«All'Eccellentissimo Medico» : La Sublime Porta e la diplomazia medicea dopo la battaglia di Lepanto : riflessioni circa una missiva in ebraico nella corrispondenza medicea

The aftermaths of the Battle of Lepanto were extremely problematic for the Medici state, whose diplomats were unable to forge durable and sound ties with the Sublime Porte. As shown by a document published in 1909 by Israel Zoller, a fundamental support to the Medici came from Salomon ben Nathan Ashkenazi, a renowned physician, and diplomat who played a key role in the re-establishment of Venetian-Ottoman relations after the Lepanto clash. In the Medici diplomatic correspondence, a letter written in Hebrew, perhaps addressed to Ashkenazi, and unveiling crucial details of the peace agreements between the Porte and the Western powers, was recently found. The aim of the paper is to situate this missive in the wider context of Tuscan-Ottoman political dialogue. [Publisher's text]

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