Iconographs of Power or Tools of Diplomacy? Ottoman Fethnames

Historians of Christian European diplomacy have tended to approach Ottoman diplomatic practice from a rather Eurocentric perspective in that they presuppose initial Ottoman non-involvement in the development of the modern diplomatic system followed by a reluctant adoption of it when faced with a period of economic, military and political decline. In this article I read two fethnames [victory missives] sent to the Queen of England, Elizabeth I to celebrate the Ottoman capture of Nagykanizsa (Kanije) castle in 1600 as a means by which the Ottoman state both performed and legitimized Ottoman sovereignty yet also provided an opportunity for political or diplomatic negotiation.