Viaggio al signor Usun Hassan re di Persia

Ambrogio Contarini (1429–1499) was a Venetian nobleman, merchant and diplomat known for an account of his travel to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, where he met Giosafat Barbaro.Bertotti, Filippo (1992), "Contarini, Ambrogio", in: ''

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English-language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encyc ...

'', Vol. VI, Fasc. 2, p. 220
Online (Accessed February 21, 2012)

Life

Ambrogio Contarini was a member of the patrician family of Contarini and spent his youth in the Ottoman capital of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

as a merchant. He left the city after the Ottoman–Venetian war began in 1463. In 1470, he was aboard the ''Aegeus'', fighting the Ottomans at sea. The

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

sought to forge a larger alliance against the Ottoman Empire and sent Contarini with a diplomatic mission to Uzun Hassan, the Iranian ruler of the

Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...

clan. He left Venice in February 1474, traveled through Austria, Poland, and the Caucasus. He reached

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

in August 1474. In October, he met Uzun Hassan at his capital of

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

. He was kindly received, but the Venetian proposal of alliance was declined. There he met another diplomat, Giosafat Barbaro. Contarini returned to Venice only in April 1477, after many delays and a difficult return voyage. On his journey home from Iran, Contarini stopped in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where he had an audience with the Russian

tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

, Ivan III. He also stopped at Germany. On the day of his arrival in Venice, Contarini orally reported to the Council of the Republic. His report was published in Venice in 1476 by H. Foxius as ''Questo e el Viazo de misier Ambrogio Contarini''.reprinted 1524, 1543, 1545, 1559, translation by the Hakluyt Society, 1876 according to Clifford M Poe, Muscovite and Mandarin, 2000, page 48,242 A written account of his mission appeared in print in 1486 in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

. Contarini's itinerary is dominated by his own personal vicissitudes, but contains much valuable information about the regions he visited, especially Iran under Uzun Hassan's rule.

Works

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Contarini, Ambrogio 1429 births 1499 deaths 15th-century Venetian writers Ambassadors of the Republic of Venice Explorers from the Republic of Venice 15th-century Italian explorers Republic of Venice merchants Republic of Venice military personnel Italian travel writers Italian male writers Ambrogio 15th-century Italian diplomats 15th-century Venetian businesspeople 15th-century travel writers Explorers of Iran Republic of Venice people of the Ottoman–Venetian Wars