Giosafat Barbaro - Ambassador To Persia

Ambassador To Persia

In 1472, Giosafat Barbaro was also selected as an ambassador to Persia, due to his experience in the Crimean, Muscoy, and Tartary. He also spoke Turkish and a little Persian. Barbaro was provided with an escort of ten men and an annual salary of 1800 ducats. His instructions included urging admiral Pietro Mocenigo to attack the Ottomans and attempting to arrange naval cooperation from the Kingdom of Cyprus and the Knights of Rhodes. He was also in charge of three galleys full of artillery, ammunition, and military personnel who were to assist Uzun Hassan.

In February 1473, Barbaro and the Persian envoy Haci Muhammad left Venice and traveled to Zadar, where they met with representatives of Naples and the Papal court. From there, Barbaro and the others traveled by way of Corfu, Modon, Corone reaching Rhodes and then Cyprus, where Barbaro was delayed for a year.

The Kingdom of Cyprus's position off the coast of Anatolia was in a key position for supplying, not just Uzun Hassan in Persia, but the Venetian allies of Caramania and Scandelore and the Venetian fleet under Pietro Mocenigo was used to defend communication lines to them. King James II of Cyprus had attempted to ally with Caramania and Scandelore, as well as the Sultan of Egypt, against the Turks. King James had also written to the Venetian Senate, stressing the need to support Persia against the Turks and his navy had cooperated with Admiral Mocenigo in recapturing the coastal towns of Gorhigos and Selefke.

The Emir of Scandelore fell to the Turks in 1473 in spite of military aid from the Kingdom of Cyprus. The power of Caramania was broken. James II of Cyprus privately told Giosafat Barbaro he felt like he was trapped between two wolves, the Ottoman Sultan and the Egyptian Sultan. The latter was James' liege lord, and not on friendly terms with Venice.

James II entered into negotiations with the Turks. At first he refused to let the Venetian galleys with their munitions land in the port of Famagusta. When Barbaro and the Venetian ambassador, Nicolo Pasqualigo, attempted to persuade James II to change his mind, the King threatened to destroy the galleys and kill every man on board.

King James II of Cyprus died in July 1473, leaving Queen Catherine a pregnant widow. James had appointed a seven member council, which contained Venetian Andrea Cornaro, a relative of the Queen, as well as Marin Rizzo and Giovanni Fabrice, agents of the Kingdom of Naples who opposed Venetian influence. Queen Catherine gave birth to a son, James II in August 1473., with Admiral Pietro Mocenigo and other Venetian officials acting as godfathers.

Once the Venetian fleet left, there was a revolt by pro-Neapolitan forces, which resulted in the deaths of the Queen's uncle and cousin. The Archbishop of Nicosia, Juan Tafures, the Count of Tripoli, the Count of Jaffa, and Marin Rizzo seized Famagusta, capturing the Queen and the newborn King.

Barbaro and Bailo Pasqualigo were protected by the Venetian soldiers that had accompanied Barbaro. The conspirators made several attempts to persuade Barbaro to hand over the soldiers' arms. The Constable of Cyprus sent an agent, while the Count of Tripoli, the Archbishop of Nicosia, and the Constable of Jerusalem made personal visits. After consulting with Bailo Pasqualigo, they decided to disarm the men, but keep the weapons. Barbaro alerted the captains of the Venetian galleys in the harbor. Barbaro also sent dispatches the Senate of Venice, warning them of events. Later, Barbaro and the Venetian troops withdrew to one of the galleys.

By the time Admiral Mocenigo returned to Cyprus, the rebels were quarreling among themselves and the people of Nicosia and Famagusta had risen against them. The uprising was suppressed, those ringleaders who did not flee were executed, and Cyprus became a Venetian client state. The Venetian Senate authorized the troops and military that had accompanied Giosafat Barbaro to stay in Cyprus.

Giosafat Barbaro was still in Cyprus in December of 1473, and the Venetian Senate sent a letter, telling Barbaro to complete his journey, as well as sending another ambassador, Ambrogio Contarini to Persia. Barbaro and the Persian envoy left Cyprus in February 1474 disguised as Muslim pilgrims. The Papal and Neapolitan envoys did not accompany them. Barbaro landed in Caramania, where the King warned them that the Turks held the territory they would need to travel through. After landing in Cilicia, Barbaro's party traveled through Tarsus, Adana, Orfa, Merdin, Hasankeyf, and Tigranocerta

In the Taurus Mountains of Kurdistan, Barbaro’s party was attacked by bandits. He escaped on horseback, but he was wounded and several members of the group, including his secretary and the Persian ambassador were killed, and their goods were plundered. As they neared Tabriz, Barbaro and his interpreter were assaulted by Turcomans after refusing to hand over a letter to Uzun Hassan Barbaro and his surviving companions finally reached Hassan’s court in April 1474.

Although Barbaro got on well with Uzun Hassan, he was unable to persuade the ruler to attack the Ottomans again. Shortly afterwards, Hassan’s son Ogurlu Mohamed, rose in rebellion, seizing the city of Schiras.

Barbaro visited the ruins of Persepolis, which he incorrectly thought were of Jewish origin. He also visited Tauris, Soldania, Isph, Cassan (Kascian), Como (Kom), Yezd, Shiraz and Baghdad. Giosafat Barbaro was the first European to visit the ruins of Pasargadae, where he believed the local tradition that misidentified the tomb of Cyrus the Great as belonging to King Solomon’s mother.

Barbaro visited the ruins of Persepolis,

The other Venetian ambassador, Ambrosio Contarini, arrived in Persia in August 1474. Uzun Hassan decided that Contarini would return to Venice with a report, while Giosafat Barbaro would stay in Persia.