Joseph Nasi

Don Joseph Nasi (or Nassi; also known as João Miques/Micas and Don João Migas Mendes in a Portuguese variant, Giuseppe Nasi in Italian, and as Yasef Nassi in Ottoman Turkish; 1524, Portugal–1579, Constantinople) was a Jewish diplomat and administrator, member of the House of Mendes/Benveniste, and a nephew of Dona Gracia Mendes Nasi, and influential figure in the Ottoman Empire during the rules of both Sultan Suleiman I and his son Selim II. He was a great benefactor of the Jewish people.

A Court Jew, he was appointed the Lord of Tiberias, with the expressed aim of resettling Jews in Palestine and encouraging industry there; the attempt failed, and, later, he was appointed the Duke of Naxos and the Seven Islands. Nasi also brought about war with the Republic of Venice, at the end of which Venice lost the island of Cyprus to the Ottomans. After the death of Selim, he lost influence in the Ottoman Court, but was allowed to keep his titles and pension for the remainder of his life.