Emir ABD-EL-KADER sends his thanks to France.

Abdelkader Ibn MUHIEDDINE (1808-1883), Emir ABD-EL-KADER

Autograph letter signed to Madame Achille Fould.

A 1/2 page in-4° in Arabic, with French transcription.

Residual trace of collection stamp.

Without place. 1st Ramazan 1284 [December 28, 1867]

“I will never forget the kindness, the benevolence, and the true affection that you have always shown me.”

Beautiful letter of greetings addressed to the wife of the minister of Napoleon III.

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» Glory to God, To the respectful and perfect, to the one whose qualities are beautiful and whose actions are generous and noble, the respectable Madame Fould. After asking about your health, I send you my compliments on the occasion of the New Year. I pray God to give you perpetual happiness and to fill you with lasting goods and blessings that never perish and change. I ask you to convey my respectful congratulations to all your noble family.

I will never forget the kindness, the benevolence and the true affection that you have always shown me and I can assure you that I keep in the depths of my heart a complete reciprocity to all that and that makes me desire, more than you can desire for yourself, that you be filled with good. I always think of you and represent to myself your noble person as well as those of your honorable daughters and your generous sons-in-law. Receive all the congratulations of a friend and the greeting of a devoted one. The 1st of Ramazan 1284. Your devoted Abd-el-Kader.

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Emir Abd-el-Kader remains one of the most fascinating historical figures of the 19th century. A fighter for France in Algeria, he was defeated by General Louis de Lamoricière after a long and courageous resistance. Detained in Toulon, Pau, then Amboise, the emir and his family were released in 1852 by Napoleon III. Abd-el-Kader will return to Damascus, Syria, to devote himself again to philosophy and theology. After fighting against France, he was recognized as his friend and decorated with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. He also received the order of Pius IX.

In 1865, the emir made a notable stay in Paris, received as a friend by the highest personalities of the State. It was undoubtedly on this occasion that Abd-el-Kader became friends with Madame Achille Fould, née Henriette Goldschmidt (1803.1870).

Abd-el-Kader died in Damascus where he was buried near his master Ibn-Arabi. A little literate marabout from Algeria, Abd-el-Kader became a major author of modern Islam. His courage, his piety, his wisdom and his spirit earned him the admiration of all.