Venice’s Ceremonial Treatment of the Ottoman and Safavid Envoys in Comparative Perspective
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Date
2020
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Abstract
Taking a comparative perspective and drawing on the
documents from the Venetian State Archives, the paper attempts
to examine a ceremonial treatment of the Ottoman and Safavid
diplomats in Venice. Both the Ottoman and Safavid envoys
usually were graciously received in Venice. However, the degree of
the Venetian hospitality was subject to changes and varied in
accordance to the importance of the incoming mission and overall
nature of its relations with the Ottomans and Safavids. It appears
from the receptions of the Ottoman and Safavid diplomats in
Venice that during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries,
the ceremonial positions of the sultan’s envoys were equal or
mostly above that of the Qızılbaş representatives. As it is evident
from the Safavid Asad bey’s case in 1600, in its treatment of the
Safavid envoys, Venetian government pursued a cautious policy
and tried not to antagonize the Ottomans. Furthermore, the
Ottoman factor had enduring impact both on the nature and on
the dynamics of the Safavid-Venetian relations.
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Keywords
Safavid-Venetian relations, Ottoman-Venetian relations, Safavid envoys