European Diplomacy and Ottoman Empire

The article traces the life of the 19th century German scholar and diplomat Andreas David Mordtmann (1811-1879). Mordtmann came to Istanbul in 1845. Until 1959 he was the official representative of the Hanseatic Cities, afterwards he entered the Ottoman state service and worked at a commercial court as a judge, in his last years he worked as journalist and highschool teacher. In numerous articles and books he gave first-hand accounts of state and society in the Tanzimat period, he portrayed the politicians that were in charge of the reform process and analysed the political and societal upheavals that went with it. The article focuses on Mordtmann´s intellectual develoment as he changed countries, jobs and affiliations.

A slightly extended version of the M.A. Thesis, Boğaziçi University, History Department, 2015.


The main concern of this study is to make a foreign policy analysis of the Ottomans, and to try demonstrating how policy-making might have affected the Ottoman take during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). Under light of former studies and primary evidence, I will try to prove that there were concrete instances of Ottoman military intervention in the war. Second, I’ll try to answer why the Ottoman Empire should be regarded as a player on the scene of this continental political crisis, even though they remained largely non-participant, by pointing out to the psychological effect of the Ottoman power on the European states, relying on contemporary diplomatic reports. Lastly, I present the study of a primary source:  The final ambassadorial report of Paul Strassburg, the envoy of Swedish King Gustav II Adolph in Constantinople in 1632 and 1633, is translated from its original Latin transcription and evaluated in its historical setting.

Quale ruolo ebbe Sidney Sonnino e il suo «Giornale d'Italia» nella campagna di stampa per la guerra Italo-Turca? Quale fu la posizione di Sidney Sonnino nelle scelte di politica coloniale italiana?
Questa ricerca intende ripercorrere la storia politica di un uomo e delle proprie creature di carta stampata. Il suo ruolo, per quanto non propriamente evidente, fu determinante in quasi tutte le imprese coloniali a cui l'Italia diede vita sin dai tempi della guerra in Eritrea e Somalia. Le questioni di opportunismo politico e quelle di orizzonti ideali di un uomo che fu centrale nella vita di un Regno d'Italia appena formato verranno analizzate grazie al supporto della letteratura critica, di una inedita revisione degli articoli del periodico romano fino a toccare dei brevi, seppur significativi, inediti del carteggio Sonnino-Bergamini conservati nell'archivio della Biblioteca comunale di San Giovanni in Persiceto. Altra supporto documentale saranno le lettere scritte da Sonnino, durante uno dei suoi brevi governi, al direttore della Banca d'Italia Bonaldo Stringher conservate nell'Archivio Storico della Banca d'Italia. Il lavoro è il frutto della tesi di laurea magistrale, di cui  stato relatore il Prof. Gianluca Fiocco (Tor Vergata) e co-relatori Prof.ssa Daniela Felisini (Tor Vergata) e William Mulligan (UCD).

This paper investigates the remarkable example of a cross-border family network of Turkuł/Turculeţ, a family of mercenaries, spies and nobles living on both sides of the Polish-Ottoman border at the end of the seventeenth century/beginning of the eighteenth century. Turkuł/Turculeţ played the role of cultural brokers, go-betweens, and mediators between the Danube Principalities of Walachia and Moldavia (and wider Ottoman Empire) and Poland-Lithuania.

The arrest in 1905 of Edward Joris, an anarchist from Antwerp who had settled in Istanbul, for his implication in the failed bomb attack on Sultan Abdülhamid II, created anxiety and embarrassment among Belgian foreign policymakers. Public opinion, on both the domestic and international front, demanded a firm response from Brussels to what was perceived as the unlawful incarceration of an innocent Belgian citizen. Belgian diplomats initially adopted an aloof attitude, not wanting to strain official relations with Istanbul, but this position quickly changed after Joris was condemned to death. An official request for the extradition of the convict was sent to Istanbul giving rise to a diplomatic conflict, which only reached a solution when the Sultan pardoned Joris in 1907. This unusual episode in the history of Belgo-Ottoman relations—Catholic conservatives defending a leftist bomber and jeopardizing the interests of Belgian capitalists in the empire—offers an ideal case to investigate core features of prewar Belgian diplomacy, while providing a powerful illustration of some of the inevitable excrescences that were a structural part of unequal treaty law in the Ottoman lands.

This dissertation investigates the manifold contacts and exchanges that took place between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Ottoman Empire between 1865 and 1914. Combining macro-level (foreign relations, trade, and finance) with micro-level analyses (interpersonal relations, discourses), it aims to construct a sociocultural history of the interactions between Belgian and Ottoman elites and their respective polities that places these interactions within the larger politico-economic context of the late nineteenth-century when the world was rapidly being transformed by the intertwined and disruptive forces of Western-centered imperialism and capitalism. The main actors focused on are traditional decision makers, as well as the non-state elites that inhabited the edges of the diplomatic world. A broad array of (non-state) oppositional actors is also studied. One elite social and vocational group occupies center stage in this research: Belgian and Ottoman field diplomats. The lives and careers of these professionals poignantly illustrate how fluid the boundaries were between the official and unofficial, the public and the private, and the so-called West and the non-West. The chief purpose of this study is to show, then, not only how state and economic interests structured the historical course of Belgian-Ottoman interrelations, but also how they were shaped by the plurality of interpersonal engagements between subjects of the two polities. In so doing, it aims to revise and complicate existing diplomatic historical narratives of Euro-Ottoman relations, which often depart from state-centric visions of historical change and focus lopsidedly on ‘high diplomacy’ and the so-called Eastern Question. The exploration of multiple individual stories permits us to amend and enrich such histories by showing how states interacted with each other through ‘real’ (often unofficial) people and private interests.

Finalist 2017 WHA Dissertation Prize for the best doctoral dissertation in world, global, or transnational history, awarded by the World History Association.

Abstract  This article examines the hitherto unexamined Ottoman Turkish text of the Capitulations granted to the British in 1641. As well as containing the articles governing Ottoman-British trade and diplomatic jurisdiction, the Capitulations con- tained a historical narrative that provided a formal record of diplomatic encounters and practices. By emphasising the importance of bringing tributary gifts and royal letters as a precondition for receiving the friendship of the sultans, the inclusion of the historical narrative within the treaty text presented an Ottoman worldview that saw the sultan at the top of a hierarchy of monarchical power, but also created a layered narrative of precedent that strengthened the rhetoric of alliance through an ancient friendship. In examining the text of the Ottoman Turkish and English versions of this treaty, including full translations of the historical narratives in an appendix, this article makes the case for viewing the Ottoman Capitulations not just as historical treaties, but as historical texts.


Keywords: Capitulations, Ahdname, Ottoman-British relations, historical narrative, diplomacy



Bu makale şimdiye kadar incelenmemiş 1641 yılında İngilizlere verilen ahdname-i hümayunun Osmanlıca metn ini incelenmektedir. Osmanlı-İngiliz tica-reti ve diplomatik nüfuz alanlarını düzenleyen maddeleri içermenin yanısıra, kapi-tülasyonlar diplomatik karşılaşmaların ve uygulamaların resmi kaydını ortaya koyan bir anlatıyı da barındırmaktaydı. Sultan'ın dostluğundan yararlanmak için hediyeler ve kraldan mektup getirmenin öneminin altını çizmek suretiyle, tarihsel anlatının ahdname metnine dahil edilmesi, Sultan'ı saltanat hiyerarşisinin tepesinde konum-landıran Osmanlı dünya görüşünü göstermekle kalmamakta, aynı zamanda kadim dostluk yoluyla ittifak retoriğini güçlendiren katmanlı bir öncelik anlatısı yaratmak-tadır. Tarihsel anlatıların tam tercümelerini zeylde vermek suretiyle bu ahdnamenin Osmanlıca ve Türkçe versiyonlarını inceleyen makalemiz, Osmanlı ahdnamelerini sadece tarihsel antlaşmalar değil, aynı zamanda tarihsel metinler olarak da görmek gerektiğini savunmaktadır.



Anahtar Kelimeler: Kapitülasyonlar, Ahdname, Osmanlı-İngiliz ilişkileri, tarihsel anlatılar, diplomasi

politikalarının önemli bir göstergesidir. Osmanlı yönetimi tarafından elçinin sınırda karşılanmasından Osmanlı başkentine kamusal girişine, sultan ve veziriazam huzurunda kabulüne, sunulan hediyelere ve tayinatına varıncaya dek XVIII. yüzyılın ikinci yarısında Osmanlı teşrifat geleneklerinin önemli bir örneği olarak ön plana çıkmaktadır. Aynı zamanda elçilik kabul seremonileri, Osmanlı yönetiminin bir elçi için gerek merkezde gerekse yerel idarecilerle koordinasyonu nasıl gerçekleştiğini, bir elçiyi ağırlamanın devlet daireleri arasında ne gibi hazırlıklar ve protokoller gerektirdiğini de sergilemektedir. Boscamp'ın elçiliğinin önemli sahnelerinin heyette yer alan ressam Kamsetzer tarafından resmedilmiş olması, XVIII. yüzyılda Babıali'nin yabancı elçilere uyguladığı teşrifatın ve yapılan merasimlerin canlı tasvirlerini görmeye imkân tanımaktadır. Bu bağlamda makale, Boscamp'ın elçiliğini hem Osmanlı hem Polonya arşiv kaynaklarına dayanarak incelemekte, detaylı bir biçimde Osmanlı yönetiminin protokol kaidelerini, önemli bir unsur olan hediyeleşmeyi ve elçiye verilen tayinatı konu edinmektedir. Çalışmanın gösterdiği üzere Boscamp, Babıali tarafından kadim teşrifat kuralları doğrultusunda ve iki ülke arasındaki ilişkilerin geliştirilmesine yönelik bir çabayla ağırlanmıştır. Ayrıca Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer'in çizdiği resimler, Sultan I. Abdülhamid ile birlikte dönemin önemli bürokratlarının nadide tasvirleri olarak dikkat çekmektedir. Abstract: Embassy of Karol

The article analyses selected letters from the exchange between the Ottoman Sultan Murat III and Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg in the 1570s. Sokollu Mehmed Paşa (Mehmed-paša Sokolović) wrote the letters on behalf of the Sultan while the Emperor was represented by his emissary (orator) at the High Porte, Joachim von Sinzendorf. Letters are a valuable source for the history of diplomatic relations between the two empires in the 16th century. They also offer interesting insights into the history of Habsburg-Ottoman warfare in Croatian early modern area. Introductory article provides context in which the letters were exchanged and elaborates on the military and political state of the affairs in the region. It is followed by the critical transcription of letters from German into Latin script and their translation into Croatian which aimed at the development of necessary terminology for the translation of similar documents which is still missing in the Croatian historiography. Introductory article and translation are supplemented by a rich critical apparatus.

This work offers a well-researched study of the border areas between the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and Iran focused on the period from the middle of the 19th century until the first part of the 20th century. This topic has received little attention from scholars, despite its obvious importance to the history of the Middle East. This volume successfully builds upon the work of Richard Schofield and Pirouz Mojtahed-Zadeh and their studies on the borders of Iran with neighboring states. The extensive use of archival material along with numerous published sources provides fascinating insights into this understudied topic.

This paper looks at ethnic cleansing as a geopolitical strategy of the Russian and Ottoman Empires as they clashed in the Caucasus and eastern vilayets of Ottoman Empire. I take interest in how imperial competition of Ottoman and Russian Empire produced genocidal policies that have changed the geopolitical situation in the Caucasus and eastern vilayets of the Ottoman Empire. After a comparative historical outline, I develop a claim that erasure and re-writing of space was the ultimate rationale behind the two genocides. Ottoman and Russian empires with their religious and ethnic diversity had to be erased so that Turkey and Russia with their uniformity could project and inscribe their national mythologies into the territories they have taken over. Finally, the paper assesses the geopolitical impact of these genocides on recurrent ethnic violence in Balkans and Caucasus and on creating obstacles to peace, security, political integration and economic development in these two regions.

Adviser: Tudor Dan Duzinschi Redactor: Mihaela Răducă Desktop publisher: Luminiţa Răducanu Cover: Manuela Oboroceanu First cover illustration: L'Illustrazione Italiana , 1913 -detail Fourth cover illustration: The Second Hague Peace Conference of 1907detail (postcard Rudolf Dinu collection) ISBN Editura Universităţii "Alexandru Ioan Cuza": 978-973-703-806-7 ISBN Beit casa editrice: 978-889-532-449-4

Émile de Borchgrave’s "Souvenirs diplomatiques de quarante ans" (1908) represent the first ‘ego-document’ ever published by a Belgian diplomat. De Borchgrave was one of prewar Belgium’s most prominent diplomats and a longtime confidant of King Leopold II. Between 1885 and 1892 he represented Belgium in Istanbul. There he was a privileged, yet often careful observer of Hamidian politics and Great Power rivalries in the Ottoman Empire. When retiring in 1908, de Borchgrave published his diplomatic recollections, but was promptly reprimanded by his superiors and forced not to bring it on the market. The book has been largely forgotten ever since. Reproduced here is an annotated version of the chapter on the diplomat’s stay in Istanbul, preceded by an introduction about his life and work.

Bamford, D.; Gábor Kármán & Lovro Kunčević (ed.s). The European Tributary States of the Ottoman Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. The Ottoman Empire and Its Heritage, no. 53. (Leiden - Boston: Brill, 2013)
Rosetta 18: 65 – 70.

MÜTERCİM HALÎMÎ EFENDİ1’NİN NOTLARI ÇERÇEVESİNDE SULTAN ABDÜLAZİZ’İN AVRUPA SEYAHATİ VE SONUÇLARI
(21 Haziran 1867 ‐ 7 Ağustos 1867)2

Özet
Sultan Abdülaziz ordusunun başında olmaksızın, Avrupa’yı sadece seyahat ve ikili ilişkiler kurmak amacıyla ziyaret eden ilk Osmanlı padişahıdır. Kırım Savaşı’nın üzerinden on seneden fazla bir zaman geçmiş ve bu arada Avrupa’da dengeler değişmişti.Sırbistan ve Girit isyanları tehlikeli bir boyut almıştı. Alî Paşa hukûmeti, üstadı Reşid Paşa gibi Fransa ve İngiltere’nin des‐ teğini almayı zorunlu görüyordu. III. Napoleon’un, Paris’de açacağı “Umûmî Fuar” bu amaç için önemli bir fırsattı.
Ortaköy Camii’nde Cuma Namazından sonra, görkemli törenlerle başlayan gezi 21 Haziran 1867 ‐ 7 Ağustos 1867 tarihleri arasında tam 46 gün sürmüştü. Sırasıyla Çanakkale Boğazı, Messina, Tulan’a varılmış, halkın büyük tezahüratı altında trenle Marsilya’ya gelinmiş, 30 Haziran’da Paris Garı’nda İmparator III. Napolyon tarafından törenle karşılanmıştır. 10 gün kadar Paris’de kalınmıştır. Daha sonra benzeri merasimler altında Manş Denizi geçilerek Dover Limanı’ndan İngiltere topraklarına ayak basılmıştır. Kraliçe Victoria kendisine İngiltere’nin en büyük nişanı olan “Dizbağı Nişanı” nı takdim etmiştir. Sultan Abdülaziz 23 Temmuz 1867’de Belçika’ya uğur‐ lanmış, Oradan da Viyana’ya geçmiş, burada da Prusya Kralıyla görüşmüştür. Daha sonra Vi‐ din‐Rusçuk‐Varna yoluyla seyahatine devam etmiş. Varna’da tekrar Sultaniye zırhlısına binerek 7 Ağustos 1867’de İstanbul’a dönmüştür.
Genel olarak bakıldığında; Sultan Abdülaziz’in Avrupa seyahati görünüş olarak oldukça muhte‐ şem ve parlak bir seyahattir. Uğradığı her ülkede Sultan ve maiyeti halkın gözlerini kamaştırmış, gazetelerin manşetlerini süslemişlerdir. Ancak değişen siyasî dengeler ve İngiltere’nin emperya‐ list zihniyeti yüzünden umut edilen siyasi sonuçlara ulaşılamamıştır.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Sultan Abdülaziz, Avrupa Seyahati, Halîmî Efendi, III. Napolyon, Kraliçe Victoria.

Halîmî Efendi: Bâbâlî’den yetişmiş ve Mabeyn-i Hümâyûn’a başkatip olmuştur. Bu görevde başarı gösterdiğinden “ikinci katiblik” görevine yükseltilmiştir. Daha sonra (h.1288/m.1871) yılında başkatib olmuştur. Bir yıl sonra Şûrâ-yı Devlet aza- lığına yükseltilmiştir.1875 yılında vefat etmiş ve Karacaahmet mezarlığına gömülmüştür. Mehmed Süreyya, Sicilli Osmânî, (İstanbul, 1311) v. II, 243.
Bu seyahatle ilgili özet bilgiler veren iki makalemiz, birbirinin devamı olarak daha once; Nejdet Gök, “The European Travelogue of Sultan Abdülaziz”, Turkish Area Studies Reviev -Bulletin of the Turkish Area Study Group ,I, (Spring 2003), London, p.28-33. Ve Nejdet Gök, “Sultan Abdulaziz’s Visit to Europe in the Light of the Notes of Halimi Efendi” , Turkish Area Studies Reviev-Bulletin of the Turkish Area Study Group, II, (Autumn 2003), London, p.33-38. Başlıkları al- tında İngilizce olarak yayınlanmıştı. Ancak her iki yazıda sadece Halîmî Efendi’nin seyahat notları üzerinde durulmuş, devrin siyasi durumu, Abdülaziz devrinin genel özellikleri ve politikası üzerinde ayrıntılara değinilmemişti. Bu konular de- taylı bir biçimde bu yazımızda ele alınmaya çalışıldı.

Doç.Dr.,NecmettinErbakanÜniversitesiSosyal veBeşeriBilimlerFakültesiTarihBölümüBaşkanı[email protected]
THE PURSUIT OF HISTORY
‐INTERNATIONAL PERIODICAL FOR HISTORY AND SOCIAL RESEARCH‐
Year: 2012, Issue: 7 Page: 165‐188
1 6 6 • T H E P U R S U I T O F H I S T O R Y I N T E R N A T I O N A L P E R I O D I C A L F O R H I S T O R Y a n d S O C IA L R E S E A R C H • 4 / 7
THE EUROPE TRIP OF SULTAN ABDÜLAZIZ IN THE WORKS OF TRANSLATOR HALÎMÎ EFENDI (From June 21, 1867 to August 7, 1867)
Abstract
Sultan Abdülaziz was the first Ottoman Sultan who formally visit Europe ‐not leading the army‐ and for the sole purpose of travel and to set up bilateral relations. The balance of power has shifted around in Euro‐ pe following the ten years process after Crimean War. Serbian and Crete uprisings had become a substan‐ tial threat. Ali Pasha Government felt obliged to receive support from France and England as the former Reşid Pasha also did. Therefore, “General Fair” which was to be opened in Paris by Napoleon III was a crucial opportunity.
The trip which began with pompous celebrations after the Friday noon prayer at the Grand Imperial Mosque lasted 46 days (From June 21, 1867 till August 7, 1867). The royal ensemble travelled through Dardanelles, Messina and arrived at Tulan, and travelled to Marseilles by train accompanied by cheering crowds. They were welcomed by Emperor Napoleon III on June 30th, at the Paris Train Station. The en‐ semble stayed in Paris for ten days. Afterwards, The Sultan crossed the English Channel and arrived at British soil at Port of Dover. Queen Victoria presented him with The Order of The Garter. Sultan Abdüla‐ ziz set off to Belgium on July 23rd, 1867 and travelled to Vienna where he met with the Prussian King. The Sultan travelled to Varna via Vidin and Ruse. He returned to Istanbul on August 7th, 1867 on naval ship Sultaniye.
Overall, Sultan Abdülaziz’s Europe trip appeared to be a rather pompous and shiny one. The Sultan and the ensemble appeared at the top news and caught the eyes of the people all over. However expected political goals were not achieved as a result of colonial ambitions of England and shifting political powers in Europe.
Key Words
Sultan Abdul Aziz, The European Travelogue, Halimi Efendi, Napoleon III, Queen Victoria.

Les premiers pas de la pénétration consulaire française en Bulgarie : le consulat de Varna. – in : Enjeux politiques, économiques et militaires en mer Noire (XIVe – XXIe siècles). Edudes à la mémoire de Mihail Guboglu. Sous la direction de Faruk Bilici, Ionel Cândea, Anca Popescu, Braïla (Roumanie), 2007, p. 677-702.

Ivan ROUSSEV

Résumé: L’article présente l’histoire du consulat français à Varna pendant le 19e siècle. C’est la première résidence consulaire française sur le littoral ouest de la mer Noire, crée encore en 1802 mais sans être instaurée dans la ville pontique pendant la première période de son existence (jusqu’au 1814) à cause de difficultés différentes – des guerres, l’instabilité à l’intérieur du pays (des émeutes des ayans), la manque de motivation des consuls français de voyager pour Varna. La deuxième période dans l’histoire du vice-consulat français à Varna commence aux années 1840 grâce aux nouvelles meilleures conditions pour commerce des grains dans la région.

La recherche est réalisée sur une riche base des documents, conservés aujourd’hui dans les fonds des Archives diplomatiques du Ministère des Affaires étrangères de la République Française à Paris et du Centre des Archives diplomatiques à Nantes.

Vienna, a place for Ottoman diplomacy in 18th century Europe

Vienna was one of the main sites of 18th century European diplomacy. Due to relations between Austria and the Ottoman Sultanate, it became a key place for producing and broadcasting political news related to the Porte, as well as a predominant place of sociability for the envoys of the Sultan, favouring the social rise of administrators feeding the clientele of ministers in power. Indeed, the notion of a diplomatic place enables us to move away from the classical history of international relations restricted to the dialectics of conflict and toleration. 18th century Vienna can thus no longer be considered as a stronghold against the Orient or as a door opening onto it, in so far as the Orient constitutes an obvious topic of the cultural and social history of the imperial Residence.

Wien als osmanischer diplomatischer Platz im Europa des 18. Jahr- hunderts

Wien ist im Europa des 18. Jahrhunderts einer der wichtigsten diplo- matischen Plätze. Die Beziehungen zwischen Österreich und dem otto- manischen Sultanat erlauben uns, die Stadt als einen Ort der Anhäufung und Produktion von pfortenspezifischen Informationen zu untersuchen, als Ort einer privilegierten Soziabilität der Gesandten des Sultans und des Aufstiegs neuer Verwalter, die die Klientelen der amthabenden Minister verstärken. Der Begriff des diplomatischen Platzes erlaubt uns, aus einer Geschichte herauszutreten, die sich auf die Dialektik von Konfrontation und Toleranz beschränkt, und eine Praxis der internationalen Beziehun- gen herauszuarbeiten. Aus dieser Sicht ist die Stadt weder eine Bastion noch ein Tor zum Orient: der Orient ist ein Objekt ihrer Geschichte und ein Schlüssel, der es dem Historiker erlaubt zu begreifen, wie sie als Resi- denzstadt funktioniert.