Letter of Ahmed III to the Austrian Emperor Charles VI, Istanbul, March 20 to 30, 1720 (Istanbul copy)

468 Ṭaraf-ı humāyūndan Nemçe çāsārına gönderilen nāme-i humāyūndur. İftiḫārü’l-ümerāʾi’l-ʿiẓāmi’l-ʿĪseviyye, muḫtārü’l-küberāʾi’l-fiḫāmi’l-mesīḥiyye, muṣliḥu maṣāliḥi cemāḥīri ’ṭ-ṭāʾifeti’n-̣̣̣Naṣrāniyye, sāḥibu eẕyāli’l-ḥaşmet ve’l-veḳār, ṣāḥibu delāʾili’l-mecd ve’l-ịʿtibār ḥālā Roma İmparaṭorı ulu dostumuz Ḳārūlūs ḫatem allahu ʿavāḳıbehū bi’l-ḫayr ve’r-reşād ve elheme ileyhi sebīle’ṣ-ṣavāb ve’s-sedād tevḳīʿ-i refīʿ-i hümāyūn vāṣıl olıcaḳ maʿlūm ola ki: Cenāb-ı vācibü’l-vücūd ve müfīż-i vücūd-i her mevcūd tenezzehe ẕātuhū ʿani’t-tenāhī ve’l-ḥudūd ḥażretlerinüñ ʿināyet-i bī-gāyeti ve iki cihān sürūrı ḥabīb-i ḫüdā şefīʿ-i rūz-i cezā Muḥammedü’l-Muṣṭafā ṣallāllāhu ʿaleyhi ve sellem ḥażretlerinüñ muʿcizāt-ı kes̠īretü’l-berekātiyle melceʾ-i şāhān-ı cihān ve melāẕ-ı ḫüsrevān-ı ʿālīşān olan dergāh-ı maʿdelet-bünyān ve bārgāh-ı raṣīnü’l-erkānumuza mābeynde ʿaḳd olunan ṣulḥ ve ṣalāḥı teʾkīd ve bünyān-ı muṣāfāt ve müsālemeti tarṣīn ü teşyīd içün ṭarafuñuzdan baʿs̠ ve irsāl olunan muʿteber ve müsteşāruñuz ve munteḫab ve mümtāz büyük ilçiñiz ̣ ḳıdvetu ümerāʾi’l-milleti’l-mesīḥiyye Cenerāl Ġrūf de Virmond ḫutimet ʿavāḳıbuhu bi’l-ḫayr maḳarr-ı serīr-i salṭanat-ı ʿos̠mānī ve taḫtgāh-ı saʿādet-destgāh-ı ciḥānbānī olan maḥmiyye-i Ḳosṭanṭıniyyeye vuṣūl buldukda muʿtād-ı ḳadīm-i ebā-i bülend-evṣāf ve deʾb-i müstedīm-i eslāf-ı saʿādet- ittiṣāfumuz üzere ṣudūr-i iz̠n-i hümāyūn-i şāhāne ve ẓuhūr-ı ruḫṣat-ı ʿināyet-maḳrūn-i padişāhānemüz ile pīşgāh-ı serīr-i aʿlāmuza cebīn-sā ve rikāb-ı kāmyāb-ı mülūkānemüze teblīġine meʾmūr olduġı pīşkeş ve hedāyā ile nāme-i muṣādaḳat-nümā ve muṣālahat-intimāñuzı iblāġ ve teslīm ve şol ki mā-beynde teʾkīd ve teʾsīs olan dostluḳ ve ḳoñşuluḳ muḳteżāsıdır resm-i ḳadīm üzere ke-mā yenbaġī tatmīm eyledükden ṣoñra ayīn-i güzīn-i dūdmān-ı şevket-āşiyān-ı ḫāḳānī ve ̣̣kānūn-ı dīrīn-i ḫāndān-ı saʿādet-nişān-ı ʿos̠mānī üzere düstūr-i ekrem, müşīr-i efḫam 469 niẓāmü’l-ʿālem, nāẓımu menāẓımi’l-ümem, müdebbirü umūri’l-cumhūr bi’l-fikri’s̠-s̠āḳıb mütemmimu mehāmmi’l-enām bi’r-reʾyi ’ṣ-ṣāʾib, mümehhidu bünyān-ı devlet ve’l-iḳbāl, müşeyyid-i erkān-ı saʾādet ve’l-iclāl, mükemmilu nāmūsi ’s-saltaneti’l-ʿuẓmā, mürettibu merātibi’l-ḫilāfeti’l-kübrā, el-maḥfūfu bi-sunūfi ʿavāṭıfi’l-meliki ’l-aʿlā, vezir-i aʿẓam-ı sütūde-şiyem ve vekīl-i muṭlaḳ-ı ̣̣kaviyyü’l-himem ve dāmād-ı muḥteremim İbrāhīm Paşa edāma llahu teʿālā iclālehū ve żāʿafa bi’l-teʾyīd iḳtidārehu vesāṭetiyle gerek nāme-i muḫālaṣat- ʿalāmeñüz terceme-i mef̣hūm-i meveddet-mersūmı ve gerek ilçiñüz-i mūmā ileyhiñ dostluḳ teʾyīdine müteʿallıḳ taḳrīrāt-ı ṣadāḳat-mevsūmı bārgāh-ı şevket-penāh-ı ḫusrevānemüze ʿarż ve telḫīṣ olunub ḫulūṣ ve meveddetüñüze ʿilm-i cihān-ārāy-ı mülūkānemiz şāmil ve ṭaraf-ı salṭanat-ı seniyyemüzden daḫi müvālāt ve muṣādaḳatuñuza muvāfaḳat olunmaġla dostluḳ ve müsālemet ve ḳoñşuluḳ ḥuḳūḳına ṭarafeynden riʿāyet ve ḥürmetüñ ās̠ārı ḥāṣıl olmaġın eyyām-ı muṣālaḥa ve hengām-ı müsālemede ebāʾ-ı kirām ve ecdād-ı ʿiẓām-ı ʿālī-maḳāmımızıñ ʿādet-i müstemirre ve ḫaṣlet-i müstaḳarreleri olan üslūb-ı merġūb üzere ṭaraf-ı eşref-i ḫüsrevānemizden merāsim-i vedād ve vifāḳ ve maʿāḳıd-ı ʿaḥd ve mīs̠āḳ-ı ḳaviyyu’l-vis̠āḳa ke-mā yenbagī mürāʿāt ve żavābıṭ ve revābıṭ-ı muṣālaḥāt ḥıfẓ u ṣıyānet olunmaḳ muḳarrer ve muḥaḳḳaḳdur. Ve ilçiñiz mūmā ileyh merāsim-i risālet ve levāzım-ı sefāreti ḥüsn-i ādāb ile tekmīl ve edā ve ʿavdet ve inṣirāfa iẕn-i hümāyūn-ı pādişāhānemüzi istidʿā itmekle tekrār dīvān-ı şāmihü’l-bünyān-ı ḫüsrevāne ve ḥużūr-ı lāmiʿu’n-nūr-ı mülūkānemüzde teşrīfāt-ı muʿtebere-i şāhānemüz ile şeref-yāb ve iḥrāz-ı mufāḫaret ve mübāhāt eyledükden ṣoñra ʿaḳd ve teşyīd olunan musāleme ve muvādeʿanun kemāl-i istiḥkām ve istiḳrārını müşʿir nāme-i humāyūn-i şevket-maḳrūnumuz ile ṭarafuñuza munṣarıf ve müteveccih olmışdur. Lede’l-vüṣūl nāme-i hümāyunumuzuñ mażmūn-ı meveddet-nişān ve mefḥūm-ı muṣālaḥat-ʿünvānına ʿilmüñüz lāḥiḳ olduḳda merāsim-i dostī ve vifāḳ ve revābıṭ-ı ʿahd ve mīs̠āḳ ṭarafuñuzdan daḫi ʿalā vechi’l-etemm ve’l-ekmel mürāʿāt olunmaḳ melḥūẓ-ı hümāyūnumuzdur. Ve’s̠-s̠elāmu ʿalā men ittebeʿa’l- h ḫ üdā. Fī evāsıṭı Cemaziyyülevvel sene 1132

The sultanic letter dispatched by the sultan to the Austrian caesar: Laudable pride of the great commanders of Christendom, the elite of illustrious magnates in the community of the Messiah, arbiter of the universal affairs of the community of Nazarene, possessor of the lineage of majesty and glory, possessor of manifestation of splendor and reverence, currently the Roman emperor, our exalted friend Karl — may God end his days propitiously on the right path and inspire him to the path of righteousness and good deed. May it be known as my sublime sultanic signature arrives: Your esteemed councilor and chosen and distinguished grand ambassador, paragon of the great commanders of the community of the Messiah, Graf von Virmont — may God end his days propitiously — who, in order to reinforce the peace and amity that was concluded between the two sides and to consolidate and make firmer the structure of true friendship and reconciliation, is sent and dispatched from you to my court - which is the shelter of the kings of the world and the refuge of the illustrious monarchs, the edifice of equity and a chamber for the firm pillars of state by virtue of the endless grace of his majesties the necessity being whose being showers down abundantly on everything that exists and whose essence surpasses limits and boundaries and [by virtue of] the abundant and bountiful miracles of Muhammad Mustafa, the joy of the two worlds, the beloved of God, the intercessor on the day of judgment, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. As [the ambassador] arrived in the protected [city of] Constantinople - the seat of the sultanic throne of the Ottomans and the capital of the felicitous court of the keeper of the world - he rubbed his forehead in prostration in the presence of our exalted throne as per the ancient habit of [our] fathers of exalted ranks and the continuous custom of fortunate predecessors, upon the issuance of a splendid imperial allowance and the occurrence of our favorable sultanic permission, and he, as a requirement of the friendship and neighborliness strengthened and established between the two sides, conveyed and delivered the offerings, gifts, and the letter of sincere friendship and reconciliation that he was charged with communicating to our prosperous royal stirrup. After that has been accomplished, as before according to the time-honored practice, both the translation of the affectionate content of your letter of sincere friendship and your aforementioned envoy’s written notification of faithfulness for the affirmation of friendship are submitted and summarized to our majestic, royal court as per the majestic, imperial, distinguished ceremonies of [our] household and the felicitous, cheerful, old Ottoman custom, through the intermediation of the most noble vizier, illustrious field marshal, order of the world, arranger of order of mankind, prudent manager of the affairs of the community with decisive reasoning, consummator of the important affairs of the mankind with proper judgement, arranger of the pillars of prosperity and felicity, edifice of the pillars of felicity and glory, completer of the honor of the great sultanate, orderer of the ranks of the greatest caliphate, invested by arrays of favors of the supreme Lord, my laudable grand vizier, my absolute deputy and firm helper, my respected son-in-law, İbrahim Pasha - my God almighty make his glory lasting and may strengthen his government with his help. Your sincerity and friendship are thus grasped by our world-adorning royal knowledge and from our lofty sultanate consent is given to your friendship and mutual confidence. Thus, as signs of observance of and respect for the law of friendship, reconciliation, and neighborliness have been achieved, as per the continuous custom and consistent habit that became the agreeable practice of our high-ranked, great ancestors and noble forefathers during the days of peace and times of reconciliation, as before, from our noblest royal side, the observation of friendly ceremonies and concord and [the observation of] being a party to an agreement and abidance by that firm treaty is definite and certain, as well as the protection and guarding of the propriety and regulations of reconciliation. And your aforementioned ambassador accomplished and performed the ceremonies of messengership and the necessities of an ambassadorship with good manners and appealed for our imperial sultanic permission. Thereupon, he was again dignified and attained honor and a reason for just pride through our majestic, solid ceremonial at our royal, lofty edifice of the imperial council and kingly, brilliant presence. Thereafter, he departed and set out on the road in your direction with our royal sultanic letter that reports the perfect firmness and permanence of the peace and reconciliation that was concluded and reinforced. When he arrives and as the affectionate purview of our sultanic letter and its reconciliatory conception becomes known to you, it is our imperial expectation that on your side too, the friendly ceremonies, harmony, regulations of agreement, and the treaty will be observed in a complete and perfect manner.Peace be unto whomever obeys God. March 20, 1720.