ΑΝΑΖΗΤΩΝΤΑΣ ΤΗΝ ΕΙΡΗΝΗ ΕΝ ΜΕΣΩ ΠΟΛΕΜΟΥ: Η ΟΘΩΜΑΝΙΚΗ ΔΙΠΛΩΜΑΤΙΚΗ ΔΡΑ­ΣΤΗΡΙΟΤΗΤΑ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟ ΕΤΟΣ 1685 ΚΑΙ Ο ΡΟΛΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ ΜΑΥΡΟΚΟΡΔΑΤΟΥ

Abstract

The Sixteen-years’ War (1683-1699) between the Ottoman Empire and the allied Christian forces of the Holy League witnessed not only constant fighting but also regular efforts from both sides to re-establish peace. The present article aims primarily to contribute to a current his­toriographical debate concerning diplomatic communication between opponents during long-span wars of the early modern period. To this end, the Ottoman diplomatic efforts of a single year of the Sixteen-years’ War, that of 1685, serve as a case study. Secondarily, the article focuses on the role, the discourse (rhetoric), and the negotiation techniques of Alexandros Mavrocordatos –placing them in their wider Ottoman and European context– based on hitherto unstudied epistolography of his in Ottoman and Latin. Finally, the article highlights the role of a particu­lar perception of an “honourable peace”, especially expressed from the Ottoman side, which, among other factors, ultimately hindered the road leading to the termination of hostilities.