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Auction: 18038 - Autographs, Historical Documents, Ephemera and Postal History
Lot: 3104

Autographs
Algeria
Emir Abdelkader
1862 (6 April) autograph letter written by Abdelkader with impressed black seal; written to the chief captain of the Arab office and with French translation underneath written by the recipient and affixed by the margin to a backing sheet. This letter was later sent to France to a friend of the captain with an explanatory letter and the letter front. A rare and important document. Photo

Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine (1808 – 83) known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abdelkader El Djezairi, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion in the mid-19th century. An Islamic scholar and Sufi who unexpectedly found himself leading a military campaign, he built up a collection of Algerian tribesmen that for many years successfully held out against one of the most advanced armies in Europe. His consistent regard for what would now be called human rights, especially as regards his Christian opponents, drew widespread admiration, and a crucial intervention to save the Christian community of Damascus from a massacre in 1860 brought honours and awards from around the world.

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Sold for
£400