And this was no small service that he did Robert Brancetour’s mission to the safavid empire

English crown was well aware of the benefits of maintaining peaceful relations with the Ottoman Empire in difficult social and political conditions for England. According to J. Brotton, “In an age when the Ottoman Empire was regarded as the world's most powerful and successful military machine, the possibility of an Anglo-Ottoman alliance was viewed with genuine alarm in Spain and Italy as a direct threat to Catholic hegemony in Europe and the Mediterranean” [Brotton 2016]. Thus, the Ottoman expansion towards Central Europe served the interests of King Henry VIII. The Ottoman threat drew the attention of the Catholic states of Europe away from Protestant England, thereby unwittingly contributing to Henry VIII's efforts to reform the English church, for the European states made practically no real efforts to stop Henry. It was the Ottoman threat and the siege of Vienna by the Ottoman army in 1529 that did not allow the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Charles V and Pope Clement VII to distract Henry VIII from his desire, after almost 20 years of marriage, to break the marriage ties with his wife Catherine of Aragon, who was the aunt of Emperor Charles V, which in turn led to a whole pleiad of actions to reform the English Church:

• in 1533 the English Parliament passed the Act in Restraint of Appeals, which put an end to the authority of the Pope in England, who opposed the divorce of the king;

• in 1534 the Act of Supremacy was passed, proclaiming Henry VIII the head of the English Church;

• in 1536 the Ten Articles were published, which determined the rules of the independent English Church.

After excommunication of Henry VIII by Pope Paul III in January 1539 in Toledo Emperor Charles V and King Francis I concluded an agreement on the impossibility of further alliances with Henry VIII, which, in view of the Ottoman advance into Europe, was the highest measure that the European monarchs could undertake against England in the given difficult conditions.

It should be noted that King Henry VIII was concerned about the rapprochement of the Habsburgs with France, against which England, together with the imperial army, acted during the Italian wars. The possible alliance of the emperor with the Ottoman Empire posted a danger to England. In both cases it could turn out badly against England itself, because would untie the hands of continental authorities.

Therefore, attacking the Ottoman Empire by the Safavid Shah, as Charles V counted on so much sending de Balbi-Brancetour's mission to negotiate with Shah Tahmasp I, was unprofitable for England. As the Duke of Norfolk himself admitted in a conversation with the ambassador of Emperor Charles V, Eustace Chapuys in 1530, “I tell you candidly that last year, when the King [Henry VIII], my master, refused your application for help against the Turk, his reason was that he did not wish the Emperor to become more powerful than he is, or to help his elevation in any way, as he himself would have nothing to gain, but much to lose by it” [Calendar of Letters... 1879, Vol. 4, Part 1]. Moreover, in the diplomatic circles of European states there were rumors that King Henry VIII and the French King Francis I were in the same league with the Ottoman Sultan [Letters and Papers... 1882, Vol. 6, 147].

Therefore, it is not surprising that in the 1520-1530s the English crown was not interested in joining the anti-Ottoman coalition, ignoring in every possible way the proposals, and sometimes pressure, of European monarchs and the Pope. Perhaps one of the principal reasons for the ardent desire of King Henry VIII to arrest and punish Robert Brancetour was the dissatisfaction of the former with his diplomatic mission to the Safavid Empire, which, if the latter and the European monarchs successfully acted as a united bloc against the Ottomans, could negatively affect the policy and situation of England and destroy the king's plans to strengthen his royal power.

Conclusion

The study of the diplomatic mission of Robert Brancetour to the Safavid Empire in 1529, delegated there by the Emperor of the Hab- sburg Empire Charles V with the aim of involving the Safavid Shah Tahmasp I in a military-political alliance against the “war machine” - the Ottoman Empire, which was considered at that time one of the most powerful empires of the early modern era, whose policy of expanding its influence endangered the existence of many states of Europe, and besides, which was one of the main political and economic rivals of the Safavid Empire itself, made a significant contribution to the study of the history of European-Safavid relations, in particular Habsburg-Safavid relations, since the mission of Branсetour up to the present day has been one of the little-studied issues.

The detailed analysis of the royal and diplomatic correspondence revealed how important and vital Robert Brancetour's mission was for the whole Christian world at that moment. Emperor Charles V called his help “no small service” that he did for the emperor himself and to all Christendom. Robert Brancetour is mentioned in almost every second diplomatic letter of the 1530s - early 1540s, concerning the Ottoman threat, and he was not only mentioned, but praised as a person, who managed to incite the Safavid Shah Tahmasp I to oppose the Ottoman Empire and to take military actions against the Ottomans. Thus, it was obvious that the Safavid Empire performed a crucial function in the anti-Ottomanism policy of European states and its significance in political triangle “European states - Ottoman Empire - Safavid Empire” was great. No wonder that Shah Tahmasp I was considered by his European counterparts a certain legendary savior from the East - Prester John, who will save the Christendom from the Ottoman threat.

Special attention was paid to the attitude of English Crown to Robert Brancetour's mission to the Safavid Empire, of which he was a subject. Based on the examined diplomatic letters it was revealed that English authorities were in an adverse position in relation to the possible Habsburg-Safavid anti-Ottoman alliance. For the first time in scientific historiography, it was supposed that English King Henry VIII's hostile attitude to Robert Brancetour was based not only on his personal wrath and hatred for him, but also on serious political reasons. While most of the European states lived in fear of becoming the next victim of the Ottoman expansionist policy, England was not threatened. Being in difficult political situation, English authorities were busy with strengthening their positions. Strengthening the power of the Emperor Charles V, who was one of the main political rivals of Tudor England in the region, by eradicating the Ottoman threat with the help of the Safavid Empire, did not meet the interests of England. Therefore, it is not surprising that the English authorities were so firm in their desire to arrest Robert Brancetour. The aspirations of Emperor Charles V to incite the Safavid Shah to launch military actions against the Ottoman Sultan became the subject of special concern, and “greater intelligence with the Sofi” of any European state as well as having good relations with the Safavid Empire was even an object of obvious royal envy in English royal court.

Thus, a deeper study of such issue of European-Safavid relations as the diplomatic activity of the Englishman Robert Brancetour as the ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, sent to the Safa- vid court in 1529, which has not received due scientific attention, not only will help to shed light on little studied issues of Habsburg-Safa- vid relations, but also will contribute to the study of the systems of relations “West-East” and “Christendom-Muslim World”.

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