Ritratto dell ambasciatore Gabriel de Luetz d Aramont Tiziano Vecellio 1541 1542 oil on canvas 76 x 74 cm

Letter of Francis I to the Drogman Janus Bey 28 December 1546 delivered by Aramon

Encoded letter of Gabriel Luetz d Aramon after 1546 with partial deciphering

Gabriel de Luetz, Baron et Seigneur d'Aramon et de Vallabregues (died 1553), often also abbreviated to Gabriel d'Aramon, was the French Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1546 to 1553, in the service first of

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe ...

, who dispatched him to the Ottoman Empire, and then of the French king Henry II. Gabriel de Luetz was accompanied by a vast suite of scientists, Jean de Monluc, philosopher Guillaume Postel, botanist Pierre Belon, naturalist

Pierre Gilles d'Albi Petrus Gyllius or Gillius (or Pierre Gilles) (1490–1555) was a French natural scientist, topographer and translator. Gilles was born in Albi, southern France. A great traveller, he studied the Mediterranean and Orient, producing such works ...

, the future cosmographer André Thévet, traveler Nicolas de Nicolay who would publish their findings upon their return to France and contribute greatly to the development of early science in France.McCabe ''Orientalism in early modern France'', p.48 Jean Chesneau 19th century edition

Ottoman Safavid War

In 1547, he accompanied Suleiman the Magnificent in the Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–55), with two of his secretaries, Jacques Gassut and

Jean Chesneau Jean Chesneau was a French writer and secretary to the French ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Gabriel de Luetz d'Aramon. Together with d'Aramon and a second secretary Jacques Gassut, he accompanied Suleiman the Magnificent in 1547 on his conque ...

, and is recorded as having given advice to the Sultan on some aspects of the campaign. Chesneau wrote ''Le Voyage de Monsieur d'Aramon dans le Levant'', an interesting account of the travels of Gabriel de Luetz.

Siege of Tripoli

In 1551, Gabriel de Luetz joined the Ottoman fleet to attend to the Siege of Tripoli, with two

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

s and a galliot.''The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean world in the age of Philip II'' by Fernand Braudel p.920

/ref>''The Papacy and the Levant (1204-1571)'' by Kenneth M. Setton p.555-
/ref>

Calabrian Raid

Gabriel de Luetz is also known to have convinced Suleiman to send a fleet against Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, for a combined Franco-Turkish action in 1552. In July 1552, the fleet raided Rhegium in

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, laying waste to 30 miles of coast, with Gabriel de Luetz onboard who reported the devastation in a dispatch to the king of France on 22 July:''The History of England'' Sharon Turner, p.311
/ref> Gabriel de Luetz was succeeded by Michel de Codignac as ambassador to the Sublime Porte, who himself was succeeded by Jean Cavenac de la Vigne.Setton, p.692
/ref>

Representation in fiction

Gabriel de Luetz (as M. d'Aramon, Baron de Luetz) plays a small but significant role in the books ''The Disorderly Knights'' and ''Pawn in Frankincense'', volumes three and four of the historical fiction series known as the Lymond Chronicles, by Dorothy Dunnett. ''The Disorderly Knights'' is partly set in Malta among the.

Knights Hospitaller of St. John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

and on

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in t ...

at the time of that city's surrender to the Ottoman Turks in 1551. ''Pawn in Frankincense'' is partly set in Constantinople and

Pera Pera may refer to: Places * Pera (Beyoğlu), a district in Istanbul formerly called Pera, now called Beyoğlu ** Galata, a neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, often referred to as Pera in the past * Pêra (Caparica), a Portuguese locality in the district of ...

in 1553.

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