Francis I and Suleiman
Francis I, Chateau Beauregard
Francis I, King of France, hated Charles V of Austria, The Holy Roman Emperor, with every fibre of his being. He hated him even more after 1525 following the disastrous (for Francis) Battle of Pavia when a crowing Charles locked Francis in prison.
Desperate for an ally, Francis, The Most Christian King, contacted the world’s Most Muslim Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, the Turkish ruler of the Ottoman Empire.
They were both thirty. Charles was twenty-four.
Charles V, Chateau Beauregard
Charles was successfully thwarting Suleiman’s naval dominance so Francis, working on the tried and tested my enemy’s enemy is my friend, contacted him.
Suleiman replied: To thee who art Francesco, king of the province of France. You have sent to my Porte, a letter … the enemy has overrun your country and that you are at present in prison and a captive … Night and day our horse is saddled and our sabre is girt...for the rest, question your ambassador and be informed. Know that it will be as said.
In effect, I’m your man.
Suleiman the Magnificent, Chateau Beauregard
The Sultan ordered his most feared admiral, the Barbary pirate Barbarossa (Red Beard) to put his fleet at the disposition of Francis.
In 1543 Barbarossa arrived in the south of France with 30,000 men, 110 galleys and 40 ships equipped with artillery.
Francis asked him to take Nice which was ruled by an ally of Charles V.
He failed.
Undeterred, Francis asked Barbarossa to harass the Mediterranean coastal areas of the Holy Roman Empire and be ready for new campaigns in the spring.
He suggested he overwinter his troops in the town and port of Toulon.
Nervous of conflict between Christian civilians and Muslim soldiers, Francis ordered the inhabitants to leave. As compensation, he exempted them from paying taxes for ten years.
To prevent Toulon becoming a full blown Ottoman garrison town and not leave it completely in the hands of the Turks, some officials, heads of families and craftsmen were allowed to stay.
The Ottomans ran Toulon as if it was a Turkish colony. Ottoman currency was legal tender. The lovely old Cathedral was turned into a Mosque. The muezzin’s call to prayer was heard five times a day. Toulon looked more like Constantinople than a French town.
There was mayhem. Bloodshed. Barbarism. Massacres. Wasn’t there? No.
Barbarossa promised Francis I there would be no disorder and kept his word.
Locals, were pleasantly surprised by the discipline of the Turks. Fraternisation between Christians and Muslims began, as it so often does, with food.
30,000 Turks (15,000 soldiers and 15,000 oarsmen or crewmen) had to be fed. Francis gave the locals permission to buy food from nearby towns to sell to the Ottomans. They became familiar with Turkish food and vice versa. They invited each other to banquets. Craftsmen began producing Turkish goods to sell to the soldiers.
Apart from the odd skirmish, eight months passed peacefully.
Spring 1544 came, but missives from the ailing king of France came there none, so the Turks went home.
Barbarossa died in 1546. Francis I died in 1547.
The Toulon city officials commissioned a commemorative painting of the Ottoman fleet in the harbour. It took pride of place in the town hall for over two hundred years but disappeared during the French Revolution.
Post by Pamela (BA History of Art).
Pamela-Shields.com
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