The mighty Pasha of Yanina, Haydée's father, betrayed by a trusted French officer and butchered by the Sultan's men—his fortune the price of that treason.
Ali Tepelini, the illustrious Pasha of Yanina 'before whom Turkey trembled,' is recalled through the memories of his daughter Haydée. Ruling with the device 'They hate me; then they fear me,' he dispensed life and death with a word—'Kill' or 'Pardon.' When the garrison of Yanina treated with the Seraskier Kourchid, sent by the Sultan for his head, Ali withdrew with his wife Vasiliki and child to a lake kiosk stocked with millions in gold and thirty thousand pounds of powder, over which his favorite Selim stood ready to blow all to atoms. Trusting a French officer whom he sent to Constantinople, Ali awaited the Sultan's firman; but the officer betrayed him.
A false pardon lured Selim into showing the ring and lowering his guard, Kourchid's soldiers cut Selim down and stormed the kiosk, and Ali—laughing, firing his pistols, scimitar in hand—was overwhelmed and hacked to death 'in a whirlwind of fire and smoke.' His head was set over the imperial gates at Constantinople; his family was sold into slavery and his treasure seized. His fortune became the traitor's reward, tying his fate darkly to Fernand.
A majestic aged Albanian chieftain with a long white beard reaching his girdle, splendid robes, and a diamond-hilted scimitar, his brilliant eyes commanding instant obedience.
The betrayed Pasha of Yanina whose destruction underlies the count's vengeance on Morcerf.