
Yirmisekiz Mehmed Çelebi Efendi (ca. 1670–1732), also Mehmed Efendi (sometimes spelled Mehemet Effendi in France), was an
Ottoman statesman who was delegated as ambassador by the
Sultan
Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
Ahmed III to
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
's
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in 1720. He is remembered for his account of his embassy mission (a ''
sefâretnâme'', "book of embassy").
Yirmisekiz Mehmed Çelebi was born in
Edirne
Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
to a family of
Georgian[İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, ''Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı'', Türkiye Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1971, p. 60.] descent. His date of birth is unknown. He was the son of an officer in the
Janissary
A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted dur ...
corps, Süleyman Ağa, who died during a campaign to
Pécs
Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...
. Mehmed Çelebi himself was enrolled in the
Janissary corps, and since he had served in the 28th battalion ("''
orta''" in Janissary terminology) of the corps, he came to be known with the nickname ''Yirmisekiz'' ("twenty-eight" in
Turkish) for his entire life. His descendants, including
his son who became a
grand vizier
Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...
, also carried the name in the form of ''Yirmisekizzade'' ("son of twenty-eight").
He rose through the military hierarchy and then oriented his career to the service of the finances of the state, as superintendent for the Ottoman
mint first, and as chief imperial accountant (''
defterdar'') by the reign of Ahmed III. In 1720, while in that position, he was assigned as Ottoman ambassador to Louis XV's France and sent to Paris. His embassy of eleven months was notable for being the first ever foreign representation of a permanent nature for the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. On his return to the Ottoman capital, Mehmed Çelebi presented his contacts, experiences and observations to the Sultan in the form of a book.
His ''
sefâretnâme'' is one of the most important examples of the homonymous genre, both for its literary merits and in terms of the insights it provides on his time and environment. He describes his journey to France, the 40-days quarantine near
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department.
The Commune of Toulon h ...
for fear of
plague, his journey through
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
towards Paris, his reception by
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
, the ceremonies and the social events to which he participated, notably a night at the theatre, places of interest in Paris, the curiosity with which he examines the
Western culture
Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...
and the curiosity he aroused among his Western interlocutors, for instance his days of fasting in
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...
, July/August 1720, becoming a reason for public gathering for curious Parisian women.
Aside from setting the pace and nature of the long-term trend of
Westernization in the Ottoman Empire, his embassy also had immediate repercussions in the Ottoman Empire, notably in the form of the first printing house managed by
İbrahim Müteferrika, a
Hungarian convert, which published books in Turkish, having been opened in the same year of 1720 as a direct consequence of Mehmed Çelebi's mission in Paris, and under the personal protection and auspices of his son
Yirmisekizzade Mehmed Said Pasha, later grand vizier.
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
's renowned
Sadabad Gardens, one of the symbols of the
Tulip Era were also largely inspired by the gardening techniques used in
Tuileries Palace, described in length by the author/ambassador. His book was translated into
French in 1757 and also into other Western languages afterwards.
After another embassy mission this time in
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, Yirmisekiz Mehmed Çelebi who was deeply associated with the Tulip Era, was exiled to
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
after the
Patrona Halil uprising which put an end to that era and to Ahmed III's reign. He died in
Famagusta in 1732 and was buried in the courtyard of
BuÄŸday Mosque in that city.
His son
Yirmisekizzade Mehmed Said PaÅŸa regained imperial favor shortly afterwards and was dispatched himself for an embassy in Paris in 1742, as well as another more historically significant one in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, which led to his writing another ''sefaretname''.
Gallery
File:Mehemet Effendi ambassadeur Turc arrive aux Tuileries le 21 Mars 1721.jpg, Mehmed Efendi arrives at the Tuileries on 21 March 1721. Charles Parrocel.
File:La sortie de l Ambassadeur Turc du Jardin des Tuileries Gobelins 1734 1737.jpg, ''La sortie de l'ambassadeur turc du Jardin des Tuileries'', Gobelins Manufactory, 1734-1737.
File:Mehmet Efendi with the child Louis XV.jpg, Mehmed Efendi with the child Louis XV.
File:Mehmed Effendi 1721.jpg, Mehmed Efendi in Paris.
Sources
* Mehmed efendi, ''Le paradis des infidèles: Relation de Yirmisekiz Çelebi Mehmed efendi, ambassadeur ottoman en France sous la Régence'', traduit par Julien-Claude Galland, intr. & notes par Gilles Weinstein (Paris: François Maspéro, 1981).
* Fatma Müge Göçek, ''East Encounters West: France and the Ottoman Empire in the Eighteenth Century'' (New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987).
* Tomas Guarisco, ''Un ambassadeur ottoman à Toulouse sous la Régence : expérience diplomatique, échanges culturels et interactions sociales '' (M.Phil Thesis, dir. Mathieu Grenet, Université Toulouse 2 Jean-Jaurès, 2017).
See also
*
Franco-Ottoman alliance
*
List of Turkish diplomats
List of notable diplomats of the Republic of Turkey, past and present. The names are listed in an alphabetical order according to their last names, with their positions and other relevant information.
In alphabetical order
A
* Akçapar, Bu ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yirmisekiz Mehmed Celebi
18th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire
Ambassadors of the Ottoman Empire to France
Political people from the Ottoman Empire
Georgians from the Ottoman Empire
Muslims from Georgia (country)
1732 deaths
Islam in France
People from Edirne
Year of birth unknown
18th-century diplomats
Defterdar