“And this was no small service that he did…”: Robert Brancetour’s mission to the Safavid Empire
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Abstract
For the first time in scientific historiography, an attempt is made to shed light on one of little studied issues in the history of the European-Safavid relations – to study in detail the diplomatic mission of the Englishman Robert Brancetour, who was delegated in 1529 as an envoy of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to the Safavid court and was one of the first significant attempts to involve the Safavid Empire in a military-political alliance with western European states. The object of study in this article is “no small service” that Brancetour did to the whole Christendom, i.e. his activity aimed at involving the Safavids in an anti-Ottoman coalition and mainly at encouraging the Shah to take active military actions against the Ottoman Empire, which was one of the main enemies of many European states and posed a real threat to their existence. Brancetour’s mission to the Safavid Empire, initiated by such a powerful European empire as the Holy Roman Empire, proves how strategically significant for the ruling circles of Europe states was the participation of the Safavid Empire in an anti-Ottoman campaign, and also testifies to its important role in the political history of not only the Muslim East, but also the Christian Europe. In addition, along with the coverage of the role of the Safavid Empire in the military and diplomatic history of early modern Europe, in particular in the political triangle “European states – Ottoman Empire – Safavid Empire”, the present study is of great scientific importance also because it examines the attitude of the English authorities, of which Robert Brancetour was a subject, to anti-Ottomanism policy of European states, especially of the Habsburgs. Based on a detailed analysis of contemporary sources, diplomatic correspondence particularly, for the first time in scientific historiography it was supposed that one of the main reasons of English crown’s desire to arrest Brancetour was the fear of the British authorities that the Habsburg-Safavid alliance, namely their joint struggle against the Ottoman aggression, which was the main goal of Brancetour’s diplomatic missions to the Safavid court, could become a serious obstacle to the implementation of their policy of strengthening royal power in England, which found itself in difficult political conditions on the continent.
How to Cite
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Robert Brancetour, Habsburg-Safavid relations, Shah Tahmasp I, Charles V, Henry VIII, anti-Ottomanism, diplomatic mission, 1529
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