Elizabeth I's Secret Alliance with the Ottoman Empire
After her excommunication by Pope Pius V in 1570, Elizabeth I forged an unlikely alliance with Sultan Murad III of the Ottoman Empire, beginning with a letter in 1579. Murad III accepted her offer, granting English merchants full access to Ottoman ports. In 1580, the first Capitulation with England gave English traders extraterritorial status. This alliance opened lucrative trade networks, exchanging English metals and cloth for Ottoman silks, spices, and saltpeter. Elizabeth also established ties with Morocco's Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur and the Barbary States. The friendship lasted until both rulers died (Murad in 1595, Elizabeth in 1603). James I then signed the Treaty of London with Spain in 1604, shifting focus away from Islamic alliances. The Capitulations continued until the Ottoman Empire's fall in 1922.
Key facts
- Elizabeth I was excommunicated by Pope Pius V on February 25, 1570.
- Elizabeth first wrote to Murad III in 1579 proposing a commercial and diplomatic alliance.
- Murad III responded on March 7, 1579, accepting the offer and granting English merchants access to Ottoman ports.
- The first Capitulation with England was issued in 1580, giving English traders extraterritorial status.
- Elizabeth I sent gifts like gold fabric, portraits, and clocks; Murad sent clocks, musical organs, and gold cloth gowns.
- The Barbary Company signed a charter in 1585 granting England exclusive trading rights on Mediterranean coasts.
- Over 60 plays featuring Muslim characters were produced in England between 1576 and 1603.
- James I signed the Treaty of London with Spain in 1604, ending 19 years of warfare.
Entities
Artists
- Elizabeth I
- Murad III
- Safiye Sultan
- Francis Walsingham
- Philip II of Spain
- Pope Pius V
- Henry VIII
- Mary I
- Suleiman the Magnificent
- Mehmed II
- Ahmad al-Mansur
- Samson Rowlie (Hasan Agar)
- Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud
- Anthony Jenkins
- Aura Soltana
- Christopher Marlowe
- William Shakespeare
- James I of England and VI of Scotland
Institutions
- Ottoman Empire
- Papacy
- Holy League
- Barbary Company
- Kingdom of Morocco
- Barbary States
- National Portrait Gallery, London
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Pera Museum
- Wellcome Collection
Locations
- England
- Ottoman Empire
- Spain
- Venice
- Constantinople
- Algiers
- Morocco
- North Africa
- Strait of Gibraltar
- Arabian Peninsula
- Middle East
- Levant
- Egypt
- Syria
- Palestine
- Persia
- Anatolia
- Greater Russia
- London
- Andalusia
- Balkans
- Mediterranean