Yirmisekiz Mehmed Çelebi

Mehmed Çelebi Yirmisekiz (* 1670 in Edirne, † 1732 in Famagusta) was an Ottoman statesman who in 1720 by Sultan Ahmed III. as ambassador to France under Louis XV. was determined. It is through his book Sefaretname ( dt: Legation writing) become known about its mission.

Mehmed Çelebi Yirmisekiz was born in Edirne. He was the son of Suleyman Aga Janitscharenoffiziers, who died during a campaign against Pécs. Mehmed Çelebi also joined the Janissary corps and served in the 28th Company. This earned him the nickname Yirmisekiz ( dt: Twenty-eight ) one, which he kept until his death. His descendants, including a son, the Grand Vizier, was also bore this name in the form Yirmisekizzade ( dt: son of twenty-eight ).

He grew up in the military hierarchy, and then made ​​a career in the financial system of the empire. First, he was inspector of the Ottoman Mint ( Defterdar ), then the top Imperial accountant during the reign of Ahmed III .. 1720, he was sent as ambassador to Paris by the Sultan. His embassy eleven months has been the first permanent foreign representation of the Ottoman Empire. Upon his return to Istanbul, he presented to the Sultan his contacts, experiences and observations in the form of a book.

His Sefaretname among all the works of other Ottoman ambassadors of their missions, the most famous and important as it provides a good insight into those times and events. He describes his trip to France, the 40 - day quarantine in Toulon because of fear of the plague, the journey through Bordeaux to Paris, his reception by Louis XV. , The ceremonies and social events in which he participated, one night is emphasized in the theater, attractions in Paris, the curiosity with which he explored the western culture, and the curiosity that he unleashed in his Western interlocutors. For example, loosened his fasts during Ramadan out of a gathering of curious Parisian women.

Besides the fact that his embassy influenced the trend towards Westernization in the Ottoman Empire, they also had a direct impact in the kingdom. Clearly it is published on the establishment of the first printing in the same year by İbrahim Müteferrika, a converted Hungary, the books in Turkish. The printing was under the care and the leadership of his son Yirmisekizzade Mehmed Said Pasha. Istanbul's famous Sadabad gardens were a symbol of tulips time and were strongly influenced by the gardening techniques from the Palais des Tuileries, which were described in detail by the Ambassador. His book was translated into French in 1757 and then into other Western languages.

After another short mission to Egypt Yirmisekiz Mehmed Çelebi, who was deeply involved in the tulip time, was sent into exile to Cyprus after the Patrona Halil uprising - the reign of Ahmed III. had put an end to. He died in 1732 in Famagusta and was buried in the cemetery of Buğday Mosque.

His son Yirmisekizzade Mehmed Said Pasha became fast the royal favor and was sent for an embassy to Paris in 1742, and for a historically significant to Sweden and Poland. He wrote another Sefaretname.

• Ottoman ambassador
• Politicians (Ottoman Empire)
• Literature ( Turkish)
• Born in the 17th century
• Died in 1732
• Man