Die Gesandtschaft des Johann Jakob Kurtz von Senftenau 1623/24

Hofkriegsrat, Referat, o.O. [Wien], o.D. [Ende 1624]

Hofkriegsrat

ÖStA, HHStA Wien

Staatenabteilungen, Türkei I

Kt. 109, Kv. 1, fol. 196r-207v

Aneliya Stoyanova, Zsuzsanna Cziráki, Manuela Mayer

Stephan Kurz, Jakob Sonnberger, Dimitra Grigoriou

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

Based on the final report submitted by Kurtz, the Aulic War Council concludes that the envoy fulfilled his mission correctly. The emperor has already received detailed information on the first part of the report, so now only the necessary measures are being discussed. The War Council emphasizes the urgent need for a swift peace with the sultan and briefly lists the reasons. As the peace can only be achieved with money, the most prestigious Ottoman dignitary in issues related to the border zone, the pasha of Buda, must be paid, as well as his kihaya, the pasha’s agent at the Porte, the kaymakam acting for the grand vizier during his absence in Persia, and the second vizier. Deák Mehmed, who was delegated to the peace committee, had already been paid off by Cesare Gallo, and so should the former Viennese ambassador, Ahmed Bey. Resident envoy Sebastian Lustrier must be provided with money to win additional dignitaries at the Porte. It would be advisable to send gifts every three years through an extraordinary envoy, while the more important matters would be dealt with only through the resident, because this would be the less expensive solution. It is very important to have a committed resident envoy, Lustrier is suitable, but should be paid regularly, at least 300 thalers a month. Now 3,000 ducats are sent to him, and the Aulic Chamber must be informed of this. The correspondence and affairs of Constantinople should be entrusted to a special officeholder in the Aulic War Council. Only money and silk should be sent to the Porte as gifts. The War Council urges the payment of the Constantinople embassy staff: Lustrier, Giovanni Paolo Damiani and Josephus Barbatus. The opinion of Viennese merchants and others should be sought on the question of free trade with the Ottoman Empire. Antonio Barillo, the envoy of the grand duchess of Tuscany, lost the money he had received for the ransom of prisoners. The War Council insists that the Ottomans send a counter-embassy and that the sultan’s envoy should always depart for Vienna first in the future. The Ottomans’ plan for the emperor to send an annual gift to the sultan will not be implemented. Kurtz has hired secret persons in Belgrade, Sofia and Buda to forward correspondence between the emperor and the Habsburg envoys in Constantinople 12 times a year, and adequate resources will have to be allocated for this purpose. A confederation against the Ottomans could now be organized, but the situation of the Holy Roman Empire does not permit it, and only the Poles could be allied. Kurtz has left Josephus Barbatus in Constantinople with Lustrier, he must be paid as well. The English, French and Venetian ambassadors treated the imperial envoy in Constantinople in a friendly manner, but a dispute arose with the Dutch. Kurtz recommended the interpreter Michel D’Asquier, whose excellent linguistic skills meant that he should be kept in imperial service by any means necessary.

Hofkriegsrat, Referat, o.O. [Wien], o.D. [Ende 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.misc.hbg.16240000
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