Die Gesandtschaft des Johann Jakob Kurtz von Senftenau 1623/24

10. August 1624

Buda nach Wien

Johann Jakob Kurtz von Senftenau

Ferdinand II.

ÖStA, HHStA Wien
Staatenabteilungen, Türkei I
Kt. 109, Kv. 2, fol. 170r-177v

Aneliya Stoyanova, Zsuzsanna Cziráki, Manuela Mayer

Stephan Kurz, Jakob Sonnberger, Dimitra Grigoriou

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

Kurtz has already reported from Sofia that he had departed from Constantinople and arrived in Buda on August 6. He attended an audience with the pasha, who denounced him for the recent raids of the Hungarians and the serious damage done, for which he demanded satisfaction and the cessation of this injurious practice. Until this is accomplished, the pasha will not permit him to travel further from Buda. Kurtz’s argument that these actions occurred without the emperor’s knowledge, while asserting that the Ottomans commit even graver crimes at the border, was to no avail. [A: It is disgraceful for the emperor that his envoy is being held hostage, disrupting the established practice of sending Habsburg envoys to the Ottoman Empire.] Severely ill, he requests the emperor to recall him as soon as possible, as his mission has already extended beyond the planned duration. [B: For this, it is crucial that Adolf von Althan, head of the Habsburg commission, arrives promptly for the negotiations.] He sends Christoph Knoll, his servant, along with János Draskovich to the emperor to provide a detailed account of the situation. [C: He requests that measures necessary for his release be dispatched with Knoll at the earliest opportunity.] He also asks for a competent person to be sent to address the matters of necessary satisfaction and commission with the Ottomans, or at least the relevant documents. [D: Gábor Bethlen’s envoy to Buda assured Kurtz of his goodwill and urged the emperor to maintain peace at the border. He claimed that the Ottoman side requested the prince to assist in the Habsburg-Ottoman peace negotiations. Kurtz hopes that Bethlen will now make amends for his previous hostile actions. However, he fears the prince may be seeking only his own advantage in this situation. Kurtz will run out of money by the end of the month, and he wishes to leave Buda by then in any case.] Due to his severe illness, he urgently desires to depart. PS. [E: In Buda, approximately a thousand Ottoman soldiers are demanding retribution for the incursions they have suffered. Kurtz attended another audience with the pasha, who will not allow him to leave until the emperor explicitly requests his release.]

Johann Jakob Kurtz von Senftenau an Ferdinand II., Ofen, 10. August 1624, 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.l.hbg.16240810
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