PETRU DE MOCIONI – OFFICER AND GENTLEMAN. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HISTORY OF AROMANIANS IN BANAT – CRIŞANA
Attila KARDOS*
Abstract. A descendant of the illustrious (de) Mocioni / Mocsonyi family, of noble rank and impressive wealth, Petru de Mocioni benefited from a complex education, which prepared him to develop a multiple cultural identity. This formal and non-formal education, which occurred in a diverse, multi-ethnic and multilingual cultural environment, was completed during his military service – first as a one-year volunteer in the 15th Dragoons Regiment and then as a reserve officer of this prestigious unit. Against this background, the young de Mocioni integrated perfectly into the plural high society of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, without ever straying from his Romanian roots, which he constantly cultivated and promoted. His meteoric socio-economic career is brutally cut short by the First World War, during which he falls heroically while leading his men in battle. The way in which he managed his own multiple cultural identity, acting for the benefit of his national community and not against the others, meant that his memory was honored beyond the Romanian ethnic border, even in the period between the two world wars, when chauvinist nationalism was at its peak.
Keywords: Aromanians, Mocioni, multiple identity, World War I, Austro-Hungarian Army