Diplomatic Cultures at the Ottoman Court, c.1500–1630 (Routledge Research in Early Modern History)

In the sixteenth century, the Ottoman court in Constantinople emerged as the axial centre of early modern diplomacy in Eurasia. Diplomatic Cultures at the Ottoman Court, c.1500–1630 takes a unique approach to diplomatic relations by focusing on how diplomacy was conducted and diplomatic cultures forged at a single court: the Sublime Porte. It unites studies from the perspectives of European and non-European diplomats with analyses from the perspective of Ottoman officials involved in diplomatic practices. It focuses on a formative period for diplomatic procedure and Ottoman imperial culture by examining the introduction of resident embassies on the one hand, and on the other, changes in Ottoman policy and protocol that resulted from the territorial expansion and cultural transformations of the empire in the sixteenth century. The chapters in this volume approach the practices and processes of diplomacy at the Ottoman court with special attention to ceremonial protocol, diplomatic sociability, gift-giving, cultural exchange, information gathering, and the role of para-diplomatic actors. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of Figures 8 List of Tables 9 List of Abbreviations 10 Note on Transliteration 12 Acknowledgements 13 Notes on Contributors 14 Introduction: Constantinople as a Centre of Diplomatic Culture 18 1 Persian Secretaries in the Making of an Anti-Safavid Diplomatic Discourse 44 2 Languages of Diplomatic Gift-Giving at the Ottoman Court 70 3 Art and Diplomacy: Pieter Coecke van Aelst’s 1533 Journey to Constantinople 102 4 Beyond Topkapı: Ottoman Diplomacy Through Venetian Eyes 126 5 The Foundation of Peace-Oriented Foreign Policy in the Sixteenth-Century Ottoman Empire: Rüstem Pasha’s Vision of Diplomacy 149 6 The Benefits and Limits of Permanent Diplomacy: Austrian Habsburg Ambassadors and Ottoman-Spanish Diplomacy in the Second Half of the Sixteenth Century 170 7 Without ‘Conformitie of Companie’: English Religious Identity and the Diplomatic Corps in Constantinople, 1578–1597 191 8 The Tricks and Traps of Ad Hoc Diplomacy: Polish Ambassadors’ Experiences of Ottoman Hospitality 211 9 Sociability and Ceremony: Diplomats at the Porte, c.1550–1632 234 Bibliography 260 Index 291 Introduction: Constantinople as a centre of diplomatic culture / Tracey A. Sowerby and Christopher Markiewicz -- Persian secretaries in the making of an anti-Safavid diplomatic discourse / Christopher Markiewicz -- Languages of diplomatic gift-giving at the Ottoman Court / Christopher Markiewicz and Tracey A.Sowerby -- Art and diplomacy: Pieter Coecke van Aelst's 1533 Journey to Constantinople / Talitha Maria G. Schepers -- Beyond Topkapı: Ottoman diplomacy through Venetian eyes / Maxwell Hudson -- The foundation of peace oriented foreign policy in the sixteenth-century Ottoman Empire: Rüstem Pasha's vision of diplomacy / Zahit Atc̦il -- The benefits and limits of permanent diplomacy: Austrian Habsburg ambassadors and Ottoman-Spanish diplomacy in the second half of the sixteenth century / Aneliya Stoyanova -- Without 'conformitie of companie': English religious identity and the diplomatic corps in Constantinople, 1578-97 / Daniel J. Bamford -- The trick and traps of ad hoc diplomacy: Polish ambassadors' experiences of Ottoman hospitality / Tetiana Grygorieva -- Sociability and ceremony: diplomats at the Porte c.1550-1632 / Tracey A. Sowerby This volume uncovers the diplomatic cultures of the Ottoman court in Constantinople as it emerged as the axial centre of early modern diplomacy in Eurasia by examining ceremonial protocol, diplomatic sociability, gift-giving, cultural exchange, information gathering, and para-diplomatic actors.