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Abstract
This article provides an overview of the Tuscan information network on Safavid Persia, paying particular attention to the first decades of the seventeenth century. Since Tuscany established diplomatic relations with Persia in an anti-Ottoman spirit, the issue of how the grand dukes were able to obtain information on Persia was also of primary importance. This was because important strategic and diplomatic decisions in the eastern Mediterranean could also depend on the situation in Persia, particularly the military one. Through the analysis of largely unpublished documentation, this article aims to clarify, at least in part, the functioning of the information network concerning Persia, as part of the Tuscan Eastern network, especially focusing on the issue of informers. This will also provide some insights into the evolution of the Persian (and Levantine) information network of Medici Tuscany and on (almost) all the grand dukes’ men involved in it.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Ignacio García de Paso and Kurosh Meshkat for reading the first draft of this text and for their helpful suggestions. This article is drawn from the second chapter of my PhD dissertation entitled “Granducato di Toscana e Persia Safavide. Informazione, politica e diplomazia mediterranea e levantina nel XVII secolo.”
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. It must be specified that even in the thirteenth century, at the time of the Ilkhanids, Iran assumed a certain importance in the eyes of the Europeans, albeit in an anti-Mamluk function.
2. On early information on the Safavids and the rise to power of the new dynasty under Shāh Ismāʿil I, see Meserve, “The Sophy,” 579–608.
3. An exhaustive example of the Venetian intelligence system employed to obtain information on the wars between the Ottomans and Persians maybe found in Palazzo, “The Battle of Chaldiran,” 849–69. On Venice as a gateway to information on Persia, see Rota, Under Two Lions. See also the recent study by Guliyev, “Venice’s Knowledge of the Qizilbash,” 79–97.
4. On relations between Tuscany and Persia, see the recent work by Trentacoste, “The Marzocco and the Shir o Khorshid,” 21–41. On the decline and fall of the Safavids, see Matthee, Persia in Crisis.
5. Gürkan, “Espionage in the Sixteenth Century,” 237; Varriale, “Avvisi del Levante,” 36–9.
6. Having failed in its attempts to re-establish good relations with the Ottoman Empire, Tuscany found itself on the front line of the war against the Sultan and needed to find new diplomatic interlocutors. For its part, Persia was coming out of a crisis due to internal unrest, Uzbek threats in the East, and a disastrous war against the Ottoman Empire, which ended with the victory of the latter in 1590. On Tuscan attempts to re-open relations with the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century, see Mercan, “A Diplomacy Woven with Textiles,” 169–88. On Safavid reorganization after the peace of 1590, see Mitchell, The Practice of Politics, 176–82.
7. On relations between Tuscany and Persia, their origin, and duration, see Trentacoste, “The Marzocco and the Shir o Khorshid,” 21–41.
8. On this aspect, see Trentacoste, “The Marzocco and the Shir o Khorshid,” 30–1.
9. Two very interesting and probably emblematic examples of who the Tuscan informers were in Venice can be found in the following two texts: Mancuso, “Jacobiglio Hebreo,” 79–90; Varriale, “Avvisi del Levante,” 39–41. On Venice as the main centre of information on the Orient, but not only, see De Vivo, Information and Communication; Pedani, Venezia porta d’Oriente; Gürkan, “I Baili veneziani,” 101–16; Iordanou, Venice’s Secret Service. Regarding “Persian” information in Venice, see Rota, Under Two Lions.
10. Ancona had been an important connection centre of contact with the Ottoman Levant since the time of Cosimo I. See Prestini, “Economia e diplomazia,” 13. On Genoa, Varriale, “Avvisi del Levante,” 37.
11. On the avvisi, and the circulation of information in the modern age, I would like to mention the work of Mario Infelise, in particular the following: Infelise, Prima dei giornali; Infelise, “Sistemi di comunicazione,” 15–37; Infelise, “Scrivere gli avvisi,” 19–30. On the avvisi at the Tuscan court, see Barker, “Secret and Uncertain,” 716–38.
12. Varriale, Arrivano li Turchi, 19–30; Varriale, “Avvisi del Levante,” 36–9.
13. On the Roman information network, see Pizzorusso, “Il papato e le missioni extra-europee,” 367–90; Petitjean, L’intelligence des choses. On Catholic missions in Persia, especially from the second half of the seventeenth century, see Windler, Missionare in Persien.
14. For the report on Persia by G.B. Vecchietti, see Tucci, “Una relazione di Giovan Battista Vecchietti,” 149–60. On his biography, however, I refer to the recent entry written by Mario Casari and his rich (and up-to-date) bibliography. See Casari, “Vecchietti, Giovanni Battista.”
15. The historian Riguccio Galluzzi states that the Tuscan military-technical school at the time was considered the most renowned in Italy (Galluzzi, Istoria del Granducato, 193–4). On Tuscan architects and engineers in Europe and their role in diplomacy and warfare, see Spini, “Architettura e politica estera,” 77–92; Sodini, L’Ercole Tirreno, 245–50.
16. On the Syrian rebellion, see Griswold, The Great Anatolian Rebellion; Brege, Tuscany in the Age of Empire, 243–80. There is not much information concerning Giovanni Altoni. He was probably the son of Cosimo I’s sword-master, Francesco di Sandro Altoni, and at the beginning of the seventeenth century wrote a military treatise, The Soldier (Il Soldato), that was highly regarded both in his time and in the following centuries, so much so that it is still quoted today as an example of a military text far ahead of its time. On this last aspect, see Keller, “Old Ideas in New Skins,” 130–1.
17. “Discorso sopra la gita di Sorìa,” ASFi, MdP 4275, fols. 14–15.
18. Costantino never reached Persia because he was recalled shortly after his departure with orders to go to England (with the same orders he had for his Persian mission). On Costantino de’ Servi, see Martino, “Art, Religion, and Diplomacy” (in particular 39–43).
19. Spy, merchant, but also traveller and diplomat were very often roles that could be played by the same person. Varriale, Arrivano li Turchi, 20.
20. Sherley, Sir Anthony Sherley, 23. I have not actually managed to find any information on Vittorio Speciero, and it is possible that Sherley invented this episode (or altered what actually happened). In any case, it is interesting that Sherley, in mentioning a merchant/spy, identified him as Italian (and Florentine, specifically).
21. For instance, in 1607 Ferdinando tried to conquer Cyprus but his men were repelled by the Ottoman garrison which, contrary to expectations, was in no way taken by surprise. In the following months Thomas Glover discovered that the Ottomans had been warned by the Venetians, who did not look favourably on a possible Tuscan expansion in the Levant. On this issue, see Trentacoste, “Grand Ducal Ambitions,” 59–74. On Thomas Glover, see McLean-Matar, Britain & the Islamic World, 62–3, 82, 97–8.
22. On De Césy, see Flament, Philippe de Harlay, comte de Césy. His letters are scattered in various sources in the Florence State Archives; some can be found in folders 4277 and 4278.
23. On dragomans and diplomacy, I will only mention the recent work by Rothman, The Dragoman Renaissance.
24. Originally from Dalmatia, Gaspar Graziani was more than just a dragoman. He began his career as an interpreter for the English ambassador to Constantinople, Thomas Glover, and later served as diplomat for the Grand Dukes of Tuscany (especially Cosimo II), the Viceroy of Naples, and Venice. For his services, the Venetians granted him the (honorary) title of Duke of Naxos. He served as a dragoman at the Sultan’s court until he became Prince of Moldavia in 1619. In this role he formed an alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Ottomans. In 1620 he was murdered by two of his collaborators after his defeat by the Ottomans at the Battle of Cecora. See Luca, “Influssi occidentali,” 110–15.
25. On Giorgio Maronio, see Girard, “Entre croisade et politique,” 421. On the Maronites in general, see Heyberger, Les chrétiens du Proche-Orient.
26. “[…] E perché al tempo del mio predecessore erano dal Serenissimo Granduca Ferdinando di felice memoria tenuti a sue spese due secretarij per avviso delle cose dell’Oriente; ora io voglio per l’avvenire a proprie spese, per honour dell’Altezza Vostra Serenissima tenere tuttavia due, acciò sia ella raguagliata de’ successi di quei paesi […].” ASFi, MdP 4280, fol. 101.
27. On the Venetian merchant presence in the Indian Ocean area, see Tucci, “Mercanti veneziani,” 1091–111.
28. “In sin a tanto che io posso servire il servizio che il re di Persia mio signore m’ha comandato; il Serenissimo Granduca potrà in questo mentre servirsi per l’inviamento delli sui negotie a Persia, del molto reverendo Padre fra Vincenzo di San Francesco de i Carmillitani scalzi riformati che risiede nella città d’Aspahan; e quando io sarrò per ritorno per qual si voglia strada non mancharò per lettere d’avvisare Sua Altezza Serenissima […].” ASFi, MdP 1217, fol. 487.
29. On the Carmelites in Persia, see Chick, A Chronicle of the Carmelites; Richard, “Carmelites in Persia.”
30. When Anthony arrived in Tuscany as Persian ambassador in 1601, he was acknowledged as the brother of a certain Robert who had been hosted in Florence around 1596. On this, see Crinò, Fatti e figure, 12–13. The fact that Robert was indeed a guest at the court of Ferdinand I in the last years of the seventeenth century is confirmed in a document I recently found in the Florence state archives: “Si ritrovano in Vostra città di Firenze due gentilhuomini inglesi: Roberto Sherley et Thomaso West: gentilhuomini di buona qualità, et di rispetto, et grandissimamente desiderosi d’apprendere li migliori Costumi et di vedere le più famose corti et principi […],” ASFi, MdP 871, fol. 25.
31. On the relations between Ferdinando I and England, see Mackie, “The Secret Diplomacy of King James VI,” 267–82; Mackie, Negotiations between King James VI, iii–xxiii, 7–11, 44–5; Crinò, Fatti e figure.
32. On Corai, see Faridany, “Signal Defeat,” 119–41; Federici, “A Servant of Two Masters,” 81–104; Alsancakli, “From Bidlīs to Ardabīl,” 133–52; Trentacoste, “Who was Faḍlī Bayg?” 266–83.
33. On the encounter between Michel Angelo Corai and Anthony Sherley in Venice, see Federici, “A Servant of Two Masters,” 85–6.
34. ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 3.
35. “[Lioncini] lesse la sua secreta instruttione in pubblico conseglio […].” ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 155. Buonaventura’s report is in ASFi, MdP 4275, fols. 153–157.
36. ASFi, MdP 4275, fols. 155–156.
37. ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 152.
38. ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 157.
39. On Tuscan difficulties in handling secret information and activities, compared to the more experienced Venetians, see Trentacoste, “Grand Ducal Ambitions,” 59–74.
40. Actually, the pasha took refuge in the areas around the Euphrates River, but rumours that he had fled to Persia were probably behind Corai’s decision to go there.
41. On Pesciolini family, see Macchio, La travagliosa e miserabil vita; Santus, “Moreschi in Toscana,” 749–50.
42. Actually, until the nineteenth century, no European state ever sent a permanent ambassador to Persia.
43. In a letter of October 1611, Corai states that, since his departure from Tuscany in 1607, he had received only two letters from Florence, dated July and August 1610 (ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 288), while in almost every letter he complains that he did not have adequate financial means for his role as agent of the grand duke. In one letter, he even complains that the grand duke justified not sending him money because it was needed to finance new warships (ASFi, MdP 4275, fols. 288–289). The constant demands for money to maintain a standard of living commensurate with that of a diplomat, a role that Corai had somewhat self-appointed, obviously did not please the grand dukes.
44. ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 308.
45. On the epilogue of the Persian vicissitudes of Corai, see Faridany, “Signal Defeat,” 128–9.
46. On the alleged Christianity of the Safavid shahs, see Rota, “Diplomatic Relations,” 602, note 2.
47. ASFi, MdP 4277, fol. 239.
48. On this also see Trentacoste, “The Marzocco and the Shir o Khorshid,” 34–40.
49. On this aspect of Tuscan ambitions, see Trentacoste, “Grand Ducal Ambitions,” 65–6.
50. ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 179.
51. ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 248.
52. ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 262.
53. ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 181.
54. ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 184.
55. ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 188.
56. The Carmelite Paolo Simone wrote a long report on Shāh ʿAbbās in which he stated that everything that was said in Europe on him being a friend of the Christians (if not secretly Christian himself) was false. Archivio Apostolico Vaticano (AAV), Fondo Borghese, Serie II 68, fol. 87.
57. ASFi, MdP 4275, fol. 185.
58. ASFi, MdP 4275, fols. 178–188.
59. Michel Angelo Corai’s letters, at least those from Persia, are mostly to be found in ASFi, MdP 4275, fols. 178–188, 230–266, 288–292, 294–295, 301–302.
60. However, it must be clarified that the Tuscan mercantile presence in the Levant did not actually decline completely. Tuscan merchants continued to circulate in the main Levantine locations, albeit largely in the service of the French and English. A good example is the Adami Company, for which I refer to Calcagni, “Francesco Adami,” 17–41.
61. On this raid, see Klein and Kleinhenz, “The Order of Santo Stefano in the Levant,” 323–47.
62. After plundering Ottoman ships in 1644, some Maltese vessels took refuge in a port on the island of Crete, a Venetian possession. In 1645 this gave the Sultan the pretext to invade the island, which was occupied in a short time, with the exception of the city of Candia, which resisted the Ottoman siege until 1669. Several Catholic states, including the Papacy, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and Poland, joined in support of Venice.
63. “Sua Maestà m’ha detto che desidera che Nostro Signore s’interponga col Gran Duca di Toscana, affinché […] continui a tener la corrispondenza, che Sua Altezza ha nel Pelloponeso per ispiare gli andamenti di detto Turco, e le risolutioni, che prenderà la sua armata,” AAV, Segr. Stato, Polonia 53, fol. 60.
64. On the Vlora incident and the risk of war between Venice and the Ottoman Empire in 1638, see Rota, “Una nota su Moldavia,” 207–11.
65. On the Treaty of Zuhab and its consequences, see Güngörürler, “The Belated Consummation,” 35–7.
66. A normal avviso would have been a much shorter and leaner document, containing only the most important information. See Varriale, “Avvisi del Levante,” 36. For the report: ASFi, MdP 4274, ins. VI, fols. 437–441, “Relatione della presa di Babbilonia.”
67. ASFi, MdP 4274a, ins. IX, fols. 545–604.
68. ASFi, MdP 4274a, ins. V, fol. 187.
69. A large number of the letters (mostly in code) of Fra Francesco Venturini can be found in ASFi, MdP 4274a, ins. V, fols. 187–212.
70. ASFi, MdP 4274a, ins. V, fol. 212.
71. ASFi, MdP 4274, ins. VII, fol. 444.
72. For example, on 29 August 1637 he wrote that the Sultan had received a Persian ambassador, giving a list of all the gifts he had brought to Constantinople. ASFi, MdP 4274a, ins. VII, fol. 394.
73. “F. Iacomo Franceschini da Montevarchi,” avviso from Constantinople (9 April 1639) ASFi, MdP 4274, ins. VII, fol. 514.
74. ASFi, MdP 4274, ins. VII, fol. 470.
75. His letters are kept in ASFi, MdP 4274, ins. VII, fol. 484–565.
76. “Copia di lettera di un medico occidentale al seguito dell’esercito turco durante la guerra con la Persia, 1° aprile 1639.” ASFi, Miscellanea Medicea 169, fol. 359. On Francesco Crasso, see Rota, “The Death of Ṭahmaspqolī Xān Qājār,” 57–63.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Davide Trentacoste
Davide Trentacoste obtained a dual PhD in Modern History at the University of Teramo (Italy) and in Iranian Studies at the New Sorbonne University Paris 3 (France). Among his publications are “Information and Propaganda. A Brief Relation of Shah ‘Abbās’ Victories,” Rivista degli Studi Orientali, XCIV, 2–4 (2021): 103–117; “Who was Faḍlī Bayg? A Survey of Early Diplomatic Relations between Medicis and Safavids,” Eurasian Studies 19, no. 2 (2021): 266–283; and “The Marzocco and the Shir o Khorshid: Origin and Decline of the Medici Persian Diplomacy (1599–1721),” Cromohs – Cyber Review of Modern Historiography, 24 (2021): 21–41.