2. Ambassadors

 

The project also includes a section which enlists the register data of the Ottoman envoys and ambassadors in the 18th Century European states, and the European envoys and ambassadors in the 18th Century Ottoman Constantinople. This study maps the most essential data (as far as it is available) relevant to diplomats, data on the state and the regime they belong to, data on the rulers by whom and to whom the diplomats are sent on mission, the data on the diplomats themselves, their diplomatic title, place and duration of their residency, reason for their mission (where available), as well as the bibliographic data together with comments (where available) at the end.

 

The bibliographical data lays out the key researchers, scholars and authors who wrote on Ottoman and European ambassadors, those we mostly benefited from in this study: Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall (1833) , Geschichte des Osmanischen Reiches I-X , vol. IX, has been for this study the key source, as Hammer-Purgstall is the first scholar who wrote the history of the Ottoman Empire as an eyewitness to Ottoman political, diplomatic and social life, and as he provides the earliest source known to us on diplomatic registers of the Ottomans .

 

The key authors and scholars with regard to their research focii in our context are as follows in chronological order of publication years:

1833   Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall  Index of the Ambassadors to The Sublime Porte from Fifty States including Europe, Asia and Africa

1932  Tommaso Bertele Bailos and ambassadors of the Venetian Republic in La Fulgida Porta between 15th-20th Centuries (until 1929) 

1936  Bertold Spuler  European diplomats in Istanbul until the Treaty of Belgrade in 1739

1946  Faik Reşit Unat Ottoman ambassadors to Asian and European States between 15th-20th Centuries until the establishment of permanent embassies in 1835, Ottoman ambassadors to Great Britain between 18th-20th Centuries and to Russia between 16th-19th Centuries, Russian envoys to the Sublime Porte between 15th-19th Centuries, British ambassadors in Istanbul between 16th-20th Centuries, Ottoman ambassadors to Persia between 16th -19th Centuries , Persian envoys to Istanbul between 16th-19th Centuries

1971  Stanford Jay Shaw  First Ottoman resident ambassadors under Selim III's reign

1986  Erwin Matsch Diplomats of the Habsburg Monarchy / Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1720-1920

1991  Michael Hochedlinger The French-Turkish relations between 1525-1792 (unpublished doctoral thesis)

1995  Jean-Michel Casa  French ambassadors to l'Empire Ottoman between 1525-1991

2000  Sture Theolin Swedish envoys and ambassadors in the Ottoman Empire between 1630-1998

Karl Teply (o.J.) diplomats of the Habsburg Monarchy to the Sublime Porte between 16th-18th Centuries

2001   Eveline Markom Austrian diplomatic relations to the Ottoman Empire in 18th Century (unpublished masters thesis)

2002  Marlies Hoenkamp-Mazgon Dutch diplomatic representatives in Turkey from 1612 until today, Dutch Consuls General in Istanbul from 1936 until today, Ottoman ambassadors and envoys in The Hague from 1855 until today

2004  Uygur Kocabasoglu  British envoys, ambassadors and consuls in the Ottoman Empire between 1580-1900

2004  Ömer Kürkçüoglu in Nuri Yurdusev (ed.) Adoption of Ottoman Permanent Diplomacy under Selim III

2007  Alexander H. de Groot  Political, Economical, Social and Cultural Relations of the Netherlands and Turkey between 16th-20th Centuries

(o.J.)  Karl Teply  Diplomats of the Habsburg Monarchy to the Sublime Porte between 16th-18th Centuries

 

a. On Collecting Data

Certainly there are also cases where we benefited from the friendly support of present-day foreign ministry archives, embassies in Ankara and consulates in Istanbul. These institutions were pleased to hear about and showed interest in this research, with only a few of them providing the complete list of their ambassadors in Istanbul.

 

b. A Risky Job - Laying Out History

The research of European and Ottoman diplomats originally began with the focus of 18th Century, but as the research continued deeper, it became clear that it would be unfair to restrict the data only to the eighteenth and exclude the other centuries. Therefore, the layout of European-Ottoman diplomatic exchange has considerably expanded, as far as the research allowed. However, the extent of data differs from state to state; for instance, the diplomatic history of three Italian Republics Florence, Genoa, Venice in Istanbul dates back as far as the mid-fifteenth century (1444, 1451, 1453), whereas for Kingdom of Prussia, anf then Kingdom of Germany as well as Saxony, which also belonged to the Holy Roman Empire; only limited data starting with nineteenth century (1877) has been so far available. This might be considered to create a certain inconsistency; therefore dealing with the collected data in mapping the diplomatic history can be rather complex and demanding.

 

c. The Table of Ottoman-European Diplomats

This study comprises the compilation of all the European ambassadors on mission as well as the locations of the embassies during the 18th Century in the Capital of the Ottoman Empire, Data for the following states are already available: Republic of Florence (1444-1578), Republic of Genoa (1451-1704), Republic of Venice (1453 -1797), England (1506-1856), Spain (1519-2008), Holy Roman Empire (1521-1806), France (1525-2008), Netherlands (1612-1923), Sweden (1630-2008), Poland (1414-1790 and from 1700-1774), Russia (1701-1802), Romania (1859-2008), German Empire (1877-1918). Data collection for the states Denmark, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland is yet in progress.

 

The study also covers the data for all Ottoman ambassadors in European Capitals including Russia and the Italian states in history, also covering the 18th Century. The following benchmark data are already available: Ottoman envoys sent to: Republic of Venice (1417-1720), Poland (1443-1778), Hungary (1443- ? )Republic of Florence (1487-?), Kingdom of Naples (1494-1741), Russia (1518-1833), Holy Roman Empire (1535-1806), Austrian Empire (1806-1867), Habsburg Monarchy (1867-1918); Austria (1918-2008) France (1559-1845), England (1619-1952), Netherlands (1629-1687), Sweden (1727-1731), Prussia (1763-1796), Spain (1649-1786).

 

This two-faceted research and layout well gives way to a comparative angle within the study; thus it will be possible to make evaluations of the background of the political relations of Ottomans with European states. A survey of the diplomatic history of Ottomans as well as the European states will also therefore be possible to compare. Furthermore, it will also be possible to compare the eras of Ottoman Sultans and European Kaisers/Kings. Special emphasis is given to the embassies of the three emperors:

1. Those of the Sultan / Caliph's,

2. Those of the Russian Tsar's,

3. Those of the Holy Roman Emperor.

 

Ottoman & Austrian Aspects of Diplomacy: It is about diplomacy which acted in the historical connection process of, or better to put it, in the approximation, the approaching of the two powers: the first document known as ambassadorial report in the Ottoman State is the report of Haci Zaganos (d. 1462) who was sent to Vienna in mid-fifteenth century, whereas the first Ottoman envoy to Vienna is officially known as Memiş Çavuş sent in 1535. (Faik Resit Unat, Osmanli Sefirleri ve Sefaretnameleri Ankara 1968, p.43)