Giosafat Barbaro
Encyclopedia
Giosafat Barbaro (1413–1494) was a member of the Venetian Barbaro family. He was a diplomat, merchant, explorer and travel writer. He was unusually well-travelled for someone of his times.
on the Campo di Santa Maria Formosa. He became a member of the Venetian Senate in 1431. In 1434, he married Nona Duodo, daughter of Arsenio Duodo. Giosafat and Nona had three daughters and a son, Giovanni Antonio.
From 1436 to 1452 Barbaro traveled as a merchant to the Genoese colony Tana
on the Sea of Azov
. During this time the Golden Horde
was disintegrating due to political rivalries.
In November of 1437, Barbaro heard of the burial mound of the last King of the Alans
, about 20 miles up the Don River
from Tana.
Barbaro and six other men, a mix of Venetian and Jewish merchants, hired 120 men to excavate the kurgan
, which they hoped would contain treasure. When the weather proved too severe, they returned in March of 1438, but found no treasure. Barbaro analytically and precisely recorded information about the layers of earth, coal, ashes, millet, and fish scales that composed the mound. Modern scholarship concludes that it was not a burial mound, but a kitchen midden
that had accumulated over centuries of use. The remains of Barbaro’s excavation was found in the 1920s by Russian archeologist Alexander Alexandrovich Miller.
In 1438, the Great Horde
under Küchük Muhammad advanced on Tana. Barbaro went as an emissary to the Tatars to persuade them not to attack Tana. Later, Barbaro was part of a group that drove off a hundred Circassian
raiders. Barbaro visited many cities in the Crimea, including Solcati
, Soldaia
, Cembalo
, and Caffa. Barbaro also traveled to Russia, where he visited Casan and Novogorod
.
Giosafat Barbaro did not spend all of the years from 1436 to 1452 in Tartary
In 1446, he was elected to the Council of Forty. In 1448, he was appointed Councilor of the trading colonies Modon
and Corone in the Peloponnese
and served until his resignation the following year. Since there was regular trade between Venice and Tana at this time, it seems likely Barbaro went to Tana to trade and returned to Venice for the winter over this time. Barbaro stopped these travels when the Crimean Khanate
became a client state of the Ottoman Turks
. Barbaro returned to Venice in 1452, traveling by way of Russia, Poland, and Germany. In 1455, Barbaro freed a pair of Tartar men he had found in Venice
, housed them for two months, and sent them home to Tana.
of Albania. While there, Barbaro he fought with Lekë Dukagjini
and Skanderbeg
against the Turks. Provveditore Barbaro linked his forces with those of Dukagjini and Nicolo Moneta to form an auxiliary corps of 13,000 men which was sent to relieve the Second Siege of Krujë. After Skanderbeg’s death, Barbaro returned to Venice again.
In 1469, Giosafat Barbaro was made Provveditore of Scutari
, in Albania
. He was in command of 1200 cavalry, which he used to support Lekë Dukagjini
. In 1472, Barbaro was back in Venice, where he was one of the 41 senators chosen to act as electors, who selected Nicolo Tron
as Doge.
, had sent Lazzaro Querini as its first ambassador to Persia
, but he was unable to persuade Persia to attack the Turks. The ruler of Persia, Uzun Hassan
,sent his own envoys to Venice in return. After Negroponte
fell to the Turks, Venice, Naples, the Papal States
, the Kingdom of Cyprus
and the Knights of Rhodes signed an agreement to ally against the Turks.
In 1471, ambassador Querini returned to Venice with Uzun Hassan’s ambassador Murad. The Venetian Senate voted to send another ambassador to Persia, choosing Caterino Zeno after two other men declined. Zeno, whose wife was the niece of Uzun Hassan’s wife, was able to persuade Hassan to attack the Turks. Hassan was successful at first, but there were no simultaneous attacks by any of the western powers and the war turned against Persia.
. He also spoke Turkish and a little Persian. Barbaro was provided with an escort of ten men and an annual salary of 1800 ducats. His instructions included urging admiral Pietro Mocenigo
to attack the Ottomans and attempting to arrange naval cooperation from the Kingdom of Cyprus
and the Knights of Rhodes. He was also in charge of three galleys full of artillery, ammunition, and military personnel who were to assist Uzun Hassan.
In February of 1473, Barbaro and the Persian envoy Haci Muhammad left Venice and traveled to Zadar
, where they met with representatives of Naples and the Papal court. From there, Barbaro and the others traveled by way of Corfu
, Modon
, Corone
reaching Rhodes
and then Cyprus
, where Barbaro was delayed for a year.
The Kingdom of Cyprus
's position off the coast of Anatolia
was in a key position for supplying, not just Uzun Hassan in Persia, but the Venetian allies of Caramania and Scandelore and the Venetian fleet under Pietro Mocenigo
was used to defend communication lines to them. King James II of Cyprus
had attempted to ally with Caramania and Scandelore, as well as the Sultan of Egypt, against the Turks. King James had also written to the Venetian Senate, stressing the need to support Persia against the Turks and his navy had cooperated with Admiral Mocenigo in recapturing the coastal towns of Gorhigos and Selefke.
The Emir of Scandelore fell to the Turks in 1473 in spite of military aid from the Kingdom of Cyprus. The power of Caramania was broken. James II of Cyprus privately told Giosafat Barbaro he felt like he was trapped between two wolves, the Ottoman Sultan and the Egyptian Sultan. The latter was James' liege lord, and not on friendly terms with Venice.
James II entered into negotiations with the Turks. At first he refused to let the Venetian galleys with their munitions land in the port of Famagusta
. When Barbaro and the Venetian ambassador, Nicolo Pasqualigo, attempted to persuade James II to change his mind, the King threatened to destroy the galleys and kill every man on board.
King James II of Cyprus
died in July of 1473, leaving Queen Catherine
a pregnant widow. James had appointed a seven member council, which contained Venetian Andrea Cornaro
, a relative of the Queen, as well as Marin Rizzo and Giovanni Fabrice, agents of the Kingdom of Naples who opposed Venetian influence. Queen Catherine gave birth to a son, James II in August of 1473., with Admiral Pietro Mocenigo and other Venetian officials acting as godfathers.
Once the Venetian fleet left, there was a revolt by pro-Neapolitan forces, which resulted in the deaths of the Queen's uncle and cousin. The Archbishop of Nicosia, Juan Tafures
, the Count of Tripoli, the Count of Jaffa, and Marin Rizzo seized Famagusta, capturing the Queen and the newborn King.
Barbaro and Bailo Pasqualigo were protected by the Venetian soldiers that had accompanied Barbaro. The conspirators made several attempts to persuade Barbaro to hand over the soldiers' arms. The Constable of Cyprus sent an agent, while the Count of Tripoli, the Archbishop of Nicosia, and the Constable of Jerusalem made personal visits. After consulting with Bailo Pasqualigo, they decided to disarm the men, but keep the weapons. Barbaro alerted the captains of the Venetian galleys in the harbor. Barbaro also sent dispatches the Senate of Venice, warning them of events. Later, Barbaro and the Venetian troops withdrew to one of the galleys.
By the time Admiral Mocenigo returned to Cyprus, the rebels were quarreling among themselves and the people of Nicosia
and Famagusta
had risen against them. The uprising was suppressed, those ringleaders who did not flee were executed, and Cyprus became a Venetian client state
. The Venetian Senate authorized the troops and military that had accompanied Giosafat Barbaro to stay in Cyprus.
Giosafat Barbaro was still in Cyprus in December of 1473, and the Venetian Senate sent a letter, telling Barbaro to complete his journey, as well as sending another ambassador, Ambrogio Contarini to Persia. Barbaro and the Persian envoy left Cyprus in February of 1474 disguised as Muslim pilgrims. The Papal and Neapolitan envoys did not accompany them. Barbaro landed in Caramania, where the King warned them that the Turks held the territory they would need to travel through. After landing in Cilicia
, Barbaro's party traveled through Tarsus
, Adana
, Orfa
, Merdin
, Hasankeyf
, and Tigranocerta
In the Taurus Mountains
of Kurdistan, Barbaro’s party was attacked by bandits. He escaped on horseback, but he was wounded and several members of the group, including his secretary and the Persian ambassador were killed, and their goods were plundered. As they neared Tabriz
, Barbaro and his interpreter were assaulted by Turcomans
after refusing to hand over a letter to Uzun Hassan
Barbaro and his surviving companions finally reached Hassan’s court in April of 1474.
Although Barbaro got on well with Uzun Hassan, he was unable to persuade the ruler to attack the Ottomans again. Shortly afterwards, Hassan’s son Ogurlu Mohamed, rose in rebellion, seizing the city of Schiras
.
Barbaro visited the ruins of Persepolis
, which he incorrectly thought were of Jewish origin. He also visited Tauris, Soldania, Isph, Cassan (Kascian), Como
(Kom), Yezd
, Shiraz
and Baghdad
. Giosafat Barbaro was the first European to visit the ruins of Pasargadae
, where he believed the local tradition that misidentified the tomb of Cyrus the Great
as belonging to King Solomon’s mother.
Barbaro visited the ruins of Persepolis
,
The other Venetian ambassador, Ambrosio Contarini, arrived in Persia in August of 1474. Uzun Hassan decided that Contarini would return to Venice with a report, while Giosafat Barbaro would stay in Persia.
guide and escaped by way of Erzerum
, Aleppo
, and Beirut
. Barbaro reached Venice in 1479, where he defended himself against complaints that he had spent too much time in Cyprus before going to Persia. Barbaro's report included not just political and military matters, but discussed Persian agriculture, commerce, and customs.
Giosafat Barbaro served as Captain of Rovigo
and Provveditore
of all Polesine
from 1482 to 1485. He was also one of the Councilors of Doge Agostino Barbarigo
He died in 1494 and was buried in the Church of San Francesco della Vigna
.
Barbaro's account of his travels, entitled "Fiaggi falti da Fenezia alla Tana in Persi" was first published from 1543 to 1545 by the sons of Aldus Manutius
. It is included Giovanne Baptista Ramusio's 1559 "Collection of Travels" as "Journey to the Tanais, Persia, India, and Constantinople" The scholar and courtier William Thomas
translated this work into English for the young King Edward VI under the title ‘’Travels to Tana and Persia’’ and also includes the account of Barbaro’s fellow ambassador to Persia, Ambrogio Contarini. This work was republished in London in 1873 by the Hakluyt Society
and a Russian language edition was published in 1971. In 1583, Barbaro’s account was published by Filippo Giunti
in ‘’Volume Delle Navigationi Et Viaggi’’ along with those of Marco Polo
and Kirakos Gandzaketsi
’s account of the travels of Hethum I, King of Armenia. In 1601, Barbaro’s and Contarini’s accounts were included in Pietro Bizzarri’s ‘’ Rerum Persicarum Historia’’ along with accounts by Bonacursius, Jacob Geuder von Heroldsberg, Giovanni Tommaso Minadoi, and Henricus Porsius; which was published in Frankfurt. in 2005, Barbaro’s account was also published in Turkish as ‘’ Anadolu'ya ve İran'a seyahat’’.
Barbaro’s account provided more information on Persia and its resources than that of Contarini. He showed skill in observing unfamiliar places and reporting on them. Much of Barbaro's information about the Kipchak Khanate
, Persia, and Georgia
is not found in any other sources.
Giosafat Barbaro’s dispatches to the Venetian Senate were complied by Enrico Cornet and published as ‘’ Lettere al Senato Veneto’’ in 1852 in Vienna. Barbaro also discussed his travels in a letter written in 1491 to the Bishop of Padua, Pietro Barocci.
Family
Giosafat Barbaro was born to Antonio and Franceschina Barbaro in a palazzoPalazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
on the Campo di Santa Maria Formosa. He became a member of the Venetian Senate in 1431. In 1434, he married Nona Duodo, daughter of Arsenio Duodo. Giosafat and Nona had three daughters and a son, Giovanni Antonio.
Travels to Tana
Tanais
Tanais is the ancient name for the River Don in Russia. Strabo regarded it as the boundary between Europe and Asia.In antiquity, Tanais was also the name of a city in the Don river delta that reaches into the northeasternmost part of the Sea of Azov, which the Greeks called Lake Maeotis...
on the Sea of Azov
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
. During this time the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
was disintegrating due to political rivalries.
In November of 1437, Barbaro heard of the burial mound of the last King of the Alans
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
, about 20 miles up the Don River
Don River (Russia)
The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov....
from Tana.
Barbaro and six other men, a mix of Venetian and Jewish merchants, hired 120 men to excavate the kurgan
Kurgan
Kurgan is the Turkic term for a tumulus; mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves, originating with its use in Soviet archaeology, now widely used for tumuli in the context of Eastern European and Central Asian archaeology....
, which they hoped would contain treasure. When the weather proved too severe, they returned in March of 1438, but found no treasure. Barbaro analytically and precisely recorded information about the layers of earth, coal, ashes, millet, and fish scales that composed the mound. Modern scholarship concludes that it was not a burial mound, but a kitchen midden
Midden
A midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation...
that had accumulated over centuries of use. The remains of Barbaro’s excavation was found in the 1920s by Russian archeologist Alexander Alexandrovich Miller.
In 1438, the Great Horde
Great Horde
- Dissolution of the Golden Horde :The peripheral regions of the Golden Horde broke off as follows: 1438: Kazan Khanate, 1441: Crimean Khanate, 1466: Astrakhan Khanate The remnant, which became known as the Great Horde, was left with the steppe between the Dnieper and Yaik, the capital Sarai and a...
under Küchük Muhammad advanced on Tana. Barbaro went as an emissary to the Tatars to persuade them not to attack Tana. Later, Barbaro was part of a group that drove off a hundred Circassian
Adyghe people
The Adyghe or Adygs , also often known as Circassians or Cherkess, are in origin a North Caucasian ethnic groupwho were displaced in the course of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus in the 19th century, especially after the Russian–Circassian War of 1862.Adyghe people mostly speak Adyghe and most...
raiders. Barbaro visited many cities in the Crimea, including Solcati
Staryi Krym
Staryi Krym is a small historical town in the Eastern Crimea, approximately 25 km west of Theodosia. The population of Staryi Krym in 2001 was 9,960 people.-History:...
, Soldaia
Sudak
Sudak or Sudaq is a small historic town located in Crimea, Ukraine situated to the west of Feodosiya and to the east of Simferopol, the capital of Crimea...
, Cembalo
Balaklava
Balaklava is a former city on the Crimean peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol which carries a special administrative status in Ukraine. It was a city in its own right until 1957 when it was formally incorporated into the municipal borders of Sevastopol by the Soviet government...
, and Caffa. Barbaro also traveled to Russia, where he visited Casan and Novogorod
Veliky Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod is one of Russia's most historic cities and the administrative center of Novgorod Oblast. It is situated on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg. The city lies along the Volkhov River just below its outflow from Lake Ilmen...
.
Giosafat Barbaro did not spend all of the years from 1436 to 1452 in Tartary
Tartary
Tartary or Great Tartary was a name used by Europeans from the Middle Ages until the twentieth century to designate the Great Steppe, that is the great tract of northern and central Asia stretching from the Caspian Sea and the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean inhabited mostly by Turkic, Mongol...
In 1446, he was elected to the Council of Forty. In 1448, he was appointed Councilor of the trading colonies Modon
MODON
frame|Established : 2001 Type : [[Public]]Category : [[Industrial district|Industrial cities]]Head Office : [[Riyadh]]Country : [[Saudi Arabia]]Website :...
and Corone in the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
and served until his resignation the following year. Since there was regular trade between Venice and Tana at this time, it seems likely Barbaro went to Tana to trade and returned to Venice for the winter over this time. Barbaro stopped these travels when the Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
became a client state of the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
. Barbaro returned to Venice in 1452, traveling by way of Russia, Poland, and Germany. In 1455, Barbaro freed a pair of Tartar men he had found in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, housed them for two months, and sent them home to Tana.
Political career
In 1460, Giosafat Barbaro was elected Council to Tana, but he declined the position. In 1463, he was appointed ProvveditoreProvveditore
The Italian title provveditore or proveditore , "he who sees to things", was the style of various local district governors in the extensive, mainly maritime empire of the Venetian dogal republic...
of Albania. While there, Barbaro he fought with Lekë Dukagjini
Lekë Dukagjini
Lekë III Dukagjini was an Albanian prince who fought against the Ottoman Empire. A contemporary of Skanderbeg, Dukagjini is known for the Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit, a code of law instituted in northern Albania.- Biography :...
and Skanderbeg
Skanderbeg
George Kastrioti Skanderbeg or Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu , widely known as Skanderbeg , was a 15th-century Albanian lord. He was appointed as the governor of the Sanjak of Dibra by the Ottomans in 1440...
against the Turks. Provveditore Barbaro linked his forces with those of Dukagjini and Nicolo Moneta to form an auxiliary corps of 13,000 men which was sent to relieve the Second Siege of Krujë. After Skanderbeg’s death, Barbaro returned to Venice again.
In 1469, Giosafat Barbaro was made Provveditore of Scutari
Shkodër
Shkodër , is a city located on Lake of Shkoder in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Shkodër's estimated population is 90,000; if the...
, in Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. He was in command of 1200 cavalry, which he used to support Lekë Dukagjini
Lekë Dukagjini
Lekë III Dukagjini was an Albanian prince who fought against the Ottoman Empire. A contemporary of Skanderbeg, Dukagjini is known for the Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit, a code of law instituted in northern Albania.- Biography :...
. In 1472, Barbaro was back in Venice, where he was one of the 41 senators chosen to act as electors, who selected Nicolo Tron
Nicolo Tron
Nicolò Tron was the 68th Doge of Venice, reigning from 1471 to 1473.-Life:Tron became wealthy after only a brief career as a merchant after which he held various public positions in the government of Venice. He was consigliere for naval matters and ambassador of Venice to Pope Pius II...
as Doge.
Venetian conflict with the Ottoman Turks
In 1463, the Venetian Senate, seeking allies against the TurksOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, had sent Lazzaro Querini as its first ambassador to Persia
Ak Koyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu or Ak Koyunlu, also called the White Sheep Turkomans , was an Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled parts of present-day Eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, and Iran from 1378 to 1508.-History:According to chronicles from the Byzantine Empire, the Aq Qoyunlu...
, but he was unable to persuade Persia to attack the Turks. The ruler of Persia, Uzun Hassan
Uzun Hassan
Uzun Hasan or Hassan , Sultan of the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty, or White Sheep Turkmen. Hassan ruled in parts of present-day western Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia between 1453 and 1478....
,sent his own envoys to Venice in return. After Negroponte
Negroponte
Negroponte can refer to:*the Greek island of Euboea, called Negroponte in Italian**Chalkis, the island's capital, named Negroponte during the Middle Ages...
fell to the Turks, Venice, Naples, the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
, the Kingdom of Cyprus
Kingdom of Cyprus
The Kingdom of Cyprus was a Crusader kingdom on the island of Cyprus in the high and late Middle Ages, between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan.-History:...
and the Knights of Rhodes signed an agreement to ally against the Turks.
In 1471, ambassador Querini returned to Venice with Uzun Hassan’s ambassador Murad. The Venetian Senate voted to send another ambassador to Persia, choosing Caterino Zeno after two other men declined. Zeno, whose wife was the niece of Uzun Hassan’s wife, was able to persuade Hassan to attack the Turks. Hassan was successful at first, but there were no simultaneous attacks by any of the western powers and the war turned against Persia.
Ambassador to Persia
In 1472, Giosafat Barbaro was also selected as an ambassador to Persia, due to his experience in the Crimean, Muscoy, and TartaryTartary
Tartary or Great Tartary was a name used by Europeans from the Middle Ages until the twentieth century to designate the Great Steppe, that is the great tract of northern and central Asia stretching from the Caspian Sea and the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean inhabited mostly by Turkic, Mongol...
. He also spoke Turkish and a little Persian. Barbaro was provided with an escort of ten men and an annual salary of 1800 ducats. His instructions included urging admiral Pietro Mocenigo
Pietro Mocenigo
Pietro Mocenigo was doge of Venice from 1474 to 1476.He was one of the greatest Venetian admirals and revived the fortunes of his country's navy, which had fallen very low after the defeat at Negropont in 1470...
to attack the Ottomans and attempting to arrange naval cooperation from the Kingdom of Cyprus
Kingdom of Cyprus
The Kingdom of Cyprus was a Crusader kingdom on the island of Cyprus in the high and late Middle Ages, between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan.-History:...
and the Knights of Rhodes. He was also in charge of three galleys full of artillery, ammunition, and military personnel who were to assist Uzun Hassan.
In February of 1473, Barbaro and the Persian envoy Haci Muhammad left Venice and traveled to Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
, where they met with representatives of Naples and the Papal court. From there, Barbaro and the others traveled by way of Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, Modon
Methoni, Messenia
Methoni is a village and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is a municipal unit. Its name may be derived from Mothona, a mythical rock. It is located 11 km south of Pylos and...
, Corone
Koroni
Koroni or Coroni is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is a municipal unit. Known as Corone by the Venetians and Ottomans, the town of Koroni Koroni or Coroni is a...
reaching Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
and then Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, where Barbaro was delayed for a year.
Kingdom of Cyprus
The Kingdom of Cyprus was a Crusader kingdom on the island of Cyprus in the high and late Middle Ages, between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan.-History:...
's position off the coast of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
was in a key position for supplying, not just Uzun Hassan in Persia, but the Venetian allies of Caramania and Scandelore and the Venetian fleet under Pietro Mocenigo
Pietro Mocenigo
Pietro Mocenigo was doge of Venice from 1474 to 1476.He was one of the greatest Venetian admirals and revived the fortunes of his country's navy, which had fallen very low after the defeat at Negropont in 1470...
was used to defend communication lines to them. King James II of Cyprus
James II of Cyprus
James II of Cyprus or Jacques II le Bâtard de Lusignan , was the illegitimate son of John II of Cyprus and Marietta de Patras.-Archbishop of Nicosia:...
had attempted to ally with Caramania and Scandelore, as well as the Sultan of Egypt, against the Turks. King James had also written to the Venetian Senate, stressing the need to support Persia against the Turks and his navy had cooperated with Admiral Mocenigo in recapturing the coastal towns of Gorhigos and Selefke.
The Emir of Scandelore fell to the Turks in 1473 in spite of military aid from the Kingdom of Cyprus. The power of Caramania was broken. James II of Cyprus privately told Giosafat Barbaro he felt like he was trapped between two wolves, the Ottoman Sultan and the Egyptian Sultan. The latter was James' liege lord, and not on friendly terms with Venice.
James II entered into negotiations with the Turks. At first he refused to let the Venetian galleys with their munitions land in the port of Famagusta
Famagusta
Famagusta is a city on the east coast of Cyprus and is capital of the Famagusta District. It is located east of Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island.-Name:...
. When Barbaro and the Venetian ambassador, Nicolo Pasqualigo, attempted to persuade James II to change his mind, the King threatened to destroy the galleys and kill every man on board.
King James II of Cyprus
James II of Cyprus
James II of Cyprus or Jacques II le Bâtard de Lusignan , was the illegitimate son of John II of Cyprus and Marietta de Patras.-Archbishop of Nicosia:...
died in July of 1473, leaving Queen Catherine
Catherine Cornaro
Nobil Donna Catherine Cornaro was Queen of Cyprus from 1474 to 1489 and declared a "Daughter of Saint Mark" in order that Venice could claim control of Cyprus after the death of her husband, James II .-Family:She was born in Venice in 1454 and was the daughter of a well-known and powerful family of...
a pregnant widow. James had appointed a seven member council, which contained Venetian Andrea Cornaro
Andrea Cornaro
Andrea Cornaro of the House of Cornaro, was the husband of Maria dalle Carceri, widow of Albert Pallavicini. He married Maria in 1312 and co-governed her half of the marquisate of Bodonitsa until his death....
, a relative of the Queen, as well as Marin Rizzo and Giovanni Fabrice, agents of the Kingdom of Naples who opposed Venetian influence. Queen Catherine gave birth to a son, James II in August of 1473., with Admiral Pietro Mocenigo and other Venetian officials acting as godfathers.
Once the Venetian fleet left, there was a revolt by pro-Neapolitan forces, which resulted in the deaths of the Queen's uncle and cousin. The Archbishop of Nicosia, Juan Tafures
Juan Tafures
Juan Tafures or Tafurer was a Catalan adventurer in the mid fifteenth century.Owner of a merchant ship, Juan landed at Larnaca in Cyprus in July 1457 when James de Lusignan, bastard son of John II of Cyprus and Archbishop of Nicosia, was fleeing his father, for he had murdered the royal...
, the Count of Tripoli, the Count of Jaffa, and Marin Rizzo seized Famagusta, capturing the Queen and the newborn King.
Barbaro and Bailo Pasqualigo were protected by the Venetian soldiers that had accompanied Barbaro. The conspirators made several attempts to persuade Barbaro to hand over the soldiers' arms. The Constable of Cyprus sent an agent, while the Count of Tripoli, the Archbishop of Nicosia, and the Constable of Jerusalem made personal visits. After consulting with Bailo Pasqualigo, they decided to disarm the men, but keep the weapons. Barbaro alerted the captains of the Venetian galleys in the harbor. Barbaro also sent dispatches the Senate of Venice, warning them of events. Later, Barbaro and the Venetian troops withdrew to one of the galleys.
By the time Admiral Mocenigo returned to Cyprus, the rebels were quarreling among themselves and the people of Nicosia
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
and Famagusta
Famagusta
Famagusta is a city on the east coast of Cyprus and is capital of the Famagusta District. It is located east of Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island.-Name:...
had risen against them. The uprising was suppressed, those ringleaders who did not flee were executed, and Cyprus became a Venetian client state
Client state
Client state is one of several terms used to describe the economic, political and/or military subordination of one state to a more powerful state in international affairs...
. The Venetian Senate authorized the troops and military that had accompanied Giosafat Barbaro to stay in Cyprus.
Giosafat Barbaro was still in Cyprus in December of 1473, and the Venetian Senate sent a letter, telling Barbaro to complete his journey, as well as sending another ambassador, Ambrogio Contarini to Persia. Barbaro and the Persian envoy left Cyprus in February of 1474 disguised as Muslim pilgrims. The Papal and Neapolitan envoys did not accompany them. Barbaro landed in Caramania, where the King warned them that the Turks held the territory they would need to travel through. After landing in Cilicia
Silifke
-Antiquity:Located a few miles from the mouth of the Calycadnus River, Seleucia was founded by Seleucus I Nicator in the early 3rd century BCE, one of several cities he named after himself. It is probable that there were already towns called Olbia and Hyria and that Seleucus I merely united them...
, Barbaro's party traveled through Tarsus
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
, Adana
Adana
Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
, Orfa
Sanliurfa
Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language , in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323 inhabitants Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language (Syriac ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhoy,Armenian Ուռհա Owr'ha, Arabic الرها ar-Ruhā), in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323...
, Merdin
Mardin
Mardin is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for its Arabic-like architecture, and for its strategic location on a rocky mountain overlooking the plains of northern Syria.-History:...
, Hasankeyf
Hasankeyf
Hasankeyf is an ancient town and district located along the Tigris River in the Batman Province in southeastern Turkey. It was declared a natural conservation area by Turkey in 1981...
, and Tigranocerta
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
of Kurdistan, Barbaro’s party was attacked by bandits. He escaped on horseback, but he was wounded and several members of the group, including his secretary and the Persian ambassador were killed, and their goods were plundered. As they neared Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
, Barbaro and his interpreter were assaulted by Turcomans
Oghuz Turks
The Turkomen also known as Oghuz Turks were a historical Turkic tribal confederation in Central Asia during the early medieval Turkic expansion....
after refusing to hand over a letter to Uzun Hassan
Uzun Hassan
Uzun Hasan or Hassan , Sultan of the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty, or White Sheep Turkmen. Hassan ruled in parts of present-day western Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia between 1453 and 1478....
Barbaro and his surviving companions finally reached Hassan’s court in April of 1474.
Although Barbaro got on well with Uzun Hassan, he was unable to persuade the ruler to attack the Ottomans again. Shortly afterwards, Hassan’s son Ogurlu Mohamed, rose in rebellion, seizing the city of Schiras
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
.
Barbaro visited the ruins of Persepolis
Persepolis
Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid...
, which he incorrectly thought were of Jewish origin. He also visited Tauris, Soldania, Isph, Cassan (Kascian), Como
Como
Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....
(Kom), Yezd
Yazd
Yazd is the capital of Yazd Province in Iran, and a centre of Zoroastrian culture. The city is located some 175 miles southeast of Isfahan. At the 2006 census, the population was 423,006, in 114,716 families....
, Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
and Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. Giosafat Barbaro was the first European to visit the ruins of Pasargadae
Pasargadae
Pasargadae , the capital of Cyrus the Great and also his last resting place, was a city in ancient Persia, and is today an archaeological site and one of Iran's UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-History:...
, where he believed the local tradition that misidentified the tomb of Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
as belonging to King Solomon’s mother.
Persepolis
Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid...
,
The other Venetian ambassador, Ambrosio Contarini, arrived in Persia in August of 1474. Uzun Hassan decided that Contarini would return to Venice with a report, while Giosafat Barbaro would stay in Persia.
Return to Venice
Barbaro was the last Venetian ambassador to leave Persia, after Uzun Hassan died in 1478. By this point only one of Barbaro's entourage was left. While Hassan’s sons fought each other for the throne, Barbaro hired an ArmenianArmenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
guide and escaped by way of Erzerum
Erzurum
Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...
, Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
, and Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. Barbaro reached Venice in 1479, where he defended himself against complaints that he had spent too much time in Cyprus before going to Persia. Barbaro's report included not just political and military matters, but discussed Persian agriculture, commerce, and customs.
Giosafat Barbaro served as Captain of Rovigo
Rovigo
Rovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. -Geography:...
and Provveditore
Provveditore
The Italian title provveditore or proveditore , "he who sees to things", was the style of various local district governors in the extensive, mainly maritime empire of the Venetian dogal republic...
of all Polesine
Polesine
Polesine is a geographic and historic area in the north-east of Italy corresponding nowadays with the province of Rovigo; it is a strip of land about 100-km long and 18-km wide located between the lower courses of the Adige and the Po rivers.- Geography :...
from 1482 to 1485. He was also one of the Councilors of Doge Agostino Barbarigo
Agostino Barbarigo
Agostino Barbarigo was Doge of Venice from 1486 until his death in 1501.While he was Doge, the imposing Clock Tower in the Piazza San Marco with its archway through which the street known as the Merceria leads to the Rialto, was designed and completed...
He died in 1494 and was buried in the Church of San Francesco della Vigna
San Francesco della Vigna
San Francesco della Vigna is a Roman Catholic church in the Sestiere of Castello in Venice, northern Italy.-History:Along with Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, this is one of two Franciscan churches in Venice. The site, originally a vineyard , was donated by Marco Ziani in 1253 for construction of...
.
Writing
In 1487, Barbaro wrote an account of his travels. In it, he mentions being familiar with the accounts of Niccolò de' Conti and John de Mandeville.Barbaro's account of his travels, entitled "Fiaggi falti da Fenezia alla Tana in Persi" was first published from 1543 to 1545 by the sons of Aldus Manutius
Aldus Manutius
Aldus Pius Manutius , the Latinised name of Aldo Manuzio —sometimes called Aldus Manutius, the Elder to distinguish him from his grandson, Aldus Manutius, the Younger—was an Italian humanist who became a printer and publisher when he founded the Aldine Press at Venice.His publishing legacy includes...
. It is included Giovanne Baptista Ramusio's 1559 "Collection of Travels" as "Journey to the Tanais, Persia, India, and Constantinople" The scholar and courtier William Thomas
William Thomas (scholar)
William Thomas , probably a Welshman, was an Italian scholar and clerk of the council to Edward VI, who was executed for treason after the death of Edward.-Early years:...
translated this work into English for the young King Edward VI under the title ‘’Travels to Tana and Persia’’ and also includes the account of Barbaro’s fellow ambassador to Persia, Ambrogio Contarini. This work was republished in London in 1873 by the Hakluyt Society
Hakluyt Society
Founded in 1846, the Hakluyt Society is a registered charity based in London, England, which seeks to advance knowledge and education by the publication of scholarly editions of primary records of voyages, travels and other geographical material...
and a Russian language edition was published in 1971. In 1583, Barbaro’s account was published by Filippo Giunti
Filippo Giunti
The press of Filippo Giunti and Bernardo Giunti was a leading printing firm in Florence from the turn of the sixteenth century. The first of the Giunti presses was established in Venice by Luca Antonio Giunti the elder , a Florentine...
in ‘’Volume Delle Navigationi Et Viaggi’’ along with those of Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
and Kirakos Gandzaketsi
Kirakos Gandzaketsi
Kirakos of Gandzak was an Armenian historian of the 13th century and author of the History of Armenia, a summary of events from the 4th to the 12th century and a detailed description of the events of his own days. The work concentrates primarily on the history of Medieval Armenia and events...
’s account of the travels of Hethum I, King of Armenia. In 1601, Barbaro’s and Contarini’s accounts were included in Pietro Bizzarri’s ‘’ Rerum Persicarum Historia’’ along with accounts by Bonacursius, Jacob Geuder von Heroldsberg, Giovanni Tommaso Minadoi, and Henricus Porsius; which was published in Frankfurt. in 2005, Barbaro’s account was also published in Turkish as ‘’ Anadolu'ya ve İran'a seyahat’’.
Barbaro’s account provided more information on Persia and its resources than that of Contarini. He showed skill in observing unfamiliar places and reporting on them. Much of Barbaro's information about the Kipchak Khanate
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, Persia, and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
is not found in any other sources.
Giosafat Barbaro’s dispatches to the Venetian Senate were complied by Enrico Cornet and published as ‘’ Lettere al Senato Veneto’’ in 1852 in Vienna. Barbaro also discussed his travels in a letter written in 1491 to the Bishop of Padua, Pietro Barocci.