The assassination trial for the murder of Jean-Baptiste Kléber

[Kléber, Jean-Baptiste / Al-Halabi, Suleiman]. [Franca sergerdelerinden Kleber ismiyle meshur sergerdenin katili olan Süleyman-nam-i Halebi hakkinda vuku' bulan fahs ve teftis ve hükm-i ser'i havi evrakin mecma'idir]. Traduction turke des pièces relatives à la procédure et au jugement de Soléyman êl-Hhaleby, assassin du Général en Chef Kleber.

€ 18,000.00

An Ottoman Turkish translation of documents relating the infamous trial, judgment, and execution of Suleiman al-Halabi (1777-1800), assassin of Jean-Baptiste Kléber (1753-1800), commander-in-chief of the French forces during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt. Before his assassination, Kléber had come out of retirement to join the Egyptian campaign; he was wounded fighting in Alexandria and then returning to active command during the Syrian campaign of 1799, where he commanded the vanguard which claimed El-Arish, Gaza, and Jaffa, and won the battle of Mount Tabor in April 1799.

Himself born in Ottoman Syria, al-Halabi had been a student in Cairo during the initial invasion, and some time later he was convinced to make the assassination attempt on Kléber; the act itself was carried out in Kléber's garden on June 14th, 1800. Though exact details of the account often differ, most agree that al-Halabi fatally stabbed Kléber and fled, but was caught shortly thereafter. He was condemned to death by a French military trial and suffered a slow execution, unlike several of his convicted collaborators, who were instead beheaded. An interesting document of what was at the time a sensational murder trial, uncommon on the market.

Light wear, especially to exterior leaves. Uncut copy. Provenance: 20th century Parisian private collection, kept in the family for several generations and dispersed in 2022.