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((short description|Italian soldier.))
((more citations needed|date=May 2014))
((Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = 
| name                = Paolo Avitabile
| native_name         = 
| image               = General_Avitabille.jpg
| caption             = Portrait by [[Colesworthy Grant]]
| birth_date          = 25 October 1791
| birth_place         = [[Agerola]], [[Kingdom of Naples]] <br> ((small|(present-day [[Campania]], [[Italy]])))
| death_date          = ((death date and age|1850|3|28|1791|10|25|df=y))
| death_place         = Agerola, [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] <br> ((small|(present-day Campania, Italy)))
| father              = 
| rank                = 
| allegiance          = [[File:Flag_of_Kingdom_of_Naples_(1806-1808).svg|23px]] [[Kingdom of Naples (Napoleonic)|Kingdom of Naples]] <br> [[File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg|23px]] [[First French Empire]] <br> [[File:Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1816).svg|23px]] [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]] <br> [[File:War Flag of Fath Ali Shah.svg|23px]] [[Qajar Iran]] <br> [[File:Sikh Empire flag.jpg|23px]] [[Sikh Empire]]
| office              = 
| relatives           = 
| unit                = [[File:Sikh Empire flag.jpg|23px]] [[Fauj-i-Khas]]
| awards              = [[File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg|23px]] [[Légion d'Honneur]] <br> [[File:War Flag of Fath Ali Shah.svg|23px]] [[Order of the Lion and the Sun|Nishan-i-Shir u Khurshid]] <br> [[File:Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1816).svg|23px]] [[Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit|Ordine di San Ferdinando e del merito]] <br> [[File:Flag of Herat until 1842.svg|23px]] [[Order of the Durrani Empire|Nishan-i-Daulat-i-Durrani]] <br> [[File:Sikh Empire flag.jpg|23px]] Kaukab-i-Iqbal-i-Punjab
| battles             = 
))

General '''Paolo Crescenzo Martino Avitabile''' (25 October 1791 – 28 March 1850), also known as '''Abu Tabela''' (((lang-hnd|((nq|ابوتبیلا))))), was an Italian soldier, mercenary and adventurer. A peasant's son born in [[Agerola]], in the province of [[Napoli Province|Napoli]] near [[Sorrento]] (in southern Italy), he served in the [[Grande Armée|Neapolitan militia]] during the [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleonic]] wars. After [[Battle of Waterloo|Waterloo]] he drifted east like many other adventurous soldiers. In 1820 he joined the army of the [[Fath-Ali Shah Qajar|Shah]] of [[Persian Empire|Persia]], attaining the rank of colonel and receiving several decorations before returning to Italy in 1824.

He joined the army of Maharaja [[Ranjit Singh]] of the [[Punjab region|Punjab]] in 1827, and later also received various civilian appointments. In 1829 he was made administrator of [[Wazirabad]] and in 1837 he succeeded [[Hari Singh Nalwa]] as governor of [[Peshawar]].<ref name=":0">((Cite news |last=Bansal |first=Bobby Singh |date=7 November 2010 |title=Firangis in Ranjit Singh's Durbar |work=The Tribune |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101107/spectrum/main1.htm))</ref> He remained in the Punjab until the assassination of Maharaja [[Sher Singh]] in 1843, after which he retired to Italy, where his rank as a general was confirmed and he was knighted.<ref name=eos>((cite web |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/ |title=AVITABILE, PAOLO CRESCENZO MARTINO (1791-1850) |last1=Gulcharan Siṅgh |website=Encyclopaedia of Sikhism |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |access-date=16 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508213214/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/eos/ |archive-date=8 May 2014 ))</ref><ref name=":0" />

== Career in Europe ==
The young Avitabile served in the local levies of the [[Kingdom of Naples]] between 1807 and 1809, when he joined the artillery of the regular army. As a part of the Imperial Army, Avitabile served under [[Joachim Murat|Murat]] on several campaigns. In these campaigns he earned the rank of Lieutenant, as well as the command of the 15th Battery. After the fall of [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]] and the defeat of Murat at [[Battle of Tolentino|Tolentino]], Naples was restored to [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand I of Sicily]]. Avitabile retained his rank and command and joined the army of the new [[Two Sicilies|Kingdom of Two Sicilies]], where he joined the [[siege of Gaeta (1815)|siege of Gaeta]] under the command of the Austrian general Delaver.

During this siege, he displayed great bravery and was wounded twice. The general recommended him for a promotion and a decoration, but was not heard. Avitabile was transferred instead to a position of lieutenant in a regiment of light infantry. It is said he quit in disgust over this treatment. His European career had come to an end.

== In Persia ==
Having quit the army in Naples, Avitabile set his eyes on a career abroad. His initial idea was to, as many of his countrymen, seek fortune in [[United States|America]] but this ended in a shipwreck off [[Marseille]]. Instead, he was advised to seek employment to the east. In [[Constantinople]] he was approached by an agent of the [[Persia]]n Shah [[Fath Ali Shah Qajar|Fath Ali Shah]] recruiting European officers; in 1820, Avitabile took service with the Persian Shah. He remained in this employment for six years, during which period he rose to the rank of ''khan'' and a grade of colonel in the Persian army. Here he also met [[Claude August Court]] who would later accompany him on the travel to Punjab. Avitabile was rewarded for his services by two of Persia's highest decorations as Grand Commander of ''The Lion and Sun'' and of ''The Two Lions and Crown'', but found the pay lacking. When he heard favourable notice from [[Jean-Baptiste Ventura]] of his employment in Punjab Ventura again broke up to travel further to the east.

== In Punjab ==
Together with Court, Avitabile arrived in [[Lahore]] in 1827 and was hired by Maharaja [[Ranjit Singh]]. He was given a position with the artillery and put in charge of the arsenal and gun foundries. He was also given a civilian position as governor of [[Wazirabad]]. It would seem he was an able administrator, as he held the position for the next seven years and as a result, Wazirabad prospered.<ref name=eos/>

== In [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] ==
[[File:Abutabela.png|thumb|right|300px|Image of "Abu Tabela", famous nickname of Paolo Avitabile in Afghanistan]]
In 1834 he was appointed governor of [[Peshawar]], an area the Maharaja had conquered from the [[Pashtun people|Afghans]] the previous year.

Where as his rule of [[Wazirabad]] is described as just and rigorous, his governorship of [[Peshawar]] is depicted as a rule of "gallows and gibbets". Avitabile boasted: <blockquote>"When I marched into Peshawar, I sent on in advance a number of wooden posts which my men erected around the walls of the city. The men scoffed at them and laughed at the madness of the ''feringhee'' [a disparaging local language term for Westerners], and harder still when my men came in and laid coils of rope at the foot of the posts...However, when my preparations were completed and they found one fine morning dangling from these posts, fifty of the worse characters in Peshawar, they thought different. And I repeated the exhibition every day till I had made a scarcity of brigands and murderers. Then I had to deal with the liars and tale bearers. My method with them was to cut out their tongues. When a surgeon appeared and professed to be able to restore their speech, I sent for him and cut out his tongue also. After that there was peace".<ref name="Macintyre, Ben pages 194-195">Macintyre, Ben ''The Man Who Would Be King'', New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2002 pages 194-195.</ref></blockquote>

With a ruthless, at times brutal, style of government, Avitabile established order in the province where he became known as '''Abu Tabela'''. [[Summary execution]]s became usual, and it is said that he would have people executed by throwing them from the top of [[Mahabat Khan Mosque]]. The American adventurer [[Alexander Gardner (soldier)|Alexander Gardner]] wrote about Avitabile's rule in Peshawar: "Under his rule small pains are taken to distinguish between innocence and guilt, and many a man, ignorant of the alleged crime, pays for it with his life".<ref name="Macintyre, Ben pages 194-195"/> While this brutality was shocking to visiting Europeans (in the words of [[Henry Montgomery Lawrence|Sir Henry Lawrence]]: ''he acts like a savage among savage men, instead of showing them that a Christian can wield the iron sceptre without staining it by needless cruelty''), it proved both successful in maintaining order and even popular among the peaceful inhabitants.

His iron fist rule over Peshawar has made a place for him in local folklore. Even today unruly children in the city are brought to control by invoking Abu Tabela's name. In times of unrest, law-abiding citizens send a small wish for the return of an Abu Tabela to finally re-impose law and order.

The control of this strategic position brought him in contact with the British army during the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]] (1839–42), where he was able to render vital assistance. As governor of Peshawar, Avitabile controlled the southern entrance to the [[Khyber Pass]], although the Maharaja did not allow for the British to move through the [[Sikh Empire]] to reach the Khyber pass, he ordered Avitabile to assist the British through the pass itself, into Afghanistan. During [[Mountstuart Elphinstone|Elphinstone]]'s advance in 1839, the British were well received in Peshawar and their officers received a princely treatment. [[Henry Havelock|Captain Havelock]] spent a month in Peshawar, and describes the splendour of Avitabile's court in his memoirs. He also gives a favourable characterisation of the governor: ''"He is, moreover, a frank, gay, and good-humoured person, as well as an excellent and skilful officer."''

Avitabile was also a scholar and an engineer, who worked very closely with the most brilliant Sikh engineer [[Lehna Singh Majithia]].

When the British returned in 1842, to avenge the defeat of Elphinstone, they were given every possible assistance by Avitabile's government, while he was still in the employ of the Sikh Empire as the Afghans had been a longtime enemy of the Sikhs.

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Avitabile tomb.jpg|thumbnail|right|General Avitabile's tomb in Campora]] -->Avitabile remained in the position of Governor during the [[First Anglo-Afghan War]] until he left in 1843. Having secured his retirement in Europe, he resigned his position to return home.

==Back home==
As one of the few European adventurers in the area, he succeeded in building a fortune and getting away with it. He returned to [[Naples]], where he built a grand home in San Lazzaro ([[Agerola]]). He obtained in 1844 that his place of birth, Agerola, was separated from [[Amalfi Coast|Amalfi]] and united to the "Provincia di Napoli". He died in "strange" circumstances soon after marrying a local girl: Enrichetta Coccia. The following legal battle over his inheritance, and the many distant relatives asserting their claims, made ''Avitabile's cousin'' something of a byword in [[Italy]].

==In fiction==
Avitabile is a minor character in [[Flashman (novel)|''Flashman'']], a 1969 novel by [[George MacDonald Fraser]]. The narrator describes him as a "great, grey-bearded ox of a man... the Sikhs and Afghans were more scared of him than of the Devil himself." Despite Avitabile never facing Sikhs in battle himself or even having a reputation among common Sikhs or his fellow soldiers.<ref>((cite book | title=Flashmen | publisher=Harper Collins | author=Fraser, George MacDonald | year=1993 | pages=88 | isbn=0006176801))</ref>

==Honours and awards==
[[File:Lahore-Guru2.jpg|thumb|Order of Merit with a portrait of Ranjit Singh, introduced by Ranjit Singh, the first Sikh maharaja of the Panjab (1801–1839), inspired by the French Legion d’honneur worn by foreign military commanders]]
Avitabile won honours in every country he served. The inscription on his tomb at Agerola lists:<ref name=Grey>((cite book |last1=Grey |first1=C. |last2=Garrett |first2=H.L.O. |date=1996 |title=European Adventurers of Northern India 1785 to 1849 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S8AN0-cO-RYC&q=%22Two+Lions+and+Crown+of+Persia%22&pg=PA117 |location=New Delhi |publisher=Asian Educational Services |page=117 |isbn=9788120608535 ))</ref>
* [[Legion of Honour|Chevalier of the Legion of Honour]]
* Order of Merit of San Ferdinand of Naples
* [[:File:Order of the Durrani Empire Afghanistan received by Sir Thomas Willshire 1789 1862.jpg|Order of the Durrani Empire Afghanistan]]
* Grand Cordon of the Lion and the Sun
* Two Lions and Crown of Persia
* Auspicious Star of the Punjab

==See also==
* [[Jean-Baptiste Ventura]]
* [[Fauj-i-Khas]]

==References==
((reflist))

==Sources==
*Major Pearse, Hugh; ''Ranjit Singh and his white officers''. In ((cite book | first=Alexander| last=Gardner | title=The Fall of Sikh Empire | publisher=National Book Shop | location=Delhi, India | orig-year=1898| year=1999 | isbn=81-7116-231-2))
*((cite book | first=Stefano| last=Malatesta | title=Il napoletano che domò gli afghani | publisher=Neri Pozza | location=Vicenza, Italy | year=2002 | isbn=88-7305-875-2))
*Nicola Forte: "Viaggio nella memoria persa del Regno delle Due Sicilie", ed. imagaenaria, p.&nbsp;156, 2008, ((ISBN|88-89144-77-7)), ((ISBN|978-88-89144-77-0)).
*Antonio Lusardi, "Myth and reality of Paolo Avitabile, the last European Free Lancer in India", ''La Révolution française'' [En ligne], 8 | 2015, mis en ligne le 24 juin 2015, Consulté le 22 juillet 2017. URL: <nowiki>http://lrf.revues.org/1273</nowiki>

==External links==
*[http://www.collesalario.it/avitabile/index.php Avitabile]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110525154956/http://jang.com.pk/thenews/jan2007-weekly/nos-07-01-2007/foo.htm#1 Avitabile's term as governor in Peshawar, India 1838-1842]

((Sikh Empire|state=collapsed))

((DEFAULTSORT:Avitabile, Paolo))
[[Category:1791 births]]
[[Category:1850 deaths]]
[[Category:People from the Metropolitan City of Naples]]
[[Category:Italian mercenaries]]
[[Category:Italian generals]]
[[Category:Italian soldiers]]
[[Category:French soldiers]]
[[Category:People of the First Anglo-Afghan War]]
[[Category:History of Peshawar]]
[[Category:Mercenaries in India]]
[[Category:Italian expatriates in Iran]]
[[Category:People of Qajar Iran]]
[[Category:Italian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars]]

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