Abraham Salomon Camondo
Encyclopedia
Count Abraham Camondo was a Jewish Ottoman
-Italian
financier and philanthropist and the patriarch of the Camondo family
.
He was born in Constantinople
, Ottoman Empire
. In 1832 he inherited from his brother Isaac (who died without children) a fortune and was able to expand it greatly during his life. While Venice
was under Austria
n rule, he received as an Austrian subject the title of Chevalier of the Order of Francis Joseph
. When Venice again became an Italian possession, Camondo, as a Venetian citizen, presented large gifts to several Italian philanthropic institutions, in recognition of which King Victor Emmanuel
conferred upon him the title of count, with the privilege of transmitting it in perpetuity to the eldest son of the family.
Count Camondo's career in the Ottoman Empire was an extraordinary one. He exercised substantial influence with the sultans Abd-ul-Mejid I and Abd-ul-Aziz, and over the Ottoman
grand vizier
s and ministers. He was banker to the Ottoman government before the founding of the Ottoman Bank
. He obtained from the Porte a firman extending the privilege of possessing real estate in the empire, which until then had been restricted to subjects of the Ottoman Empire, to foreign nationals.
Camondo was active in behalf of other Jews. He established in Constantinople a central consistory
for the Jews of the empire, of which he was almost continuously the president; he introduced reforms into the communal administration; and he founded in 1858 an educational institution, the Institution Camondo, at Peri Pasha, the poorest and most densely populated suburb of the capital. Shops for tailoring and shoemaking were soon added. On account of this school its benevolent founder was excommunicated by certain fanatical rabbis, and he endured otherwise much vexation; yet it flourished for thirty-two years and trained the majority of the Jewish officials then in the service of the Ottoman government.
Dying in Paris
at the age of eighty-eight, Camondo, according to his last wishes, was buried in his family vault in the Jewish cemetery in Hasköy
, Constantinople. The Ottoman government held memorial services in his honor.
----
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
-Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
financier and philanthropist and the patriarch of the Camondo family
Camondo family
The Camondo family was a prominent European family of Jewish financiers and philanthropists.Part of the Sephardic community in Spain, after the 1497 Spanish decree that ordered the expulsion of all Jews who refused conversion to Catholicism, the Camondo family settled in Venice...
.
He was born in Constantinople
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. In 1832 he inherited from his brother Isaac (who died without children) a fortune and was able to expand it greatly during his life. While Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
was under Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n rule, he received as an Austrian subject the title of Chevalier of the Order of Francis Joseph
Ritter
Ritter is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second lowest rank within the nobility, standing above "Edler" and below "Freiherr"...
. When Venice again became an Italian possession, Camondo, as a Venetian citizen, presented large gifts to several Italian philanthropic institutions, in recognition of which King Victor Emmanuel
Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia
Victor Emmanuel I was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1802 to 1821, and Jacobite Pretender from 1819 until his death.-Biography:...
conferred upon him the title of count, with the privilege of transmitting it in perpetuity to the eldest son of the family.
Count Camondo's career in the Ottoman Empire was an extraordinary one. He exercised substantial influence with the sultans Abd-ul-Mejid I and Abd-ul-Aziz, and over the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
grand vizier
Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
s and ministers. He was banker to the Ottoman government before the founding of the Ottoman Bank
Ottoman Bank
The Ottoman Bank was founded in 1856 in the Galata business section of İstanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, as a joint venture between British interests, the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas of France, and the Ottoman government.The opening capital of the Bank consisted of 135,000 shares,...
. He obtained from the Porte a firman extending the privilege of possessing real estate in the empire, which until then had been restricted to subjects of the Ottoman Empire, to foreign nationals.
Camondo was active in behalf of other Jews. He established in Constantinople a central consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
for the Jews of the empire, of which he was almost continuously the president; he introduced reforms into the communal administration; and he founded in 1858 an educational institution, the Institution Camondo, at Peri Pasha, the poorest and most densely populated suburb of the capital. Shops for tailoring and shoemaking were soon added. On account of this school its benevolent founder was excommunicated by certain fanatical rabbis, and he endured otherwise much vexation; yet it flourished for thirty-two years and trained the majority of the Jewish officials then in the service of the Ottoman government.
Dying in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at the age of eighty-eight, Camondo, according to his last wishes, was buried in his family vault in the Jewish cemetery in Hasköy
Hasköy, Istanbul
Hasköy is a neighborhood on the northern side of the Golden Horn in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey. It includes the officially defined neighborhoods of Keçeci Piri, Piri Paşa, and Halıcıoğlu, and parts of Camiikebir and Sütlüce....
, Constantinople. The Ottoman government held memorial services in his honor.
See also
- History of the Jews in TurkeyHistory of the Jews in TurkeyTurkish Jews The history of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey covers the 2,400 years that Jews have lived in what is now Turkey. There have been Jewish communities in Asia Minor since at least the 5th century BCE and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Spain were welcomed to the...
----