User:Antidiskriminator/Drafts of articles/Pope's secret anti-Ottoman diplomatic mission (1593–97)

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See also: Holy League of Pope Clement VIII

The Pope's secret anti-Ottoman diplomatic mission (1593–97) was a secret diplomatic mission organized by Pope in period between 1593 and 1597 with the main aim to forge anti-Ottoman Christian coalition composed of predominantly Slavic populated European regions and territories of Moldavia, Wallachia and Catholic Albanians. The member of the mission traveled via Venice, Trent, Innsbruck and Vienna to Alba Iulia. Then he continued to Ancona, Hvar, Dubrovnik, Venetian Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria and finally Moldavia.

The mission was not successful. None of the countries accepted Pope's invitation. Except the Cossack excursions into Moldavia, the only effective result of this mission was series of Serb uprising against Ottomans, i.e. Banat Uprising, Serb Uprising in Metohija and Herzegovina Uprising. All of them suppressed by Ottomans with heavy casualties for the rebels and Serb civilan population which resulted with first of many waves of migrations of Serbs from Kosovo to Austria-Hungary. In an act of retaliation, the Ottomans burned the relics of Saint Sava, the patron saint of Serbia and Serbs and strangled the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch and the spiritual leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church Jovan Kantul who supported the uprising of Serbs. To counter Serb anti-Ottoman threat the Ottomans populated pro-Ottoman Albanian Muslims to Kosovo and began significant changes of its demographic structure.

Background[edit]

At the end of January 1593 a bishop from Hvar sent a letter to the Pope inviting him to send envoys to Russia to forge a united Christian coalition against the Ottomans. In the same year a similar proposal was sent to the Pope by Komulović himself.[1] An anonymous report from 1593, attributed to Komulović by many scholars, lists predominantly Slavic regions that could be mobilized to fight the Ottomans: Herzegovina, Slavonia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Serbia, Moesia, Bosnia, Rascia, Požega and Temeşvar.[2]

Mission[edit]

Members of mission[edit]

The mission was led by Aleksandar Komulović who participated in the mission in its entire period between 1593 and 1597. Komulović and Giovanni Battista from Cres maintained extensive contacts with the Patriarchate of Peć.[3] Another member of Komulović's mission was Thommaso Raggio (1531–1599), who returned to Italy in 1595 while Komulović stayed in the Balkans until 1597 and submitted a detailed report to the Pope upon his return.[4] He travelled to Moscow and twice visited the court of the Russian emperor, in 1595 and in 1597, but failed to convince the Muscovites to accept his proposals.[5]

Projected members of the anti-Ottoman Christian coalition[edit]

This coalition was to include all Christian Slavs, including Orthodox Russia.[2] Komulović traveled via Venice, Trent, Innsbruck and Vienna to Alba Iulia. The purpose of this trip was to convince the Tsar of Russia, King of Poland (including Zaporozhian Cossacks), the Prince of Transylvania and Voivodes of Moldavia and Wallachia to join a western anti-Ottoman coalition. His aim was also to inspire Serbs to rise up against the Ottomans.[6] According to some sources he continued his journey to Ancona, Hvar, Dubrovnik, Venetian Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria and finally Moldavia.[7]

Serbs[edit]

The burning of Saint Sava's relics by the Ottomans. Painting by Stevan Aleksić (1912)

In Pope Clement VIII's instructions to Komulović, the Serbs were explicitly praised as brave, while the neighbouring Bulgarians were said to be unwilling to fight.[8] It is possible that these instructions were composed by Komulović himself.[9][10] Still, the mission inspired a series of uprisings in Serb-populated territories, such as the Uprising in Banat and Uprising in Peć in 1594.[11] All this uprisings were suppressed with heavy casualties for Serb civilian population. In an act of retaliation, Grand Vizier Koca Sinan Pasha ordered burning of the relics of Saint Sava, the patron saint of Serbia and Serbs. The Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch and the spiritual leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church Jovan Kantul who supported the uprising of Serbs was captured by the Ottomans and strangled in Istanbul.

Russia[edit]

Russia refused to participate using bad relation with Poland as justification.[12]

Cossacks[edit]

In 1594 and 1595 Cossacks plundered Ottoman-held Moldavia and invaded Transylvania.[13]

People from Albania[edit]

In 1593 a strange letter in Italian language was sent to Pope in which "elders from Albania" requested the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Poland to "move" against the Ottomans.[14] Komulović was instructed to first travel to Venice to establish contacts with Albanians.[15] In Venice he stayed in the house of notable Thomasso Pelessa from Albania.[6] Komulović allegedly met representatives of "Albanians" in Venice.[16] The Popes instructions and several letters Komulović had sewed in a cushion.[17] When he left Venice he made tremendeous mistake and forgot the cushion leaving behind three letters written in lingua Serviana by the "people of Albania".[18] The Venetian authorities got in possession of those letters and concluded they were forged by Komulović, which is also believed by modern Australian historian Zdenko Zlatar.[19]

In July 1594, an assembly was summoned in a monastery in Mat, by Albanian tribal chieftains, joined by some Venetian subjects, of whom Mark Gjin was elected their leader. In 1595 he visited Rome to receive the Pope's support.[20]

The Himara Revolt broke out in Albania in 1596, but it was easily suppressed after the Venetians convinced some of the chieftains not to join the rebellion.[21]

Republic of Ragusa[edit]

According to some rumours, the Republic of Ragusa was ready to expel Komulović because the Ottomans offered them some benefits if they did.[22] Ragusans were worried because of the anti-Ottoman actions of Ragusan Jesuits.

Holy Roman Empire[edit]

In 1597 Komulović began his return journey and stopped in Prague to propose to Emperor Rudolf II to re-capture Klis, which had a year earlier been briefly captured by the Uskoks.[6]

Result[edit]

Komulović did not succeed in forming the anti-Ottoman coalition,[23] as none of the countries accepted the Pope's invitation.[24]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Stanojević, Gligor (1973). Senjski uskoci. Vojnoizdavački zavod. p. 147. Krajem januara 1593. hvarski biskup Petar Čedolini uputio je papi pismenu poruku kojom ga poziva u borbu protiv Turaka i uvjerava da je Turska slaba i da ne može odoljeti jednom hrišćanskom savezu.12' Iste godine sličan predlog je uputio papi i sveštenik Aleksandar Komulović
  2. ^ a b Jr., John V. A. Fine (1 January 2006). When Ethnicity Did Not Matter in the Balkans: A Study of Identity in Pre-Nationalist Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia in the Medieval and Early-Modern Periods. University of Michigan Press. p. 396. ISBN 0-472-02560-0.
  3. ^ (Zlatar 1992, p. 209) harv error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREFZlatar1992 (help)
  4. ^ (Zlatar 1992, p. 206) harv error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREFZlatar1992 (help): "While Raggio returned after a year, Komulovic stayed in the Balkans for three years...."
  5. ^ Just, Sister Mary; (Sister.), Mary Just (1954). Rome and Russia: a tragedy of errors. Newman Press. p. 52. Komulovic went to Feodor's court in 1595 . and again in 1597, but his zealous efforts in Russia proved fruitless.
  6. ^ a b c Setton, Kenneth Meyer (1991). Venice, Austria, and the Turks in the Seventeenth Century. American Philosophical Society. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-87169-192-7.
  7. ^ Krasić, Stjepan (2009). Počelo je u Rimu: Katolička obnova i normiranje hrvatskoga jezika u XVII. stoljeću. Matica Hrvatska. p. 132. ISBN 978-953-6316-76-2. Grgur XIII. ga je 10. siječnja 1584. imenovao vizitatorom za krajeve koji su bili pod Turcima.13 Komulović je iste godine preko Jakina, Hvara i Dubrovnika otputovao u Albaniju, zatim na Kosovo, u Makedoniju, Bugarsku i Moldaviju.
  8. ^ Jovanović, Alekan (1937). Spomenica dvadesetpetogodishnjice oslobodjenja Južne Srbije. p. 230. У тој инструкцији папа нарочито истиче да су Срби храбри, а да њихови суседи (према Тра- кији) Бугари нису за борбу.
  9. ^ American Contributions to the Fifth International Congress of Slavists, Sofia, September 1963: Literary contributions. Mouton. 1963. p. 175. In the instructions which Komulovic received (and perhaps dictated himself) in 1594,...
  10. ^ The Polish Review. Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America. 1958. p. 16. ...seemed to be fabricated by Komulovic himself. ...
  11. ^ Jovanović, Alekan (1937). Spomenica dvadesetpetogodishnjice oslobodjenja Južne Srbije. p. 230.
  12. ^ Tadić, Jorjo (1948). Dubrovački portreti. Zadružna Knjiga. p. 366. ... али је Русија одбила да учествује изговарајући се лошим односима с Пољском.
  13. ^ Penson, Oskar Halecki, W: F. Reddaway, J. H. The Cambridge History of Poland. CUP Archive. p. 507. ISBN 978-1-00-128802-4. At the same time, independent of the Emperor, Clement VIII tried through his nuncio Komulovic" (Comuleo) to win the Cossacks over to the anti-Turk league. In 1594 and 1595, the Cossacks invaded Transylvania, plundered Moldavia and ...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ The Polish Review. Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America. 1958. p. 16. A rather strange letter, this one in Italian, which unindentified "elders from Albania" had sent to Clement VIII a year before and which is preserved in the Vatican archives,17 a request to "move" against the Turks not only the Emperor, but also the King of Poland and that of ...
  15. ^ (Zlatar 1992, p. 209) harv error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREFZlatar1992 (help)
  16. ^ Zlatar, Zdenko (1 January 1992). Our Kingdom Come: The Counter-Reformation, the Republic of Dubrovnik, and the Liberation of the Balkan Slavs. East European Monographs. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-88033-239-2. ... several representatives of such "Albanians", above all Cavalier Pelessa..
  17. ^ Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society. 1991. p. 9. Komulovic had sewed up his instructions and letters in a cushion which he inadvertently left behind upon his departure from the city. When discovered, they were turned over to the Signoria. While in Venice, Komulovic stayed with the well-known Albanian Tommaso Pelessa, who is said to have claimed that Komulovic was equipped with false seals and letters (ibid., pp. 47, 1 19), the significance of which seems to be unclear.
  18. ^ Zlatar, Zdenko (1 January 1992). Our Kingdom Come: The Counter-Reformation, the Republic of Dubrovnik, and the Liberation of the Balkan Slavs. East European Monographs. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-88033-239-2.
  19. ^ Zlatar, Zdenko (1 January 1992). Our Kingdom Come: The Counter-Reformation, the Republic of Dubrovnik, and the Liberation of the Balkan Slavs. East European Monographs. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-88033-239-2. The impression by the Venetian government was that Komulovic had fabricated these letters, and there seems very little doubt indeed that this was the case.64 That is why I am inclined to believe that the above-mentioned letter sent by the elders of Albania" to Clement VIII was nothing but Komulovic's own invention, all the more since it contained no individual signatures and the seals were obviously false, "made in Rome", as the Venetians established.
  20. ^ Marović, Miodrag (1995). Balkanski Džoker: Albanija i Albanci : istorijska hronika nastajanja i razvoja albanskog pitanja. Kulturni centar. p. 54.
  21. ^ Marović, Miodrag (1995). Balkanski Džoker: Albanija i Albanci : istorijska hronika nastajanja i razvoja albanskog pitanja. Kulturni centar. p. 54.
  22. ^ (Zlatar 1992, p. 269) harv error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREFZlatar1992 (help): "The latter was rumoured to be ready to expel Komulovic, "due to its (Ragusan government's) benefits derived from the Turks""
  23. ^ Santich, Jan Joseph (1995). Missio Moscovitica: The Role of the Jesuits in the Westernization of Russia, 1582–1689. P. Lang. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-8204-2758-4. Komulovic carried out his missions (1593–1596), though with no success in forming the desired anti-Turkish league.
  24. ^ Stanojević, Gligor (1970). Jugoslovenske zemlje u mletačko-turskim ratovima XVI-XVIII vijeka. Istorijski institut. p. 105. Зато је почетном 1594. папа дао игаструкције Комуловићу за руоног цара.10 Ниједаа од оних звмаља ииије праосватила папин иозив за савез. Рат између Туроке и Ауотрије у Подуиављу бијвонио је свом же- сггином.

Further reading[edit]

  • "Diplomatichna Misia Aleksandra Komulovicha v Ukrainu 1594 roku," AOSBM 2.2 Analecta 4.3-4 (1963), 513-526.
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