Marriage contract between Alexandrine Douville and Napoleon's Mamluk bodyguard Roustam Raza, signed by the Emperor

Napoleon, Emperor of the French (1769-1821). Document signed ("Napoléon").

€ 75,000.00

An exceptional marriage contract by which Alexandrine Douville, daughter of Empress Joséphine's first valet, enters into marriage under the direct patronage of Napoleon. Comprising ten numbered articles, the manuscript is signed at the conclusion by the Emperor and countersigned by the couple, their witnesses, and the notary. Alexandrine herself initials the margins seven times, and her hand is present throughout the document as legal witness to her own future. Preserved in its original wrappers and tied with a green silk ribbon, the contract is as much a record of female participation as it is an imperial autograph.

The contract records the union of Alexandrine-Marie Marguerite Douville with Roustam Raza (1782-1845), the Georgian-born Mamluk who had been taken to Cairo as a child, converted to Islam, and was brought into Napoleon’s service after the Egyptian campaign. Although Roustam’s presence at court attracted much attention, the document is equally remarkable for Alexandrine’s repeated hand throughout the text, marking her active role in a marriage arranged, financed, and witnessed by the Emperor himself.

Roustam’s life exemplifies the cultural breadth of Napoleon's entourage: born in Tbilisi, enslaved as a boy, converted to Islam, and trained in the Mamluk military tradition of Cairo, he was presented to Bonaparte in 1799. Thereafter he never left Napoleon's side, sleeping outside his chamber, acting as his bodyguard and valet, and appearing in glittering oriental costume at the coronation, riding before the imperial carriage.

The contract brings together Alexandrine's legal presence and Roustam's role as part of Napoleon's household, combining female agency, imperial authority, and the cultural diversity of the imperial court, all underlined by Napoleon's own signature.