Die Gesandtschaft des Johann Jakob Kurtz von Senftenau 1623/24

Beilage zu Dokument 8. Juli 1623: Kopie der Instruktion an Johann Jakob Kurtz von Senftenau, Wien, 8. Juli 1623

Ferdinand II.

ÖStA, HHStA Wien

Staatenabteilungen, Türkei I

Kt. 109, Kv. 1, fol. 49r-61v

Aneliya Stoyanova, Zsuzsanna Cziráki, Manuela Mayer

Stephan Kurz, Jakob Sonnberger, Dimitra Grigoriou

Aneliya Stoyanova, Zsuzsanna Cziráki, Manuela Mayer, Stephan Kurz, Jakob Sonnberger

The emperor informs Kurtz that he has been chosen as his envoy to the Sublime Porte and reminds him of the peace treaties of Zsitvatorok and Vienna. Under the agreement, the two monarchs send voluntary gifts to each other through their envoys. Kurtz travels to Constantinople with the last Ottoman envoy returning from Vienna, Ahmed Agha. He is expected to compile a list of suitable gifts planned for the journey. When they arrive in Komárom, he has to contact the Ottoman governor-general of Buda, asking for his support for the journey and for keeping the peace. Kurtz is supposed to stay at Komárom until he has stopped the malicious raids of Ibrahim Pasha. He has to obtain information from the pasha of Buda as to the sultan’s support for Gábor Bethlen and other rebels, and urge the establishment of the long-planned Habsburg-Ottoman bilateral commission to settle border raids. He should also remind the pasha of Esztergom of the peace. After having arrived in Buda, he is expected to greet the pasha with due respect, and, in addition to presenting him with a gift, request his intercession with the sultan to maintain peace and not to give credit or any assistance to those who are plotting against the Habsburgs. He has to introduce the new resident envoy Sebastian Lustrier at Buda and then at the Sublime Porte. Any other Ottoman officials he meets on the way have to be greeted properly and asked for supporting the peace. Kurtz has to enter Constantinople with dignity, for which he should seek the advice and assistance of the interpreter Giovanni Paolo Damiani, who should be sent to the Porte two days before his arrival in the city to inform the senior dignitaries of the envoy’s arrival. He should first appear before the grand vizier and deliver his credentials and gifts, as well as a list of the gravamina of the borderland. The envoy shall also urge him to the peace among the pashas and ask for an audience with Mustafa I. Before the sultan, Kurtz is expected to congratulate him on his accession to the throne, remind him of the peace and ask for his support to end overgrown military clashes on the borderland. Similarly, he should visit the important Ottoman dignitaries, present them with gifts and ask for their goodwill. He has to obtain intelligence of their enemies working against the emperor’s interests at the Porte and prevent the sultan from supporting them. To achieve the free navigation and commerce agreed in article 10 of the Peace of Vienna, he should recruit suitable persons. He also has to reclaim the castles Lipova, Șoimuș, Arad, and Vác occupied by the Ottomans, in accordance with article 6 of the Peace of Zsitvatorok. In order to facilitate the transmission of correspondence, he is expected to employ secret correspondents in Belgrade and Sofia for a maximum of 500 imperial thalers per year. He has to support the grand duchess of Tuscany’s envoy, Antonio Barlo (Barillo), in the matter of the exchange of Christian prisoners. He shall contact the Venetian, French and Transylvanian envoys, warning them not to plot against the emperor and Christianity. The emperor authorizes his envoy to open and read all correspondence addressed to him, and to send a special messenger to inform him of important matters. Kurtz should send Giovanni Paolo Damiani and Lorenzo Cramer back from the Porte, if possible. Before his departure, he has to give resident envoy Lustrier a proper introduction to the affairs and entrust him with any pending cases. After Kurtz’s return, he is expected to prepare his report on the matters handled during his mission.

Beilage zu Dokument 8. Juli 1623: Kopie der Instruktion an Johann Jakob Kurtz von Senftenau, Wien, 8. Juli 1623, Edition: Aneliya Stoyanova, Zsuzsanna Cziráki, Manuela Mayer, Datenmodellierung: Stephan Kurz, Jakob Sonnberger, Dimitra Grigoriou, in: Die Gesandtschaft des Johann Jakob Kurtz von Senftenau (1623–1624), hg. von: Aneliya Stoyanova, Zsuzsanna Cziráki, Manuela Mayer, Stephan Kurz, Jakob Sonnberger (Digitale Edition von Quellen zur habsburgisch-osmanischen Diplomatie 1500–1918, hg. von Arno Strohmeyer, Projekt 4), Wien 2024.
Online unter: https://gams.uni-graz.at/o:kuse.in.hbg.16230708.a1
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