Domingo Badía y Lively
Domingo Badía y Leblich (Lablich), and Ali Bey al-Abbasi (* 1. April 1767 in Barcelona , † thirtieth August 1818 in Damascus , Syria ) was a Spanish explorer , politician and Islam - a convert .
Life
Early on he occupied himself with mathematics, geography, astronomy, physics, natural history, music and especially with the study of Arabic. Employed in the civil service, he gave up this career in 1797 to propose political trade trips to the Orient to the Godoy government in Madrid. In 1801 he received the desired support and in 1802, with secret orders from the Spanish government, he embarked on a scientific journey into the interior of north-western Africa, which he first set out in 1803.
Ali Bey
Since he wanted to make this trip as a Muslim, he had performed the circumcision on himself with his own hand . Landed in Tangier under the name Ali ibn Osman Bey or Ali Bey al-Abbasi and as a relative of the Prophet (he had drawn up his own genealogical documents and provided them with all the necessary seals and signatures), he went to Morocco , was taken by the Residents everywhere received with unusual respect and treated as a friend and brother by Sultan Mulai Sulaiman himself. This recording alone was the reason that the proposed plan to overthrow the Sultan of Fès did not come to fruition. Spain's King Charles IV shied away from betraying his confidence and after two years ordered his now largely orientalized ambassador to withdraw from Morocco.
This then undertook a pilgrimage to Mecca and crossed the barberry. A revolt in Algiers forced him to continue by ship to Alexandria and Cairo , where he joined the pilgrim caravan to Mecca in 1806. He was the first European or Christian who visited the holy places in hiding in 1807 and witnessed their conquest by the Wahhabis .
From there he traveled on via Jerusalem , Damascus , Aleppo to Constantinople and Greece , received everywhere with enthusiastic acclamation; he visited the holiest places and participated in all the celebrations.
Afrancesado
Accused of being a Christian, he left the Ottoman Empire , returned to Spain via Vienna and Munich and, on King Karl's orders, placed himself under Emperor Napoleon I in Bayonne in 1808. He placed him in the service of King Joseph Bonaparte and a little later Badía became the artistic director of Segovia and in 1812 appointed Prefect of Cordova . Most recently he was prefect of the province of Valencia , where Joseph had retired after fleeing Madrid.
After the fall of Joseph and Napoleon (1814), he emigrated to France, where he published his travelogue as Voyage d'Ali Bei en Afrique et en Asie (Paris 1814).
death
Destined for a trip to India , he received the degree of Maréchal de camp in 1818 and traveled from Paris to Damascus under the name Ali (ibn) Osman . Actually converted in the meantime, he joined a pilgrim caravan in Syria , but soon succumbed to dysentery at Meserib . There were also rumors that Badía y Leblich had been poisoned because he was believed to be a French spy. Allegedly he was denied a Muslim burial because of a cross tattoo on his chest.
Works
- Domènec Badia / Alí Bei: Viatges d'Alí Bei . Llibres de l'Índex, Barcelona 2004, ISBN 84-95317-79-6 .
literature
- Alí bei: Un pelegrí català per terres de l'Islam. Exhibition catalog. Proa, Barcelona 1996, ISBN 84-8256-309-2 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Domingo Badía y Leblich in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Badía y Lively, Domingo |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Castillo y Leblich; Lively, Domingo Badía y; Ali Bey al-Abbasi |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spanish-Catalan explorer, politician and convert to Islam |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 1, 1767 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Barcelona , Spain |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 30, 1818 |
| Place of death | Damascus , Syria |