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Mr. Fabrizio Mangoni, who describes himselfs as "just like LeszczyńskiStanislao, an urbanist and a gourmet", described the former Polish king's alleged invention of the babà, in even more colour:
[[File:Baba al rhum.jpg|thumb|Jars of Italian babàs drowned in rum or limoncello syrup]]
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How much of all that is true? Should Stanisław Leszczyński (pronounced ''stah-{{small|NEE}}-swahf lesh-{{small|CHIN}}-skee'') Stanislao really get the credit for inventing the rum baba and does its name really come from a fairy-tale Arab craftsman who robbed the forty thieves of their sesame treasure? As you can see from the quotations above, the first stop on our journey to unravel this mystery is going to be in France.
== Babaorum ==
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As we shall see, ''Larousee Gastronomique'' isn't any more reliable than ''Astérix'' as a source of knowledge about history. After all, why should have Leszczyński Stanislas taken an Alsatian ''kouglof'' and steeped it in Alsatian ''kirsch'' while staying in Lorraine? Was this recipe really developed by the king himself or rather by one of his pastrycooks, such as the aforementioned Stohrer? And most importantly, why would a Pole name a cake after some Ali Baba, if in his own language the word ''baba'' had been already used for yeast cakes for centuries?
It looks like we need to take a closer look at this Stanisław Leszczyński King Stanislas and his relation to the baba. You could shoot a few action movies based on his biography, but I will do my best to recap his life and his times as succinctly as possible.
== Od Sasa do Lasa ==
[[File:Uczta koronacyjna Stanisława Leszczyńskiego.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Stanisław LeszczyńskiKing Stanislas's coronation banquet]]Poland entered the 18th-century as an empire in decline, in personal union with the small, but rich, Electorate of Saxony under King Augustus II Wettin. Just before the end of the previous century (1698), Augustus was visisted by Tsar Peter the Great of Russia, on his way back from his grand survey of Europe. Both monarchs were unusually tall, strong and able to consume copious amount of alcohol. When they met, they engaged in a several-day-long bout of binge drinking punctuated with cannon-shooting and bare-handed-horseshoe-breaking contests. And, while they were at it, they also decided to wage war against Sweden. Soon afterwards (1700), a coalition of Saxon, Russian and Danish forces attacked the mighty Baltic empire. But like many drunk ideas, so did this go not exactly as intended. The Swedes smashed the Danes in Zealand, the Russians at Narva and the Saxons on the Daugava, and then proceeded to invade Poland. Polish senators tried to explain to King Charles XII of Sweden that Augustus was at war with him as elector of Saxony rather than as king of Poland, which wished to remain neutral. To no avail. The Swedes soon captured Vilno, Warsaw, Poznań and Cracow (1702), and Charles started looking around to find a new king for Poland. His first choice was James Sobieski, the eldest son of the previous king, but Augustus had him imprisoned in Saxony (1704).
The anti-Saxon opposition in Poland sent a delegation to the king of Sweden, headed by the Palatine of Poznań, Stanisław Leszczyński (pronounced ''stah-{{small|NEE}}-swahf lesh-{{small|CHIN}}-skee''). King Charles was so charmed by the young, handsome, well-read and eloquent palatine, that he decided to make Stanisław his own puppet on the Polish throne. The royal election of 1705 – the first in Polish history to be conducted in the presence of foreign troops – was widely considered a farce, but it did dutifully elect the 28-year-old Leszczyński as the dethroned Saxon's successor. He was crowned (in Warsaw rather than in Cracow, the traditional coronation site) with a crown which Charles had lent him for the ceremony and took back just afterwards. Th reign of Stanisław I lasted no longer than four years. The situation changed dramatically when the Russians crushed the Swedish army at Poltava (1709), forcing King Charles into exile in the Ottoman Empire. Augustus got his Polish throne back, while Stanisław ran to the Swedish city of Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland) and thence to the Ottoman Empire, to concult further plans with Charles.
Bendery, miasteczko na obszarze dzisiejszego Naddniestrza (między Mołdawią a Ukrainą), to jedyne miejsce w Turcji Osmańskiej, w którym Leszczyński przebywał przez jakiś czas. Nigdy w życiu nie był w Konstantynopolu, ani tym bardziej w tureckiej niewoli. Ostatecznie (1714) Karol osadził Leszczyńskiego w należącym do Szwecji niemieckim księstewku Dwóch Mostów (Zweibrücken), gdzie zainspirowany architekturą tureckiego pogranicza eks-król zbudował sobie pałacyk o egzotycznej nazwie Tschifflik (z tureckiego ''çiftlik'', „gospodarstwo”). Niestety po śmierci swojego szwedzkiego protektora (1718) musiał się Leszczyński stamtąd wynieść, więc przeprowadził się do dość skromnej rezydencji w pobliskim Wissembourgu. Miejscowość ta leży w Alzacji, regionie zamieszkanym wówczas przez ludność niemieckojęzyczną, a który od niecałych czterdziestu lat należał do Francji (później Alzacja krążyła jeszcze jak piłeczka pingpongowa między Niemcami i Francją, ostatecznie pozostając w rękach tej drugiej). I być może tam Leszczyński pozostałby już do końca życia, gdyby nie dość nieoczekiwane przybycie dziewosłębów z Wersalu (1725), którzy poprosili Leszczyńskiego o rękę jego córki, królewny Marii, dla młodszego od niej o siedem lat króla francuskiego Ludwika XV. Maria okazała się idealną żoną – urodziła Ludwikowi dziesięcioro dzieci i nie przeszkadzała mu w relacjach z licznymi metresami. Jej rodzice, żeby być bliżej córki, przenieśli się do Chambord, jednego z najbardziej wypasionych zamków nad Loarą.