Manuc Bei (the common Romanian rendering of Manuk Bey, the Turkish name of Emanuel Mârzayan; 1769-1817) was an Armenian merchant, diplomat and inn-keeper.
Life
He was born in
Rousse (nowadays in
Bulgaria) as a subject of the
Ottoman Empire.
A grain merchant, he amassed considerable wealth, and was rumored at the time to be the wealthiest man in the
Balkans. In 1803, he was awarded the
boyar rank of
paharnic by
Constantine Ypsilanti,
Prince of
Wallachia.
In 1808, the highly influential Manuc was advanced by his protector, the Ottoman general Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, to occupy the Moldavian throne, but was prevented from taking the throne by the fall of his protector; he himself had to flee Istanbul to avoid execution. Settling in Bucharest (after a short period of refuge in Transylvania), Manuc-bei kept the inn known today as Manuc's Inn; in time, he also acquired estates in Bessarabia, near Hînceşti and Reni, and was to remain the main financial backer of Ypsilanti, lending the treasury 160,000 thalers in all.
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-1812, he was also a mediator (1809) between the Russian Imperial Army of Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich and a rebel Ottoman garrison in Giurgiu. A Russian agent, Manuc took part in the negotiations for the 1812 Treaty of Bucharest between the Russian and Ottoman empires, which were held in his inn in Bucharest.
Towards the end of his life, he retired to his estate of Hînceşti, where his son later built a manor house. Manuc died in an accident in 1817, and was buried in the Armenian Church in Chişinău.http://www.panoramio.com/photo/33629142
References
Neagu Djuvara, Între Orient şi Occident. Ţările române la începutul epocii moderne ("Between Orient and Occident. The Romanian lands at the beginning of the modern era"), Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995, p. 169, 287, 348-349
Constantin C. Giurescu, Istoria Bucureştilor. Din cele mai vechi timpuri pînă în zilele noastre ("History of Bucharest. From the earliest times to this day"), Ed. Pentru Literatură, Bucharest, 1966, p. 270-271.
External links
Manuc Bey - A legendary historical figure of the 18th century, biographical article on the Radio Romania International website.
">Expoziţia "Manuc Bei - negustor şi diplomat" îşi deschide porţile pentru public ("The 'Manuc Bei - Merchant and Diplomat' Exhibition opens its doors to the public"),
Ştiri, 8 August 2005, describing a Bucharest exhibition dedicated to Manuc-bei
Article One of his palatial residences in
Hânceşti (now in the
Republic of Moldova, and
a short description
Spiritual Romania Dream Tour: Manuc's Inn, includes a tidbit about Manuc-bei in Paris.
Category:1769 births
Category:1817 deaths
Category:Bulgarian Armenians
Category:Ottoman Armenians
Category:Romanian people of Armenian descent
Category:Dragomans
Category:People from Ruse, Bulgaria
Category:Romanian nobility
