The Mission of Johann Jakob Kurz von Senftenau to Constantinople (1623 – 1624) and the Challenges for the Habsburg Diplomats on the Bosphorus after the Long Turkish War

Abstract

Lasting for over a decade, the Long Turkish war (1593–1606) temporarily disrupted the diplomatic contacts between Habsburgs and Ottomans. Like any other agreement between Vienna and Istanbul, the peace treaty of Zsitvatorok (1606) left various controversial questions unresolved and provided further issues to negotiate. The present article aims at outlining and analyzing the main challenges the Habsburgs diplomats in Istanbul were faced with during the first two decades after the reestablishment of permanent diplomatic contacts (1608) following the end of the Long Turkish war. The study focuses on the diplomatic mission of Johann Jakob Kurz von Senftenau (1623 – 1624). The choice to examine this particular mission in detail is due both to the good volume of preserved archival documents on its progress, and to the fact that it is among the lesser-known Habsburg embassies in Constantinople from the beginning of XVII century. Along with the ever ongoing negotiations of disputable articles of the peace agreements, rebuilding the intelligence network, and organizing save transportation of the diplomatic correspondence to the Imperial court in Vienna emerge as tasks of primary importance. The financial struggles in times of inflation and the frequent change of Ottoman rulers also stand out as main challenges for the Habsburg diplomats to handle.