Panel Abstract: This panel will explore prominent figures and debates related to the Ottoman Mediterranean in order to expand, question, and resituate our current understanding of the region’s relationship to the Empire. Panelist Joshua White will examine the activities of the judges of Malta, including the connections they facilitated with the Ottoman mainland, to question whether the island may be considered a constituent part of the Ottoman Mediterranean; Marco Ali Spadaccini will center his presentation around the Ottoman merchants in Ancona, Italy to show how merchants of the Empire dealt with issues they faced outside the “protected domains;” and Peter Kitlas will investigate the ambassadorial accounts (sefaretname in singular) of two Ottoman embassies who traveled to Morocco in the mid-1780s through the lens of Ottoman diplomatic thought, in order to reassess the role of religion as part of the Mediterranean diplomatic tradition. Our commentator, Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano, will draw on each of these presentations to speak on some of the relevant themes around the Ottoman Mediterranean that emerge throughout the presentations. The panel will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A session.
Panelists:
Josh White (University of Virginia),
“Ottoman Malta: A Captive Community at the Mediterranean Crossroads”
Marco Ali Spaddaccini (Binghamton University, SUNY),
“Faith in the Infidel: Ottoman-Italian Trade Networks in 16th-Century Ancona”
Peter Kitlas (Princeton University),
“İsmail Efendi’s 1784 mission to Morocco: Re-examining Ottoman Contributions to Early Modern Diplomatic Thought”
Commentator – Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano (UPENN)
