Chapter 2 - Diplomacy and trade

Some native speakers who contributed to our knowledge of Eastern languages came here as diplomats or merchants. From Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and Marrakesh, one of main cities in Morocco, attempts had been made since the 16th century to conclude treaties with the Dutch Republic. These approaches were fostered by the fact that the Catholic Habsburg Empire and Spain were mutual enemies. In 1610, Mulay Zidan al-Nasir, Sultan of Morocco, signed a ‘treaty of friendship and free trade’ with the Republic. The Ottoman government, the ‘Porte’, did the same in 1612. Ottoman merchants (mostly Jewish and Armenian) brought silk and minerals to the Netherlands, and Dutch ships sailed East with, among other things, died cotton broadcloth.

Camels on the quay

Claes Jansz Visscher II and Pieter Bast, View of Amsterdam from the IJ, 1611

‘No city in the world has as many ships as there are here’, wrote Ahmad ibn Qasim al-Hajari in his travel account. The Dutch Republic was proud of the diversity of its trade and urban population, and painters often depicted it.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

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Common enemy, shared interests

Copie van eenen brief ghesonden van Turkschen Keyzer... aan de Staten Generaal der Verenigde Nederlanden, [Copy of a letter sent by the Turkish Emperor … to the States General of the United Netherlands], 1610

A proposal from Istanbul for collaboration against Spain. The author draws attention to shared religious and cultural values, like the rejection of Catholic ‘images and bells [used during mass]’. The original was in Turkish, in Hebrew script. Johannes Theunisz and a Jew from the East, who was passing through, translated it into Dutch; then Theunisz translated it into Spanish for Samuel Pallache in view of his diplomatic activities.

University Libraries, Amsterdam.

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Spoils of war

Mahmud al-Mahbubi (13th century), Wiqayat al-riwaya fi masa’il al-hidaya

The first Eastern books to come into Dutch possession were gained as spoils of war. Initially, anyone who wanted to learn Middle Eastern languages had to make use of rare books like these. This Arabic-Turkish work on law was plundered by Spanish soldiers after the defeat of the Ottoman fleet in the naval battle at Lepanto (1571).

University Libraries, Leiden.

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Blood and roses

Sa' di Shirazi (13th century), Julistan [The rose garden], 1551

This Persian anthology of poetry, anecdotes and aphorisms exerted an important influence on the European image of the Middle East. This copy was found in a Hungarian fortress that was abandoned by Ottoman soldiers. An inscription in the front of the book reads:

‘On 27 June 1566, by the grace of God, we recaptured Cotuss Castle in the Kingdom of Hungary, in which we found this book…’

University Libraries, Leiden.

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Renewed capitulation

Herziene capitulatie, 1634

With the accession of a new sultan, the capitulations or terms of trade were reconfirmed. In 1634, on commission from Golius, Shahin Kandi produced this copy of the revised trade agreement with the Ottoman Empire, with the ‘tughra’ of the new sultan Murad IV. Trade with the Levant was more lucrative for the Netherlands than with America.

University Libraries, Leiden.

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Ritual ablution machine

Abu Bakr Isma’il al-Jazari (late 12th century), Kitab fi ma‘rifat al-hiyal al-handasiya [Book of knowledge concerning the mechanical arts, undated]

Visitors to the court of the sultan of Diyar Bakr (present-day Turkey) were fascinated by al-Jazari’s ingenious mechanical devices. Only a few copies of the manuscript, with its technical drawings and descriptions, have survived world-wide.

University Libraries, Leiden.

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Elephant clock

Al-Jazari also made very precise water clocks, which worked according to the same principle as the hourglass. This ‘elephant clock’ adjusted for the fact that the time between sunrise and sunset is never the same.

University libraries, Leiden.