Countering ‘Local Discord’ with ‘Imperial Servitude’: Mehmed Zeki Pasha’s Defense of Mihrali Bey

Abstract

The two-folio ciphered telegram sent by Mehmed Zeki Pasha serves as an illustrative case study of the Hamidian era. Written at a time when the order to serve in Yemen induced dread among the Anatolian populace, the document highlights the exceptional willingness of Mihrali Bey to mobilize for this perilous frontier.