The Franco-Ottoman alliance of the 16th century : the European diplomatic context
Date
1986
Authors
Witzel, Morgen L.
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Abstract
This thesis presents an examination of the Franco-Ottoman alliance of 1525 within the context of European diplomacy in the sixteenth century. As such, it deals with an event that has often been misunderstood or ignored, and attempts to assign it a place in modern historical understanding of that period. The thesis explores the development of the alliance and the direct connection between the two principals, France and the Ottoman empire, and then examines the effects of the alliance upon politics and diplomacy elsewhere in Europe at the time.
Historical accounts of the alliance to this point are inconsistent. Christian and liberal influences have badly distorted reporting of both the Ottoman empire and the empire's relations with western Europe. Traditional historical accounts of the alliance depict Francis I of France "calling in" the Ottomans to assist him in his struggle with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and then attempting to repudiate the Ottomans when he no longer needed their assistance. Many writers are at a loss to understand how the Christian King Francis could have ever seriously undertaken an alliance with the infidel Ottoman. Despite his supposed reluctance to continue t he alliance, Francis is also widely blamed for Ottoman invasions of eastern Europe, particularly the campaign of 1526 and the defeat of Hungary.
This false moralizing on Francis I and the nature of his Ottoman alliance has, as has been stated, produced a false picture of the alliance and its consequences. It is the purpose of this thesis to provide a new philosophical approach to the Franco-Ottoman alliance, one which will allow for a more objective approach to the alliance and its position in European diplomacy. The formulation of such an approach, a hypothesis concerning the means and ends of the alliance, is viewed as necessary before any further research on the subject takes place. The thesis provides first a chronology of the alliance from the first contacts of 1525-26 to the temporary decline of diplomatic relations during the French Wars of Religion. During this period, Francis I and Henry II of France pursued an active Ottoman alliance as a key part of their foreign policy. After setting out the course of events, the thesis then examines the effects of the alliance in the areas of Europe most affected by combined Franco-Ottoman actions: eastern Europe, including Hungary, the Mediterranean, Venice and the Papacy, and the Habsburg empire of Charles V and his son Philip II. Particular attention has been paid to timing, the exact dates of treaties, campaigns, and embassies, where earlier oversights and errors have led to many misunderstandings of events.
Based on this survey, the thesis then concludes that the alliance was not, as has been suggested, an aberration or a historical event of minor importance. The kings of France and the Ottoman sultans pursued the alliance as a very important part of a general policy of containment against the Habsburg empire. Neither state ever went to war with the Habsburgs after 1525 without first seeking the other's goodwill and support. Through this alliance, other European states were included in what became the first modern European balance of power. The Franco-Ottoman alliance is considered to be of major importance in any study of European diplomatic, political, or military history in the sixteenth century.