Marius Michel Pasha
Encyclopedia
Blaise-Jean-Marius Michel, Comte de Pierredon
(1819-1907), also known as Michel Pasha or Michel Pacha in French, was a French
architect
and lighthouse builder.
, Provence
, in 1819. He became a merchant navy officer and traveled frequently between Marseilles and the Near East
for the company Messageries Imperiales.
s along the coasts of the Ottoman Empire
. Napoleon, who was seeking to advance France's influence over the Ottoman Empire, put the proposal forward. Shortly before the end of the Crimean War
(1853-1856) in 1855, the French ambassador at the Sublime Porte, Antoine Thouvenel convinced Sultan
Abdülmecid I
(reigned 1839-1861) to construct lighthouses along the Bosphorus.
Michel became head of the Ottoman Lighthouse Authority. After the building of a number of lighthouses, he established his own firm "Collas and Michel Co." with another officer, Camille Colas (1819-1898). In 1860, the company negotiated the first concession contract, which was in particular strategic interest for the Ottoman Empire.
The company built lighthouses and charged the vessels passing by for the lighthouse service. The fees were collected through offices in the Empire. The high profits, making 73% of the revenues with an average FF 3.6 million in the period from 1862 to 1913, were shared between the company owners and the Ottoman state. Within the first twenty years, almost a hundred lighthouses were built across the empire with lantern lens
es imported from France.
Michel and Collas became very wealthy through this business. While Collas put his assets in the project of Jaffa–Jerusalem railway
, Michel invested in a seaside resort at the French Riviera
.
to modern design. In return, he obtained the honorary title of Pasha
from Sultan Abdülaziz
(reigned 1861-1876). He was further created a Chevalier of the légion d'honneur
by the Republic
in 1880, and Comte de Pierredon by Pope Leo XIII
in 1882.
As mayor of Sanary, he planned to turn the nearby area of Tamaris into a fashionable modern resort. Michel died, however, without seeing his project completed. Tamaris was part built with a casino, hotels, a marina, grand houses and around 20 unique villas built. Tamaris was built to be a holiday resort for well to do Parisians. It remains a little known but attractive and peaceful resort on the outskirts of La Seyne-sur-Mer
.
Comte de Pierredon
The French title Comte de Pierredon is currently held by Géraud Michel de Pierredon. Comte is a title of French nobility roughly equivalent to the English language title count.Other holders of the title include:*Marius Michel Pasha...
(1819-1907), also known as Michel Pasha or Michel Pacha in French, was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and lighthouse builder.
Early life
He was born in Sanary, near ToulonToulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, in 1819. He became a merchant navy officer and traveled frequently between Marseilles and the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
for the company Messageries Imperiales.
Lighthouse builder in the Ottoman Empire
Following a shipwreck accident in the eastern Mediterranean he was involved in, he wrote to the French Emperor Napoleon III (reigned 1848-1870), suggesting a network of lighthouseLighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s along the coasts of the 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...
. Napoleon, who was seeking to advance France's influence over the Ottoman Empire, put the proposal forward. Shortly before the end of the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
(1853-1856) in 1855, the French ambassador at the Sublime Porte, Antoine Thouvenel convinced Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Abdülmecid I
Abdülmecid I
Sultan Abdülmecid I, Abdul Mejid I, Abd-ul-Mejid I or Abd Al-Majid I Ghazi was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on July 2, 1839. His reign was notable for the rise of nationalist movements within the empire's territories...
(reigned 1839-1861) to construct lighthouses along the Bosphorus.
Michel became head of the Ottoman Lighthouse Authority. After the building of a number of lighthouses, he established his own firm "Collas and Michel Co." with another officer, Camille Colas (1819-1898). In 1860, the company negotiated the first concession contract, which was in particular strategic interest for the Ottoman Empire.
The company built lighthouses and charged the vessels passing by for the lighthouse service. The fees were collected through offices in the Empire. The high profits, making 73% of the revenues with an average FF 3.6 million in the period from 1862 to 1913, were shared between the company owners and the Ottoman state. Within the first twenty years, almost a hundred lighthouses were built across the empire with lantern lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
es imported from France.
Michel and Collas became very wealthy through this business. While Collas put his assets in the project of Jaffa–Jerusalem railway
Jaffa–Jerusalem railway
The Jaffa–Jerusalem railway is a railroad that connected Jaffa and Jerusalem. The line was built in Ottoman Palestine by the French company Société du Chemin de Fer Ottoman de Jaffa à Jérusalem et Prolongements and inaugurated in 1892, after previous attempts by the Jewish philanthropist Moses...
, Michel invested in a seaside resort at the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
.
Back in France
Returning to Sanary in 1872, he became Mayor, using part of his fortune to rebuild the harbor and the town church. In 1879, he came back to the Ottoman Empire, charged with rebuilding the harbor of ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
to modern design. In return, he obtained the honorary title of Pasha
Pasha
Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
from Sultan Abdülaziz
Abdülâziz
Abdülaziz I or Abd Al-Aziz, His Imperial Majesty was the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned between 25 June 1861 and 30 May 1876...
(reigned 1861-1876). He was further created a Chevalier of the légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
by the Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
in 1880, and Comte de Pierredon by Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
in 1882.
As mayor of Sanary, he planned to turn the nearby area of Tamaris into a fashionable modern resort. Michel died, however, without seeing his project completed. Tamaris was part built with a casino, hotels, a marina, grand houses and around 20 unique villas built. Tamaris was built to be a holiday resort for well to do Parisians. It remains a little known but attractive and peaceful resort on the outskirts of La Seyne-sur-Mer
La Seyne-sur-Mer
La Seyne-sur-Mer, or La Seyne is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is part of the agglomeration of Toulon, and is situated adjacent to the west of this city.-Economy:...
.