Louis Sauveur, Marquis de Villeneuve was French 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) ...

from 1728 to 1741. He was instrumental in pushing the Ottoman Empire to war with the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, in the

Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739) The Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739 between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was caused by the Ottoman Empire's war with Persia and continuing raids by the Crimean Tatars. The war also represented Russia's continuing struggle for access to the ...

. He was also put in charge of negotiating the peace to this war, managing to impose unfavourable conditions on the Austrians, as a result, the 1739 Peace of Belgrade was extremely favourable to the Ottomans, thanks to Villeneuve's intervention. During his service de Villeneuve made a point to learn more about the Ottoman

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

system, the religious educational institution that had been operating in the Empire continously since its establishment in 1330 by

Orhan Gazi Orhan Ghazi ( ota, اورخان غازی; tr, Orhan Gazi, also spelled Orkhan, 1281 – March 1362) was the second bey of the Ottoman Beylik from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of hi ...

. Submitting the request to the Ottoman Foreign Ministry, de Villeneuve was presented with the Seven Stars curriculum (Kevakib-i Seb'a). This curriculum, of unknown authorship, expressed regrets that Islamic scholars had not made greater inroads into Christian countries where they were widely regarded as ignorant and superstitious. The Seven Stars curriculum presented to de Villeneuve aimed to overcome language barriers and improve the image of the Islamic world in the West.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Villeneuve, Louis Sauveur Ambassadors of France to the Ottoman Empire 18th-century French diplomats

See also

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