The Ambassador as Third Party: Busbecq’s Summary Account for the Year 1559 (original) (raw)
Related papers
Representation and Self-Consciousness in 16th Century Habsburg Diplomacy in the Ottoman Empire
Akten des internationalen Kongresses zum 150-jährigen Bestehen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung, Wien, 22.-25. September 2004, 2005
This paper focuses on one particular aspect of political and cultural contacts between the Ottoman and Habsburg Empires that has received little attention, namely the representation of 16th century Habsburg embassies during their stay abroad. This element is closely linked with the way in which the Habsburg rulers saw themselves and vigorously tried to create an image of their monarchy. The first impression of a prince, as Machiavelli pointed out in his 'De principatibus', is determined by the impression one gets from the men in his environment. At least in the 16th century, this adage was incessantly applied by Habsburg rulers in maintaining diplomatic contacts with other monarchs. Not only did they instruct their envoys to pay a great deal of attention to this aspect of their mission, but also the envoys exerted themselves to maintain their ruler's 'réputation', both visually and verbally. Recent research has shown that a cultural interpretation of diplomacy can shed light on the way in which two radically different cultures interacted. Christian Windler has successfully applied this model of interpretation to the 18th century relations between France and Algiers. Diplomacy is here seen as an element of representation of the State, of its values, its monarch and its culture and the diplomats as the more important actors in this process. The great value attached to reputation and physical appearance by both the Ottomans and the Habsburgs must be understood within the context of a slowly evolving modus vivendi of diplomatic relations wherein, in this century, no rules or protocol had been set and wherein both parties tried to enforce new regulations and modes of conduct. The paper reflects upon the cultural relevance of representation, using examples from 16th century Habsburg embassies in the Ottoman Empire. Aspects which are discussed are the material equipment of Habsburg envoys (clothing, horses, gifts, etc), the verbal communication (the envoy's oratio for example), conflicts over formal hierarchy with both Ottoman dignitaries and Christian colleagues and, finally, iconographic material. All these aspects were equally important for rulers and diplomats to create an image of the embassy in particular and the relations between the Emperor and the Sultan in general. By interpreting its place in Early Modern culture, the lecture also tries to show the historical relevance of the discussed themes and offer a broader view on the subject, together with outlining some possible thoughts for future research.
Extract from PhD research, based on original archival research, 2015
Analysis of the intricate selection process of envoys, couriers and resident diplomats of the Habsburg monarchs to the Ottoman Empire. Although far from a strict procedure, candidates were chosen throughout the century based on a handful of criteria. This paper describes the process and the factors that had an impact on it. The paper shows how Ottoman preference towards certain diplomatic competences and the trust placed in the dragomans directly and indirectly changed the selection process. It also demonstrates how Hungarian magnates struggled to strengthen their influence on Habsburg-Ottoman diplomacy. Lastly, it describes which measures were taken to cope with the chronic shortage of suitable candidates.
Journal of Early Modern History, 2018
In 1580-1581, the Austrian Habsburg ambassador to the Ottoman court shared news of a remarkable letter and self-portrait that had arrived from an Ottoman subject in Habsburg captivity. Tracing the scramble for details on the matter and its import for Habsburg-Ottoman diplomacy reveals the structure, contours, and challenges of the Habsburg mission in Constantinople. The article argues that the image and the accompanying letter may be a forgery seeking to place the ambassador and the peace he was to uphold in jeopardy. Instead, the ambassador himself was captive to the factions, rivalries, and shifting loyalties in the borderlands that played out in the diplomatic culture of Ottoman Constantinople. This reveals the possibilities, limits, and ranges of control that early modern resident ambassadors had of their missions.
Austrian History Yearbook, 2024
The Treaty of Zsitvatorok, signed between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans in 1606, has long been accepted as a watershed in the relations between the two dynasties. Nevertheless, interest in its influence on diplomatic practices has flourished only recently. Focusing on the elaboration of new diplomatic traditions, such as the growing retinue sizes, use of titles for Ottoman ambassadors, and exchange of embassies at the border, this study argues that the post-Zsitvatorok period was marked by the Austrian insistence on, and reluctant Ottoman acceptance of, parity and reciprocity. By relying on the reports of Johann Rudolf Schmid von Schwarzenhorn, the Austrian resident representative in Istanbul, it closely scrutinizes the selection and prep- aration of the Ottoman ambassador (Rıdvan Agha) to Vienna in 1633. The article argues that the terms in the Zsitvatorok Treaty prompted the Ottoman diplomatic mechanism to refine itself in its dealings with the Austrian Habsburgs in the seventeenth century, encouraging the Ottomans to accept elements of modern diplomacy long before the establishment of Ottoman resident embassies in Europe at the turn of the nine- teenth century.
Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 2000
This study concerns itself with the first Imperial Envoy Gerard Veltwijck (ca. 1500—1555), who negotiated with the Ottoman Sultan Süleymān. Using newly discovered as well as recently published sources, it will focus on the part this diplomat of Charles V played in the negotiations with the Sublime Porte and on the considerable problems the French King and his representatives in Istanbul experienced during the talks. The Most Christian King thus became a victim of his ambivalent foreign policy while his alliance with the Sultan experienced a severe crisis. Finally, this study tries to demonstrate the impact of a diplomatic sojourn in the Levant for the envoy, as such a mission was very often followed by a considerable and far from only financial reward.
Vjeran Kursar (ed.), Life on the Ottoman Border. Essays in Honour of Nenad Moačanin, Zagreb: FF press, 2022
This paper will focus on the emotionological analysis of selected Latin diplomatic reports written by Antun Vrančić (1551-1617) and Franciscus Zay (1498-1570), Habsburg envoys who negotiated a peace-treaty with Sultan Süleyman I and his Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha between 1553 and 1557. Besides narrative representations of various emotional styles and states of diplomatic actors on both sides which range from hope and pride to anger and frustration, due analytical attention will also be paid to manifestations, functions and meanings of simulatio, dissimulatio and amicitia as typical features of early modern diplomatic practice. The paper will in this way provide an outline of a new diplomatic emotionology as a potentially useful heuristic model for the new actor-centred diplomatic history.
A Special Form of Diplomatic Encounter: Negotiations in Constantinople (1625–1626)
The Hungarian Historical Review, Volume 12 No. 2 2023, 224-247., 2023
In this article, I present a case study of a special form of diplomatic encounter that took place as secret negotiations between the resident ambassadors of France, England, Holland, and Venice and the Transylvanian envoys in Constantinople in 1625–1626 about a prospective alliance between Prince Gábor Bethlen and the anti-Habsburg powers during the Danish phase of the Thirty Years’ War. My analysis of this special form of negotiation offers a comprehensive overview of the practices deriving from the most characteristic circumstances and setbacks of diplomatic activity in Constantinople, i.e., what solutions (if any) were found to resolve problems of precedence, information brokerage, poor economic conditions, and bribery and corruption. I address, furthermore, the private interests of the participating Transylvanian diplomats and consider the extent to which these interests corresponded to the interests of their sending polity and especially of Gábor Bethlen. My discussion sheds light on the ways in which, in general, everyday challenges and networks of relations in Constantinople influenced the diplomacy of small states in the Ottoman orbit, specifically Transylvania in this case, when entering into an alliance with major powers outside the bonds of their Ottoman tributary status.