Sir Edward Barton (c. 1562 – 28 February 1598) was an English diplomat who was Ambassador to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, appointed by Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

of England. Barton went to Constantinople in 1578, in the pay of the

Levant Company The Levant Company was an English chartered company formed in 1592. Elizabeth I of England approved its initial charter on 11 September 1592 when the Venice Company (1583) and the Turkey Company (1581) merged, because their charters had expired, ...

, as secretary to the founder of the English embassy in the city,

William Harborne William Harborne of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk (c.1542–1617) was a diplomat, businessman, and English Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, appointed by Queen Elizabeth I of England. Establishment of the English Embassy in Constantinople Following a ...

and in 1588 was left by Harborne as English agent. By this time he was fluent in Turkish and well respected in the court. This was a time of war between England and Spain, and Barton was charged with trying to obtain the support of the Ottomans in this struggle, while of course working to defend English commercial interests by for example trying to persuade the

Porte Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

to prevent

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

from trading in cloth in Ottoman territory. Barton requested a portrait of Elizabeth I from England which he could show the Sultan and hang in his lodgings to comfort English visitors. In 1596 Barton accompanied Sultan

Mehmet III Mehmed III (, ''Meḥmed-i sālis''; tr, III. Mehmed; 26 May 1566 – 22 December 1603) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death in 1603. Mehmed was known for ordering the execution of his brothers and leading the army in the L ...

in his campaign against Hungary and was present at the siege of

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque build ...

. During his time in the city there were difficulties with his neighbours, who were offended by the raucous behaviour of guests at Barton's parties. On 28 February 1598, Barton died of dysentery and his body was ceremonially taken from

Pera House 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 o ...

to the island of

Heybeliada Heybeliada, or Heybeli Ada, is the second largest of the Prince' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbull, Turkey. It is officially a neighbourhood of the Adalar district of Istanbul. Its name, meaning 'with a saddlebag' in Turkish, in ...

for burial in the cemetery of the Christian church. The Fugger agent in Venice reported that 'the funeral of the late English envoy was carried out with great solemnity and attended by many distinguished gentlemen and representatives of foreign countries'.''The Fugger News-Letters, Second Series'', trans. L.S.R. Byrne (London: John Lane, 1926), p. 302. His grave was later removed to the British

Haydarpaşa Cemetery Haydarpaşa Cemetery, also known as Haidar Pasha Cemetery, Istanbul, ( tr, Haydarpaşa İngiliz Mezarlığı), located in the Haydarpaşa neighborhood of Üsküdar district in the Asian part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a burial ground established init ...

in the district of

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...

References

For his relationship with the Patriarch of Alexandria Meletios Pigas in Constantinople (1597-1598) see the PhD Thesis of Vassiliki Tzoga, Meletios Pigas (1550-1601) Patriarch of Alexandria. Biography and Works, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 2009. 1560s births 1598 deaths Ambassadors of England to the Ottoman Empire Levant Company English knights 16th-century English diplomats {{England-diplomat-stub