Memoirs of the Bashaw Count Bonneval – Ahmet Pasha – 1750 | Early Ottoman History

Memoirs of the Bashaw Count Bonneval by Kumbaracıbaıs Ahmet Paşa, known earlier as Claude Alexandre, Count of Bonneval, was printed in London in 1750. This first edition records the unusual career of a French nobleman who left European service and entered the Ottoman court, adopting Islam and a new identity. The text includes his military background, his service under various European powers, and his later command within Ottoman ranks. It reflects 18th-century European interest in figures who crossed political and cultural boundaries. Though often attributed to Bonneval himself, the authorship remains uncertain and is now regarded as partly reconstructed or interpretive. The book remains a significant example of early biographical writing with political overtones.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Memoirs of the Bashaw Count Bonneval: from his birth to his death: shewing, the motives
• Author(s): Kumbaracıbaıs Ahmet Paşa (Claude Alexandre, Count of Bonneval)
• Publisher: London: Printed for E. Withers and G. Woodfall
• Edition: First English edition, 1750
• Format: (8vo), single volume
• Binding: Full leather
• Size:  8 in x 5.5 in (20.3 x 14 cm)
• Collation: [x], 200, 326 pp
• Illustrations: portrait frontispiece
• Contents Include:
  • Birth and Early Career in France
  • European Military Service
  • Transition to Ottoman Command
  • Conversion and Later Life

Condition:

Very Good. Complete and firm in binding with light rubbing to edges. Moderate toning and scattered foxing, text block clean and sound.

Why Collect This?

• Early English biography of a European convert in Ottoman service
• Historical view of Enlightenment interest in Ottoman affairs

Item Number: # 29488