93

THE TAESCHNER COLLECTION (Or. 12.359, cont.)

to the Porte; the pasha, who was expected to present himself at the Porte on the occasion of Nevniz, also had asked to be promoted to beglerbegi of Rumelia. (The answer of the Sultan, urging the grand vizier to act according to the contents of the telhis and the reports of the defterdar, is found in a superscript, f. 75a.) ff. 75b-76b. A letter (or memorandum) concerning the necessity of reform in view of the threat of Ottoman enemies, particularly the Russians who have built a new fortress at Baliklava (Balaklava) in the Crimea; measures to be taken are, among other things, the reinforcement of the Ottoman castles at Akkerman, Varna and other places; the enlargement and better armament of their garrisons and the reinforcement of the Black Sea fleet. ff. 76b-77b. A note (ka ime) to the re’ïsülküttab concerning the abolition or decrease in the amount of customary gifts of cash, jewellery, cloth and clocks to officials on the occasion of religious feasts as ordered by the Sultan dated 4 Sa'ban [1]206 (28 March 1792). ff. 77b-78b. A letter addressed to a segbanbasi. Despite a ferman issued the previous year, no steps had been taken to increase the efficiency of the fire- brigade in Istanbul; the official is again urged to take the necessary measures, such as giving precise instructions to the officers and officials involved how to act, and, particularly, how to forestall the plundering of affected properties dated 17 Safer [1]215 (10 July 1800). ff. 78b-80a. A hüccet confirming a hatt-i hümayün issued by Sultan Mustafa [IV] stating that the members of the Janissary corps were not to interfere in state affairs, dated 23 RebVü l-evvel 1222 (31 May 1807), with six signatures of officials, among them the $eyhülislam Mehmed ‘Ata’ullah Efendi and the ka immakam es-Seyyid Musa Pa§a. (The convenant, a copy of which was presented in a public ceremony to the aghas of the Janissary corps two days after the enthronement of the new sultan, and which was meant to placate the unruly soldiers, failed to have any effect, cf. Dani§mend, Kronoloji IV, p. 88; see also Shaw’s study, pp. 384-5).

ff. 81b-83b. Copies of two letters in a different, almost illegible divani, the first of which (81b-82) is another copy of the letter found on ff. 75-76b.