Ibrahim Ben Ali
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Ibrahim ben Ali () or after
baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
Ibraham Adam Ben Ali (1756–1800), was an Ottoman-Turkish soldier and physician who first drew notice as a convert-friend of the
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
Methodist theologian
Adam Clarke Adam Clarke (176226 August 1832) was an Irish writer and biblical scholar. As a writer and biblical scholar, he published an influential Bible commentary among other works. Additionally, he was a Methodist theologian who served three times as ...
, and after spending time with the minister there and in England, he emigrated to the United States.


Early life

Ibrahim ben Ali was born in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
,
Ottoman Turkey The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...
, in 1756, the son of Ali ben Mustapha, a Muslim with an estate 6 miles from the city, and Halima, a Christian slave from
Zante Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; ; ) or Zante (, , ; ; from the Venetian form, traditionally Latinized as Zacynthus) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands, with an area of , and a coastline in ...
who was captured by Venetians and bought by Mustapha, a Turkish Muslim in
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
. Ben Ali was raised a Muslim but also received an introduction to Christianity from his mother, and from several Spanish slaves owned by the family. When Ibrahim ben Ali was thirteen, he married his wife Halima, who was twelve at the time. In that same year he made the
Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...
to
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, subsequently taking two additional wives named Fatima and Ayesha, and eventually fathering 6 children by the three. With this expanding family, a commission as captain in the
Janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...
was obtained for Ibrahim by his father. About five years into this service he was wrongfully arrested and condemned to death for the murder of two officers with whom he was acquainted. On the eve of his execution, an old Spanish slave encouraged him to convert to Christianity before his death, thereby reinforcing the teachings Ibrahim had from his mother. His exoneration the next morning convinced him to pursue Christianity, and he purchased and freed the slave, keeping him in his household to provide religious instruction. He also served in the army as a doctor. In the fourth battle he fought against the
Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
during the
Russo-Turkish war The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...
he was captured in
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and made prisoner at Arzenicour, in Russia. While in captivity, fellow prisoners wrote to Constantinople accusing him of apostasy and treason, causing his parents, wives and children to leave the city for
Izmail Izmail (, ; ; , or ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality on the Danube river in Odesa Oblast in south-western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Izmail Raion, one of seven distr ...
, where they were all killed when the Russians sacked the outpost. Ibrahim was eventually freed after two years, following the intervention of either a local woman or Russian princess whose vision he had helped to recover,"James B Haggin dies at Newport, R.I.", ''The Thoroughbred Record'', vol. 80 (1914) p. 136 or of a British general, but having been warned of the danger of returning home by his brother, he instead took ship for
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and
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, and thence to Dublin.


Later life

Arriving in the Irish city in 1791 speaking little English but fluent in
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
, he was introduced to the Rev. Adam Clarke and received religious instruction from him on a daily basis. He was baptized as 'Adam' in a ceremony translated for him into Spanish by Clarke. He later accompanied Clarke on his ministries to Liverpool and after two years there, to
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, remaining there for "some considerable time". He also spent time in
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,
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
and
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, before emigrating to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. In America as Mr. Ibraham Adam Ben Ali, he set up practice as a physician in
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, where he advertised
patent medicine A patent medicine (sometimes called a proprietary medicine) is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name, and claimed to be effective against minor disorders a ...
s in late 1794, followed by stints in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
from 1795,
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
in 1799, and Baltimore in 1800. He married a Baptist Englishwoman, having by her a sole daughter, Adeline, who became wife of Terah Temple Haggin and mother of multi-millionaire lawyer and investor James Ben Ali Haggin (1822–1914). In 1800, he died at or near Baltimore of the yellow fever outbreak that hit that city and Philadelphia, having contracted the disease while treating those infected.


See also

*
Marie Tepe Marie Brose Tepe Leonard (August 24, 1834 – May 24, 1901), known as "French Mary," was a vivandière of Franco-Turkish descent who fought for the Union Army during the American Civil War. Tepe served with the 27th and 114th Pennsylvania In ...
, 19th-century settler to the US of Turkish origin


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Ali, Ibrahim 1756 births 1800 deaths 18th-century American physicians American Christians American former Muslims 18th-century American people of Greek descent American people of Turkish descent Christians from the Ottoman Empire Converts to Christianity from Islam Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United States Muslims from the Ottoman Empire