A
French Jew and relative of
Herz Cerfbeer of Medelsheim, he was born in
Strasbourg,
France, and held office in
Westphalia under the name of "
Medelsheim". He led an erratic and adventurous life, wandering the world and changing both his name religion several times. Cerfberr joined the
Ottoman army as a mercenary, and converted to Islam, adopting the name
Ibrahim Mansur Effendi. In 1813, he fought against the rebel
Serbs in the
Eyalet of Bosnia, serving alongside
Osman Gradaščević in the district of
Zvornik; the Serbs were eventually defeated after the arrival of the Ottoman
Grand Vizier Hursid Pasha later that year. At the end of the war, he wandered throughout the East, sojourned for a time in Austria and
Nafplio. Between 1816 and 1819, he served in the army of
Ali Pasha of Ioannina. On his return home, Cerfberr published a work entitled ''Mémoires sur la Grèce et l'Albanie Pendant le Gouvernement d'Ali-Pacha'' (1826). ==Work==