it was during his time in france that abram adopted the surname "gannibal" in honor of the carthaginian general hannibal ("gannibal" being the traditional transliteration of the name in russian). in paris he met and befriended such enlightenment figures as the baron de montesquieu and voltaire (this claim by his biographer hugh barnes is disputed by reviewer andrew kahn). voltaire called gannibal the "dark star of the enlightenment".