[18TH CENTURY OTTOMAN BALKANS / THE DANUBE RIVER / MANUSCRIPTS] A historically significant document written to directly Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III, regarding the allowances of four privates subordinate to Mehmed Agha, who served in Ruse, Svishtov...

Manuscript, Fî 16 Ra [Rebiyülahir] sene AH 1130 = [19 March 1718].

COMPLETE TITLE: [18TH CENTURY OTTOMAN BALKANS / THE DANUBE RIVER / MANUSCRIPTS] A historically significant document written to directly Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III, regarding the allowances of four privates subordinate to Mehmed Agha, who served in Ruse, Svishtov, Nikopol (Nicopolis), and on the banks of the Danube River, showing that the Turks retained control of the Danubian territories in the early 18^th century.

Original manuscript on polished paper. Demy 8vo. (22 x 16 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). [2] p.

A rare early manuscript historical document and petition written to Sultan Ahmed III directly in jeli diwani script, "telhis" and "buyuruldu", including correspondences regarding the allowance to be given to four privates who were assigned to the supply ship on the Danube River under the command of Kapucubasi Mehmed Agha, in March 1718.

A historically significant manuscript document written in the last year of the Austro-Turkish War (1716-1718) regarding the allowances of four privates subordinate to Mehmed Agha, who served in Ruse, Svishtov, Nikopol (Nicopolis) and on the banks of the Danube River, shows that the Turks retained control of the territory of the Danube River in the early 18^th century.

The war was fought between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire. The 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz was not an acceptable permanent agreement for the Ottoman Empire. Twelve years after Karlowitz, it began the long-term prospect of taking revenge for its defeat at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. First, the army of Turkish Grand Vizier Baltaci Mehmet defeated Peter the Great's Russian Army in the Russo-Turkish War (1710-1711). Then, during the Ottoman-Venetian War (1714-1718), Ottoman Grand Vizier Damat Ali reconquered the Morea from the Venetians. As the guarantor of the Treaty of Karlowitz, the Austrians threatened the Ottoman Empire, which caused it to declare war in April 1716.

In 1716, Prince Eugene of Savoy defeated the Turks at the Battle of Petrovaradin. The Banat and its capital, Temesvár, were conquered by Prince Eugene in October 1716. The following year, after the Austrians captured Belgrade, the Turks sought peace, and the Treaty of Passarowitz was signed on 21 July 1718.

The Habsburgs gained control of Belgrade, Temesvár (the last Ottoman fortress in Hungary), the Banat region, and portions of northern Serbia. Wallachia (an autonomous Ottoman vassal) ceded Oltenia (Lesser Wallachia) to the Habsburg monarchy, which established the Banat of Craiova. The Turks retained control only of the territory south of the Danube River. The pact stipulated for Venice to surrender the Morea to the Ottomans, but it retained the Ionian Islands and made gains in Venetian Dalmatia.

The Ottoman Turkish text reads:

“a- Arzuhal Devletlü ve mürüvvetlü sultanim hazretleri sag olsun. Rusçuk (Ruse) ve Zistovi ve Nigbolu (Nikopol) vilayetlerine zehayir mübayaasi [hususuna] memur olan mübasir tayin olunan dergâh-i âli kapucubasilarindan Haci Mehmed Aga yanina dört nefer çavus kullari ba ferman-i âli tayin olunmagin mercudur ki harcirahimiz bas muhasebede mestur olmagla derkenar olunmak babinda ferman sultanimindir. Bende

b- Sabiki Rusçuk (Ruse) taraflarina gönderilen Divan-i Âli çavuslarinin beher neferine harcirah olmak üzere yirmi beser gurus verildigi defterde mestur ve mukayyeddir. Ferman devletlü saadetlü sultanim hazretlerinindir. Fi 16 Ra [Rebiyülahir) sene 1130

c- Buyuruldu Izzetlü defterdar efendi görüp i’lam eyleyesin deyü buyuruldu.

d- Telhis Arz-i bende budur ki Hala Nehr-i Tuna’da zehayir sefayini üzerine mübasir tayin olunan Kapucubasi Mehmed Aga’nin yanina tayin olunan dört nefer çavusan kullari harcirah verilmek içün arzuhal iderler. Der kenari mucibince beher neferine yirmi beser gurusdan dört nefere yaliniz yüz gurus harcirah verilmek içün tezkiresi verilmek babinda ferman devletlü saadetlü sultanim hazretlerinindir.

e-Buyuruldu Telhisi mucibince tezkiresi verilmek buyuruldu. Fi 17 R [Rebiyülahir] sene [1]130

f- Tezkire-i Hazine dade Fi 18 R [Rebiyyülahir] sene [1]130.”