Abstract:
It is known in historiography that Lala Mustafa Pasha a commander
of the Ottoman military sent Atabeg of Samtskhe Qvarqvare
IV (1574-1581) and his brother Manuchar to Istanbul on April 20,
1579 as the Sultan decided the political future of the principality
on the basis of their converting to Islam. The brothers were treated
with honor and solemnity at the Sultan’s court on June 3 in the
above-mentioned year but unlike Manuchar Qvarqvare refused to
convert to Islam.
On the basis of the primary sources and the newest special
literature, it is found out that they did not force him to convert in
Istanbul. On the contrary, the Sultan Murad III met the request of
Dedisimedi the ruler of the principality as to maintain Christianity
for her son Qvarqvare and granted him some privileges. In accordance with European primary sources, Qvarqvare IV being
in the Ottoman Empire established a diplomatic intercourse with
the Habsburg embassy accredited in Constantinople. It seems that
both parties were equally interested in it but the initiative was taken
from Qvarqvare. The latter tried to connect with the Habsburg embassy
the aims of which were: the first, by means of confessional relations
with the Habsburg embassy he tried to get information about
the attitude of European anti-Ottoman forces towards the current
Ottoman-Persian War, and the second, being interested in Luther’s
reformation Qvarqvare made the essence of the doctrine of Protestantism
clear.
All of these are only explained on the basis of the theological
written dialogues which were carried on between Jeremiah II,
Patriarch of Constantinople (1536-1595) and Lutheran theologians in
1573-1581. The aim of the latter was to confirm the Eastern Orthodox
Church loyal protector of the apostolic tradition to be engaged in a
struggle with Catholicism, that is to say the Eastern Orthodox Church
being without a pope ought to have supported the Lutherans in the
struggle against Catholics. Within this context engaged in an argument
with Catholics confirmation of coming into contact with Qvarqvare
would have proved as a solid argument to present the identity
of Christianity and Lutheranism. Insofar as the Sultan Murad III saw
the potential ally in Protestants against the Pope and the Holy Roman
Empire, the Sultan’s court even welcomed Qvarqvare’s contact
with Protestants.
