Peter’s son by Catharine, he requested 
permission to retire into a convent. But, during the tzar’s 
absence, he secretly left Russia, and put himself under the 
protection of the Emperor Charles, at Vienna, By him the 
tzarowitz was sent first to Inspruck, and then to the castle 
of St. Elmo, in Naples. He was discovered in this retreat, 
S I A. 
and by means of solemn promises of forgiveness, was in¬ 
duced to return to Moscow. That Peter should resolve to 
exclude from the succession a sou of such a character, who 
had openly declared his intention, should he come to the 
crown, of abolishing all that his father had done, is /tot to 
be wondered at, and might be esteemed an act of patriotism. 
But he determined to proceed further, and subject his un¬ 
happy son to the penalties of high treason. He instituted a 
process for enquiring into all the tzarowitz’s delinquencies, 
which was conducted in the most inquisitorial manner, and, 
it is said, not without personal severities to the culprit; and 
to the other charges was added that of a conspiracy against 
his father, with the intention of usurping the throne, a cir¬ 
cumstance highly improbable, considering his character and 
disposition. In fine, a confession was extorted from him, 
together with the disclosure of his partizans and advisers, 
and he was declared, both by the civil and ecclesiastical 
court assembled on this occasion, to be worthy of death. 
The sentence was read to him on July 6, 1718, and on the 
next day it was reported that his agitation of mind had 
thrown him into violent convulsions, and that his life was 
in danger. The tzar, with some of his courtiers, repaired 
to the chamber in which he was confined, where it is said 
that the prince implored his forgiveness, and received it in 
pathetic terms; and on the same day he expired. Many 
mysterious circumstances, however, attended his death; and 
there are strong grounds to suppose that he had been obliged 
to take poison. It is certain that Peter displayed few marks 
of paternal affection in the whole transaction; and he pun¬ 
ished, with extreme barbarity, all whom his son had named 
as his confidants. 
The death of the king of Sweden soon compelled the 
Swedes to sue for peace, which was concluded under the 
mediation of France, in 1721, and Livonia, Esthonia, and 
Carelia remained to Russia. On this occasion, the senate of 
that country requested the tzar to accept the title of Peter 
the Great, Father of his country, and Emperor of all the 
llusslas. The title of tzar fell into disuse. Peter now 
removed the principal mart of trade from Archangel to 
Petersburgh, which was become already a large and hand¬ 
some city. 
The designs of this great prince continually expanded 
with his successes; and as he had opened the Baltic Sea to 
his subjects at one extremity of his dominions, he resolved 
to attempt the same with respect to the Caspian, at the other 
extremity. Making use of the pretext of some violences that 
had been offered to his people by the Lesghi Persians and 
Usbeck Tartars, he fitted out a fleet at Astrachan and on the 
Volga, and marched with a considerable body of troops, in 
May, 1722, to embark for an expedition into the provinces 
bordering on the Caspian Sea. By himself and his generals, he 
obtained possession of the ports of Derbend, Terki, Baku, and 
of the provinces of Dagestan and Shirvan. The Porte took 
umbrage at these conquests over a Mahometan power, but 
by the mediation of the French ambassador, was prevented 
from interfering. Peter, in fine, concluded a treaty with 
the Persian sovereign, by which Derbend, Baku, and the 
provinces of Ghilan, Mazanderan, and Asterban, were ceded 
to Russia in perpetuity. His empire being now entirely at 
peace, he proceeded to crown his beloved Catherine. (See 
Catherine.) —Soon after he was attacked by a suppression 
of urine, attended with an inflammation of the bladder, 
which, after extreme pain, put an end to his life in 1725, 
in the 53d year of his age. 
This great prince was of a lofty stature, and of a com¬ 
manding but rude and ferocious countenance. His gestures 
were quick and impatient, his speech fluent and animated. 
His manners were gross and uncultivated; and in the midst 
of his attempts to civilize his nation, he himself remained a 
semi-barbarian. He was, however, easy and familiar with 
his inmates, and with those from whom he expected to de¬ 
rive instruction; and, like all truly great men, loved to lay 
aside pomp, and bring himself to the level of his company. 
He was furious and ungovernable in his fits of anger, and 
cruel and inexorable in his punishments,, in which he.occa¬ 
sionally 
