Michel Abdelal, Agha des Janissaires du Caire - Les exilés de la Campagne d'Égypte - Rare lettre signée - Marseille - 1806

Letter signed by the former supreme commander of the Janissaries of Cairo, Michel Abdelal Aga, dated September 26, 1806 in Marseille.
Written in brown ink on a sheet of laid paper watermarked.

This letter is written in a highly phonetic French by its interpreter Giacomo, and signed by the hand of the eastern dignitary Abd el Al, Aga of the Janissaries.

This historical document illustrates the administrative procedures of a former Ottoman dignitary exiled in Marseille following the Campaign of Egypt.

The second half of the text serves as a letter of recommendation for the bearer of the packet, Antoun Gabriel, described as an “Egyptian armurerie,” recently arrived in Marseille and on the way to Paris, and it proposes to have his two sabers “arrangé” by him.

- Dimensions : 20,2 x 25 cm
- État : Very good state of preservation. See photos for more details.
- Nombre de pages : 1 page

Former supreme commander of the Janissaries of Cairo, Michel Abdelal submits to the French generals at the end of the Campaign of Egypt and escapes Ottoman reprisals by joining France in 1801. Napoleon Bonaparte then incorporates him as an officer within the prestigious squadron of the Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard. Settled at the Marseille military depot and converted to Catholicism, he uses his powerful connections to protect and administer the community of Oriental refugees. A true symbol of this historical integration, his son would later distinguish himself brilliantly as a cavalry general under the Second Empire.

Carefully shipped in a rigid and watertight box.