8vo; 160x115 mm., Pp. 7, [1 blank], woodcut vignette on title page, woodcut initial. Disbound, as issued, with slight traces of having been in a binding for some time. Browning. Good, uncut copy.
Rare pamphlet. Account of the arrival in Sicily of Mahamet Chelebi (1627 c.-1672 c.), allegedly a prince, son king of Tunis, actually son of Ahmad Khûja, dey from 1640 to 1647 under the reign of Hammuda bey Murad. Run away from Tunis to convert to the Christian faith, Mahamet asks to be received by the cardinal Spinola (Giovanni Domenico Cardinal Spinola, 1580-1646; he will die a few months later, in August); he will be christened the 6 of May in the cathedral of Palermo, under the name of Innocent Philip Peter Ferdinand Ignace, simply known as “Don Philippe d’Afrique”. A few years later Don Philippe returned to Tunis and converted back to Islam; most of his life was spent in the attempt to become king of Tunis. “La vie de Don Philippe est donc une succession d’intrigues, de trahisons et d’échecs”, concludes Bonnery.
Rare, one copy only in public libraries worldwide (Biblioteca Casanatense, Rome).
OCLC n. 1002731532.
See Matthieu Bonnery, Un homme entre deux mondes: la vie mouvementée de Don Philippe d'Afrique, prince de Tunis (1627-1686) In: tiempos modernos, N. 8 (May-Sepember 2003); Lucette Valensi Quand des musulmans de haut rang demandaient le baptême, in: Pallas, No. 88 La souffrance physique dans l'Antiquité: Thérories et représentations, 2012, pp. 205-217; Diego Pizzorno Spinola, Giovanni Domenico, in DBI.