Haci Murad (Agi Morato): An Elusive Dignitary Active in the Second Half of the Sixteenth Century

Abstract

This paper focuses on Haci Murad, a Dalmatian renegade who entered to the service of the Ottoman sultan in the mid-sixteenth century. Haci Murad mobilized his considerable talents (linguistic, nautical, social as well as political) to become an accomplished diplomat as he moved regularly between eastern and western shores of the Mediterranean. He offered his services to Ottoman sultans, to Algerian governor generals and to the Moroccan sultan Abd al-Malik whilst negotiating with the Spanish King and his emissaries. His trajectory constitutes an example which illustrates the complexities while treating trans-national identity formations of the sixteenth century.