Ahmad Agha Fadhelaldin Agha Al-Asali Duzdar ( ar, أحمد آغا بن فضل الدين آغا العسلي دزدار) was mayor of Jerusalem and Governor of Jerusalem from 1838 to as late as 1863. In 1838 Ahmad Agha accompanied

David Roberts David or Dave Roberts may refer to: Arts and literature * David Roberts (painter) (1796–1864), Scottish painter * David Roberts (art collector), Scottish contemporary art collector * David Roberts (novelist), English editor and mystery writer ...

from Jerusalem to the river Jordan, together with 4,000 Christian pilgrims. His name appears in a petition by Muhammad Sharif in 1840 demanding that "the Jews must not be enabled to carry out the paving, and they must be cautioned against raising their voices and displaying their books at the Western wall." His official title was 'Ottoman Governor of Jerusalem'. He was known for his dealings with Moses Montefiore, having sold him the land to acquire Mishkenot Sha'ananim, which was built in 1860.Diaries of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore : comprising their life and work as recorded in their diaries from 1812 to 1883, Volume 2
pages 51-52: “Ahhmed Agha Dizdar, who had been Governor of Jerusalem during the reign of Mohhammad Ali, and who since the year 1839 had stood in friendly relations with Sir Moses, was the owner of the land in question. When Sir Moses broached the subject of the purchase to him, his answer was: "You are my friend, my brother, the apple of my eye, take possession of it at once. This land I hold as an heirloom from my ancestors. I would not sell it to any person for thousands of pounds, but to you I give it without any money: it is yours, take possession of it." " I myself, my wife, and children, we all are yours." And this was his reply to Sir Moses day after day, whenever he was asked the price for which he would sell the said property. Ultimately, after a whole day's most friendly argument, which almost exhausted all my stock of Arabic phraseology (having acted as interpreter between him and Sir Moses), he said to me: "You are my friend, my brother; by my beard, my head, I declare this is the case. Tell Sir Moses to give me a souvenir of one thousand pounds sterling, and we will go at once to the Ckadee." In 2005, the Turkish government in consultation with the

Wakf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...

built a marker for his grave which is in the southern end of the

Mamilla Cemetery Ma'aman Allah (Mamilla) Cemetery ( ar, مقبرة مأمن الله) is a historic Islam, Muslim cemetery in West Jerusalem that dates back to the Crusades, and lies just to the west of the north-west corner of the walls of the Old City (Jerusal ...

in west Jerusalem.

Gallery

Image:AhmadAghaDuzdar.jpg, The Grave of Ahmad Agha Fadhelaldin Agha Al-Asali Duzdar in the

, Jerusalem File:David Roberts - Banks of the Jordan - 1927.78 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, David Roberts' ''Immersion of the Pilgrims''; the accompanying text notes: "In this View Achmet Aga, the Governor of Jerusalem, with a part of his Arab guard, occupy the foreground."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duzdar, Ahmad Agha Al-Asali Arabs in Ottoman Palestine Palestinian politicians Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown Year of death unknown Place of death unknown 19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century politicians Mayors of Jerusalem