Series | Eurasian Studies
Edited book | Riflessi e ombre nel Mar Bianco
Chapter | Regali scandalosi tra Venezia, Costantinopoli e Isfahan
Regali scandalosi tra Venezia, Costantinopoli e Isfahan
Abstract
n 1599, Shah ʿAbbas sent an embassy to the Ottoman court with an excessively submissive letter and an unusual set of gifts: twenty‑four keys to fortresses he had conquered for the sultan ‘as his vassal’. The keys were returned to the ambassador the next day, according to a Venetian source, testifying to the diplomatic crisis they caused, for their number matched exactly with the Imams so venerated in Twelver Shiʿism. Scandalous gifts demonstrate how objects effectively participated in political negotiation. Victory was thus neither fully contingent on, nor contained in, winning battles, acquiring land, or securing the allegiance of people.
Submitted: June 23, 2023 | Accepted: Sept. 13, 2023 | Published Feb. 21, 2024 | Language: it
Keywords Ottomans • Diplomatic gifts • Sultan Selim I • Safavid dynasty • Shah ʿAbbas • Shah Ismaʿil • Crisis • Exchange
Copyright © 2024 Sinem Arcak Casale. 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/10.30687/978-88-6969-794-4/010
