Drittes Befehlsschreiben des Sultans (mit dem selben Datum); Konstantinopel, 5.

30 Tecdīd olunmışdur Fī evāṣıtı Ş[Şaʿbān]sene [1]118 Ḳuds-i şerīf monlāsına ve Ḳuds-i şerīf sancaġıbegi ne ḥükm ki Ḳıdvetü ümerāʾi’l-milleti’l-mesīḥiyye Romā imperātorınuñ āsitāne-i saʿādetüme gelen büyük ilçisi Vūlfānḳūs Ġrūf Eyūtingen ḫutimet ʿavāḳıbuhū bi’l-ḫayr südde-i saʿādetüme ʿarż-ı ḥāl gönderüb gendülere tābiʿ olub Ḳuds-i şerīfde sākin olan Freng ruhbānlarınuñ mā-teḳaddümden berü żabṭ ide gelüb ḥālā ellerinde olan Deyrü’l-ʿamūd manāstırları kilīsāsıyla ve Yūḥanā şimāl ṭarafında olan bāġçesiyle ve S̱iyon ṭaġında mezāristān ve Beytu’l-laḥmde ve neẓāreti gendülere maḫṣūṣ olan manāstır ve kilīsāları mezāristān ve bāġçeleri ve Ṣafedde ve Sidonda ve Remlede daḫı ḳadīmden gendülere maḫṣūṣ olan meskenleri ve Ḥażret-i Meryemin Küçük Ḳubbesi dimekle maʿrūf kelīsāları ve Ḳamāme içinde gendülere maḫṣūṣ ḥālā ellerinde olan oṭaları żabṭ itdürilüb āḫardan kimesne māniʿ olmayub ve mezbūr ruhbānlar Zeytūn ṭaġında ve Yūḫānā toġduġı mevżiʿda ve Yuvākin ve Etā nām maḥallerde ide geldükleri āyīnleri icrā idüb zeytūn ẓemānında olan ʿādetleri ne minvāl üzere ola gelmiş ise yine ol minvāl üzere idüb Şāmdan Ḳuds-i şerīfe Beytu’l-laḥm ve Neẓāriye ve Ṣaydā ve ġayrı yerlere teftīş içün gelenler mezbūr ruhbānlaruñ kilīsālarına ve manāstırlarına bir vech ile daḫl ü taʿarruż eylemeyüb ḫilāf-ı şerʿ-i şerīf aḳcaları almayub ve gendülerine lāzım olan buġday ve üzüm ve sāʾir zād ü zevādelerin her kimden murād iderlerse alub aḫar dan kimesne zorla çürük ẕaḫīre aldurmayub ve gendülerüñ ki sākin olduḳları mekānları taʿmīre muḥtāc olduḳda taʿmīr idüb ve iḳtiżāʾ eyledükde meṣālihlerin görmek içün āsitāne-i saʿādetüme gelmege Ḳuds-i şerīf vālīleri ve ḳāḍīları māniʿ olmayub ve baʿżı buhtān ve iftirā ile ḫilāf-ı şerʿ- i şerīf 34 vālīler ve ḳāḍīlar ve sāʾir ḥükkām bir aḳcaların almayub ve Ḳuds-i şerīf ziyāretine gidenlerüñ ki es̱vāb ve eşyāsı muʿtād üzere iskelelerde bir defʿa yoḳlanduḳdan ṣoñra tekrār Ḳuds-i şerīf ḳapularında yoḳlanmayub ve alıḳonmamak üzere muḳaddemā ḫaṭṭ-ı hümāyūn-ı şevket-maḳrūnumla muʿanven ellerine virilen nişān-ı hümāyūn mūcibince Ḳuds-i şerīfde ve ṭaşrasında Freng ruhbānlarınuñ ḥālā ellerinde ve żabṭ ü taṣarruflarında olan mesākin ve emākin ve bāġce ve kilīsālarına Rūmīlerden ve Ermenīlerden ḫilāf-ı şerʿ-i şerīf kimesne dāḫl ü taʿarruż eylemeyüb ve Ḳuds-i şerīf ḳāḍīlarından ve beglerbegilerinden Freng ruhbānlarınuñ üzerlerine zuyūf aḳca ve pāre bıraġılub İstānbūlda eyü aḳca virüñ diyü rencīde olunmamaḳ üzere sene sitte ve sebʿīn ve elf Cemādīyeʾl-ūlāsınuñ evāḫirinde emr-i şerīf virilüb ve ḥālā ʿaḳd ve tecdīd olunan muṣālaḥada virilen ʿahdnāme-i hümāyūnda daḫı Ḥażret-i ʿĪsā dīninden olub Rīm pāpāya mensūb olan rāhiblerüñ ḫaḳḳında selāṭīn- pişīn-i nıṣfet-āyīn zamān-ı saʿādetlerinde virilen ʿahdnāme-i hümāyūnlarda mesṭūr ve muḳayyed olan mevādd ve maḫṣūṣen iḥsān ü ʿināyet olunan nişān-ı ʿālī-şān ve o evāmir-i şerīfenüñ mażmūnı baʿde’l- yevm daḫı m erʿī ṭutulmaḳ üzere ṭaraf-ı hümāyūndan teʾkīd oluna şöyle ki kilīsālarını vażʿ-ı ḳadīmi üzere taʿmīr ü termīm ve ide geldükleri āyīnlerin icrāya mümānaʿat olunmaya ve ḫilāf-ı şerʿ-i şerīf ve muġāyir-i ʿahdnāme-i hümāyūn aḳca muṭālebesiyle ve ġayrı bahāne ile mezbūr rāhibler her ne ṣınıfdan olursa rencīde olunmayub himāye-i pādişāhānede āsūde-i ḥāl olalar ve Romā imperātorınuñ büyük ilçisi āsitāne-i saʿādete geldükde āyīnlerine ve Ḳuds-i şerīfde vāḳiʿ ziyāretgāhlarına müteʿalliḳ sipārişlerini iʿlām eyleye diyü ḳayd ve tasṭīr olunmaġla ʿahdnāme-i hümāyūn mūcibince ol emr-i şerīf tecdīd olunmaḳ bābında istidʿā-yı ʿināyet itmegin ʿahdnāme-i hümāyūnuma murācaʿat olunduḳda vech-i meşrūḥ üzere olduġı mesṭūr ve muḳayyed bulunmaġla imdi ẕikr olunan manāstırlar ve kilīsālar ve oṭaları ve mezāristān ve baġçeler ḥālā ellerinde olub ile’l-ān mutaṣarrıflar ise kemā-kān żabṭ ü taṣarruf itdürilüb aḫārdan ḫilāf-ı şerʿ-i şerīf mudāḫale olunmamaḳ bābında fermān-ı ʿālī-şānum ṣādır olmışdur buyurdum ki vuṣūl bulduḳda bu bābda ṣādır olan fermān-ı celīlü’l-ḳadrum mūcibince ʿamel daḥı ḫuṣūṣ-ı mezbūra tāmm muḳayyed olub göresin ʿarż olunduġı üzere olub ẕikr olunan manāstırlar ve kilīsālar ve oṭalar ve mezāristān ve bāġceleri ḥālā ellerinde olub ile’l-ān mutaṣarrıflar ise ḫilāf-ı şerʿ-i şerīf aḥardan daḫl ü taʿarruż itdürmeyüb muḳaddemā ve ḥālā virilen o evāmir-i şerīfenüñ ḫilāfına rıżā ve cevāzdan iḥtirāz eyleyesiz şöyle bilesiz ʿalāmet-i şerīfe iʿtimād ḳılasın. Fī evāḫiri Rebīʿ iʾl-āḫir sene 1112

30 Renewed, 18–27 November 1706 To the chief judge and the sanjakbey of Jerusalem: Graf Wolfgang (IV) zu Oettingen(-Wallerstein)—may his days end propitiously—who came as the grand ambassador to my felicitous capital on behalf of the paragon of the nobles of the Christian community, the Roman Emperor, sent a petition to my court, requesting my favor for the renewal of a previously issued noble order as follows: The Monastery of Deir el-‘Amud, the church, and its garden located to the north of St. John all of which have been under the control of the Frank (European) clergy residing in Jerusalem since long ago; the cemetery at the Mount Zion; the monastery, church, cemetery and its garden in Bethlehem under their supervision; the sites in Safed, Sidon, and Ramle that have long belonged to them; their church known as the Tomb of the Virgin Mary and the rooms inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre that are under their control; all of these shall remain under their authority and no one shall interfere with them. The aforementioned clergy shall continue to perform their rites as they have been accustomed to doing at the Mount of Olives, the birthplace of John the Apostle(?), and the locations known as Yuvākin and Etā, as they have done during the olive harvest. Those who come for inspection from Damascus to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Sidon, and other places shall not interfere in any way with the aforementioned churches and monasteries of the said clergy, nor shall they demand money from them in violation of the noble customary law of Islam. The clergy shall be allowed to procure the necessary wheat, grapes, and other provisions from whomever they choose, and no one shall force them to purchase rotten supplies from others. When the places where they reside require repairs, they shall be allowed to undertake such repairs, and if necessary, they may come to my felicitous capital for reconciliation without hindrance from the governors and judges of Jerusalem. No governor, judge, or other official shall extort money from them under false accusations and slanders against the noble customary law. 34 Those who visit the Holy City shall not be subjected to repeated inspections of their clothes and belongings after having been inspected once at the ports, nor shall they be detained at the gates of Jerusalem. Such was the imperial charter granted that contained my august signature. As per that charter, a noble decree containing these rules was issued on 29 November–8 December 1665. Accordingly, no one from among the Orthodox or Armenians shall interfere with or assault the Frank (Catholic) clergy's residences, lands, gardens, and churches in Jerusalem and its environs that are still in their possession, in contravention of the noble customary law of Islam. The judges and governors of Jerusalem shall not impose clipped money upon the Frankish (Catholic) clergy or demand high payments from them in Istanbul, causing them distress. The provisions written and recorded in the imperial letter of agreement that was just concluded and renewed at this time, (the provisions) in the imperial letters of agreement granted during the felicitous times of previous just sultans concerning the rights of priests who follow the religion of Jesus and belong to the (denomination of) the Roman Pope, as well as the content of the imperial charter and the noble order that were bestowed as a favor and grace of the sultan, shall henceforth continue to be observed; this shall be also confirmed by (a decree) of the sultan. Namely, they shall repair and maintain their churches as they have done before, and their rites shall not be obstructed. No money shall be demanded from the aforementioned clergy in violation of the noble customary law of Islam or the imperial letter of agreement, nor shall they be harassed under other pretexts. They shall remain under the protection of the sultan, living in peace. When the Roman Emperor's ambassador comes to my felicitous court, he may present their requests regarding their rites and the pilgrimage sites in Jerusalem. So has it been recorded and decreed, and the ambassador has requested the renewal of the aforementioned noble order as per the imperial letter of agreement. Upon reviewing the imperial letter of agreement, it has been found to be written and recorded as described above. Now, if the aforementioned monasteries, churches, rooms inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, cemeteries, and gardens are still in their possession and have remained under their control until now, they shall continue to remain under their authority as before, and no one shall interfere with them in violation of the noble customary law of Islam. My noble edict of high dignity has been issued to this effect. I command that, upon the receipt of this order, you shall act in accordance with my noble and esteemed decree and fully comply with the instructions herein. As presented by the ambassador, if the aforementioned monasteries, churches, rooms, cemeteries, and gardens are still under their control and have remained so until now, you shall allow no one to interfere with them in violation of the noble customary law of Islam. Refrain from consenting to or approving anything contrary to my previous and present noble order. Be cautious to avoid any contradiction to my noble order, and place your trust in the noble mark! 5–14 October 1700