Letter: T-S Ar.39.425

Description

Letter in Ottoman Turkish addressed to Salmūn who the sender Hafız Server Ağa addresses in the incipit as: "benim rūhum, mu’allam Salmūn" (my spirit, [the] learned Salmūn). The sender hopes that that the letter carrier, Murād, will be received favorably by Salmūn and confirms that he is a trustworthy in his services. Hafız Server Ağa also sends best wishes to Salmūn for the new year: "ve yeni sene mübarek olsun" (and may the new year be a blessing to you). The sender's title Server Ağa is a military title and "server" denotes a higher rank of "Chief Ağa" though it is unclear in which unit he served of the seven regiments of Ottoman Egypt. Given the terse tone of the letter it's possible it was bundled with other correspondence in an effort to introduce Salmūn to a new letter carrier than Hafız Server Ağa had used previously. MCD with information provided kindly by Dr. Özgen Felek.