A large illuminated Qur'an, Persia, Shiraz, Safavid, 16th century

Ahmad Elmas Agha, Chief Doorkeeper (Ser-Bevvabin) of the Sublime Porte, son of Tepedelenli Meço Bono Mehmed Aghazadeh, Ioannina, Greece, by 1845-46

By descent to Mehmed Yahya, 1845-46 AD

Formerly in the collection of a Middle Eastern Ambassador to the U.K., early 1970s

An intriguing waqf ('endowment') inscription dated 1261 AH (1845-6 AD) is inscribed on f. 1b and states that this Qur'an was presented by Ahmad Elmas Agha, Chief Doorkeeper (Ser-Bevvabin) of the Sublime Porte and son of Tepedelenli Meço Bono Mehmed Aghazadeh, resident of Ioannina, to his own son Mehmed Yahya in 1261 AH (1845-6 AD). Tepedelenli Meço Bono undoubtedly refers to the trusted confidant and commander of the semi-autonomous ruler of the pashalik of Ioannina, Tepedelenli Ali Pasha, whose son, Elmas Bey, was a lieutenant of the same ruler (Beauchamp 1822, p. 232; Davenport 1878, p. 288).

During the connected conflicts of Ali Pasha's rebellion (1820-2) and the Greek War of Independence (1821-9), both Meço Bono and his son played notable roles. Meço Bono led the defence of the castle of Gjirokastër, in modern-day Albania, while Elmas Bey played a key role at the 1821 siege of Tripolitsa (Koçollari 2023, p. 116; Pouqueville 1825, vol. 3, pp. 181-2). According to François Pouqueville, a French diplomat at the court of Ali Pasha, Meço Bono heroically fell during Ali Pasha's last stand, carried off by a cannonball fired by the janissaries of Kütahya (Pouqueville 1825, vol. 3, p. 301). Meanwhile, Elmas Bey's role in the siege of Tripolitsa was less heroic, as he was convinced to withdraw his significant and well-trained Albanian soldiers from the besieged town by the Greek commander Theodoros Kolokotronis in exchange for safe passage and whatever of the town's treasure they could carry (Pouqueville 1825, vol. 3, pp. 181-2).

Elmas Bey's mercenary-like activities during the conflicts of the 1820s earned him the reputation of a treacherous warlord in French, English and Ottoman Turkish accounts of the period, with a letter dated 26 September 1822 from the Ottoman sultan's office to his Grand Vizier Hurshid Pasha going so far as to call for his execution (Şükrü Ilıcak 2021, no. 577/19). As the historical sources are quiet on the career of Elmas Bey after the events of the 1820s, the waqf inscription in the present Qur'an is an interesting and important piece of evidence that shows that Elmas Bey's savvy permitted him to exchange the executioner's block for a career in the Ottoman bureaucracy, culminating in the prestigious position of Chief Doorkeeper (Ser-Bevvabin).

Quite how this magnificent Safavid Qur'an ended up in the possession of Elmas Bey is unclear. It may have been acquired during his ascent at the Ottoman court, as a gift or purchase suitable to his newfound station, or as loot during the conflicts of the 1820s. Perhaps the most intriguing possibility is that it was acquired by his father Meço Bono, the trusted advisor of Tepedelenli Ali Pasha, during the diplomatic visit of 'un Kan ou prince de Perse' at the latter's court in Ioannina in 1812 (Beauchamp 1822, p. 232); this mysterious figure is not otherwise attested, but it is tempting to identify him with Askar Khan Afshar, the Qajar diplomat who spent two years at the French court, returning in 1810, and may have stayed at Ioannina on his return.