Page 201 - sfogliabile 49

Infidel friends: Charles V, Mulay Hassan and the theatre of majesty 467

Maghreb), or in 1555 (five years after his death) according to another,
staying with Charles V and his family. In 1644, a celebratory
publication on the grandeur of the House of Tassis included twin
portraits of the King of Tunis and Jean Baptiste de Tassis, the Flemish
nobleman who allegedly hosted his visit, both dressed alla turca . By
75
that time, an infidel royal friend, whose dresses were shared,
represented an exotic mark of distinction rather than a problematic
relationship.

Conclusions

The rhetorically constructed friendship between Emperor Charles
V and Mulay Hassan of Tunis barely hid the reality of a Christian
monarch acting as the superior and protector of a Muslim vassal
prince. The relationship failed to meet expectations due to several
factors. Despite all that was said, Mulay Hassan lacked legitimacy
because he was unable to control the territory he had ruled, or
overcome local opposition, and had failed to reward loyal tribes, as
well as being turned into a vassal first by the Ottomans and then by
the Emperor. He had accepted a Spanish garrison outside the main
city of Tunis which was as unpopular as it was predatory on the
surrounding area. However, the personal meetings and the
negotiations and treaties between both princes had highlighted the
possibilities of inter-confessional diplomacy in the Mediterranean.
As David Do Paço has expressed, models of exotic cross-cultural
encounters do not apply for these Christian-Muslims contacts which
were characterised by a long-lasting familiarity . Neither does the
76
traditional idea of a Mediterranean frontier diplomacy conducted “from
below” by subordinate or marginal actors fit the case studied here. It
is evident that there were military, commercial and clerical figures
involved in the negotiations, especially from Genoa and Granada, but
there was also direct participation by the Emperor, the King of Tunis
and their respective ministers. This personal contact, and especially

75 M. Mastelinus, Necrologium monasterii viridis vallis ordinis canonicorum
regularium S. Augustini congregationis Lateranensis et capituli Windezemensis in nemore
Zoniae prope Bruxellam, J. Meerbecius, Bruxellae, 1630, p. 73; J. Chiflet, Les marques
d'honneur de la maison de Tassis, Balthasar Moretus, Anvers, 1645, pp. 70-78; E.
Puteanus, Bruxella, incomparabili exemplo Septenaria, Joannes Mommaert, Bruxellae,
1646, pp. 34-36. Some details of the supposed Mulay Hassan’s stay in Flanders (his
riding style, his passion for spices and music) were copied from Paolo Giovio’s book.
76 D. Do Paço, Trans-imperial familiarity: Ottoman Ambassadors in eighteenth-century
Vienna, in T. Sowerby, J. Hennings (eds.), Practices of Diplomacy in the Early Modern
World c. 1410-1800, Routledge, London, 2017, pp. 167-168.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XVII - Agosto 2020
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)