Activity of the embassy headed by Huseinaly bey Bayat in Spain

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ACTIVITY OF THE EMBASSY HEADED BY HUSEINALY BEY BAYAT IN SPAIN

Gurbanova S. A.

Institute of History named after А.А. Bakikhanov of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan

Abstract

The main goal of the article is to show the importance of the activity of the embassy under the leadership of Huseinaly Bey Bayat in Safavid-Spanish relations

The presented research work analyzes the sending of the embassy under the leadership of Huseinaly bey Bayat to European countries, especially to the Kingdom of Spain during the reign of Shah Abbas I and their activities.

The methodology of the research involves using the qualitative methods including content analysis, analysis of documents and research papers, also methods of a systematic and integrated approach.

The scientific novelty of the article is that this research is the first study that examines the activities of the visit to European countries, especially Spain, under the leadership of Huseinaly Bey Bayat.

Conclusion. In the final analysis, the visit to European countries, especially Spain, under the leadership of Huseinaly Bey Bayat, who played an important role in the foreign policy of Shah I Abbas, the ruler of the Safavid state, and the results of his activities are studied in this article. While Shah Abbas I wanted to send the delegation only to Spain, later on the proposal of the Shirley brothers, he changed this plan and sent envoys to other European countries as well. This article clearly states the purpose and itinerary of the embassy's visit, meetings and negotiations with the rulers of European states.

Key words: Safavid, Shah I Abbas, embassy, Huseinaly bey Bayat, Spain.

Анотація

Мета дослідження полягає у визначенні ролі посольства на чолі з Гусейналі беком Баятом у відносинах Сефевідів з Іспанією. У представленій дослідницькій роботі аналізується напрямок діяльності посольства під керівництвом Гусейналі бекаБаята в країнах Європи, особливо в Королівстві Іспанія під час правління шаха Аббаса I.

Методологія дослідження передбачає використання якісних методів, що включають контентаналіз, аналіз документів та наукових праць, а також методів системного та комплексного підходу.

Наукова новизна статті полягає в тому, що це дослідження є першим дослідженням, в якому розглядається діяльність візиту до європейських країн, насамперед до Іспанії, під керівництвом Гусейналі бека Баята.

Висновок. Кінець кінцем візит до країн Європи, особливо до Іспанії, під керівництвом Гусейналі бека Баята, який відіграв важливу роль у зовнішній політиці шаха I Аббаса, правителя Сефевідської держави, і результати його діяльності вивчаються в цій статті. Хоча шах Аббас I хотів направити делегацію лише до Іспанії, пізніше за пропозицією братів Ширлі він змінив цей план і відправив послів та інші європейські країни. У цій статті чітко вказано мету та маршрут візиту посольства, зустрічі та переговори з правителями європейських держав.

Ключові слова: Сефевіди, Шах I Аббас, посольство, Гусейналі Бек Баят, Іспанія.

Introduction

After Shah Abbas I came to power in 1587, the relations of the Safavid State with European countries, especially with Spain, significantly intensified. Shah I Abbas, continuing his attempts to create an alliance against the Ottoman Empire, decides to send a delegation to negotiate with European countries. The visit of Safavid ambassadors headed by Huseinaly bey Bayat to Europe, including Spain, and the activities of other ambassadors from both sides give grounds to note this.

The main goal of the article is to show the importance of the activity of the embassy under the leadership of Huseinaly Bey Bayat in SafavidSpanish relations.

The methodology of the research. The direction of the embassy to Spain by Shah Abbas I was not accidental but was formed on the basis of a causal relationship. Methods of a systematic and integrated approach were used to clarify the reasons for certain aspects of the embassy's activities and demonstrate their results.

The scientific novelty. This research is the first study that examines the activities of the visit to European countries, especially Spain, under the leadership of Huseinaly Bey Bayat.

The reasons why the Safavid Shah sent an embassy to Europe

Shah Abbas I planned to send the embassy to Spain only through India. The main purpose of sending his delegation was to reach an agreement with Spain to start military operations against the Ottoman Empire at the same time. At the suggestion of Anthony and Robert Shirley brothers, Shah Abbas I changed the plan and decided to send ambassadors to other European countries as well as Spain [5, p. 83]. The well-known historian Yagub Mahmudov writes that “on the eve of the 1602-1612 war, Shah Abbas I appealed to other European states to form an alliance against the Ottomans [6, p. 103]. It was the Shirley brothers who played a major role in determining the route to represent. In 1599, the king of the Safavid State sent Huseinaly bey Bayat to Europe accompanied by Anthony Shirley [7, p. 312].

Huseinaly Bey Bayat headed the embassy sent by Shah Abbas I to Europe. The embassy also included 4 secretaries, 15 servants, 2 portuguese monks, one of the Sherley brothers Anthony Shirley, 5 translators and 15 englishmen [1, p. 78]. Another ambassador and 300 people accompanying him joined the embassy, which moved along the predetermined route. Shah Abbas I had previously sent this ambassador to negotiate with the Russian Tsar. The delegation also took letters and gifts to present to European rulers [1, pp. 79-80]. Huseinaly Bey Bayat had to present the proposals and letters of the Safavid Shah to the European monarchs. On the other hand, two Portuguese monks who were part of the delegation asked the king Shah I Abbas) to give them a letter to present to the Pope of Rome and the King of Spain, and he, in turn, instructed to prepare the mentioned letters [4, p. 233; 1, pp. 78-79; 2, pp. 212-213]. The departure of Muslim and Christian groups within the embassy at different times, the presence of some disagreements between these two groups, the existence of certain competition between Anthony Shirley and the Portuguese monks, and other similar steps had a negative impact on the activity of the embassy in general. At the same time, while the embassy was on the way, there were frequent disputes between Antony Shirley and Huseinaly bey Bayat.

Embassy departure and European visits

In 1599, the embassy departed from Isfahan and arrived at Ghazvin and from there to Gilan, moving north along the Caspian Sea and reaching Mangishlag. After a sixteen-day stay at the first stop Astrakhan as part of the Russian state, the embassy moved up the Volga and finally reached Moscow. The embassy was welcomed in Moscow at a high level and was received by Russian Tsar Boris Gudunov. There was a change in the composition ofthe embassy here, so four of the servants who entered the embassy returned, and one of the two monks disappeared in Moscow. After staying in Moscow for five months, the embassy continued its journey and reached Arkhangelsk. Oruj Bey Bayat assumed that the disappeared monk was killed by Anthony Shirley (for debt) and attributed their five-month stay in Moscow to difficult weather conditions [4, pp. 255-258; 1, pp. 79-89]. Luis Gil Fernandez stated that this was not only due to the rainy weather, but also because the Russians did not allow them to go to Poland [5, p. 93]. If we take into account the struggle between Poland (Rech Pospolitia) and Russia for supremacy in Eastern Europe in the second half of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, then the reasons why the Russians did not leave the embassy to Poland become clear. embassy spain abbas negotiation

After leaving Arkhangelsk, the embassy moved in the direction of Germany. Moving along the river Elbe, the embassy passed through Emden, Aur, Friedeburg, Nienburg and many other cities and reached the city of Prague. The city of Prague was under Rudolph II, who was also the king of Germany, Austria, Czechia and Hungary. Here, the ambassador of Shah Abbas I, Huseinaly Bey Bayat, presented his letter to the German Emperor Rudolph II, and after that, the embassy went to Italy in the spring of 1601 [4, pp. 266-271; 1, p. 90-94].

Gillien de San Clemente, the Spanish ambassador in Prague, particularly watched the activities of the embassy here. Even a few days after the embassy was accepted by Rudolph II, the Spanish ambassador received information about the contents of the negotiations and the proposals of Shah Abbas I from the friar Alfonso Cordero, who was part of the embassy [5, p. 99]. After that, Gillien de San Clemente sent information about this to Spain.

Rudolph II positively accepted the attitude and proposals of Shah Abbas I and expressed his gratitude to the Shah for his attitude towards Christians [5, p. 105]. After Prague, the delegation went to Italy. After visiting the cities of Mantua, Otranto and Verona, the embassy was to go to Venice and deliver the letter of Shah Abbas I to the Venetian doge Senera. However, at that time, the Doge of Venice refused to receive the Safaite representatives [1, pp. 95-97]. The reason for this was the fact that the Venetians were negotiating with the Ottomans. For this reason, the embassy did not go to Venice, but came to Ferrara, Florence and from there to Siena [7, p. 313]. There was an dispute between Huseinaly Bayat and Anthony Shirley. According to Oruj Bey Bayat, the main reason for the dispute was gifts for the Pope. When Huseinaly Bey Bayat wanted to choose a suitable gift for the Roman Pope, it became known that Antony Shirley had sold thirtytwo boxes containing gifts to English merchants. The dispute was ended by the mediation of a cardinal sent by the Pope. The embassy was received by the Pope in Rome and two months later he left for Genoa. At this time, Antony Shirley and the Englishmen who came with him were separated from the embassy. Also, three muslim members of the embassy had accepted christianity and chose to stay in Rome [1, pp. 95-97].

The Safavid representatives, who stayed in Genoa for a week and met with the local dojo, later arrived in the city of Savona, from there they left for France, visited the cities of Avignon, Montpellier, Narbonne, Sale, and Perpignan in this country, and then entered the Spanish lands [1, p. 97]. While the embassy was still in Rome, they met with the French ambassador in this city and presented the letter of Shah Abbas I to the king of France [5, p. 124].

Embassy activity in Spain

While the embassy was still in Rome and was preparing to leave for Spain, the ambassador of the Spain King in Rome made certain preparations for the ambassadors for their normal reception. On July 4, 1601, the ambassador of Spain wrote a letter to the viceroy of Catalonia Lorenzo Suarez y Figueroa, and the viceroy of Aragon Beltran de la Cueva, in order to give proper attention to the envoys. Until they reached Valladolid, the capital of Spain at that time, he told them that it was important to appoint an escort. On July 8, the Spanish ambassador in Rome prepared and sent extensive information about the embassy to the King of Spain Philip ІІІ Thus, on the basis of this information, the Spanish State Council discussed and put forward proposals regarding the reception of the ambassadors at a high level [5, p. 125-126].

The embassy's visit to Spain started from Barcelona. After staying in Barcelona for ten days, the embassy departed for Zaragoza. As mentioned earlier, the delegation was met by the Duke of Feria, Lorenzo Suarez y Figueroa in Barcelona, and by the Duke ofAlburquerque, Beltran de la Cueva, in Zaragoza. On August 13, 1601, the embassy, which stayed in Zaragoza for 3 days, reached Valladolid, the capital ofthe Kingdom of Spain [5, p. 126]. Huseinaly Bey Bayat and other representatives were received with great respect by mayordom of Philipp III Luis Enrique and the royal men. Even the expenses of welcoming the embassy and staying in Valladolid were paid from the royal treasury [3, p. 110].

King Philip III of Spain received the embassy of Shah Abbas I on August 15, and Huseinaly Bey Bayat presented several documents containing letters and proposals of Shah Abbas I to the Spanish king. In the letter, Shah Abbas I expressed to the Spanish king that he wanted to establish friendship and alliance relations with him. On the return of the Safavid Shah's embassy, he proposed to send his own envoy with him, and to give an immediate answer to his proposals to Shah Abbas I through that envoy. Also among the proposals was to solve some problems with the Safavid state in the trade conducted through Hormuz [5, p. 128-129; 7, p. 337]. According to Oruj Bey Bayat, the offer of friendship of the Safavid state had a great impact on the Spanish king and he noted that he would happily fulfill everything they expected from him, and he said that he would send the answer to the letter later [4, p. 291; 1, pp. 97-98)]. From this it can be concluded that at the beginning of the 17th century, Spain, which faced the Ottoman state in the Mediterranean region, and England and Holland in the Persian Gulf, was interested in expanding relations with the Safavid state.

After the documents presented by the embassy to King Philip III of Spain were discussed in the Council of State of Spain on 7 September, with the king's approval, it was decided that two ambassadors would be sent to the Safavid state with an embassy upon his return. One of the ambassadors was supposed to be a clergyman, and the other a secular person [5, pp. 129-130]. Luis Pereira was chosen to be sent to the Safavid state as an ambassador [5, pp. 134-136]. Thus, he knows the Persian Gulf region well, where he could better protect the interests of the Spanish kingdom.

In his letter addressed to Shah Abbas I on October 8, Philip III stated that he agreed to combine efforts and act against the common enemy at the appropriate time, and accepted the offers of friendship and alliance. He stated that he would provide information about the details of the issues in a written reply both through the Spanish ambassador to be sent and through Huseinaly Bey Bayat [5, p. 131]. Philip III gave Huseinaly Bey Bayat a gold chain weighing 500 kroner as a gift, the members of the embassy gave a chain worth 3000 rials to each of the secretaries, and chains of relatively low value to others [1, p. 99]. Thus, Huseinaly Bey Bayat and other members of the delegation left Valladolid, the capital of Spain, on October 11, 1601, and set off for Lisbon. They had to return home by ship from Lisbon. However, they remained in Lisbon for several months due to the delay of the ship [5, p. 133]. It should be noted that the King of Spain allocated 1,000 ducats for the embassy's travel expenses to Lisbon, and 10,000 ducats for the travel expenses from there to Hormuz [1, p. 99].

Some members of the embassy of Shah Abbas I were influenced by Christianity during their stay in Rome and converted. Similarly, after arriving in Spain, some members of the embassy also converted to Christianity. One of them was Aligulu bek, a relative of Huseyn Ali bey, one of the secretaries of the embassy. He converted to Christianity in Valladolid and left the embassy. On the way from Valladolid to Lisbon, the embassy passed through Madrid, Toledo, Merida and several other cities. Upon reaching the city of Merida, the cleric who accompanied the embassy, Alfakix Amir, was killed by an unknown person. In order to properly inform the Spanish King Philip III about this, Huseinaly Bey Bayat sent Oruj Bey Bayat to Valyadoli again. Arriving in Valyadolid, Oruj Bey Bayat met here with Aligulu Bey and the members of the Society of Jesus to which he was a member, where he was influenced and accepted Christianity. Both were baptized in the royal church, with Philip III as their godfather and his wife Margarita as their godmother. Their names were also changed. Aligulu bey took the name Don Philip, and Oruj bey Bayat took the name Don Juan. After accepting Christianity, Oruj Bayat returned to Lisbon, but he tried to keep his conversion a secret from his friends. His main goal was to return to his homeland and return to Spain with his wife and son. Soon his secret was revealed and his move was badly received by his friends, except one of his embassy secretaries, Bunyad Bey. After that, Oruj Bey Bayat returned to Valyadolid with Bunyad Bey and convinced Bunyad Bey to convert to Christianity. His Christian ceremony took place in the royal church and he received the name Don Diego [4, pp. 292; 302, 1, pp. 98-103]. Thus, the members of the embassy who converted to Christianity remained in Spain under the protection of the Spanish king. In 1606, when the royal court moved from Valladolid to Madrid, they came to the new capital together with the court staff [8, pp. 14-16].

After these events, Huseinaly Bey Bayat left for Lisbon on March 16, 1602, passed through Goa and came to Hormuz from there. From here he went to Isfahan [5, pp. 141-142].

Conclusion

Shah I Abbas, who succeeded in strengthening the Safavid state through reforms, also implemented a successful foreign policy. At the beginning of the 17th century, the embassy sent by Shah Abbas I under the leadership of Huseinaly Bey Bayat played an important role in the development of political relations of the Safavid state with European states, including Spain. The main goal of the Safavid Shah was to find allies in the fight against the Ottoman state. Although it was not possible to form an alliance against the Ottoman state, the fact that he received positive responses to the letters he sent to the European rulers, as well as to the Spanish king Philip III, suggests this. One of the reasons for the failure of attempts to create an alliance against the Ottoman state was more related to the competition between European states at that time.

Thus, although the embassy sent by Shah Abbas I negotiated to create a political alliance, no such agreement was signed between the European states and especially Spain and the Safavids. However, the European states did not hesitate to send their ambassadors and various gifts to the Safavid court, inciting it to war against the Ottoman state.

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