Carlo Cigala

The Cigalas were among Genoa's oldest aristocratic families.[2] Visconte, the father of Carlo, was born there in 1504, but later settled in Messina. His mother, Lucrezia, was a Turk from Herceg Novi who converted to Christianity.[3][4]^: 343 Visconte worked as a corsair for Spain, preying on Muslim merchant ships. Carlo's father frequently travelled alongside the renowned commander Andrea Doria and took part in Charles V's naval wars in North Africa and against the Ottomans. Additionally, the Cigala family kept strong ties to the Vatican, with Visconte's brother rising to the position of cardinal. Carlo was the youngest of Visconte's four sons; he also had two daughters. Carlo was married to Beatrice de Guidici, daughter of a Messinese baron.

Visconte was captured alongside his eldest son, Scipione, by the Ottoman navy, at the Battle of Djerba in 1560 or 1561.[5] They were first taken to Tripoli, and then to North Africa, and subsequently to Yedikule Fortress in Istanbul. Visconte was eventually freed from captivity, and lived in Beyoğlu (Pera) for a while. He then returned to Messina, where he died in 1564. Scipione, his son, was kept as a Janissary. He converted to Islam and received training in Topkapı Palace, eventually achieving the title of silahtar.[1]^{: 320, 344} As a result of his marriages to two of Suleiman I's great-granddaughters, he secured a high position in Ottoman society, and was extremely rich.

Carlo worked at the court of Philip II of Spain, and according to Matteo Zane, Bailo of Constantinople (later Patriarch of Venice), he earned a pension of five hundred scudi annually, given directly from the King.[4]^: 295 In 1597, Carlo had been granted the title of Count by Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor.[6]

Cığalazade invited his brother, Carlo, to Istanbul, in an attempt to reunite with his family. Carlo accepted his brother's request in 1593. It was thought that Carlo was sent by Philip II to aid in peace talks with the Sublime Porte.[7][8]^{: 170, 172, 197}[9]^{: 118, 175–176} However, as Carlo had said in a meeting with Zane in Istanbul, he was there for 'private business alone'.[8]^: 198

According to Matteo Zane after returning to Venice in 1594:

"the said Signore Carlo... was indulging in the belief that he could easily be given charge of Moldavia or Wallachia by paying the usual pension to the Porte. And when this turned out unsuccessful he hatched the idea of having the islands of the Archipelago in imitation of the [Sultan’s] Jewish favourite Giovanni Miches (Joseph Nasi)."[4]^{: 295–296}

Carlo sought to take advantage of his brother's position as Kapudan Pasha and showed effort to become the new Duke of Naxos, which was directly under the Kapudan Pasha's jurisdiction.[10] After a few months, he returned to Messina without any titles because, as Zane states, ‘his brother the Capudan... [would] not support him’ in his ambitious endeavours.[8]^: 207

Five years later in 1598, Sultan Mehmed III named Carlo Duke of Naxos.[11][12] How he received royal approval of this high rank is unknown. Carlo arrived to the country in 1600, landing in Chios, Ottoman Greece. He did not want to adhere to Islam as he feared being seen as a renegade, and did not want to seem a traitor to Philip III of Spain. Carlo's condition was respected by the Sultan, which was remarkable for the time as conversion to Islam was the highest portrayal of loyalty to the Sublime Porte as a non-Muslim. However, he was not given the post of Duke of Naxos because he did not arrive with his mother, which was a condition of his accession to the post.

Carlo had been given permission by Pope Clement VIII to negotiate for Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha's conversion to Christianity when he arrived to Chios in 1600. The Pope had letters to the Ottoman admiral produced in which he urged him to take up arms "against the tyranny of the Turks," organise a coup d'état, and establish a Chris- tian monarchy in Istanbul, in addition to encouraging him to revert to Christianity. All of the lands that Yusuf Sinan Pasha would take from the Ottomans were to remain his, with the exception of Hungary and Jerusalem. These letters, however, were never dispatched from the Papal States.[13]^: 16

Carlo's secondary domicile was Chios. During his time there, he played a pivotal role in gathering intelligence on the Ottoman Empire for the king of Spain. He also acted as an informant for the Sultan, providing information on Spain for him, highlighting Carlo's political ambivalence.[9]^{: 175, 219} This is reminiscent of other Ottoman figures such as David Passi, who was a spy for England, Spain, Venice, and the Ottoman Empire, all at the same time.

In 1610, Carlo bought the baronage of Tiriolo in Calabria with the wealth he accumulated as a merchant. In 1613, he was admitted into the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword. In 1630, he was made a Prince of Spain by Philip IV.[1]^: 345

In the 1630s, Carlo visited Istanbul and petitioned to Murad IV to grant his son the title of Prince of Moldavia or Wallachia. Such a request was sent to the Sultan because his son was to marry a rich woman from Bohemia, and it was a condition of her parents that their groom be of a high rank in the Ottoman Empire.[13]^: 17 This request was not granted.

Carlo died on 26 July 1631, a few months after his visit to Istanbul. Historian Gino Benzoni described Carlo as:

"the jealous custodian of his family’s prestige, fond of pomp and splendour and no stranger to restless and devious ambitions for grandeur as well as risky intrigues in order to fulfil them."[1]^: 345