Mehmet Efendi

Yirmisekiz Mehmed Çelebi Efendi (died 1732), also Mehmed Efendi (sometimes spelled Mehemet Effendi in France), was an Ottoman statesman who was delegated as ambassador by the Sultan Ahmed III to Louis XV's France in 1720. He is remembered for his account of his embassy mission (a sefâretnâme, "book of embassy").

Yirmisekiz Mehmed Çelebi was born in Edirne to a family of Georgian descent. His date of birth is unknown. He is the son of an officer in the Janissary corps, Süleyman Ağa, who died during a campaign to Pécs. Mehmed Çelebi himself was enrolled in the Janissary corps, and since he had served in the 28th battalion ("orta" in Janissary terminology) of the corps, he came to be known with the nickname Yirmisekiz ("twenty-eight" in Turkish) for his entire life. His descendants, including his son who became a grand vizier, also carried the name in the form of Yirmisekizzade ("son of twenty-eight").

He rose through the military hierarchy and then oriented his career to the service of the finances of the state, as superintendent for the Ottoman mint first, and as chief imperial accountant (defterdar) by the reign of Ahmed III. In 1720, while in that position, he was assigned as Ottoman ambassador to Louis XV's France and sent to Paris. His embassy of eleven months was notable for being the first ever foreign representation of a permanent nature for the Ottoman Empire. On his return to the Ottoman capital, Mehmed Çelebi presented his contacts, experiences and observations to the Sultan in the form of a book.

His sefâretnâme is one of the most important examples of the homonymous genre, both for its literary merits and in terms of the insights it provides on his time and environment. He describes his journey to France, the 40-days quarantine in Toulon for fear of plague, his journey through Bordeaux towards Paris, his reception by Louis XV, the ceremonies and the social events to which he participated, notably a night at the theatre, places of interest in Paris, the curiosity with which he examines the Western culture and the curiosity he aroused among his Western interlocutors, for instance his days of fasting in Ramadan becoming a reason for public gathering for curious Parisian women.

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