Hafsids and Habsburgs in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Facing Tunis

This book explores an anonymous sixteenth-century portrait of Muley al-Hassan, the Hafsid king of Tunis (ca. 1528–1550), that bears witness to relations between North Africa, the Habsburgs, and the Ottomans. While Muley al-Hassan appears frequently in the vast literature on Charles V Habsburg, he is overshadowed by the emperor. Here he emerges as a protagonist, a figure whose shifting reputation can be traced well into the seventeenth century. Images of the King of Tunis circulated in broadsheets, ephemeral images made for triumphal entries, manuscripts, tapestry designs, engravings, and books. The ceaseless production of Tunisian imagery allowed Europeans to face their North African counterparts through scenes of battle but also through imaginary encounters and festive cross-dressing. This book shows how portraits of Hafsid rulers challenge assumptions about the absolute divide between Christian and Muslim, sovereign and subject, the familiar and the foreign, and they put a face onthe entangled histories of the early modern Mediterranean.

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Hafsids and Habsburgs in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Facing Tunis

This book explores an anonymous sixteenth-century portrait of Muley al-Hassan, the Hafsid king of Tunis (ca. 1528–1550), that bears witness to relations between North Africa, the Habsburgs, and the Ottomans. While Muley al-Hassan appears frequently in the vast literature on Charles V Habsburg, he is overshadowed by the emperor. Here he emerges as a protagonist, a figure whose shifting reputation can be traced well into the seventeenth century. Images of the King of Tunis circulated in broadsheets, ephemeral images made for triumphal entries, manuscripts, tapestry designs, engravings, and books. The ceaseless production of Tunisian imagery allowed Europeans to face their North African counterparts through scenes of battle but also through imaginary encounters and festive cross-dressing. This book shows how portraits of Hafsid rulers challenge assumptions about the absolute divide between Christian and Muslim, sovereign and subject, the familiar and the foreign, and they put a face onthe entangled histories of the early modern Mediterranean.

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Hafsids and Habsburgs in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Facing Tunis

Hafsids and Habsburgs in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Facing Tunis

by Cristelle L. Baskins
Hafsids and Habsburgs in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Facing Tunis

Hafsids and Habsburgs in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Facing Tunis

by Cristelle L. Baskins

eBook1st ed. 2022 (1st ed. 2022)

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Overview

This book explores an anonymous sixteenth-century portrait of Muley al-Hassan, the Hafsid king of Tunis (ca. 1528–1550), that bears witness to relations between North Africa, the Habsburgs, and the Ottomans. While Muley al-Hassan appears frequently in the vast literature on Charles V Habsburg, he is overshadowed by the emperor. Here he emerges as a protagonist, a figure whose shifting reputation can be traced well into the seventeenth century. Images of the King of Tunis circulated in broadsheets, ephemeral images made for triumphal entries, manuscripts, tapestry designs, engravings, and books. The ceaseless production of Tunisian imagery allowed Europeans to face their North African counterparts through scenes of battle but also through imaginary encounters and festive cross-dressing. This book shows how portraits of Hafsid rulers challenge assumptions about the absolute divide between Christian and Muslim, sovereign and subject, the familiar and the foreign, and they put a face onthe entangled histories of the early modern Mediterranean.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9783031050794
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date: 11/24/2022
Series: New Transculturalisms, 1400-1800
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 133 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Cristelle L. Baskins is Associate Professor Emeritus, Tufts University, USA.  

Table of Contents

1. Introduction.- 2. Hafsids and Habsburgs.- 3. Sovereign Display.- 4. Italian Sojourn.- 5. Vanishing Acts.- 6. Pious Fictions.- 7. Conclusion.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

In this book,  Baskins places Muley Hassan, the ruler of Tunis, center-stage in an analysis of the evolution and production of portraiture and the representation of Hafsid-Hapsburg-Ottoman confrontation. Portraits capture…the multi-faceted struggle for prestige, patronage, and sovereignty in Mediterranean courts.

—Palmira Brummett, Professor Emerita, History, University of Tennessee, USA

Baskins’ interdisciplinary book opens new directions for the study of portraits and Habsburg visual propaganda about North African campaigns. She also breaks with traditional studies of the 'Muslim other' and presents a case study of fluid permeability and alterity in the Mediterranean.

—Borja Franco Llopis, Associate Professor, Art History, National Distance Education University, Madrid, Spain

“This work is distinguished by its use of a variety of primary sources, and its multifaceted approach, combining history and art history. It is an important addition to the study of early modern Tunisia in particular, and to acculturation in the Mediterranean in general.

—Houssem Eddine Chachia, Assistant Professor, History, University of Tunis, Tunisia


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