Sultan Ḥusayn Kamil Signed Sultanate of Egypt Royal Land Grant Document Royalty

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Sultan Ḥusayn Kamil Signed Sultanate of Egypt Royal Land Grant Document Royalty:
$1168.71

For your consideration is an exceedingly rare and historically important original antique c.1916 Royal Egyptian Sultanate firman (berat) land grant decree, personally hand-signed and by His Majesty Sultan usayn Kamil, Sultan of Egypt (r. 1914–1917). This extraordinary royal manuscript represents a formal court decree and property charter issued during the early years of Egypt’s brief Sultanate period, following the British protectorate declaration of 1914 and the end of Ottoman sovereignty. Executed on official royal Sultanate stationery, this document bears the handwritten text in rich black and red inks, composed in the ornate divani chancery calligraphic style characteristic of Egyptian and late Ottoman administration. The document is further authenticated by the royal negative seal of Sultan usayn Kmil, deeply impressed with the legend “usayn Kmil Suln Mir” (Hussein Kamel, Sultan of Egypt), alongside the embossed blue seal of the Royal Diwan of Cairo, confirming its issuance from the Sultan’s central government offices.

The manuscript consists of four densely written pages of formal Islamic calligraphy arranged on a single large folio of fine laid paper measuring approximately 13.25 x 17.0 inches. The text opens with the sacred invocation Bismillh ir-Ramn ir-Ram (“In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”), followed by the royal titulature of Sultan usayn Kmil, extolling his rule and divine legitimacy as Egypt’s sovereign. The body of the decree declares the Sultan’s command to confirm, record, and protect a specified grant of land and related privileges, ordering that the rights of the beneficiary be entered into the General State Register (Daftar al-Umm) and upheld as a matter of royal authority. The concluding section affirms the decree’s authenticity and date: 25 Jumd al-khira 1334 AH (20 April 1916 CE) — a rare and well-documented example from the penultimate year of usayn Kmil’s reign, making it one of the few surviving Sultanate-era decrees known to exist in private hands.

The Sultanate of Egypt (1914–1917) was a crucial transitional moment in Egyptian history, marking the formal dissolution of Ottoman influence and the establishment of Egypt as a separate monarchy under British supervision. Sultan usayn Kmil, uncle of the deposed Khedive Abbas Hilmi II, ruled as the first monarch to hold the title Sultan of Egypt, asserting nominal independence while maintaining traditional Islamic and royal legal forms. Documents such as this — combining Islamic legal formulae, Ottoman chancery tradition, and European-style bureaucratic formatting — reflect Egypt’s unique hybrid identity during this formative era of statecraft and modernization.

The manuscript’s physical qualities are exemplary of royal administrative standards of the period. The paper is watermarked and laid, exhibiting the fine linear texture used in official chancery issues. The calligraphy, executed by a royal scribe trained in the divani and taliq styles, alternates between black ink for the narrative text and red ink for rubrics, proper names, and formal closures. The Sultan’s signature and royal seal are placed prominently at the conclusion, confirming royal assent. The verso bears archival docketing notations, consistent with filing practices of the Royal Diwan and Ministry of Justice.

Condition is fine and original, with minor expected folds and small archival perforations, but no loss or restoration. The inks remain dark and vivid, and the royal seal impression is crisp and fully legible. The document retains its full margins and original edges, with only light toning from age, consistent with careful preservation in official archives.

This is an authentic royal manuscript decree personally endorsed by Sultan usayn Kmil, the first modern monarch of Egypt, whose brief reign bridged the Khedival and later royal periods of Egyptian governance. Very few documents bearing his actual signature and negative seal are known to survive, making this an object of tremendous historical and documentary significance. As an artifact of Islamic legal culture, Egyptian royal administration, and early twentieth-century history, this firman exemplifies the highest level of museum-quality rarity, authenticity, and condition.

Authentic and correct. One of a kind. Provenance: The HADA Collection. Museum quality.