DOI: 10.14754/CEU.2016.05 CYPRUS IN OTTOMAN AND VENETIAN POLITICAL IMAGINATION, c. 1489-1582 by Tamás Kiss Supervisor: Tijana Krstić Co-supervisor: György Endre Szőnyi Submitted to the Medieval Studies Department and the Doctoral School of History at Central European University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Medieval Studies and for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2016 DOI: 10.14754/CEU.2016.05 Copyright Notice and Statement of Responsibility Copyright in the text of this dissertation rests with the author. Copies by any process, either in full or part, may be made only in accordance with the instructions given by the author and lodged in the Central Euorpean University Library. Details may be obtained from the librarian. This page must form a part of any such copies made. Further copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the written permission of the author. I hereby declare that this dissertation contains no materials accepted for any other degrees in any other institution and no materials previously written and/or published by another person unless otherwise noted. CEU eTD Collection 1 DOI: 10.14754/CEU.2016.05 Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 4 Note on Transliteration and Translation .................................................................................... 9 Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... 10 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 1: Venice, Venus and Caterina Cornaro ..................................................................... 33 1.1 Historical Overview .................................................................................................... 36 1.2 Mediocritas Challenged: Venetian Familial and Personal Self-representation through Cyprus ............................................................................................................................... 44 1.3 Cyprus, Venus and Caterina Cornaro in Venetian State Iconography ....................... 63 1.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 73 Chapter 2: Toward the War of Cyprus: the Declaration of War from an Intra- and Inter- Imperial Polemical Perspective................................................................................................ 74 2.1 Cyprus or Granada?—Ottoman and Venetian Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence in Prelude to the War ........................................................................................................ 74 2.2 The Ottomans’ Contradictory Casus Belli .................................................................. 89 2.3 Factional Politics and Diplomatic Meanderings ......................................................... 98 2.4 The War and its Aftermath ....................................................................................... 106 2.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 108 Chapter 3: Selim II’s Sultanic Image Making ....................................................................... 111 3.1 The Selimiye Mosque and the War of Cyprus ......................................................... 115 3.2 The Selimiye Mosque and the Hagia Sophia............................................................ 126 3.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 139 Chapter 4: The War of Cyprus and the Apocalypse .............................................................. 141 CEU eTD Collection 3.1 The Medieval and Early Modern Apocalyptic “Backdrop” ..................................... 142 4.2 Cyprus in Mediterranean Apocalypticism ................................................................ 159 4.3 The War of Cyprus in Venetian Apocalyptic Oracles .............................................. 170 4.4 Post-War Apocalyptic Interpretations in the Ottoman Empire ................................ 179 4.5 Morisco Voices ......................................................................................................... 184 2 DOI: 10.14754/CEU.2016.05 4.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 192 Chapter 5: A Re-enactment of the War of Cyprus? ............................................................... 194 5.1 A Performance at the Sur-i Hümayun ....................................................................... 195 5.2 The Performance and Displaying Power .................................................................. 204 5.3 The Performance and Early Modern Artillery .......................................................... 221 5.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 233 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 234 Appendix: Figures .................................................................................................................. 237 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 261 Primary Sources .............................................................................................................. 261 Secondary Sources .......................................................................................................... 268 CEU eTD Collection 3 DOI: 10.14754/CEU.2016.05 Acknowledgements I cross the finish line of a grueling race thinking of all the losses, inconveniences and pains I have caused myself and others to get here. While I do not have the slightest regret for my own sacrifices—for, eventually, I triumphed—I owe an apology to everyone for whom I caused hardship or distress on the way. Completing a dissertation is a lonely enterprise. Since the first day of writing I have probably spent more time in the company of my laptop than with everyone I know combined. Yet, even in the loneliest hours, I enjoyed the support of many individuals, without whom enduring and completing the dissertation process would have been impossible. First of all, I would like to thank Tijana Krstić, whose supervision deserves only superlatives. She has done far more than “just” transforming me into a fully equipped historian of the Ottoman Empire and the Mediterranean. Almost no aspect of my doctoral education, research and dissertation writing was left untouched by her intellectual influence and compassionate guidance. She has magnanimously shared with me her network of friends and colleagues, and advised me with an incredible amount of commitment on theoretical and practical matters, which often exceeded her duties as a supervisor. If this dissertation excels in anything, it excels as an example of her scholarly acumen, perfectionism and ability to inspire others. Writing this dissertation would have been much harder and taken much longer without CEU eTD Collection the generosity of people around the world who shared their ideas, expertise and sources with me throughout the years. I would like to thank the insightful advice of Günhan Börekçi on Ottoman sources and accessing archival material on several occasions in Istanbul and Budapest. I have benefited greatly from Palmira Brummett’s and Natalie Rothman’s comments 4 DOI: 10.14754/CEU.2016.05 on my dissertation drafts. I owe gratitude to Alice Choyke, Katalin Szende, György Endre Szőnyi, Tolga Esmer, Marcell Sebők, Pál Ács and Georg Christ for sharing with me their thoughts and ideas about this project at different stages of its preparation. I would like to thank Suraiya Faroqhi, Emine Fetvacı and Benjamin Arbel for providing me with secondary sources to which I would not have had access without their help. I am particularly obliged to Nina Ergin, Emrah Safa Gürkan and András Kraft for making available to me their collection of primary sources, which were indispensable for writing chapters 2, 3 and 4. András even shared with me the findings of his own, yet unfinished, doctoral research. I hope, at some point, I will be able to reciprocate their help. Sona Grigoryan and Ferenc Csirkés have helped me by translating sources from languages that fall beyond my foreign language skills. If my translations of Italian sources make sense, it is due to Eszter Lénárt, who has taught me Venetian paleography and corrected my translations where she deemed necessary. My entire doctoral training would have been impossible without the financial support of Central European University (CEU). CEU and the Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies have financed my research in Turkey on several instances. New Europe College supported my research in 2013-14 both in Bucharest and Istanbul, for which I remain grateful. CEU’s write- up grant provided me with financial safety for six months during the final stages of the writing of this dissertation. Zeynep Atbaş at the Topkapı Palace Museum helped me access Ottoman sources at a time when approaching