Diplomatic encounters between the Venetians and the Ottomans in case of captivity (1560-1590)
Author(s)
Advisor
Zavagno, LucaDate
2023-01Publisher
Bilkent University
Language
English
Type
ThesisItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
This dissertation is about the transformation of the legal, economic and social status
of captives taken during the wars between the Ottomans and Venetians. It also
covers how the events between 1560-1590 affected both countries' and the
Mediterranean's history. This study argues that the political, military, and
economic interaction between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire
profoundly affected the history of slavery in the Mediterranean. This dissertation
focuses mainly on these two states. The changes in the status of war captives and
slaves through the years were studied, along with the changes caused by the
establishment of Ottoman domination in the region. After the emergence of the
Ottomans, a regional power, it took a long time for the Venetian Republic, a
European state with active commercial operations both in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, to develop a reflex for liberating her subjects
from captivity. While other states usually outsourced their liberation operations to
religious institutions, Venice used her government agencies for such purposes. But
as the number of Venetians increased steadily, they introduced some regulations.
By tracking the transformation of such practices, this study contributes to the
historiography of the Early Modern Mediterranean. This dissertation argues that the
War in Cyprus in 1570 was a major turning point during the aforementioned
transformation. The events that occurred during and after the war significantly
affected the law of war captives and slaves through social, economic, and military
means.