Series | Eurasian Studies
Edited book | Armenia, Caucasus and Central Asia
Chapter | Scoprendo le due fedi del re
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to review the way of presenting Georgia and Georgians in the sources created by the Venetian diplomats or for their milieu in the period between 1573 and 1645, i. e. mainly in the reports and dispatches from missions in Constantinople and Aleppo. The analyzed texts contain relatively rich descriptions of ethnic and confessional reality of the Georgian lands. They mainly focus on political situation of the Georgian princedoms and their relations with bordering Muslim neighbours, including the course and effects of subsequent wars in the region. This focus is not surprising since the Georgians could be treated by the Venetian diplomacy as potential allies against the Ottoman Empire. It is of particular interest the frequently returning motive of a local ruler being secret Christian and formal Muslim, illustrating the perception of Georgia as a category sui generis on the map of politico-religious entities of the early modern world.
Submitted: Feb. 27, 2017 | Accepted: May 25, 2017 | Published Feb. 19, 2018 | Language: it
Keywords Early modern times • Georgia • Venice • Conversion • Diplomacy
Copyright © 2018 Piotr Chmiel. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-211-6/006