Letter from Fr. Pavao Vučković from Captivity in Urfa (Edessa) in 1699

Sudbina ramsko-sinjskih franjevaca koji su se 1698. na svome imanju u Čitluku pokraj Sinja suprotstavili osmanskoj vojsci koju je predvodio Mustafa-paša Daltaban relativno je dobro poznata iz kroničarskih opisa. Većina fratara izgubila je život, a gvardijan ramskog, tj. sinjskog samostana fra Pavao Vučković odveden je u osmansko sužanjstvo. O njegovoj se sudbini ipak dugo nije ništa znalo, tako da je pismo, otkriveno u proljeće 2015. u Državnom arhivu u Veneciji, koje je on poslao iz zatočeništva u Urfi (danas Şanlıurfa u Turskoj, nekoć drevna Edesa), prekinulo dugo razdoblje strepnje oko njegove sudbine. Pismo je fra Pavao uputio svome bratu, serdaru Tadiji, zatim sinovcima, rodbini i prijateljima. Više je zanimljivih okolnosti koje su pismom rasvijetljene, a neke prethodne tvrdnje o njegovoj sudbini poslije zarobljavanja dovedene su u pitanje.The fate of the Rama-Sinj Franciscans who opposed the Ottoman army led by Mustafa-pasha Daltaban on their property in Čitluk near Sinj in 1698 is relatively well known from chronicle descriptions. Most of the friars lost their lives, and the Guardian of the Rama, i.e. Sinj monastery, Fr. Pavao Vučković, was taken into Ottoman captivity. However, nothing was known about his fate for a long time, so the letter discovered in the spring of 2015 in the State Archives in Venice, which he had sent from captivity in Urfa (today Şanlıurfa in Turkey, once ancient Edessa), interrupted a long period of anxiety about his fate. Fr. Pavao sent a letter to his brother, Serdar Tadija, then to his nephews, relatives and friends. There are several interesting circumstances that have been clarified in the letter, and some previous claims about his fate after being taken prisoner, have been called into question