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File Size: 19884 KB
Print Length: 634 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (August 6, 2015)
Publication Date: August 6, 2015
Language: English
ASIN: B01289SAX4
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When I think about Albania, which is not often, I usually think about Communist dictator Enver Hoxha and the hundreds of thousands of reinforced concrete pillboxes he scattered around Albania, preparing for the imminent assault of the imperialists. Other than that, if I’m in a historical mood, I think about Skanderbeg, the Sixteenth Century freedom fighter against the conquering Ottomans. If I’m thinking about the modern era, maybe I think about Mother Teresa, or on a less exalted level, Jim Belushi. I don’t, or didn’t, think about Venice, or Lepanto, or Jesuits, or any of the very interesting, and even exciting, places, people, and happenings Noel Malcolm covers. This book, however, has changed my perspective.Malcolm’s book, "Agents of Empire," surveys the complex world of the eastern Adriatic and Mediterranean, mostly during the second half of the Sixteenth Century. His story revolves around a single Albanian family not prominent in history, the Bruni/Bruti family, and several now-obscure towns and cities, divided between Venetian and Ottoman control, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic (Ulcinj, Bar, Kotor, Durrës). Most of this territory is now Albania; a small bit is Montenegro or Croatia. The Bruni/Bruti families were intimately connected with this territory and played important roles in the tumultuous events that affected it during this time.Venice today is an overcrowded, baroque tourist trap. Four hundred years ago it was, if not a global power, a power in the Mediterranean world, and a key player in international trade and interchange. As the maritime power closest to the Ottomans, and with a land border between the territory it dominated and the Ottomans, it had the most to lose, and sometimes the most to gain, from the inevitable conflicts with the expanding Ottomans. Of course, the Venetians had been imposing their will in this same area for hundreds of years—it was their diversion of the Fourth Crusade in 1202 to attack Zara, also on the Adriatic coast, that undermined that Crusade; and then the re-direction of the Crusade under Venetian pressure, to Constantinople, that caused catastrophic results. So, in many ways, the wars of Venice in this book are merely a continuation of the necessary wars of empire—after all, Venice was a relevant power for nearly a thousand years, an impressive record but one that required constant defense.The Bruti/Bruni family is not famous at all. Malcolm found a reference to a “lost†manuscript history of Albania and the surrounding area, supposedly written by one Antonio Bruti, and spent quite a bit of time looking for it. He ultimately found it and, pulling on the string and plowing through archives, fleshed out the story of this family (though as he says, a lot is still buried in archives). Since the family had several individuals with highly varied roles, looking through the prism of their lives gives an excellent flavor of the times.Part of the Bruni/Bruti family originated in Durrës. They were important and powerful there prior to the events of this book, but lost most of what they had when the Ottomans conquered the town in 1501, turning it Muslim and into a corsair lair. What was left of the family fled north to Ulcinj, then still a Venetian town. Until the latter stages of this book, the focus is these towns on the eastern Adriatic shore—small, ancient, towns with proud aristocrats; the usual conflict between them and the other classes, especially rising merchants; international trade; and their foreign policy and defense, caught between the Venetians and the Ottomans. Much of the story here revolves around service provided by members of the Bruni and Bruti families to Venice, and to a lesser extent to the Papacy and the Knights of Malta, accompanied by later involvement with the Ottomans as dragomans in Istanbul and as high-level functionaries in the Ottoman principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia (which today, roughly, along with Transylvania stolen from Hungary in 1919, form modern Rumania).One family member, Antonio Bruti, who wrote the manuscript the author found, spent his life as a factotum for Venice, ultimately receiving high rewards and accolades from the city for his work, which served his descendants and relatives in good stead. His brother-in-law, Giovanni Bruni, was an archbishop, attended the Council of Trent (where he had dealings with Charles Borromeo, later Archbishop of Milan and my patron saint), was made a galley slave by the Ottomans and killed at the Battle of Lepanto (along with his nephew). Giovanni’s brother, Gasparo, became a Knight of Malta. Malcolm provides a fascinating description not just of the military activities of the Knights, but their economic activities, the process of admission and the internal politics of the Knights. Gasparo Bruni became captain of the papal flagship at the Battle of Lepanto and later fought for the papacy in Avignon during the Huguenot Wars, ultimately dying in his bed at an advanced age. His son, Antonio, became a Jesuit (then a new and vigorous order), studying in Rome.During this period, the late Sixteenth Century, the Ottomans continued to expand, fighting (yet another) war with Venice, resulting in the capture of Ulcinj and its conversion to a Muslim town (as it is today), after killing much of the population despite a guarantee of safe conduct given in exchange for the city’s surrender. More Brutis and Brunis died here. Those that remained moved to Istria, to Koper (Capodistria), still under Venetian control. From here the only Bruti reasonably well known to history, Bartolomeo, son of Antonio, began his career as a diplomat and functionary for the Spanish and Venetians, especially in negotiations and dealings with the Ottomans (his role in Istanbul was mostly indistinguishable from that of a spy). This role was greatly assisted by the on-again off-again Grand Vizier of this period, Sinan Pasha, not only being Albanian but related in an obscure, but relevant, way to Bartolomeo (probably as a cousin by marriage of some sort). The English also begin to appear at this point, where Elizabeth I was negotiating with the Sultan in order to gain traction against their common enemy, the Spanish Habsburgs, and Bartolomeo had dealings with them as well.Bartolomeo moved to Moldavia and became the chief lieutenant of the voivode (appointed by the Sultan—Moldavia was self-governing but in effect a satrapy of the Ottomans and a pawn in conflicts with the Poles and the Cossacks, the Ottomans having conquered most of Hungary and turned Transylvania into a separate state until it was later reunited with Hungary). But Bartolomeo came out on the wrong side of a power struggle and didn’t leave town with the exiled voivode fast enough, so despite (or because of) his meteoric rise and accomplishment, he was strangled and thrown in the river by the new voivode at age 34 (apparently in part to avoid repaying a debt to him). His second cousin, Gasparo Bruni’s son Antonio, the Jesuit, served the exiled voivode in the Tyrol and died of disease at a relatively young age. Bartolomeo’s brother, Cristofero, became a dragoman, or interpreter, in Istanbul. This was an important office that frequently meant serving as a diplomat, not just as a mere interpreter. His relations and descendants served in this and similar offices for at least the next century; thus, the family ended intertwined with the Ottomans, rather than their opponents.If all this sounds complicated, it is. I’m simplifying it considerably. But then, real life is complicated, after all, and Malcolm does an excellent job of keeping the story moving along. One thing that comes through very clearly is the porous nature of borders and relations among peoples, and the key element of trade. War comes and goes, but under the surface, trade (especially in grain, critical to both the Ottomans and the Venetians) continues. Men seek glory, honor, and sinecures from the state for their services. Fortune’s Wheel turns, round and round.Along the way, few new lessons are learned. There is little or nothing in this book, thankfully, that can be tied to modern politics. If there is a lesson, it is a reinforcement of what we already know—in the world before our times, people died unexpectedly and young much more often than they do now. Most of the protagonists of this book seem to be on an arc of ever-greater success—and then they die. Some die in battle; some of disease; some of running afoul of the Sultan or some other powerful man. Maybe, probably, the knowledge of this spurred them on to greater efforts; it certainly did not seem to make them take easy and obvious steps to reduce the risk, like simply staying at home. No doubt they viewed life and the world differently than us, even though they for the most part they seem so similar to us. Reading about them, still, brings them close to us, and reminds us that although times change, people remain basically the same, in all their rich variation.
While I was surprised at how academic this book was - I was expecting something more popular - it is an absolutely excellent read. The context of the book is the period immediately following the apogee of the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent. The "plot", if you will, is an extended family over 2 generations of nobles from Albania, who make their careers involving virtually all the great powers of the Mediterranean.There were a number of powers operating the the region at that time. By far the most powerful, the Ottoman Empire was master of about 2/3 of the Mediterranean, combining man-power rich infantry and an enormous navy. Though Suleiman was turned back at Vienna and Malta, his Empire was regarded as unstoppable. His sea-based enemies included Venice, Spain, the Vatican territories, and the Habsburgs, who controlled southern Italy; they occasionally allied themselves, however suspicious they were of each other as their interests conflicted. For its part, France was more or less allied to the Ottomans, a tactical advantage to counter its enemies. One of the most interesting forces were the semi-autonomous forces that existed on the fringes of the empires, who paid some fealty to their superiors but were able to take actions under their own initiative and profit; these were the corsairs (kind of like pirates with a code, allied to patron states, e.g. the knights of Malta), nomads on the plain (Tatars, Cossacks, and many others).To put it mildly, this concatenation of forces made the Mediterranean a cauldron of intrigue and opportunity. Into this stepped the Bruti family, nobles who were not of the highest aristocracy. They were educated, energetic, and ambitious. Unfortunately for them, just as they were coming of age the Ottomans conquered their native region, which had been under Venetian suzerainty or outright control, depending on circumstances. It was a semi-savage area with many dangerous, autonomous tribes, one of those nexus points at which Slavic, Greek, and Albanian cultures met and mingled. In the beginning, there were 3 brothers: one a merchant spy for Venice, one a Knight of Malta (a military expert), and the other a Catholic bishop. The brothers dominate the first half of the book, which is framed around the decisive naval battle, Lepanto, marking the beginning of the decline of the Ottomans.The second half of the book is less focused as it covers the activities of their offspring, culminating is a rather obscure accomplishment of an influential pamphlet on the Ottomans written by one of them, making for a muted climax to say the least. (The pamphlet served as the original reaosn for Malcolm to discover the family.) Nonetheless, their careers offer truly unique insights into the kind of lives people led at that time. One of them started as an apprentice dragoman in Istambul, insinuating himself into the court with a family connection with Sinan Pasha, an Albanian cousin who was Grand Vizier several times; he reached the pinnacle of power in Wallachia as a kind of deputy viceroy, only to be deposed and murdered by the next voivod. The others are less spectacular, but almost always interesting as notables in their adopted town, Koper.This doesn't offer a general introduction to events or the biggest people, such as Suleiman the Magnificent, Philip II or Francois Premier. It also completely neglects culture. What the reader gets are details about the careers of more normal people, which makes for fascinating reading as they wend themselves into the great events of the day. You find the rise of the Jesuits from the inside; the Counter-Reformation wars in France from the point of view of a commanding participant; the rise and fall of Ragusa as an ally of Spain, to mention a few. So, if you are interested in anything from the grittiness of naval engagements, the political economy of corsaire organizations and institutions, and educational reforms to the intrigues of the Ottoman Court and the vagaries of courtier power in client states, this book is for you. Each chapter contains a story of how this family participated as major players.The book is not for everyone. There are a few dry patches in the book and it starts out rather slow. Beyond specialists, I would recommend it for history buffs who already know the outlines of the history. The writing is clear and often compelling.
It is hard to imagine how author Noel Malcolm managed to convert painstaking research into such a compelling and famously interesting volume. He spreads out for our benefit a rich feast of history, a history most of us have never poked around in or even thought much about. He takes a family prominent in the East side of the Adriatic Sea, actual people, who served the Queen city of Venice. And he writes so well that we avidly devour what in other hands would simply be dry bones.As scholar and wordsmith, Malcolm has the goods.
A well-written and well-researched book which provided a valuable look at the interconnections between the Ottomans and the rest of Europe, at the family and local levels and at the highest levels of governments. I was especially interested in the trade through the Mediterranean and how it showed what people used and consumed. Also fascinating was to see how religious interests and real-politik were balanced in international decisions. Not a book for everyone, but great for those who want details on life and trade and international politics during this rich period.
This book has taught me that there was so much more going on in the 1500s in Europe other than the plague, which is all they ever mentioned in school. Outside of taking a European history course, most people will probably not be familiar with the vast topics covered in this book. The use of personal writings and documentation shows a depth of research into the era that is refreshing and informative at the same time. Far from dry, this book takes you through generations of three interconnected families who found themselves involved in some of the highest levels of intrigue and maneuvering in Eastern Europe during this time. It is a gem! A great introduction for someone curious about the Ottomans, Venetians, etc.
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