< h1 class= "ql-align-center" > best enemy: Europeans in the Ottoman elite</h1>
European Christians who converted to Islam in the Ottoman Empire were slandered as traitors who had defected to their enemies. But there is a big difference between official propaganda and the life experiences of these "traitors.".
Topkapi Palace, Istanbul. INTERFOTO/Alamy stock photo
More than 1598 Ottoman ships approached Sicily. Since attacks on the Italian coast were commonplace in the 16th and 17th centuries, the sight of ships must have been alarming. Just four years ago, a fleet fired the Calabrian port city of Reggio on both sides of the Strait of Messina. What if the "Turks" went back to more loot and more men, women and children were brought into slavery? The flagship was Admiral of the Ottoman Navy or Kapudanpaşa, Ciğalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha. This time, he had other intentions. Ciğalazade promised his son, as well as his two kitchens, as guarantors, asking the Governor of Sicily for permission to meet with some of the island's inhabitants. The admiral was originally born in Sicily, and what he longed to see was his mother and his relatives.
His Christian name, Scipione Cicala, is generally famous in European literature, Ciğalazade was born in 1544 and was the son of a Genoese nobleman and pirate ship. In 1561, he and his father were captured at sea by Barbary pirates and taken to the Ottoman capital, where Sipionne converted to Islam, took the name Yusuf Sinan and entered the school of Topkapi Palace. This training has enabled him to obtain senior positions in his service in the Sudan. In addition to having several governors in eastern Anatolia, Iraq and Syria, Ciğalazade twice served as kapudanpaşa (1591-5 and 1598-1604). In 1596, he was even appointed Great Minister, becoming the second most powerful man in the Ottoman Empire, albeit only for more than a month.
Ottoman Empire from Abraham Ortelius' Atlas, 1570. Everett collects historical/Aramee stock photos
Cicala's legacy endures. In Istanbul, the neighbor of Cağaloğlu (Turkish rendition of Ciğalazade in Persian, literally "son of Cicala") is named after the location of his former palace. In Europe, his memory still lives on in popular culture. In 1832, Johann Philipp Rehfues wrote a four-volume novel based on the life of admiral in honor of Sir Walter Scott. It was not until 1984 that the song, named Sinàn Capudàn Pascià, was commemorated by Italian singer-songwriter Fabriziode Andrè. The piece is noteworthy because the lyrics are of patrilineal ancestry of Ciğalazade mentioned in the Genoese dialect, although there is no indication that he had spent quite some time in the northern Italian city.
Ciğalazade is just one of many European Christians who embraced Islam and served the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire in the early modern period, but his story is in many ways the most famous of them. For his two predecessors as admirals of the Ottoman fleet: KılıçAli and Uluç Hasan Pashas, Parallels is most evident. Both were born in Italy – Ali of Calabria, Hassan of Venice – and entered the Ottoman Empire as captives of barbaric pirates. Rising through armies, first pirate ships, then the Ottoman navy, both gained power, influence and wealth. KılıçAliPasha is best known today for leading ottoman ships away from Christian rivals during the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, when he realized that the engagement would end in the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. Kapudanpaşa held office in the same year until his death in 1588. After a brief break of several weeks, the naval forces passed on to him his former protégé, Uluç Hasan Pasha. However, Scipione Cicala's path took him to Istanbul soon after his arrest, because of his father's reputation and status, and the fact that they were aristocrats, not commoners like Ali and Hassan.
CığalazadeYusufSinan Pasha。
In Istanbul, as well as in Tunisia and Tripoli, their Christian births make these people good partners. By the late 16th century, the European narrative of the Ottoman Empire had actually become a universal place, as The Venetian Matteozanne had done in 1594, declaring that all the most important affairs of the Empire—its military, government, and all its wealth—were entrusted to such traitors (literally, denial, i.e., apostates), because Christian Europeans disdainfully called these people these people. Recruitment through devşirme — a tax on notorious boys — ensured that most of the top echelons of Sudan's service converted to Islam. Of the 26 great Vizi people who served the Ottoman sultans in the 16th century, 22 converted to Islam from Christianity; Only four were sons of Muslim fathers (in turn, they may have embraced Islam later in life). Among the most famous converts were the first minister of Süleymanthe Magnificent, İbrahim (office 1523-36), Rüstem (1544-53) and Sokollu Mehmed Pashas (1565-79).
It is not surprising, therefore, that traitors inspire hatred. In the eyes of many of their former compatriots, they were apostates and traitors who had renounced true religion for the sake of Christian propaganda throughout Europe condemning the main enemy of Christianity. For example, Zane echoed the views expressed by his predecessors, denouncing the converts as "the most arrogant and evil people one can imagine." This sentiment also appears in narratives of travel and captivity, in which converts from Christian Europe are more striking than those from Christian communities in the Ottoman territories of Anatolia and the Balkans. For example, the Bohemian aristocrat Wratislaw of Mitrowitz described Ciğalazade as "the great enemy of Christians."
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So why did Ciğalazade want to meet his family in 1598? According to the British ambassador Henry Lello, there were rumors that the admiral was either considering a return to Christianity or wanted to bring his relatives to the Ottoman Empire. Pope Clement VIII had high hopes that the admiral would return to his "spiritual mother", the Catholic Church, and oppose the Sultan. While the hope that such a rebellion would destroy the Ottoman Empire and create a new Byzantium – this time ruled by a Catholic monarch – was entirely illusory, Clement took the prospect so seriously that he received financial and military support from the Spanish and Spanish kings. Holy Roman Emperor. The idea seemed to be that Ciğalazade and his supporters – whose numbers were grossly overestimated in Rome – would first control Istanbul and then gradually conquer the rest of the Ottoman Empire. Rudolf II will send troops to support the rebellion, while Philip II will send a kitchen fleet. In fact, Philip probably prepared a fleet of 50 ships for such an operation in 1603.
Turkish warships of the 16th century, carved by Melchior Lorichs. Lebrecht Music and Art Photo Library/Alamy Stock Photo Gallery
But the plot was never implemented, and Ciğalazade may not have known about it in the first place. It appears that the plan was proposed by Carlo, Ciğalazade's younger brother (who remained in Sicily) and his two Jesuit brothers in the family's strategy of pursuing social progress in Europe. In terms of plot, Carlo was promoted to a ruling rank of the Holy Roman Empire and was allowed to enter the Order of St. James of the Sword, to which his pirate father already belonged.
The second possibility Lello mentioned is not small either. In fact, the idea of bringing Ciğalazade's mother to the Ottoman Empire surfaced again and again for special reasons. As diplomatic reports demonstrate, her contemporaries were well aware that she was born an Ottoman Muslim. Her husband captured her during an attack on the Ottoman port city and converted to Christianity. Islamic law requires her to return to Muslim lands in order to have the opportunity to reaffirm Islam or otherwise accept punishment for apostasy.
Muhammad III
In fact, in November 1598 Sultan Mohammed III (1595-1603) issued an order to Karh to resolve her problems on The Sultan's territory after Sekarazad's return to Istanbul. Even Carlo's own continued adherence to Christianity was a matter of contention among the Ottoman elite. The order of Mehmed III was conscripted by his brother, the Admiral, to appoint the young Sikkala brothers ruler of the vassal principality of Naxos. The principality of the island was founded by a Venetian nobleman in the 13th century, but later fell into the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
Although Carlo never actually took over the post because he failed to successfully renegotiate the terms of his appointment, the sheer facts of the proposal call into question the still-popular concept of a clash of civilizations. After all, Carlo was the subject of the Spanish crown, the main competitor of the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean in the 16th century. So he was unlikely to accept the offer in this strategically important region, which called into question the validity of the anti-Ottoman rhetoric that was actively disseminated throughout Europe.
In fact, the traitor brother was far from Carlo's embarrassment. Instead, admirals will seek social progress as an ally and patron and a source of prestige as a valuable asset. Venetian sources reported unequivocally that the original idea for seeking Ottoman appointments was Carlo's. In order to fulfill his wish to cross the empire, he traveled to Istanbul as early as 1593, but was forced to return empty-handed, because his brother, as Zane said, would not support him. Perhaps the two men made plans for a return visit on this occasion.
Although such a visit was denied in 1594, prompting the attack on Reggio, four years later the Governor of Sicily approved Ciğalzade's request. His mother and other relatives were rowed out to sea to reunite with the Ottoman admiral on a boat off the coast of Sicily. While certainly a special occasion, it was just one of several encounters that Scipione Cicala and his family have encountered after the conversion.
Other converts also maintained this connection, providing funding, support and protection to their relatives abroad, sometimes even doing charity work in their former homes. In doing so, christian-European traitors behaved no differently than other members of the Ottoman elite, such as Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, who financed and sponsored public works in their birthplaces, obtained lucrative offices for their Muslim relatives in the sudan, and christian relatives in the Orthodox Church. Religious boundaries are more permeable in practice than the rhetoric implied by crusaders and jihadists.
While much of what we know about this permeable religious boundary is related to Italian-born traitors, it is a broader phenomenon. For example, in 1572, Adam Neuser, a theologian from Heidelberg, sought refuge in the Ottoman Empire. He clashed with local authorities over his views on Christ and his provocative positive attitude towards Sudan, both of which earned him a death sentence. After entering the territory of the Ottoman Empire, he accepted Islam and allegedly circumcised himself. A few years later, Neuser's son tried to reach the Ottoman capital, but was arrested by the Viennese authorities.
Colorful woodcut depicting the earthquake of Istanbul, May 10, 1556.
Neuser and some of his colleagues in Istanbul continued to socialize with friends and relatives in Christian Europe and compatriots in the Ottoman capital. The activities of European diplomats, in particular, relied heavily on these figures in the Ottoman elite. These men — which we rarely see a glimpse of converted women — have served as translators, daily diplomatic intermediaries, tour guides and information brokers, and even spies. For example, Neuser's collaboration with the Holy Roman Ambassador to Istanbul gave his son a place at the University of Vienna and a scholarship from the Emperor himself.
Despite the rhetoric of treacherous and unreliable traitors, both sides often have a vested interest in ignoring the hostile rhetoric that claims that Christians have become the death of Muslim society. Given their prominence in the number and status of the Ottoman Empire, pragmatic necessities required a more flexible approach. Countless Christian European-born Muslims deliberately seek companionship from their fellow citizens and women, and they are apparently reluctant to deny them. These converts did not become people without history. While sometimes it can be threatening — for example, when a conditional spy leaks sensitive information — their background and attachment are a resource of sufficient value for the Ottomans to justify this risk.
During this period, conversion was very important for the Ottomans, as they were outsiders, even foreigners, who spoke various languages and brought experience from regions outside the Sultanate realm. It is often claimed that aliens make these people ideal servants of the ruler because they lack other attachments and are therefore completely dependent on him. This view is not only naïve, but also ignores the idea that it is precisely the diversity and geographical distribution of its appendages – that remain dynamic within the technological sphere of pre-modern society – and from the Ottoman point of view, it constitutes their exoticism.