West meets East in Venice: Cross-cultural interactions and reciprocal influences between the Safavids and Venetians

Project Information

SAFVEN

Grant agreement ID: 789632

DOI

10.3030/789632

Project closed

EC signature date 28 March 2018

Start date 15 January 2019

End date 14 January 2021

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 180 277,20

EU contribution

€ 180 277,20

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SAFVEN (West meets East in Venice: Cross-cultural interactions and reciprocal influences between theSafavids and Venetians)

Reporting period: 2019-01-15 to 2021-01-14

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

In the last two decades, in the wake of the renewed interest in early modern diplomacy and shifting toward interdisciplinary approaches, the interactions between Europe and the Islamic Middle East have received considerable attention. Scholars are increasingly emphasizing interconnected and shared history of Europe and the Middle East . The nature of these connections can be traced through the comprehensive examination of early modern diplomatic and cross-cultural encounters between the Islamic Middle East (Ottomans, Safavids) and Europe (Venetians) which cannot be grasped appropriately from a shallow historical or a monocultural perspective. The aim of the research project is to examine the interactions and reciprocal influences between the Safavids and Venetians in the 16th -17th centuries.
The research will be the first systematic and interdisciplinary study of Venetian-Safavid gift exchanges. For the first time, diplomatic ceremonies and diplomatic missions will be viewed through the prism of gift-exchange and material culture. Particularly, the research will provide insight into understanding of the following largely unexplored aspects of gift exchanges between these powers: (1) Political and cultural meanings of gift exchanges; (2) Place and importance of precious objects in gift exchanges; (3) Superiority, inferiority and principle of reciprocity in gift exchange; (4) Connections between things and identities (5) Symbolic and materialistic values of gifts (6) Selection and management of gifts; (7) Ceremonial process of gift-giving; (8) Gift-giving habits of individual Safavid and Venetian rulers; (9) Economic character of gift-exchanges.
The research will provide a comprehensive view of the material culture of the Safavid-Venetian encounters. We will consider objects not only as mediums of symbolic communication in diplomatic relationships, but also symbolic agents themselves. This will allow us to understand the role of material culture in political and cultural self-representation, and the ways material goods shaped political exchanges. The study of material culture will not only contribute to our understanding of Venetian perception of Safavid material culture, but also Safavid and Venetian societies, human behavior, attitudes towards artifacts and objects in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Exploring the nature of the Safavid diplomacy and Safavid attitude towards early modern European from comparative perspective will help us to better to understand the differences and similarities of Safavid diplomatic methods from those of Venetians and Ottomans. Through studying ‘transcultural’ intermediaries (ambassadors, interpreters) in mediating political, diplomatic and cultural relations between the Safavid Empire and Venice we will provide new insights into understanding on how they managed to deal with and connect these two different cultures. Using 'new diplomatic history' approach which takes up the methods of social and cultural history will shed light on the daily encounters, housing, occupation and the personality of the ambassadors. Reconstructing the lives and daily experiences of diplomats will help us to better comprehend social aspects of diplomacy and practice of diplomacy in different cultural contexts in that period. The research can also help us to understand whether and to what extend the legacies of symbols and the symbolic value of objects in early modern encounters continue to be present in current European and Middle East diplomatic practices and negotiating styles.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

"The research started with the collection of primary and secondary source data on Venetian-Safavid relations at the State Archives of Venice (ASVe), Marciana National Library (BNM), the library of the Correr Museum, Art and Humanities (BAUM) and Languages and Cultures (BALI) libraries of Ca’ Foscari. Particularly, in the ASVe we mainly concentrated on unpublished sources (relazioni, dispacci, deliberazioni) stored in various collections; In addition to Venetian archives and libraries, we explored museums to find objects related to the research subject On 23-26 June 2020, I carried out a research visit to Florence city of Italy. During the visit, I conducted archival research at the State Archives of Florence (ASF) and the National Central Library of Florence (BNCF). In September 2020, I conducted archival research at the Historical Archives of the Patriarchate of Venice. On 1-5 March 2021, I undertook an archival study at the Vatican Apostolic Archives (ASV). Six articles and a book resulted from the analysis of the data collected (1 published, the rest under publication, see Technical Part contribution for details). Four conference papers have been accepted, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency we are not be able to attend the conferences. Being all the conferences be rescheduled for 2021 in an online format, we plan to attend during the next months in order to disseminate the project results. On 26 February 2021, I gave a final online seminar on “Symbolic communication and practice of the Safavid-Venetian diplomatic encounters” for the DSAAM members. Training involved Italian paleography, Advanced archive research skills, Ottoman paleography and many complementary skills (see Technical part contribution for deatils), and will be useful to enhance my future carrier, to train the new generation of Azeri scholars and to submit and manage other research projects. The project allowed to have a deeper and more precise knowledge of the relationships between East and West in the 16th -17th century and clarified many aspects of the relations between Venice, the Safavids and the Ottomans: the results of the project will be useful for my research for the next years and will be hopefully exploited in the scientific community. Given the difficoulties of the ""in presence"" dissemination, we have decided to add some publication to the expected ones and Ca' Foscari staff organized some interview and advertisement on the University website (see Technical contribution for details), trying to ensure the larger knowledge possible for the project and its outputs."

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The research revealed that the first Safavid trade mission to Venice was sent in 1597 and not in 1600, which was previously known in the historiography.
The research has identified 20 new names of the Safavid subjects who visited Venice in the second half of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
As a result of the archival research, we found several unknown documents and manuscripts, including a largely neglected and unstudied manuscript titled “Storia d' Ismael figlio di Sciathamas Sofì di Persia” written by Rosselli frate Andrea.
Ottoman factor had an enduring impact both on nature and on the dynamics of the Safavid-Venetian relations.
The project clarified the role of the trans-imperial mediators (envoys and merchants) in the development of political and trade relations between the Safavids and the Venetians.
The project has revealed that in addition to Persian, the Turkish language was also used in interactions between the Safavid subject (envoys, merchants) and Venetian officials.

My presentation about the project aim and objectives in Marie Curie Info day -2019