Ottoman Empire--Eighteenth-Century Turkish and Habsburg diplomacy.

comprising: five manuscript documents in Ottoman Turkish, including two large firmans bearing, respectively, the tughras of Sultan Mahmud I ('The Hunchback', ruled 1730-1754) and Sultan Mustafa III (ruled 1757-1774), the former, with a 10-line text, addressed to the Wazir and Governor of Belgrade and all high-ranking officials, concerning the ambassador Baron von Penkler, commanding his officials to take the utmost care for his comfort, ordering them not to interfere in any way with his actions and further decreeing unhindered passage to Constantinople of  horses sent from Peterwardein [Petrovaradin] (dated beginning of Safar 1163 [January 1750]), the latter firman, with a 10-line text, similarly addressed and concerning von Penkler, granting permission for the export of two horses (dated beginning of Sha'ban 1179 [January 1766]), the other Turkish documents comprising apparently the copy of a decree concerning the transfer of troops (Esterhazy regiment) from the remaining parts of the Ottoman province of Eflak (Wallachia), following the conclusion of the Austro-Turkish War of 1716-1718 (the document summarized in Latin on the verso: "Copia Mandati, quo Sequaces...ex Valachia in remota loca transferantur"), dated end of Safar 1132 [January 1720], a fragmentary, undated, communication from the Grand Vizier to Prince Eugene of Savoy, defending the Ottomans' actions against Venice, and assuring him that these are not in breach of the treaty of Karlowitz nor do they in any way effect the Ottomans' agreement with Austria, and a Turkish translation, possibly in Penkler's hand, of a Latin letter by Prince Eugene of Savoy to Osman Pasha and Ibrahim Bey concerning a courier, the Latin draft dated 29 June 1724 (the translation being contained on the verso of the leaf containing the draft); and 22 official scribal documents from the Imperial Court Council of War at Vienna ("...Ex Consilio Bellico Wienn...") to Heinrich Christoph Freiherr von Penkler (Austrian diplomat in the Ottoman Empire, c.1700-1774), deploying Penkler for the first time to Constantinople as a "Sprachknabe", referring to the "new" Sultan (Mahmud I), concerning the Turkish ambassador Mustafa Efendi, instructing him to assist in the escorting of the Consul-General Omer Aga to the Turkish border, referring to the Treaty of Belgrade, concerning his appointment as Imperial Internuntius and later Privy Councillor, and dealing with many other matters, the signatories to the documents including August Thomas Freiherr von Wöber, Johann Philipp Graf Harrach, Anton Joseph von Öttl, Rudolph Fürst Colloredo, Heinrich Gabriel Freiherr von Collenbach, Kaspar Graf Cordova, and Georg von Leykam; the collection also including: a copy of a document from the Hofkriegsrat to the Imperial envoy Leopold von Talman, concerning peace negotiations with regard to the Russo-Turkish War (4 October 1738) and referring to Penkler; two printed Imperial Tax Office receipts, with manuscript entries, regarding payments by Penkler; together with twelve scribal documents to Johann Karl Penkler, probably the older brother of Heinrich (1717-1730), around 80 pages in all, various sizes, four Ottoman documents on polished Turkish paper, one on European paper, the two firmans (c.65 x 48.5cm) annotated on the verso in an unidentified German hand, integral address-panels to the Habsburg documents, papered seals, [Istanbul] and Vienna, where indicated, 1717-1767, light dust-staining to the verso of the large firmans, two small tears and splitting to central  fold of one other Turkish document



...let it be known to my Wazir and Governor of Belgrade...Pasha, may God Most High perpetuate his glory, and the most lofty judges and magistrates, the mines of virtues and theology, and to all the judges and deputies and the most lofty of equals and peers among the lieutenants and the janissary chiefs and the other officials under their authority between the Gate of Felicity and the borders of Austria, that: the pre-eminent [Holy] Roman Ambassador, the Pinnacle of Commanders of the Christian Nation, Baron von Penkler, may his affairs all conclude auspiciously [translation]...

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, xxv (1887), pp. 350-353; A Selection from the Millet Manuscript Library: Ali Emiri Efendi and his world (Istanbul, 2010), p. 174

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A rare collection of source material illuminating diplomatic activities between the Ottoman and Habsburg Courts in around the second and third quarters of the eighteenth century.

At the centre of these documents stands the remarkable figure of the Austrian diplomat to the Ottoman Empire Heinrich Christoph Freiherr von Penkler (c.1700-1774), who might fairly, if anachronistically, be described as the eighteenth-century's "Mr. Turkey", as far as the Habsburg court were concerned, so important was the role he played, with his deep knowledge of Turkish customs and protocol, in Austro-Turkish negotiations following the Treaty of Passarowitz (21 July 1718). Following his first period in Constantinople (1719-1727) learning the oriental languages, Penkler spent thirteen years in Vienna as court interpreter and secretary "in orientalicis", making a number of forays abroad during this time as part of his responsibilities. Two further important stints in Constantinople were to follow (1740-1755 and 1762-1766) before his final return to Vienna, where he was made a Privy Councillor in 1767. Outstanding perhaps among his various achievements was his role in keeping the Ottoman Empire out of the Austrian War of Succession (1740-1748). Many  important milestones in his career are recorded in these documents, including his first deployment to Constantinople in 1719, his appointment as Imperial Internuntius (1746) and later as Privy Councillor (1767).

Yet the highlight of this exceptional collection is undoubtedly formed by the Ottoman Turkish documents: quite aside from the interest of their contents, the two large firmans (decrees), especially, are objects of exquisite calligraphic beauty, written in lampblack ink and each headed by an impressive tughra (imperial monogram). The sultans represented in these two documents are Mahmud I (1696-1754, ruled 1730-1754) and Mustafa III (1717-1774, ruled 1757-1774). It was during the reign of the poetry-loving Mahmud I that the Ottomans waged a victorious war against Austria and Russia, resulting in the 1739 Treaty of Belgrade (the peace negotiations are referred to in a copy here of a document, made for Penkler, to the Austrian envoy Leopold von Talman). Also figuring in the Turkish correspondence are Topal Osman Pasha, appointed governor of Nis, in Serbia, in 1721, and Nevshehirli Ibrahim Pasha, Grand Vizier from 1718-1730.