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Lot Essay
This early firman was produced only months after Sultan Mehmed II had acquired his soubriquet "the Conqueror" as a result of his successful siege of Constantinople in the spring 1453 AD.
The text explains the privileges granted to Seydi Ahmed who took administration of the zawiya (Sufi Lodge) in Plovdiv, and exempts him from taxes. He and his brother, Seydi Mahmud, had taken administration of the Sufi Lodge on the basis of family waqf. Upon his brother’s death, Seydi Ahmed brought the documents related to the zawiya into the Sultan’s Sublime Porte and was granted responsibility of it.
A further, early firman of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror also written in 1453 AD was sold in these Rooms, 11 April 2000, lot 53. For a portrait of the Sultan, see lot 118 of this sale.
The text explains the privileges granted to Seydi Ahmed who took administration of the zawiya (Sufi Lodge) in Plovdiv, and exempts him from taxes. He and his brother, Seydi Mahmud, had taken administration of the Sufi Lodge on the basis of family waqf. Upon his brother’s death, Seydi Ahmed brought the documents related to the zawiya into the Sultan’s Sublime Porte and was granted responsibility of it.
A further, early firman of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror also written in 1453 AD was sold in these Rooms, 11 April 2000, lot 53. For a portrait of the Sultan, see lot 118 of this sale.