BADIA Y LEBLICH, ba-d6':1 6 1:1-blech', DOMINGO (1766-181s), known also by the name Ali-Bei-el-Abbassi. A Spanish traveler. He was born at Barcelona, and studied the Arabic lan guage, physical science, and mathematics at Valencia. Partly out of personal curiosity and partly as an emissary of the Spanish Government, he determined to visit the Barbary States in the disguise of a Mussulman. He went for a short time to London to study commerce and politics, and spared no labor to make himself familiar with the manners and customs of the people he was about to visit. In 1803 he sailed for Africa, where he represented himself, under the name of Ali-Bei, as a descendant of the Abbassides. His talents gained for him such esteem that he was invited to the court of the Emperor of Fez and Morocco. After a two years' residence in Morocco, he set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca in ]S05, and after sojourning some time in Tripoli, Cyprus, and Egypt, arrrived at the 'holy place' in 1807, being the first Christian to visit it since the institution of Islam. Subse
quently he visited Jerusalem and the chief places in Palestine and Syria, and in the autumn of 1807 arrived at Constantinople, whence he had soon to thee, the reality of his Mohammed anism being suspected. His long journey had been a hold masquerade, carried out with exqui site, art. lie deceived Moslem emperors and seholars; and in Cairo, Chateaubriand spoke of him as the most cultured and polished Mussul man he had ever met. After his return to Spain he was made intendant of Segovia and Prefect of Cordova by Joseph Bonaparte. On the expul sion of the French, Ali was compelled to leave the country. Be went to Paris, where in 1814 he published an account of his travels, under the title Voyages d'Ali-Bei en Afrique et cm Asie pendant les a•nees 1803-07. The work was trans lated into the principal European languages.
Four years after the publication Badia y Leblieh set off on another journey to the East, but died suddenly at Aleppo.