BONNEVAL, CLAUDE ALEXANDRE,' Count de, also called Achmed -Pasha, a French adventurer, whose history is very extraordinary. He was of a noble family at Coussac, in Limousin, in 1675; proved unmanageable at the Jesuit college: and was placed in the royal marine corps in his 13th year. Ile was transferred to the guards: served with great distinction in Italy and the Netherlands; but having been refused promotion, upon account of some excesses of which he had been guilty, lie behaved with great insolence to the minister at war, and was therefore condemned to death by a court martial. Foreseeing this result, he fled to Germany, where, upon the recommendation of prince Eugene, 'he obtained employment in the Austrian service. Ile now fought against his native country. distinguished himself by many daring exploits, was raised to the rank of lieut. tield-marshal, and bore a principal part under prince Eugene in the war between Turkey and Austria. But when residing at Vienna, after the peace of Passarowitz, he made himself very disagreeable to the prince, and was therefore sent, in 1723, as master-gen. of ordnance to the Netherlands, where he soon got into a scan
dalous quarrel with the governor, and was brought to trial, and condemned to death by a court-martial. The emperor commuted the sentence to one year's imprisonment; and upon condition of never again setting foot upon German soil, he was conveyed across the Tyrolese frontier. •went to Constantinople, was cordially welcomed, became a Mohammedan, took the name of Achmed, was made a pasha of three tails, was employed in organizing, the Turkish artillery after the European mariner, achieved as • general of a division of 20,000 men in the war of the Porte with Bussia, nIld arrested the victorious career of the Persian usurper, Thamasp Kull Khan. For this service. the sultan appointed him governor of Chios; but his own imprudence, and the envy of others, caused his removal from this office. He now thought of leaving died at Constantinople on 27th Mar., 1747. The memoirs published as his are spurious.