From Clavijo to Constantinople: The cradle of Diplomatic Relations between Spain and the Ottoman Empire

This event is co-organized with Instituto Cervantes in Istanbul.

Language: This event will be held in Spanish, with Turkish translation provided.

Over the last 800 years, relations between Spain and Turkey – represented for centuries by the Spanish Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire – have been marked by a profound transformation: from strategic rivalry to diplomatic cooperation.

This lecture traces a timeline focusing on Ruy González de Clavijo's celebrated diplomatic mission to Tamerlane's court in Samarkand (1403–1406), sent by Henry III of Castile in the hope of forging alliances against a nascent Ottoman power.

From that early episode, the geopolitical dynamics of the eastern Mediterranean, the impact of the closure of the Silk Road after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, and the intense maritime rivalries of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with milestones such as the Battle of Lepanto and the Siege of Malta, will be addressed.

During these centuries, Spain and the Ottoman Empire represented two expanding empires, with opposing political, religious, and commercial models. This tension manifested itself in the military and diplomatic fields, where both powers tried to balance containment with pragmatism.

This historical journey not only allows us to understand how the friendship between two ancient Mediterranean powers was born, but also offers a fundamental lesson: history cannot be denied, but it can be learned from it. The transition from confrontation to dialogue is not only possible, but desirable in the contemporary international context.