Hafsids and Habsburgs in The Early Modern Mediterranean

NEW TRANSCULTURALISMS, 1400 –1800
Hafsids and Habsburgs

in the Early Modern
Mediterranean
Facing Tunis
cristelle l. bask ins
New Transculturalisms, 1400–1800
Series Editors
Ann Rosalind Jones, Department of Comparative Literature, Smith
College, Northampton, MA, USA
Jyotsna G. Singh, Department of English, Michigan State University,
East Lansing, MI, USA
Mihoko Suzuki, Center for the Humanities, University of Miami, Coral
Gables, FL, USA
This series, now published by Palgrave Macmillan, presents studies of
early modern contacts and exchanges among the states, polities, cultures,
religions, and entrepreneurial organizations of Europe; Asia, including
the Levant and East India/Indies; Africa; and the Americas. Books in
New Transculturalisms will continue to investigate diverse figures, such
as travelers, merchants, cultural inventors—explorers, mapmakers, artists,
craftsmen, and writers—as they operated in political, mercantile, sexual,
affective, and linguistic economies. We encourage authors to reflect on
their own methodologies in relation to issues and theories relevant to the
study of transculturalism, translation, and transnationalism.
Cristelle L. Baskins
Hafsids
and Habsburgs
in the Early Modern
Mediterranean
Facing Tunis
Cristelle L. Baskins
History of Art and Architecture
Tufts University
Medford, MA, USA
New Transculturalisms, 1400–1800

ISBN 978-3-031-05078-7 ISBN 978-3-031-05079-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05079-4
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Cover illustration: Nicholas van der Horst and Paul Pontius, “Muley Hazen,” in Jules
Chifflet, Les marques d’honneur de la maison du Tassis (Antwerp: Balthasar Moretus,
1645), engraving, 32.1 x 20.8 cm., p. 76. Source: Collection of the author
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
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Acknowledgments
I am thankful that the editors of the New Transculturalism series stuck

with this project throughout its long gestation. In approaching this topic,
I have drawn inspiration from Gülru Necipoğlu, Palmira Brummett, and
Natalie Z. Davis whose scholarship paves the way for art historians of the
early modern world to think comparatively, trans-imperially, and inter-
confessionally. This project was awarded several Faculty Research Grants
at Tufts University; a postdoctoral fellowship and a research associateship
from the Aga Khan Program at Harvard University; a Newhouse Center
External Faculty Fellowship at Wellesley College; and a fellowship at the
Center for the Humanities at Tufts.
The following libraries and research centers were instrumental for my
research: the Beinecke Library, Yale University; the British Library; the
British Museum; the Houghton Library at Harvard University; the Folger
Shakespeare Library; the John Hay Library of Brown University; the
library of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Rubenianum in Antwerp;
and the Toppan Rare Books Library at the University of Wyoming. The
project would not have been possible without online resources, in partic-
ular digitized texts available from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, the
Biblioteca digital Hispánica, Gallica, Google books, and Open Access
publishing.
I have benefitted from the generosity of many colleagues, among
them, David G. Alexander, Louise Amazan, Jan Baetens, Karen Barzman,
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Diane Bodart, Katherine Bond, Giuseppe Capriotti, Danielle Carra-

bino, Houssem E. Chachia, Leah Clark, Jodi Cranston, Surekha Davies,
Caroline Duroselle-Melish, Chet Van Duzer, Emine Fetvaci, Virginie
Gavériaux, Tamara Golan, Rubén González Cuerva, Kenneth Gouwens,
Eva Hoffman, Ann Rosalind Jones, Paul H.D. Kaplan, Elizabeth Kassler-
Taub, Dana Katz, Antien Knaap, Adam Kulewicz, Evelyn Lincoln, Maria
Lumbreras, Alberto Mannino, Christina Maranci, Lia Markey, Timothy
McCall, Rachel Midura, Erika Milburn, Emily Monty, Ridha Moumni,
Anthony Ossa-Richardson, Sean Roberts, Mark Rosen, Jorge Sebastián
Lozano, Adam Sammut, Stephanie Schrader, Joaneath Spicer, Almudena
Pérez de Tudela, Antonio Urquízar-Herrera, Gennaro Varriale, Maur-
izio Vesco, and Barbara Wisch. Special thanks to Pamela M. Jones,
Borja Franco Llopis, and Jeffrey S. Ravel who read and commented
on drafts of every chapter, offering infinite support and encouragement.
Responsibility for errors, of course, rests with me.
For assistance with translations from Latin, I thank Amanda Jarvis
and Maya Chakravorty. Silvia Bottinelli and Chiara Pidatella greatly
improved my translations from sixteenth-century Italian. For help with
images, I would like to thank Christine Cavalier, Marina Cotugno,
Mouayed El Mnari, Goran Proot, Barry Ruderman, Ahmed Saadaoui,
and Moez Sghaier. Thanks also to Sam Stocker and Eliana Rangel at
Palgrave Macmillan. Finally, I am grateful to my family—Jeff, Gabe, and
Naomi—for whom Muley al-Hassan is a household name.
Praise for Hafsids and Habsburgs in
the Early Modern Mediterranean
“Facing Tunis is an original study that artfully interweaves visual and

narrative sources to illuminate the contested spaces of the early modern
Mediterranean. Baskins places Muley Hassan, the ruler of Tunis, and
portraits of him, center-stage in an analysis of the evolution and produc-
tion of portraiture and the representation of Hafsid-Hapsburg-Ottoman
confrontation. Portraits capture both the actual and imagined of the cross
cultural encounter in the sixteenth century, as well as the multi-faceted
struggle for prestige, patronage, and sovereignty in Mediterranean courts.
Baskins’ work also adds to the burgeoning literature on Mediterranean
conversions and fictions thereof. A compelling read with wonderful
images.”
—Palmira Brummett, Professor Emerita, History, University of Tennessee,
USA
“Baskins offers a fascinating new approach to the figure of Muley

Hassan in European visual culture. Her interdisciplinary book opens new
directions for the study of portraits and Habsburg visual propaganda
about North African campaigns. This research also breaks with tradi-
tional 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
vii
viii PRAISE FOR HAFSIDS AND HABSBURGS IN THE EARLY …
“Facing Tunis deals with what Tunisian historians call the ‘enigmatic’
sixteenth century. This work is distinguished by its use of a variety of
primary-sources, and its multifaceted approach, combining history and art
history. This original work 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
Contents
1 Introduction 1
Art History and North Africa 12
Note on Sources 17
Transliteration and Translation 18
2 Hafsids and Habsburgs 27
The Lost World of Muley al-Hassan 29
Hafsid Treasures 39
The Tunis Campaign 41
Visible Speech 46
3 Sovereign Display 75
Contesting the Crown: Barbarossa and Muley al-Hassan 77
The King of Tunis in Triumph: Cosenza and Naples 80
The King of Tunis in Triumph: Rome and Florence 90
Tunis Dispersed 100
Tunis in the Wake of the Habsburgs 104
4 Italian Sojourn 123
Naples: June 1543 124
De Spenis, Breve Cronica 129
In Search of Charles: Florence and Rome, Summer 1543 141
Loss of Face 147
ix
x CONTENTS
5 Vanishing Acts 163

Muley al-Hassan, Muley Ahmet, and the Sharif of Qayrawan 165
From Tunis to Augsburg 174
Face Off with Death 183
Mourning Muley al-Hassan, Celebrating Mahdiyya 189
6 Pious Fictions 215
Rubens’ Two Kings of Tunis 216
The Habsburgs and Tunis 1573–1574 224
Antwerp 225
Chifflet Unraveled 236
“God Can Do More Than That!” 245
Conclusion 250
Bibliography 271
Index 303
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 Anon, Muley al-Hassan, oil on panel, 92 × 76 cm.

Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon,
Versailles, MV 3173 (Credit: ©RMN-Grand Palais/Art
Resource, NY) 2
Fig. 1.2 Nicholas van der Horst and Paul Pontius, “Muley
al-Hassan,” engraving, 32.4 × 20.6 cm, in Jules Chifflet,
Les marques d’honneur de la maison du Tassis (Antwerp:
Balthasar Moretus, 1645), p. 76. Herzog Anton-Ulrich
Museum, Braunschweig, Kunstmuseum des Landes
Niedersachsen, p-slg-illum-ab2-0072 (Credit: Herzog
Anton-Ulrich Museum) 5
Fig. 1.3 Gaspar Bouttats, “Muley Hazen, King of Tunis,” in Fra
Prudencio de Sandoval, Historia de la vida y hechos del
emperador Carlos V. maximo, fortissimo, rey catholico
de España, y de las Indias, islas, y tierra firme del mar
oceano (Antwerp: Geronymo Verdussen, 1681), vol. 2,
engraving, p. 182v (Credit: Houghton Library, Harvard
University [public domain]) 6
Fig. 1.4 Anon., “Muley Hassen, King of Tunis,” in Gregorio
Leti, Vita dell’ invittissimo imperadore Carlo V. Austriaco
(Amsterdam: Georgio Gallet, 1700), vol. 3, engraving
following p. 84, 38.1 × 25.7 cm (Credit: Victoria
and Albert Museum, London [public domain]) 7
xi
xii LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 1.5 Jules Porreau, Muley Haçan the Sovereign of Tunis

of the Hafsid Dynasty from Life 1543, engraving,
in Charles Gavard, Galeries historiques de Versailles,
Supplement I, Series X, Section 2 (Paris: Gavard, 1844),
plate 102 (Credit: New York Public Library, Astor,
Lenox, and Tilden Foundations) 8
Fig. 1.6 Anon, after Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, Rex Thunissae
(Antwerp: Sylvester van Parijs, ca. 1535), colored
woodcut, 43.6 × 28.5 cm; Cabinet des Étampes,
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Reserve AA-3
(Sylvestre) (Credit: Bibliothèque nationale de France,
Paris) 9
Fig. 1.7 Anon., “Three White Moors and a Black Woman,”
Costume Album, ca. 1547/8, watercolor on paper, 20 ×
20 cm, Biblioteca de España, Madrid, Res 285, fol. 16v
(Credit: Biblioteca de España, Madrid [public domain]) 12
Fig. 1.8 Peter Paul Rubens, African Man, ca.1610, oil on panel,
99.7 × 71.5 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, #40.2
(Credit: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) 16
Resource, NY) 28
Paris) 29
Fig. 2.3 Anon., “Map of Tunis,” from El sucesso de la grandissima
impresa fata da la Caesarea Maiesta soto de Tunesi
et la presa de la Golletta (15 July 1535), woodcut,
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, 42-860-B, f.
1v (Credit: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna) 30
Fig. 2.4 Jacopo Russo, Rex Tunisi, detail, Portolan, 1520,
parchment, 105.5 × 67 cm. Archivio di Stato di
Firenze, Carte Nautiche 12 (Credit: Ministero della
Cultura/Archivio di Stato di Firenze) 33
Fig. 2.5 Francesco Laurana, Triumphal Entry of Alfonso V
of Aragon, ca. 1460, marble, Castel Nuovo, Naples
(Credit: Deposit Photos, New York) 34
LIST OF FIGURES xiii
Fig. 2.6 Giovanni Andrea Vavassore, Map of the Siege of Tunis

(Venice, 1535), woodcut, 28 × 40 cm (Credit: Newberry
Library, Chicago [public domain]) 35
Fig. 2.7 Anon, “The King of Tunis in Barbary,” Costumes
of the Time of Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire, and King of Spain, of Costumes of all Nations
of the World, ca. 1547/8, ff. 47v–48r, watercolor
on parchment, Museo Stibbert, Florence, MS 2025
(Credit: Museo Stibbert) 44
Fig. 2.8 Anon., “Vignettes,” from El sucesso de la grandissima
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, 42.860-B, f.
Fig. 2.9 Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen and Pieter Coecke van Aelst,
Charles V and Muley al-Hassan Sign the Treaty, 1540’s,
Tapestry cartoon detail, Kunsthistorisches Museum,
Vienna, Inv.-Nr. 2047 (Credit: Erich Lessing/Art
Resource, NY) 54
Fig. 3.1 Jacopo Russo, Rex Tunisi, detail, Portolan, 1520,
parchment, 105.5 × 67 cm. Archivio di Stato di
Firenze, Carte Nautiche 12 (Credit: Ministero della
Cultura/Archivio di Stato di Firenze) 76
Paris) 78
Fig. 3.3 Giovanni Andrea Vavassore, Map of the Siege of Tunis
(Venice, 1535), woodcut, 28 × 40 cm (Credit: Newberry
Library, Chicago [public domain]) 79
Fig. 3.4 Niccolò Nelli, “Charles V Gives Royal Scepter to Philip
II,” in Girolamo Ruscelli, Le Imprese illustri (Venice:
Francesco Rampazetto, 1566), engraving, pp. 139–140
(Credit: Wellcome Library, London [public domain]) 83
Fig. 3.5 Diagram of the Porta Capuana Triumphal Arch, Naples
(25 November 1535) (Credit: Christine Cavalier) 85
Fig. 3.6 Francesco Laurana, Triumphal Entry of Alfonso V
of Aragon, ca. 1460, marble, Castel Nuovo, Naples
xiv LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 3.7 Diagram of the S. Marco Triumphal Arch, Rome (5 April

1536) (Credit: Christine Cavalier) 91
Fig. 3.8 Circle of Giorgio Vasari, Benignitas with Attributes
of Abundance, ca. 1567, pen, ink, and wash, 42.1 × 25.3
cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession
number 58.651.75, Gift of Harry G. Friedman, 1958
(Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art [public domain]) 94
Fig. 3.9 Diagram of the S. Felice Triumphal Arch, Florence (28
April 1536) (Credit: Christine Cavalier) 96
Fig. 3.10 Anon., “Vignettes,” from El sucesso de la grandissima
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, 42.860-B, f.
Resource, NY) 99
Fig. 3.12 Anon., Qur’an, late 15thc, f.2. Bibliothèque nationale
de France, Paris, Ms Arabe 438 (Credit: Bibliothèque
nationale de France, Paris) 101
Fig. 3.13 Anon, Lavabo from Naples, silver with gilding, 11.0
× 21.1 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, BK-NM-9658
(Credit: Rijksmuseum [public domain]) 103
Fig. 4.1 Anon., The Marvelous Honor Paid by the Viceroy
and the lords of Naples to the King of Tunis, upon his
arrival in Naples, with the order of the procession
into the said City, and the number of his cavalry,
and the magnificent gifts that were given, by which one
understands the large amount of money the king brought
in order to recruit Italian soldiers (Venice, 1543) (Credit:
Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington DC) 126
Fig. 4.2 Anon., “In Spain,” Costumes of the Time of Charles V,
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and King of Spain,
of Costumes of all Nations of the World, ca. 1547/1548,
watercolor on parchment, Stibbert Museum, Florence,
MS 2025, f. 2 (Credit: Alfredo dagli Orti/Art Resource,
NY) 130
Fig. 4.3 Francesco Laurana, Detail: Triumphal Entry of Alfonso
V of Aragon, ca. 1460, marble, Castel Nuovo, Naples
LIST OF FIGURES xv
Fig. 4.4 Anon., Pedro de Toledo, oil on canvas, 66 × 80 cm,

Museo di S. Martino, Naples (Credit: Scala/Ministero
per i Beni e le Attività culturali/Art Resource, NY) 135
Fig. 4.5 Anon., Muley al-Hassan, oil on panel, 92 × 76 cm.
Resourcet, NY) 137
Fig. 4.6 Francesco Laurana, “Sidi Ibrahim and Companions,”
Detail: Triumphal Entry of Alfonso V of Aragon, 1460s,
Castel Nuovo, Naples (Credit: Beni Culturali, Comune
di Napoli) 138
Fig. 4.7 Pompeo Sarnelli, “Quattro Epitaffi,” La Guida de’
Forestieri curiosi di vedere, e di riconoscere le cose più
memorabili di Pozzuoli (Naples: Antonio Bulifon, 1769),
engraved foldout between pages 56 and 57 (Credit:
General Reference Division, New York Public Library) 140
Fig. 5.1 Anon., “Map,” La presa di Africa con il successo delle cose
occorse narrando batterie assalti dirupi cave fossi trinzere
tanti di dentro quanto di so[p]ra fate durante lo assedio
per infino ala presa. (s.l. s.d.), woodcut, f. 1r (Credit:
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich) 164
Fig. 5.2 Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, Muley Ahmet, ca. 1547, etching,
46.4 × 37.7 cm, Boijmans van Beuningen Museum
L 1959/51 (PK) (Credit: Boijmans van Beuningen
Museum, Rotterdam [public domain]) 168
Fig. 5.3 Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, Muley Hassan and Retinue
at a Repast, ca. 1547–1550, engraving and etching, 33.2
× 54.1 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994.121
(Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York [public
domain]) 169
Paris) 170
Fig. 5.5 Anon, “Three White Moors and a Black Woman,”
Costume Album, ca. 1547/8, watercolor on paper, 20 ×
20 cm, Biblioteca de España, Madrid, Res 285, fol.16v
(Credit: Biblioteca de España, Madrid [public domain]) 175
xvi LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 5.6 Anon., “Muley Hassen, King of Tunis,” in Gregorio Leti,

La vie de l’empereur Charles V , part 3 (Brussels: Josse
di Grieck, 1715), engraving, p. 325 (Credit: Victoria &
Albert Museum, London [public domain]) 179
Fig. 5.7 Tobias Stimmer, “Muley Hassan, King of Tunis,”
in Paolo Giovio, Elogia virorum bellica virtute illustrium
(Basel: Pietro Perna, 1575), Bk 6, woodcut, f. 359r
(Credit: Houghton Library, Harvard University [public
domain]) 184
Fig. 5.8 Hieronymus Cock, Mahdiyya (Antwerp, 1550),
etching, 21.6 × 28 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam,
RP-P-1910-2210 (Credit: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
[public domain]) 188
Fig. 5.9 Detail from Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg, Civitates
Orbis Terrarum (Köln, 1575), vol. 2, pl. 57, after Paolo
Forlani, Africa olim Aphrodisium (Venice, 1562) (Credit:
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford University
[public domain]) 190
Fig. 5.10 Groundplan of the Zawiya of Sidi Abid, Qayrawan
(Credit: Christine Cavalier) 193
Fig. 5.11 Tomb slab for Muley al-Hassan, ca. 1550, Zawiya
of Sidi Abid, Qayrawan, Tunisia (Credit: Collection
of the author) 194
Fig. 5.12 Pompeo Sarnelli, “Quattro Epitaffi,” La Guida de’
Forestieri curiosi di vedere, e di riconoscere le cose più
memorabili di Pozzuoli (Naples: Antonio Bulifon, 1769),
engraved foldout between pages 56 and 57 (Credit:
General Reference Division, New York Public Library) 194
Fig. 6.1 Anon., Qur’an, late 15thc, f.2. Bibliothèque nationale
de France, Paris, Ms Arabe 438 (Credit: Bibliothèque
nationale de France, Paris) 217
Fig. 6.2 Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, Muley Ahmet, ca.1547, etching,
46.4 × 37.7 cm, Boijmans van Beuningen Museum
L 1959/51 (PK) (Credit: Boijmans van Beuningen
Museum, Rotterdam [public domain]) 219
Fig. 6.3 Peter Paul Rubens, African Man, ca.1610, oil on panel,
99.7 × 71.5 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, #40.2
(Credit: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) 220
Resource, NY) 221
LIST OF FIGURES xvii
Hazen,” in Jules Chifflet, Les marques d’honneur de la
maison du Tassis (Antwerp: Balthasar Moretus, 1645),
engraving, 32.1 × 20.8 cm, p. 76. (Credit: Collection
of the author) 223
Fig. 6.6 Italian, “Tunetani,” Album of Costume Studies, ca. 1600,
watercolor on paper, 9.9 × 14.5 cm, Morgan Library
PML 5675, f.103r (Credit: The Morgan Library &
Museum, New York) 226
Fig. 6.7 Nicholas van der Horst and Paul Pontius, “Jean Baptiste
de Tassis,” in Jules Chifflet, Les marques d’honneur de la
maison du Tassis (Antwerp: Balthasar Moretus, 1645),
engraving, 31.7 × 19.9 cm, p. 77 (Credit: Houghton
Library, Harvard University) 227
Fig. 6.8 Jan and Lucas van Doetecum, Amplissimo hoc apparatu
et pulchro ordine pompa funebris Bruxellis á palatio ad
Diuae Gudulae templum processit: cum rex Hispaniarum
Philippus Carolo V. Rom. Imp. pare[n]ti moestissimus
iusta solueret (The Hague: Hendrik Hondius, 1619),
etching, 24 × 16.7 cm, pl.34 (Credit: Rijksmuseum,
Amsterdam [public domain]) 230
Fig. 6.9 Anon., Giovanni Battista Tassi, ca. 1650, ex Villa Tasso,
Zogno, Italy, fresco, dimensions unknown (destroyed
1943) (Credit: Archivio Bortolo Belotti, Comune di
Zogno [Bergamo]) 235
Fig. 6.10 Tobias Stimmer, “Muley Hassan, King of Tunis,”
in Paolo Giovio, Elogia virorum bellica virtute illustrium
(Basel: Pietro Perna, 1575), Bk 6, woodcut, f. 359r
(Credit: Houghton Library, Harvard University [public
domain]) 238
Fig. 6.11 Anon, “The King of Tunis in Barbary,” Costumes
of the Time of Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire, and King of Spain, of Costumes of all Nations
of the World, ca. 1547/8, ff. 47v–48r, watercolor
on parchment, Museo Stibbert, Florence, MS 2025
(Credit: Museo Stibbert) 241
xviii LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 6.12 Gaspar Bouttats, “Muley Hazen, King of Tunis,” in Fra

Prudencio de Sandoval, Historia de la vida y hechos del
emperador Carlos V. maximo, fortissimo, rey catholico
de España, y de las Indias, islas, y tierra firme del mar
oceano (Antwerp: Geronymo Verdussen, 1681), vol. 2,
engraving, p. 182v (Credit: Houghton Library, Harvard
University [public domain]) 251
al-Hassan,” engraving, 32.4 × 20.6 cm, in Jules Chifflet,
Les marques d’honneur de la maison du Tassis (Antwerp:
Balthasar Moretus, 1645), p. 76. Herzog Anton-Ulrich
Museum, Braunschweig, Kunstmuseum des Landes
Niedersachsen, p-slg-illum-ab2-0072 (Credit: Herzog
Anton-Ulrich Museum) 253
Fig. 6.14 Nicholas van der Horst and Paul Pontius, “Jean Baptiste
de Tassis,” engraving, 31.9 x 20.1 cm., from Jules
Chifflet, Les marques d’honneur de la maison du Tassis
(Antwerp: Balthasar Moretus, 1645), p.77. Herzog
Anton-Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig, Kunstmuseum des
Landes Niedersachsen, p-slg-illum-ab3-0092 (Credit:
Herzog Anton-Ulrich Museum) 254
Fig. 6.15 Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, Muley Ahmet, ca. 1547, etching,
45.4 x 35.1 cm., Herzog Anton-Ulrich Museum,
Braunschweig, Kunstmuseum des Landes Niedersachsen,
p-slg-illum-ab2-0071 (Credit: Herzog Anton-Ulrich
Museum) 255
Map of North Africa in the 16th Century, C.E. (Credit: Christine Cavalier)
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
This book is the culmination of research inspired by an anonymous

sixteenth-century oil on panel portrait of Muley al-Hassan, the Hafsid
king of Tunis (r. 1526–1543, d. 1550)1 (Fig. 1.1). As an art historian,
I faced a daunting challenge to connect the portrait likeness, and its
variations, to a composite biography created by various authors writing
in disparate genres over a period of two hundred years.2 Although no
Tunisian portraits from this period survive, European representations of
the King of Tunis allow us to trace the close ties between Iberia, Italy,
and North Africa. But if Muley al-Hassan appears frequently in the vast
literature on the Habsburg Emperor Charles V, he remains a minor char-
acter. In this book he becomes the protagonist, a figure whose evolving
reputation can be traced in print and visual culture well into the modern
era. Muley al-Hassan emerges as an active agent who negotiated the
perilous waters of the Mediterranean world disputed between Habsburg
and Ottoman rulers.3 As the Ottomans pushed westward throughout this
period, the Habsburgs experienced a slow erosion of control over their
presidios along the coast of North Africa.
In the anonymous portrait, Muley al-Hassan stands against a solid dark
background. He faces frontally with elbows akimbo, his right hand grip-
ping the hilt of a sword that hangs diagonally at his belted waist. The artist
has attempted to depict Arabic script on the dark yellow pommel, but the
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Switzerland AG 2022
C. L. Baskins, Hafsids and Habsburgs in the Early Modern
Mediterranean, New Transculturalisms, 1400–1800,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05079-4_1
2 C. L. BASKINS
Fig. 1.1 Anon, Muley al-Hassan, oil on panel, 92 × 76 cm. Musée national des
châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles, MV 3173 (Credit: ©RMN-Grand
Palais/Art Resource, NY)
1 INTRODUCTION 3
black text is illegible.4 The king’s left hand, covered in a white hand-
kerchief, cradles the scabbard. A gold cord drops down from the man’s
right shoulder to support the sword; its downward trajectory is echoed
by a string of prayer beads also held in his palm. A thickly folded black
tasseled barracan crosses his upper body from his right to left, contrasting
with the bright white turban and an attached scarf that gathers in folds
around his neck and shoulders. At his forehead, a thin red lining peeks
out beneath the turban; it echoes the deep velvety crimson of the man’s
long-sleeved garment that features gold rosette buttons and is cinched at
the waist by a belt with a metal buckle. Rather than wearing a burnoose
or caftan, Muley al-Hassan wears a marlota, a type of military fancy dress
worn across Spain, Italy, and North Africa.
When we move from the garment to the king’s face we are struck
by his serious expression and the piercing gaze of his brown eyes. The
deep wrinkles on the forehead, bags under the eyes, and slightly sunken
cheeks, along with a mustache and beard that were once black but are
now growing in white, all attest to the man’s age and maturity. If we took
away the white turban and brown skin there would be little to distinguish
Muley al-Hassan from the kings, knights, and noblemen familiar to us
from Renaissance portraits.5 Like them, the King of Tunis is shown as
a powerful man who commands the viewer’s respect. From the standing
three-quarter length format to the frontal gaze, the portrait of Muley
al-Hassan draws on the conventions of European state portraiture.
The portrait of a king has three functions according to the French
literary critic Louis Marin.6 It rhetorically intensifies and amplifies the
ruler; it acts as a substitute for the living individual; and it legitimizes
his power and authority. Diane Bodart has effectively read Renaissance
portraits of Charles V Habsburg through this tripartite scheme.7 Can we
do the same for Muley al-Hassan? Does the Versailles portrait aggrandize,
stand in for the man, and enhance his legitimacy? We lack documenta-
tion for the artist, date, or original patron of this portrait. Although we
cannot say for certain whether the portrait was painted from life, it is
reasonable to assume that it was made during the lifetime of the king
of Tunis. But sixteenth-century sources offer no evidence for Muley al-
Hassan acting as the patron of the portrait. In this regard, he differs from
the Ottoman sultans Mehmet II (1432–1481) or Suleiman the Magnif-
icent (1499–1566), and members of their courts, who demonstrated an
active interest in European art and material culture.8 The documents are
4 C. L. BASKINS
silent about Muley al-Hassan’s response to his own painted likeness—if

he ever saw it.
In addition to the anonymous Versailles portrait, one can turn to
a handful of later prints based on that original image that circulated
widely.9 The painting was copied in an engraving probably designed circa
1620 by Nicholas van der Horst and cut by Paul Pontius, artists in the
circle of Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerp10 (Fig. 1.2). The caption reads,
“Muley Hassan King of Tunis, robbed of his kingdom and restored by
the emperor Charles V in the year 1535.”11 A few decades later, the
Flemish artist Gaspar Bouttats took just the bust from the engraving
by Van der Horst and Pontius and reversed it for an illustration in Fra
Prudencio de Sandoval’s History of the Life and Deeds of Emperor Charles
V (1681)12 (Fig. 1.3). An anonymous artist borrowed the bust from
Bouttats’s version for an illustration in Gregorio Leti’s, The Life of the
Invincible Emperor Charles V of Austria (1700)13 (Fig. 1.4). Finally, an
engraved copy of the full portrait by Jules Porreau recorded the painting’s
arrival in the royal collections at Versailles in 1835; the caption reads,
“Muley Haçan, sovereign of Tunis of the Hafsid dynasty, from 1543”14
(Fig. 1.5). The identification of the portrait in 1835 must have depended
on the earlier prints that contain captions naming the sitter.
Parallel to the image of Muley al-Hassan captured in the Versailles
portrait, we can trace an alternative model that I will call the “Vermeyen
type” since it was based on a portrait by the Dutch artist Jan Cornelisz
Vermeyen who accompanied Charles V on the Tunis campaign in 1535.
That image was the basis for two woodcut broadsheets published by
Sylvester van Parijs (Fig. 1.6).
The Vermeyen portrait enjoyed an extended afterlife in print through
the seventeenth century (Table 1.1).
Prints made after the Versailles portrait tend to come from the
Southern Netherlands, ie. Flanders, while the Vermeyen type issued,
for the most part, from Northern European presses in cities not under
Spanish rule. The respective prints differ in meaning as well as prove-
nance, an issue taken up in the following chapters.
The anonymous Versailles portrait of Muley al-Hassan has never been
the subject of a scholarly article let alone a monograph. This book
presents a full discussion of its historical context and iconography based
on a rereading of primary sources and documents. I challenge some of
the outlandish or nonsensical claims still repeated in the scholarly litera-
ture: for example, that the king’s food was spiced with ambergris, that he
1 INTRODUCTION 5
Fig. 1.2 Nicholas van der Horst and Paul Pontius, “Muley al-Hassan,”
engraving, 32.4 × 20.6 cm, in Jules Chifflet, Les marques d’honneur de la maison
du Tassis (Antwerp: Balthasar Moretus, 1645), p. 76. Herzog Anton-Ulrich
Museum, Braunschweig, Kunstmuseum des Landes Niedersachsen, p-slg-illum-
ab2-0072 (Credit: Herzog Anton-Ulrich Museum)
6 C. L. BASKINS
Fig. 1.3 Gaspar Bouttats, “Muley Hazen, King of Tunis,” in Fra Prudencio de
Sandoval, Historia de la vida y hechos del emperador Carlos V. maximo, fortis-
simo, rey catholico de España, y de las Indias, islas, y tierra firme del mar oceano
(Antwerp: Geronymo Verdussen, 1681), vol. 2, engraving, p. 182v (Credit:
Houghton Library, Harvard University [public domain])
1 INTRODUCTION 7
Fig. 1.4 Anon., “Muley Hassen, King of Tunis,” in Gregorio Leti, Vita dell’
invittissimo imperadore Carlo V. Austriaco (Amsterdam: Georgio Gallet, 1700),
vol. 3, engraving following p. 84, 38.1 × 25.7 cm (Credit: Victoria and Albert
Museum, London [public domain])
8 C. L. BASKINS
Fig. 1.5 Jules Porreau, Muley Haçan the Sovereign of Tunis of the Hafsid
Dynasty from Life 1543, engraving, in Charles Gavard, Galeries historiques de
Versailles, Supplement I, Series X, Section 2 (Paris: Gavard, 1844), plate 102
(Credit: New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations)
1 INTRODUCTION 9
Fig. 1.6 Anon, after

Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen,
Rex Thunissae
(Antwerp: Sylvester van
Parijs, ca. 1535),
colored woodcut, 43.6
× 28.5 cm; Cabinet des
Étampes, Bibliothèque
nationale de France,
Reserve AA-3 (Sylvestre)
(Credit: Bibliothèque
Paris)
used his feet to eat, or that this Maliki Muslim commissioned portraits
during a visit to Brussels.15 But, given the lack of some key informa-
tion, my readings must at times be speculative, for example in building a
case for “likely” painters or patrons. In this sense, I borrow from detec-
tive fiction the phrase, “in the frame.” In other words, by establishing an
accurate timeline, as well as location, motive, and means, we may approx-
imate a result for which there is no definitive proof. Such readings remain
provisional until the discovery of additional documentary evidence.
This book highlights connections between North Africa, the Habs-
burgs, and the Ottomans. It draws on a venerable body of scholar-
ship stemming from Fernand Braudel and elaborated by Andrew Hess,
10 C. L. BASKINS
Table 1.1 Vermeyen type in print and illustrated books
“Rex Thunissae” (Antwerp: Sylvester van Parijs, 1535), colored woodcut

“Konig van Thunis ” (Antwerp: Sylvester van Parijs, 1535), colored woodcut
“Rex Tunis Muleassem,” Prima pars Promptuarii iconum insigniorum à seculo
hominum, subiectis eorum vitis, per compendium ex probatissimis autoribus desumptis
(Lyon: Guillaume Rouille, 1553), woodcut p. 241
Diethelm Keller and Jacopo Strada, “Muleasem Rex Tunis,” Kunstliche und
aigendtliche bildtnussen der rhömischen keyseren…etc. (Zürych: Andrea Gesner, 1558),
woodcut pl. 44
Tobias Stimmer, “Muleasses Tuneti Rex,” in Paolo Giovio, Elogia Virorum Bellica
Virtute Illustrium (Basel: Pietro Perna, 1575), woodcut p. 359; and later editions
Jean Jacques Boissard, “Muleassemus,” Icones diversorum hominum fama, & rebus gestis
illustrium (Metz: Abraham Faber, 1591), engraving p. 43
Jean Jacques Boissard, “Muleasses Rex Tuneti,” Vitae et Icones Sultanorum Turcicorum
(Frankfurt: Theodore DeBry, 1596), engraving p. 272
Johann Jacob Luckio, “Muleasses Tuneti Rex,” Sylloge nvmismatvm elegantiorvm: quae
diuersi impp., reges, principes, comites, respublicae diuersas (Strasbourg: Johann Repp,
1620), engraving p. 85
Eberhard Werner Happel, “Muleij = Assez Vertriebener König von Tunis,” Größeste
Denkwürdigkeiten der Welt, oder sogenannte Relationes curiosae, vol. 5 (Hamburg,
1690), etching between pp. 788 and 789
Salvatore Bono, Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra, Robert C. Davis, and

Abdelmajid Hannoum, among others.16 A recent boom in Mediterranean
studies has shed light on diplomacy and espionage, trade, captivity and
redemptions, slavery, and the Morisco diaspora.17 A focus on Tunis,
however, redirects our attention from the robust scholarship on the
eastern Mediterranean, Ottoman lands, Venice, and its colonies.18 Instead
the Regno, or the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, comes to the fore
as Habsburg viceroys had close ties to Tunis, serving as the points of
contact between the Emperor and the King.19 Current formulations of
“cosmopolitanism,” and “transculturation” are relevant given the varied
population of Tunisia, beginning with indigenous Berbers and the influx
of Arabs, along with Jews and Moriscos expelled from Spain, merchants
and adventurers from Aragon and Italy, slaves and captives from all over
the Mediterranean, and—after 1574—the permanent establishment of
Ottoman governors and elites. In weaving together the histories of the
Hafsids and Habsburgs, I draw inspiration from contemporary histo-
rians, among them Sanjay Subrahmanyam, who trace the “connected” or
“entangled” histories of the early modern world.20 In addition, Stephen
Greenblatt’s argument that “cultural mobility” was not exceptional, but a
1 INTRODUCTION 11
common feature of early modern experience, pertains to this project.21

Following the example of Nabil Matar, I recognize the importance
of using Arabic sources whenever possible, in addition to European
texts.22 Finally, Lucette Valensi has coined the evocative phrase, “familiar
strangers,” to convey the mixture of curiosity and tolerance but also fear
and hostility that Muslims evoked in early modern Europe.23 Sixteenth-
century Italian or Spanish authors revealed a similar ambivalence when
they called their familiar strangers, “mori amici” or “moros amigos .”24
The term “Moor” has been much debated in the scholarly literature on
the early modern period. Sixteenth-century writers used the term to refer
to Muslims from North Africa, as well as to Black Africans. Moor demar-
cated those groups from the “Turks,” otherwise known as Ottomans.25
This terminology shows how Europeans worked with categories of race
and ethnicity in flux, not yet fixed or polarized.26 In fact, the people
of North Africa might be called, “White Moors,” as can be seen in the
caption on a page in a 16thc album made for a veteran of the Tunis
campaign27 (Fig. 1.7).
When describing the king of Tunis, for example, contemporary
observers placed him within a range of complexions that drew from the
humoral tradition.28 In 1533, Captain Ochoa de Ercilla, who had been
imprisoned in Tunis, explained that Muley al-Hassan was, “more white
than black.”29 The Swiss soldier, Niklaus Guldi, who fought in Tunis
in 1535, said “The king of Tunis is a man of about forty years of age,
strong, with a handsome brown face, and a coal black beard of a palm
in length.”30 Paolo Giovio later echoed Guldi, calling Muley al-Hassan,
“tall, with an olive face, and very manly.”31 Luis del Mármol Carvajal
described him as being, “…a very brown color, but of a handsome aspect,
with a fine mind and a great spirit.”32 These writers emphasized Muley al-
Hassan’s status as a king rather than a captive, slave, or servant; thus, for
them, class and rank outweighed skin color.33 In contrast, the presence
of black soldiers in the king’s entourage or black women in his harem did
elicit comments that ran the gamut ranging from disdain, to curiosity, or
to delight. For most early modern authors writing about Muley al-Hassan,
however, the marker of absolute difference was Islam rather than race.
Thus, European responses to North African sovereignty might usefully
complicate and nuance our current understanding of the development of
racism.34
12 C. L. BASKINS
Fig. 1.7 Anon., “Three White Moors and a Black Woman,” Costume Album,
ca. 1547/8, watercolor on paper, 20 × 20 cm, Biblioteca de España, Madrid,
Res 285, fol. 16v (Credit: Biblioteca de España, Madrid [public domain])
Art History and North Africa

Much recent work in Art History links Iberia and Italy.35 Nevertheless,
Iberia is still treated separately from North Africa, as noted by Jonathan
M. Bloom in his recent book, Architecture of the Islamic West.36 In addi-
tion, scholars of early modern art and visual culture often divide Islamic
and Christian images and objects into separate domains despite the long
history of connections, for example in Norman Sicily or Nasrid Granada.
1 INTRODUCTION 13
A related problem is that studies of the art and architecture of Tunisia

tend to downplay traces of Europeans.37 Christian churches or chapels,
bagnios, tombs, and fortifications call for more discussion of the presence
of the Spanish, Italians, or French in pre-modern Tunisia. Exciting art
historical work on Morocco, Kongo, and Ethiopia offers a model for what
might eventually transpire for the entangled histories of North Africa,
Portugal, Spain, and Italy.38
Art historians interested in North Africa have focused, with good
reason, on the artist Jan Vermeyen who collaborated with Pieter Coecke
van Aelst on a set of tapestries dedicated to the 1535 siege of Tunis and
its aftermath. Dutch art historian Hendrik J. Horn discusses the Tunis
campaign in his account of the tapestries, their preparatory cartoons,
and substantial related visual material.39 Horn consulted many sixteenth-
century sources, especially the chronicles by Alonso de Santa Cruz, but
also Martín García Cerezeda, Bishop Alonso Sanabria, Juan Ginés de
Sepulveda, as well as the eyewitness account of Antoine Perrenin, secre-
tary to Charles V and his minister Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle. And the
Tunis tapestries continue to inspire research on the relations between the
Habsburgs and North Africa. Still a touchstone for scholars is the 1998
essay by French art historian Sylvie Deswarte-Rosa.40 She surveys maps,
prints, portraits, and tapestries, identifying four major themes in Euro-
pean representations of the Tunis campaign: Christian crusade, S. Louis,
Hercules, and Jason. Despite their thorough research, neither Horn nor
Deswarte-Rosa addresses the anonymous portrait of Muley al-Hassan in
Versailles that is the subject of this book.
The six chapters of Hafsids and Habsburgs in the Early Modern
Mediterranean cohere around three pivotal moments during which Muley
al-Hassan became a media celebrity. The years 1535, 1543, and 1548
offer the most likely occasions, and specific contexts, for the produc-
tion and reception of his portrait in Europe. Chapter 2 sets the stage
by describing Tunis before and after the siege of 1535 led by Emperor
Charles V to expel the Ottoman corsair Khayr ed-Dine, known as
Barbarossa, and restore Muley al-Hassan to the throne. I reread primary
source materials including letters, news pamphlets, chronicles, and poems.
Among these print materials is the broadsheet woodcut portraying Muley
al-Hassan, based on Vermeyen, with its lengthy caption that empha-
sizes lament, humility, and reverence for the emperor. The anonymous
Versailles portrait conveys a different meaning. Contemporary sources
14 C. L. BASKINS
reveal that the King of Tunis is shown swearing an oath of fealty to

Charles V, agreeing to become a Habsburg vassal.
Chapter 3 reviews the triumphal entries (1535–1536) staged in
Habsburg-controlled cities across Sicily and the Italian peninsula that cele-
brated the victory in Tunis. Up to now, scholars have focused solely on
the role of Charles V. But the triumphs also made references to Muley
al-Hassan, and occasionally included his image. To trace this material
I turn to letters, news pamphlets, and festival books that describe the
King of Tunis being restored to power and receiving a crown. I consider
whether the Versailles portrait might have been made for, or after, one of
the entries in Cosenza, Naples, Rome, or Florence. Updating the seminal
study by Gülru Necipoğlu, I explore how European artists represented
North African rulers wearing crowns as attributes of sovereignty.41
Chapter 4 follows Muley al-Hassan on his first trip to Europe in 1543.
The king traveled to Italy to meet with Charles V and renegotiate the
terms of the treaty he had signed in 1535. He spent four months in
Naples, as the guest of Viceroy Pedro Álvarez de Toledo. This chapter
reconstructs the lavish courtly reception that welcomed the king and
his entourage, including the gift of a Moorish coat and jousts in which
Spanish riders dressed a la moresca. I speculate that the Versailles portrait
may have been painted by a northern artist working at the viceregal
court of Naples to commemorate this state visit. In addition, I note how
inscribed gravestones brought back from Tunis were installed in Pedro de
Toledo’s garden in Pozzuoli. They served as permanent reminders of the
Hafsid-Habsburg alliance resulting from the 1535 campaign. The Naples
sojourn was cut short by the news that Muley al-Hassan’s son Amida had
usurped his father’s realm.
Chapter 5 takes up the king’s second trip to Europe. After Muley al-
Hassan lost Tunis to his elder son, he spent late 1547 to summer 1548 in
Europe seeking assistance from emperor Charles V. Two imperially scaled
Vermeyen prints dating from this period allow us to reinterpret the last
chapter of the exiled king’s life. One of these images shows how Muley
al-Hassan forged an alliance with his former enemies, the Sabbiyya of
Qayrawan, in an attempt to regain power. In addition, Vermeyen’s etched
portrait of Muley al-Hassan’s younger son, Prince Ahmet , features a
cartouche with a crown of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily, a reminder
that Tunis belonged within the Habsburg orbit. The second half of the
chapter follows Muley al-Hassan to Mahdiyya (ancient Aphrodisium, also
known as Africa). Letters, news pamphlets, maps, chronicles, and poems
1 INTRODUCTION 15
address the siege of Mahdiyya in 1550. During this campaign, the exiled
king fell ill and died. I conclude by tracing references to Muley al-Hassan
in the exequies mounted for Charles V in 1558–1559. In death, as in
their tumultuous lives, the Hafsid and Habsburg rulers were linked. But
after 1550 the king’s posthumous reputation suffered at the hands of
contemporary writers who turned him into a tragic and grotesque figure.
Chapter 6 shows how seventeenth-century authors invented pious
fictions about Muley al-Hassan that served family panegyric, regional
chauvinism, or hagiography. Memories of the victory of 1535 and the
potential for a Christian North Africa continued to animate the hopes
of Europeans long after any real political alliance had become obsolete.
After 1550, apocryphal accounts presented the King of Tunis in a variety
of guises. According to a postmortem inventory of 1640, the Flemish
artist Peter Paul Rubens owned two portraits of the “King of Tunis.”
Was one of them the Versailles portrait? We can be certain that Rubens
borrowed from Vermeyen’s etching of Prince Ahmet for his own portrait
of an African Man ca.1609 (Fig. 1.8).
Finally, the Versailles portrait, as copied by Rubens followers, was used
to illustrate a laudatory family history written by Jules Chifflet (1645).42
Chifflet is also the source of erroneous information, most crucially an
invented trip to Brussels for the exiled king, Muley al-Hassan. Turning to
seventeenth-century Naples, we find hagiographical writers who claimed
that even though the Muslim ruler had witnessed the liquefying blood
relic of S. Gennaro he failed to convert to Christianity. This chapter notes
the inventiveness of posthumous anecdotes but also corrects the historical
record about Muley al-Hassan and Hafsid Tunis.
The ceaseless production of Tunisian imagery allowed Europeans to
face their North African counterparts. At the same time, this book shows
how patrons viewed themselves while they faced Tunis through actual as
well as imaginary encounters, projected resemblances, and cultural cross-
dressing. European portraits of Hafsid rulers challenge assumptions about
the rigid divide between Christian and Muslim, sovereign and subject, the
familiar and the foreign. They also show how the medium of print facil-
itated cultural mobility in a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional world.
The production of portraits of Muley al-Hassan, King of Tunis and Habs-
burg vassal, puts a face on the entangled histories of the early modern
Mediterranean.
16 C. L. BASKINS
Fig. 1.8 Peter Paul Rubens, African Man, ca.1610, oil on panel, 99.7 ×
71.5 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, #40.2 (Credit: Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston)
1 INTRODUCTION 17
Note on Sources
Modern scholars who overlook the broad range of sources, and the differ-
ences between them, can be led to misconceptions, anachronism, and
errors. The Tunis campaign of 1535, and subsequent Habsburg involve-
ment in North Africa, generated an enormous archive, including corre-
spondence, ambassadorial dispatches, chronicles, poems, printed avvisi,
and relazioni.43 Already in 1865, Muley al-Hassan’s correspondence
with Ferrante Gonzaga (1537–1547) was transcribed and translated into
Italian.44 And such efforts are still ongoing, as exemplified by the Archivo
de la Frontera project, led by Emilio Sola at the University of Alcalá de
Henares, that transcribes and translates documents in Arabic, Spanish, and
Italian from the Archivo General de Simancas.45
In the sixteenth century, historians and other literary figures turned
their attention to Tunis to laud the victory of Charles V; their texts
were motivated by politics and patronage. But they produced inconsis-
tent messages about Muley al-Hassan; authors represent him both as the
worthy recipient of the emperor’s efforts, and also a failed ruler who
elicited pity or even repugnance. The Hafsids are mentioned in passing
by Garcilaso de la Vega, Michel de Montaigne, Miguel de Cervantes,
Giorgio Vasari, and many other Renaissance authors. The most impor-
tant source is Paolo Giovio, the bishop of Nocera, historian, and avid
collector of portraits, who spent fifteen years working on a history of the
Tunis campaign for Charles.46 He based his account on firsthand testi-
mony from soldiers, as well as reports from Tunisian servants and slaves.
He was finally able to meet and interview Muley al-Hassan in Rome in
1548. But despite his tireless search for material, Giovio’s treatment of
Tunis did not live up to the emperor’s expectations. Giovio’s treatment
is choppy, follows a non-linear chronology, and reveals an evolving point
of view about the King of Tunis. A reader gets different impressions of
Muley al-Hassan from reading Giovio’s correspondence, where the tone
is witty and gossipy, full of coded language, or from Chapters 33, 34,
and 44 of the Histories of his Own Time (Venice, 1554 and 1560), or the
Elegies of Men at Arms (Florence, 1551 and Basel, 1575). His contem-
porary, Matteo Bandello, best known for his Novelle, or short stories,
follows Giovio closely, embroidering on the tragic and grotesque elements
of Muley al-Hassan’s life.47 The Spanish soldier and chronicler, Luis del
Mármol Carvajal, includes the history of Tunis in his General Description
18 C. L. BASKINS
of Africa (1573), with detailed information about the political fortunes

of the Hafsids.48 And in the early seventeenth century, Fra Prudencio
de Sandoval, Benedictine and royal historian, compiled his History of the
Life and Deeds of Charles V , drawing on primary sources and documents
related to the Hafsid rulers and the Tunis campaign.49
In the early twentieth century, Charles Monchicourt, a French colo-
nial official, combed the archives in Algeria and Tunisia for documents
about the Hafsids.50 His work is still essential for anyone studying
the period. Spanish historian Juan Bautista Vilar’s book on maps and
plans of Tunis contains a thorough and well-documented account of the
Hafsids during the period of Spanish administration.51 Noted historian
of North Africa Beatriz Alonso Acero covers the Hafsids as they trav-
eled to Europe and sought financial support from the Spanish crown; she
also discusses some noteworthy examples of conversions to Christianity.52
Eloy Martín Corrales has recently updated and expanded upon Alonso
Acero’s work.53 Finally, Alberto Mannino, an independent scholar, has
carried out research in the archives in Palermo allowing him to revise
Monchicourt and Alonso Acero.54 He presents new information about
the Hafsids that clarifies the family tree, follows the family’s gradual
conversion to Christianity, and their assimilation into Sicilian society well
into the seventeenth century.
Transliteration and Translation

I have opted to use the Italian or Spanish versions of Arabic names as
they appear in contemporary sources, with some exceptions. The king of
Tunis was formally known as Abu Abdallah Muhammad V al-Hassan of
the Hafsid dynasty. Early modern authors refer to the king with a bewil-
dering variety of names: Muley Haçen, Muley Hazen, Muleasses, Assen,
Assenius, and so forth. For the sake of clarity, he will be identified here
as Muley al-Hassan. His sons, likewise, have long Arabic names and titles,
but modern authors typically refer to the elder as Ahmed (Italian: Amida,
Spanish: Hamida), the middle son as Abu Bakr (Italian: Buccari, Spanish:
Bucar), and the younger as Ahmet (Italian: Maometto, Spanish: Hamete,
Mahamete). Quotations are translated into English in the text, with orig-
inal language passages in the endnotes. Years appear according to the
Gregorian calendar. And monetary units are given as they appear in the
sources without any attempt to convert them into modern currencies.
1 INTRODUCTION 19
Notes
1. Muley al-Hassan means the “good king” in Arabic. The painting bears
a label with the original catalogue number, MV 3173. It is dated to
the sixteenth century; 92 × 76 cm or approximately 36 × 30 . The
panel is in a poor state of conservation; the boards are separating with
evident vertical cracks. See Claire Constans, Musée national du château de
Versailles: catalogue des peintures (Paris: RMN, 1980), no. 6124—Muley
Haçan; Ibid.; Musée national du chateau de Versailles, Les Peintures, vol. 2
(Paris: RMN, 1995), p. 1107, #6292. Constans suggests that the painting
was, “executed during the subject’s exile in Italy.” Although claims have
been made that the painting was in the Gallery of Apollo at the Louvre
in Paris in 1603, the source refers to a different painting that contained
an inscription. See Ludovic de Lalanne, “Inventaire des tableaux et des
autres curiosités qui se trouvaient au Louvre en 1603,” Archives de l’Art
français 3 (Paris, 1853–1855), pp. 49–60, p. 57 for “Muleas Tunes Rex,”
or, Muley Hassan, king of Tunis. Portraits of the Tunisian regent with
similar inscriptions derive from a lost painting dated circa 1535 by the
Dutch artist Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen. See Table 1.1.
2. See Houssem Eddine Chachia, “In all the Colors of the Spectrum:
Historic and Artistic Representations of the Alliance between the Hafsid
Sultan Muley al-Hassan and Charles V Habsburg” (unpublished talk,
Columbia University, New York, April 2018). A fundamental guide to
this historiographic problem is Francis Haskell, History and Its Images:
Art and the Interpretation of the Past (New Haven: Yale University Press,
1993), pp. 26–80.
3. Although of royal rank, Muley al-Hassan resembles the resilient Hassan
al-Wazzan, known as Leo Africanus; see Natalie Zemon Davis, Trickster
Travels: A Sixteenth-Century Muslim Between Worlds (New York: Hill and
Wang, 2007).
4. According to David G. Alexander, “Swords from Ottoman and Mamluk
Treasuries,” Artibus Asiae 66 (2006): 13–34, Mamluk swords feature
inscribed pommels and similar knuckle guards. Muley al-Hassan could
have inherited such a sword from one of the late fifteenth-century
embassies involving the Hafsids, Mamluks, and Ottomans. See Doris
Behrens-Abouseif, Practising Diplomacy in the Mamluk Sultanate: Gifts
and Material Culture in the Medieval Islamic World (London and New
York: I. B. Tauris, 2014), pp. 24, 53–57, 125.
5. On Jan Mostaert’s analogous Portrait of a Moor, ca. 1530, Rijksmu-
seum, Amsterdam, see Kate Lowe, “The Stereotyping of Black Africans
in Renaissance Europe,” Black Africans in Renaissance Europe, eds. T. F.
Earle and K. J. P. Lowe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010),
pp. 17–47, on pp. 44–47. For a late sixteenth-century portrait of a
20 C. L. BASKINS
North African ambassador attributed to Domenico Tintoretto (New York:

Morgan Library and Museum), see Joaneath Spicer, Revealing the African
Presence in Renaissance Europe (Baltimore: Walters Art Museum, 2012),
pp. 100–101, 134–135.
6. See Louis Marin, Portrait of the King (Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 1988); Sergio Bertelli, The King’s Body: Sacred Rituals
of Power in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, trans. R. Burr Litchfield
(University Park, PA: Pensylvania State University Press, 2001); and Peter
Burke, “Presenting Charles V and Representing Charles V,” in Charles
V, 1500–1558, and His Time, ed. Hugo Soly (Antwerp: Mercatorfonds,
1999), pp. 393–477.
7. Diane Bodart, Pouvoirs du portrait sous les Habsbourg d’Espagne (Paris:
Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, 2011).
8. Elizabeth Rodini, Gentile Bellini’s Portrait of Sultan Mehmed II: Lives and
Afterlives of an Iconic Image (London: I.B. Tauris, 2020), with earlier
bibliography.
9. Cristelle Baskins, “Renaissance Portraits of Muley al-Hassan, King of Tunis
(r.1526–1543, d.1550),” in Tunisia and the Mediterranean in the Modern
Period: Identities, Conflicts, and Representations, ed. Houssem E. Chachia
(Tunis: University of Manouba Press, forthcoming).
10. See A House of Art: Rubens as Collector, eds. Kristin Belkin, Fiona Healy,
and Jeffrey M. Muller (Antwerp: BAI, 2004), pp. 137–139.
11. French caption: “Muley Hazen, Roy de Thunes, despouillé de son
Royaume et restabli par l’Emp. Charles V. l’an M.D.XXXV.”
12. Spanish caption: “Muley Hazen, Rey de Thunes,” in Fra Prudencio de
Sandoval, Historia de la Vida y Hechos del Emperador Carlos V (Antwerp:
Geronymo Verdussen, 1681), vol. 2, facing p. 183.
13. Gregorio Leti, Vita dell’ invittissimo Imperadore Carlo V Austriaco
(Amsterdam: Georgio Gallet, 1700), vol. 3, following p. 84.
14. Jules Porreau: “Muley-Haçan, souverain de Tunis de la dynastie des
Hafsides, vivait en 1543,” in Charles Gavard, Galeries historiques du palais
de Versailles (Musée de Versailles et des Trianons; 1844), supp. 1, series
10, plate 102.
15. The Maliki school of law was founded in the eighth century C.E. in the
Arabian peninsula; it spread across North Africa, Spain, and Sicily. It was
hostile to figurative representation.
16. Key works on North Africa and the Mediterranean include Fernand
Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of
Philip II , 2 vols. (New York: Harper & Row, 1972); Andrew Hess, The
Forgotten Frontier: A History of the Sixteenth-Century Ibero-African Fron-
tier (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978); Salvatore Bono, Un
1 INTRODUCTION 21
altro Mediterraneo. Una storia comune fra scontri e integrazione (Rome:

Salerno, 2008); Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra, La imagen de los musul-
manes y del norte de África en la España de los siglos XVI y XVII. Los
caracteres de una hostilidad (Madrid: CSIC, 1989); Robert C. Davis,
Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean,
the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500–1800 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan,
2003); and Abdelmajid Hannoum, The Invention of the Maghreb: Between
Africa and the Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2021). See also the exhaustive bibliographic essay by Barbara Fuchs
and Yuen-Gen Liang, “A Forgotten Frontier: The Spanish-North African
Borderlands,” Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies 12 (2011): 261–273.
17. Witness the scholarly activities of the Mediterranean Seminar run by Brian
Catlos and Sharon Kinoshita: http://www.mediterraneanseminar.org, and
the Spain-North Africa Project: http://www.spainnorthafricaproject.org.
18. See Palmira Brummett, Mapping the Ottomans: Sovereignty, Territory,
and Identity in the Early Modern Mediterranean (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2015).
19. For Tunis in the early modern period, see Robert Brunschvig, La Berbérie
orientale sous les Hafsides des origines à la fin du XV e siècle, 2 vols. (Paris:
Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1940 and 1947); Abdelaziz Daoulatli, Tunis sous
les Hafsides (Tunis: Institut national d’art et d’archéologie, 1976); Paul
Sebag, Tunis: Histoire d’une ville (Paris: Harmattan, 1998); Jacob Abadi,
Tunisia since the Arab Conquest: The Saga of a Westernized Muslim State
(Reading, UK: Ithaca Press, 2013); and Leïla Temime Blili, The Regency of
Tunis, 1535–1666: Genesis of an Ottoman Province in the Maghreb (Cairo:
The American University in Cairo Press, 2021).
20. For “connected history,” see Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Empires Between
Islam and Christianity, 1500–1800 (Albany: State University of New York
Press, 2019). On “entangled history,” see Michael Werner and Bénédicte
Zimmerman, “Beyond Comparison: Histoire Croisée and the Challenge of
Reflexivity,” History and Theory 45 (2006): 30–50.
21. Stephen Greenblatt, Cultural Mobility: A Manifesto (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2009).
22. Among Nabil Matar’s many publications see, Europe Through Arab Eyes,
1578–1727 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009); and Ibid.,
Mediterranean Captivity Through Arab Eyes, 1517–1798 (Leiden/Boston:
Brill, 2020).
23. Lucette Valensi, Ces étrangers familiers. Musulmans en Europe (XVI e –
XVIII e siècles) (Paris: Payot, 2012).
24. Borja Franco Llopis, “Images of Islam in the Ephemeral Art of the Spanish
Habsburgs: An Initial Approach,” Il Capitale culturale, supp. 6 (2017):
87–116, see pp. 89, 107.
22 C. L. BASKINS
25. See the Grande Dizionario Italiano, ed. Salvatore Battaglia (Turin: UTET,
1961–2002), vol. 10, pp. 921–922. Carina L. Johnson, “Naming the Turk
and the Moor: Prehistories of Race,” Names and Naming in Early Modern
Germany, eds. Joel F. Harrington and Marjorie Elizabeth Plummer (New
York: Berghahn Books, Incorporated, 2019), pp. 173–203.
26. Joan-Pau Rubiés, “Were Early Modern Europeans Racist?” Ideas of ‘Race’
in the History of the Humanities, eds. Amos Morris-Reich and Dirk
Rupnow (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), pp. 33–87. See also,
A Mediterranean Other: Images of Turks in Southern Europe and Beyond
(15th–18th Centuries), eds. Borja Franco Llopis and Laura Stagno (Genoa:
Genoa University Press, 2021).
27. German: “Die Wysen Moren.” See Johnson (2019), p. 184. Christoph
van Sternsee’s two albums dated 1547/48 will be discussed further in
Chapters 2 and 5.
28. Valentin Groebner, “Complexio/Complexion: Categorizing Individual
Natures, 1250–1600,” in The Moral Authority of Nature, eds. Lorraine
Daston and Fernando Vidal (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004),
pp. 361–383, and Ibid., “The Carnal Knowing of a Coloured Body:
Sleeping with Arabs and Blacks in the European Imagination, 1300–
1550,” in The Origins of Racism in the West, ed. Miryam Eliav-Feldon
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009), pp. 217–231. Victor Stoi-
chita, The Darker Shades: The Racial Other in Early Modern Art (London:
Reaktion, 2019), discusses “Turks” but not Moors or Arabs.
29. F. Élie de la Primaudaie, Documents inédits sur l’histoire de l’occupation
espagnole en Afrique (1506–1574) (Algiers, 1875), p. 68: “mas blanco
que negro.”
30. Rubén González Cuerva and Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra, Túnez 1535:
Voces de una campaña europea (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investi-
gaciones Científicas, 2017), p. 127: “El rey de Túnez es un hombre
aldrededor de 40 años, fuerte, de bello y hermoso moreno rostro, con
una barba negra de carbón, una mano de larga.”
31. Paolo Giovio, La Seconda Parte dell’ Historie del suo tempo, ed. Ludovico
Domenichi (Venice: Bartolomeo Cesano, 1554), Bk 34, p. 371: “Era
costui di statura grande, di volto olivastro, & veramente virile.”
32. Luis del Mármol Carvajal, Libro tercero y Segundo volumen de la primera
parte de la descripcion general de la Affrica (Granada: Rene Rabut, 1573),
f.274r: “…de color muy moreno, mas era de hermosa presencia, muy bien
razonado y de grandissimo animo.”
33. Although he discusses west Africa, see the stimulating book by Herman L.
Bennett, African Kings and Black Slaves: Sovereignty and Dispossession in
the Early Modern Atlantic (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,
2018).
1 INTRODUCTION 23
34. Outside the specific context of rulership, of course, this period witnessed
harsh blood purity laws, the expulsions of Jews and Moriscos, and the
beginnings of the Atlantic slave trade. A full discussion of these important
topics lies outside the scope of this book.
35. Art historians bridging sixteenth-century Spain and Italy include, Piers
Baker-Bates, Kelley Helmstutler Di Dio, Edward Goldberg, and Fernando
Loffredo, to name a few.
36. Jonathan M. Bloom, Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the
Iberian Peninsula, 700–1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020).
37. Notable exceptions include Lamia Hadda who works on the influx of
Andalusian masons into North Africa. See, Nella Tunisia Medievale.
Architettura e decorazione islamica (IX–XVI secolo) (Naples: Liguori
Editore, 2008); Abdelhakim Gafsi Slama, “À propos des traces et des
images de Charles Quint en Tunisie,” in Carlos V, los Moriscos, y el Islam,
ed. María Jesús Rubiera Mata (Madrid: Sociedad estatal para la conmem-
oración de los centenarios de Felipe II y Carlos V, 2001), pp. 269–281;
and Ahmed Saadaoui’s many important articles on the architectural reuse
of European sculpture during the Ottoman period.
38. I refer to the work of Martín Malcom Elbl and Jorge Correia on
Portuguese architecture in Morocco. Two titles from a growing body
of scholarship on sub-Saharan and east Africa are worthy of mention:
Cecile Fromont, The Art of Conversion: Christian Visual Culture in the
Kingdom of Kongo (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press,
2014); and Matteo Salvadore, The African Prester John and the Birth of
Ethiopian-European Relations, 1402–1555 (New York: Routledge, 2017).
39. Hendrik J. Horn, Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen: Painter of Charles V and his
Conquest of Tunis. Paintings, Etchings, Drawings, Cartoons and Tapestries,
2 vols. (Dornsprijk: Davaco, 1989).
40. Sylvie Deswarte-Rosa, “L’expédition de Tunis (1535): images, interpré-
tation, répercussions culturelles,” in Chrétiens et musulmans à la Renais-
sance, eds. Bartolomé Bennassar and Robert Sauzet (Paris: Champion,
1998), pp. 75–132.
41. Gülru Necipoğlu, “Süleyman the Magnificent and the Representation of
Power in the Context of Ottoman-Hapsburg-Papal Rivalry,” The Art
Bulletin 71 (1989): 401–427.
42. Jules Chifflet, Les marques d’honneur de la maison de Tassis (Antwerp:
Balthasar Moretus, 1645).
43. For relazioni, see Henri Bégouën, Notes et Documents pour servir à une
Bibliographie de l’Histoire de la Tunisie (Paris: A. Picard, 1901); Relaciones
de los reinados de Carlos V y Felipe II , ed. Amalio Huarte (Madrid: Aldus,
24 C. L. BASKINS
1941); and Júlia Benavent i Benavent and María José Bertomeu Masiá,
“Relaciones sobre Turquía y Túnez en el siglo XVI,” in La Invención de
las Noticias: Las relaciones de sucesos entre la literatura y la información
(siglos XVI–XVIII), eds. Giovanni Ciappelli and Valentina Nider (Trent:
University of Trent, 2017), pp. 373–388.
44. Federico Odorici and Michele Amari, Lettere inedite di Mulay Hassan e
Ferrante Gonzaga vicerè di Sicilia (1537–1547), vol. 3 (Modena: Atti e
memorie delle R.R. Deputazioni di storia patria modenesi e parmensi,
1865), pp. 115–192. For Arabic sources, see Muhammad ibn al-Qasim
al-Ru’ayni al-Qayrawani, known as Ibn Abî Dinâr, Kitab al-Munis, or
“Histoire de l’Afrique,” eds. E. Pellissier and H. Rémusat, Explorations
scientifiques de l’Algerie, vol. 7 (Paris, 1845); Sadok Boubaker, “L’em-
pereur Charles Quint et le sultan hafside Mawlāy al-H . asan (1525–1550),”
in Empreintes espagnoles dans l’histoire tunisienne, eds. Sadok Boubaker
and Clara Álvarez Dopico (Gijon: Trea, 2011), pp. 13–82; and Houssem
Eddine Chachia and Cristelle Baskins, “Ten Hafsid Letters (1535–1536)
from the General Archive of Simancas (Spain) Respecting the Political
Situation in Tunisia after the 1535 Defeat of the Ottomans and the
Restoration of H . afsid Rule,” Hespéris-Tamuda 56 (2021): 427–438.
45. Access via: http://www.archivodelafrontera.com.
46. See Gennaro Varriale, “Paolo Giovio,” in History of Christian-Muslim
Relations, 1500–1600, vol. 6 Western Europe 1500–1600, eds. David
Thomas and John Chesworth (Leiden: Brill, 2014), pp. 484–491. Also,
T. C. Price Zimmermann, Paolo Giovio: The Historian and the Crisis of
Sixteenth-Century Italy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
47. Matteo Bandello, La quarta parte de le Novelle del Bandello novamente
composte (Lyon: Alessandro Marsigli, 1573), pp. 16–26; and Paul Sebag,
“Une nouvelle de Bandello,” Institut de Belles Lettres Arabes 34 (1971):
35–62.
48. Mármol Carvajal (1573). See also Luis del Mármol Carvajal, Jean-Pierre
Vittu, and Mika Ben Miled, Histoire des derniers rois de Tunis: du
malheur des Hafçides, de la prise de Tunis par Charles Quint– de Kheyr-
ed-Din Barberousse, Darghut– et autres valeureux raïs (Carthage, Tunisia:
Cartaginoiseries, 2007).
49. Sandoval (1681).
50. Charles Monchicourt, Kairouan et les Chabbïa: 1450–1592 (Tunis:
Aloccio, 1939).
51. Juan Bautista Vilar, Mapas, planos, y fortificaciones hispanicos de Túnez
s.XVI–XIX (Madrid: Instituto de Cooperación con el Mundo Árabe,
1991).
52. Beatriz Alonso Acero, Sultanes de Berbería en tierras de la cristiandad.
Exilio musulmán, conversión y asimilación en la Monarquía hispánica
(siglos XVI y XVII) (Barcelona: Belaterra, 2006), pp. 137–151.
1 INTRODUCTION 25
53. Eloy Martín Corrales, Muslims in Spain, 1492–1814: Living and Negoti-
ating in the Land of the Infidel (Leiden: Brill, 2021).
54. Alberto Mannino, Gli Infanti di Tunisi e la comunità musulmana di
Palermo tra il XVI e il XVII secolo (Palermo, 2018).
CHAPTER 2
Hafsids and Habsburgs
I am a king born of the most ancient blood and very powerful through my
family connections, and for the great friendships I have with the Bedouins
and Moors. Even so, I do not refuse to pay you tribute and to call myself
your servant and the vassal of the Christian Emperor.1
Muley al-Hassan, in 1535, according to Paolo Giovio
In the age of Machiavelli, Muley al-Hassen was a Renaissance prince;

his official title was amir, sultan, or king. The wealth and strategic impor-
tance of his realm caught the attention of both Ottomans and Habsburgs.
This chapter reconstructs the material culture of Tunis before and after
the siege of 1535. Taking a closer look at the kingdom that Muley
al-Hassan inherited from his ancestors helps us to appreciate the regal
identity and status conveyed by the Versailles portrait (Fig. 2.1). As we
recall from the Introduction, two different portrait types of the King of
Tunis can be identified. The Vermeyen type vividly recalled the king’s
complaint and appeal to Charles for help (Fig. 2.2).
The eventual deterioration of the king’s reputation, a posthumous
“black legend,” kept the Vermeyen model in circulation. The Versailles
portrait, in contrast, was associated with Muley al-Hassan’s oath of fealty
to the emperor. After setting the scene and considering some of the
possessions once enjoyed by its ruler, we will turn to the 1535 campaign
to learn about the role played by Muley al-Hassen in that event.2

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05079-4_2
28 C. L. BASKINS
2 HAFSIDS AND HABSBURGS 29

Rex Thunissae
Parijs, ca. 1535),
Paris)
The Lost World of Muley al-Hassan

In the sixteenth century, the regency of Tunis was marked by violent
internal politics, threats of Ottoman expansion, and Spanish intervention.
The Hafsids were nominally in control but constantly challenged by the
sheikhs of various Bedouin tribes. A woodcut map from an anonymous
Italian news pamphlet, a relazione titled, “The Successful Outcome of
the Great Siege of Tunis by His Imperial Majesty” of 1535, introduced
curious contemporary readers to the terrain3 (Fig. 2.3).
North appears at the bottom of the page and south at the top. From
the northwest, the map gives an overview of the coastline starting with
30 C. L. BASKINS
Fig. 2.3 Anon., “Map of Tunis,” from El sucesso de la grandissima impresa fata
da la Caesarea Maiesta soto de Tunesi et la presa de la Golletta (15 July 1535),
woodcut, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, 42-860-B, f. 1v (Credit:
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna)
Porto Farina and Bizerte, adjacent to the ruins of ancient Carthage; in

the northeast, it extends as far as the city labeled Africa (ancient Aphrodi-
sium), known as Mahdiyya. At the top center, we see the medina or walled
city protected by its lagoon and the tower of La Goletta (Halq al-wadi).
Two rivers are indicated, at left the Fiv[me] Carada (sic) [ancient Catada,
modern Méliane wadi] and, at right, the unlabeled Bagrada (modern
Medjerda). Outside the city walls to the south, we find three royal plea-
sure gardens, labeled Bardo, Mecia, and Restabia (Ras al-Tayba); other
towns, villages, and estates dot the countryside. Along with showing the
topography, commercial features, and strategic targets, the hastily cut
map shows several warships, along with the Spanish troops that have
established a camp near La Goletta on the coast by the Torre del Agua.
The run-up to the siege of 1535, as well as its aftermath, gener-
ated abundant written material, ranging from relazioni to ambassadorial
dispatches, eyewitness accounts, chronicles, imperial histories, poems,
and historical compendia in European languages, Arabic, and Turkish.
This mass of documentation confirms the interconnected worlds of
the Hafsids, the Ottomans, and the Habsburgs, their multiple contacts
through trade, and their mutual engagement in a ransom economy fueled
by piracy and captive redemptions. But our perspective will be skewed if
we only see Tunis through the lens of battle. It is worth backing up in
time to consider the development and expansion of the Hafsid kingdom,
to glean what shaped Muley al-Hassan as a ruler. Once we expand the
timeframe, it becomes evident that Tunis was not a strange, unknown
land for Europeans but rather part of a cosmopolitan Mediterranean
network. Humanist scholars, of course, recalled ancient Carthage and the
site of the Punic Wars. Theologians would have lamented the fact that
the French king Louis IX met his death in Tunis in 1270 during the
Eighth Crusade.4 Contemporaries might have heard about the Descrip-
tion of Africa, composed circa 1520, by the Moroccan traveler Hassan
al-Wazzan, known after his conversion in Rome as Leone Africano. He
described Tunis as the richest kingdom in Africa peopled with courteous
and amiable citizens.5
Tunis was closely connected to European trade networks due to its
physical proximity to Aragon, Sicily, and Naples. The busy port connected
European maritime trade with caravans from the African interior. “The
Ifriqiyan hinterland plain was narrow but rich enough to export a wide
range of Maghrebi products – wool, leather, hides, cloth, wax, olive oil,
and grain.”6 The city was a transit market for goods from sub-Saharan
32 C. L. BASKINS
Africa such as gold, ivory, slaves, and ostrich feathers. Tunis enjoyed
diplomatic and commercial ties with Mamluk Egypt via ships and cara-
vans.7 Thus, Tunisian markets offered Christian merchants of the Western
Mediterranean an opportunity to buy luxury goods from the East while
avoiding a costly and hazardous voyage to Egypt or the Levant. For the
European cities that maintained North African trading posts, the costs
were high; the cities of Piombino and Elba, for example, each levied a
Barbary tax on their citizens to cover expenses for travel, housing, and the
all-important diplomatic gifts.8 Nautical charts, or portolans, and maps of
the sixteenth century include generic images of the rulers of these North
African trading partners; see for example Jacopo Russo’s image of the Rex
Tunisi (Messina, 1520)9 (Fig. 2.4).
In the early fifteenth century, under Abd Faris al-Aziz II, the Hafsids
pursued piracy against Christian shipping.10 Although piracy provoked
retaliation from Aragon and Venice, it was lucrative and allowed the
early rulers to pursue an ambitious building program including mosques
and palaces, public gardens, libraries, and madrasses.11 The suburban
villa known as the Bardo, for example, was begun around 1420. During
the reign of Muley al-Hassan’s grandfather Abu Omar Uthman, rela-
tions between Tunis and Naples involved formal diplomatic missions and
embassies, mutual maneuvering for market advantage, and the exchange
of hostages. For example, Alfonso of Aragon, newly established ruler
of Naples, sent the Benedictine Fra Giuliano Maiale to Tunis in 1438
to redeem captives and to explore commercial relations.12 In turn, a
Tunisian embassy led by Sidi Ibrahim arrived in Naples in 1442, bringing
two horses for Alfonso.13 The king paid forty ducats for the horses
and gave each of the ten members of the embassy a wool garment of
panno di Majorca.14 The Tunisians took part in the triumphal entry of
1443, as commemorated in sculpture by Francesco Laurana and his shop
(Fig. 2.5).
A group of dignified, bearded figures wearing brocade tunics and high
turbans can be seen at left in the frieze over the portal to the Castel
Nuovo.15 In 1450 Alfonso gave clothing to another ambassador from
Tunis consisting of a “white, pleated tunic, a robe, and a hat.”16 In 1454,
Alfonso provided enough Florentine scarlet purple wool to make robes
lined with red taffeta, along with blue caps, for two ambassadors of the
King of Tunis who had been briefly imprisoned in the Castel dell’Ovo.17
As these diplomatic gifts reveal, Alfonso spared no expense to maintain
good relations with Tunis. Later, in 1472, King Ferdinand I of Naples
Fig. 2.4 Jacopo Russo, Rex Tunisi, detail, Portolan, 1520, parchment, 105.5
× 67 cm. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Carte Nautiche 12 (Credit: Ministero
della Cultura/Archivio di Stato di Firenze)
spent twenty ducats on an organ to be sent to the son of the king of

Tunis.18 A few decades later Muley al-Hassan and his envoys would like-
wise be the recipients of gifts from Charles V, as well as from the viceroy
of Naples, while the king gave them horses, camels, and ostriches.
As such dealings with Naples show, Uthman, “…understood the value
of trade with the Italian powers, and devoted considerable attention
to negotiation with them, while they adopted an attitude of deference
towards him. Uthman’s willingness to break relations with states which
fostered piracy against Muslim shipping reflects the considerable strength
and self-confidence of the Hafsid state at this time.”19 Muley al-Hassan
34 C. L. BASKINS
Fig. 2.5 Francesco Laurana, Triumphal Entry of Alfonso V of Aragon, ca. 1460,
marble, Castel Nuovo, Naples (Credit: Deposit Photos, New York)
would have learned from Uthman’s example that Tunis could afford to
be assertive about the valuable goods and captives available for exchange.
He would have been familiar with European merchants, merchandise, and
luxury items. His preserved letters to Charles, the viceroy of Sicily, and
various officials in the Habsburg administration reveal the king’s adept
use of the mechanisms of diplomacy.20
To consider Muley al-Hassan’s capital city more closely, we can turn to
another woodcut map, this one by Giovanni Andrea Vavassore (Venice,
1535) that provides a bird’s eye view of Tunis itself. The key at the left
says, “The siege of Tunis and the Goletta by the Emperor Charles V,
1535”21 (Fig. 2.6). At upper left, Vavassore includes a vignette not found
in the map from the anonymous relazione; this group of riders carries
a caption, “Re vecchio de Tunesi,” ie., the former king of Tunis. Muley
al-Hassan should be identified as the only figure we see in its entirety,
wearing a long tunic and a turban, holding a flanged mace. He leads a
group of approximately eight to ten riders toward the imperial camp, seen
just to the right of the top center. There we see Charles V wearing armor
Fig. 2.6 Giovanni Andrea Vavassore, Map of the Siege of Tunis (Venice, 1535),
woodcut, 28 × 40 cm (Credit: Newberry Library, Chicago [public domain])
36 C. L. BASKINS
and flanked by Don Luis, the Infante of Portugal, and by Captain Alfonso
d’Avalos, the Marchese del Vasto; together they review the assembled
troops.22 Below and to the left of the city, we see the Ottoman corsair
Khayr ed-Dine wearing a turban-crown, he is labeled “Barba Rossa.” He
flees along with his followers, to escape the imposing Habsburg force.
The galley of the Genoese admiral, Andrea Doria, appears docked on the
coast near the ruins of Carthage. Leaving aside the details of the battle
for now, what could a Renaissance viewer learn about Tunis from this
map? What was Muley al-Hassan so eager to reclaim from the interloper
Barbarossa?
Vavassore indicates coastal cities and ports, the lagoon, La Goletta,
the walled city with its bastions and gates, the arsenal, and warehouses.
In the medina we see an inner ring of fortified walls, protecting the
“Castello,” or alcazava, and the “Meschita” or Zaytuna mosque. Paolo
Giovio, writing to Duke Francesco Sforza with information sent back
from Tunis, reports that, “the citadel is similar to yours in Milan, having
gardens and porticos and plazas, it is furnished more for pleasure than
for war.”23 We can learn more from Leone Africano about the staffing
of the citadel and the civic government of Tunis.24 He lists ten offi-
cials in the Hafsid administration, starting with the Munafid (viceroy),
the Mesuare (general), Castellan, Mayor, King’s Secretary, Chamberlain,
Treasurer, Tax officials, and the Steward of the royal household, respon-
sible for dressing the king’s wives, eunuchs, and black slaves. He also
notes the presence in the city of Genoese, Venetians, and other Christian
merchants who reside near the sea gate; he estimates that they numbered
three hundred families in total.
More Christians resided in an area adjacent to the citadel that Vavassore
labels, “Rabat.” The inhabitants, or Rabattini, had left Almohad Spain to
take up residence in Tunis in the early thirteenth century.25 This separate
Christian district had a castle, a Franciscan church staffed with clergy,
and its own caid or judge. Leone Africano says, “These Christians always
accompanied the regent when he rode, whether in the city or outside
the walls…”26 They were considered more trustworthy than local rival
clans. Luis del Mármol Carvajal, describes the makeup of the community
in 1535:
…When the Emperor conquered Tunis, the city had two kinds of Rabat-
tini: some descended from the old Mozarabs; they were knights and civic
officials of their own district. The kings valued them for their wealth and
valor in war; with their military skill they defended the city many times
from the fury of the Bedouins. Other Christians arrived from every nation;
they were simple tradesmen, like tavern keepers, shopkeepers, and some
were merchants. Thus, they were not all one kind, but one could distin-
guish between them because only the noble Mozarabs practiced the arts
of war.27
In addition to commenting on government officials and the king’s

personal guards, Leone Africano also describes the handsome domestic
architecture of Tunis: “Most of the structures are well-built with dressed
stones and they use a lot of beautifully pieced mosaics on the floors of
their houses, glazed in blue and other rich colors…the floors of their
rooms are paved with glazed and shining [tiles], and the courtyards with
other bright square [tiles]…”28 If these colorful and comfortable homes
are just occupied by average citizens, the reader can only imagine the
splendor of the Hafsid royal residences.
Vavassore’s map shows the Castello, the citadel, or primary residence of
the kings of Tunis. The Bardo, the secondary royal residence and garden,
appears at the upper left of the woodcut map in the anonymous relazione.
The name of the suburban complex is thought to be derived from the
Spanish, “prado” or field. Of course, this representation of the Bardo is
generic and imaginary, but we can learn more about the lavish features
of this suburban villa by turning to texts. A late fifteenth-century Flemish
merchant traveler, Anselme Adorne,
[…] describing the Bardo, noted the long and broad walled road that
ended at the portal of the main entry. ‘This road, he said, was about 500
or more paces in length; six grand and magnificent royal pavilions rose up
on each of the sides. The king took this path to cross the gardens to reach
his residences, at least if he wanted to be seen; if he did not want to be
seen, he went by foot or on horseback through underground passages, so
large that six men on horse could ride side-by-side, to go from one house
to another.29
Leone Africano describes not only the fruit and flowers that made the
Bardo so charming but also its interior decoration: “As for the gardens,
they are overflowing with oranges, lemons, roses, and other delicate sweet
[smelling] flowers, as in the place called the Bardo, where you find the
gardens and pleasure pavilions of the King, buildings made with no less
industry than magnificence: enriched with carved [stucco] and painted
38 C. L. BASKINS
with the finest colors.”30 The Portuguese Bishop Alonso Sanabria also
praises the gardens of Tunis: “The king has four gardens called the Mexia,
Restabia, Bardo, and La Bornosa [Abu Fihr]: many [Moors] luxuriate
in the pleasure pavilions, that no Christian lord can equal, not even the
Belvedere in Rome, built for the recreation of the Popes.”31
The anonymous “Report on what happened in the conquest of Tunis
and the Goletta (1535),” notes a royal garden, likely the Abu Fihr, “At
the foot of the mountain, on the side of Porto Farina, is the garden
of the king; it is a very large garden, replete with all of the water and
refreshing things necessary for a garden; and within it, there is a palace
with a lot of very richly decorated rooms, work done by the Kings of
Tunis when they were at peace and powerful.”32 Like the anonymous
author of the “Report,” Leone Africano also strikes a moralizing tone
about the royal gardens of Tunis, as he notes how Muley al-Hassan’s
father extorted money from his subjects in order to enjoy his voluptuous,
sybaritic pastimes:
But there is a big difference in the way of life of the old Kings and of this
one, who reigns now: for he has another nature, habit, and regime…he is
marvelously cunning at getting dinars from his subjects, some of it he gives
to the Bedouins, and the rest he uses to build his palace and [other] build-
ings: where he lives in great luxury with singers, musicians, and women
who know how to sing, he passes the hours at his villas, pleasure gardens,
and retreats. When he wants someone to sing in his presence, he is made
to cover his eyes, just like when one hoods a falcon, and then he enters,
where the [harem] ladies are in attendance.33
According to Paolo Giovio, Muley al-Hassan complained about his

father’s uxoriousness; “…he used to abuse his father in public for being
womanish and effeminate, for using up the royal treasury to pay the
expenses of 200 women with whom he dallied in the luxury of the royal
gardens.”34 In contrast to his father’s frivolous pursuit of pleasure, and
neglect of the cares of state, Muley al-Hassan spent his time riding and
hunting, in pastimes fit for warriors. Giovio reports that the main loggia
of the Bardo villa displayed lifelike stuffed lions that Muley Hassan had
killed:
His followers used to say, that no one could compare with him for skill in
riding and in the use of arms; and they proudly boasted about him as a
skilled hunter, since in just a few years since he became King, he had killed
with a lance on horseback more than 200 male lions in the wild; one could
see in the largest loggias of his gardens, the dried pelts stuffed with hay
so that they seemed alive, giving witness to his bravery, as ornaments and
trophies of the most honorable exercise of military skill.35
Hafsid Treasures
Starting with the citadel, we find descriptions of the king’s library, a
primary casualty of the siege of 1535. Paolo Giovio notes the extensive
collection of books:
In this sack of the citadel Muley Hassan mourned three damages of incom-
parable loss; first the Arabic books, which were overturned and destroyed
as the library was ransacked. In that library were very old books that
contained not only the precepts of all the sciences, but also the deeds
of the previous kings [of Tunis], as well as the superstitious declarations of
Islam [ie. Qur’ans]. Later I heard the king [Muley al-Hassan] say, that if
it had been possible, he would have gladly rescued them for the price of a
city.36
Muley al-Hassan’s library also earned high praise from Bishop Sanabria:
In Tunis there is a superb and sumptuous Moorish library; as in those

countries, you see bright, colorful and gilded books, the majority have
letters of gold and blue and vermillion, with many illuminations and paint-
ings. Even if the libraries of the Pope, or of Paris, or of Alcalá de Henares --
or the one left to Seville by Christopher Columbus -- are of better quality,
[the one in Tunis] was no less [impressive] since the quantity, worth, or
price of the books, and their rich bindings, exceeds the others, being made
entirely by hand and very expensive.37
Even if Sanabria takes poetic license in this description of the royal library,
he must have thought that his readers would find its splendor credible.
Despite Giovio’s account of the utter destruction of Muley al-Hassan’s
library in the sack of 1535, apparently, some books were spared that
fate. Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, who fought at Tunis, later mentioned
having received some books as gifts from Muley al-Hassan.38 Beyond the
royal library in the citadel, the mosques of Tunis, especially the Zaytuna,
were famed for their collections of books. Antoine de Perrenin, who
went on the campaign as secretary to Charles V and Nicolas Perrenot de
Granvelle, notes the destruction of many beautiful Qur’ans taken from
40 C. L. BASKINS
the mosques: “And they laid to waste and broke the books and libraries
from the mosques and temples of the Moors, that contain much about
their Law [Islam], beautifully gilded and bound, and written in letters of
gold and blue.”39
In addition to the destruction of Muley al-Hassan’s library, Giovio
remarked on the loss of precious substances like perfumes, unguents, and
pigments once kept in various workshops at the citadel:
Then there was a shop with perfumes and drugs from India, for which just
like his father Mohammed, Muley Hassan had with the greatest expense
exhausted the riches of the east. He had stored in lead vases and ivory
boxes a great quantity of ambergris and civet (we don’t know the ancient
terms for these things), to use in bathing and to perfume the rooms day
and night, that were worth a very great sum of money…Finally, there
were different kinds of fine colors for painting of very great value, which
were disregarded and scattered by the ignorant slaves and soldiers who
were only looking for spoils of an immediate and obvious profit. Heaps of
ultramarine were found stored in cupboards, that make the color turquoise
and which the Greek authors call azure, as well as many sacks full of grains
of Indian lacquer, which are used to imitate the color purple, and which
are purchased at great cost by excellent painters and by dyers of wool and
silk.40
Among the precious items in Muley al-Hassan’s storehouses, there might

have been hashish, commonly used in Tunis according to Leone Africano:
“The people are accustomed to eating a certain mixture called hashish,
which is very expensive: they no sooner take an ounce, than they become
marvelously happy, moved to laughter, seized by appetite and the desire
to eat beyond measure, completely transported; and by that food most
marvelously aroused to lechery.”41
Giovio also notes that during the siege in 1535, Muley al-Hassan
left valuables from the royal treasury in the citadel.42 From the king’s
later lawsuit against Francisco de Tovar, the Spanish governor of La
Goletta, we learn about the contents of this cache. A box that Muley
al-Hassan had left for safekeeping in the fortress once contained four
big precious stones—for which the Venetians would have paid 225,000
ducats—another twenty-six stones of high value, one hundred precious
gems, four hundred sapphires, as well as emeralds, pearls, and other jewels
that had all belonged to his Hafsid predecessors. Hassan estimated the
total value at one million gold scudi.43 In addition, the box also contained
80,000 doubloons.
More Tunisian items offered in tribute would find their way into
Charles’ collection, as we learn from inventories of the treasury at
Simancas drawn up in 1554, 1557, and 1558.44 The 1558 document
lists a necklace made of gold wire and enamel, with four large rubies set
in gold, and 102 pearls, one of which was set in pink gold and hung
down as a pendant; there were other golden jewels in a setting formed by
two mermaids; little bells; pearls; more pieces of gold and silver; baldrics
or weapon belts; harnesses; spurs; reins. Cloth of gold and silk; purple
and crimson velvet; different kinds of hats; the golden scabbard for a
Moorish sword; silk in many colors; a rock crystal spoon adorned with
silver; corals; amber; tassels. A tent, swords, spurs, bows and arrows, and
touchstones. The Hafsids also had an extensive menagerie, from which
the rulers selected animals to send to Europe.45 In 1536, a Tunisian
ambassador brought Charles and Pope Paul III dromedaries, horses, and
ostriches.46 When the emperor was in Genoa in 1550, a Hafsid ambas-
sador brought him horses, lions, and falcons; and in 1554, another envoy
brought Charles some thirty horses and more falcons.47 We will see
later that these animals were not casual gifts, but rather annual tributes
required by the terms of the treaty signed by the king in August 1535.
The Versailles portrait presents an assertive ruler whose realm encom-
passed a wealthy, productive, and cosmopolitan city filled with mosques,
libraries, and gardens, along with many items of conspicuous consump-
tion. Hafsid Tunis was a tempting target for Habsburgs and Ottomans
alike.
The Tunis Campaign

By the early decades of the sixteenth century, Tunis was facing pres-
sure not from Europe but rather from Algiers, the base of operations
for the renegade corsair Oruç Reis and his younger brother, known
as Barbarossa.48 Originally independent, by 1517 the corsairs operated
under the aegis of the Ottomans. In a rapid series of reversals, the Hafsids
called on Barbarossa for protection only to find that Tunis itself became
the target for invasion.49 By 1534 Muley al-Hassan fled the city, with-
drawing into the countryside. Through an agent, he got word to Charles
V about Barbarossa and the Ottoman occupation along with a request
for military aid.50 On November 14 Charles wrote to Muley al-Hassan
42 C. L. BASKINS
from Madrid, explaining that he was moved by the great injustice of

Barbarossa’s invasion of Tunis, as well as by the threat that the corsair
posed to Sardinia, Sicily, and Naples. Charles alerted Muley al-Hassan
about the arrival of his emissary, Luigi de Presende, a Genoese merchant
conversant in Arabic, who would advise him about Habsburg plans. He
closes his letter to Muley al-Hassan, king of Tunis, “honored and praised
among the Moors.”51 Yet the instructions that Charles sent to Presende,
also dated November 14, suggest that his agent should find out who really
controls the realm, Barbarossa, Muley al-Hassan, or some other kings of
Tunis. Charles also reminded Presende that if the king or kings wanted
his aid, they would have to pay for it: “…for this help and assistance
they should agree to become our tributaries, or [agree to] some other
condition or obligation in recognition of this benefit.”52 One month
later, on 14 December 1534, Charles wrote a letter to two local sheikhs
regarding the arrival of Presende in which he emphasized the importance
of supporting the cause of Muley al-Hassan. “And, furthermore, it is not
just that a King, so ancient and of such noble blood, who has so many
noble knights such as the Bedouins, should lose his land and memory, and
your realm, and that you from the nobility of Mauretania should be made
slaves and subjects of people [Turks] so cruel, tyrannical, and proud…”53
With Barbarossa cast as unjust, Charles could assume the role of the Just
Prince.54 The military campaign immediately became a media campaign.
Not wanting to appear like a marauder, Charles emphasized justice, the
restoration of a legitimate ruler, and a victory for Christianity.55
In June 1535 Charles sailed to Tunis accompanied by Don Luis, the
Infante of Portugal, and with a navy led by Andrea Doria, Duke of Melfi,
and infantry led by Alfonso d’Avalos, the Marchese del Vasto—all repre-
sented on the Vavassore map, as we have seen. The international force
consisted of Italian, Spanish, German, and Swiss soldiers, along with some
knights of Malta. Once they arrived, Charles complained that,
The King of Tunis has not yet sent us an envoy, nor are we certain where
he is, although some say that he is nearby; by means of some Moors, from
those who were taken captive, but that I freed, I let [Muley al-Hassan]
know about my arrival with this armada and army, yet still I have not
received his response nor does one know what he wants to do.56
Even when an envoy did appear, Charles did not know whether to trust
him:
His Majesty, having some suspicions about this Moor, said to him:
‘whether you were sent by Barbarossa or by the King of Tunis, or by some-
body else, let them be informed that [Charles] has not come to possess the
realm, nor to occupy it, but out of provocation over the incursions made
by Barbarossa and to liberate the Christians…and if the King of Tunis will
side with His Majesty, he will be most clement, but if he wants to make
war with him, joining with Barbarossa, then [Charles] will make war on
them both.’57
After this inauspicious start, relations improved when two envoys sent
by Muley al-Hassan, and another sent by the sheikhs, appeared in the
imperial camp to declare that troops stood at the ready to help restore
the realm. Charles makes note of the envoys, but he does not provide any
colorful details.58 In contrast, his secretary, Antoine Perrenin, describes
the diplomatic event with great attention to costume, accessories, and
gifts. He describes the arrival on June 24 of some envoys that Muley al-
Hassan had sent to ask Charles why he had brought such a big force to
Tunis. The emperor reassured them that his aim was to chase Barbarossa
from Tunis. “And he gave them a gift of 100 doubloons, along with many
rich outfits in gold and silk to show the generosity of His Majesty.”59
By the following day, another party arrived in camp with a letter from
Muley al-Hassan declaring an alliance and a request for ships to convey
the king’s followers. “Of these, two were Moors and one a black man,
attired according to their manner and custom, and they shouldered some
lances, their scimitars hung on the side, with a dagger attached to the
forearm, [they] dressed in a long yellow pelt.”60
The arrival on horseback of Muley al-Hassan, accompanied by his emis-
saries, and seeking an audience with Charles in the imperial camp was
illustrated in two related albums probably decorated in Brusssels and
dating to circa 1547/8.61 The albums were made for Christoph von
Sternsee, captain of the imperial German guard who fought in Tunis.
The anonymous artist shows two men on foot and four riders over a two-
page spread, f. 47v and f. 48r (Fig. 2.7). The German captions, translated
into English by a later owner, declare, “Thus rides the King of Tunis
in Barbary…thus ride his noblemen in yellow furs, with spears 20 feet
long…” The images appear to illustrate with great precision Perrenin’s
description of the envoys, two Moors and one black man, as well as their
garments and weapons. As a veteran of the Tunis campaign, Sternsee must
have given oral instructions, and perhaps a text, for his artist to follow.
44
C. L. BASKINS
Fig. 2.7 Anon, “The King of Tunis in Barbary,” Costumes of the Time of Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire,
and King of Spain, of Costumes of all Nations of the World, ca. 1547/8, ff. 47v–48r, watercolor on parchment, Museo
Stibbert, Florence, MS 2025 (Credit: Museo Stibbert)
Additional pages in his album show the warships, costumes, and animals
that Sternsee saw on campaign in north Africa.
The scene of Muley al-Hassan arriving in the imperial camp in late
June of 1535 also engaged the imaginations of writers whether they
produced humble news pamphlets, poems, or official histories.62 Each
text focuses on the honor with which the exiled king was received, and
his courteous treatment by Charles, including physical touches such as
a handshake, an embrace, or even a kiss. In a brief dispatch of 30 June
1535, Charles V reports that Muley al-Hassan arrived in the camp along
with 300 Moorish cavalrymen ready to join the campaign.63 The exiled
king expects more reinforcements and will inform their allies in Tunis
about Charles’ intentions. He also plans to send his wives, children, and
goods to the imperial camp for protection.64 According to an anony-
mous report of May 28, Muley al-Hassan was said to be willing to give
his two sons in exchange for the restoration of his realm.65 Tommaso
Gallarati, writing to Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on June 28, says
that the family members are not being sent for protection but rather as
hostages.66
In a letter to Federico Gonzaga in Mantua, dated 14 July 1535, Giovio
adds more detail about Muley al-Hassan’s reception drawn from letters
sent to him from Trapani:
And, the Moors came to bring provisions, after King Muley Hassan arrived.
On the 28th [of June], after the ambassadors of the said King had come
and gone again, the King himself arrived in camp with 300 horses. Charles
called the camp to order, with the court by his side, and he waited in a
chair inside his tent. Having sent [Fernando Álvarez de Toledo] the Duke
of Alba to meet the King, he came out and took eight steps, and received
him humanely. [Muley al-Hassan] kissed Charles on the shoulder, sat on
the ground, and declared himself a vassal. Dismissing all but a few of his
men, he stayed with Monsignor [Louis] du Praet.67
Along with provisions for the troops, Muley al-Hassan promised to bring
a thousand more of his horses along with an Arab captain leading another
five thousand. The secretary Perrenin adds that Muley al-Hassan bowed
to Charles and lowered his head with very great reverence.
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Visible Speech
Such descriptions of the imperial welcome and Muley al-Hassan’s royal
comportment find visual form in the 1535 broadsheet titled Rex
Thunissae, discussed in Chapter 1 (Fig. 2.2). Silvester van Parijs’ image,
based on Vermeyen’s lost portrait, shows how Muley al-Hassan expressed
his humble reverence while lamenting Barbarossa’s affronts:
The King of Tunis in Africa...expertly portrayed from life in that attitude

in which he made his lament -- in full humility and reverence for the very
victorious and very Christian Emperor, and King, Charles the fifth of that
name, always August – how Barbarossa the tyrant and lieutenant of the
Great Turk in Africa had chased him from his Realm and country. The
same king was honorably and graciously received in the Imperial tent...68
A lamenting Muley al-Hassan also appears in an undated anonymous

poem in ottava rima, perhaps published in Genoa:
Thus, the poor exiled King spoke, and his tears and sighs often inter-
rupted his voice, speech, and breath. Mitigating his long suffering, he was
welcomed by Charles, who with a gracious look invited him to review
his army…Charles ordered that the King, in whom he saw a good heart,
should be embraced, and he showed everyone that he cherished him, such
that each looked for ways to do him honor.69
Martín García Cerezeda, who fought at Tunis under the Marchese del
Vasto, expands on the sartorial honor that Charles’ officers attempted to
provide Muley al-Hassan’s men:
And, likewise, the Christian officers who were with the Emperor, had taken
some of the Moorish cavalry and kept them in their tents, serving them
in every way, and each officer wanted to dress those that he had with him
in his [own] uniform, but the Emperor did not agree to it, so that the
officers would not wear themselves out over who could dress [the Moors]
the most richly.70
In the Histories of His Own Time, Giovio inserts a long theatrical

dialogue in which Muley al-Hassan and Charles state their religious differ-
ences but agree to join forces in order to counter the “perfidious and cruel
assassin, the enemy of humanity,” Barbarossa. Muley al-Hassan says,
…even if I am a humble exile, I dare to hope in your very great justice

and virtue…I am a king born of the most ancient blood and very powerful
through my family connections, and for the great friendships I have with
the Bedouins and Moors. Even so, I do not refuse to pay you tribute and
to call myself your servant and the vassal of the Christian Emperor.71
The words that Giovio puts into Muley al-Hassan’s mouth echo the
instructions sent by Charles to Presende in 1534. The exiled king under-
stands the terms of the agreement; in exchange for help in recovering his
kingdom he must agree to become a Habsburg vassal.
Giovio adds that Muley al-Hassan was sad about his present humble
condition in exile, “until the emperor took him by the hand and
humanely embraced him.”72 Toussaint Muissart, seigneur of Maretz near
Lille, inflates this gesture into a kiss: “After that the emperor, unhappy
about presenting him his hand, which the said king took and kissed,
then allowed him to kiss his face, by which the Emperor’s men were
much amazed.”73 Antoine Perrenin ventures, “And that the king was
so humanely received was due to the piety, reputation [for] honesty,
modesty, virtue, and clemency of his Imperial Majesty [rather] than for
any help that he [Muley al-Hassan] might provide in the campaign.”74
Despite Perrenin’s critical view of the exiled king, other writers note that
Muley al-Hassan was an acute observer of the Europeans who returned
their curious gazes. After the show of imperial favor, Muley al-Hassan was
introduced to the elite officers, and shown around the camp, including
a review of artillery and weapons, before being offered accommoda-
tion in the tent of the Flemish ambassador, Mon. Louis Du Praet. The
written sources vary as to who among the imperial inner circle was
assigned to escort Muley al-Hassan around the camp: Hernando Alarcón
de Mendoza, Viceroy of Calabria, the Duke of Alba, Antonio Alonso
Pimentel y Herrera, Count of Benavente, or the Marchese del Vasto.
Martín García Cerezeda adds that Charles ordered Alvar Gómez Zagal,
captain of the cavalry, to serve as interpreter for Muley al-Hassan. “He
took personal care of King Muley al-Hassan, since he could speak in the
Arabic language, and thus it was done as the Emperor had commanded
him.”75 Muley al-Hassan was said to be impressed by the diverse makeup
of the army; he noted not just the many languages spoken by the soldiers
but also their different facial features and uniforms.76 If the king was the
object of curiosity in the imperial camp, he was also an active spectator.
48 C. L. BASKINS
Zagal presumably advised Charles on what to offer the king and his
companions for refreshment according to the laws of halal. Perrenin notes
that they were only offered fresh water, pastries, and sweets since they
could not partake of wine or meat. The secretary goes on to describe
how Muley al-Hassan spent most of his time sitting on a carpet, squat-
ting, in the custom of the country, his men surround him badly dressed,
“naked,” and without ceremony. These followers sometimes speak loudly
and all at once, but not the king, “…he himself always maintained some
royal majesty.”77 Giovio adds that many officers sought Muley al-Hassan
out in private to ask about Tunis and the resolve of its citizens; they
asked about strategic elements such as the walls, citadel, wells and cisterns,
olive groves, woods, and the numbers of Moors and Bedouins allied with
Barbarossa.78
In contrast to Perrenin’s disparaging view of the indolent Hafsids, the
Swiss foot soldier Niklaus Guldi appreciates the impressive game of canes
that they performed for Charles. “The king of Barbary and his cavalry
put on a tournament before the Emperor and the king of Portugal, in
which the moors all rode without wearing pants, but in long robes and
many of them without shoes, including the king himself.”79 This tour-
nament held in the imperial camp reappears in Giovio’s account: Muley
al-Hassan “…wanted to show his equestrian skill, when he demonstrated
very well the use of the long lance, hitting targets in front and behind; he
employed it admirably, and thus showed how much he wanted to go into
real combat alongside our troops.”80 Charles responded favorably to the
skill and speed of the Hafsids. When not impressing the emperor with his
lance, Muley al-Hassan conducted learned discussions of natural philos-
ophy, the heavens, and the motions of the stars according to Averroes,
presumably with Zagal acting as interpreter.
While Muley al-Hassan was enjoying his leisure in the imperial camp,
Charles and his officers prepared to attack their first military target,
the fortress of La Goletta. The anonymous Spanish “Report on What
Happened during the Conquest of Tunis and the Goletta,” of 1535,
reports Barbarossa’s derisive speech. When a resident of Tunis expressed
doubt about Barbarossa’s ability to defeat the imperial army: “Barbarossa
made fun of him, ‘You’re screwed. You are already a Christian: you will
see that I can defeat them.’”81 In an anonymous relazione, “Copy of the
letter from Tunis with the orders and provisions made by Barbarossa in
the said city of Tunis..June 20, 1535,” Barbarossa tells the residents that
they have three days to decide whether to stay and fight or to flee.82
The Venetian humanist Lodovico Dolce paraphrased this relazione in his

Poems Composed for the African Victory Recently Won by the Most Sacred
Emperor Charles the Fifth: “First of all, he gave a public order in the city,
that whoever wanted to flee the Christians, should leave in the space of
three days, and whoever wanted to stay should stay.”83
Despite Barbarossa’s defiant remarks and the Goletta’s reinforced
defenses, the fortress fell to the imperial troops on July 14. The victory
was immediately communicated in diplomatic letters and celebrated in
numerous relazioni that circulated the details of the attack, listed the
wounded and the dead, as well as the ammunition and biscuit taken by the
victors. The news pamphlet, “The Success of his Imperial Majesty’s Great
Venture at Tunis and the Siege of the Goletta,” dated 15 July 1535, not
only contains the woodcut map we examined earlier (Fig. 2.3) but also
two additional woodcuts on the last page stacked vertically in the center
of the page (Fig. 2.8).
Of course, the unknown printer did not commission these illustrations
for the relazione, but rather chose blocks that he already had in his shop
that could plausibly be related to the content of the text. These modest
woodcuts give visual form to the imagined speeches in the text. The upper
scene depicts an interior space in which we see, at right, a bearded man
wearing European clothing, a hat, and a sword; he gestures toward a
group of three men at left, one of whom wears a turban and carries a
scimitar. The man standing in the middle lifts his hands in a gesture of
acclamation. Below we find a similar scene but set outdoors, with one
male figure standing at the right addressing a group of men at the left.
In this case, however, the lone man wears a long tunic and a peaked cap.
The assembled men also wear floor-length garments and conceal their
crossed arms within their sleeves. The foremost figure wears a turban.
Contemporary readers might have related the upper image to a mention
in the text about some fugitives who came from the Goletta to inform
Charles about the number of enemy troops and other strategic details.
But the image could also stand for a passage on the last page in which the
defeated Tunisians came to seek clemency from Charles after Barbarossa’s
retreat from the fortress. The lower scene then could be taken to show
how the people of Tunis turned against the Ottoman corsair and looked
forward to the “restitution of the King [ie. Muley al-Hassan].”
Following the battle, Barbarossa and his men withdrew to the citadel,
then camped at the royal villa and gardens of the Bardo, while they
regrouped and decided on a plan of action. Some writers imagine how
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Fig. 2.8 Anon., “Vignettes,” from El sucesso de la grandissima impresa fata da

la Caesarea Maiesta soto de Tunesi et la presa de la Golletta (15 July 1535),
woodcut, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, 42.860-B, f. 4v (Credit:
Barbarossa addressed the inhabitants of Tunis who were understandably

frightened by the Habsburg armada at their gates. According to an anony-
mous relazione, “The Victorious Siege of La Goletta,” signed July 23
with an addendum of July 26, Barbarossa strengthened their resolve by
declaring that Muley al-Hassan was an apostate and traitor: “They should
know that the Emperor’s army only came to sack them, to make them
slaves, and to force them to become Christians; and [he added], the
King [Muley al-Hassan] was already a Christian, and was already a trib-
utary of the Christians.”84 In making this claim about Muley al-Hassan,
Barbarossa was not spreading unfounded rumors; he had seized Charles’

1534 letter of instructions to Presende and thus knew about the emper-
or’s conditions for assistance; the king was bound to become a vassal and
Tunis a tributary state.
Contemporary reports also contained imagined conversations between
Charles and Muley al-Hassan that took place during the campaign.
Whereas the authors make Barbarossa sound crude and manipulative,
hiding his true intentions to escape Tunis, Charles is presented as cour-
teous and thoughtful. In “The Victorious Siege,” the anonymous author
describes how,
His Majesty, in conversation with the King of Tunis, told him that since
they saw little change in Tunis it was necessary to go there [ie. to attack],
and he wanted to know if [Muley al-Hassan] had any family within, or
friend, that he should save or wanted to save; that he would order that
they should suffer no harm and that they would be guarded. At this, the
King answered that his Majesty should do whatever he pleased and was
good for his Highness, no friend remained inside, since any friend [within
the city] had already come out to be with him.85
In the anonymous “Copy of a Letter from Tunis,” Muley al-Hassan and

his troops are given credit for helping to drive Barbarossa out of La
Goletta: Barbarossa, “…could not hold his position being attacked, on
the one hand by Christians, and on the other by the former King of
Tunis.”86 The Vavassore map which shows Barbarossa fleeing the city
flanked by both Muley al-Hassan and his troops and the imperial force
led by Charles, perhaps illustrates this idea of a two-pronged, coordinated
attack.
Yet, starting with a letter from Charles V to Jean Hannart, his ambas-
sador in France, dated July 24, Muley al-Hassan is accused of failing
to make good on his promises.87 In his account, Antoine Perrenin
repeats the emperor’s disappointment verbatim.88 Likewise on July 24,
the Milanese agent Gallarati informed Duke Francesco Sforza that the
Bedouins who were supposed to ally with Muley al-Hassan had broken
their word: “The horses that we were expecting and the other Bedouins
have gone over to Barbarossa.”89 Charles expanded on his complaints in a
letter to the Marquis de Cañete, Viceroy of Navarre, dated July 25. “Not
only did the King not muster the Bedouins with whom he had nego-
tiated and were expected to come, but once the Goletta fell, they made
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themselves scarce: even more, he cannot even be certain about his Moors,
those that he brought and who were favored by us so that he could be
restored in the Kingdom.”90
Despite Muley al-Hassan’s inability to provide horses or troops, the
Habsburg forces took Tunis on July 20, freed the many Christian captives
held at the citadel, and proceeded to sack the city for three days.
According to Giovio, the inhabitants did not expect to become targets,
“…the Tunisians had no inkling that they would be treated like enemies
and with great shouts they appealed in vain for Muley al-Hassan’s protec-
tion.”91 Some sources report that Muley al-Hassan had offered to pay
Charles not to sack the city. For example, Francesco Miranda, secretary
to Filippo Lannoy, the prince of Sulmona, wrote, “the King of Tunis
promised His Majesty 500 thousand ducats not to sack the city, but His
Majesty replied that he could not avoid the sack because he promised
the soldiers, and he could not give it up.”92 In the “Copy of News
from Barbary about the Siege of the Goletta,” the anonymous author
explains that, “the army really wants to sack Tunis, even if it displeases
the exiled king [Muley al-Hassan], they will do it anyway; I think that
His Majesty has no way out of this sack.”93 Such dire predictions came
true; the ferocious sack elicited a variety of responses from contempo-
raries. In Sigismondo Paulucci’s poem entitled, “African Nights,” Charles
is “moved by the prayers of the King, [he is] moved to justice, by
his clement, lofty, and faithful spirit.”94 In “The Victorious Siege,” the
anonymous author even claims that Charles tried to protect the women of
Tunis from rape: “His Majesty issued a fearsome order that no soldier, of
whatever rank he might be, should violate women of any sort, otherwise
the Sack would not proceed.”95 While for some, the supreme Christian
victory exonerated Charles from the savagery of his soldiers, others, such
as Lodovico Dolce, tactfully refused to describe the event: “How they
sacked the place and how they took slaves from the citadel as booty, so
as not to offend the fair name [of Charles] with my rhymes – I will not
sing and tell about it. The lofty deed of the wise crown deserves a more
sonorous and beautiful style, to praise the true goal of the Cross, perhaps
another will sing in a better voice.”96 The secretary Perrenin even places
the blame for the controversial sack on Muley al-Hassan. “And the sack
was done with the consent and by request of the king of Tunis, seeing
that the Moors and citizens did not keep faith with him, even after they
knew about the success of the armada.”97 Depending on the perspective
of the observer, Muley al-Hassan tried either to save the city, was unhappy
about the sack, or fully approved of it.
Opinions were also divided about the quality of the booty yielded by
the sack. The Swiss soldier Guldi reported enthusiastically about what the
soldiers took. He describes pearls, precious stones, velvet, silk, pieces of
gold, cotton, sandalwood, brazil wood, spices, sacks of grain too big to
lift, silver and gold bracelets and necklaces, money, and silver vessels.98
Francesco Miranda likewise reported to Lannoy, “Then they found in the
citadel a great quantity of jewels and cloth of gold and silk, and various
garments, and other clothing, and other things that Barbarossa could not
take with him since the primary and better part of his riches was locked
up in there.”99 The anonymous Spanish “Report” notes how the soldiers
took ammunition and biscuits; and “they took many other things like
jewels and items of great value whether on the land or in the castle,
because they got all of the stuff from those captains and Barbarossa…”100
Licenciado Arcos notes that soldiers took more valuable booty in La
Goletta, where many wealthy inhabitants had fled, rather than in the
citadel:
They found a big quanity of very fine Alexandrian linen..., a lot of varied
merchandise, many spices and stores of clothing, medicines including a
lot of rhubarb, gold and silver money, and clothing made from fine
textiles, silks, brocades, cotton, and wool and there were marlotas and
other garments, silk curtains, bedspreads, rugs, and blankets and many
other things. There were many dates and preserved figs that all the soldiers
made good use of.101
But the majority of observers complained about the poor quality of the
take. The Milanese agent Gallarati writes on July 24 that Charles ordered
Muley al-Hassan and his men to scout the city before sending in the
troops to sack it; the soldiers later reported that the booty was not as
rich as expected.102 In a relazione that claimed to be a copy of Ferrante
Gonzaga’s July 28 letter to his brother Ercole in Mantua, readers learned
that, “by all reports the sack was very poor all around, with stuff of little
value having been taken; so that taking prisoners and the sale of slaves
(although not in great quantity, given the size of the place) was better
booty than any thing else.”103 Finally, in a letter from the Florentine
merchant Tommaso Cambi in Naples, dated August 6, Paolo Giovio was
informed that, “In Tunis very little was found, and thus the soldiers were
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not able to take much booty…they say that the reason for the paltry
booty is that almost all of the residents of the city fled with their women,
their children, and their belongings, and with the army, that left with
Barbarossa…”.104
Immediately following the taking of Tunis and the sack of the city,
Charles wished to negotiate the terms under which Muley al-Hassan
would resume his rule. But Bishop Sanabria says, “The Moorish king
did not want to bring the process to an end, he hesitated to sign [the
treaty]. It was also because he had lied about a lot of the facts. For this
purpose [ie. negotiation], the emperor sent for him, but on the first and
the second time, he postponed.”105 Despite such delaying tactics on the
king’s part, the treaty was finally signed on 6 August 1535. Several artists
gave visual form to the event whether in tapestry, painting, or print. The
signing of the treaty is pictured most clearly in a tapestry cartoon by
Jan Vermeyen and Pieter Coecke van Aelst, dating to the late 1540s106
(Fig. 2.9).
Fig. 2.9 Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen and Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Charles V and
Muley al-Hassan Sign the Treaty, 1540’s, Tapestry cartoon detail, Kunsthis-
torisches Museum, Vienna, Inv.-Nr. 2047 (Credit: Erich Lessing/Art Resource,
NY)
Of course, Vermeyen probably witnessed firsthand the scene taking

place in front of a tent in the imperial camp. There Charles and Muley
al-Hassan sit across from each other at an improvised table, accompanied
by their councilors, secretaries, and translators. The emperor sits beside
another man, perhaps to be identified as Francisco de Los Cobos, the
Commendador of León, who would also sign the treaty; Charles holds
the document open and points across the table with his right hand.
Muley al-Hassan responds by lifting his left hand while an interpreter
standing nearby leans forward as if to clarify a point. To the right, we see
European soldiers in armor who protect Charles with their lances. The
attendants who surround Muley al-Hassan, in contrast, wear long robes
and turbans and possess no visible weapons, while the king cloaked in a
red garment has a scabbard at his side. Other witnesses to the agreement
not pictured by Vermeyen include Charles’ chief advisor Nicolas Granvelle
de Perrenot, Hernando de Guevara, secretary Antoine Perrenin, the inter-
preter Alvar Gómez Zagal, Fra Bartolomé de los Ángeles and Fra Diego
Valentín (both men from the Franciscan church in Rabat who would
have known Arabic), and Bernardino de Mendoza, the newly appointed
governor of La Goletta. Although we cannot identify specific Tunisians in
the tapestry cartoon, the names of Muley al-Hassan’s advisers, as well as
those of the interpreters, are: Muhammad at-Tamtām, Ahmad Gomrāsan,
Abd al-Rahı̄m, and the secretary Ibrāhı̄m al-Musrātı̄ who also signed the
document.107
The treaty was redacted in both Castilian and Arabic, with two copies
prepared for each party. In order to spread the information as widely as
possible, the text was published separately as well as quoted by a number
of authors in other works.108 The capitulations cover ten different topics:
(1) to freely allow the liberated Christian captives—men, women, and
children—to return home; (2) not to take any new Christian captives;
(3) to freely allow the practice of Christianity in Tunis; (4) not to allow
Moriscos from Granada to reside in Tunis without imperial permission;
(5) to allow European garrisons in all the fortresses and ports, since
Barbarossa is still at large; (6) to allow the emperor to fortify La Goletta,
to protect access to the water wells, to provision the garrison, to pay a
fee of 12,000 gold ducats to be paid in two installments in January and
July of each year, and to dedicate income from coral fishing, to maintain a
Habsburg consul and a judge; (7) to make an annual tribute due on July
25 of six horses and twelve falcons, plus 50,000 gold ducats penalty for
the first lapse, 100,000 for the second; (8) not to enter into treaties with
56 C. L. BASKINS
any other nations, Christian or Ottoman, and to remember the pledge

to be vassals; (9) to allow the free exchange of merchants; (10) not to
provide food or assistance to pirates, corsairs, or thieves. From the terms
of the treaty, we understand that shipments of animals from Tunis to the
Habsburg ruler were required annually as tribute.
Some authors follow the listing of the capitulations from the August
6 treaty with a theatrical scene of the two rulers swearing to uphold its
terms; these texts artfully juxtapose the Qur’an and the Crucifix. Secre-
tary Antoine Perrenin was the first to describe this exchange; he was
then copied by the squire Guillaume de Montoiche, by Jean Bérot, a
Humanist from Valenciennes known as Etrobius, and by Francisco López
de Gómara. In each case, one can see a close correlation with the posture
and gesture of Muley al-Hassan in the Versailles portrait (Fig. 2.1). The
French version of Perrenin’s eyewitness letter reads:
…the king [Muley al-Hassan] said that he was very happy and satisfied
with the content of the treaty, and taking his sword – that was wrapped
in a scarf—he pulled it out about a palm’s length from the scabbard,
then placed his hand on the pommel, and swore by Muhammad, his
great prophet, and by his Qur’an, that he would observe and completely
abide by the treaty, which the interpreter then explained to his imperial
majesty, who then kissed his own hand and touched the cross on the tunic
of a commander and knight of the order of S. James, swearing by this
also to observe the treaty. Then, after many thanks, spoken to show his
commitment and obligation to his majesty, and to all the councilors and
assistants who were there, all the Moors who accompanied the king [Muley
al-Hassan], came to kiss the hand of his majesty. Then, they returned
home.109
The artist of the Versailles portrait represents Muley al-Hassan’s gesture

precisely as described by Perrenin; the king protects his hand with a
scarf as he pulls the sword partway out of its scabbard. Since the artist
painted pseudo-Arabic lettering on the pommel of the sword, viewers of
the portrait might have been reminded of the oath on the Qur’an.110 We
might say that the script is both decorative and performative; it identifies
the king’s religion but also his speech act, swearing an oath. The Spanish
version of Perrenin’s report is briefer than the French text; it lacks the
detail of the scarf, but the core event remains the same: “…the King
said that he was happy and satisfied with the content of the treaty and,
turning to the sword that he carried, he pulled it out about a palm’s
length from the scabbard, and then placed his hand on the pommel
and swore by Muhammad, his great prophet, and by his Qur’an, that
he would faithfully observe the treaty, which the herald then interpreted
for His Majesty.”111 Jean Bérot or Etrobius, rendered the same text in
Latin, publishing it first in 1547 and again in 1554 in the compilation by
the imperial ambassador Cornelis Schepper.112 López de Gómara echoed
these accounts when he wrote,
The Emperor swore to uphold and keep [the treaty] on a cross of Santiago,
first kissing the hand with which he took it, and the king [swore] on his
Qur’an, touching the guard of his sword that he drew out a little. [The
king] giving thanks to His Majesty for such a great favor, returned to Tunis
as king, but he did not put on a crown, [since] that is prohibited by the
Qur’an of Muhammad.113
Such an exact correlation between text and image might suggest that we
could identify a specific patron or commission for the Versailles portrait.
But in this case, the texts were written in French, Latin, and Spanish
and appeared in multiple venues. Thus, we can assume that the “oath
of fealty” interpretation would have been available to a large number
of readers of chronicles and humanist histories who also made up an
audience of potential viewers of Muley al-Hassan’s likeness.
Unlike López de Gómara, most Spanish authors omit the fealty scene
invented by Perrenin. In his chronicle, Alonso de Santa Cruz retains the
motif of Charles swearing on a crucifix, but says of Muley al-Hassan:
“…and the said King, with the solemnity that is customary of the Moors,
[swore] to follow and observe each aspect of the said capitulations, and
not to break the agreement at any time…”114 In Sanabria’s account not
only does Charles swear on the crucifix, but Bernardino de Mendoza, the
new governor of La Goletta, does the same.115 Sanabria notes how during
the negotiations over the treaty, the emperor and the restored king both
put on the finest clothes and silks, but he transforms the Hafsid oath
into mere submission: “One saw this king in many ceremonies always
standing before the emperor as a sign of his subjection.”116 And finally,
Paolo Giovio, the writer who provides the most complete biography of
Muley al-Hassan, omits the scene of the oath in his various accounts of
the Tunis campaign.
According to the capitulations he signed, Muley al-Hassan became a
vassal of the Habsburgs, promising to pay an annual tribute, to allow the
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Spanish to maintain the fortress of La Goletta, and to tolerate the practice

of Christianity.117 If Charles V was the ideal beholder of the Muley al-
Hassan portrait, then the expectant gaze and partially unsheathed sword
take on specific meaning. The painting presents the regent of Tunis
looking at his lord and making a gesture of fealty; his sword is to be
employed in the service of the Habsburg empire. While we have identi-
fied the meaning of the gesture, the original context and purpose of the
Versailles portrait remain unknown. Chapters 3 and 4 will explore the
creation of visual imagery designed to promote this restored king as a
legitimate ruler and trustworthy ally.
Notes
1. Paolo Giovio, La seconda parte dell’ Historie del suo tempo, ed. Lodovico
Domenichi (Venice: Bartolomeo Cesano, 1554), Bk 34, f. 371v: “…si
come humile & fuoruscito ch’io sono ardisco sperare dalla grandissima
vostra giustizia & virtù…essendo io Re nato d’antichissimo sangue, &
molto potente per li parentadi & per le amicitie grandi ch’io tengo con
gli Arabi & co Mori. Et non rifiuto di pagarvi tributo, & chiamarmi
servitor & vassallo dello Imperator Christiano.”
2. Charles Monchicourt, Kairouan et les Chabbïa: 1450–1592 (Tunis:
Aloccio, 1939); Robert Brunschvig, La Berbérie orientale sous les Hafsides
des origines à la fin du XV e siècle, 2 vols. (Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve,
1940–1947); Sadok Boubaker, “L’empereur Charles Quint et le sultan
hafside Mawlāy al-H . asan (1525–1550),” in Empreintes espagnoles dans
l’histoire tunisienne, eds. Sadok Boubaker and Clara Álvarez Dopico
(Gijón: Trea, 2011), pp. 13–82; Rubén González Cuerva, “Infidel
Friends: Charles V, Muley Hassan, and the Theater of Majesty,” Mediter-
ranea: ricerca storica 49 (2020): 445–468.
3. Anonymous woodcut map on f. 1v of El Successo de la Grandissima
Impresa fata da la Cesarea Maiesta soto de Tunesi et la Presa de Golletta,
15 July 1535 [s.l.] It is a humble copy after the print map by Agostino
de’ Musi known as Agostino Veneziano (Rome, 1535). See Charles
Monchicourt, “Essai bibliographique sur les plans imprimés de Tripoli,
Djerba et Tunis-Goulette au XVIe siècle et Note sur un plan d’Alger,”
Revue Africaine 66 (1925): 404–406. For maps of Tunis in general,
see Juan Batista Vilar, Mapas, planos, y fortificaciones hispánicos de Túnez
s.XVI-XIX (Madrid: Instituto de Cooperación con el Mundo Árabe,
1991).
4. Sylvie Deswarte-Rosa, “L’expédition de Tunis (1535): images, interpré-

tation, répercussions culturelles,” Chrétiens et musulmans à la Renais-
sance, eds. Bartolomé Bennassar and Robert Sauzet (Paris: Champion,
1998), pp. 75–132.
5. Jean Leon, Historiale Description de l’Afrique, Tierce Partie du Monde
(Lyon: Temporal, 1556), Bk 5, p. 277. Natalie Zemon Davis suggests
that Hassan al-Wazzan may have known Muley al-Hassan in Tunis in the
1540s, see Trickster Travels: A Sixteenth-Century Muslim between Worlds
(New York: Hill and Wang, 2006), pp. 251–252, 254; ibid., “Leone
Africano Describes Africa to Europeans,” Revealing the African Presence
in Europe, ed. Joaneath Spicer (Baltimore: Walters Art Museum, 2012),
pp. 61–79.
6. See Ross E. Dunn, The Adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler
of the 14th Century (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986),
p. 36; Bernard Doumerc, Vénise et l’émirate hafside de Tunis (1231–
1535) (Paris, 1999); Celine Dauverd, Imperial Ambition in the Early
Modern Mediterranean: Genoese Merchants and the Spanish Crown (New
York: Cambridge University Press, 2014); and Alan James Fromherz,
Near West: Medieval North Africa, Latin Europe, and the Mediterranean
in the Second Axial Age (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2016).
7. Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Practising Diplomacy in the Mamluk Sultanate:
Gifts and Material Culture in the Medieval Islamic World (London and
New York: I. B. Tauris, 2014), pp. 53–57.
8. David Abulafia, “From Tunis to Piombino: Piracy and Trade in the
Tyrrhenian Sea, 1397–1472,” The Experience of Crusading: Defining
the Crusader Kingdom, eds. Peter Edbury and Jonathan Phillips, vol.
2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), pp. 275–297, on
p. 296.
9. Jacopo Russo, Archivio di Stato di Firenze, carte nautiche 12. See
Roberto Almagià, “I lavori cartografici di Pietro e Jacopo Russo,” Atti
Accademia Nazionale Lincei, Rendiconti Classe Sc. Morali, Storiche e
Filologiche 12 (1957): 301–319; Conradino Astengo, “The Renaissance
Chart Tradition in the Mediterranean,” History of Cartography Volume
3. Cartography in the European Renaissance, ed. David Woodward
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007), Part 1, pp. 174–262.
10. Rosalind Mack, From Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art
1300–1600 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), pp. 15, 20,
23, 66.
11. Jonathan M. Bloom, Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and
the Iberian Peninsula, 700–1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press,
2020), pp. 214–234.
60 C. L. BASKINS
12. Francesco Cerone, “La politica orientale di Alfonso di Aragona: Le

relazioni e le alleanze Africane,” Archivio storico per le province napoletane
27: 2 (1902): 380–424, see pp. 410–413.
13. Cerone (1902), pp. 415–416.
14. Cerone (1902), p. 415, Alfonso then paid their way to Palermo.
15. George L. Hersey, The Aragonese Arch at Naples 1443–1475 (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 1973), p. 53. See also Sergio Bertelli,
The King’s Body: Sacred Rituals of Power in Medieval and Early Modern
Europe, trans. R. Burr Litchfield (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State
University Press, 2001), pp. 71, 74, 78, 95. The same scene was painted
in fresco by Belisario Corenzio in the Royal Palace of Naples, 1630.
16. Cerone (1902), p. 421, “giubba di fustanella, una veste, ed una
berretta.”
17. Cerone (1902), p. 423, “…canne sei palmi iiij di grana morata di florenza
per fare ij jube longhe alj mori Ambaxatori di Re di Tunisi…Item per
fare ij cappette a lj ij mori prope dicte Turquesca canne vij. Item per
forratura di lj ij jube prope dicte Russo canne sej palmi.”
18. Manuela Bernabè, “Giovanni Donadio da Mormanno e l’arte organaria a
Napoli tra 1400 e 1500,” Napoli e l’Europa: Gli strumenti, i costruttori
e la musica per organo dal XV al XX secolo. Atti del Convegno Inter-
nazionale di Studi Battipaglia, 12–14 novembre 2004, eds. Luigi Sisto
and Emanuele Cardi (Salerno: Accademia Organistica Campana, 2005),
pp. 119–131, on p. 120.
19. Abulafia (2003), p. 296. For Uthman’s dealings with Ferrara, see Beat-
rice Saletti, “Imitation Games. Some Notes on the Envoys sent by Borso
d’Este to Uthman, Ruler of Tunis,” Legatio. The Journal for Renaissance
and Early Modern Diplomatic Studies 4 (2020): 75–93.
20. Federico Odorici and Michele Amari, Lettere inedite di Mulay Hassan
e Ferrante Gonzaga vicerè di Sicilia, 1537–1547 (Modena: Atti e
memorie delle R.R. Deputazioni di storia patria modenesi e parmensi,
1865), vol. 3, pp. 115–192. Houssem Eddine Chachia and Cristelle
Baskins, “Ten Hafsid Letters (1535–1536) from the General Archive
of Simancas (Spain) Respecting the Political Situation in Tunisia after
the 1535 Defeat of the Ottomans and the Restoration of Hafsid Rule,”
Hespéris-Tamuda 56 (2021): 427–438.
21. Vavassore’s map recently entered the collection of the Newberry Library
in Chicago: map4F, G8254 T8S4 V35. The Italian text reads: “La presa
de Tunesi con la Goletta, fatta da Carlo Quinto Imperatore, 1535.”
For the printmaker, see Natalie Lussey, “Staying Afloat: The Vavassore
Workshop,” kunsttexte.de 2 (2017): online, www.kunsttexte.de.
22. On Don Luis, see Sylvie Deswarte-Rosa, “Espoir et désespoir de l’Infant
D. Luís,” Mare Liberum 3 (1991): 243–298.
23. Paolo Giovio, letter of 6 June 1535, in Damiano Muoni, Tunisi: Spedi-
zione di Carlo V Imperatore 30 Maggio – 17 Agosto 1535 (Milan:
Giuseppe Bernardoni, 1876), p. 62. “La rocha e poco manco che la
rocha vostra di Milano, per esser con horti e portici et piazze, fornita
più a delitie che ad uso di guerra.” See Deswarte-Rosa (1998), pp. 83,
86.
24. Jean Leon (1556), pp. 280–281.
25. See Michael Lower, “The Papacy and Christian Mercenaries of
Thirteenth-Century North Africa,” Speculum 89.3 (July 2014): 601–
631; Gennaro Varriale, “I cavalieri dell’emiro: La comunità rebattina
sulle due sponde del mediterraneo,” Estudis 36 (2010): 133–158;
ibid., “Lugares paralelos: moros pero cristianos,” Escrituras silenciadas:
el paisaje como historiografía, eds. José F. Forniés Casals and Paulina
Numhauser (Alcalá de Henares, 2013), pp. 361–379. For Muslim honor
guards in Europe, see Hussein Fancy, The Mercenary Mediterranean:
Sovereignty, Religion, and Violence in the Medieval Crown of Aragon
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016).
26. Varriale (2010), pp. 139, 155.
27. Varriale (2013), pp. 365–366, quoting Luis del Mármol Carvajal.
28. Jean Leon (1556), p. 278: “La plus grande partie des bâtimens, est
de pierres de taille d’assez belle môntre, & use l’òn fort de musaïque
au plancher des maisons, merveilleusment bien entaillé, dépeint avec
azur, & autres riches couleurs…puis sont pavées les chambres de pierres
émaillées, & reluisantes, & les cours d’autres pierres carées, & vives.”
29. Brunschvig (1940), vol. 1, p. 356: “Adorne, décrivant le Bardo, y
signalait la longue et large rue murée qui aboutissait à la porte d’entrée
principale. ‘Cette rue, disait-il, a un demi-mille ou plus de longueur; sur
chacun de ses côtés s’élèvent de grandes et magnifiques demeures royales,
au nombre de six. C’est par cette voie que le roi, traversant les jardins,
se rend dans ces demeures, du moins lorsqu’il veut se montrer; s’il ne
veut pas se faire voir, il parcourt à pied ou à cheval de vastes souterrains,
si larges que six cavaliers peuvent y passer de front pour se rendre d’une
maison à l’autre.’”
30. Jean Leon (1556), p. 279: “Quant aux iardins, ils sont quasi en infinité
remplis d’orangers, citrons, roses, fleurs gentiles, & souëves, mémement
en un lieu appellé Bardo, là ou sont les iardins, & maisons de plaisance
du Roy, fabriquées avec une architecture, non moins industrieuse, que
superbe: enrichie d’entailles, & peintures des plus fines couleurs.”
31. Alonso de Sanabria, Comentarios e guerra de Túnez, Escorial MS 1937,
f. 172v: “Tiene el rey quatro jardines que se disen la Mexia, Araez
Tapia [Restabia, Ras al-Tayba], Bardo, la Bornosa [Abu Fihr?]: en ellos
muchos morados de pasa t[em]po a casas de su recreacion que nengun
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señor Christiano las puede tener mejores aunque entre Belvedere lugar
en Roma edificado para recreacion de los sumos pontifices.”
32. Anon., “Relación de lo que sucedió en la conquista de Túnez y la Goleta,
1535,” In Colección de documentos inéditos para la historia de España,
eds. Martín Fernández Navarrete, Miguel Salva, and Pedro Sainz de
Baranda, vol. I (Madrid, 1842), pp. 159–206; pp. 161–162: “Al pie
desta montaña á la banda de Puerto Farina esta el jardin del Rey que
es una huerta muy grande y muy llena de todas las aguas y frescuras
que un jardin require, y en ella una casa con muy muchos aposentos y
muy ricamente labrados, obra hecha de los Reyes de Túnez cuando mas
sosegados y poderosos estaban.”
33. Jean Leon (1556), pp. 281–282: “Mais la diference est fort grand quant
à la maniere de vivre des Roys passés, & de celuy-cy, qui regne à
present: pourautant qu’il est d’autre nature, coutume, & gouvernemen-
t…qu’il est merveilleusment subtil à retirer deniers de ses suiets, partie
desquels il distribue aux Arabes, & partie il employe à la fabrique de
ses palais, & édifices: là ou il demeure en grande volupté entre chantres,
menetriers, & femmes, qui savent chanter, se transportant d’heure à autre
à ses chateaux & iardins plaisans, & solacieux. Puis quand quelquun veût
chanter en sa presence, il se fait bander les yeux, comme quand l’on
veût bailler le chaperon aus faucons, & puis entre là, ou les dames sont
l’attendans.”
34. Giovio, Historie (1554), Bk 33, f. 327: “…publicamente diceva male
di Mahomete suo padre, come donnesco & effeminate, il quale
consumando tutto il thesoro reale haveva fatto spese grandi, per
mantenere dugento donne insieme per (i)sfogar la lussuria ne giardini
reali…”
Domenichi (Venice: Giovan Maria Bonelli, 1560), Bk 44, p. 743:
“Diceano i famigliari suoi, che non era ci si potesse paragonar con lui
nella virtu del cavalcare, & nella maestria dell’armi, & con adulatione
lo vantavano, inquanto appartenea all onore dell’arte della caccia, che in
pochi anni, ch’egli era stato Re, con la lancia a cavallo egli havea morto
nelle selve piu di 200 leoni comati, le cui pelli secchi, & piene di paglia a
somiglianza de vivi, et in testimonio del suo valore, come ornamenti, &
trofei d’onoratissimo esercitio, che tien della militia, si veggono nelle
grandissime loggie de’suoi giardini.”
36. Giovio, Historie (1554) Bk 34, ff. 382v–383r: “In questo sacco della
rocca [citadel] pianse Muleasse tre danni d’incomparabil perdita; prima i
libri Arabici, i quali messasi sottosopra et sacchegiata la libreria andarono
male. V’erano in questa libreria antichissimi libri, che contenevano non
pure i precetti di tutte le scienze, ma anchora i fatti dei Re passati, & le
dichiaratione della superstione Mahometana, i quali il Re poi udendolo io
hebbe a dire, che se fosse stato possibile, volentier gli havrebbe riscatati
con la valuta d’una città.”
37. Sanabria, Comentarios, f. 173; Deswarte-Rosa (1998), p. 129.
38. Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, Guerra de Granada (Madrid: Luis Trib-
aldo de Toledo, 1610), p. 3; see Erika Spivakovsky, The Son of the
Alhambra. Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 1504–1575 (Austin: Univer-
sity of Texas Press, 1970), p. 55.
39. Rubén González Cuerva and Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra, Túnez
1535: voces para una campaña europea (Madrid: Polifemo, 2017),
pp. 96–97: “Y por las mezquitas y templos de los moros gastaban y
rompían los libros y librerías, que habia muchos de su Ley muy bien
dorados y encuadernados, y escritos con letras de oro y de azul.”
40. Giovio, Historie (1554) Bk 34, f. 383: “Eravi poi una bottega di
profiumi & di drogherie d’India, nella quale con l’esempio di Mahomete
suo padre, havea ridotto con grandissima spesa, le richezze di Levante.
Percioche in vasi di piombo, e in cassette d’avorio havea riposte tanta
quantità d’ambra, & di zibeto (noi non sappiamo anchora i vocaboli
antichi di queste cose) per adoprargli di continuone bagni, & per
profumare le camere di & note, che valeva grandissima somma di denar-
i…Ultimamente, v’erano diverse sorti di colori finissimi da dipingere &
grandissima valuta, i quali pazzamente furono stracurati & dissipati
da ignoranti schiavi & soldati, i quali cercavano solamente spoglie di
presente & manifesto guadagno. Percioche furono trovati negli armari
molti monti di oltramarino, che fa il color turchino, & dagli autori Greci
si chiama Lazurro, & molti sacchetti pieni di grana & della lacca Indiana,
i quali contrfanno il colore della porpora, & da pittori eccellenti, & da
tintori della lana & della seta si comprano caro. Et tutte queste cose
vituperosamente straciate non furono preda di nessuno.” This anecdote
probably led authors to exaggerate Muley al-Hassan’s use of ambergris,
which became a trope in later moralizing texts.
41. Jean Leon (1556), p. 279: “Les habitans ont coutume de manger
une certaine mistion nommée l’hasis, laquelle est fort chere: mais
ils n’en fauroyent avoir usé une once, quils se trouvent ioyeux à
merveilles, incités à ris mervueilleusment, surprins d’un apetit, & vouloir
de manger démesuré, tous transportés, & par telle maniere de viande
merveilleusement provoqués à paillardise.”
42. Giovio, Historie (1554), Bk 33, f. 331: “…che lasciò nella rocca l’oro, &
le gioie, & gli ornamenti reali, havendo riposte queste cose in luoghi
molto secreti, accioch’elle havessero poi a venire in man del nimico.”
43. F. Élie de la Primaudaie, Documents inédits sur l’histoire de l’occupation
espagnole en Afrique (1506–1574) (Algiers, 1875), pp. 257–258.
44. Anon., “Inventario de varios efectos que partenecieron al Rey de Túnez,”
Revista de Archivos, Bibliotecas, y Museos 5 (1875): 379–384, 396–397;
64 C. L. BASKINS
Pedro de Madrazo and Rudolf Beer, “Über Krönungsinsignien und

Staatsgewänder Maximilian I. und Karl V. und ihr Schicksal in Spanien,”
Kunsthistorische Sammlungen des Allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses 9 (1889):
446–464, p. 452; Rudolf Beer,“Acten, Regesten und Inventare aus
dem Archivo General zu Simancas,” Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen
Sammlungen des Allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses 12 (1891): XCI–CCIV; José
Ignacio Tellechea Idígoras, “El tesoro de Muley Hasan. De Túnez a
Málaga, 1554,” Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia 20 (2004):
411–423; and Fernando Checa Cremades, “The Period of Charles V.
Collections and Inventories of the House of Austria,” in The Inventories
of Charles V and the Imperial Family, ed. Fernando Checa Cremades,
vol. 1 (Madrid: Valverde, 2010), pp. 70, 74.
45. Almudena Pérez de Tudela and Annemarie Jordan Gschwend, “Renais-
sance Menageries: Exotic Animals and Pets at the Habsburg Courts in
Iberia and Central Europe,” Early Modern Zoology: The Construction of
Animals in Science, Literature, and the Visual Arts, eds. Karl Enenkel
and Paul J. Smith (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2007), pp. 419–447.
46. See Chapter 3.
47. Pérez de Tudela and Gschwend (2007), p. 434.
48. Alternative spellings include Chairedin, Hayreddin, and Ariadenus.
49. For the siege of Tunis, see Kenneth Meyer Setton, The Papacy and the
Levant 1204–1571, vol. 3 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society,
1984), pp. 394–449; James D. Tracy, Emperor Charles V, Impresario of
War: Campaign Strategy, International Finance, and Domestic Politics
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002), pp. 145–157.
50. See Iacobo Bonvisi, Copia de una lettera venuta da Saragosa: delle nove
dello racquisto del Reame de Tunisi, & assedio de Barbarossa: & liber-
ation de Schiavi Christiani de detta provincia (Rome: Antonio Blado,
1534). Andrea Doria’s letters to Charles V in November 1534, mention
an envoy being sent to encourage the king of Tunis to resist Barbarossa;
see Memorial Historico Español, vol. 6 (Madrid: Real Academia de la
Historia, 1853), p. 519; finally, Luis del Mármol Carvajal identified
Muley al-Hassan’s envoy as a Genoese renegade; see Libro Tercero y
Segundo Volumen de la primera parte de la descripcion general de Africa
(Granada: Rene Rabut, 1573), II, Bk 6, f. 247v.
51. Charles V, letter of 14 November 1535 in Memorial Histórico Español,
vol. 6 (Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia, 1853), Document
appendix, pp. 516–517.
52. In Fra Prudencio de Sandoval, Historia del Vida y Hechos del Emperador
Carlos V , vol. 2 (Antwerp: Geronimo Verdussen, 1681), pp. 145–150:
“…que por esta tal ayuda y socorro quedassen nuestros tributaries, ò
otra alguna condicion, y obligacion en reconocimiento del beneficio.” In
making this stipulation, was Charles thinking about the historical prece-
dent of Abu Ishaq Ibrahim of Tunis who became the vassal of Pedro IV
of Aragon in 1360? See Brunschvig (1940), vol. 1, p. 182.
53. Charles V, letter of 14 December 1534 in Memorial Histórico Español,
pp. 520–521: “Y pues no es justo que un Rey, tan antiguo y de tan noble
sangre, con tener tantos y tan nobles cavalleros como sois los Alarbes se
pierda su suelo y memoria, y el reyno con vosotros, é que vosotros que
sois la nobleza mauretana seias fechos esclavos é sugetos de gente tan
cruel, tirana é superba…” Giovio, Historie (1554), Bk 34, f. 371v, also
notes ancient, noble blood.
54. María J. Rodríguez Salgado, “Carolus Africanus?: el Emperador y el
turco,” Carlos V y la quiebra del humanismo político en Europa (1530–
1558), ed. José Martínez Millán, vol. 1 (Madrid: Sociedad estatal para
la conmemoración de los centenarios de Felipe II y Carlos V, 2001),
pp. 487–531.
55. Mercedes García Arenal and Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra, Los españoles
y el norte de África: siglos XV-XVIII (Madrid: Mapfre, 1992); Beatriz
Alonso Acero, Sultanes de Berbería en tierras de la cristianidad. exilio
musulmán, conversión y asimilación en la monarquía hispánica, siglos
XVI-XVII (Barecelona: Bellaterra, 2006).
56. Charles V letter to the Marquis of Cañete and Viceroy of Navarre, dated
30 June 1535 in Sandoval (1681), vol. 2, pp. 184–187: “El Rey de
Tunez no a hasta agora embiado à nos, ni tenemos certinidad donde se
halle, aunque dizien, que esta cerca de aqui, por algunos Moros de los
que se cautivaron, que e mandado libertar, para esto le hecho entender
mi venida con esta armada, y exercitio, y aun no tengo respuesta suya,
ni se entiende lo que querra hazer.”
57. Letter from Giorgio Andrea in Tunis to Francesco Sforza in Milan, dated
27 June 1535, in Muoni (1876), p. 73: “Che Sua Maestà, havendo
alquanto sospetto lo soprascritto moro, gli aveva detto: o fosse mandato
da Barbarossa o dal re de Tunesi, o da chi si fosse, intimasse a tutti che
Essa non era venuta per avidità di quello regno, ne per occuparlo altrui,
ma provocata dalle incursioni fatte da Barbarossa et per la liberatione de
Christiani et delli altri…et che se el re de Tunesi ricurrerà a Sua Maestà
gli serà clementissima, et si vorrà anche guerra seco, accordandosi con
Barbarossa, faralla ad ambi duoj.”
58. Letter from Charles V to Lope de Soria, ambassador in Venice, 29 June
1535, in the Corpus documental de Carlos V , ed. Manuel Fernández
Álvarez, vol. 1 (Salamanca, 1973), p. 431.
59. Perrenin in González Cuerva and Bunes Ibarra (2017), p. 77: “Y les
dio cien doblones en don, con muchos atavíos ricos de oro y de seda
para mostrar la liberalidad de Su Majestad.” But Gallarati, writing to
Francesco Sforza on June 23, 1535, says that Charles warned the envoy
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to stop lying and then gave him only a “piece of brocade.” See Muoni
(1876), p. 68.
60. Perrenin in González Cuerva and Bunes Ibarra (2017), p. 77: “De los
cuales, los dos eran moros loros y el uno negro, ataviados a su manera
y costumbre, y traían unas lanzas largas sobre el hombre y las cimitaras
colgando al lado, y un puñal atado al brazo, vestidos de un pellejo largo
amarillo.”
61. The Museo Stibbert in Florence calls manuscript 2025, Costumes of the
Time of Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and King of
Spain, of Costumes of all Nations of the World. See Katherine Bond,
“Mapping Culture in the Habsburg Empire: Fashioning a Costume Book
in the Court of Charles V,” Renaissance Quarterly 71 (2018): 530–
579; and Teresa Mezquita Mesa, “El Códice de Trajes de La Biblioteca
Nacional de España,” Goya 346 (2014): 16–41. In the Madrid album,
the same scene appears on f. 14v and f. 15r.
62. González Cuerva (2020).
63. Sandoval (1681), p. 187. See Letter from Charles to ambassador Lope
de Soria, Corpus documental, p. 432.
64. In May of 1534, Muley al-Hassan had written to Charles offering to
send his young daughter to serve the empress, Isabella; see Miguel Ángel
de Bunes Ibarra, “Vermeyen y los tapices de la ‘Conquista de Túnez’,”
Historia y representación La imagen de la guerra en el arte de los antiguos
Países Bajos, ed. Bernardo José García García (Madrid: Complutense
University, 2006), pp. 95–134, on p. 132; González Cuerva (2020),
p. 451; and Eloy Martín Corrales, Muslims in Spain, 1492–1814. Living
and Negotiating in the Land of the Infidel (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2021),
pp. 116–118.
65. Émile Gachet, “Expédition de Charles-Quint contre Tunis, en 1535,”
in Compte-rendu des séances de la commission royale d’histoire 8 (1844):
7–54; on p. 18.
66. Muoni (1876), pp. 68, “In quello stesso giorno 28 [Giugno] arrivano
tre ambasicatori del Moro colle loro credenziali, annunciando che, in
esso dì o all’indomani, il Re moro sarebbe giunto solo con 200 cavalli,
colla moglie, coi figli, ch’egli avrebbe ceduto in ostaggio di S. M., per
assicurarla della sua fede…”
67. Giovio, Lettere volgari, ff. 79r–79v: “& più, vengono i Mori a portar
vettovaglia, poiche il Re Muleassen è venuto. A XXVIII essendo andati
avanti, & tornati gli ambasciattori del prefato Re di Tunisi, esso Re arrivò
in campo con trecento cavalli. Cesare fece porre in ordinanza il campo,
la corte in ala, & per si misè in sedia nel padiglione. Uscì, havendo
mandato il Duca d’Alba incontro al Re & fati, otto passi, lo ricevuto
humanamente. Esso baciò la spalla a Cesare, & s’assettò in terra; & si fece
vassallo, & rimandò i suoi, restando con pochi alloggiando con Mons.
di Prato.” On Lodowijck van Praet (1488–1555), Flemish knight of

the Golden Fleece, ambassador, and favorite of the emperor, see Muoni
(1876), p. 45.
68. Caption: Le Roy de Thunis en Affricque/ ville gisante chez la renommée
ville de Carthage/ expertement poutraict au [vif] avecq tel habit et estant
qu’il estoit faisant sa complainte en toutte humilite et reverence/ au tres
victorieux et tr[ès] chrestien Empereur/ et Roy Charles cincquiesme de
ce nom/ toujours Auguste/ comment Barbarossa le tirant/ et Lieu-
tenant du grant Turcq en Affricque l’avoit dechassé de son Royaulme et
pays. Lequel Roy la [tente?] Impériale tres honnourablement et dobon-
nairement a recheu. Et mesme en personne avecq plusieurs Ducques/
et grans Maistres/ ensamble grosse armée à cheval et à pied/ esquip-
pant Despaigne vers Affricque/ et decha le chien enragé Barbarosse/ a
remis et restabli en son Royaulme et pays de Thunis/ en l’an de nostre
Seigneur/ M.CCCCC. et XXXV. Imprimé en Anvers sur le pont du
Camerport par Sylvestre de Paris.
69. Anon., Vera descrittione della potentissima armata, et vittoria cesarean
fatta in Africa (s.l. s.d.), ff. 23r–23v: “Cosi parlava il miser Re scacciato,
et spesso con la lagrima & sospiri, interrompea la voce, luce & fiato,
disacerbando i suoi longhi martiri, fu accetto a Carlo, & co l’aspetto
grato vuol che’l felice essercitio suo miri…Commanda Carlo che sia
accarrezato, il detto Re, qual vede di buon core, et mostra a ognun
d’haverlo molt’ a grato, tal che studia ciascun di farlo honore.”
70. Cerezeda, Tratado, p. 39: “Y asimismos los señores cristianos que con
el Emperador estaban, habian tomado algunos caballeros moros, y llevá-
dolos á sus tiendas, haciendolos servir muy cumplidamente, y cada señor
queria vestir á los que tenía consigo de su devisa, mas el Emperador no
se lo consintio, porque no se gastasen los señores á porfía los unos de
los otros para quien más ricamente los vestiria.”
71. Giovio, Historie (1554), Bk 34, f. 371v.
72. Giovio, Historie (1554), Bk 34, f. 372: “quando l’imperatore porgen-
dogli la mano, humanamente l’abbraccio.” The virtue of Humanità will
feature prominently in the triumphal entries discussed in Chapter 3.
73. Toussaint Muissart in Gachet (1844), p. 22: “Ledit empereur après ce,
incontinent lui présenta sa main, laquelle ledit roy la prinst et baisa, puis
soubit le baisa en la fache, de quoy les gens de l’Empereur furent moult
esmerveilliés.”
74. González Cuerva and Bunes Ibarra (2017), p. 81: “Y fue recibido el
rey tan humanamente mas por piedad y mancilla y por honestidad y
modestia y virtud y clemencia de Su Majestad Imperial que por ayuda
que el pudiese hacer en la dicha empresa.”
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75. Cerezeda, Tratado, p. 39: “Tuviese en guardia la persona del Rey Muley-
Hacen, como fuese tan plático en la lingua arábiga, y así fué hecho como
por el Emperador le fué mandado.”
76. Giovio, Historie (1554), Bk 34, f. 372: “Et desiderando egli di vedere
il campo, amorevolmente glie le mostrarono, accioche con gli occhi
propri vedesse…quanta esperienza di guerra mostravano in loro tante
fanterie, diversissime non pur di lingua, ma d’aspetto di volto, & d’habito
d’armi…” See also Francisco López de Gómara, Guerras de mar del
Emperador Carlos V , eds. Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra and Nora Edith
Jiménez (Madrid: Sociedad estatal para la conmemoración de los cente-
narios de Felipe II y Carlos V, 2000), p. 170. “…soldados, y no de una
lengua.”
77. González Cuerva and Bunes Ibarra (2017), p. 87: “…aunque siempre
retenía en sí alguna majestad real.”
78. Giovio, Historie (1554), Bk 34, f. 372: “Et non molto dapoi i capitani
venuti seco a ragionamenti secreti, & diligentemente domandandonelo,
intesero dal Re molte cose necessarie a sapersi intormo alla guerra…”
79. González Cuerva and Bunes Ibarra (2017), p. 126: “El rey de Berbería
y sus caballeros tenían que hacer un torneo enfrente del Emperador y
del rey de Portugal, en el cual los moros blancos montaron todos sin
pantalones, pero en vestidos largos y muchas veces descalzos, incluso el
rey mismo.”
80. Giovio, Historie (1554), Bk 34, f. 372: “…che volle esser veduto in spet-
tacolo a cavallo, quando maneggiando benissimo una zagaglia lunga, &
con essa tirando colpi innanzi e indietro, s’essercitio mirabilmente, &
mostrava d’haver caro d’andare co nostri a combattere da vero.”
81. Anon., Relación (Madrid, 1842), pp. 159–206; on p. 163: “Y Barbarossa
respondió como burlando dél ¡ó cornudo! todavía eres Cristiano: pues
sábete que sí desharé.”
82. Anon., La Copia de la littera venuta da Tuneci con li ordini & provisione
fatte, dal Barbarossa, In la prefata Cipta. Et la gionta de la Maesta
Cesarea, con la preda fata da la sua potentissima Armata, 20 June 1535
[s.l.], f. 3.
83. Lodovico Dolce, Stanze di M. Lodovico Dolce. Composte nella vittoria
Africana novamente havuta dal Sacratissimo Imperatore Carolo Quinto
(Genoa: Antonio Bellon, 1535), f. 10v, “Fece di prima gir publico
bando per la citta, che chi partir volesse de Christiani, sen parta al suo
commando nel spatio di tre giorni a chi piacesse restar, se ne restasse.”
84. Anon., Gli successi della presa della Goletta (Rome: 23 July 1535), f. 3v:
“Crede ser che l’esercito dell’Imperatore non veniva, se non per saccheg-
giarli, & farli schiavi, & fare Christiani per forza, & chel Re lo era gia
Christiano, & prima di all’hora s’era fatto tributario a Christiani.”
85. Anon., Gli successi, f. 3v: “Sua Maesta in parlamento col Rè di Tunisi
gli disse qualmente vedea che per la poca mutotione fatta da Tunisi era
nessario andassi là, dove giunto desiderava sapere se lui havea dentro
alcun parente, o ver amico, à cui e gli devesse o desiderasse di salvarlo,

che commandaria non gli fusse dato nocumento & che se gli aria
risguardo. A questo rispose il Rè che sua Maesta facesse quanto piu le
piacea, & quanto convenia alla Grandezza sua, che dentro non tenea
alcun amico, che se amico suo fora dentro gia seria uscito fora adstar
seco.”
86. Anon, La Copia de la littera venuta da Tuneci, f. 4r: “non he possibile
che esso possi durare essendo assediato da una banda da Christiani, &
da laltra da il Re vecchio de Tunici.”
87. “The Emperor to his Ambassador in France, from Tunis, July 24, 1535,”
in Papiers d’État du Cardinal de Granvelle d’après les manuscrits de la
bibliothèque de Besançon, ed. Charles Weiss, vol. 2 (Paris: Imprimerie
Royale, 1841), p. 364.
88. González Cuerva and Bunes Ibarra (2017), pp. 89–90.
89. Muoni (1876), p. 80: “I cavalli se aspettavano in nostra favore et altri
Alarbi erano passati dal Barbarossa.”
90. Sandoval (1681), vol. 2, pp. 198–199: “Porque à el Rey no solamente
no le acudieron los Alarbes con quien tratava y esperava, que siendo
ganada la Goleta no le avian de faltar: mas ni aun los Moros que con
este efecto tenia por ciertos, con los quales si le acudieran siendo por nos
favorecidos pudiera ser restituydo en el Reyno.” See Letter from Charles
to Lope de Soria, 25 July 1535, Corpus documental, p. 438.
91. Giovio, Historie (1554) Bk 34, f. 382: “…i Tunisini non havevano quasi
nessun sospetto d’esser trattati come nimici, & con grandissime grida
indarno si raccomandavano alla fede di Muleasse.” See David Kunzle,
“Vermeyen’s Tapestry Series on the Conquest of Tunis by Charles V,”
From Criminal to Courtier: the Soldier in Netherlandish Art 1550–1672
(London/Boston: Brill, 2002), pp. 63–80; Anne-Lise Richard, “Charles
Quint et le sac de Tunis, dans quelques chroniques européennes du XVIe
siècle,” Cahiers de l’événement (2015): online. https://dire.hypotheses.
org/52.
92. Francesco Miranda, Copia d’una lettera diretta alla Signora Julia
Gonzaga Colonna. In laquale si contiene. La presa della Goletta con tutte
le sue particolarita etc. … Data in Tunisi a di 7 di Agosto 1535 (Rome:
Antonio Blado, 15 July 1535), f. 3v: “il Re di Tunisi il quale promesse
à Sua Maestà 500 mila ducati perche la Città non si saccheggiassi, et sua
Maiesta rispose che non se posseva far’ perche haveva promesso el sacco
alli soldati, & et non poteva mancarlo…”
93. Anon.; Copia delli avisi venuti di Barbaria della presa della Goletta colli
particulari del numero delle Arteglierie & navili presi & homini morti.
[s.l.] (19 July 1535), f. 2: “…lo exercito e tanto disideroso del sacho di
Tunesi che anchor che dispiace al Re fuoruscito sel si prendera perforza;
penso che sua maesta non potra remediare dicto sacho.”
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94. Sigismondo Pauluzio, Notte d’Aphrica (Messina: Petruzo Spira, 1535),

f. 64: “mosso ai prieghi del Re mosso al giusto animo suo clemente alto
e fedele.” Paulucci was from Spoleto and he wrote the poem for Leonora
Gonzaga, the Ducchess of Urbino.
95. Anon., Gli successi della presa della Goletta (Rome: 23 July 1535), f. 4:
“Sua M. fece far un Bando terribile che niun soldato de qual conditione
grado che sia, non dovesse violar Donne del sorte alcuna, et si perche il
Saccho non procedesse piu oltra.”
96. Dolce, Stanze, f. 23: “Come si saccheggio la Terra, e come /hebber la
preda i Schiavi del Castello, / per non offender piu si chiaro nome, /
con le mie rime: io non canto e favello. / L’alta materia di piu docte
chiome/ degna: e di stile piu sonoro e bello/ lodando il vero obietto de
la Croce/ forse altri cantera con miglior voce.”
97. Perrenin in González Cuerva and Bunes Ibarra (2017), pp. 21 and 97:
“Y fue hecho el saco de consentimiento y querer del rey de Túnez,
viendo que los moradores y ciudadanos no habían hecho su deber con
él, aunque habian conocido el suceso de la armada.”
98. Guldi in González Cuerva and Bunes Ibarra (2017), pp. 131–132.
99. Miranda, Copia d’una lettera, f. 3v: “Anchora si trovarono in detta
Alchazzava grande infinita di gioie & drappi d’oro, & seta, & vesti di
diversi, & piu habiti & sorte, e altre cose che Barbarossa non ha possute
portar seco perche la magior, & miglior parte di sue richezze, erono
rinchiuse li.”
100. Anon, Relación (Madrid, 1842), p. 205: “Otras muchas cosas se
hubieron de joyas y cosas de valor grande así en la tierra como en el
castillo, porque se hubo toda la ropa de aquellos capitanes y Barbaroja…”
101. Licenciado Arcos, “Historia de Túnez y su conquista por el Emperador
Carlos V,” Biblioteca Nacional de España, Ms. 19441, f. 104r: “Hal-
lóse mucha cantidad de lino de alexandría que es muy fino…, muchas
mercaderías de todas cosas, mucha especia y tiendas de trapería, droguería
con mucho Ruibarvo, dineros oro y plata y mucha Ropa de finos paños,
sedas y brocados y algodón, lana y cera marlotas y otras vestiduras,
cortinas de seda y muchas colchas de seda y alhombras y mantas y otras
muchas cosas. Avía muchos dátiles y muchos higos pasados de que todos
los soldados se aprovecharon.” I thank Antonio Urquízar-Herrera for
providing me his transcription.
102. Muoni (1876), p. 82.
103. Anon.; Copia di una lettera dil. S. Don Ferrando Gonzaga mandata al
Yllustriss. e Reverendiss. S. Hercule Car. di Mantoa, suo fratello observan-
dissimo. De la presa de Tunizi, con tutte le particularità, che sonno seguite
di poi che la Maiesta C. si accampò a Tunisi. MDXXXV (Rome, 28 July
1535), f. 3: “Per relatione di tutti il sacco è stato universalmente assai
magro, sendosi trovate robbe di poca valuta, pur il fare de’ pregioni, &
la vendità de li schiavi (quantunque in non molta quantita, rispetto la

grandezza della terra) e stat oil meglio bottino d’ogni altra cosa.”
104. Tommaso Cambi in Paolo Giovio, Lettere di Principi, ed. Girolamo
Ruscelli, vol. 1 (Venice: Giordano Ziletti, 1562), p. 123: “In Tunisi s’è
trovato pochissima robba, & perciò i soldati non hanno potuto far molto
gran bottino…dicono la cagion del poco bottino essere stato, che quei
della Città quasi tutti se n’erano fuggiti con le donne, co i putti, & con
la roba, & con l’essercito, che uscì con Barbarossa…”
105. Sanabria, Comentarios, f. 175: “No queria el Rey moro dar fin a nada,
se dubdava firmarlos. Hallose tambien que avia falsado de los hechos la
major parte. De esta causa el emperador embio a llamarle el qual primera
e segunda vez dilato su venida.”
106. See Hendrik J. Horn, Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen: Painter of Charles V
and his Conquest of Tunis. Paintings, Etchings, Drawings, Cartoons and
Tapestries (Dornsprijk: Davaco, 1989), vol. 1, pp. 130–131, 164. for
other depictions of the signing of the treaty: (1) Vermeyen tapestry #11,
from the set woven by Willem de Pannemaker in Brussels 1549–1554;
(2) An anonymous painted copy of the Vermeyen composition, ca. 1555,
now in the Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg; (3) Frans Hogenberg’s
print series after the Vermeyen tapestries, published in Köln, ca. 1570.
To this group may be added Niccolò dell’Abbate, Charles V and the Bey
of Tunis, oil on canvas, ca. 1550, Courtauld Institute of Art, London.
107. See Primitivo Mariño, Tratados internacionales de España. Carlos V.
II. Tratados con el Norte de Africa (Madrid: Consejo Superior de
Investigaciones Científicas, 1980), pp. 42–52; Catherine Gaignard, “Un
bel exemple d’entente hispano-tunisienne, le traité du 6 août 1535
entre Charles Quint et Moulay Hasan,” Mélanges Louis Cardaillac,
ed. Abdeljelil Temimi (Zaghouan: Fondation Temimi pour la recherche
scientifique et l’information, 1995), vol. 1, pp. 319–328; Boubaker
(2011), p. 31.
108. For example, Anon.; Capitoli dello Appontamento fatto tra la Cesarea
Maesta dello Imperadore ed il Re di Tunisi. [s.l.] 1535.
109. Antoine de Perrenin; see MS n. 17,444, Bibliothèque royale de Brux-
elles: “Expédition de l’Empereur contre Barbarousse et Thunis, 1535,”
in Staatspapiere zur geschichte des kaisers Karl V. Aus dem Königlichen
archiv und der Bibliotheque de Bourgogne, ed. Karl Lanz (Stuttgart,
1845), pp. 535–581, on pp. 573–574: “…le dict roy dist qu’il estoit tres
content et satisfait du dict contenu ou dict traicte, et prenant son espée
qu’il portoit en escharpe la tira environ une palme hors de la gaigne,
puis mist la main sur l’armal, et jura par Mahoma, son grant prophete,
et son alcourant, qu’il observeroit et garderoit, et entièrement, tout le
dict traictie, selon que le dict trucheman le refera a sa dicte maieste
imperiale, laquelle aussi baisant sa main la mist contre la croix de l’abit
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d’ung commandeur et cheualier de l’orde de sainct Jacques, disant qu’il

juroit par celle, de aussi observer jcelluy traicte. Et après pluiseurs grans
merchiemens que le dict roy faisoit à sa dicte maieste avec parolles el
demonstrance, de luy demeurer très tenu et obligie de sa dicte maieste,
et de tons les conseilliers d’icelle y assistans; et aussi tous les Mores qui
estoient avec le dict roy vindrent baiser la main de sa dicte maieste. Et
ainsi s’en retournarent.”
For a copy of Perrenin’s account by the squire, Guillaume de Monto-
iche, see “Discours entier et au vrai du voyage de Thunes, fait par
l’empereur Charles cinquiesme, et son retour à la Visitation des roiaumes
de Secille et de Naples, avec description d’aucunes singularités et antiq-
uités qui sont en iceux,” in Collection des Voyages des souverains des
pays-bas, ed. M. Garchard et Piot (Brussels: Hayez, 1881), pp. 317–
400; oath of fealty on p. 370. For the connection between these two
texts, see also Auguste Castan “La conquête de Tunis en 1535. Racontée
par deux écrivains franche-comtois, Antoine Perrenin et Guillaume de
Montoiche,” Mémoires de la société d’émulation du Doubs 5 (1890):
259–320.
110. Hafsid coins or wax seals might have offered models for the script;
see Harry W. Hazard, The Numismatic History of Late Medieval North
Africa (New York, 1952), pp. 180–181 and plate 3. For inscribed
swords, see David G. Alexander, “Swords from Ottoman and Mamluk
Treasuries,” Artibus Asiae 66 (2006): 13–34; ibid., with Stuart W. Pyhrr
and Will Kwiatkowski, Islamic Arms and Armor in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art (New Haven: Yale University Press for the Metropolitan
Museum of Art).
111. Legajo 3509, n. 29, Archivo Histórico Nacional, Órdenes Militares,
Madrid. See González Cuerva and Bunes Ibarra (2017) p. 100: “…el
Rey dijo que era contento y satisfecho de lo contenido en el dicho
contrato y, tornando su espada que traía, la sacó cerca de un palmo
fuera de la vaina Y después, pasó la mano sobre el pomo y juró por
Mahoma, su gran profeta, y su Alcorán, que quedaría enteramente todo
lo contratado según que el faraute interpretó a Su Magestad.”
112. Commentarium seu potius diarium expeditionis Tuniceae a Carolo V
Imp., anno MDXXXV, susceptae (Louvain: Jacobus Batius, 1547), and
reprinted in Rerum à Carlo V , ed. Cornelis Schepper (Antwerp: John
Beller, 1554), f. 53: “Rex annuit cuncta sibi placere, eductoque, nonnibil
e[x] vagina gladio, que[?] altrinsecur ab humero pendentem gestabat,
admota manu chalybi, per Propheta[rum] suum Mahotemu[m], perque,
Alcoranum deierabat, se omnia bona fide & inviolate observaturum.”
113. López de Gómara (2000), p. 180: “Juró el Emperador de las guardar y
cumplir sobre un cruz de Santiago, besando primero la mano con que lo
tocó, y el rey por su Alcorán, tocando la guarnición de su espada que la
sacó un poco. El cual, dando las gracias a Su Majestad por tan grandes
mercedes, se volvió a Tunez como rey, pero no se puso corona, que al
veda el Alcoran de Mahoma.” Echoed by Sandoval (1681), p. 287: “…y
el Rey por su Alcoran tocando la guarnacion de su alfange que le sacó
un poco. Con esto Hazem quedó contento y obligado dando muchas
gracias al Emperador, por las grandes Mercedes que avia recivido, y se
bolvió á Túnez, donde fue recivido como Rey, pero no se puso corona,
que la veda el Alcoran de Mahoma.”.
114. Santa Cruz, Crónica, p. 292: “…y el dicho Rey con la solemnidad que
se acostumbraba entre los moros, de guardar y observar cada uno por
su parte todo lo contenido en la dicha capitulación y de no ir ni venir
contra ello en ningún tiempo.”
115. Sanabria, Comentarios, f. 178v.
116. Sanabria, Comentarios, f. 175v: “siempre guardava este rey estando
delante del emperador muchas cerimonias en señal de subjeccion.”
117. The Arabic version does not refer to vassalage but rather to bey’a;
see Boubaker (2011), pp. 35–37. Yet, Muley al-Hassan’s descendants
continued to behave as Habsburg vassals, to seek protection, and to
demand their allowances well into the seventeenth century; see Alonso
Acero (2006) pp. 137–151; Alberto Mannino, Gli Ultimi Hafsidi: Gli
Infanti di Tunisi e la comunità musulmana di Palermo tra il XVI e il
XVII secolo (Palermo, 2018); and Martín Corrales (2021), pp. 59–60,
114–121.
CHAPTER 3
Sovereign Display
We were pleased with your arrival in Rome and your triumphal entry…1
Letter from Muley al-Hassen to Charles V, 1 June 1536
The previous chapter concluded with King Muley al-Hassan restored

to his realm, sworn to be a faithful Habsburg vassal according to the terms
of the treaty. Immediately following their departure from North Africa,
the Emperor Charles V and his inner circle traveled across northern Sicily
and up the west coast of Italy, on a prolonged journey that lasted from
late summer of 1535 through the spring of 1536.2 The trip was intended
to give Charles an introduction to his Italian territories; it was also an
opportunity to celebrate the emperor’s military success through triumphal
entries with impressive iconographic programs. These festive events have
been studied extensively, but always with a focus on “Carlo Africano.”3
In this chapter, we return to the ephemeral material to see when and how
the King of Tunis was represented.4 We will see that triumphal entries
introduced Muley al-Hassan to Italian audiences as a legitimate sovereign,
worthy of the emperor’s military campaign to restore his rule. Although
the king remained behind in Tunis, his story and—at times—his “like-
ness” was made familiar to contemporaries in the festive entries staged
from Palermo to Lucca.

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05079-4_3
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Fig. 3.1 Jacopo Russo, Rex Tunisi, detail, Portolan, 1520, parchment, 105.5
× 67 cm. Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Carte Nautiche 12 (Credit: Ministero
della Cultura/Archivio di Stato di Firenze)
But how did the programmers and workshops producing these multi-
media events create an authoritative, convincing image of Muley al-
Hassan? While the king would have been known to officers, soldiers,
and other firsthand observers like the artist Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, he
was essentially unknown outside Tunis at this early date. Contemporaries
might have been familiar with generic “Rex Tunisi” figures found on
sixteenth-century nautical charts and maps (Fig. 3.1).
Letters, avvisi, and relazioni from the Tunis campaign must have
offered helpful details about Muley al-Hassan’s appearance, clothing, and
interactions with Charles.5 According to the Sevillian historian, Francisco
3 SOVEREIGN DISPLAY 77
López de Gómara: “[Muley al-Hassan] returned to Tunis as king, but

he did not put on a crown, [since] that is prohibited by the Qur’an of
Muhammad.”6 In fact, after 1311, Hafsid rulers did not wear crowns
although they recognized their significance.7 In accord with López de
Gómara’s assertion, none of the extant sixteenth-century portraits of the
King of Tunis features a crown, whether we look at examples of the
Vermeyen or the Versailles type.8 Yet, as we will see, in each of the four
major triumphal entries held in Cosenza, Naples, Rome, and Florence
ephemeral paintings conveyed a novel, unprecedented image of Muley
al-Hassan receiving a crown, scepter, or royal gifts. In actuality, no coro-
nation had taken place in Tunis. Thus, the crown served a symbolic
function in the specific and limited context of the Italian celebrations.
After the triumphal entries, we will consider the widespread circula-
tion of Hafsid goods brought back to Europe after the Sack of Tunis.
The spoils did not include any portraits of Muley al-Hassan that could
have been used in the staging of triumphal entries, but they did consist
of valuable items, including Qur’ans, garments, textiles, carpets, jewelry,
metalware, armor, and weapons. The display of these objects in Italian
courts and palaces sustained interest in the North African king who had
allied with Charles V. If some triumphal entries granted Muley al-Hassan
an impressive but ephemeral crown, these tangible reminders of the Tunis
campaign permanently joined the Hafsids and the Habsburgs in a shared
history. The chapter concludes by considering Muley al-Hassan’s political
situation in Tunis after the departure of the emperor and his troops.
Contesting the Crown:

Barbarossa and Muley al-Hassan
While many of the triumphal entries were commemorated in printed
pamphlets there are no contemporary printed images of the festival
decor.9 Starting in Sicily, most of the entries represented the siege of
the Goletta fortress, the storming of the citadel of Tunis, and the escape
of Barbarossa and his troops. It seems reasonable to assume that artists
found inspiration in print images, including the Vermeyen/Parijs broad-
sheet, (Fig. 3.2) or the news map published by Giovanni Andrea Vavassore
(Fig. 3.3). These meager examples might suggest how these events
appeared in the triumphs. The Vavassore woodcut shows “Barba Rossa” at
left midground, almost lost within a cluster of his followers on horseback,
as he flees Tunis. He is the only figure wearing a turban with the points
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Rex Thunissae
Parijs, ca. 1535),
Paris)
of a crown visible just above the rim.10 Above that group and to the left,
we see Muley al-Hassan and his men as they gallop toward the city to
join the imperial troops led by Charles V, Alfonso d’Avalos, the Marchese
del Vasto, and the young Luis of Portugal. Muley al-Hassan appears in
front of the tightly compressed group of lance-wielding riders, wearing a
floppy turban and bearing a flanged mace. The caption reads, “Old king
of Tunis.”11 Given the context, we understand this phrase to mean “the
former king,” in contrast to Barbarossa who had briefly seized that title,
as connoted by his pointy crown. Barbarossa is also called the “King of
Tunis” in the caption to Agostino de’ Musi’s engraved portrait (Rome,
1535), captioned, “Hayreddin Barbarossa King of Cirta (Constantine,
Fig. 3.3 Giovanni Andrea Vavassore, Map of the Siege of Tunis (Venice, 1535),
woodcut, 28 × 40 cm (Credit: Newberry Library, Chicago [public domain])
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modern Algeria) and Tunis, and Commander of the Ottoman Fleet.”12

Similarly, in the woodcut vignette for the title page of the Newe Zeyt-
tung (Würzburg: Balthasar Müller, 1535), Barbarossa has a turban crown
while Charles wears the imperial crown and wields a mace.13 Finally,
Erhard Schoen’s woodcut of the fireworks display in Nuremberg cele-
brating the Tunis victory, dated 13 September 1535, includes a large
effigy of Barbarossa wearing a turban crown and holding a flag with a
crescent moon.14
Ephemeral decorations, following closely on the heels of the mili-
tary victory, had to convey a clear message about which king currently
ruled Tunis. Planners of triumphal entries must have been instructed to
distinguish between the original king and the interloper, between the
Hafsid ruler restored by Charles and the Ottoman corsair who fled to
Algeria. Providing Muley al-Hassan with a royal crown, sometimes paired
with a scepter, drove home the point about legitimate rule but also
about submission to the Habsburgs. From the European point of view,
Muley al-Hassan was king because Charles gave his kingdom back to him.
Thus, sovereignty ultimately emanated from the emperor. Although the
triumphal entries did not generate a lasting iconography for the King of
Tunis, there were occasional later echoes of the ephemeral royal crown
as, for example in Lille (1549) and Genoa (1598).15
The King of Tunis in Triumph: Cosenza and Naples

The scores of Italian entries that celebrated Charles’ victory in Tunis
followed the pattern of all civic processions with a showy parade of
prominent officials, clergy, and nobles while the populace appreciated
the spectacle from windows or by lining the street. Charles typically
attended mass, visited law courts, created knights, and distributed estates;
he also received gifts, including keys to the cities, fine horses, and large
monetary payments to offset the cost of the military campaign.16 City
officials would have had short notice to prepare for the emperor’s arrival;
they had to work with tight production schedules and hastily assem-
bled teams of architects and artists who improvised ephemeral ensembles
according to a predictable script. Triumphal arches, colossi, and columns
were constructed out of lightweight materials like wood and stucco, with
added paintings, relief sculptures, and Latin inscriptions. In Rome, some
complaints were heard about the use of flimsy canvas and buffalo hide.17
Despite the unavoidable haste and humble materials, the triumphal entries
in Cosenza, Naples, Rome, and Florence stand out for their erudition,
artistic ambition, and representations of Muley al-Hassan receiving a
crown or other gifts from the emperor. Each was a regional center with
sufficient financial resources, local scholars capable of composing complex
iconographic programs, and artistic workshops able to provide materials
and manpower. As we will see, the triumphal entries of Cosenza and
Naples were linked through humanist networks, while those of Rome and
Florence were connected by the banking families and artists who worked
in both cities.
The triumphal entry into Cosenza, a town with an illustrious history
tied to the Holy Roman Empire, has not received the emphasis it deserves
given its influence on the entry into Naples and beyond.18 Charles crossed
to the mainland from Sicily and began his sojourn north, entering the hill
town of Cosenza on 7 November 1535.19 It had once been the center of
ancient Calabria Citra with a legendary devotion to Hercules, a mytho-
logical figure also associated with Charles. Frederick II Hohenstaufen,
Holy Roman Emperor, was believed to have donated to the Duomo its
gold and enamel crucifix known as the Stauroteca; when his son Henry
VII died in 1242, Frederick arranged for his burial in the same church.
The city had come under Spanish dominion in 1500, becoming the seat
of the Viceroy of Calabria within the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily. As
such, it was the residence of Hernando Alarcón de Mendoza, appointed
Viceroy in 1527; he was one of the generals who commanded troops in
Tunis.20 The city was also home to the Accademia Cosentina, founded
ca. 1511–1512, whose members maintained close ties to scholars and
poets in Naples.21 Among these was Bernardino Martirano who served
as secretary of state under the Viceroy of Naples (1532–1548); his poem,
The Lament of Arethusa (ca. 1535–1539), celebrated the Tunis campaign
within a mythological frame.22 Cosenza thus offered an ideal mix of
imperial, viceregal, and poetic associations which contributed to the entry
staged for the victorious emperor.
The program for the Cosenza entry was devised by the local poets
Bartolo Quattromani and Francesco Franchini.23 The artist Pietro
Negroni may have contributed to the painted decorations.24 The program
consisted of four triumphal arches; the first two were placed on either
side of the bridge into the city, at the confluence of the Bussento and
Crati rivers. After crossing into the city, civic officials, nobles, barons, and
soldiers escorted Charles along the Via de’ Mercanti on the ascent to
the cathedral, S. Maria dell’Assunta. The bishop attempted to bring out
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the Stauroteca for Charles to kiss, but the crowds made it impossible for
the emperor to kneel, so a smaller crucifix was offered instead. The third
arch, erected in front of the cathedral, featured a painting with an alle-
gory of the defeat of tyranny consisting of nymphs menaced by a serpent
(Barbarossa) but saved by the Habsburg eagle (Charles). The party then
processed to the rear of the church, where the final arch marked the
intersection with the street leading to the Palazzo Sersale where Charles
was to be lodged. On this arch, the emperor would have seen a Latin
inscription in the frieze, “Both conquering kings and creating them—
either is worthy of Caesar.”25 Such general praise for the emperor had a
more specific meaning that would have been obvious to contemporaries:
Charles had conquered Barbarossa and “created” Muley al-Hassan, King
of Tunis. Below the inscription:
[O]n this arch, there was a naturalistic painting of the Emperor with his
barons, among them was the Prince of Melfi, Andrea Doria, the Marchese
del Vasto, [and] the Viceroy Alarcón de Mendoza. In front of the Emperor,
the King of Tunis, Muley al-Hassan, was shown kneeling reverently to
receive from Charles a crown, symbol of the kingdom of Tunis restored to
him.26
Quattromani’s brief written description about the Cosenza entry does not
say whether Charles placed a crown directly on Muley al-Hassan’s head or
if he extended a crown toward his vassal from some distance. Perhaps the
composition resembled Niccolò Nelli’s 1566 engraving showing Charles
enthroned on a dais, with Philip kneeling before him and accepting a
royal scepter indicating rule over Spain and its dominions27 (Fig. 3.4).
As far as we can tell from the sources, the planners included Muley al-
Hassan among Charles’ trusted companions without making any distinc-
tion regarding his Muslim faith or North African ethnicity.28 As a king,
Muley al-Hassan outranked a prince, marchese, or viceroy. At the same
time, the idealized group of men depicted on the Cosenza arch differs
from the actual experience of the king in the imperial camp outside Tunis,
where he was supervised by the translator Zagal and under constant
scrutiny.29 Once the victory was decided, however, Charles V had to
promote the idea that Muley al-Hassan belonged under the aegis of the
Habsburgs. The image of the coronation was intended to reassure specta-
tors that Muley al-Hassan, rather than Barbarossa, was the legitimate king
of Tunis.
Fig. 3.4 Niccolò Nelli, “Charles V Gives Royal Scepter to Philip II,” in
Girolamo Ruscelli, Le Imprese illustri (Venice: Francesco Rampazetto, 1566),
engraving, pp. 139–140 (Credit: Wellcome Library, London [public domain])
After his stop in Cosenza, Charles continued to advance north and

on 25 November 1535, he entered the much larger viceregal Naples
in triumph. Alarcón was already in residence, serving as castellan of
the Castel Nuovo. Before his arrival, Charles spent three nights at
Bernardino Martirano’s Villa Leucopetra, famed for its literary gather-
ings and classicizing decor. Also traveling between Cosenza and Naples
was Quattromani’s description of the previous triumphal entry. The text
took the form of a letter addressed to Martirano, and it was dated 13
November 1535, one week after the event. It would be printed in Naples
early the following year.30 In addition, the Cosentino painter, Pietro
Negroni, must have hurried north to Naples to take part in the ephemeral
decorations there.
Naples was historically the co-capital of the Kingdom of Naples and
Sicily along with Palermo. In 1504 the Spanish claims to Naples won
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out over those of rival France. And in 1532 Pedro Álvarez de Toledo
was appointed as viceroy. Three years later, his son García took part in
the Tunis campaign.31 During the four months that Charles spent in the
city, from late November 1535 to March 1536, Naples became an inter-
national center of diplomacy. Paolo Giovio’s letters vividly describe the
various visitors, courtly pastimes, and political maneuvering he witnessed
during the emperor’s sojourn.32 In addition, the triumphal entry offered
an occasion for local elites and civic officials to assert their autonomy
through erudite spectacle and classicizing imagery and to slight the
unwelcome Spanish viceroy.33 The composers of the entry drew on the
literary tradition of the defunct fifteenth-century Accademia Pontaniana.
The festive program has been attributed to Marco Antonio Epicuro,
who studied with the humanist scholar Giovanni Pontano; in addi-
tion, Bernardino Rota and Bernardino Martirano are thought to have
contributed to the script. Of all the Italian entries, the one staged in
Naples was commemorated by the largest number of printed pamphlets,
for example by Giovan Domenico Lega, Andrea Sala, and Paolo Danza.34
In addition, the program was republished in various forms in later texts
like those by Marco Guazzo, Antonino Castaldo, Giovanni Antonio
Summonte, and Bernardo De’Dominici.35 The ephemeral décor was
produced by the architect Ferdinando Manlio, the sculptors Giovanni da
Nola and Girolamo Santacroce, and painters including Giovanni Antonio
Amato and Pietro Negroni, who “was also employed in the paintings,
that were made for the entry into Naples by the emperor Charles V.”36
Charles entered Naples on the feast day of S. Catherine via the eastern
gate of the Porta Capuana, accompanied by barons, nobles, and civic offi-
cials, the Viceroy Pedro de Toledo, and the Marchese del Vasto.37 Just
beyond the gate, was a large double-sided arch covered with relief sculp-
ture, paintings, and inscriptions on both its eastern and western facades.38
(Fig. 3.5). Giovan Domenico Lega compared it to the Arch of Constan-
tine in Rome, while Castaldo added that it resembled an amphitheater,
with a deep interior space between its two faces.39 Lega admits that the
Capuana arch was constructed from wood and decorated with paintings
on canvas, but he says that if the city had had more time, the arch would
surely have been built with the whitest shining marble. The upper frieze
on the eastern façade contained paintings of the Tunis campaign: the
arrival of Charles V and his troops, the siege of La Goletta, the flight of
Barbarossa, and the conquest of the city of Tunis. A large Latin inscription
in the center of the arch proclaimed:
The nobles and the people of Naples [erected this arch] in honor of Charles
V august emperor, most happy triumphator over the Ottomans. He chased
and routed the enemy armies on sea and land, and restored Africa, making
its King a tributary, liberated twenty thousand captives, and purged all the
shores of pirates.40
The arch drew attention to the restoration of Muley al-Hassan’s rule but
also to the capitulations whereby Tunis became a tributary state. To what
extent did contemporaries draw a parallel to their own cities which had
to reimburse Charles for the costs of the Tunis campaign?
Fig. 3.5 Diagram of the Porta Capuana Triumphal Arch, Naples (25 November
1535) (Credit: Christine Cavalier)
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As Charles passed under the large inscription into the interior of

the Capuana arch, he would have found the two long walls covered
with twenty paintings, arranged ten on each side. Among the pamphlet
writers, Lega provides the most details about these emblematic images
that referred to the many virtues of the emperor: Peace, Happiness,
Clemency, Humanity, Liberality, Glory, Prudence, Fortitude, Temper-
ance, Faith, and Hope. Lega writes that the eighth painting on the north
wall showed, “Humanitas with His Majesty receiving the exiled King of
Tunis, and his followers all dressed poorly in Moorish fashion, to whom
he gave many gifts…To You Only Can Our Security Be Trusted.”41 The
emphasis on Humanitas as an attribute of Charles V probably reflected
the influence of Epicuro’s teacher, Giovani Pontano, who argued that
this virtue was essential for rulers.42 In contrast to other Italian cities that
staged triumphal entries, only Naples featured a visual model for Muley
al-Hassan and his followers. Artists must have seen and studied Francesco
Laurana’s monumental Tunisian figures taking part in Alfonso of Aragon’s
triumphal procession on the arched entry to the Castel Nuovo (Fig. 3.6).
But given their sumptuous brocade robes, one could hardly describe
Laurana’s figures as poorly dressed. While the fifteenth-century sculpture
was meant to honor a valued trade embassy, the 1535 triumphal entry
emphasized Habsburg largesse and Tunis’ dependency.
Unlike the entries in Cosenza, Rome, and Florence, the Naples
program avoided showing Muley al-Hassan being crowned. Since Charles
V was nominally the king of Naples, the planners needed to empha-
size his own sovereignty over that of his North African vassal. Thus, the
eighth painting from the interior of the arch refers to the initial meeting
between Charles and Muley al-Hassan in the imperial camp outside Tunis
before the siege, as discussed in Ch. 2. Charles’ secretary of state Antoine
Perrrenin had similarly noted the emperor’s “generosity” to the Tunisian
envoys who received money and clothing, and his “humanity” when
warmly welcoming the exiled king.43
Lega’s text was soon adapted by the local writer Giovanni Battista Pino
for a dream-vision poem in which the narrator learns about the Naples
entry through his guide, the siren Parthenope, the legendary founder of
the city. Pino expands the scene of Charles receiving Muley al-Hassan
with its Latin inscription emphasizing security and trust:
Here is Charles who welcomed the Lord of Africa humanely,

He [Muley al-Hassan], who said, with great courtesy,
Fig. 3.6 Francesco Laurana, Triumphal Entry of Alfonso V of Aragon, ca. 1460,
marble, Castel Nuovo, Naples (Credit: Deposit Photos, New York)
‘Charles, with a pure heart I put into your hands,

my lost honor and health, and that of my people,
I don’t want to trust a cruel Monster,
Who continually fed himself on our blood.’44
According to Pino’s text, the bloody monster refers to the Ottoman

invader, Barbarossa. Lega and Pino each describe another painting of the
eagle (Charles) battling the poisonous dragon (Barbarossa), just as it had
appeared in the Cosenza entry in early November. They note the location
of the allegorical image on the exterior south wall of the Capuana arch.45
Lega supplies additional information about the twenty-two paintings
that appeared on the exterior long walls of the arch, eleven on each
side. Among the mythological subjects on the north wall, relating to
the sea, rivers, tritons, and mermaids, Lega notes the representation of
Timotheus, a famed Athenian general of the fourth century BCE.:
In the eighth panel one saw Timotheus in the sea, with his nets into which
many fish were swimming, signifying the genius of Caesar, under whose
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command kingdoms and their kings, like the King of Tunis, were subju-
gated by him alone.…ALL KINGDOMS ARE SMALLER THAN THAT
TO WHICH YOU ARE ENTITLED.46
Detractors of Timotheus said that he had only conquered so many

cities because Fortune caught them in her net.47 In contrast, Charles
appears in the Capuana arch program as a successful fisherman who gets
all the credit for hauling in new kingdoms. And, having been caught in
the Habsburg net, Muley al-Hassan’s status will rise. A similar message
about the privilege of belonging to the empire was displayed on the fourth
arch at Cosenza, in which the emperor, a marchese, prince, and viceroy
all appeared to welcome Muley al-Hassan into their midst. But despite
the celebratory rhetoric of the first two triumphal entries in Calabria and
Campania, the King of Tunis was destined to remain a small fish, and
Tunis a small kingdom, within the vast empire.
On 28 December 1536 Paolo Giovio wrote a long letter from Naples
to his friend and papal nuncio Ridolfo Pio da Carpi, describing the festiv-
ities of the previous year that welcomed the emperor after the Tunisian
campaign. Among other rumors at the Neapolitan court, Giovio reported
that the faction hoping for peace with France thought that Charles could
offer Milan to the son of Francis I: “Just as he gave a realm to a Muslim
[Muley al-Hassan], he could give the Duchy of Milan to the Monsignore
of Angoulême in the same spirit and with the same greatness of soul…”48
Like the King of Tunis, this prospective Duke would also be a feudatory
aligned with the emperor against designs on Florence or Naples. While
Giovio appears to compliment Charles, one can read “spirit” and “soul”
in a less positive light as cold-blooded calculation and the willful exercise
of power. The offer to ally with a French prince must have seemed to
some contemporaries as exceptional as Charles’ alliance with a Tunisian
king.
If the program for the Naples entry focused on assimilating a North
African kingdom into the Habsburg orbit, further festive events staged
during the emperor’s prolonged stay allowed Charles to change places
temporarily with his new vassal. On 3 January 1536 the celebration of
Carnival included a theatrical spectacle about the Conquest of Tunis as
well as a joust in which the emperor fought while wearing Moorish
costume.49 Of course, Carnival always gave license to role reversal and
playful disguise but coming on the heels of the actual Tunisian campaign,
the joust alla moresca seems to suggest Charles’ respect for the military
skill of North African cavalrymen. The emperor and his troops might have
been reminded of the game of canes that Muley al-Hassan and his men
had performed for them in Tunis, enthusiastically described by the Swiss
soldier Guldi and later by Giovio. That Charles himself saw fit to dress as
a Moor perhaps recalls the Versailles portrait with its dignified presence.50
In January of 1536, Paolo Giovio called Muley al-Hassan a, “re di
carta” and in another letter from 1539, he called him a “re di taffeta.”51
Giovio meant that the restored king of Tunis was only a Habsburg puppet
wearing a showy and superficial costume. He was a king on paper thanks
to the capitulations he had signed in August of 1535. But Muley al-
Hassan lacked royal authority without the backing of Charles V and
his troops. Yet, despite his derisive comments about the weak vassal,
Giovio offered to send a portrait of Muley al-Hassan to the collector
Pio da Carpi.52 And Pio da Carpi wasn’t the only member of Giovio’s
circle interested in obtaining a portrait of the king of Tunis. Federico
Gonzaga, the Duke of Mantua, whose brother Ferrante had fought in
Tunis and now served as Viceroy of Sicily, was also apparently curious
about the king’s likeness. Through his agent, Nicola Maffei, Federico
followed events in Naples where Charles V was busy with the impending
war with France. In this period, Federico was hoping to benefit from
the annexation of the marquisate of Casale Monferrato in the Piedmont
region.53 In Maffei’s letter to the Duke, dated 14 February 1536, we
find Muley al-Hassan equated with the soon-to-be deposed governor of
Casale Monferrato:
If your Excellency wants to have a portrait of the king of Tunis, just depict
the governor of Casale [Monferrato], because here [in Naples] everyone
who sees him who knew the said king, says that he is [Muley al-Hassan],
and they run after him to stare, saying that he has come here in disguise,
and they point him out to one another.54
Does Maffei ask Federico Gonzaga to imagine the governor of Casale

dressed alla moresca or Muley al-Hassan wearing European clothing?
In either scenario, this disguised stranger walking the streets of Naples
caused bystanders to marvel at his appearance. Maffei’s joke hangs on the
idea that a portrait of a European is interchangeable with a painting of a
man from North Africa. Rather than focusing on skin color or religion as
markers of irreconcilable difference, Maffei sees how politics makes mirror
images of the two men.55 Each of these weak Habsburg dependents must
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comply with the imperial will. Despite the humorous comparison, we can
assume that the Duke wanted an actual portrait of Muley al-Hassan since
that same year the siege of Tunis was being painted at the Gonzaga Palace
at Marmirolo.56
The King of Tunis in Triumph: Rome and Florence

After some delay, Charles V and his entourage traveled north to Rome,
making an entrance into the Eternal City on 5 April 1536 via the southern
gate of S. Sebastiano.57 Rome, of course, was the head of the papal
states and a magnet for writers and historians avidly studying the ancient
past. Pope Paul III had the unenviable task of mounting a triumphal
entry for Charles whose soldiers had sacked the city in 1527. Nine years
later, Rome was still impoverished, its residents fearful of the troops that
would accompany the emperor. To avoid burdening the Romans with
the expense of the entry, the pope taxed the curia, artisan guilds, and
foreigners. He gave Latino Giovenale Manetti, commissioner for antiqui-
ties, the task of preparing the processional route, clearing the streets, and
demolishing unsightly buildings. He appointed Giovanni Gaddi, a learned
cleric from a Florentine banking family, to take charge of the decora-
tions, coordinating and financing the work of a dozen artists, drawn from
Tuscany, the Veneto, Calabria, and Northern Europe.58 Gaddi’s secre-
tary Annibale Caro, along with Paolo Giovio, composed Latin epigrams
for the ephemeral program.59 And, as was the case in Naples, the Roman
entry was described in printed pamphlets issued in multiple editions by
Andrea Sala and Zanobio Ceffino; these were later consulted by Marco
Guazzo, with further details noted in Giorgio Vasari’s Lives.60
Unlike the events held in Cosenza, Naples, and Florence, the Roman
entry could take advantage of the ancient triumphal arches still standing
in the city. In addition, four major decorative ensembles were positioned
along the route: at the Porta S. Sebastiano, in the piazza S. Marco, on the
Ponte S. Angelo, and on the façade of S. Peter’s.61 The imperial party was
led by Alfonso d’Avalos, the Marchese del Vasto, and Fernando Álvarez de
Toledo, the Duke of Alba, followed by cardinals and bishops, along with
representatives of the Roman civic administration. After passing through
the ancient forum, the procession encountered a double-sided Corinthian
arch in piazza S. Marco designed by Antonio da Sangallo (Fig. 3.7).
According to Sala, it was made of wood and embellished with columns
painted silver, while the capitals, and other compartments, appeared to
Fig. 3.7 Diagram of the S. Marco Triumphal Arch, Rome (5 April 1536)
(Credit: Christine Cavalier)
be gilded. According to Vasari, “…had as much pride and marble been

spent on this work as were study, artifice, and diligence in its preparation
and making, it would have merited by its statues and painted histories
and other ornaments, to be counted among the seven wonders of the
world.”62 The façade facing southeast toward the Capitoline hill was
topped by a sculpted personification of Roma flanked by statues of two
Habsburg rulers, along with four bound prisoners, and trophies. A Latin
inscription in the center of the upper story extolled, “Charles Augustus
the Fifth, the Great Emperor and Peacemaker of the Romans, Crowned
by God.”63
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The S. Marco arch was decorated with chiaroscuro paintings by

the “most valiant artists,” including the Florentine Francesco de’ Rossi
known as Salviati, with assistance from the Venetian Battista Franco,
and Francesco del Indaco, and others, such as the Dutch Marten
van Heemskerck.64 Vasari praises Salviati for his consummate skill and
Heemskerck for his bold and inventive battle scenes.65 Niches on the
façade featured paintings of the four phases of the Tunis campaign, paired
with Latin captions: the Siege of the Goletta, the Siege of the city of
Tunis, the Release of Christian Prisoners, and the Coronation of Muley al-
Hassan.66 Over the last scene the caption read, “Muley Hassan Restored
Through a Great Victory and Crowned by Caesar.”67 This was a symbolic
rather than an actual coronation, intended to assert the king’s legiti-
macy. Although the textual sources are silent about the composition,
the scene must have included recognizable images of both rulers, as on
the fourth arch in Cosenza. Again, the sources do not allow us to say
whether Charles placed a crown directly on his vassal’s head.68 Even so,
the program for the S. Marco arch made the point that Charles received
his authority from God, but Muley al-Hassan received his authority from
Charles.
In a letter of 3 May 1536, only a month after the triumphal entry
into Rome, Paolo Giovio offered to send portraits of Muley al-Hassan
and Barbarossa to Cardinal Jean de Lorraine, as he wrote in a letter to
Ridolfo Pio da Carpi.69 At this early date, what portraits would have been
available other than the Vermeyen-Parijs woodcut and the Antonio Musi
or Lorenzo Musi engravings of Barbarossa?70 An intriguing possibility,
lacking hard evidence, is that Giovio was referring to images scavenged
from the ephemeral décor in Rome or copies made after them.71 Also
keeping abreast of the festive events in Rome was Muley al-Hassan who in
May sent to Pope Paul III a camel, some ostriches, and jewelry.72 In early
June he wrote to congratulate Charles: “We were pleased with your arrival
in Rome and your triumphal entry. Praise be to God who gave you the
victory and help against the enemy, thanks to him and his generosity…”73
The restored king of Tunis wrote not just to congratulate his benefactor,
but also to request military assistance. Despite the grand rhetorical claims
made by the triumphal entries, Muley al-Hassan’s position continued to
be precarious, as we will see.
Coronation imagery continued to feature prominently in the triumphal
entry into Florence on 28 April 1536.74 Florence, the capital of Tuscany,
had become a duchy in 1532 under Alessandro de’Medici with the
support of Charles and his Spanish troops.75 Alessandro met with the
emperor as he wintered in Naples after the entry and regained the emper-
or’s trust; in the spring of 1536, he married Charles’ daughter, Margaret.
The triumph, not surprisingly, blended dynastic and military themes.
Giorgio Vasari provides extraordinarily detailed information about the
planning and construction of the ephemera for the imperial visit. Vasari
explains that Duke Alessandro put four patricians in charge of the event
while he had responsibility for planning and coordinating the program
consisting of two arches and thirteen statues.
Charles and his entourage arrived at the southern gate of S. Pier
Gattolini where they were joined by the duke, civil magistrates, and the
clergy. They headed northeast to Piazza S. Spirito but then turned down
toward the Piazza S. Felice across from the Palazzo Pitti. At the Canto
alla Cuculia the parade passed through an arch built by Baccio d’Agnolo
and decorated by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio with help from Michele Tosini.
Like the S. Marco arch in Rome, this double-sided monument in the
Corinthian order was painted to look like marble and it focused on the
deeds of the emperor’s brother, Ferdinand I. Narrative paintings on the
first story illustrated Ferdinand’s victories over the Ottomans at Vienna in
1529 and his coronation as King of the Romans in 1531. Paired female
personifications accompanied the paintings; above Vienna were Piety and
Fortitude. Above the scene of Ferdinand’s coronation, Faith appeared
holding a cross; at the uppermost level was Dovizia, or Abundance, shown
holding a cornucopia full of royal crowns.76 A Latin caption topped the
allegory of Dovizia: “You enrich all, you conqueror all, and you lavish
your kingdoms with gifts.”77
Vasari repeated the cornucopia motif in several other compositions that
provide some idea of the appearance of Dovizia on the Canto alla Cuculia
arch.78 For example, in an anonymous drawing after the figure of Benevo-
lence with attributes of Abundance, from Vasari’s Room of One Hundred
Days, in the Cancelleria, Rome (1546), we see a metal fillet, a bishop’s
mitre, and necklaces pouring out of the cornucopia (Fig. 3.8).
Vasari describes how in his design for the arch in Florence, Dovizia
“turned [the cornucopia] upside down so that one crown fell out,
belonging to Charles’ brother Ferdinand, another appeared just beyond
the rim of the cornucopia, signifying that His Majesty had just restored
the King of Tunis, and another appeared only halfway out, showing
that Duke Alessandro would be named king of Tuscany.”79 The cornu-
copia shows how all three rulers benefit from the generosity of Charles
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Fig. 3.8 Circle of Giorgio Vasari, Benignitas with Attributes of Abundance, ca.
1567, pen, ink, and wash, 42.1 × 25.3 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York, accession number 58.651.75, Gift of Harry G. Friedman, 1958 (Credit:
Metropolitan Museum of Art [public domain])
V. The relative positions of the crowns falling from Dovizia’s horn of

plenty reveal that as a king Muley al-Hassan ranks below Ferdinand but
above Alessandro. Charles appears to recognize the sovereignty of a North
African ruler, just as he acknowledges his brother and son-in-law, without
regard to race or religion. In fact, each of these rulers had barely survived
threats to their political authority. Muley al-Hassan gave up his autonomy
and accepted crushing financial obligations when he became a vassal,
Ferdinand had to fight for the Habsburg succession, and the Medici
duchy only came into being after the tumultuous fall of the last Floren-
tine Republic. The triumphal arch offered an image of imperial Habsburg
harmony that deflected attention away from actual power struggles and
tensions between various political factions.
Vasari designed the next arch that was built directly against the Quat-
trocento façade of the church of S. Felice (Fig. 3.9). According to
the contemporary poet and playwright, Anton Francesco Grazzini, the
painted wooden structure simulated porphyry, alabaster, and serpentine.80
The subject matter shifted from Vienna to the Tunisian campaign as was
made evident by the inscription in the frieze, “Charles Augustus, Master
of Africa.”81 Andrea Sala notes that a large battle painting below the frieze
showed two episodes, the Entry into Tunis and the Flight of Barbarossa.82
Vasari describes the latter scene:
[I]n which His Majesty is shown driving Barbarossa from Tunis; and there
is a large number of horses, some alive, some on the ground as if dead,
and others in combat. As they flee, the Turks are turning around to fight
with their lances; in the sky above, Justice and Faith fight for the Christian
religion with their swords drawn.83
In contrast to Sala, Grazzini says that the painting contained four scenes:
the Imperial Camp, the Siege of the Goletta, the Taking of the Goletta,
and the Siege of Tunis.84 In the second story of the arch, directly above
the battle scenes, Vasari placed, “…the coronation of the King of Tunis,
restored to his realm by His Majesty, in which there are many Africans
giving thanks to [Charles] for the return of their king.”85 On either side
of the coronation Vasari placed tondi with pairs of female personifica-
tions embodying the sentiments of their adjacent inscriptions. To the left,
Happiness and Fortune accompanied the caption, “with the Turks and the
Africans conquered.” To the right, Opportunity and Liberality resulted
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Fig. 3.9 Diagram of the S. Felice Triumphal Arch, Florence (28 April 1536)
(Credit: Christine Cavalier)
from, “the kingdom of Muley Hassan having been restored.” Peace and
Eternity appeared at the apex of the entire structure.
Given the presence of Muley al-Hassan’s subjects, the coronation scene
on the S. Felice arch may have resembled that painted on the inner wall
of the Porta Capuana arch in Naples, where his followers were said to
be “poorly dressed” and receiving gifts from Humanitas . In Florence,
the Tunisians were shown expressing their gratitude not for gifts but for
the return of their ruler. In the previous chapter, we saw an anonymous

woodcut illustration in a news pamphlet dated 15 July 1535 that might
have been read in conjunction with the text regarding the “restitution of
the King”86 (Fig. 3.10).
With a dearth of models for Tunisian figures, such humble, vernac-
ular images might have contributed to the composition on the S. Felice
arch. But despite the optimistic message of Vasari’s program, the political
situation in Tunis remained fraught. Peace, Happiness, and Opportunity
Fig. 3.10 Anon., “Vignettes,” from El sucesso de la grandissima impresa fata

da la Caesarea Maiesta soto de Tunesi et la presa de la Golletta (15 July 1535),
woodcut, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, 42.860-B, f. 4v (Credit:
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were far from certain in the spring of 1536 when Muley al-Hassan was
challenged by rival sheikhs and menacing Ottoman corsairs.
In addition to the painted images of Muley al-Hassan and his subjects
on the S. Felice arch, the residents of Florence witnessed on 2 May
1536 the arrival of an actual Tunisian embassy bearing the annual tribute
for Charles: “…the ambassador of the King of Tunis [Abu Abdallah
Muhammad Azweghi] came to the emperor and brought him the tribute,
that is four horses and two camels and eight falcons; and the emperor let
the Duke [Alessandro] have the two aforesaid dromedaries.”87 This emis-
sary first appeared on 29 April 1536 in Siena. He and his entourage stayed
overnight at S. Agostino; then the group traveled to Florence to catch
up with the emperor.88 An anonymous chronicle includes details about
the sixty-year-old ambassador Azweghi who wore a turban and dressed
in blue, accompanied by two interpreters, and cargo including myste-
rious boxes of gifts as well as animals. The lowly servants who walked
on foot were considered rude and ugly and they made bystanders laugh.
In contrast, a very beautiful black woman in the company was admired.
The text does not say whether the woman was a servant or a slave. In
addition to attesting to the multi-ethnic makeup of Tunis, the text might
be alluding to the fact that Muley al-Hassan recovered his harem after
the sack. Contemporaries were especially struck by the appearance of
black women in the group: “Muley al-Hassan came to the citadel, and
His Majesty gave him back his women, those that Barbarossa kept there
in a separate chamber, the majority of whom were black. It was some-
thing to see how they rejoiced with him in their way.”89 Perhaps the
woman who accompanied Azweghi to Florence was among those rescued
in 1535. Would Charles have recognized the black woman from Tunis
or was she considered simply another gift, akin to the horses, camels,
and falcons he received as tribute? The sources are silent on his reac-
tion.90 On the other hand, Muley al-Hassan received good news from
Azweghi regarding his embassy, according to the king’s letter to Charles
in June 1536: “…our ambassador…has given me the news about the size
of your Majesty’s country and army, and [about] how much courtesy and
generosity you have shown him…”.91
Reviewing the triumphal entries in Cosenza, Naples, Rome, and
Florence reveals that they contained some “lifelike” images of Muley al-
Hassan. But there is no evidence regarding the depiction of the king
beyond the fact that he was featured in coronation or gift-giving scenes.
Thus, these ephemeral events do not provide a plausible context for the
production of the Versailles portrait with its imposing presence, inscribed

sword, and turban rather than a royal crown (Fig. 3.11).
Fig. 3.11 Anon, Muley al-Hassan, oil on panel, 92 × 76 cm. Musée national
des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles, MV 3173 (Credit: ©RMN-
Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY)
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On the other hand, the imperial progress through Italy may have
whetted the appetite of potential patrons for a commemorative portrait of
the king of Tunis. In this category would be the officials, councilors, and
nobles who accompanied Charles in battle and who also took part in the
entries. As they returned to their court cities, what did these men bring
back from the sack of Tunis?92
Tunis Dispersed
In contrast to the ephemeral entries, booty taken from Tunis offered a
permanent reminder of triumph in North Africa. Objects from the sack
represented more than souvenirs picked up in the heat of the moment;
they preserved the memory of the Tunis campaign over time and well
beyond the period of Habsburg dominance in the region. As we saw in
Chapter 2 reports on the sack of Tunis differed about whether it afforded
fabulous riches or slim pickings. Starting with looted items associated
with Charles V, we can track some of the objects transported on the
return voyage to Europe. For example, on his second stop in Trapani,
Sicily, Charles is supposed to have donated to the church of S. Nicola
a diaphanous marble basin, later used as a baptismal font.93 If we can
trust modern accounts, this gift would have represented the conversion
of a basin used for ablution by Muslims to a Christian purpose. To the
convent of the Annunziata, Charles supposedly gave two wooden doors
with bronze relief panels, and to the church of S. Pietro, he left a gold
brocade flag. Once he arrived in Rome, Charles gave Pope Paul III the
large chains and lock that once secured the port of Tunis.94 These were
displayed over the door to the archive in the papal basilica adjacent to
the chains taken from the port of Smyrna (Izmir) in 1472. And a stone
column and four gravestones from Tunis found their way to the gardens
of the viceroy’s villa in Pozzuoli, outside Naples; these spoils will be
discussed in more detail in the next chapter.
At least nine Qur’ans, plus fragments of religious texts, survived the
Sack and were brought back to Europe. In addition to the three volumes
of a Qur’an taken by Charles himself, (Fig. 3.12) two more came home
as booty with Baron Johannes Marquart von Künigsegg and Bernardo
Riparoli.95 According to his letter of 28 December 1536, Giovio gave
another Qur’an from Tunis to Cardinal Jean Du Bellay.96 In addition to
books and manuscripts, veterans of the Tunis campaign took vessels made
of precious or wondrous materials. For example, Don Luis of Portugal
Fig. 3.12 Anon., Qur’an, late 15thc, f.2. Bibliothèque nationale de France,
Paris, Ms Arabe 438 (Credit: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris)
brought back some very old Arab astrolabes.97 A Neapolitan condot-

tiere, Fabrizio Maramaldo, snagged a bezoar: “A cup from which the
old kings of Tunis used to drink, whence taken by Barbarossa, decorated
with Moorish knots; they say that poison put inside is immediately broken
102 C. L. BASKINS
up.”98 Some decades later, the Bolognese naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi

saw, during a visit to Mantua, “A dish made of jasper that once belonged
to the kings of Tunis.”99 Had it been taken by Ferrante Gonzaga, who
served as Viceroy of Sicily following the victory in Tunis? The Dutch
nobleman, Maximiliaan van Egmond, Count of Buren, obtained a silver
lavabo of Neapolitan manufacture that had been seized by Barbarossa and
subsequently taken to Tunis (Fig. 3.13). To the smooth gold band that
encircles the bowl, Egmond added his coat of arms in gold and enamel
along with an inscription: “This treasure was taken by Maximiliaan, count
of Buren, from the infidels in Africa and on 28 December of the year
1536 it was bestowed upon the town of Grave.”100 And Bernardo Tasso
brought back from Tunis a vaso moresco that he used as an inkwell,
according to his son the poet Torquato Tasso of Ferrara.101
Upon his return from the siege, Alfonso d’Avalos, the Marchese del
Vasto, reportedly gave a treasure trove to Paolo Giovio who displayed the
items in Rome:
But the Marchese…has given me [things] from the spoils of Barbarossa.

Item, a pair of wrought iron keys from the treasure chest, which our
Chieregato carries in procession. I also got a Qur’an and the Ratio-
nale divinorum of Mohammed, which I gave to the Reverend Monsignor
Bellay. I have a priest’s tunic, a basin in which Barbarossa’s magpies used
to bathe, as well as a large porcellain bowl in which his Highness bathed
his balatroni [ie. coglioni, testacles]. I have Ramadan Baeza’s scimitar and
the scepter that belonged to King Muley al-Hassan and I’m not joking
about that!102
This extraordinary list appears to reveal the source of the Qur’an given by
Giovio to Cardinal Bellay. Ramadan Baeza can be identified as the Spanish
renegade who served as castelan in Tunis.103 On the other hand, none of
the other items listed has been found in contemporary texts or located in
modern collections. Given Giovio’s penchant for humor, the references
to “tame magpies” and “testacles” raise the possibility that the Avalos
donation was satirical or at least much exaggerated for comic effect.104
Giovio may have invented some of the exotic and rare items he supposedly
received from Tunis, but a visitor’s letter confirms that his villa in Como
once displayed Turkish and Moorish helmets in the second story room
called the Camera del Moro.105
Fig. 3.13 Anon, Lavabo from Naples, silver with gilding, 11.0 ×
21.1 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, BK-NM-9658 (Credit: Rijksmuseum [public
domain])
We find more plausible references to armor, carpets, and textiles taken

by soldiers in the Tunis campaign. Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, the Duke
of Alba, was said to have found his own father’s armor, from the battle
at Bejaïa in 1509, when he broke into the citadel.106 A lower-ranking
Milanese soldier, Hieronimo Robasacco, “…got two carpets of silk and
gold, on which the King of Tunis used to dine, and other tapestries of
gold and silk with Moorish designs, and other stuff worth a couple thou-
sand scudi.”107 Items of clothing were also easily transported: “Some
garments were brought to the Munich court from Tunis by Ludwig
104 C. L. BASKINS
Welser, a captain in Tunis during the Spanish occupation who prob-

ably acquired the garments there directly.”108 These included two men’s
linen robes with wide sleeves and embroidery of leaves and vines on the
borders – along with other linens, nightgowns, a jacket, and a child’s
outfit. Some of this finery might have been recorded in contemporary
portraits as of yet unrecognized. Finally, Girolamo II Tuttavilla, Count
of Sarno, who died in the attack on the Goletta of 23 June 1535, was
commemorated in Besançon where his tattered banner was at one time
accompanied by an inscription: “The flag of the Count of Sarno, won by
the Moors in the Goletta of Tunis, and later recovered by the Christians
during the siege of Tunis and taken as a votive to the Church of the Holy
Sudarium of Besançon.”109
Tunis in the Wake of the Habsburgs

After Charles and his imperial troops set sail for Sicily, Muley al-Hassan
was faced with internal and external threats. His citizens were furious
about the Sack and the Ottomans were eager to expand their reach.
Giovio noted how Tunis had lost control over the Ottoman allied ports
on the North African coast.110 The King of Tunis engaged in constant
warfare with rebellious cities ranging from coastal Kelibia, Mahometa
(modern Hammamet), Sousse, Monastir, Sfax, and Tajoura, in addition
to the inland city of Qayrawan.111 The Spanish participated in these mili-
tary campaigns since they wagered that safeguarding the king’s territories
would improve his ability to pay the annual tribute. Sieges in support
of Muley al-Hassan’s military targets were led by Ferrante Gonzaga,
Andrea Doria, García de Toledo, and Álvaro de Bazán.112 But, despite
the constant raids that generated income from booty and slave taking,
the king of Tunis was unable to keep up with his payments. Anfran
Camughi, the Genoese envoy sent to Tunis by Gonzaga, observed in
1538 that the king was poor, and would be even poorer if he had to
pay the annual tribute.113 During this period, Muley al-Hassan’s ambas-
sador Azweghi was a guest at Gonzaga’s viceregal courts in Messina and
Palermo, advocating for the Hafsid cause.114
Despite his political and financial difficulties, Muley al-Hassan’s letters
always affirmed full membership in the Habsburg empire. In letter after
letter, he reminded Charles V, Francisco de los Cobos, Ferrante Gonzaga,
and the governors of the Goletta of their obligation to protect the North
African territory for which they had fought in 1535. In so doing, the king
held Tunis up as a mirror to Europe. In a letter from June 1537, Muley
al-Hassan argues that the emperor should defend Tunis just as he does
his other possessions; in October of 1538 he exclaims, “our lands are
yours and our property is one;” in 1539, he reminds Charles that, “he
must think about [Tunis], since this kingdom is governed in his name;”
and in 1540 he says, “our concerns are yours.”115 Despite the barrage of
requests from the king of Tunis, Charles did not respond; he was preoc-
cupied with France and diplomatic efforts before and after the Peace of
Nice in 1538. The emperor was also pursuing secret negotiations with
Barbarossa; he even indicated his willingness to cede Tunis, among other
cities, to the Ottoman admiral.116 But this alliance never materialized,
and Charles subsequently embarked on the siege of Algiers in 1541 that
ended in ignominious failure.117
Given this volatile political context, it is no wonder that Muley al-
Hassan was eager to rekindle the emperor’s enthusiasm for his vassal
state. The king was determined to meet in person with Charles to rene-
gotiate the terms of the treaties he had signed in 1535 and revised in
1537, 1538, and 1539.118 As Muley al-Hassan planned his 1543 journey
to Italy, he must have taken careful note of Azweghi’s earlier trip that
encompasssed Siena and Florence, Messina, and Palermo. He would have
learned from his ambassador about routes and distances, sources for fresh
horses, provisions, trade goods, and diplomatic protocol. But this time,
the king would bring the overdue tribute to the emperor in person. As
we will argue in the following chapter, Muley al-Hassan’s four-month
long stay in Naples should be considered the most likely context for the
creation of the anonymous oil on panel portrait in Versailles.
Notes
1. Houssem Eddine Chachia and Cristelle Baskins, “Ten Hafsid Letters
(1535–1536) in the General Archive of Simancas (Spain) Respecting the
Political Situation in Tunisia after the 1535 Defeat of the Ottomans and
the Restoration of H . afsid Rule,” Hespéris-Tamuda 56 (2021): 427–438,
on p. 434.
2. There is an extensive bibliography on the imperial progress, see Maria
Luisa Madonna, “El viaje de Carlos V por Italia después Túnez: El
triunfo clásico y el plan de reconstrucción de las ciudades,” La fiesta
en la Europa de Carlos V, ed. Fernando Villaverde (Madrid: Sociedad
106 C. L. BASKINS
Estatal para la Conmemoración de los Centenarios de Felipe II y

Carlos V, 2000), pp. 119–153; María José Rodríguez Salgado, “Carolus
Africanus?: el Emperador y el turco,” Carlos V y la quiebra del human-
ismo político en Europa (1530–1558), ed. José Martínez Millán, vol.
1 (Madrid: Sociedad estatal para la conmemoración de los centenarios
de Felipe II y Carlos V, 2001), pp. 487–531; and Maria Antonietta
Visceglia, “II viaggio cerimoniale di Carlo V dopo Tunisi,” Carlos V
y la quiebra del humanismo político en Europa (1530–1558), eds. Manuel
Rivero Rodríguez and Antonio Álvarez-Ossorio Alvariño, vol. 2 (Madrid:
Sociedad Estatal para la Conmemoración de los Centenarios de Felipe II
y Carlos V, 2001), pp. 133–172.
3. Key studies of the triumphal entries, with references to earlier bibliog-
raphy, include Roy Strong, Art and Power: Renaissance Festivals, 1450–
1650 (Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, 1984); Bonner Mitchell, The
Majesty of State: Triumphal Progresses of Foreign Sovereigns in Renais-
sance Italy (1494–1600) (Florence: Olschki, 1986), pp. 133–179; ibid.,
“Charles V as Triumphator,” In Laudem Caroli, ed. James V. Mehl
(Kirksville, MO.: Thomas Jefferson University Press, 1998), pp. 95–
112; Marion Philip, Ehrenpforten für Kaiser Karl V: Festdekorationen
als Medien politischer Kommunikation (Münster: LIT, 2011); and José
Miguel Morales Folguera, Carlos V Cesar Imperator. Su configuración
iconográfica en las entradas triunfales en Italia (Saarbrücken: Académica
Española, 2016), pp. 39–94.
4. Mélanie Bost and Alain Servantie focus on the representation of
Ottomans in triumphal entries; see their essay, “Joyeuses entrées de l’em-
pereur Charles Quint: Le Turc mis en scène,” eHumanista: Journal of
Iberian Studies 33 (2016): 29–49. See also Borja Franco Llopis, “Images
of Islam in the Ephemeral Art of the Spanish Habsburgs: An Initial
Approach,” Il Capitale culturale, supp. 6 (2017): 87–116; and Borja
Franco and Francisco de Asís García García; “Confronting Islam: Images
of Warfare and Courtly Displays in Late Medieval and Early Modern
Spain,” Jews and Muslims made Visible in Christian Iberia and Beyond,
14 th -18 th Centuries: Another Image, eds. Borja Franco and Antonio
Urquízar-Herrera (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2019), pp. 235–265.
5. Texts discussed in Ch.1. For the eyewitness accounts by Antoine Perrenin
and Niklaus Guldi, see Rubén González Cuerva and Miguel Ángel de
Bunes Ibarra, Túnez 1535. Voces de una campaña europea (Madrid:
Polifemo, 2017).
6. Francisco López de Gómara, Guerras de mar del Emperador Carlos V ,
eds. Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra and Nora Edith Jiménez (Madrid:
Sociedad estatal para la commemoración de los centenarios de Felipe

II y Carlos V, 2000), p. 180. Echoed by Fra Prudencio de Sandoval,
Historia de la vida y hechos del emperador Carlos V , vol. 2 (Antwerp:
Geronimo Verdussen, 1681), p. 213.
7. According to Robert Brunschvig, La Berbérie orientale sous les Hafsides
des origines à la fin du XV e siècle, vol. 2 (Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve,
1947), p. 24.
8. A seventeenth-century engraving of Muley al-Hassan, by Nicholas Van
der Horst and Paul Pontius, would eventually pair the king with the
crown of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily; see the discussion in Ch. 6.
9. In contrast, the emperor’s coronation in Bologna in 1530 inspired
prints by Nicolas Hogenberg and Robert Peril; see Sergio Bertelli, The
King’s Body. Sacred Rituals of Power in Medieval and Early Modern
Europe, trans. R. Burr Litchfield (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State
University Press, 2001), pp. 96, 102, 110, and 116.
10. See the news map of Tunis by Agostino de’ Musi, known as Veneziano
(Rome, 1535), in which “Barba Rosa” and his men flee on horseback
towards Costantina, shown in the upper right.
11. The caption reads, “Re vechio de Tunesi.”
12. Agostino Musi, “Ariadenus Barbarussa Cirthae Tunetique Rex ac
Otomanicae Classis Praef.” (Rome, 1535). For Lorenzo Musi’s engraved
portrait of Barbarossa, see Sylvie Deswarte-Rosa, “L’expedition de Tunis
(1535): Images, Interprétations, Répercussions Culturelles,” Chrétiens
et Musulmans à la Renaissance, eds. Bartolomé Bennassar and Robert
Sauzet (Paris: Honoré Champion, 1988), pp. 73–131, on p. 92.
Barbarossa was called the King of Algiers up to 1535; see Gülru
Necipoğlu, “The Aesthetics of Empire: Arts, Politics, and Commerce
in the Construction of Sultan Süleyman’s Magnificence,” The Battle for
Central Europe. The Siege of Szigetvár and the Death of Süleyman the
Magnificent and Nicholas Zrínyi (1566), ed. Pál Fodor (Leiden/Boston:
Brill, 2019), pp. 115–159, see pp. 144–146. For the signigicance of
crowns, see Gülru Necipoğlu’s seminal article, “Süleyman the Magnif-
icent and the Representation of Power in the Context of Ottoman-
Hapsburg-Papal Rivalry,” Art Bulletin 71.3 (1989): 401–427.
13. Henri Bégouën, Notes et documents pour servir à une bibliographie de
l’histoire de la Tunisie (Paris: Picard, 1901), pp. 29–31.
14. The caption below the image refers to a “Turkish emperor,” but in
Hans Sach’s contemporary broadsheet, that may have accompanied the
woodcut illustration, the figure is called a captain (hauptman) with a
“red beard” (rotem bart ), clearly referring to Barbarossa. See Alison
108 C. L. BASKINS
Stewart and Nicole Roberts, “Fireworks for the Emperor. A New Hand-
Colored Impression of Sebald Beham’s Military Display in Honor of the
Visit of Emperor Charles V to Munich,” (2016), pp. 29–32. University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, Faculty Publications and Creative Activity, School of
Art, Art History and Design. 26. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/artfac
pub/.
15. See Yona Pinson, “Imperial Ideology in the Triumphal Entry into Lille
of Charles V and the Crown Prince (1549),” Assaph: Studies in Art
History 6 (2001): 205–231; Maria Ines Aliverti, “Visits to Genoa: The
Printed Sources,” ‘Europa Triumphans’: Court and Civic Festivals in
Early Modern Europe, eds. J. R. Mulryne, Helen Watanabe-O’Kelly,
and Margaret Shewring, vol. 1 (Aldershot and Burlington VT: Ashgate,
2004), pp. 222–235, 310–329.
16. The imagery of subject provinces appears in Enea Vico, Charles V
(Venice, 1550); Maarten van Heemskerck, The Victories of Charles V
(Antwerp: Hieronymus Cock, 1555–1556); Niccolò Nelli, “Charles V
confers Spain on Philip II,” in Girolamo Ruscelli’s Le Imprese (Venice:
Francesco Rampazetto, 1566), pp. 138–139; Frans Francken, Allegory
of the Abdication of Charles V (Antwerp, 1640); and Sandoval, Historia
(1681), vol. 1 engraved titlepage by Joseph Lamorlet. For fresco cycles,
see Uta Barbara Ullrich, Der Kaiser im “giardino dell’Impero:” Zur
Rezeption Karls V. in italienischen Bildprogrammen des 16. Jahrhunderts
(Berlin: Mann, 2006).
17. T. C. Price Zimmermann, Paolo Giovio: The Historian and the Crisis of
Sixteenth-Century Italy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995),
p. 146.
18. The key sources are Bartolo Quattromani, Il segnalato et bellissimo appa-
rato nella felicissima entrata di la Maesta Cesarea in la Nobile Citta
di Cosenza facto con lo particular ingresso di essa Maesta ordinatissima-
mente descritto (Naples: Sultzbach, 1535); Giovanni Crasso Pedacio, Ad
augustam, et invictissimum Carolum V, Caesarem pro Tunetana expedi-
tione (Rome: Calvum, 1535); Domenico Zangari, L’entrata solenne di
Carlo V a Cosenza. Con due tavole di facsimili della relazione anonima
(Naples: Casella, 1940); Vincenzo Saletta “Il viaggio in Italia di Carlo V
(1535–1536),” Studi Meridionali 9 (1976): 452–479; ibid., Il viaggio
di Carlo V in Italia (1535–1536) (Rome: C.E.S.M., 1981); Vincenzo
Cazzato, “Le feste per Carlo V in Italia. Gli ingressi trionfali in tre centri
minori del sud (1535–1536),” La città effimera e l’universo artificiale del
giardino. La Firenze dei Medici e l’Italia del ‘500, ed. Marcello Fagiolo
(Rome, 1980), pp. 22–37; and Barbara Agosti, Elementi di letteratura
artistica Calabrese del XVI secolo (Brescia, 2001), pp. 47–51, reprints
the Quattromani pamphlet.
19. Saletta (1976), pp. 465–473; and Cazzatto (1980) pp. 22–30; Visceglia
(2001) p. 144.
20. See D. Antonio Suarez Alarcón, Comentarios de los hechos del señor
Alarcón, Marques de la Valle Siciliana, y de Renda (Madrid: Diego Díaz
de la Carrera, 1665), p. 332. A lost portrait by Titian once showed the
general standing in armor, holding a baton of command, and wearing the
emblem of the Order of Santiago. The painting was engraved by Pedro
Perret circa 1629 and included in the Comentarios; see Hendrik J. Horn,
Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen: Painter of Charles V and his Conquest of Tunis.
Paintings, Etchings, Drawings, Cartoons and Tapestries, vol. 1 (Dorn-
sprijk: Davaco, 1989), pp. 199, 241. Alarcón was a major supporter
of the church and hospital of S. Giacomo in Naples; see Carlos José
Hernando Sánchez, “Pedro de Toledo entre el hierro y el oro: construc-
ción y fin de un virrey,” Rinascimento Meridionale. Napoli e il Viceré
Pedro de Toledo (1532–1553), ed. Encarnación Sánchez García (Naples:
Tullio Pironti, 2016), pp. 26–27.
21. See Emilio Sergio, Galleria dell’ Accademia Cosentina (Rome: ILIESI-
CNR, 2014).
22. Sergio (2014), pp. 85–86. The poem focuses on the role of Alfonso
d’Avalos in Tunis.
23. Zangari (1940); Agosti (2001); and Sergio (2014), pp. 61–65, 139, 162.
Franchini went to the disastrous siege of Algiers in 1541; see Benedetto
Croce, “Un Poeta Latino Poco Nota. Francesco Franchini,” Quaderni
della Critica 16 (1950): 39–55. Paolo Giovio’s collection of portraits
once included Agostino Galeazzi’s portrait of Francesco Franchini, now
held in the Musei Civici di Como, inventory #598.
24. For the suggestion that Negroni worked on the Cosenza entry, see
Agosti (2001), pp. 16–18. Negroni’s style drew from his contemporaries,
Marco Cardisco, Polidoro da Caravaggio, and Maarten van Heemskerck.
Negroni may have moved directly from the Cosenza entry to the one
staged in Naples just a few weeks later; see below.
25. Zangari (1940) p. 29 and Saletta (1976), p. 471: “UTRUMQUE
DIGNUM CAESARE ET VINCERE REGES ET FACERE.” One of
Franchini’s epigrams on Charles’ victory in Tunis echoes this wording:
“Vincere qui Reges, & dare regna potest;” see Francisci Franchini
Cosentini, Poemata (Venice: Natali, 1554), Bk 2, p. 30.
26. Saletta (1976), p. 470: “Dentro questo arco si vedeva, dipinto al natu-
rale, l’Imperatore con i suoi baroni, tra i quali si riconoscevano il principe
di Melfi Andrea Doria, il marchese del Vasto, il Viceré Alarçon de
Mendoza. Dinanzi all’Imperatore, in atto reverente, era effigiato il Re
di Tunisi Muley-Hassan in atto di ricevere da Carlo una corona, simbolo
del regno di Tunisi restituitogli.”
110 C. L. BASKINS
27. Nelli’s engraving appears in Ruscelli (1566), pp. 138–139. The text was
dedicated to Philip II. The print includes a Latin caption from Galatians,
6:14: “Let me glory only in the Lord.” The composition was inspired
by Enea Vico’s large format Charles V (Venice, 1550). A later etching
by Juan Bautista Morales shows Charles conferring a crown of empire
on Ferdinand II and a crown of the kingdom of Spain on Philip; see Fra
Prudencio de Sandoval, Historia de la vida y hechos del Emperador Carlos
V (Pamplona: Bartolomeo Paris, 1614), Part 2, frontispiece.
28. For the performative aspect of Habsburg diplomacy with North African
rulers, see Rubén González Cuerva, “Infidel Friends: Charles V, Mulay
Hassan and the Theatre of Majesty,” Mediterranea - Ricerche Storiche
49 (2020): 445–468. In fact, Muley al-Hassan was not hosted by Doria,
Avalos, or Alarcón. When he visited Italy in 1543 and again in 1548, the
king of Tunis sought out Ferrante Gonzaga, Pedro de Toledo, Cosimo
de’ Medici, and Ercole II d’Este.
29. Contrast the scene in Cosenza with Alonso de Sanabria’s observation,
“One saw this king in many ceremonies always standing before the
emperor as a sign of his subjection,” Comentarios a guerra de Túnez,
Escorial MS 1937, f.178v.
30. Zangari (1940), pp. 14–15.
31. Ch. 4 will discuss Muley al-Hassan’s lengthy stay in Naples in 1543 as
the guest of the Viceroy Pedro de Toledo and his son García.
32. Zimmermann (1995), pp. 143–144.
33. Carlos José Hernando Sánchez has written extensively about Naples
under Viceroy Toledo, including the 1535 visit of Charles V; among
his many publications, see “El Virrey Pedro de Toledo y la Entrada
de Carlos V en Nápoles,” Investigaciones históricas 7 (1987), pp. 9–15;
Ibid, “El glorioso trivmpho de Carlos V en Napoles y el Humanismo
de Corte entre Italia y España,” in Carlo V, Napoli e il Mediterraneo,
eds. Giuseppe Galasso and Aurelio Musi = Archivio storico per le province
napoletane 119 (2001): 447–521.
For studies of the Naples entry, citing earlier bibliography, see
Mitchell (1986), p. 158; Madonna (2000), pp. 130–135; Visceglia
(2001), pp. 148–154; Teresa Megale “Sic per te superis gens inimical
ruat: l’ingresso trionfale di Carlo V a Napoli (1535),” Archivio storico per
le provincie napoletane 119 (2001): 587–610; and Juan Carlos D’Amico,
“Les fêtes napolitaines de 1535 en l’honneur de Charles Quint: un
carrefour de cultures,” PART[h]Enope, Naples et les arts / Napoli e le
arti, ed. Camillo Faverzani (New York: Peter Lang, 2013), pp. 125–140.
34. Giovan Domenico Lega, also known as Partenio Incognito, Il Glorioso
Triumfo et Bellissimo Apparato ne la felicissima entrata di la Maesta
Cesarea, in la nobilissima città Partenope fatto con lo particolare ingresso
di essa Maesta ordinatissimamente Descritto (Naples: Mattia Cancer,
1535); Andrea Sala, Il triomphale apparato per la Entrata della Cesarea

Maesta in Napoli, con tutte le particolarita, [et] Archi Triomphali, [et]
Statue Antiche, Cosa Bellisima (Messina, 1535); and Paolo Danza, Il
triomphale apparato per la entrata de la Cesarea Maesta in Napoli, con
tutte le particolarita, Archi Triomphali, statue antiche, Cosa Bellissima
(Venice, 1535).
See Tobia R. Toscano, “Una sconosciuta descrizione a stampa degli
apparati trionfali per l’ingresso di Carlo V in Napoli nel 1535,” Bulletin
de l’Association des Historiens de l’Art Italien 5 (1998–1999): 35–43;
Ibid,; “Le Muse e i Colossi: apogeo e tramonto dell’ umanesimo político
napoletano nel ‘trionfo’ di Carlo V (1535) in una rara descrizione a
stampa,” L’enigma di Galeazzo di Tarsia: altri studi sulla letteratura
a Napoli nel Cinquecento (Naples: Loffredo, 2004), pp. 103–145; and
Ibid, “Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo, facta est quasi vidua:
Carlo V nell’editoria napoletana di primo Cinquecento tra elezione
all’Impero e rivolta del 1547,” Lingua Spagnola e Cultura Ispanica
a Napoli fra Rinascimento e Barocco, ed. Encarnación Sánchez García
(Naples: T. Pironti, 2013), pp. 35–61.
35. For example, in Historie di M. Marco Guazzo di tutti i fatti degni di
memoria nel mondo, (Venice: Gabriel Giolito di Ferrari, 1549); Antonino
Castaldo, “Dell’Istoria di Notar Antonio Castaldo,” Raccolta di tutti i
più rinomati Scrittori dell’Istoria Generale del Regno di Napoli, vol. 6
(Naples: Gravier, 1769), pp. 48–59; Giovanni Antonio Summonte, Dell’
Historia della città e regno di Napoli, vol. 4 (Naples: Antonio Bulifon,
1675), pp. 91–118; and Bernardo De’ Dominici, “Descrizione delle feste
fatte in Napoli per l’entrata dell’ imperador Carlo V,” Vite de’ pittori,
scultori, e architetti napoletani, vol. 2 (Naples: Trani, 1843), pp. 42–55.
36. De Dominici (1843), p. 215: “Opero quest’artefice moltissimo, cosi in
Napoli, come nel Regno, e fuori, e fu adoperato anch’egli nelle pitture,
che si fecero per l’entrata in Napoli dell’imperador Carlo V.”
37. According to Silvana Musella Guida, “Don Pedro Álvarez de Toledo.
Ritratto di un Principe nell’Europa rinascimentale,” Samnium 81–82
(2009): 239–353, on pp. 323–324, the tomb for Pedro de Toledo,
installed in S. Giacomo degli Spagnuoli in 1570, depicts Charles V’s
entry in 1535. For the more persuasive argument that the relief shows
Viceroy Toledo entering Naples in 1532, see Michael Kuhlemann
“Tugendhafte Herrschaft zwischen Renaissance-Ideal und Rittersttolz:
Giovanni da Nolas Grabmal des spanischen Vizekönigs Don Pedro de
Toledo,” Praemium Virtutis. Grabmonumente und Begräbniszeremoniell
im Zeichen des Humanismus, eds. Joachim Poeschke, Britta Kusch, and
Thomas Weigel (Münster: Rhema, 2004), pp. 83–101, on pp. 98–100.
112 C. L. BASKINS
38. See Julian Kliemann, “Imperial Themes in Early Modern Papal Iconog-
raphy,” Basilike Eikon. Renaissance Representations of the Prince, eds. Roy
T. Eriksen and Magne Malmanger (Rome: Kappa, 2001), p. 167.
39. Lega in Toscano (2004), p. 129. Castaldo (1769), p. 51.
40. Lega in Toscano (2004), p. 131: “Imp. Caes. Carlolo V Aug. Triumph.
Feliciss. Octomanicae Praefecto classis terra mariq. profugato africae regi
tributo indicto restitutis XX captivorum milli receptis maritimis oris
undiq. predonis expurgat, Ordo PP Neap.”
41. Lega in Toscano (2004), p. 139: “In un altro quadro la Umanità, con
Sua Maestà che ricevea il Re de Tunesi scacciato, con suoi mal vestiti a
la moresca, ai quai donava molte cose…TIBI NOSTRA SALVS BENE
CREDITUR VNI. Sala, (1535), f.6r, omits the presence of the emperor
and the phrase, “poorly dressed.” De’Dominici (1843), p. 50: “Nell’
ottavo l’Umanità, in compagnia di Cesare, che riceveva il Re di Tunisi,
cacciato dal Regno, con i suoi mori attorno, e’l motto: Tibi nostra salus
bene creditor uni.”
42. Pontano tutored the young Alfonso II of Aragon, with a particular focus
on political virtue. See Susan Gaylard, Hollow Men: Writing, Objects, and
Public Image in Renaissance Italy (New York: Fordham University Press,
2013), pp. 49–57; and James Hankins, “The Italian Humanists and the
Virtue of Humanitas,” Rinascimento 60 (2020): 3–20. [online].
43. González Cuerva and Bunes Ibarra (2017), pp. 77, 81; and González
Cuerva (2019), p. 454.
44. Giovanni Battista Pino, Il triompho di Carlo quinto a cavallieri et alle
donne napoletane (Naples: Sultzbach, 1536), p. 56: “Ond’ecco CARLO
il qual humanamente/ Accoglier mostra d’Africa il signore/Colui
li dice o quanto accortamente/CARLO feci io chi’l mio perduto
honore/E’salute mia, e, di mia gente/Diedi nelle tue man, con puro
core/Ne mi volli fidar d’un crudo Mostro/Che s’è pasciuto ogn’hor del
sangue nostro.”.
45. Lega in Toscano (2004), p. 137; and Pino (1536), p. 52.
46. Lega in Toscano (2004), p. 135: “Ne l’ottavo quadro si mirava un
Timoteo del mare, con le nasse ove entravano molti pesci, significato
per lo ingegno de Cesare, nel cui imperio da sé si vengono a soggiogare
i regni et i re di quelli, come è stato il Re de Tunesi…OMNIA SVNT
MERITIS REGNA MINORA TVIS.”
47. Aelian, Historical Miscellany, ed. N.G. Wilson (Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1997), p. 449.
48. Paolo Giovio, Lettere volgari, ed. Lodovico Dolce (Venice: Sessa, 1560),
f. 18v: “Come egli ha donato un Regno a un Mahomettano, col
medesimo spirito ancora e grandezza d’animo desse il Ducato di Milano
a Monsig. d’Angolem…” Giovio refers to the third Habsburg-Valois
war (1536–1538). The proposed plan would have involved a marriage
between Charles Angoulême and Christina of Denmark, the recently

widowed Duchess of Milan.
49. Giovio, Historie (1554), Book 34, pp. 388r–388v; and Visceglia (2001),
p. 154.
50. On the significance of dressing a la moresca, see Barbara Fuchs,
Exotic Nation. Maurophilia and the Construction of Early Modern
Spain (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009); and Javier
Irigoyen-García, Moors Dressed as Moors. Clothing, Social Distinction, and
Ethnicity in Early Modern Iberia (Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
2017).
51. Paolo Giovio, Elogi degli Uomini d’Arme Illustri, ed. Franco Minonzio
(Turin: Einaudi, 2006), pp. 941–945, on pp. 944–945.
52. Letter of 3 May 1536; see Giovio/Minonzio (2006), p. 943.
53. Pietro Marchisio, “L’arbitrato di Carlo V sulla causa di Monferrato,” Atti
della reale accademia delle scienze di Torino 42 (1906–1907): 529–554.
54. Diane H. Bodart, Tiziano e Federico II Gonzaga: Storia di un rapporto
di committenza (Rome: Bulzoni, 1998), p. 140: “Se Vostra Excellentia
desiderava haver la figura del re di Tunisi, dovra fare rettrare il commis-
sario di Casale, perchè qua tutti questi ch’el vedono et che hanno
conosciuto il prefato Re, dicono che è quello, et gli corrono drieto per
maraviglia, dicendo che è venuto in qua stravestito, et se’l mostrano l’uno
l’altro a dito.”
55. His brown skin color is noted by the twentieth-century scholar Marchisio
(1906–1907), p. 548: “…scherzava il conte Nicola, scrivendo al suo
Duca che il commissario di Casale per la sua faccia bruna era creduto
a Napoli il re di Tunisi travestito, e che tutti gli correvano dietro.”
56. According to Giulio Romano’s letter of June 1536; see E. H. Gombrich,
“’That Rare Italian Master…’ Giulio Romano, Court Architect, Painter
and Impresario,” New Light on Old Masters (London: Phaidon, 1986),
pp. 147–160, on p. 157. Nuria Martínez Jiménez, “La perpetuación
de una victoria efímera: las pinturas murales de la Batalla de Túnez
en Marmirolo, Anguillara Sabazia y Granada,” Eikón Imago 15 (2020):
133–159.
57. Fundamental studies by Strong (1984), p. 83; Mitchell (1986), pp. 159–
166; Maria Luisa Madonna, “L’ingresso del Carlo V a Roma,” La
festa a Roma dal rinascimento al 1870, ed. Marcello Fagiolo, vol. 1
(Rome: Allemandi, 1997), pp. 50–65; Visceglia (2001), pp. 158–168;
and Richard Cooper, “A New Sack of Rome? Making Space for Charles
V in 1536,” Architectures of Festival in Early Modern Europe: Fashioning
and Re-fashioning Urban and Courtly Space, eds. J. R. Mulryne, Krista
de Jonge, Pieter Martens, and R. L. M. Morris (New York: Routledge,
2017), pp. 27–51.
114 C. L. BASKINS
58. See Bartolomeo Podestà, “Carlo V a Roma nell’anno 1536,” Archivo

della società romana di storia patria 1 (1878): 303–344, pp. 308–317
list Gaddi’s payments to artists. See also Antonino Bertolotti, “Speserie
segrete e pubbliche di Papa Paolo III,” Atti e memorie della Diputa-
tione di Storia Patria per le provincie dell’Emilia 3 (1878): 169–212,
on pp. 175–176. While Agosti (2009), p. 10 holds out the possibility
that the “Pietro Calabrese” mentioned in the payments could be identi-
fied as Pietro Negroni from Cosenza, Nicole Dacos argues that he must
be a different artist; see Dacos, “Un raphaélesque calabrais à Rome, à
Bruxelles et à Barcelone: Pedro Seraphín,” Locus Amoenus 7 (2004):
172–196.
59. Cooper (2017), pp. 29, 32.
60. Pamphlets by Andrea Sala, Ordine, pompa, apparati, et cerimonie della
solenne intrata di Carlo V. Imp. Sempre Aug. nella città di Roma (Rome:
Blado, 1536) = Sala (1536a). The same text was included in, Ordine,
pompe, apparati, et cerimonie delle solenne intrate di Carlo V. imp. sempre
avg. nella citta di Roma, Siena, et Fiorenza (Rome: Blado, 1536). The
Sala pamphlets feature a dedicatory poem by the German humanist,
Georg von Logau. The pamphlet by Zanobio Ceffino, La triomphante
entrata di Carlo V Imperatore Augusto nell’alma città di Roma con el
significato delli archi triomphali et delle figure antiche in prosa et versi
latini (s.l., 1536), is dedicated to the Duke of Florence, Alessandro
de’ Medici; it is less reliable than Sala’s. Guazzo (1549), pp. 171–174v,
makes use of Sala’s text. See also Giorgio Vasari, Le Vite de’ più eccel-
lenti architetti, scultori e pittori, ed. Gaetano Milanesi (Florence: Sansoni,
1906), in note 64 below.
61. See the map in Madonna (1997), p. 52.
62. Vasari (1906), vol. 5, p. 464. Cooper (2017), p. 33, notes that the
pope had planned originally to replace the ephemeral arches with marble
structures.
63. Sala (1536a), f.7r: CAROLO V AVG. A DEO CORONATO MAGNO
ET PACIFICO ROMANORUM IMP.
64. See Giorgio Vasari on Antonio da Sangallo, Francesco Salviati, Battista
Franco, and “some young Germans,” (1906), vol. 5, pp. 464–465, 571–
573; vol. 7, p. 15. Nicole Dacos, “Herman Posthumus et l’entrée de
Charles Quint à Rome,” Bulletin de l’Association des Historiens de l’Art
Italien 5 (1998): 2–13, argues that Herman Posthumus, rather than
Maarten van Heemskerck, was among the artists working on the S.
Marco arch. Nevertheless, Heemskerck’s print of the Siege of Tunis influ-
enced many later compositions; and see Bart Rosier, “The Victories of
Charles V: A Series of Prints by Marten van Heemskerck, 1555–1556,”
Simiolus 20 (1990–1991): 24–38.
65. Vasari (1906), vol. 7, p. 15. Salviati’s ink drawing of the Battle before
a Port: The Conquest of Tunis (École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-
Arts de Paris, inv. Mas 2434), probably reflects a composition for the
S. Marco arch. See Dacos (1998), pp. 11–12; and Francesco Salviati
et la Bella Maniera, eds. Catherine Monbeig-Goguel, Philippe Costam-
agna, and Michael Hochmann (Rome: École Française de Rome, 2001),
pp. 173–174.
66. Sala (1536a), ff.6r-6v. According to Nicole Dacos, Herman Posthumus
painted the scene of the Siege of the Goletta. Luzio Romano’s mural
painting at the Palazzo Baronale in Anguillara, (1536–1539), may
preserve that composition. See Martínez Jiménez (2020), pp. 141–143.
67. Sala (1536a), f.6v: “MULEASSES INSIGNI VICTORIA RESTITUTIS
À CAESARE, CORONATUR.” Strong (1984), p. 83 mistakenly claims
that Charles was crowned as king of Tunis.
68. Judging from similar compositions, Charles most likely suspended the
crown above the king’s head. See, for example, the copy after Francesco
Salviati’s Charles Crowning Cosimo de’ Medici, from the Florentine
wedding decoration of 1539 (Louvre, inv. 2795), or Giorgio Vasari’s
Charles Crowning Alessandro de’ Medici in the Room of Clement VII,
in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, ca. 1562.
69. See Giovio/Minonzio (2006), p. 943. On the cardinal’s patronage and
interest in portraits, see Paulette Choné, “Jean de Lorraine (1498–1550),
cardinal et mécène,” Histoire et littérature de l’Europe du Nord-Ouest 40
(2009): 89–104.
70. This point is made by Barbara Agosti, Paolo Giovio. Uno storico lombardo
nella cultura artistica del cinquecento (Florence: Olschki, 2008), p. 88.
Note that the lost portrait of Muley al-Hassan in Giovio’s collection in
Como, as copied by Tobias Stimmer, was based on the Vermeyen/Parijs
type. See Table 1.1. According to a 1578 inventory, Francisco de los
Cobos had a portrait of Barbarossa and Muley al-Hassan painted together
on one panel; see Sergio Ramiro Ramírez, “Patronazgo y usos artísticos
en la corte de Carlos V: Francisco de los Cobos y Molina,” (Ph.D.,
Universidad Complutense Madrid, 2018), vol. 1, p. 121; vol. 2, p. 614.
71. I thank Pamela M. Jones for this observation.
72. As reported by Spanish chroniclers; see Martín García Cerezeda; Tratado
de las campañas, vol. 2 (Madrid, 1874), p. 115; and Alonso de Santa
Cruz, Crónica del emperador Carlos V , eds. Antonio Blázquez, et.al.,
vol. 3 (Madrid, 1922), pp. 357–358.
73. Chachia and Baskins (2021), p. 434.
74. Sources for the Florentine entry of 1536 include Andrea Sala, La Gloriosa
et Triomphale Entrata di Carlo V Imp. Aug. in la Citta di Firenze,
e il significato delli Archi Triomphali, e Statue sopra loro poste, con i
loro detti, e versi latini (Rome: Blado, 1536) = Sala (1536b); Ibid.,
116 C. L. BASKINS
Ordine pompe, apparati, et cerimonie, delle solenne intrate, di Carlo V

Imp[eratore] sempre aug[usto] nella citta di Roma, Siena, et Fiorenza.
(Rome: Blado, 1536), pp. 23–32; Vasari (1906), vol. 8, pp. 254–260;
Guazzo (1549), p. 177–179v; and Benedetto Varchi, Storia fiorentina,
vol. 3 (Florence, 1841), pp. 214–222.
Key studies by Strong (1984), p. 84; Vincenzo Cazzato, “Vasari e
Carlo V. L’ingresso trionfale a Firenze nel 1536,” Giorgio Vasari tra
decorazione ambientale e storiografia artistica, ed. Gian Carlo Garfagnini
(Florence: Olschki, 1985), pp. 179–204; Mitchell (1986), pp. 169–
172; Madonna (2000), pp. 138–141; Visceglia (2001), pp. 169–170;
Michel Plaisance, “L’entrée de Charles Quint (1536),” Fêtes, spectacles et
politique à l’époque de la Renaissance, ed. Michel Plaisance (Manziana:
Vecchiarelli, 2008), pp. 125–135; and Ibid., “L’entrée de Charles Quint
à Florence en 1536: les témoignages croisés de Giorgio Vasari et d’An-
tonfrancesco Grazzini,” Antonfrancesco Grazzini dit Lasca (1505–1584).
Écrire dans la Florence des Médicis (Manziana, Vecchiarelli, 2005),
pp. 79–90.
75. The important debates about Alessandro’s ethnicity are beyond the scope
of this book. See, Catherine Fletcher, The Black Prince of Florence. The
Spectacular Life and Treacherous World of Alessandro de’ Medici (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2016).
76. Vasari (1906), vol. 8, p. 256; Sala (1536b), p. 7; Guazzo (1549),
p. 178r; and Varchi (1841), p. 217.
77. Sala (1536), f.4r: “DIVITIAS ALII, TU PROVINCIAS, ET REGNA
LARGIRIS.”
78. For example, the fresco of Liberality with a Cornucopia in the Refectory
of S. Anna, Naples, 1545.
79. Neither Sala, Varchi, or Guazzo specify the rulers associated with the
crowns.
80. See Cesare Guasti, “Lettera di Antonfrancesco Grazzini detto il Lasca
a messer Bernardo Guasconi in Roma. Entrata della Cesarea Maestà
in Firenze,” Giornale storico degli archivi toscani 3 (1859): 288–294,
p. 290: “…sembrava di marmo porfido, d’alabastro, et serpentino
fabbricata.”.
81. Sala (1536b), f.4v: “CAROLO AUG. DOMITORI AFRICAE.”.
82. Sala (1536b), f.4v.
83. Vasari (1906), vol. 8, p. 257. The composition recalls Giulio Romano’s
Battle of the Milvian Bridge, in the Stanza di Costantino, Vatican Palace,
1524. Pietro Aretino praised Vasari’s battle scene on the S. Felice arch;
see Plaisance (2005), p. 89.
84. Grazzini in Guasti (2005), p. 290.
85. Vasari (1906), vol. 8, p. 257. Strong (1984), p. 84, mistakenly claims
that Charles was crowned as king of Tunis in the Florentine entry.
86. Anon., El Sucesso de la Grandissima Impresa fata da la Cesarea Maiesta

soto de Tunesi et la Presa de Golletta (s.l., 15 July 1535), f.4v, woodcut
vignettes.
87. Anon., A Florentine Diary from 1450 to 1516 by Luca Landucci, ed.
Iodoco del Badia (New York: Dutton, 1927), p. 295. Fletcher (2016),
p. 227. Cerezeda (1874), p. 115, calls the ambassador Hamete de Zuaga,
i.e. Azweghi. See Chachia and Baskins (2020), pp. 432–435.
88. P. Vigo published the anonymous, Descrittione delle cerimonie, pompa et
ordine che si tenne per honorare Carlo V Imperator et Re di Spagna,
entrando in Siena ne l’anno dell’Incarnazione del Divino Verbo 1536
il giorno 24 di Aprile (Bologna, 1884), from a text in his personal
collection. See p. 50.
89. See Anon., “Relación de lo que sucedió en la conquista de Túnez y la
Goleta, 1535,” in Colección de documentos inéditos para la historia de
España, eds. Don Martín Fernández Navarrete, Don Miguel Salva, and
Don Pedro Sainz de Baranda, vol. I (Madrid, 1842), p. 204; Cerezeda
(1876), vol. 3, p. 298; Perrenin in González Cuerva and Bunes Ibarra
(2017), pp. 97–98; Giovio (1554), p. 382v; and Alonso de Sanabria,
Comentarios e guerra de Túnez, Escorial MS 1937, f.171r.
90. An image of a young black woman in the company of three “White
Moors” can be found in the Madrid copy of Christoph von Sternsee’s
manuscripts made ca. 1547/1548. See Fig. 1.7.
91. Accessed on Archivo de la Frontera: AGS, Estado, Legajo 463 (doc.
167), pp. 59–61: [online] “…nostro ambasiatore el Alfachi Mamet
Zoaghi mi ha admirato de le nove e grandessa del paeze et exercito
di vostra maestà e quanta cortexia e liberalità li ha uzato et etiam siamo
stati certificati da le letere de vostra maestà e di epso nostro ambasiatore
quanto amore e fermessa di bemvolentia sia di quella verso noi che i Dio
in nostro cambio, non potendo noi, sia il remuneratore.”.
92. After the victory in Tunis, Charles founded the chivalric Order of
Barbary, although it was never as popular or widespread as the Order
of the Golden Fleece. For a rare image of the badge of the Order, see
Hans Kels, medal for Melchior von Ow, 1540 (Landesmuseum, Würt-
temberg). See also Mémoriaux d’Antoine de Succa. Un contemporain de
P. P. Rubens. Dessins du XVIIe siècle, eds. Micheline Comblen-Sonks and
Christiane van den Bergen-Pantens, vol. 1 (Brussels: Bibliotheque Royale
Albert I, 1977), p. 191; vol. 2, f.63v.
93. This claim was made by local scholars, Giuseppe Fardella, Annali della
Città di Trapani (ms 193, Biblioteca Fardelliana, Trapani, 1810); Vito
Catalano, known as Benigno da S. Caterina, Trapani Profana e Sacra
(ms 199, Biblioteca Fardelliana, Trapani, 1810), p. 9; and Giuseppe di
Maria di Ferro, Guida per gli stranieri in Trapani: con un saggio storico
(Trapani: Mannone and Solina, 1825), p. 98. Fardella was a priest at S.
118 C. L. BASKINS
Nicola and Maria di Ferro collected Islamic marbles, today found in the
Agostino Pepoli Regional Museum in Trapani. The Tunisian provenance
of the basin has been reasserted by Saletta (1976), p. 295; and Maria
Concetta di Natale, Splendori di Sicilia: Arti decorativi dal Rinascimento
al Barocco (Milan: Charta, 2001), p. 30. But, given the lack of sources
before the nineteenth century, the marble basin probably dates to the
Islamic period in Sicily.
94. Tiberio Alfarano, Descrizione della sacrosanta basilica vaticana (Rome:
Crispino Puccinelli, 1828), p. 156.
95. See Robert Jones, “Piracy, War, and the Acquisition of Arabic
Manuscripts in Renaissance Europe,” Manuscripts of the Middle East
2 (1987): 96–110. Jones lists the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich:
Codex Arab 1; Leiden University Library, Codex Or. 251; Kantonsbiblio-
thek Vadiana, S. Galle: MS 387; Vatican Library: Vat. Ar. 214, 219, and
249; and Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris: MS Arabe 438, 439,
440. See now, Robert Jones, Learning Arabic in Renaissance Europe
(1505–1624) (Leiden: Brill, 2020).
96. Giovio, Lettere volgari (1560), f.15v. “Ho avuto ancora l’Alcorano,
e’l Rationale divinorum di Mahometo, iquali ho donato a Monsignore
Reverendissimo di Bellai.”
97. Reported by the Portuguese cosmographer, Pedro Nunes in, De regulis et
instrumentis ad varias rerum tam maritimarum quam coelestium appar-
entias deprehendendas ex mathematicis disciplinis (Basel: Henricpetrina,
1566), Bk 2, Ch. 20, p. 157; see Deswarte-Rosa (1988), p. 128.
98. From a letter by Nicola Maffei to Ferrante Gonzaga, 14 January 1536:
“Una tazza, ove continuo bevevano li re di Tunis passati et hora de
Barbarossa et fatta di una mistura et a groppi moreschi; dicciono che
come vi è dentro veneno chè subito si spezza.” See L’Archivio Gonzaga
di Mantova, ed. Alessandro Luzio, vol. 2 (Verona: Mondadori, 1922),
p. 167.
99. For Aldrovandi’s 1571 note about the “Paropsis quae fuit regis Tunetis
ex jaspide confecta,” see Per dare qualche splendore a la gloriosa città di
Milano: Documents for the Antiquarian Collection of Isabella d’Este, eds.
Clifford M. Brown, Anna Maria Lorenzoni, and Sally Hickson (Rome:
Bulzoni, 2002), p. 30.
100. Remmet van Luttervelt, “Het zogenaamde keteltje van Maximiliaan van
Buren,” Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 2 (1954): 3–8, on p. 3: “dit
kleynoet is by maximiliaen ionckgreef tot bveren vander ongelovighe
in Aphrica Gewonen en opte 28 Desembr. a 1536 der Stat Graef
‘gegoven’.” See also, Europa und der Orient, 800–1900, eds. Gereon
Sievernich and Hendrik Budde (Berlin: Bertelsmann Lexikon, 1989),
p. 705.
101. Torquato Tasso, Le rime di Torquato Tasso: Rime d’occasione o d’encomio,

ed. Angelo Solerti, vol. 3 (Bologna, 1900), pp. 359–361. See Anthony
Welch, The Renaissance Epic and the Oral Past (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2012), pp. 21–22.
102. Giovio Lettere (1560), f.15v letter to Pio di Carpi (28 December 1535):
“Ma il Signor Marchese mi può commandare, perche mi ha dato delle
spoglie di Barbarossa; idest un par di chiavi lavorate del cassone del
tesoro, lequali il nostro Chieregato porta in processione. Ho avuto
ancora d’Alcorano, e’l Rationale divinorum di Mahometo, iquali ho
donati a Monsig. Reverendiss. di Bellai. Ho una vesta da Sacerdote, un
vaso, ove si lavavano le gaze di Barbarossa, & uno scudellone di porcel-
lanissima, nel quale sua Maestà si lavava i balatroni. Ho la scimitarra
di Ramadan Baeza, & lo scettro, il quale fu gia del Re Muleassem, &
io non burlo in questo.” See also Pauli Iovii Opera: Lettere [Latine e
volgari], ed. Giuseppe Guido Ferrero, vol. 1 (Rome: Istituto poligrafico
dello Stato, Libreria dello Stato, 1956), pp. 170–173. Minonzio in
Giovio/Minonzio (2006), p. 944, refers to the Avalos donation as
“burlesca,” or comical. Zimmermann (1995), pp. 144, 332 treats the
letter as factual, and mistranslates “balatroni,” as “feet.”
103. Paolo Giovio letter to Cosimo de’ Medici, 10 January 1538 regarding
the gift of a scimitar found in the citadel of Tunis that once belonged to
Barbarossa; see Pauli Iovii Opera (1956), p. 202. There is no mention
in Marco Merlo, “Le armi islamiche nelle armerie medicee,” in Islam
e Firenze: Arte e collezionismo dai Medici al Novecento, ed. Giovanni
Curatola (Florence: Giunti, 2019), pp. 153–169.
104. See Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, ed. Salvatore Battaglia,
vol. 6 (Turin: UTET, 1970), p. 1079 for the expression, “grattarsi i
balatroni.” Thanks to Giuseppe Capriotti for this reference.
105. Franco Minonzio, “Il museo di Giovio e la galleria degli uomini illustri,”
Testi, immagini, e filologia nel XVI secolo, eds. Eliana Carrara and Silvia
Ginzburg (Pisa, 2007), pp. 77–146, on p. 104.
106. Horn (1989), vol. 1, p. 130.
107. Paolo Morigia, La nobiltà di Milano (Milan: Pacifico Pontio, 1595), Bk
4, pp. 265–266.
108. For clothing from Tunis in German collections, see Elke Bujok, “Ethno-
graphica in Early Modern Kunstkammern and their Perception,” Journal
of the History of Collections 21 (2009): 17–32. See also Die Münchner
Kunstkammer, eds. Dorothea Diemer, Peter Diemer, and Lorenz Seelig,
vol.2 (Munich: C.H. Beck, 2008), nos. 1947–1950; and Lorenz Seelig,
“Exotica in der Münchner Kunstkammer der bayerischen Wittelsbacher,”
in Exotica. Portugals Entdeckungen im Spiegel fürstlicher Kunst- und
Wunderkammern der Renaissance, eds. Helmut Trnek and Sabine Haag,
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Jahrbuch des Kunsthistorischen Museums Wien, vol.3 (2001): 145–162,

on p. 149.
109. August Castan, “La conquête de Tunis en 1535. Racontée par deux
écrivains franche-comtois, Antoine Perrenin et Guillaume de Monto-
iche,” Mémoires de la société d’émulation du Doubs 5 (1890): 259–320;
on pp. 266–267, 292–293. The episode involving the Count of Sarno
was recounted by Spanish chroniclers as well as Paolo Giovio. According
to Horn (1989), vol. 1, pp. 198, 202, the caption on The Fall of the
Goletta tapestry, designed by Vermeyen and Cocke van Aelst, refers to
his death early in the campaign. Sarno’s decapitated head and severed
right hand were presented to Barbarossa.
110. Giovio, Lettere volgari (1560), f. 16r. “Et vi dico, che ci sono
molti luoghi co’ presidi Turcheschi, come è Circello, Algieri, Giger,
Constantina fra terra; & alla costa Sufa [Sfax], Mahometa, Monistero,
Africa, Gerbi, & Tagiora. E quell Re Muleassem sta a pan cotto, &
acqua d’orzo.”
111. The histories by Pedro de Salazar and Luis del Mármol Carvajal cover
these campaigns; see Fernand Braudel, “Les Espagnols et l’Afrique du
Nord de 1492 à 1577,” Revue Africaine 69 (1928), pp. 351–428, see
pp. 382–383; and Charles Monchicourt, Kairouan et les Chabbia (1450–
1592) (Tunis: Aloccio, 1939), pp. 48–120.
112. Sadok Boubaker, “L’empereur Charles Quint et le sultan hafside Mawlāy
al-H. asan (1525–1550),” Empreintes espagnoles dans l’histoire tunisienne,
eds. Sadok Boubaker and Clara Ilham Álvarez Dopico (Gijon: Trea,
2011), pp. 13–82, on pp. 45–47.
113. See the letter by Anfran Camughi to Ferrante Gonzaga in Federico
Odorici and Michele Amari, Letter inedite di Mulay Hassan e Ferrante
Gonzaga (1537–1547), (Modena, 1865), [Estratto dal Vol. 3 degli Atti
e Memorie delle Deputationi di Storia patria per le provincie modenesi e
parmensi], p. 163. For the local context see, Gaetano Capasso, Il governo
di Don Ferrante Gonzaga in Sicilia dal 1535 al 1543 (Palermo: Archivio
Storico Siciliano, 1906).
114. Odorici/Amari (1865), pp. 126, 155; F. Élie de la Primaudaie, “Doc-
uments inédits sur l’histoire de l’occupation espagnole en Afrique
(1506–1574),” Revue Africaine 19 (1875), p. 238.
115. Odorici/Amari (1865), pp. 155, 160, 167, 169.
116. On the proposed deal with Barbarossa, see Capasso (1906), pp. 340,
346, 442, 449; and Gennaro Varriale, Arrivani li turchi. Guerra navale e
spionaggio nel Mediterraneo (1532–1582) (Novi Ligure: Città di silenzio,
2014), pp. 91–96.
117. See Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra, Los Barbaroja (Madrid: Alderaban,
2004); and Daniel Nordman, Tempête sur Alger: L’expédition de Charles
Quint en 1541 (Saint-Denis: Bouchène, 2011).
118. For the treaties, see Primitivo Mariño, Tratados internacionales de

España. Carlos V. II. Tratados con el Norte de Africa (Madrid: Consejo
Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1980), pp. 64–69, 77–79, 90–91.
CHAPTER 4
Italian Sojourn
A certain man asked a painting of a King if he could prevail on his royal

generosity, to have a loan of the cloth of gold garment in which [the king]
was dressed. ‘If you take the garment from me,’ said the Painting, ‘I will
be nothing’.1
Leon Battista Alberti, One Hundred Fables (1437).
In Chapter 3 we considered Muley al-Hassan’s appearance in corona-

tion or gift-giving scenes in the triumphal entries held in Italy for Charles
V from 1535 to 1536. We now turn to the king’s own journey to Italy
in 1543, during which he hoped to renegotiate the terms of the treaty
and to deliver his tribute in arrears. Contemporary authors recount the
king’s sojourn, yet they differ on details and embroider the facts. They
agree, however, that the Italians and the Tunisians intensely scrutinized
one another, that the hosts and guests closely examined the gestures and
garments of their counterparts, and that each party strove to equal or
surpass the rank and courtesy of the other. Finally, a reconsideration of
Muley al-Hassan’s itinerary allows us to argue that viceregal Naples is the
most likely place of production for the Versailles portrait.
From the spring to the fall of 1543 the restored king passed through
Palermo, Naples, Rome, Siena, and Florence, the same cities that had
celebrated Charles V after his victory over Barbarossa in Tunis just eight

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124 C. L. BASKINS
years earlier. Muley al-Hassan moved within the Habsburg orbit, from
one affiliated court to another, in addition to visiting papal Rome. In most
instances, he made only brief stops. He spent the longest period of time
in Naples, approximately four months. As noted in the Introduction, a
handful of later book illustrations attests to the association of the Versailles
portrait with Muley al-Hassan’s Italian trip in general, and with Naples in
particular.
In the late nineteenth century Neapolitan archivist and historian
Bartolomeo Capasso suggested that portraits of the king of Tunis and
the Viceroy of Naples were made during this visit.2 Although he did not
provide any evidence for the claim, Capasso’s hypothesis has merit, and
the remainder of this chapter will substantiate it.
Naples: June 1543

Historian Giovanni Muto has argued that no king entered Naples after
the triumphal entry of Charles V in 1535. In fact, the king of Tunis
entered the Parthenopean city in June of 1543.3 Unlike the imperial visit,
Muley al-Hassan’s arrival was unexpected; there was no time to prepare
elaborate arches or erudite Humanist epigrams. We now turn to two
primary sources that describe Muley al-Hassan’s arrival and events during
his stay.4 Written by contemporaries, these documents differ in length and
tone. First, an anonymous news pamphlet or avviso presents the festive
reception of Muley al-Hassan and his entourage.5 In contrast, the Breve
Cronica, a manuscript by the priest Geronimo De Spenis of Frattamag-
giore just north of Naples, provides a day-by-day record of the visit from
June through September.6 While the anonymous avviso describes the
excitement and pomp elicited by the appearance of the king, the chron-
icle records subsequent events, including a disastrous return to Tunis in
the fall. The first document tells a tale of success, the second a story of
miscalculation and failure. Paolo Giovio, Matteo Bandello, and Luis del
Mármol Carvajal incorporated elements from both accounts into their
influential posthumous histories of Muley al-Hassan.7 And these edito-
rialized versions of the Naples visit would go on to serve as the basis
for all writers who followed.8 In Naples itself, the sojourn of Muley al-
Hassan was described at some length by the notary Antonino Castaldo
circa 1570.9
The anonymous avviso printed in Venice and dated 18 June 1543,
purports to be a letter addressed to Charles V informing him about Muley
4 ITALIAN SOJOURN 125
al-Hassan’s arrival in Naples. The title page features a woodcut vignette of

a double-headed eagle, the order of the Golden Fleece, and small columns
of Hercules, leaving no doubt about the political tenor of the publication
(Fig. 4.1). Above the Habsburg device, the text reads:
The marvelous procession that the viceroy and the Neapolitan nobles
arranged for the King of Tunis for his arrival in Naples, with the description
of his entry into the said city, and the number of horses and the magnifi-
cent gifts that were given, by which one understands the great quantity of
money brought by the king to recruit Italian soldiers.10
The text explains that Muley al-Hassan came to Italy to hire soldiers to
fight in his campaigns against the rebellious coastal towns allied with the
Ottomans, about which we learned in the previous chapter. The letter
covers in detail the day of the entry and makes only brief mention of
events a few days later; the dates and names are somewhat confused. The
anonymous narrator records both the excited crowds that witnessed the
impressive spectacle, but also some negative consequences of the king’s
unexpected visit. There was no time to prepare an elaborate entry like
the one that Naples had offered Charles in 1535. Viceroy Pedro Álvarez
de Toledo had to scramble to organize an official welcome, calling in the
nobles and pressing his son García, a veteran of the Tunis campaign, into
service.11
The avviso begins by remarking on the high level of trust between
Habsburg and Hafsid allies, noting that due to the “sweet fruits that his
Majesty [Charles V] has added for the good of all Christendom, secured
from the Africans of Barbary, this king [Muley al-Hassan] freely entered
the walls of a Christian [city] without any fear.”12 The king had departed
from Tunis with four ships and first made land at Trapani in Sicily; from
there he traveled on to Palermo where Viceroy Ferrante Gonzaga lodged
him at the grand Palazzo Ajutamicristo.13 Muley al-Hassan had planned
to sail to Genoa to catch up with Charles, but his ships were blown off
course; they landed instead at Gaeta where the king decided to lead a
smaller party overland to Naples, arriving on Sunday June 3 [sic]. The
letter says that the king’s large entourage consisted of two of his wives
and their servants, other noble ladies, and 300 soldiers.14 In addition, the
ships carried two leopards, along with more animals intended for hunting.
At the conclusion of the printed letter, we learn that Muley al-Hassan
entrusted one hundred richly appointed Barbary horses to the Viceroy
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Fig. 4.1 Anon., The Marvelous Honor Paid by the Viceroy and the lords of
Naples to the King of Tunis, upon his arrival in Naples, with the order of the
procession into the said City, and the number of his cavalry, and the magnificent
gifts that were given, by which one understands the large amount of money the
king brought in order to recruit Italian soldiers (Venice, 1543) (Credit: Folger
Shakespeare Library, Washington DC)
for safekeeping. They were intended as gifts, or rather tribute, for the
emperor.15 Giovio would later add that the king brought the most beau-
tiful carpets, bed covers, and fine jewels along with two large Barbary
horses.16
Immediately upon arrival at the port, Muley al-Hassan’s ships were
met with artillery salutes from the Castel Nuovo. One of the ships was
hit by a cannonball that pierced the hull from side to side and killed a
youth standing on the pier. After this unfortunate accident, the Viceroy
ordered García to escort the king and his companions to Poggioreale, the
luxurious villa and gardens situated outside the city walls to the east of
Naples.17 Not only would the villa provide abundant fresh water for the
horses, but this relocation would allow the king to be processed cere-
monially, entering the city through the Porta Capuana, just as Charles V
had done eight years earlier. Yet, as with the damage from stray cannon-
balls, unintentional destruction resulted from Muley al-Hassan’s herd of
horses. During their transportation to Poggioreale, some of the animals
wandered into farms located between the city and the villa. The anony-
mous author of the avviso marvels that a field of grain was utterly ruined,
looking as if it had never been sown.
The king’s chaotic rush across town, from the port to the villa, gave
the Viceroy just enough time to assemble the nobles and civic officials at
the Porta Capuana. If a personified Humanitas offered gifts to Muley al-
Hassan and his followers in the ephemeral arch decoration from 1535,
the Viceroy of Naples gave a real gift to the King of Tunis in 1543:
“His excellency sent [Muley al-Hassan] a luxurious cloth-of-gold robe
alla moresca which he put on and thus dressed, he mounted a white
horse to ride in procession through the city…”18 Perhaps this costume
reminded spectators of the fabulous return of King Ferrante’s bastard son,
Alfonso d’Aragona, from Mamluk Cairo in 1487, dressed alla moresca.19
In the epigram that opens this chapter, we read that Leon Battista
Alberti’s painted king could not surrender his golden coat without disap-
pearing, but Pedro de Toledo enhanced his viceregal status by giving his
golden coat away. To Muley al-Hassan, the Moorish robe must have been
a bittersweet reminder of the booty brought back to Naples by García
and the other Neapolitan soldiers who had fought in North Africa. Could
the garment have been worn by the Viceroy himself, perhaps during the
revelry of Carnival?20 Unlike the crimson marlota shown in the Versailles
portrait, or the purple burnoose in the Stibbert album, the cloth-of-gold
128 C. L. BASKINS
robe worn by the King of Tunis during the parade into Naples was never
represented in pictorial form.21
Muley al-Hassan and sixty of his followers were led toward the Porta
Capuana by trumpeters dressed in satin outfits with long, embroidered
sleeves. Upon meeting at the gate, the Viceroy and the king shook hands
and rode together into the city. The avviso describes Muley al-Hassan as
an eager spectator who appreciated the impressive urban setting, the beau-
tifully adorned noble women, and a second artillery display, with endless
rockets and fireworks, held in his honor that evening. Since the king
wanted to recruit soldiers for his military campaign in Tunis, such demon-
strations of firepower must have whetted his appetite for weapons. His
correspondence with Ferrante Gonzaga, for example, features repeated
requests for guns and ammunition.22 The impressive show perhaps also
reassured Muley al-Hassan that it would be safe for his wives to come
ashore. A few days after the official entry, they joined him at the Colonna
palace in the Seggio of Porto.
During the stay his two queens, Rahmouna and Marzucca, were given
gifts said to be of indescribable value and beauty.23 The local merchants
complained about the expense they incurred during the Tunisian sojourn.
“Suffice it so say that the merchants have done their accounts and
they estimate that up to now more than 20,000 ducats have been
spent, without counting what the elected Lords presented to them [the
wives]: four thousand ducats’ [worth] of fabric, including velvets, satin,
and clothing…”24 Muley al-Hassan also had outstanding debts to a
Neapolitan merchant, Juan Francesco Espersa, for silks and a canon.25 We
know from later letters that during his stay in Naples the king collected
two full shiploads of goods.26 Perhaps among these souvenirs was the
crimson velvet marlota worn by Muley al-Hassan in the Versailles portrait.
A few years later, a Spanish soldier described Muley al-Hassan’s
clothing. “The king wore a marlota of crimson velvet, over a coat of mail,
with ruby prayer beads; and by his side was the valiant Moor who trans-
lated for him in Tunis when he met the Emperor.”27 This mention of a
red velvet marlota and prayer beads recalls the costume in the Versailles
portrait although that painting does not represent chain mail, but rather
a black barracan and includes a sword not mentioned in the soldier’s
account. Even though the marlota was, by definition, a Moorish garment,
it also reminded contemporary observers of Italian clothing. For example,
the Augustinian friar, Hieronymus Roman explains, “Moorish philoso-
phers and doctors and illustrious people wear a different kind of garment,
ie. marlotas with very wide sleeves…And in Venice the magistrates wear
them, but they are usually red or crimson, just as I saw the King of
Tunis in Marseille in the year 1572…”28 A later governor of the Goletta,
Alonso de la Cueva, noted in 1552 that the sons of the sheikhs expected
to receive marlotas from the Spaniards; such diplomatic gifts of clothing
were necessary to insure their cooperation and friendship.29
The marlota was also regularly worn by Europeans taking part in jousts
or military displays. Two travel albums illuminated in the late 1540s for
Christoph van Sternsee, now at the Stibbert museum in Florence and the
Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid, each contain images of a Spaniard
on horseback wearing a crimson marlota and carrying a north African
adarga shield; the inscription “Im Spanien” clarifies the location and the
identity of the rider30 (Fig. 4.2).
Contemporaries appreciated the specular effect created by such festive
cross-dressing and theatrical disguise, as we saw when Charles dressed alla
moresca during Carnival in Naples in 1536.31 As in Maffei’s humorous
anecdote about Neapolitans mistaking the governer of Casale Monfer-
rato for Muley al-Hassan, the marlota might have caused some viewers to
wonder if the Versailles portrait depicted a European dressed alla moresca.
In addition to admiring Neapolitan fashion, the king’s large entourage
found temporary housing with local Christian families. The author of
the avviso claims that these hosts and their Muslim guests rode together
amiably. The citizens were impressed by the amount of money that Muley
al-Hassan was prepared to spend to recruit troops for his campaign
against the sheikhs. Apparently, he spent large sums in Naples, but not on
portraiture.32 Overall, the anonymous pamphlet stresses mutual respect
and trust, the absence of strife, and optimism about the king’s military
prospects. It presents an idealized account with only a few mishaps.
De Spenis, Breve Cronica

In contrast to the anonymous avviso that covers just the first few days
of Muley al-Hassan’s Neapolitan visit, the priest Geronimo De Spenis
provides a day-to-day account of events lasting almost four months. He
describes civic festivities but also discord, lavish parties, and criminal
executions. By the end of the document, the reader learns that during
the king’s trip, his eldest son Amida had usurped the throne of Tunis.33
Whereas the rebellious sheikhs had been the original target of the king’s
military campaign, now his own son and his followers were traitors,
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Fig. 4.2 Anon., “In Spain,” Costumes of the Time of Charles V, Emperor of
the Holy Roman Empire, and King of Spain, of Costumes of all Nations of the
World, ca. 1547/1548, watercolor on parchment, Stibbert Museum, Florence,
MS 2025, f. 2 (Credit: Alfredo dagli Orti/Art Resource, NY)
enemies of the state. Although De Spenis does not mention the produc-
tion of any portraits, the prolonged stay in Naples would have allowed
enough time for the Versailles oil on panel portrait to have been painted,
as Capasso had once suggested. A close reading of the chronicle along
with archival documents allows us to establish with more precision the
timing of Muley al-Hassan’s movements in 1543.
De Spenis provides more details than the brief avviso; for example,
we learn that the king and his entourage sailed from Tunis on Genoese
ships that carried the sign of the Cross, vividly demonstrating interna-
tional trade between the shores of the Mediterranean. The cargo held
live animals: horses, two lions, two ostriches, and some hunting dogs. In
addition to the tribute animals, the king brought merchandise including
cowhides, dates, apples, and olive oil.34 And, the king brought a letter
from Charles V addressed to the Viceroy, directing him to accord the
king a royal welcome.35 Upon arrival, Giovanni Francesco di Sangro,
the Marchese di Torremaggiore, and other nobles, escorted Muley al-
Hassan and his entourage to Poggioreale for refreshment and to water
their horses. Once they headed back to Naples, the visitors were met by
the Viceroy Pedro de Toledo, princes, marquises, counts, barons, and
other gentlemen on horseback, as well as many more people on foot. Also,
in attendance were lawyers, judges, notaries, and other civic officials. De
Spenis says that during their first encounter Pedro de Toledo and Muley
al-Hassan kissed one another very reverently.36 But in contrast to the
anonymous avviso, he does not mention any gifts of showy clothing to be
worn in the procession. He tells us that the two men passed through the
Porta Capuana, traversed the city, and then made their way down the via
Incoronata toward Don García’s residence in the remodeled Aragonese
loggia and gardens adjacent to the Castel Nuovo.37 This complex might
have reminded Muley al-Hassan of the Bardo outside Tunis, with its
royal pavilions and gardens. Once the guests had entered the palace, the
Viceroy treated them to a big display of artillery and cannon fire from
the Castel Nuovo that “shook the ground.”38 Muley al-Hassan’s party
was then housed in “many beautiful rooms” in García’s palace. The loca-
tion would have allowed the Spanish troops housed nearby to keep a close
watch on these unanticipated guests. The port was also inhabited by many
Muslim slaves and galley rowers, perhaps among them was a translator or
a halal butcher who provided food for the Tunisian entourage.39 And, as
the king and his companions began to explore the city, they might have
recognized some former residents of Tunis, the Christian rebattini, who
had relocated to Naples after the campaign of 1535.40
Two days after the king’s arrival, the Viceroy invited Muley Hassan to
a banquet next door at the old Angevin castle. Presumably, it was held
in Pedro de Toledo’s quarters in the Torre d’Oro, restored after a fire in
1540. Of all the cities Muley al-Hassan visited, Naples was the only one to
feature public monumental sculptures of Tunisian figures. When the king
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entered the Castel Nuovo, passing under the large Aragonese arch, did
he take note of Francesco Laurana’s frieze, including at left Sidi Ibrahim
and other members of the Tunisian embassy who took part in Alfonso V’s
triumphal procession into the city in 1443?41 (Fig. 4.3).
Did the representation of the Baron’s war of the 1460s on the bronze
doors cast by Guglielmo Monaco alert Muley al-Hassan to contempo-
rary social tensions in Spanish-governed Naples? Like the King of Tunis,
Viceroy de Toledo was also a foreigner, under the intense scrutiny of the
Fig. 4.3 Francesco

Laurana, Detail:
Triumphal Entry of
Alfonso V of Aragon, ca.
1460, marble, Castel
Nuovo, Naples (Credit:
Deposit Photos, New
York)
local population, and dependent on military troops housed in the newly

established Spanish Quarter.
Whereas the anonymous avviso describes harmonious relations
between Christians and Muslims, De Spenis notes instead how the
Viceroy anticipated potential problems. Curious encounters between
Neapolitans and foreigners could take a deadly turn. The Viceroy issued a
strict order that any resident of Naples who insulted the Moors or failed
to treat them with courtesy as they went about the city, whether on horse-
back or on foot, would face execution no matter their rank or status.42 A
week later, a Spanish soldier robbed and wounded one of the Tunisians.
He was immediately arrested and then conducted to the piazza in front
of the church of S. Giacomo degli Spagnoli where he was hanged.43 And,
at the end of the month, the king of Tunis received a complaint from a
Christian about one of the Moors who had threatened him with a knife.
Even though the victim did not sustain any serious wounds, the Moor
was arrested and hanged in the Piazza of the Goldsmiths. Thus, Muley
al-Hassan showed himself to be even more rigorous in carrying out the
penalty; he surpassed the Viceroy’s severity.
De Spenis tells us that Muley Hassan’s wife, Rahmouna, and other
ladies of the court disembarked on June 7, joining him at García’s resi-
dence. His 500 Moorish soldiers found housing in local homes. On the
10th the royal party moved to the palace of Ascanio Colonna in Mezzo-
canone near the church of S. Giovanni Maggiore; this change was likely
due to García’s departure for Genoa, a point to which we will return. In
each of these residences, the King of Tunis would have experienced the
refinement and luxury introduced to Neapolitan society by the Viceroy
and his court. Such lavish surroundings must have reminded Muley al-
Hassan of his own royal possessions, once stored in the treasury of the
Tunis citadel before the sack of 1535. Postmortem inventories of Pedro
de Toledo’s estate reveal that he shared the king’s taste for silver, rock
crystal, Chinese porcelain, and corals, along with tapestries, embroidered
linens, and various types of velvet. These documents also note that the
Viceroy owned both “Moorish” and “Turkish” outfits; perhaps among
these was a garment given to him by the King of Tunis or brought back
from the campaign as booty by his son García.
More reminders of the Tunis campaign were visible in Naples. Would
Muley al-Hassan have passed by the palace of the exiled Florentine
merchant Tommaso Cambi, the same man who had reported on the poor
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booty taken during the sack in 1535? In his 1540 letter to Cambi, Paolo
Giovio offered a plan for the decoration of the façade of Cambi’s palace:
Which will offer something to say without offending anyone, and without
inappropriate adulation of Caesar, like that which sought to praise His
Majesty in the arches of Naples, Rome, Siena, Florence, Bologna, Milan,
and Genoa, [but actually] defamed him, and gave a laugh to the gallants.44
To avoid similar laughter, Giovio cautions that restraint should guide any
display of the emperor’s meritorious deeds. Among the four scenes to
be painted on the Cambi palace facade, he suggests the assault on the
fortress of La Goletta by land and sea, with the flight of Barbarossa in the
distance.45
When Muley al-Hassan visited the Viceroy’s apartments in the Torre
d’Oro of the Castel Nuovo he must have appreciated the impressive
library, a poignant reminder of the loss of his own library during the sack
of Tunis. But as a Maliki Muslim he probably shunned Pedro de Tole-
do’s sumptuous tapestries with mythological subjects, antique medals,
and dozens of paintings, especially portraits of “kings and emperors.”46
Although the Viceroy’s portrait gallery has not survived, we can look
at other members of the court whose collections are documented. For
example, according to a 1562 inventory, Jerónimo de Insausti, the
Aragonese secretary to Pedro de Toledo from 1549 to 1553, owned
portraits of Charles V, Philip, Pope Julius III, and two “Turks.” He also
owned a portrait of Muley al-Hassan on canvas that has not survived. The
painting is mentioned in conjunction with two other half-length portraits
representing John Frederick, the Duke of Saxony and Philip, Landgrave of
Hesse.47 We lack any evidence to determine whether this lost portrait of
the King of Tunis resembled the Versailles or the Vermeyen type. Never-
theless, Insausti’s patronage confirms that members of the viceregal court
commissioned or collected portraits of important figures in Habsburg
recent history.
Of the painters available for such commissions, we might point to
Pietro Negroni, who participated in both the Cosenza and Naples
triumphal entries. In addition, the Flemish painter Jan Stephan van Calcar
served as a court portraitist in Naples until his death in 1546.48 Some-
times attributed to Calcar is a portrait on canvas with large gold letters
that spell out in Latin: “Pedro da Toledo, Viceroy of Naples, Founder
of this Hospital [S. Giacomo degli Spagnoli].” The awkwardly spaced

inscription may have been added later (Fig. 4.4).
Fig. 4.4 Anon., Pedro de Toledo, oil on canvas, 66 × 80 cm, Museo di S.

Martino, Naples (Credit: Scala/Ministero per i Beni e le Attività culturali/Art
Resource, NY)
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The painting seems to recall the Neapolitan notary Castaldo who

described the viceroy’s appearance: “His face seemed wise, with a calm
and stately gravity.”49
Scholars date the Pedro de Toledo portrait anywhere from the
sixteenth to the seventeenth century; some call it anonymous, others
argue that it must be a copy after an original by Calcar.50 Within the
square format, the Viceroy appears half-length, turning his head and
shoulders in a three-quarter view. The posture and expression echo that
of Muley al-Hassan in the Versailles portrait (Fig. 4.5) Each man has a full
beard and mustache, furrowed brows, and a serious gaze that confronts
the viewer. Note how the hands of the two sitters appear as if in a mirror
image. Whereas the King of Tunis cradles his sword, Pedro de Toledo’s
hands do not hold anything, even though the fingers of the left hand curl
inward, appearing to grasp at something. The Viceroy wears a black velvet
garment with buttons running down the center, along with a mantle or
cape. The metal rosette buttons on his coat are identical to those on
Muley al-Hassan’s crimson velvet marlota. Such similarities allow us to
hazard a guess that the two portraits were made by the same artist.
If Calcar was responsible for the Versailles portrait, he must have based
the image on a close study of the Francesco Laurana figures that make
up the Tunisian embassy represented in the frieze of the Aragonese arch
of the Castel Nuovo. Whether represented in sculpture or painting, the
costumes are equally sumptuous, suggesting a courtly fusion of Europe
and North Africa. In addition, the sculpted embassy takes part in Alfon-
so’s procession with the same measure of dignity found in the Versailles
portrait; in either case, the Tunisians appear as integral members of a pan-
Mediterranean political and commercial network. Positioned at the left of
the Laurana procession are four young men wearing bulbous turbans;
three of them have tightly curled beards and mustaches (Fig. 4.6).
Within this group is an older man whose three-quarter face reveals
sunken cheeks, bags under his eyes, and a long beard. He turns to look
over his right shoulder at his companions. He links his right arm with
the man at his side while holding a laurel branch in his left, suggesting
that he is leading the group forward. This man should be identified as
Sidi Ibrahim, responsible for heading the trade delegation from Tunis
to Naples. Ibrahim wears a peaked burnoose over a long brocade tunic,
reminiscent of Muley al-Hassan’s sumptuous velvet marlota. Ibrahim’s
hood rests on a thin lining along the forehead. A similar lining appears
in the Versailles portrait, although painted a bright red that contrasts
Fig. 4.5 Anon., Muley al-Hassan, oil on panel, 92 × 76 cm. Musée national des
Palais/Art Resourcet, NY)
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Fig. 4.6 Francesco Laurana, “Sidi Ibrahim and Companions,” Detail:

Triumphal Entry of Alfonso V of Aragon, 1460s, Castel Nuovo, Naples (Credit:
Beni Culturali, Comune di Napoli)
with the white turban and veil. In addition, each man carries a sword.
Ibrahim’s weapon resembles the Andalusian, “Boabdil” type, whereas
Muley al-Hassan’s sword displays a pommel with fictive Arabic inscrip-
tions. Although the carved sword is too small to detect any inscriptions,
the actual weapons it mimics often featured Quranic texts, some even
feature pseudo-Arabic script.51 The artist of the Versailles panel, perhaps
Calcar, would have had ample reason to use the sword to remind viewers
of the oath that Muley al-Hassan had sworn on the Qur’an.
In the portrait of Pedro de Toledo, the Viceroy extends the index
finger of his right hand, bringing the viewer’s attention to a small red
cross of S. James hanging from a long necklace. A larger cross of S.
James is embroidered in red on the left shoulder of his mantle. The
portrait thus makes a double reference to the Viceroy as a knight of
Santiago or S. James the Moor slayer. Assuming that Pedro de Toledo
wore the mantle during Muley al-Hassan’s visit would the king have
found it threatening? Or might it have reminded him of the moment

when Charles V reached out to touch a crucifix on the clothing of one
of his companions during the signing of the treaty in Tunis in 1535?
The portrait of Pedro de Toledo thus combines personal piety, chivalric
honor, and perhaps an oath. It mirrors the layered associations of the
Versailles portrait in which piety is indicated by prayer beads and feudal
loyalty connoted by the partially drawn sword. Although the political
careers of the two men differed—Muley Hassan failed to maintain power
while Pedro de Toledo successfully overcame challenges to his rule—the
portraits might have made a fitting commemoration of the lengthy Hafsid
stay in Naples in 1543. Yet, no evidence has been found so far to prove
that these two specific portraits painted on different supports were ever
intended as pendants; we can only speculate that they, or similar exam-
ples, might once have formed part of the Viceroy’s extensive portrait
collection.
To return to the chronicle by De Spenis, we read that in July and again
in August, the king of Tunis was invited to banquets at the Viceroy’s
villa at Pozzuoli famed for its garden and collection of antiquities.52 The
garden gate once featured an inscription dated 1540:
Pedro de Toledo, Marchese of Villafranca, Viceroy of Emperor Charles V,

in the kingdom of Naples, when he recalled the people of Pozzuoli, who
were dispersed on account of the recent burning of the farmland, to their
former homes, dedicated gardens, ports, and marble fountains, provided
for from the wealth of spoils which his son, Garćia, had carried back as
the victor in Africa. To rest and enjoyment, and for the thirsty citizens, he
rebuilt the aqueducts at his own considerable expense. In the year of the
Virgin birth, 1540.53
Some of the North African spoils given by García to his father have
been identified as a column and four funerary tablets all displaying Arabic
inscriptions and dating from the eleventh–twelfth centuries. The bishop
and historian Pompeo Sarnelli described the four reliefs in his 1696 guide
to Pozzuoli and in the following year included engraved illustrations of
them54 (Fig. 4.7).
De Spenis does not record Muley al-Hassan’s reaction to the African
marbles in the garden, but we might imagine the King of Tunis deci-
phering the Arabic for his hosts via an interpreter. They, in turn, might
have responded by translating the Latin texts on other ancient fragments
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Fig. 4.7 Pompeo Sarnelli, “Quattro Epitaffi,” La Guida de’ Forestieri curiosi
di vedere, e di riconoscere le cose più memorabili di Pozzuoli (Naples: Antonio
Bulifon, 1769), engraved foldout between pages 56 and 57 (Credit: General
Reference Division, New York Public Library)
in the Viceroy’s collection. Such courtly pastimes would have drawn on

the contemporary interest in epigraphy, combining sociability and erudi-
tion. If artists like Calcar and Negroni were present on these occasions,
might they have attempted to copy Arabic characters from the Tunisian
stones, to be employed, for example, like those on the sword of the
Versailles portrait?
In an apocryphal anecdote from around 1570, the notary Castaldo
projected just such a moment of cross-cultural and trans-historical under-
standing. He describes the King of Tunis entering the city in 1543 in the
middle of a large procession. Whereas the anonymous avviso described
Muley al-Hassan as an avid spectator, Castaldo says that the king ignored
the crowds. The king paid no attention to the men and women in the
windows or in the piazzas, but rather maintained a grave demeanor. As the
riders advanced beyond the cathedral, they reached the church of S. Paolo
that had once been an ancient temple dedicated to Castor and Pollux, the
Dioscuri.55 “Only then did he lift his eyes to gaze at the steps, columns,
and architrave of the church of S. Paolo. It seemed to many that he was
reading the Greek letters one could see sculpted there.”56 The now lost
inscription that supposedly caught his eye read: “Tiberius Julius Tarsos
[dedicated] this temple and everything in it to the Dioscuri and the City.
Pelagon, freedman and procurator of the emperor, completed it with his

own money and consecrated it.”57 Like Giovio, Castaldo presents the
King of Tunis as a man of learning, able to appreciate ancient epigraphic
remains. This demonstration of thoughtful reverie elevated Muley al-
Hassan’s entrance into the city above the category of mere spectacle.
While the inhabitants of Naples stared at the King of Tunis, he stared at
one of the city’s famous monuments. In crafting this anecdote, Castaldo
emphasized the glorious triumph of Christianity over the pagan past.58
In Search of Charles: Florence

and Rome, Summer 1543
De Spenis notes the departure of García de Toledo and his galleys for
Genoa on June 10. After settling his retinue at the Palazzo Colonna,
Muley al-Hassan and a small party must have sailed with García on his
quest to meet with Charles V. There is a gap in the Breve cronica from
June 10 to 23, but other documents from Florence and Rome clarify the
king’s movements during this period of almost two weeks. For example,
we know that he landed on the coast of Tuscany before heading for
Florence where his anticipated arrival raised questions of diplomacy and
etiquette at the Medici court. Eleonora de Toledo, the daughter of the
Viceroy of Naples, was in charge of the city while her husband Cosimo
was in Genoa meeting with Charles V to negotiate for concessions, just as
Muley al-Hassan had hoped to do. Eleonora’s letter to Cosimo dated 26
May 1543 reveals that she feared being criticized as an outsider by the
citizens of Florence: “I lament my fortune, as I see that I am in danger
without you in a city that regards the Spanish name and this manner of
government as its enemy…”59 Thus, Eleonora had reason to be espe-
cially cautious when making plans on June 10 for the King of Tunis, a
Muslim Habsburg ally, to be met either at Staggia, in Sienese territory,
or at Poggibonsi, and from there escorted to Florence.60 A commissioner
was appointed to meet the king and his companions and to look after
their lodging and meals as honorably as possible. On June 12, Eleonora
was again occupied with the royal visit. As Muley al-Hassan was not
expected to stay more than one night, she decided to lodge him in
the old Palazzo Medici with his traveling companions nearby, all at the
expense of her husband, the duke.61 Eleonora also consulted a letter from
her father, Pedro de Toledo, describing the welcome given to Muley al-
Hassan in Naples in order to decide whether to send out an honor guard
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for an “infidel king.” Given such a short visit and the rushed, improvised
response, Muley al-Hassan’s stay in Florence does not seem likely to have
inspired the production of a formal state portrait like the one now in the
collections at Versailles.62
Muley al-Hassan failed to catch up with the imperial party as Charles
V continued his journey north to Busseto to meet with Pope Paul III.
Giovio’s account is somewhat garbled when he says, “And the Cardinal di
Carpi, Legate of Rome, having sent men ahead to invite him and to offer
him royal lodgings, would have received this Barbarian King, in order to
please the Emperor, even though he was of a different religion, if the
Emperor had not told him [Muley al-Hassan] not to leave Naples.”63
Charles’ directive to remain in Naples must have arrived only after the
king had already departed; but the emperor’s orders apparently inspired
him to end the journey and return to the Campagna.64 In any case, we
know that the King and his companions went from Florence to Rome
because a document of 15 June 1543 records payments, “to the same
servants who brought many vestments to the house of Madama where the
King of Tunis was lodged, bol. 46.”65 The Palazzo Medici Madama adja-
cent to Piazza Navona was occupied by Margarita of Austria, the natural
daughter of Charles V, and her second husband Ottavio Farnese, a veteran
of the emperor’s failed Algiers campaign of 1541.66 Acting on behalf of
the pope and his legate, Margarita offered her guests gifts of clothing but
the documents do not specify whether they were made of cloth-of-gold
or cut alla moresca, like the robe offered to Muley al-Hassan by Pedro de
Toledo earlier that summer.
The Palazzo Medici Madama interior has been altered so that little
remains of its appearance at the time Muley al-Hassan stayed there.
Even though Margarita collected many portraits over her lifetime, the
postmortem inventory makes no mention of her onetime guest, Muley
al-Hassan, or of the Versailles portrait.
But Vasari tells us that Margarita had a studiolo decorated in stucco
all’antica by Francesco dell’Indaco with paintings by Daniele da Volterra:
And for Madama Margarita of Austria…he painted in eight spaces in the

study of which mention has been made in the Life of Indaco…eight
little stories of the actions and illustrious deeds of the above-mentioned
Emperor Charles V, with such diligence and excellence, that it would be
almost impossible to do better in that kind of work.67
The subjects of the lost paintings were recorded in a sonnet by the

Milanese poet Antonfrancesco Raineri.68 He describes eight scenes,
including the 1535 siege of Tunis. Thus, the decorative program of
Margarita’s studiolo resembled Federico Gonzaga’s lost Marmirolo fresco
and Tommaso Cambi’s projected Neapolitan palace façade. While Muley
al-Hassan was a guest at the Palazzo Medici Madama, would he have been
invited to view this painted version of events that he had experienced first-
hand? Did this pictorial celebration of victory in North Africa confirm his
place in the Habsburg empire? If elite patrons kept the example of Tunis
alive in the decorations of their palaces, might the king have concluded
that they could be counted on to assist in further military operations?
The Palazzo Medici Madama also features an audience hall known as
the Sala dello Struzzo. The ostrich for which the room is named appears
on the carved wooden ceiling in gilded relief. The bird stands between
two lilies, wears a crown, and is yoked to a Medici coat of arms refer-
ring to Alessandro de’ Medici, Margarita’s first husband and the original
owner of the palace; another smaller coat of arms belongs to Margarita.
While the ostrich has many iconographic meanings, chiefly justice, this
ceiling panel may contain a hitherto unrecognized reference to Tunis.69
The Spanish chroniclers, Martín García Cerezeda and Alonso de Santa
Cruz, both mention that in 1536 Muley al-Hassan’s ambassador Azweghi
brought Pope Paul III some ostriches along with other gifts.70 De Spenis
lists two more ostriches among the animals that the King brought by ship
to Naples in 1543. The Sternsee manuscript depicts three ostriches that
closely resemble the one found in the carved wooden ceiling, with an
identical treatment of the cloven toes, round eyes, and bushy feathers.71
It is possible that the Palazzo Medici Madama ostrich records the appear-
ance of an actual animal kept in the pope’s menagerie.72 If so, the ostrich
represents the only extant reminder of North Africa in the palace.
Although Paolo Giovio wrote in his Histories that Muley al-Hassan was
ordered to stay in Naples, his letter of 15 June 1543 reveals that he knew
about the king’s side trip to the Eternal City. Giovio’s letter, written from
Parma, was sent to his friends in Rome, Nicola Renzi (Nicolas Raynce,
secretary to Cardinal Farnese) and Girolamo Angleria:
I am waiting for you Sir [to send me information regarding] the welcome
that Prospero de Mochis made for the King of Tunis, the way that the
Conservators from the Capitoline treated him; and how sweetly Sig. Latino
Juvenale [Manetti] led him in procession to see the Roman antiquities,
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what gifts the Legate [Cardinal Alessandro Farnese] gave him, how he was
received in the palace of the most reverend and illustrious [Farnese]; and if
the Indian friars [ie. Ethiopians] acted as interpreters, and if they preached
to him in order to lead him to baptism.73
In his jocular letter, Giovio imagines how Muley al-Hassan must have
enjoyed a tour of Rome under the auspices of the city government,
including a procession through the Forum, gifts, and a banquet that
all led to conversion.74 This itinerary recalls some aspects of the visit
that Charles V made to Rome in the spring of 1536.75 But, given the
brevity of the king’s stay in 1543, we should ask whether any of these
events happened or whether Giovio aimed to amuse his correspondents
with a comparison to the earlier imperial visit. Whereas a payment record
places Muley al-Hassan and his entourage in the Palazzo Medici Madama,
Giovio assumes that the Tunisians would have been lodged with Cardinal
Farnese. And, when he asks whether the king converted to Christianity, he
again seems to have garbled the information. Pope Paul’s account books
record a 1544 payment not for Muley al-Hassan’s own conversion, but
rather for one of his travel companions: “And on the 18th [June], 25
gold [ducats] paid to the most Reverend Francesco Vannutio to dress
that Moor who was with the King of Tunis, and who came to Rome to
be baptized.”76 The identity of the convert remains unknown.
The issue of conversion was also on the mind of the Archbishop
of Naples when he wrote about Muley al-Hassan’s visit to the chapel
of S. Gennaro in the cathedral. In his diary, the Archbishop says that
although the King of Tunis was astonished by the blood relic, he was not
among those Muslims present at the viewing who converted.77 Hopes
for the king’s conversion might have been raised in Naples and Rome,
but rumors that he became a Christian filtered back to Tunis with disas-
trous consequences. His elder son Amida used the rumor to justify having
usurped the throne.78
The entire stay in Rome cannot have been prolonged since the
Tunisians returned to Naples about a week after their departure from
Florence. It is hard to imagine that there could have been enough time
for the various events described by Giovio, let alone for the production
of a formal portrait. Returning on June 23, Muley al-Hassan and his
entourage entered Naples on the eve of the feast of S. Giovanni Battista.
Naples customarily celebrated the saint’s day with a merchant’s fair, a
procession with the Viceroy and civic officials, and fireworks.79 De Spenis
tells us that Muley al-Hassan rode with Pedro de Toledo through the
neighborhoods where he saw the “jewels and riches and other delica-
cies of the city.” The following day, 150 ships under the command of
Barbarossa were seen in the Straits of Capri, causing a great influx of
frightened people from the Sorrento coast into the cities of Vico, Castello
a Mare, Torre del Greco, and Naples.
When the historian Scipione Miccio came to write his biography of
Pedro de Toledo, he imagined Muley al-Hassan’s admiration for the
Neapolitan goods on display during the S. Giovanni Battista festival:
Turning [to the Viceroy], he said that he had seen two marvelous things
that day: one was the quantity of gold and silver vessels; the other
was seeing them spread out in the piazzas, when a great Turkish fleet
was passing nearby. Because in Barbary, the news of a small fleet from
Constantinople means that one does not see an ounce of gold or silver in
the whole city, for fear of being sacked.80
Miccio juxtaposes fearless Naples with fearful Tunis. When Pedro de

Toledo learns that Barbarossa will be sailing past the port city on his way
to France, he boldly orders that the saint’s day display should be even
more spectacular than usual.
De Spenis also sets up a comparison between the military bravado of
the Tunisians and the Neapolitan elites. He describes how on Sunday 1
July 1543 Muley al-Hassan presided over a splendid Moorish joust in the
Via Incoronata, near the Castel Nuovo and García de Toledo’s residence.
García and Ascanio Caracciolo, two veterans of the Tunis campaign of
1535, each dressed up in Moorish clothes, presumably marlotas, and then
processed with the king as far as the piazza of S. Giuseppe Maggiore (now
S. Diego all’Ospedaletto).81 There they joined the “real” Moors who
were waiting to show off their equestrian skills. The two cross-dressed
Europeans competed alongside Muley al-Hassan’s soldiers in a display of
lances and canes. The day ended with a horserace followed by a banquet
in the palace of Ascanio Colonna where the King of Tunis was currently
being lodged. This Moorish joust addressed several concerns. Of course,
Muley al-Hassan wanted to please his hosts, to offer them courtly enter-
tainment in exchange for the warm welcome that he and his entourage
had received from the Viceroy, his court, the Neapolitan nobles, and
their families. In addition, the joust must have functioned like an adver-
tisement since his goal in visiting Naples was to recruit soldiers for the
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military campaigns against rebellious cities in Tunis. Lastly, the king may
have wanted to counter the bad press his troops received in 1535; if this
was the case, then the participation of García and Ascanio offered more
than just festive mimicry.82 They could testify to the effectiveness of the
Tunisian warriors.
On July 25th, the feast of S. James, more races were held in the piazza
in front of Viceroy Toledo’s new church of S. Giacomo degli Spagnoli.
The first to compete were four women from the Franciscan church of
S. Maria la Nova who ran wearing only pants and socks.83 Although
the text does not specify their identity, some of these women forced to
run in undignified and humiliating undress may have been prostitutes.
A “Moretta,” or enslaved black woman, belonging to the Spanish jurist
Girolamo Fonseca, came in first place.84 After the women’s event, there
was a men’s footrace, followed by more races for donkeys, farm horses,
noble horses, and finally the much-prized Barbary horses that the King of
Tunis had given to the Viceroy. Presumably, the spectators appreciated the
sequence of competitions ranging from the most humble and powerless
women to the magnificent animals fit for the Viceroy and the Emperor.
On August 1, García arranged for races to be run in the Via Incoro-
nata near his palace. Footraces for men and women were followed by
racing donkeys, mules, farm horses, and noble horses, ending with the
Barbary horses; the day’s entertainment essentially repeated the sequence
of events of the previous week. But De Spenis explains that on this occa-
sion the Viceroy, Pedro de Toledo, Colantonio Caracciolo, and Ferrante
Sanseverino all watched the spectacle from the upper story windows of
García’s residence. When Colantonio threw silver coins (carlini) down to
the street, the Viceroy was amused to see 10,000 people diving for the
money. Not to be outdone in extravagance, García tossed gold scudi out
of an adjacent window.85 Was such a display of wealth solely intended
to impress the local populace or was it also aimed at Muley al-Hassan?
Perhaps the king was being prompted to spend his funds generously on
soldiers, encouraged not to scrimp on the expense. In this respect, the
anonymous avviso reminds us that Muley al-Hassan was rumored to have
brought a large sum of money to recruit troops. That same evening the
King was taken to a banquet at the Viceroy’s villa at Pozzuoli. And the
next day, he and his family moved from Ascanio Colonna’s palace to the
Loffredo palace in the neighborhood of Pizzofalcone.
Although De Spenis says that Muley al-Hassan did not learn about
Amida’s rebellion until September, the king’s move to the Loffredo
palace perhaps indicates a shift from princely leisure to preparations for

war. From the chronicle, we learn that Muley al-Hassan enlisted around
2500 soldiers. And Giovanni Battista Loffredo was prominent among the
twelve captains chosen to lead the troops. Giovio explains that the Viceroy
offered a pardon for exiles willing to join the king’s army; unfortunately,
this offer attracted many criminals and condemned men.86 Castaldo, in
contrast, argues that the soldiers represented, “the most valiant young
men of Naples.”87 Either way, De Spenis says that the soldiers bound
for Tunis were unhappy about their pay and attempted to mutiny even
before the galleys set sail. This discordant departure was a premonition of
the disaster to come.
Loss of Face
The long stay in Naples, from June to September of 1543, represents a
high point in Muley al-Hassan’s political fortunes, and provides the best
context for the production of a commemorative state portrait like the
oil on panel work in Versailles. In contrast, the failed Tunis expedition
in October signals a turn of fate, a pivot to the fallen reputation that
would circulate via Paolo Giovio, Matteo Bandello, and later authors.88
The lowered status of the King of Tunis after 1543 was unlikely to have
inspired the Versailles portrait with its positive connotation of fealty to
Charles V and the Habsburg empire. Moreover, as we shall see, Muley
al-Hassan’s return to Tunis would result in disfigurement and blinding,
wounds never represented in sixteenth-century portraiture.
Returning to De Spenis, we learn that once the king’s fleet arrived
in Tunis on October 8, the men disembarked at the Spanish fortress of
La Goletta. After a few days, Muley al-Hassan received an embassy from
Amida; the men kissed his feet and hands, pretending to welcome him.
The Spanish governor of the fortress, Francisco de Tovar, warned the
king not to trust these ambassadors. And he tried to dissuade him from
attempting to enter the citadel of Tunis now controlled by Amida and his
followers. De Spenis says that Loffredo rejected Tovar’s wise advice with
a foolhardy appeal to his reputation as a warrior, “We want to accom-
pany the King into Tunis, because if we don’t, what will be said about
me?” But, when Muley al-Hassan and his troops came within two miles
of Tunis, thousands of Moors on horseback and on foot poured out of the
city and the surrounding hillsides, “a stupendous thing to see.” The king
was taken prisoner and Loffredo was killed. Castaldo adds a gruesome
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detail: “Loffredo’s head, and those of the three Captains, were stuck on
lances, and carried as trophies to Amida along with the poor King made
prisoner by his son.”89 Fewer than 800 soldiers managed to save their
lives by jumping into the canal in the lagoon where boats sent by Tovar
rescued them.
The tragic scene of Amida arresting his own father would be highly
embroidered and fictionalized by later writers. De Spenis just says that
the king was taken prisoner during the melee outside the city. But Giovio
and Bandello expand on the capture, describing it in two phases: an initial
skirmish with an anonymous soldier followed by a confrontation with
Amida in the citadel. Giovio says, “But Muley al-Hassan, wielding the
lance with great spirit, and wounding his opponents, was also wounded
in the face, greatly frightening his men, who upon seeing the king with
a bloody face, were compelled to flee.”90 Bandello blames the king for
failing to protect himself, “…he wounded with his lance as many men as
he encountered, fighting with little caution, so that he received a wound
to the face.”91 Giovio adds that, having already sustained an injury, “by
the odor of his perfumes, [Muley al-Hassan] was recognized and made
prisoner.”92 Bandello affirms, “…by no other thing was he made known
to his enemies than by the very sweet and strong fumes of the most
fragrant oils that he was wearing.”93 This mention of excessive perfume
likely reminded readers that while the King was in residence in Naples, he
was rumored to think nothing of spending one hundred scudi on exotic
ingredients for the preparation of just one dish. According to Bandello,
not only was the dining room suffused with odor, but the whole palace,
and even the surrounding neighborhood.94
Giovio must have learned about Muley al-Hassan’s fondness for
scented unguents later during his personal interview with the exiled King
in Rome, when he bemoaned their loss during the sack of Tunis in 1535.
As we learned in Chapter 2, “He had stored in lead vases and ivory
boxes a great quantity of ambergris and civet…to use in bathing and to
perfume the rooms day and night, that were worth a very great sum of
money….”95 When Bandello transposes the use of unguents from the
king’s body to his food, he seems to be drawing on Leone Africano’s
description of the practice of eating hashish in Tunis. And the “perfumes”
that struck contemporaries must have simply been fragrant spices. Thus,
Giovio and Bandello present a grotesque misunderstanding of halal food,
prepared according to Islamic law, for the king and his entourage.96 In
contrast, neither the anonymous avviso, Castaldo, or Mármol Carvajal
dwell on expensive condiments. Rather than noting costly perfumes or

unguents, De Spenis says that Muley al-Hassan brought prosaic foods to
Naples, like apples, dates, and olive oil. For that contemporary Neapolitan
chronicler, shocking extravagance was demonstrated not by the King of
Tunis but rather by members of the ruling elite, like the Viceroy’s son
García de Toledo or Colantonio Caracciolo who threw coins out of the
window to the crowd below.
After Giovio and Bandello note how Muley al-Hassan received a
bloody facial wound, they shift their attention to the second phase of the
king’s arrest: imprisonment and blinding. The result, vividly described
in texts, was never illustrated in portraits of the King. Writers differed
about the degree of physical damage he sustained. Giovio himself gives
two different versions of the event: “But Amida was the victor and the
first thing he did was to cruelly blind his father, taking the light from his
eyes with a burning hot scalpel, gouging the light from one eye and then
the other.”97 Giovio was perhaps thinking about an Ottoman punishment
involving a needle to penetrate the pupil.98 Yet, earlier in the same text,
Giovio described another form of blinding based on exposing the eyes
to red hot metal at close range: “Muley al-Hassan, the King of Tunis,
[was] miserable for having had his eyes abacinated…”99 Mármol follows
Giovio when he describes how “The king was seized in the lagoon and
taken to Tunis where Amida put him in a cramped prison. After two
days he sent to know what the king preferred, to die or to live blind.
Finally, he blinded him by abacinating his eyes with a burning hot brass
bowl.”100 The literal blinding quickly took on a metaphorical dimension,
since Muley al-Hassan was blinded by the elder son whose treachery he
had been slow to suspect. His epithet would become, the “blind king of
Tunis.”
In conclusion, Muley al-Hassan’s fateful return to Tunis in 1543
triggered the rapid disintegration of Giovio’s “Re di carta,” and “Re
di taffeta.” After 1543 the Versailles portrait could only have been a
reminder of past hopes; it bore no relation to the uncertain present.
Most subsequent portraits would follow the Vermeyen model, and only
infrequently the Versailles type in prints. This chapter has traced the dete-
rioration of Muley al-Hassan’s public image from worthy Habsburg vassal
to dispossessed, blind exile. The restoration of the throne of Tunis only
lasted eight years before the King asked Charles for help a second time.
But the emperor was unwilling to enter into another African campaign
after the failure of Algiers in 1541. The affairs of the Hafsids were now
150 C. L. BASKINS
handled by the Viceroys of Naples and Sicily. Muley al-Hassan’s sons,

Amida and Ahmet, disputed the realm. Giovio recorded these events
as they were unfolding; some of the inconsistency between his various
accounts derives from these sudden changes and reversals, all set against
the backdrop of continual Ottoman pressure along the Mediterranean
coast.101 He and Bandello went on to compose what would become the
authoritative histories of Muley al-Hassan, adding moralizing touches that
emphasized the negative and occasionally grotesque qualities of the once
celebrated King of Tunis. Yet, ironically, the 1540s and 1550s, the very
decades that witnessed the weakening of the Habsburg-Hafsid alliance,
usurpation of the realm, and the king’s exile, would see an increase in the
production of European imagery related to the Tunis victory of 1535.
The following chapter will consider the last years of Muley al-Hassan’s
life, his fruitless attempts to recover his realm, and the production of new
images of Hafsid diplomacy and loyalty.
Notes
1. Leon Battista Alberti, “Apologi centum,” in Opuscoli morali, ed. Cosimo
Bartoli (Venice: Francesco Franceschi Sanese, 1568), p. 391. “Un certo
richiese un Re dipinto di potersi prevalere della liberalità sua essendo
cosa da Re, che li prestasi quella vesta d’oro della quale era vestito. ‘Se
tu mi leverai, disse la Pittura, questa vesta, io non sarò nulla”.
2. Bartolomeo Capasso, “Il Palazzo di Fabrizio Colonna a Mezzocannone:
Pagine della Storia di Napoli studiata nelle sue vie e nei suoi monumenti:
IV Muleassen Re di Tunisi nel Palazzo Colonna (1543),” Napoli Nobilis-
sima 3 (1892): 100–103, 117–121. See the identical account by Guido
Carrelli, “Il Bey Muley-Hassan a Napoli ed una infelice spedizione in
Tunisia l’anno 1543,” Rivista del Collegio Araldico 24 (1925): 21–24.
3. Giovanni Muto, “A Court without a King. Naples as Capital City in the
First Half of the 16th Century,” in The World of Emperor Charles V , eds.
Wim Blockmans and Nicolette Mout (Amsterdam: Royal Netherlands
Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2004), pp. 129–141, on p. 141. See
Carlos José Hernando Sánchez, Castilla y Nápoles en el siglo XVI. El
virrey Pedro de Toledo: linaje, estado y cultura (1532–1553) (Valladolid:
Junta de Castilla y León, 1994); and Ibid., “Nation and Ceremony:
Political Uses of Urban Space in Viceregal Naples,” in A Companion
to Early Modern Naples, ed. Tommaso Astarita (Boston: Brill, 2013),
pp. 153–176.
4. A letter from two ambassadors at the Goletta sent to the Duke of Ferrara
mention Muley al-Hassan’s preparations for departure in April 1543. He
had two ships and a galley ready to transport merchandise, including

olive oil, cow hides, and dates, as well as horses. See Cesare Foucard,
Relazioni dei duchi di Ferrara e di Modena coi re di Tunisi. Cenni e
documenti (Modena: Pizzolotti, 1881), pp. 31–32.
5. Anon., Il marauiglioso honore fatto dal vice re & signori Napolitani al
re de Tunisi per la sua venuta a Napoli: con l’ordine de l’entrata sua in
detta citta, & il numero de suoi caualli, & i presenti magnifici che si sono
fatti, doue s’inte[n]de la gran quantita de dinari portati da esso re per
soldare gente italiana, Venetia: [s.n.], MDXLIII. [18 June 1543], Folger
Library 254–627q, f. 2. At the British Library the text of the pamphlet
is attributed to Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, Il Marauiglioso honore fatto
dal vice Re & signori Napolitani al Re de Tunisi per la sua venuta a
Napoli con l’ordine de l’entrata sua in detta Citta, etc. (Venetia, 1543).
British Library, General Reference Collection C.33.h.4.; second copy in
General Reference Collection 1046.c.33.
6. See the “Breve Cronica dal 2 giugno 1543 al 25 maggio del 1547
di Geronimo De Spenis da Frattamaggiore,” ed. Bartolomeo Capasso,
Archivio Storico per le Province Napoletane 2 (1877): 511–531.
Domenici, vol. 2 (Venice: Giovanni Maria Bonelli, 1560), Book 44,
pp. 733–743. Largely copied by Bernardo Segni, Historie fiorentine, ed.
Gargano Gargani (Florence: Barbèra, Bianchi & Co., 1857), pp. 427–
429. Matteo Bandello, “Crudeltà di Amida figliuolo di Muleasse re di
Tunesi contra esso suo padre in privarlo del Regno, è fargli acciecare gli
occhi,” in La quarta parte de le Novelle del Bandello (Lyon: Alessandro
Marsilii, 1573), Novella 3, pp. 16–26. With references to sources in
Arabic, see Paul Sebag, “Une nouvelle de Bandello (XVIe siècle): Moulay
Hassan et Moulay Hamida,” Institut de Belles Lettres Arabes 127 (1971):
35–62; and Luis del Mármol Carvajal, Libro tercero y segundo volumen
della primera parte della descripcion general de Affrica con todos los
successos de Guerra (Granada: Rene Rabut, 1573), ff. 263r–264v. See
also Luis del Mármol Carvajal, Jean-Pierre Vittu, and Mika Ben Miled,
Histoire des derniers rois de Tunis: du malheur des Hafçides, de la prise
de Tunis par Charles Quint – de Kheyr-ed-Din Barberousse, Darghut – et
autres valeureux raïs (Carthage, Tunisie: Cartaginoiseries, 2007), pp. 39,
101.
8. Anthony Ossa-Richardson, “Sir Thomas Browne, Paolo Giovio, and the
Tragicomedy of Muleasses, King of Tunis,” Studies in Philology 113
(2016): 669–694.
9. Antonino Castaldo, “Dell’ Istoria di Notar Antonio Castaldo,” in
Raccolta di tutti i più rinomati Scrittori dell’ Istoria Generale del Regno
di Napoli, vol. 1 (Naples: Gravier, 1769), pp. 67–70. Briefer mentions
are found in works by Giovanni Tarcagnota, Del sito et lodi della città
152 C. L. BASKINS
di Napoli (Naples: Giovanni Maria Scotto, 1566), pp. 150r and 150v;
Scipione Miccio, “Vita di Don Pietro di Toledo,” Archivio storico ital-
iano 9 (1846), Ch. 31, pp. 48–50; Giulio Cesare Capaccio, Il Forastiero
(Naples: Domenico Roncagliolo, 1634), pp. 458–459; Giovanni Antonio
Summonte, Dell’ historia della città, e regno di Napoli, vol. 4 (Naples:
Antonio Bulifon, 1675), pp. 154–162; and Domenico Antonio Parrino,
Teatro eroico e politico de’ governi de’ viceré del regno di Napoli, vol. 1
(Naples: Francesco Ricciardo, 1730), pp. 177–178.
10. Anon., Il marauiglioso honore, f. 2.
11. The viceroy’s son Don García de Toledo hosted Muley al-Hassan during
the first part of his visit. The two men would encounter one another
again during the Habsburg siege of Mahdiyya, in 1550. See Chapter 5.
12. Anon., Il marauiglioso honore, f. 2. “Fruits” refer to captured fortresses
and cities. Compare the image of Charles as a fisherman hauling in new
realms in the triumphal arch decoration at the Porta Capuana, discussed
in Ch. 3.
13. For Muley al-Hassan’s letters briefly recalling his stay in Palermo and
meeting Ferrante’s son; see Odorici/Amari (1865), pp. 184, 188.
Writing around 1558, Fazello recalls how Muley al-Hassan stayed at the
Palazzo Ajutamicristo in 1543; see Tommaso Fazello, Della Storia di
Sicilia, ed. P. M. Remigio, vol. 3 (Palermo: Giuseppe Assenzio, 1817),
pp. 560–561; Alberto Mannino, Gli infanti di Tunisi e la communità
musulmana di Palermo tra il XVI e il XVII secolo (Palermo, 2018),
p. 19. The elegant palace, built circa 1495 by Matteo Carnilivari for
Guglielmo Ajutamicristo, had also been the temporary residence of
Charles V in 1535.
14. From later documents we learn that one of the wives was named
Rahmouna, another was called Marzucca. See the 1551 letter by Alonso
de la Cueva cited in Monchicourt (1939), p. 150; and Mannino (2018),
p. 144.
15. Anon., Il marauiglioso honore, f. 4 “…ha condotto cento bellissimi
Cavalli per donare a sua Maiesta & sono molto ricamente guarniti…”.
16. Giovio (1560), Bk 44, p. 733. “Ora egli portava à donare all Imp. bellis-
simi tapeti, & diversi ornamenti di letti, & alcune gioie fine, et due
grandissimi cavalli Barberi”.
17. For the Villa Poggioreale, see Bruce Edelstein, “‘Acqua viva e corrente’:
Private Display and Public Distribution of Fresh Water at the Neapolitan
Villa of Poggioreale as a Hydraulic Model for Sixteenth-Century Medici
Gardens,” in Artistic Exchange and Cultural Translation in the Italian
Renaissance City, eds. Stephen J. Campbell and Stephen J. Milner
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 187–220; and
Massimo Visone, “Poggioreale Revisitato: Preesistenze, Genesi e Trasfor-
mazioni in Età Vicereale,” in Rinascimento Meridionale: Napoli e il viceré
Pedro de Toledo (1532–1553), ed. Encarnación Sánchez García (Naples:

18. Anon., Il marauiglioso honore, f. 2: “Sua eccelenza gli mando una bella
roba di tella d’oro all morescha la quale gli se porre in dosso e cosi si
fatto montar sopra una piccola Chinea…”.
19. For this episode, see Joampiero Leostello, Effemeridi delle cose fatte per il
Duca di Calabria (1484–1491), ed. Gaetano Filangeri (Naples, 1883),
p. 138. See also Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Practising Diplomacy in the
Mamluk Sultanate: Gifts and Material Culture in the Medieval Islamic
World (London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2014), p. 185.
20. For post-mortem inventories, see Carlos José Hernando Sánchez, “La
vida material y el gusto artístico en la Corte de Nápoles durante el
renacimiento: el inventario de bienes del Virrey Pedro de Toledo,”
Archivo español de arte 66 (1993): 35–56; Silvana Musella Guida, “Don
Pedro Álvarez de Toledo. Ritratto di un Principe nell’Europa rinascimen-
tale,” Samnium 81–82 (2009): 239–353, on p. 299 the author notes
two marlotas and other Moorish garments.
21. In his 1645 book Jules Chifflet transposed the gift of a cloth-of-gold
garment to Brussels; see Ch. 6.
22. Odorici/Amari (1865), pp. 156, 168, 173, etc.
23. Anon., Il marauiglioso honore, f. 4 “…non vi posso per ordine narrare la
valuta & bellezza de i presenti che si sonno fatti i due personaggi…”.
24. Anon., Il marauiglioso honore, f. 4 “…li mercadanti hanno fatto i fatti
loro che fin ad hora si giudica che si sieno ispesi piu de ventimilla ducati
senza che li Signori eletti gli hanno presentato per 4 millia ducati di
drappi tra velluti, rasi, & panni…”.
25. Gennaro Varriale, “Un juicio de frontera: El caso de Francisco de
Tovar, Alcalde de la Goleta,” in Actas de la XI Reunión Científica
de la Fundación Española de Historia Moderna: Communicaciones, eds.
Antonio Jiménez Estrella and Julián J. Lozano Navarro, vol. I (Granada:
University of Granada, 2012), pp. 1224–1235, on p. 1233.
26. Odorici/Amari (1865), p. 189.
27. Millán Ariego Aragonés, “Relación de año 1541: La toma de Monas-
terio y la Calivia,” in Colección de documentos inéditos para la historia de
España, ed. Marqués de la Fuensanta del Valle, vol. 112 (Madrid: José
Perales y Martínez, 1895), pp. 465–472. On p. 469. “El rey llevaba
marlota de raso carmesí, y debajo una cota de mailla y una rosario de
rubies, y á su lado el moro valiente que se señaló en lo de Túnez delante
del Emperador.” See Monchicourt (1939), p. 60; and Robert Brun-
schvig, La Berbérie orientale sous les Hafsides des origines à la fin du
XV e siècle (Paris, Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1947), vol. 2, pp. 26, 277.
28. Hieronymus Roman, Segunda parte de las Republicas del Mundo
(Medina del Campo: Francisco del Canto, 1575), f. 454v. Given the
154 C. L. BASKINS
date Roman must be refering to a later Hafsid prince who traveled to

Europe in search of financial support from Philip II. See Beatriz Alonso
Acero, Sultanes de Berbería en tierras de la cristianidad: exilio musulmán,
conversión y asimilación en la Monarquía hispánica (siglos XVI y XVII),
(Barcelona: Bellaterra, 2006), pp. 137–151 for possible candidates.
29. Alonso de la Cueva’s 1552 letter from the Goletta to Philip II, via secre-
tary Francisco de Ledesma. Accessed on Archivo de la Frontera: Archivio
General de Simancas, Estado, Legajo 477 (doc 201), ff. 778–789.
30. Christophe van Sternsee’s ca.1547/8 album is now in the Museo Stib-
bert, Florence, MS 2025, called “Costumes of the Time of Charles V,
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and King of Spain, of Costumes of
all Nations of the World. See Katherine Bond, “Mapping Culture in the
Habsburg Empire: Fashioning a Costume Book in the Court of Charles
V,” Renaissance Quarterly 71 (2018): 530–579; see f. 1r discussed on
p. 567. For a close copy of the album, see Teresa Mezquita Mesa,
“El Códice de Trajes de La Biblioteca Nacional de España.” Goya 346
(2014): 16–41; see f. 1r.
31. On the marlota, see Barbara Fuchs, Exotic Nation: Maurophilia and the
Construction of Early Modern Spain (Philadelphia: University of Pennsyl-
vania Press, 2009), pp. 60–72; and Javier Irigoyen-García, Moors Dressed
as Moors: Clothing, Social Distinction, and Ethnicity in Early Modern
Iberia (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017).
32. See Ch. 6 for this “pious fiction”.
33. Amida’s actions were recounted in detail by Paolo Giovio and Matteo
Bandello. For a revisionist interpretation written in Ottoman Tunis,
see Muhammad ibn al-Qasim al-Ru’ayni al-Qayrawani, known as Ibn
Abi Dinar, Histoire de l’Afrique,” pp. 283–296, in Henri Jean François
Edmond Pellissier and Charles de Rémusat, Explorations scientifiques de
l’Algerie, vol. 7 (Paris, 1845), pp. 1–511. See Boubaker (2011), p. 13;
and Houssem Eddine Chachia, “In all the Colors of the Spectrum:
Historic and Artistic Representations of the Alliance between the Hafsid
Sultan Muley al-Hassan and Charles V Habsburg” (unpublished talk,
Columbia University, New York, April 2018). In Don Quijote (1605),
I.39, Cervantes would call Amida, “the bravest and cruelest Moor”.
34. De Spenis, ed. Capasso (1877), p. 518.
35. Capasso (1892), p. 102 cites the Cedole, Tesorerie, n. 276, f. 164, for
expenses related to the visitors from Tunis.
36. Castaldo (1570), p. 67; Summonte (1675), p. 155; and Capasso (1892),
p. 102.
37. On the transformation of the loggia into the Palazzo del Parco, see
Bianca de Divitiis, “Giuliano da Sangallo in the Kingdom of Naples:
Architecture and Cultural Exchange,” Journal of the Society of Architec-
tural Historians 74 (2015): 152–178; and Adele Fiadino, “Ferdinando
Manlio, architetto regio alla corte di Pedro de Toledo,” in Rinascimento

meridionale: Napoli e il viceré Pedro de Toledo (1532–1553), ed. Encar-
nación Sánchez García (Naples: Tullio Pironti, 2016), pp. 637–652.
39. For the Muslims of sixteenth-century Naples, see Giuliana Boccadamo,
Napoli e l’Islam: storie di musulmani, schiavi e rinnegati in età moderna
(Naples: D’Auria, 2010); Peter Mazur, “A Mediterranean Port in the
Confessional Age: Religious Minorities in Early Modern Naples,” in
A Companion to Early Modern Naples, ed. Tommaso Astarita (Boston:
Brill, 2013), pp. 215–234; and Gennaro Varriale, “Tra il Mediterraneo
e il fonte battesimale: musulmani a Napoli nel XVI secolo,” Revista de
Historia Moderna 31 (2013): 91–108. Evidence of the active practice of
Islam in the city comes from the Inquisition which discovered a mosque
near the wharf in 1562.
40. Gennaro Varriale, “Lugares paralelos: moros pero cristianos,” in Escrit-
uras silenciadas: el paisaje como historiografía, eds. José F. Forniés Casals
and Paulina Numhauser (Alcalá de Henares: University of Alcalá, 2013),
pp. 361–379.
41. See George L. Hersey, The Aragonese Arch at Naples 1443–1475 (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 1973), p. 53.
42. De Spenis, ed. Capasso (1877), p. 520. “Il medesimo di quinto fu
buttato bando per la citta con le trombette reale per ordine de Sua
Signoria che non sia persona alcuna de qualsevoglia grado o condizione
se sia, che faccia dispiaccere a detti mori a la pena de la vita, andando
per la citta ad cavallo, a pede, et al. loro arbitrio et volonta, non dandoli
dispiaccere nullo, anzi fandoli piacere e cortesia”.
43. De Spenis, ed. Capasso (1877), p. 520. Pedro de Toledo dedicated the
church and hospital of S. Giacomo degli Spagnuoli in 1540. The church
was designed by Ferdinando Manlio.
44. Julian Kliemann, “Il pensiero di Giovio nelle pitture eseguite sulle sue
‘invenzioni’,” in Atti del Convegno Paolo Giovio: Il rinascimento e la
memoria, ed. T. C. Price Zimmermann (Como: Società Storica Comense,
1985), pp. 197–223. See Appendix for the 1540 letter. On p. 222:
“Il che sarà cosa che darà che dire senza offendere alcuno, et senza
adulatione a Cesare, con le quale impropriamente pensando laudare, vitu-
perando Sua M.tà, et dano, che ridere a’ galanthuomini, che in archi
de Napoli, Roma, Siena, Fiorenza, Bologna, Milano et Genoa.” Giro-
lamo Marchesi da Cotignola and Giorgio Vasari decorated the interior
of Cambi’s Neapolitan palace. See Pierluigi Leone de Castris, Pittura
del Cinquecento a Napoli: 1540–1573 Fasto e devozione (Naples: Electa,
1996), pp. 15, 108.
45. The composition is reminiscent of paintings from the triumphal entries
in Naples, Rome, and Florence. See Ch. 3.
156 C. L. BASKINS
46. Hernando Sánchez (1994), p. 529.

47. Carmen Morte García, “El Inventario de Bienes del Canónigo Aragonés
Jerónimo de Insausti, Secretario en Nápoles del Virrey Pedro de Toledo,”
in Homenaje a Don Antonio Durán Gudiol (Huesca: Instituto de Estu-
dios Altoaragoneses, 1995), pp. 593–610, on p. 603. The documents
mention green taffeta covers for some of the paintings.
48. On Calcar, see Nicole Dacos, “Jan Stephan van Calcar en Italie:
Rome, Florence, Venise, Naples,” in Napoli e l’ Europa: ricerche di
storia dell’arte in onore di Ferdinando Bologna (Catanzaro, 1995),
pp. 143–145; and Pierluigi Leone de Castris, “Napoli 1532–1553: pittori
toscani, spagnoli, fiamminghi al servizio del viceré Pedro de Toledo,”
Rinascimento meridionale 7 (2016), pp. 523–544.
49. Castaldo (1570), p. 45. “Era di volto venerabile, con una placida, e
signorile gravità”.
50. Pierre Civil, “La imagen del virrey Pedro de Toledo: retrato y poder,”
Rinascimento meridionale 7 (2016), pp. 91–112, on p. 101 states that
the portrait is a late copy. But, see Silvia Cassani, La certosa e il museo
di San Martino (Naples: Electa, 2000), p. 97, oil on canvas, 66 ×
80 cm. Did the supposed Calcar painting inspire Cristoforo dell’Altissi-
mo’s version of the Pedro de Toledo portrait for the Medici? It belonged
to the series of portraits of famous people originally installed in the
Sala del Mappamondo of the Palazzo Vecchio that was moved to the
Corridoio of the Uffizi after 1570; see Uffizi inv. 64–1890. The San
Martino portrait served as the model for a print by Francesco del Grado
in Domenico Antonio Parrino, Teatro eroico e politico dei governi de’
vicere del regno di Napoli dal tempo del re Ferdinando il Cattolico fino
al presente, vol. 1 (Naples: Parrino, 1692), p. 149. Another portrait of
Pedro de Toledo attributed to the circle of Titian, dated to 1541, is in
the Alte Pinakothek, Munich.
51. David G. Alexander with Stuart W. Pyhrr and Will Kwiatkowski; Islamic
Arms and Armor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015), pp. 119–121, with bibliography.
52. On the sculpture at Pozzuoli, see Fernando Loffredo, “La villa di Pedro
da Toledo a Pozzuoli e una sicura provenienza per il Fiume di Pierino
da Vinci al Louvre,” Rinascimento meridionale 2 (2011): 93–113; and
Kelley Helmstutler di Dio and Rosario Coppel, Sculpture Collections in
Early Modern Spain (Farnham: Ashgate, 2013), pp. 118–120.
53. “PETRVS TOLETVS MARCHIO VILLAE FRANCHAE CAROLI
V IMP. IN. REGNO NEAP. VICARIVS UT PUTEOLANOS
OB RECENTEM AGRI CONFLAGRATIONEM PALANTEIS
AD PRISTINAS SEDES REVOCARET HORTVS PORTVS ET
FONTES MARMOREOS EX SPOLIIS QVAE GARSIA FILIVS
PARTA VICTORIA AFRICANA REPORTAVERAT. OTIO GENIOQ.
DICAVIT AC ANTIQVORVM RESTAVRATO PVRGATOQ. DVCTV

ACVAS SITIENTIBVS CIVIBVS SVA IMPENSA RESTITVIT AN. A
PARTV VIRG. MDXL.” See Elisabetta Serrao, “Ex Spoliis Victoriae
Africanae: Sull’origine delle iscrizioni arabe di Napoli e Pozzuoli,” in
Europe e Islam tra i secoli XIV e XVI/Europe and Islam between 14 and
16th Centuries, eds. Michele Bernardini, Clara Borrelli, Anna Cerbo,
Encarnación Sánchez García (Naples: Istituto Universitario Orientale,
2002), pp. 479–495, on p. 485.
54. Serrao (2002), p. 481. Were these Hafsid gravestones among the
numerous pieces of marble “not described further,” in the Poggio-
reale inventory of 1552? See Helmstuttler Di Dio and Coppel (2013),
pp. 118–120.
55. The church had been given to the Theatines in 1538. For the history
of this monument and its influence during the Renaissance, see Fulvio
Lenzo, Architettura e antichità a Napoli dal XV al XVI secolo: le colonne
del Tempio dei Dioscuri e la Chiesa di San Paolo Maggiore (Rome:
L’Erma di Bretschneider, 2011); and Ibid., “Ex dirutis marmoribus: the
Theatines and the Columns of the Temple of the Dioscuri in Naples,”
in Remembering Parthenope: The Reception of Classical Naples from
Antiquity to the Present, eds. Jessica Hughes and Claudio Buongiovanni
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015), pp. 242–265.
56. Castaldo (1570), p. 68: “Solo alzò gli occhi e mirò per buon spazio
alle grade, alle colonne, ed all’architrave della Chiesa di San Paolo; tanto
che parve a molti, ch’egli leggesse quelle lettere greche, ch’ivi scolpite si
vedono.” See Capasso (1892), p. 103.
57. For a discussion of the program of the pediment sculpture, see Rabun
Taylor, “The Temple of the Dioscuri and the Mythic Origins of
Neapolis,” Remembering Parthenope (2015), pp. 39–63.
58. Compare Antonio Urquízar-Herrera, Admiration and Awe: Morisco
Buildings and Identity Negotiations in Early Modern Spanish Histori-
ography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017).
59. Joan-Lluís Palos, “‘A Spanish Barbarian and an Enemy of Her Husband’s
Homeland’: The Duchess of Florence and her Spanish Entourage,” in
Early Modern Dynastic Marriages and Cultural Transfer, eds. Joan-Lluís
Palos and Magdalena S. Sánchez (Farnham: Ashgate, 2016), pp. 165–
187; quote on p. 184.
60. ASF, Mediceo del Principato 1170, document 6020, folio 262. Letter
from Lorenzo di Andrea Pagni to Pier Francesco Riccio: “[…] La
Duchessa mia sig.ra [Eleonora di Toledo] vuole che la S.V. dia ordine in
Siena da essere avisata quando arriverà il Re di Tunizi, el quale essendo
partito da Napoli per terra per andare a [trovare?] S.M.tà a Pavia, passerà
per Firenze, onde S. Ex. vuole che la S.V. dia ordine che uno commis-
sario in nome del Duca et di lei lo incontri a Staggia o a Poggibonzi et
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procuri che detto Re et la sua comitiva sia bene alloggiata per i sua danari
et accarezzato quanto sia possible, et accompagnato da detto commis-
sario per tutti e’ luoghi del dominio di S. Ex.a. Et quando S. M.tà
sarà giunta in Firenze, vuole sia presentata honoratamente in cose da
mangiare et da bere et che qualcuno in nome di lei et del Duca la visiti
et offerisca, ecc”.
61. ASF, Mediceo del Principato 1170, document 6102, folio 417. Also,
ASF, Mediceo del Principato 1170, document 6017, folio 260. Letter
from Lorenzo di Andrea Pagni to Pier Francesco Riccio: “Et havendo
fatto di poi ho a dirgli da parte sua che non dovendo stare il Re di
Tunizi in Firenze più che una sera, vuole che sia alloggiato nel Palazzo
Vecchio de’Medici et li intorno con tutto il suo traino et spesato di
quello del Duca mio sigr.e. Et perchè li pareve che se gli dovessi anco
mandare cittadini ad incontrato et io risposi che non sapevo come fussi
conveniente di far tal cosa a uno Re infidele, però s’è resoluta che io
mandi in mano di V.S. la lettera che ha scritto a S. Ex. il Vicerè di
Napoli, acciò vegga le ultimi dua capitoli di essa, toccanti questo Re di
Tunizi, et le mostri al S.or Don Giovanni [Juan de Luna?] et col parere
suo si risolva se si ha a mandare cittadini a incontrar S.M.tà o no…”.
62. Cristoforo dell’ Altissimo’s portrait of Muley al-Hassan for the Medici
corridoio, dating between 1552 and 1580, was modeled after the
Vermeyen prototype.
63. Giovio, Historie (1560), p. 734. “Et già il Card. di Carpi, Legato di
Roma, havendo mandato innanzi huomini à invitarlo, & à offerirgli allog-
giamenti reali per far piacere all’Imp. era per ricever questo Re Barbaro,
ancor ch’egli fosse d’altra religione, se l’Imp. non gli havesse fatto inten-
dere, che non si movesse di Napoli.” Recall that Giovio offered to
send Cardinal Jean de Lorraine a portrait of Muley al-Hassan in 1536;
see Ch. 3.
65. Antonino Bertolotti, “Speserie segrete e pubbliche di Paolo III,” Atti e
memorie della Diputatione di Storia Patria per le provincie dell’Emilia 3
(1878), p. 190 for June 15, 1543—“alli stessi [facchini] che portarono
molti paramenti in casa di Madama ove dovea allogiare il Re di Tunisi,
bol. 46.” As noted in Renato Lefevre, Madama Margarita d’Austria
1522–1586 (Rome: Newton Compton, 1986), p. 154.
66. Margarita’s first husband, Duke Alessandro de’ Medici, featured in the
Florentine triumphal entry of 1535, was assassinated in 1537. In addi-
tion to Lefevre (1986), see also, Margherita d’Austria (1522–1586):
costruzioni politiche e diplomazia, tra corte Farnese e Monarchia spagnola,
ed. Silvia Mantini (Rome: Bulzoni, 2003); and Giuseppe Bertini and
Silvia Mantini, L’inventario di Margherita d’Austria (Turin: Umberto
Allemandi, 2010).
67. Francesco dell’ Indaco had previously worked on the 1536 Roman
triumphal entry for Charles V. On the decoration of Margarita’s studiolo,
see Vasari, “Life of Jacopo dell’Indaco” and “Life of Daniele da
Volterra,” in Le vite de’ piu eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori, ed.
Gaetano Milanesi (Florence: Sansoni, 1906), vol. 3, p. 682; vol. 7, p. 57;
and Uta Ullrich, Der Kaiser im “giardino dell’impero”: Zur Rezeption
Karls V. in italienischen Bildprogrammen des 16. Jahrhunderts (Berlin:
Mann, 2006), pp. 75–76.
68. Antonfrancesco Raineri, Cento sonnetti (Milan: Giovanni Antonio Borgia,
1553), commentary f. 140. See Vittoria Romani, Daniele da Volterra:
amico di Michelangelo (Florence: Mandragora, 2003), pp. 35, 180.
69. Una Roman d’Elia, Raphael’s Ostrich (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania
State University Press, 2015), Fig. 97. The author does not mention the
gifts from Tunisia.
70. See Martín García Cerezeda, Tratado de las campañas, vol. 2 (Madrid,
1874), p. 115; and Alonso de Santa Cruz, Crónica del emperador Carlos
V (Madrid, 1920), p. 358.
71. Museo Stibbert, Florence, MS 2025, f. 56.
72. Roman D’Elia (2015) p. 89 briefly considers the papal menagerie. See
Almudena Pérez de Tudela and Annemarie Jordan Gschwend, “Renais-
Iberia and Central Europe,” in Early Modern Zoology: The Construction
of Animals in Science, Literature, and the Visual Arts, eds. Karl A. E.
Enenkel and Paul J. Smith (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2007), pp. 419–447.
73. Paolo Giovio, Pauli Iovii Opera: Lettere, ed. Giuseppe Guido Ferrero,
vol. 1 (Rome: Istituto poligrafico dello Stato, Libreria dello Stato, 1956),
pp. 314–315: “Io aspetto da V. S. la cerimona che avera fatto Pros-
pero de Mochis al Re di Tunisi, lo trattamento che gli averanno fatto
li Conservatori in Capitolio; e come dolcemente messer Latino Iuvenale
lo avera menato in processione a veder l’antiquità romane, che presente
li avera fatto il signor Legato, di qual manera l’averà ricevuto in casa
sua Sua Signoria Rev.ma e Ill.ma; e se gli frati indiani gli saranno stati
interpreti, e se gli aranno predicato per condurlo al battesimo”.
74. Prospero de Mochis (Mochi) was in charge of Roman fortifications and a
collector of classical antiquities. Latino Giovenale Manetti was appointed
commissioner for Rome’s antiquities and had been put in charge of the
1536 triumphal entry; see Nicole Dacos, “De ‘Tempus edax rerum’ à
‘Roma quanta fuit ipsa ruina docet’: Hermannus Posthumus, l’entrée à
Rome de Charles Quint et Latino Giovenale Manetti,” in Roma quanta
fuit, ou l’invention du paysage de ruines (Paris: Somogy; Brussels: Musée
de la Maison d’Erasme, 2004), pp. 145–179. Renzi worked for the
Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, the “signor Legato”.
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75. Giovio, Lettere volgari (1560); 28 December 1536, f. 16v. Charles

visited SS. Apostoli, the Forum, Testaccio, gave charity at S. Spirito,
and touched the paw of the ancient bronze Lupa, at the Capitoline.
76. Léon Dorez, La cour du pape Paul III, d’après les registres de la trésorerie
secrète (collection F. de Navenne), 2 vols. (Paris: Ernst Leroux, 1932), vol.
2, p. 298: “1544, fol. 20 a. [June 18] “È più a di 18 venticinque d’oro in
oro pagati al R.do messer Francesco Vannutio per far vestire quello Moro
che stava col Re di Tunisi, e ch’è venuto a Roma per battezzarse…29
b––-”.
77. For more on this anecdote, see Ch. 6.
78. Mármol Carvajal (1573), Book 5, f. 262v. Amida not only tells the
inhabitants of Tunis that his father has become a Christian, but he warns
them that there will be another devastating sack of the city.
79. On the S. Giovanni Battista festival, see John Marino, Becoming
Neapolitan: Citizen Culture in Baroque Naples (Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press, 2010), pp. 201–205.
80. See Miccio (1600), p. 48 “Il quale, tornando disse che aveva vedute
due cose meravigliose quel giorno: una era la moltitudine de’ vasi d’ oro
e d’ argento; l’ altra era d’ averli veduti sparsi per le piazza, a tempo
che passava da vicino si grossa armata Turchesca: perche in Barberia, per
piccola armata che si sente muovere da Costantinopoli, non si vede un’
onza d’ oro ne d’ argento in tutto quel paese, per paura di non esser
saccheggiata”.
81. See De Spenis, ed. Capasso (1877), pp. 518–525. On mimicry, see
Max Harris, Aztecs, Moors, and Christians: Festivals of Reconquest in
Mexico and Spain (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000), pp. 182–
183; and Ibid., “Authentic Moors: Two Cases of Muslim Participation
in Sixteenth-Century European Mock Battles,” Leeds Studies in English
32 (2001): 119–128.
82. See Ch. 2 for complaints about Muley al-Hassan’s troops not showing
up for battle or being of very little use.
83. On the history of races with prostitutes and ribalds, see Richar C. Trexler,
“Correre la terra: Collective Insults in the Late Middle Ages,” Mélanges
de l’Ecole française de Rome 96 (1984): 845–902.
84. Capasso (1877), p. 522 claims that “Fonseca” refers to a neighborhood
in Naples rather than to a person. But the use of that name postdates
1543.
85. The scudo was first minted in 1538; see Antonio Calabria, The Cost of
Empire: The Finances of the Kingdom of Naples in the Time of Spanish
Rule (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), p. xiii.
86. Giovio, Historie (1560), Bk 44, p. 735; and Bandello (1573), f. 17v.
87. Castaldo (1570), p. 68.
88. For the later literary fortunes, see Ossa-Richardson (2016).
89. Castaldo (1570), p. 70: “La testa del Loffredo, e di quelli tre Capitani
furono poste sulle zagaglie, e per trofeo portate ad Amida insieme con
il povero Re fatto prigione del figlio.” The notary goes on to note the
universal mourning in Naples, in which one heard the cries and laments
of the mothers, wives, children, and sisters of the fallen soldiers.
90. Giovio, Historie (1560), Bk 44, p. 738. “Ma Muleasse animosamente
adoperando la lancia, et quanti gli venivano incontro ferendo, fu ferito
anch’egli nella fronte, spaventaronsi grandemente i suoi, veggendo il Re
col volto sanguinoso, et furono costretti à fuggire”.
91. Bandello (1573), f. 21v “…con la sua lancia quanti ne incontrava tanti
ne feriva, poco avedutamente combattendo; onde ebbe una ferita su la
facia”.
92. Giovio, Historie (1560), Bk44, p. 739. “…che l’odore de’ profumi, fu
conosciuto, & fatto prigione”.
93. Bandello (1573), f. 22v “…da nessuna cosa più tosta fu da li nemici
conosciuto che da la soavissima e grande esalazione degli odoratissimi
unguenti che a dosso portava”.
94. Giovio, Historie (1560), Bk 44, p. 734. Bandello (1673), p. 17. In
contrast to the anonymous author of the avviso or De Spenis, Bandello
says that Muley al-Hassan was lodged at the Castel Capuano in Naples.
Since Viceroy Toledo had converted that structure to serve as the Vicaria,
or hall of justice, it does not seem likely to have served as the king’s
temporary residence.
95. Giovio, Historie (1554), Bk 34, ff. 382v–383v. “Percioche in vasi di
piombo, e in cassette d’avorio havea riposte tanta quantità d’ambra, &
di zibeto (noi non sappiamo anchora i vocaboli antichi di queste cose)
per adoprargli di continuone bagni, & per profumare le camere di &
note, che valeva grandissima somma di denari…”.
96. For the notion that the king ate with his feet, see Antoine Perrenin
“Expédition de l’Empereur contre Barbarousse et Thunis, 1535,” in
Staatspapiere zur geschichte des kaisers Karl V. Aus dem Königlichen archiv
und der Bibliotheque de Bourgogne, ed. Karl Lanz (Stuttgart, 1845),
pp. 535–581, on p. 563. This claim does not appear in the Spanish
edition of Perrenin’s text published by Rubén González Cuerva and
Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra, Túnez 1535: Voces de una campaña
europea (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2017).
Apparently, the misunderstanding arose from the Tunisian custom of
eating while seated on the floor.
97. Giovio, Historie (1560), Bk 44, p. 739. “Ma Amida rimaso vintore per
la prima cosa fece crudelmente accecare il padre togliendoli il lume de
gli occhi, il che sì facea con uno scarpello affocato, cavandogli la luce
dell’uno et l’altro occhio.” Copied closely by Bandello (1573), f. 22v.
“Egli fu preso e presentato à Amida vittorioso, il quale nessuna cosa
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più ebbe a core che fare acciecare suo padre Muleasse, facendoli con
uno scarpellino di ferro affocato guastare le pupille degli occhi.” See
Ossa-Richardson, (2016), pp. 681–682.
98. On blindness, see Kristina Richardson, Difference and Disability in the
Early Medieval Islamic World: Blighted Bodies (Edinburgh: Edinburgh
99. Paolo Giovio, La prima parte delle Istorie del suo tempo, ed. Lodovico
Domenichi (Venice: Domenico de’Farri, 1555), Bk 18, f. 525v. “Mule-
asse Re di Tunisi miserabile per essergli stati abbacinati gli occhi dalla
crudele ingiuria del fratello (sic)”.
100. Mármol Carvajal (1573), Bk 5, f. 263. “El Rey fue preso dentro del
estaño y llevado a Tunez le mando Hamida poner en una estrecha
prision, y dende a dos dias he embio a dezir que qual queria mas, morir,
o vivir ciego, y alfin le hizo cegar abacinando le los ojos con una bacia
de açofar ardiendo”.
101. Zimmermann (1995), pp. 240–242.
CHAPTER 5
Vanishing Acts
“Those rebels in Tunis do everything like

Turks: they dress in Turkish clothes and
they are governed by the Turks.”1
Muley al-Hassan to Ferrante Gonzaga, 22 February 1546
In 1534 Barbarossa occupied Tunis, spurring Charles V to mount a

military campaign to restore Muley al-Hassan. In the following decades,
another Ottoman corsair, Dragut (i.e., Turgut Reis), would threaten
the coastal cities of the Sahel, which once again drew a response from
the Habsburgs. The contested cities of this region appear in a humble
woodcut map on the title page of an anonymous news pamphlet of 1550,
titled “The Siege of Africa with the outcome of the events, describing the
assault batteries, palisades, ditches, trenches built inside and outside during
the siege and up to the victory”2 (Fig. 5.1). The map is oriented with north
at the bottom of the page; the cities of Kelibia, Monastir, and Africa (ie.
Latin: Aphrodisium, Arabic: Mahdiyya) display flags with Christian crosses
indicating recent victories.3 In this chapter, we will see how Ottoman
expansion continued to motivate the Hafsids to ally with the Habsburgs
but also to explore a new alliance with their former enemies, the Sabbiyya,
rulers of the holy city of Qayrawan. At the same time that Amida usurped
his father’s realm and Dragut was poised to claim more territory for the
Ottomans, European historians and artists were busily commemorating

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05079-4_5
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Fig. 5.1 Anon., “Map,” La presa di Africa con il successo delle cose occorse
narrando batterie assalti dirupi cave fossi trinzere tanti di dentro quanto di
so[p]ra fate durante lo assedio per infino ala presa. (s.l. s.d.), woodcut, f. 1r
(Credit: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich)
5 VANISHING ACTS 165
the Tunis victory of 1535. In fact, an outpouring of books, frescoes,

tapestries, prints, and medals dates to the 1550s.4 This time lag means
that politics in Tunis continued to evolve even as the historical record
was being rendered permanent in texts and visual images. Nevertheless,
we will uncover a handful of largely unexplored prints and maps that
give us a clear picture of current events in the north African kingdom.
If Paolo Giovio, Matteo Bandello, and other writers portray Muley al-
Hassan toward the end of his life in a “new unhappy guise,” we might
instead view this period as his “Act 2.”5 His coat may have been tattered,
but the deposed Hafsid king had more than a few surprises up his sleeve.
Muley al-Hassan, Muley Ahmet,

and the Sharif of Qayrawan
After being arrested and blinded by Amida in 1543, Muley al-Hassan was
initially imprisoned in the citadel of Tunis. During the political upheaval
of the next two years, he was able to escape and take refuge in the Spanish
fortress of the Goletta located almost eight miles from the city. The
fortress was constantly under construction, with new walls and fortifica-
tions being added to the site. Complaints from the soldiers stationed there
focus on the spartan conditions and monotonous, poor-quality rations.6
Muley al-Hassan’s wives, including Rahmouna and Marzucca, joined him
in protective custody, while his younger sons Abu Bakr and Ahmet served
as hostages. The Hafsid youths must have learned some rudimentary
Italian and Spanish, languages that would serve them when dealing with
Habsburg officials in the future. During this period, the deposed king
wrote repeatedly to Ferrante Gonzaga, his former host in Palermo but
now serving as Viceroy of Milan, for military and financial assistance. In
a letter from 22 February 1546, for example, he condemned Amida for
his alliance with Dragut: “[T]his usurper does everything like a Turk, and
he says that he is a Turk; in fact, he has a Turkish concubine and Turkish
courtiers…Those rebels in Tunis do everything like Turks: they dress in
Turkish clothes, and they are governed by the Turks.”7
Even though Muley al-Hassan warned the Habsburgs about Amida’s
alliance with Dragut, he could not dissuade them from negotiating with
the usurper during the period from 1545 to 1555.8 Such treaties required
the continuation of Muley al-Hassan’s annual tribute payments, good
treatment of hostages and Christian captives, the upkeep of fortresses, and
the provision of wood and limestone for construction. But the agreements
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were fragile and only observed in the breach. Amida delayed, prevaricated,
and balked at becoming a Spanish vassal. Luis Pérez de Vargas, newly
appointed governor of the Goletta in 1546, tirelessly argued with Amida
for the release of Ahmet from the fortress and in favor of allowing the
former hostage to go live in Sicily with a large subsidy provided by his
older brother. But Amida was afraid that Ahmet would take up arms to
contest the realm, and he was unwilling to provide the necessary funds.
In a letter of 11 June 1546, written from Palermo to Fernando
Gonzaga in Milan, Muley al-Hassan’s son Abu Bakr explained recent
developments involving his father and brothers:
I am informing your Highness how as of today my brother Amida moved

against our father’s cause. I have been in the Goletta for my own safety,
fearing to see [happen to] me what I saw [happen] to my father. Captain
Don Francisco Tovar and the Mareschal de León [Francisco de los Cobos]
let my brother go free and took me [hostage] in exchange, without giving
me warning about it or asking to see if I was willing. I beg your grace to
allow me to visit his Majesty and to get his permission to be able to go
and kiss his hands [in Germany]. I also inform your Highness that captain
Luis Pérez de Vargas has made a treaty with my brother [Amida] and he
sent our father to the Bedouins [ie. to Qayrawan] and me to Palermo.
Although I was disappointed not to find you [in Palermo], the Viceroy
[Juan de Vega] has shown me every courtesy. And it would please me to
visit the Emperor, as my father wishes to come and kiss the hand of his
Majesty, and I consider myself his [loyal] son…9
Giovio echoes Abu Bakr, confirming that at this moment, “[…] his son,
Ahmet, who had been held hostage, taking little used roads, fled into
the country of the Bedouins, to the family of his ancestor [ie. grand-
mother] Lentigesia, to be safe from ambush, and to await the outcome of
his brother’s rule.”10 At this time, the Spanish gave the young prince the
task of holding their presidio in Mahometa (modern Hammamet) on the
coast southeast of Tunis. Abu Bakr’s appeal to Pérez de Vargas was ulti-
mately successful. The following year, the governor allowed him to join
Muley al-Hassan on his trip to the imperial court in Augsburg in pursuit
of his legal case against the former governor of the Goletta, Francisco de
Tovar.
This escalating rivalry between Amida and Ahmet provides the context
for a reinterpretation of two related prints by Jan Vermeyen, Muley Ahmet,
African Prince, Son of the King of Tunis and Muley Hassan and his
Retinue at a Repast 11 (Figs. 5.2 and 5.3). Although the prints have been
associated with the Tunis campaign of 1535, they should be dated to
the years 1545–1550 since they represent events unfolding more than
a decade after Vermeyen accompanied Charles to north Africa.12 From
1545 onward, Vermeyen was in residence at the imperial court in Brussels,
where he would have had access to news reports, diplomatic dispatches,
and rumors about the bitter struggle between the rival Hafsid princes.
At this time, the artist was busy designing the cartoons for the Tunis
tapestries with Pieter Coecke van Aelst, and he also included north African
imagery in the Micault family triptych of 1548 for the altar of S. Lazarus
in the cathedral of Brussels, as well as in a 1551 map of Bejaïa, Algeria,
dedicated to Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, the Duke of Alba.13
The etched portrait of Ahmet was apparently made after a lost
painting.14 The scale of the work is monumental, nearly life-sized, and
reminiscent of a painted portrait. Charles V, one of his viceroys, or
generals would have been an appropriate recipient of such an ambi-
tious and technically challenging work.15 The overall format, posture,
and treatment of the clothing echo the Vermeyen-inspired broadsheet
(Antwerp: Silvester van Parijs, 1535) (Fig. 5.4).
Mitigating against an early date for the print is the fact that during the
siege of 1535, Ahmet was only a boy held hostage at the Goletta; he was
not yet called a “prince.” In the Vermeyen etching, he appears as the adult
Hafsid heir apparent and as a Habsburg vassal. Given Vermeyen’s first-
hand knowledge of Tunis, we should assume that the name in the caption,
MULEY AHMET , accurately identifies Muley al-Hassan’s younger son,
Ahmet, who stands half-length, staring off to his left, while grasping the
scabbard of his sword in his right hand.16 The tension in Ahmet’s face is
conveyed by a furrowed brow and large bulging eyes, a small mouth with
tightly pursed lips, and a puckered chin. Unlike the broadsheet with its
plain background, the later etching shows some ruins of a Roman aque-
duct and other simple, low buildings behind the main figure. The location
is not Carthage near Tunis but rather Zaghouan just west of Mahometa.17
Dotted across the background are small groups of fighting men; at the
left margin of the print, we find a group of European foot soldiers with
lances and long guns facing across the battlefield toward the right where
Moors on horseback carry lances, swords, and a crossbow. Ahmet is an
ally, a moro amico, not the enemy, although he appears caught between
the Europeans and the local Bedouin tribes. Just to the right of Ahmet,
we see a casualty lying on the ground who wears European clothing; his
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Fig. 5.2 Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, Muley Ahmet, ca. 1547, etching, 46.4 ×
37.7 cm, Boijmans van Beuningen Museum L 1959/51 (PK) (Credit: Boijmans
van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam [public domain])
Fig. 5.3 Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, Muley Hassan and Retinue at a Repast, ca.
1547–1550, engraving and etching, 33.2 × 54.1 cm, Metropolitan Museum
of Art, 1994.121 (Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York [public
domain])
dead hands still cradle a lance while a round shield leans against his right
shoulder. Above this corpse and the Moorish cavalry that threatens to
trample him, some low rammed earth walls surround a single date palm.
Moving to the upper right of the Muley Ahmet etching, we find a
large shield topped with a crown, a motif used by noble families in
the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily.18 Thus, the title “Muley,” or ruler,
as well as the prominent display of the crowned coat of arms in the
printed portrait, declare Ahmet’s place in the Hafsid-Habsburg alliance,
a role that only emerged in the mid-1540s after his elder brother Amida
betrayed his father and usurped the realm. Within the large cartouche
with its scrolling edges, an Arabic inscription surrounds a smaller bifur-
cated shield with a crescent moon framing a profile face.19 The clumsy
letters spell the first line of the shahada, or Muslim profession of faith;
the script was perhaps copied from a contemporary Hafsid coin.20 Pseudo
Arabic also decorates Muley al-Hassan’s sword pommel in the Versailles
portrait, reminding the viewer of the oath of fealty that he swore on the
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Rex Thunissae
Parijs, ca. 1535),
Paris)
Qur’an. The conjunction of the Arabic inscription and the Crown of the
Regno in Vermeyen’s print serves the same purpose, attesting to Ahmet’s
dual allegiance and fidelity.21
The setting of the etching in Mahometa explains the inclusion of the
ruined aqueducts of Zaghouan, the groups of skirmishing soldiers, and
the scanty food supply implied by the single date palm. In his letter of 14
April 1546 to Ferrante Gonzaga, Ahmet explains:
As you know, we don’t have a single friend in these cities. Everyone looks
for ways to harm us, on account of the friendship that we bear you. Every-
thing that we do for love of you – to maintain your dominion -- offends
them. As you know, the Turk Dragut is moving against these cities. May
God confound him! We ask of your generosity, your Lordship, that you
send a message to the inspector and the Captain of the Goletta [Luis
Pérez de Vargas] that they should give us the weapons that we need, and
the gunpowder, because this city is weak and the peasants love the Turks,
enemies to you and us. Thus, we put ourselves under [the care of] your
Lordship. Furthermore, we beg you to supply wheat to this city, since the
people of Qayrawan are our enemies, those from Tunis even worse, as you
know very well; and those from Sousse are the same. If you don’t find
someone to furnish food to these cities, we won’t be able to find any for
ourselves on account of the terrible famine that we are suffering now. We
ask your Lordship to concede safe passage to the sailors in these cities,
and in that way to show them your protection and generosity. We are also
letting your Lordship know that a frigate was taken from the Turks near
Kelibia. This is as much as we had to explain to you. We beg your Lordship
for a reply. From here [Mahometa], etc.22
Ahmet’s letter to Gonzaga registers an Ottoman threat, hostile neigh-

bors, and devastating famine. He mentions Qayrawan, a fiercely inde-
pendent city ruled briefly by the Ottomans (1534–1538), and attacked
by Muley al-Hassan in 1535, 1536, and 1540. But Ahmet did not
foresee the imminent changes among the Sabbiyya a loose federation
of Bedouin tribes united under the banner of Sufism and centered in
Qayrawan. By 1546 the Sharif of Qayrawan began to call himself a
“king,” further igniting fears about his intention to extend power over
the entire kingdom of Tunis. The governor Pérez de Vargas sent Muley
al-Hassan south to the Bedouin tribes just as these critical shifts in leader-
ship were taking place.23 Under the pressure of new invasions by Dragut,
the Sabbiyya would do an about-face to unite with their former adversary
Muley al-Hassan and his Habsburg partners.24
Vermeyen’s second print, an engraving conventionally known as Mulay
Hassan and his Retinue at a Repast, slightly exceeds the dimensions of
the large etched portrait of Muley Ahmet . The monumental scale suggests
that the two images were conceived as a pair. Modern viewers have
described the print as “…an actual scene with the Moorish king of Tunis,
Mulay Hasan, whom Charles reinstated as his vassal…”25 But the print
should not be mistaken for a simple genre subject, rather it depicts the
unprecedented alliance between the Hafsids and the Sabbiyya. It should
be dated to circa 1547–1550 when this political coup was cemented by
172 C. L. BASKINS
a marriage between prince Ahmet and a Sabbiyya princess called Guade-

mala (Arabic: Khadmallah, or “servant of God”).26 The print represents
the interior of a tent, with curtains pulled back at the upper left and right
revealing fifteen men and two women gathered around a carpet spread on
the ground. The viewer feels privy to a secretive, conspiratorial gathering.
Laid out on the rug is a simple meal dramatically lit by three burning
candles in metal candlesticks. Muley al-Hassan appears in the upper row
of figures, just to the left of the center; he is the largest man, wearing the
most voluminous turban, and his face displays the distinctive wall eyes
that we recognize from the earlier Antwerp broadsheets. The cluster of
five dishes in front of Muley al-Hassan suggests that he is an honored
guest. Yet, we see just a scrawny bird, some bread, and dates. While a
single date palm in Vermeyen’s portrait of Ahmet alludes to the current
food shortages, this “repast” also appears meager. Again, Vermeyen seems
to have been aware of the local famine as reported in correspondence by
Muley al-Hassan, his son Ahmet, and the Spanish officers in north Africa.
Such a representation of the king’s meal could not be more different than
the food he was supposed to have enjoyed in Naples in 1543, rumored
to be swimming in ambergris, and said to have cost 100 scudi per dish.
Vermeyen places just one figure, on the left margin in profile, putting a
small morsel into his mouth; on the opposite side of the print, the artist
shows an older man tipping a bowl up to his lips to drink while another
man reaches out to take some bread or fruit. Overall, the figures appear
more focused on conversation than on eating.
Two older, bearded, and unarmed men sit at the upper right as they
stare at the two former enemies seated in the center of the composition:
Muley al-Hassan and Muhammad ben Abi Taieb [modern Muhammad
ben Abî Tayyeb], the Sharif of the Sabbiyya, the King of Qayrawan.
Muley al-Hassan hunches forward as if to draw the assembly in to his
words. His hands appear strained and agitated, as they accompany his
urgent message—to join forces against Dragut and the Ottomans.27 The
Sabbiyya King to the right is much smaller than Muley al-Hassan; he holds
a bladed utensil in his right hand while he turns his head to listen intently
to his guest. Just prior to 1560, the Corsican author Antonfrancesco Cirni
described Abi Taieb: “This King had a good presence, he was small in
stature with a big white beard…he sat down on rugs on the ground.
He was dressed alla moresca with a long tunic down to mid-calf of thin
striped fabric. They say that among the Moors this King is respected
like we respect the Pope.”28 The Spanish historian and novelist Pedro de
Salazar also refers to the Sharif of Qayrawan as their, “pope…and a very

holy Moor.”29 In reference to this widespread comparison of the Sharif
of Qayrawan to the pope, Vermeyen represents him wearing a conical hat
with three rows of decoration that resembles a papal tiara.30
In the foreground of Vermeyen’s print, we see three young, seated
warriors from the back; long scabbards poke out from beneath their
full sleeves. The man to the left of this trio, on the vertical axis with
Muley al-Hassan, sits with his bare feet crossed in front; his right hand
rests on his thigh. He extends his raised left hand, revealing a concealed
dagger. Faintly visible daggers also appear on the backs of the hands
of the two companions to his left. These five men in the foreground
should be understood as Hafsid soldiers. The saluting gesture indicates
a response to Muley al-Hassan and the Sharif seated on the other side
of the carpet. Likewise, within the group of Sabbiyya men at the upper
left, a young turbaned figure raises his right hand as if to hail Muley
al-Hassan’s speech. At the right margin, another man wearing a helmet-
like cap points across the carpet in the direction of the young saluting
man that we can now identify as prince Ahmet, the faithful son upon
whom Muley al-Hassan depended to restore the realm. Beyond the mili-
tary alliance under discussion, Ahmet’s gesture could indicate acceptance
of another related proposal, a pledge of marriage.31 Contemporaries were
struck by this Hafsid-Sabbiyya marital union and its political importance.
Pedro de Salazar, for example, notes Amida’s angry reaction to his broth-
er’s wedding, though he mistakenly refers to Ahmet Arfa (Sidi’Arafa
al-Shabbi, d.1542) rather than to Abi Taieb:
…[Amida] considered Hametalfa, the lord of Qayrawan, his capital enemy,

[ever] since he contracted a marriage between one of his daughters and
Muley Ahmet his brother. And [he thought that] through that obedient
son, Muley Hassan would recover the realm, that Hametalfa would do
all in his power to restore the royal crown of Tunis to his father. After-
wards Muley Ahmet [remained with] the King and lord of the Realm
[Qayrawan], even though until then Hametalfa had been an enemy of
Muley Hassan for the anger he had expressed.32
The Spanish soldier and historian Luis del Mármol Carvajal like-
wise writes, “Sidi Mahamet Arfa began to call himself the king of
Qayrawan…he made peace with Muley Hassan, the king of Tunis, by
marrying one of his daughters to Muley Ahmet, his son…”33 Relations
174 C. L. BASKINS
between Ahmet and the Sharif would continue to evolve into the next
decade; for example, the Hafsid prince negotiated with the Habsburgs on
behalf of the Sabbiyya in 1550 and 1552.34
The Sabbiya bride Khadmallah must be the young woman at the upper
left who leans toward Muley al-Hassan and fixes her gaze upon him.
Vermeyen has cast this figure in shadow, as she stands behind some large
cushions adjacent to the group of seated Sabbiyya men. But we can make
out her “bridal” gesture, pulling the drapery around her face as in images
of the classical matron, Hera or Juno. The only other woman in the group
appears at the bottom right; she is unveiled, rests her chin on her fingers,
wears an earring and a bracelet, and has many thick braids that fall over
her shoulders. Since she sits unveiled alongside the Hafsid warriors, she
may be a servant. A similar female figure shown with dark skin appears
in the Madrid copy of the Sternsee album dating to the later 1540s;
although her hair is covered, she wears a comparable outfit, jewelry, and
a fringed shawl (Fig. 5.5).
From Tunis to Augsburg

This new Hafsid-Sabbiyya alliance gave Muley al-Hassan confidence to
undertake a second journey to Europe, as noted by Giovio, Salazar, and
Mármol Carvajal. The promise of military support explains Prudencio
de Sandoval’s mention of the arrival in Wurtemburg in 1547 of, “…an
ambassador from the King of Tunis [who] came with messages that his
king sent, and he offered more Bedouin troops.”35 Muley al-Hassan must
have been sending word ahead to Charles V about the Sabbiyya soldiers
who were ready to help him recover Tunis. Instead of assuming that the
exiled king was defeated and out of options, we should see his promo-
tion of prince Ahmet and collaboration with the Sabbiyya as signs of his
continuing vigor. This strategic “second act” would also involve efforts
to recover his property from Francisco de Tovar.36 The king left Tunis
in late November or early December of 1547 in the company of his son,
Abu Bakr, and they returned to Sicily in August of 1548. The king’s
travel through Europe lasted approximately seven months, about the same
amount of time as the 1543 sojourn described in Chapter 4, although on
this second trip he traveled beyond Italy into German lands. This journey
again raises the question of potential patronage for the Versailles portrait.
However, the brief stays in each host city do not seem likely to have
Fig. 5.5 Anon, “Three White Moors and a Black Woman,” Costume Album,
ca. 1547/8, watercolor on paper, 20 × 20 cm, Biblioteca de España, Madrid,
Res 285, fol.16v (Credit: Biblioteca de España, Madrid [public domain])
led to its production. In any case, the sources are silent on the issue of
portraiture.
Muley al-Hassan and his entourage arrived in Naples on 3 December
1547, as we learn from a letter written by the Viceroy, Pedro de Toledo,
to Charles V dated 20 December 1547.37 Although the viceroy’s illness
kept him from receiving the exiled king in person, he nevertheless
arranged a warm welcome and took good care of his royal guest. The
king’s son and traveling companion, Abu Bakr, apparently rode ahead to
176 C. L. BASKINS
Florence, as we gather from a letter of 19 December 1547 from Cosimo

de’ Medici to Charles V.38 Cosimo calls Abu Bakr the “prince of Tunis,”
whose devotion and service to the emperor, like that of his father, merited
the court’s generous hospitality.
An anonymous chronicle records Muley al-Hassan’s arrival in Rome
early the following year:
Year 1548 – January – On the 26th , the King of Tunis in Barbary arrived
in Rome on his journey to present himself to the Emperor in Germany,
stopping first at the Papal Palace. A small white band covered his eyes
that his son had popped out. He was dressed in the African fashion. Two
Bedouin grooms dressed in the Bedouin way accompanied him, leading
him through Rome on a horse.39
The exiled king spent a month in the Eternal City, where he met with
Paolo Giovio and spoke at length via interpreters.40 Giovio learned that
Muley al-Hassan was called, Amir al-Mu’minin (leader of the faithful); he
also gained information about customs in North Africa. Muley al-Hassan
gave the historian details about the loss of his precious library in the sack
of 1535, and about the recent wars in the kingdom. The king also met
with the Spanish ambassador Diego Hurtado de Mendoza; perhaps they
discussed their mutual interest in the twelfth-century philosopher, Aver-
roes (Arabic, Ibn Rushd).41 In addition, the haughty king was treated to
a papal audience, as Giovio explains:
The journey having taken Muley Hassan to Rome, and after being received
at a banquet by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, [he was] led before the Pope
[Paul III]. [But] he did not pay him great respect, he just kissed his knee,
and since he had covered the orbs of his eyes with a linen cloth, he didn’t
see anything at all. Nevertheless, with an upright straight neck, he displayed
an insolent royal pride.42
In the Elegies of Famous Men at Arms, Giovio also describes how, “When
[Muley al-Hassan] was led to the pope, he could not be persuaded to
make any other form of homage, other than to honor him by giving the
ritual kiss on [the pope’s] knees.”43
By March 5 Muley al-Hassan arrived in Florence where he, his son,
and their entourage spent the next five days. He appealed to Cosimo
de’Medici for a loan of 500 gold scudi to cover his travel expenses.44
Cosimo agreed to the loan on the understanding that the sum would
be reimbursed by Charles V; he personally guaranteed the money but
pressured his Florentine bankers to cover it. He offered profuse apologies
for not being able to receive Muley Hassan in person: “I had wanted
more than anything to be able to lift you from your misery, may our Lord
give you the prosperity and happiness that I desire for you.”45 While in
Florence, Muley al-Hassan also sought medical attention for his eyes from
Fra Francesco Pallavicino but Cosimo thought, “that it would be better to
consult with Maestro Andrea [Pasquali] or somebody else, if you want a
cure and not to end up completely blind.”46 Cosimo apparently believed
that the king retained some vision despite Amida’s cruel treatment of his
father’s eyes.
By Friday March 16, Muley al-Hassan was in Bologna, seeking military
support for his campaign to retake the realm:
The Tunisian king, blinded by his own son and driven from his kingdom,
appealed to Bologna and set out to (meet with) Charles V (who had
established himself as ruler in this kingdom some years prior, and now
held the fortress of Goletta), in order to obtain some reserve troops from
him. He rode on a litter, accompanied, as is proper, by a small number
of African horsemen. He was received with considerable dignity by the
Roman cardinal legate [Giovanni Morone] of this city.47
On March 19, Muley al-Hassan arrived in Ferrara, accompanied by

thirty people on horseback and four interpreters.48 Since Duke Ercole II
was currently in Modena, Alfonso d’Este received the king with “sym-
pathy for his misfortune.” The Tunisian party left for Mantua five days
later. As noted by the chronicler Federigo Amadei, “Muley Hassan, the
King of Tunis, exiled from his lands by his own son, reached Mantua on
the 24th of March, on the way to present himself to the Emperor.”49 Did
the Gonzaga hosts offer their Tunisian guests a tour of the hunting lodge
of Marmirolo, to enjoy frescoed rooms including the Hall of Barbary
Horses as well as another space decorated with the Siege of Tunis ?50
Perhaps Muley al-Hassan recognized among the ducal collection of antiq-
uities, the jasper dish that Ulisse Aldrovandi would later claim had once
belonged to the king of Tunis.51 From Mantua, Muley al-Hassan wrote
twice to Ferrante Gonzaga in Milan, asking when they could meet so
that he could impart information too sensitive to include in a letter.52 On
178 C. L. BASKINS
March 27, Muley al-Hassan wrote from Mantua to Duke Ercole d’Este,
noting that on his return journey from Augsburg he would stop there,
and would be very grateful to receive treatment for his wounded eyes.53
On April 5 Muley al-Hassan again wrote to Gonzaga in Milan, regarding
“dawning” information.54
In April, after four months on the road, the exiled king and his
company reached Augsburg where they made a big impression on the resi-
dents of the imperial court. One local chronicler mentions, “The King of
Tunis, Muley Hassan, whom emperor Charles had restored to Tunis thir-
teen years earlier, after casting out Barbarossa. But later his own eldest
son took out his eyes and ousted him.”55 Nicolas Mameranus, a Luxem-
bourg soldier and historian in the service of Charles V, confirms the news:
“Muley al-Hasan, king of the Tunisians, a Muslim ruler, blinded and
driven from his kingdom by his elder son, came in the month of April
to Augsburg, to Caesar, as an exile and fugitive.”56 Mameranus adds
that “Muley Mahamet [Ahmet], his third and youngest son came here
in the month of June after his father.”57 Jean de Vandenesse, Charles
V’s steward, writes, “On the 8th [April 1548] the king of Tunis came
to Augsburg, a Moor, vassal and tributary to His Majesty.”58 And in his
diary, Wolrad II Count of Waldeck describes how, “On that same day
between the 8th and 9th hour of the afternoon, the king of Tunis, whom
some consider to be the king of Carthage instead, arrived in Augsburg,
carried on a litter with another of his sons, accompanied by a light escort.
A Semi-Ethiopian race, whose clothing ‘smells’ Turkish [ie. Muslim].”59
Waldeck’s description of the exiled king’s arrival in Augsburg echoes the
earlier one in Bologna.
Although these authors paint a vivid picture of Muley al-Hassan’s
arrival, they do not explain that the exiled king appeared at the impe-
rial court just as Charles was declaring the Augsburg Interim (15 May
1548), a compromise with the Protestants who had been defeated at
Mühlberg. Only the eighteenth-century historian, Gregorio Leti, recalls
the political context: “Charles truly had great compassion, seeing [the
king] in such a miserable state; but he was occupied with other more
pressing affairs for Christians, so the best he could do was send [the
king] to Sicily, and give the necessary orders for him to be cared for
in that kingdom at the expense of his Imperial Majesty, with eight of
his servants – that was no small favor for a Moorish King.”60 The 1715
edition of Leti’s history contains an engraved portrait of Muley al-Hassan
in the section of text regarding events of 1548 (Fig. 5.6).
Fig. 5.6 Anon., “Muley Hassen, King of Tunis,” in Gregorio Leti, La vie de
l’empereur Charles V , part 3 (Brussels: Josse di Grieck, 1715), engraving, p. 325
(Credit: Victoria & Albert Museum, London [public domain])
In this version, distantly related to the Versailles portrait, the figure

has been reversed and appears within an austere Neoclassical frame. The
king’s smooth brow, pouting Cupid’s bow lips, and slender proportions
from shoulder to waist indicate that the Versailles prototype has been
made to conform to later taste. In contrast to Leti’s text, the image
180 C. L. BASKINS
of Muley al-Hassan does not show him in a “miserable state.” He has

healthy rather than damaged eyes and he retains his royal bearing as a
vassal worthy of the Emperor’s attention.
We learn from the German burgher Bartholomew Sastrow, that during
their residence in Augsburg, Muley al-Hassan and his son enjoyed elite
pastimes and companions. For example, they often went riding with
Stanislas Laski, the ambassador from Poland:
In April, Augsburg witnessed the arrival of Muley-Hassan, King of Tunis.

Thirteen years previously he had been driven forth by Barbarossa; subse-
quently he was reestablished on his throne by the emperor, but his eldest
son had ousted him and put his eyes out. A fugitive and wretched, he came
to place himself under the protection of the emperor, and was soon joined
in his exile by one of his sons. I often met these two on horseback, in the
company of Lasky, the Polish ambassador, who spoke their language.61
Mention of the former king on horseback again suggests that Muley al-
Hassan retained some vision despite his blinding at the hands of Amida.
In addition, Mameranus offers a description of the a la gineta riding style
as it would have been practiced by Muley al-Hassan:
On horseback, they use a shortened stirrup for the foot, tied shallower and
drawn from underneath; thus, they appear to sit up on the horse as if on
bent knee, with their feet sloping down and back, and with their knees
extended frontwards. They use saddles without any fastening of wood or
joints. They use iron for their stirrups, placed into which their feet lean,
planted in the stirrups, to avoid, when weary, being thrown down from
the shaking of the ride; the stirrups are large, and generally extend out to
the foot by the shape under the sole.62
In addition to riding with Laski, the Tunisians may have encountered

Christoph von Sternsee, a veteran of the siege of 1535, who was also
present in Augsburg.63 Did renewed contact with Muley al-Hassan and
his entourage inspire Sternsee to commission the Florence or Madrid
albums that devote several folios to the people and costumes of Tunisia?
Though Mameranus admired the Moors for their horsemanship, he
criticized the feminine appearance of their clothing:
The clothing, in which these Moors dress, is entirely barbarian, womanly in

every way, thus, if you should see them walking or riding by horseback, or
otherwise seated somewhere else, you would swear that they were naked
women, aside from [their] beards, or surely enchanted into the manner
of women. For the head is wrapped on all sides in linen, [and] this is
a very long, linen peplum tied upon itself and rolled up in many places,
rolled around in spheres and circles one after the other, just as, in certain
regions, women observe this custom, perhaps with the linen not so thickly
[wrapped], but all the same, encircling the head thus rolled round itself.
They wear oversize, flowing garments, loose and hanging all the way down
to the ankles with great, spacious sleeves, very much so after the appearance
of women or of monks, covered on all sides. They enjoy making use of
the color commonly known as cerulean, which they call blue, or of green
or red. They are shoeless, in the feminine manner, do not wear cuirass or
cloak, by which our chests and arms are covered, and do not wear the
soldier’s boots customarily tied with laces, just as women also do not, nor
do they wear boots unless they are short, reaching no higher than the
knee.64
Despite his disdain for the Hafsids’ turbans and loose, effeminate gowns,
Mameranus concludes with an overall positive assessment of their char-
acter traits. He recognizes the kinship of the North Africans with both
Ottomans and Jews regarding ritual, food ways, and language:
The men are otherwise neither malicious nor disingenuous by nature, but
[possessed of] considerable kindness, and they do not differ much, in the
color of their body, from the men of Spain. When eating, they will recline
upon the ground, nor do they drink wine, based on the principle and law
of Muhammad himself, just the same as the Turks, with whom they share
the same holidays. They sing and speak words with breathiness and with
an exhalation that seems to be drawn from the very depth of the lung and
from a hollow throat caught in a tempestuous breath, after the fashion of
the Jews.65
Thus, Mameranus finds the Tunisians foreign and yet familiar; their
dress seems alien, but their skin color resembles the olive complexion of
Spaniards.66 He describes the Moors as well-intentioned, forthright, and
kind—as friendly allies. One wonders what kind of impressions Muley al-
Hassan or his sons might have formed from their sojourn at the imperial
court, but the sources do not divulge that information. After their depar-
ture from Augsburg, Muley al-Hassan and his two sons reached Ferrara
on August 6th. Duke Ercole D’Este lodged them in the sumptuous palace
of Paolo Costabili.67 The exiled king was taken to a surgeon for his eyes
182 C. L. BASKINS
but failed to obtain a cure. He departed after six days with 600 scudi and
was to be given passage on Andrea Doria’s ship from Genoa to Sicily.68
From late 1547 to summer 1548, each of the courts that hosted Muley
al-Hassan and his entourage received the Tunisians honorably, offered
them princely lodgings, as well as funds to support a military campaign
against Amida. But the extant documents do not mention any portraits.
If the exiled king’s “second act” was not quite as spectacular as the Euro-
pean tour of 1543, he nevertheless enjoyed the hospitality provided by the
pope, along with cardinals, dukes, and viceroys in the Habsburg orbit. But
Charles V and his advisors were courting various factions in the Maghreb,
as much from uncertainty about the real power on the ground as from
grand strategy. How far could the Habsburgs trust the mori amici? How
much could the Hafsids trust the Emperor? Charles continued to play
Muley al-Hassan, the King of Qayrawan, and the local sheikhs against the
Ottomans, as he attempted to maintain control of his vulnerable fortresses
along the north African coast.
Relationships with the mori amici would be put to the test at
Mahdiyya, once the capital of Fatimid Ifriqiya (909–1171 CE), as well
as the seat of an early Norman kingdom (1148–1160 CE).69 In the
sixteenth century, the large city retained its commercial and strategic
importance; Charles could ill afford to lose it to the Ottoman naval
commander Dragut. After the 1541 failure of Algiers, however, Charles’
advisors had to convince the emperor to order the new campaign. As
many scholars have noted, Charles had largely abandoned the idea of
crusade toward the end of his reign and preferred diplomacy or evasion
to open conflict.70 But the geopolitical complexity of north Africa meant
that Charles V, his viceroys, the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman, and Pope
Julius III all had a stake in the outcome. A coalition of the knights of
Malta and military commanders from Genoa, Naples, and Sicily were
assembled to drive the Ottomans from Sousse, Monastir, and Mahdiyya.71
Returning to Tunis from Europe in 1549, Muley al-Hassan traversed
Sicily, stopping at Palermo, where he met with Tommaso Fazello, a
Dominican friar, historian, and antiquarian.72 Fazello was not overly
impressed with the exiled king: “[…] and from him I learned many things
about his family, which I found to be all lies, completely contradicted
by Muslim history. In particular, he said that his family had reigned in
Tunis for 900 years, whereas in Muslim records one reads that Tunis
only became a kingdom 500 years ago, and from that time until now
it grew and became great.”73 From Trapani, Juan de Vega, Viceroy of
Sicily, picked up Muley al-Hassan and his sons and headed for the fateful
siege of Mahdiyya that would last from July to September of 1550.
Face Off with Death

For the Habsburgs and their allies, the victory at Mahdiyya would recall
the imperial triumph of Tunis in 1535. But the city was also to be the site
of Muley al-Hassan’s last battle and his sudden death. In just a few years,
references to Mahdiyya would appear in funeral apparati for Charles V,
keeping North African conquests alive in imperial iconography long past
the decisive territorial gains of the Ottomans. After the deaths of Muley
al-Hassan (1550), Paolo Giovio (1552), and Charles V (1558), portraits,
news pamphlets, maps, and commemorative imagery continued to link
the fates of the Hafsids and the Habsburgs.
Giovio opens Muley al-Hassan’s biography, in the Elegies of Famous
Men at Arms, with a reversal of fortune, asking the reader to pity this
ruler who was once associated with the Habsburg victory at Tunis, but
who later fell into an ignominious exile.74 In the 1575 illustrated edition,
the chapter also begins with Tobias Stimmer’s woodcut portrait of Muley
al-Hassan based on the Vermeyen/Sylvester van Parijs broadsheet that
emphasized the king’s request for assistance from the emperor (Fig. 5.7).
At the end of the text, Giovio says that the king died at the siege of
Mahdiyya in 1550 and was taken to Qayrawan for burial:
Muley Hassan was present but only heard the din of the battle since
he couldn’t take part in the conflict. But before the city [Mahdiyya]
could be conquered, he died of an illness…His funeral took place in
Qayrawan, attended by a big crowd of Tunisians of every rank. The North
Africans consider this city sacred, and they are accustomed to burying their
illustrious kings and the high nobles of Numidia there.75
Giovio imagines a royal mausoleum more in keeping with European

practice than with Tunisian custom.76 Although his account of the final
disposition of Muley al-Hassan’s remains has been greeted with skepti-
cism by some modern historians, contemporary texts confirm his version
of events; moreover, these sources include ample references to the mori
amici, ie. the Sabbiyya of Qayrawan, that we associated with the two
Vermeyen prints discussed above.
184 C. L. BASKINS
Fig. 5.7 Tobias Stimmer, “Muley Hassan, King of Tunis,” in Paolo Giovio,
Elogia virorum bellica virtute illustrium (Basel: Pietro Perna, 1575), Bk 6,
woodcut, f. 359r (Credit: Houghton Library, Harvard University [public
domain])
In the immediate aftermath of the Mahdiyya campaign, many avvisi,

relazioni, chronicles, and maps spread the news across Europe.77 Giovio
was preparing his biography of Muley al-Hassan for publication just as
this new information was becoming available. These rapidly produced
news accounts gave curious readers varying information, depending on
the political stances of the authors. Some, like the two news pamphlets
published in Bologna in 1550, for example, make no mention of Muley

al-Hassan or the Sharif of Qayrawan. The published letter from Cardinal
Alonso de la Cueva, for example, celebrates the victorious generals while
mourning the deaths of elite soldiers.78 Of course, the author maintains
a diplomatic silence about the fraught relations between the three mili-
tary leaders, Andrea Doria, Juan de Vega, and García de Toledo. He
admits that while around eight thousand prisoners were taken captive
in Mahdiyya, the sack did not result in much booty. In contrast, an
anonymous Declaration of the Outcome of the Siege of Mahdiyya, dated 25
September 1550, praises Astorre Baglione, along with Giordano Orsini.79
But, unlike De la Cueva, this author argues that the soldiers enjoyed
an “inestimable” booty of money, jewels, and other goods imported by
Jewish merchants from Salonika and Portugal. The author echoes Mamer-
anus when he describes how, “The people of this land are of a good height
but a rather olive complexion; nevertheless, one also finds some very fair
people, especially the women, who keep their [skin] soft and smooth with
distilled oil from which they profit greatly in this city.” He adds that, in
addition to taking ten thousand prisoners, mainly women and children,
they also took advantage of plentiful foodstuffs like apples, dates, oil, rice,
and wheat.80
The anonymous pamphlet titled, The Siege of Africa, would have
presented Giovio a crude woodcut map depicting Africa (ie. Mahdiyya)
and neighboring cities on the coast81 (Fig. 5.1). In the text, he would
have read about friendly relations between Habsburg troops and the
Sharif of Qayrawan during the Mahdiyya campaign, along with a brief
mention of Muley al-Hassan’s death. The author of the pamphlet begins
his doggerel verse with a rather pompous claim, “I will attempt to sing
about the immense Glory and eternal honor of Doria and the other
great leaders…though no author has known how to do it, nor any artist
succeeded in painting it.” A few pages later we learn that in 1550,
“…death came to the king of Tunis, the blind king, and his younger
son [Abu Bakr or Ahmet] remained by his side since the elder [Amida]
had usurped the realm.” The author adds that despite rumors of double-
dealing this new ally, “The Sharif of Qayrawan came in person and spoke
often with our troops, wearing long robes like a woman…bringing things
to eat and good meat.” An anonymous Spanish Romance adds, “And
this king of Qayrawan was called Sidi Arfa (sic), an enemy of Dragut,
he also sent us provisions.”82 Pedro de Salazar adds that the Bedouins
brought fowls, cows, rams, and calves to sell; a little later in the siege
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they brought the Viceroy a present of cows, rams, and dates.83 Luis del
Mármol Carvajal repeats that Arfa (sic), “…gave the Christians supplies
and people and secured the field.”84 Since Sidi Arfa had died in 1542,
these authors must have meant the actions of his nephew, the new Sharif,
Abi Taieb.
In the 1550s more ambitious histories of the conquest of Mahdiyya
picked up the story where Paolo Giovio left off. The Spaniard Juan
Cristóbal Calvete de Estrella wrote On the Destruction of Mahdiyya
(1551) as a gift for Charles V, on the suggestion of Diego Hurtado de
Mendoza.85 Diego Gracián translated Calvete’s Latin text into Spanish
in 1558. Pedro de Salazar probably wrote the History of the War and
Conquest of Africa (1552) at the request of Pedro de Toledo, the Viceroy
of Naples.86 Horatius Nucula (i.e. Orazio Nocella) of Terni, a cleric
and chronicler who accompanied Juan de Vega to Mahdiyya, wrote his
Commentary on the War of Africa (1552) for his patron.87 Another poet,
Vincenzo Colocasio, devoted an entire poem in Latin to the celebration
of Vega’s role in The Fourth Punic War (1552).88
Each of these authors describes the Sabbiya cavalry that came to assist
Habsburg troops in the siege. Calvete writes, “About two thousand five
hundred Bedouins from Tunis and allies of the king of Qayrawan came
to our camp, bringing with them sheep and other provisions for us.”89
Nucula reports the arrival of some Bedouins on the very day that Muley
al-Hassan’s ship landed at Mahdiyya; in due course, they received rein-
forcements from local armed horsemen.90 Confirming the historians, a
Florentine agent, Francesco Babbi, wrote to the Medici Duke in July
1550, “that it was true that the King of Tunis brought 200 mounted
archers to defend the city of Africa [i.e. Mahdiyya].”91
Histories of the siege of Mahdiyya published in the 1550s not only
offer more detailed information than humble news pamphlets; they also
include siege maps that allow us to see what Giovio said the blind Muley
al-Hassan could only hear. The maps visualize various stages of the battle
as it was waged from July through September. Juan de Vega, García de
Toledo, and Andrea Doria coordinated the land and sea combat against
the galleys led by the Ottoman commander Dragut. From the sidelines,
Muley al-Hassan, along with his sons Abu Bakr and Ahmet, must have
been overwhelmed by the sounds of gunfire, charging infantry, shouted
commands, cries for water, and the moans of the wounded. But despite
the impression of eyewitness reportage, these early printed news maps do
not show the Hafsids or the Sabbiyya.
The Antwerp printmaker Hieronymus Cock, for example, issued a

single sheet etching of the battle of Mahdiyya that was probably intended
to accompany a broadsheet or pamphlet92 (Fig. 5.8). The print is signed
and dated 1550 with a single caption, “sechagne,” indicating shoals in
the waters surrounding the city. Cock shows the isthmus of Mahdiyya
ringed by fortified walls with two rows of towers protecting the city’s
narrow entrance. He includes soldiers’ encampments, artillery stations,
cannons, trenches, and palisades. Ottoman crescent flags fly from seven
towers while European troops carry flags with Habsburg double-headed
eagles, as shown on two ships in the left foreground and carried by foot
soldiers at the right. Invading troops have begun to breach the defen-
sive walls. At the right margin of the map, cavalry bearing a crescent
flag charge a group of Tercios carrying flags emblazoned with Christian
crosses. This vignette may refer to a sortie that Ottoman forces made in
the vicinity of the olive groves.
In the interior of the city, the main mosque appears as a large circular
building with an arcade and three prominent oculi in the dome. The
central plan building gives a classicizing appearance to the Islamic city;
it makes the foreign seem familiar. At this location, García de Toledo
took two hundred captives, mainly women and children. Salazar describes
how after the victory Juan de Vega turned the impressive mosque into a
church so that the Spanish soldiers who lost their lives at Mahdiyya could
be buried there in consecrated ground.
[…] seeing that [the mosque] was large and very sumptuous with beau-
tiful buildings, and [in it] were seven very tall aisles and seven doorways
supported by many stone arches with large, beautiful marble columns
arranged in pairs or in fours; he ordered that [the mosque] be blessed
and given the name of S. John, invoking his own saint’s name [Juan], so
that he would be remembered in the city.93
Calvete de Estrella’s text, On the Destruction, includes a siege map of

Mahdiyya oriented vertically with east at the top of the page and west at
the bottom.94 The woodcut map echoes Cock’s etched version although
it flips the topographical features from left to right. One flag bearing a
crescent moon is flying at the entrance to the city while ten additional
flags attached to towers lack any identifying marks. The mosque appears
as a multi-storied structure featuring an architrave, a clerestory, and a
dome topped by a crescent finial. Labels indicate geographical sites such
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Fig. 5.8 Hieronymus Cock, Mahdiyya (Antwerp, 1550), etching, 21.6 ×

28 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, RP-P-1910-2210 (Credit: Rijksmuseum,
Amsterdam [public domain])
as the “olive grove” at left and “ancient Africa,” (i.e. Aphrodisium) at

right, along with the battle stations and abbreviated names of the mili-
tary commanders Gaspar de Guzmán, Juan de Vega, García de Toledo,
Fernando de Toledo, Bernardo Solerio, and Fernando López. A caption
in the center foreground tells the viewer that this battle took place on
the feast day of S. James the Apostle, or 25 July 1550. Below the date,
a skirmish between Habsburg and Ottoman troops takes place outside
the military camp in the vicinity of the olive grove, likely the same event
represented in Cock’s map.
Pedro de Salazar’s History includes three bird’s eye view maps of
Mahdiyya.95 The first woodcut shows the city before the siege with its
imposing defensive towers protecting the isthmus. Two additional maps
track the progress of the battle over the summer up to the eventual
conquest in September. The author notes the rich spoils taken during
the sack of Mahdiyya: “The soldiers who came into riches began to shine,
adorning themselves with rich silk clothing, golden chains and pins, and
other similar jewels…”96 But, even though Salazar describes in detail the
role of local Bedouin allies against the Ottomans, none of his maps shows
Sabbiyya cavalry from Qayrawan coming to the aid of the Habsburg
troops.
Not until Paolo Forlani’s etched map of Africa olim Aphrodisium, or
“Africa formerly known as Aphrodisium,” (originally published in Venice,
1562), do we find visual signs of the reinforcements from Qayrawan97
(Fig. 5.9). Since Forlani’s map appeared twelve years after the battle, he
was not an eyewitness but must have depended on the texts and images
published by Cock, Calvete, and Salazar. In Forlani’s image the fortified
walls of Mahdiyya have been breached and the city has been overrun.
Tiny defenders and invaders engage in skirmishes; their raised guns emit
puffs of smoke that echo the larger explosions emanating from the ships
surrounding the isthmus and promontory. The main mosque appears as a
hexagonal building with a bulbous onion dome, a type associated with the
Temple of Solomon as found in contemporary maps of the Holy Land.98
Along the bottom of the map, at lower left and right, a large number of
cavalrymen with lances flank some riders on camels. Most of these troops
appear to be Bedouins carrying their characteristic adarga shields, rather
than Ottomans. Given the information available in anonymous pamphlets,
the texts by Calvete, Nucula, and Salazar, along with echoes by several
later historians, including Fr. Tommaso Fazello, O.P., Diego Fuentes, Luis
del Mármol Carvajal, and Prudencio de Sandoval, some viewers might
have recognized the lance wielding cavalrymen as Sabbiya soldiers who
came to aid the Habsburg troops.99 These mori amici had allied with
the Hafsids and the Europeans to ward off their common enemy, the
Ottomans.100 Forlani’s map of Africa olim Aphrodisium was eventually
reprinted in the Cities of the World published by Georg Braun and Frans
Hogenberg (Köln, 1572), guaranteeing wide distribution. But since the
Forlani map lacks any captions, the significance of the mori amici was lost
over time.
Mourning Muley al-Hassan, Celebrating Mahdiyya

None of the maps from the histories published in the 1550s shows Muley
al-Hassan, even though the authors all describe his presence at the battle
as well as his sudden fever and death in July. Salazar, for example, credits
Juan de Vega with moving the defunct to Qayrawan; he notes that, “[…]
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Fig. 5.9 Detail from Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg, Civitates Orbis
Terrarum (Köln, 1575), vol. 2, pl. 57, after Paolo Forlani, Africa olim Aphrodi-
sium (Venice, 1562) (Credit: David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford University
[public domain])
the king having died at this time, his remains were carried off to Qayrawan
for burial by order of the Viceroy [Juan de Vega]; the corpse was taken
by the Caid Mahmud, with other Moors in his company, to a small house
in Monastir where he was much mourned by his sons and by the Sharif
[of Qayrawan] and other Moors who loved him well, those who were not
loyal to Amida.”101 Calvete and Nucula confirm Vega’s role in deciding
on Muley al-Hassan’s eventual resting place. Calvete says, “…the king of
Tunis, fell ill and died, Vega sent his remains to be buried in the shrine of
Sidi Arfa (sic) in Qayrawan with royal pomp and so that he could be laid
to rest in his homeland.”102 Nucula describes how Muley al-Hassan’s
…son, Bakr, in accordance with custom rather than due to any sort of
piety, turned his attention to his father’s African body, which had to be laid
in a coffin immediately, and carried to Qayrawan—where there is a very
beautiful shrine of Muhammad, and which city is held sacrosanct in its very
name among the barbarian kings, there where men renowned throughout
the whole of the African region are buried—through Numidia, as it is there
that burial services are carried out with honor.103
Nucula, like Giovio, misconstrues Qayrawan as the site of a Tunisian royal

mausoleum.
Vincenzo Colocasio’s Fourth Punic War, a lengthy poem of 3333
Latin hexameters, expands on the funeral rites for Muley al-Hassan. In
Book 5, Colocasio gives Juan de Vega a starring role in the funeral itself in
contrast to the accounts by Giovio, Salazar, or Nucula. Since a Christian
would not have been allowed to preside over a Muslim funeral, we should
not confuse Colocasio’s encomium with historical fact. The moving scene
of the viceroy bringing the king’s remains to the tent of the King of
Qayrawan, to be prepared for burial, must be apocryphal:
He bears the dead Hassan himself to the king’s tent. Three hundred
servants convey the cold limbs, dressed in burial clothing, to the royal
bed, and they wail with shrill voices in the manner of mourners. They
pour dirt around him on either side, and they press limb upon limb,
and on either side, they lace their fingers together, moving their heads
here and there. In turns, they sing out sad songs in Libyan [ie. North
African, Arabic] tongue. When the sky turns dark with the night, many
crowds come together in song, as it is the typical practice throughout the
city to mourn at the crossroads…while the great, outstanding leader Vega
entered the gold roofed shrine of the gods, with a whole line of men
after him. Suddenly a brother entered on either side, and the one born
of their uncle; they embraced the bloodless body of the king and washed
it with the tears upon their cheeks. ‘Heuheu I am wretched’ Buccharis
[Abu Bakr] cries aloud, uttering it in Spanish, Latin, and Libyan. Thence
follows Machometis [Ahmet], then the cousin, and then the whole Libyan
crowd repeats, ‘Heuheu, I am wretched, wretched I am!’ And they sang
this three-part lament in alternate turns…Afterwards, at the sight of Vega,
they shouted the funeral chants together, and again to the brothers even
more loudly.104
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In keeping with ancient literary models, Colocasio refers to the zawiya

as a “shrine of the gods.” He describes Vega joined by more than 300
Bedouin who prepare the body and then process through the city to
the tomb site while singing funeral dirges. Muley al-Hassan’s bereaved
sons, Abu Bakr and his brother Ahmet, along with their unnamed cousin,
demonstrate filial piety as well as an impressive command of European
and African languages. They are presented as legitimate heirs unlike the
perfidious Amida who conspired with the Ottomans against his own
father. Colocasio’s poem celebrates Viceroy Vega and other Habsburg
officers who took responsibility for Muley al-Hassan from the time they
brought him to the siege of Mahdiyya to the final disposition of his earthly
remains.
As recorded by Giovio, Calvete, Salazar, Nucula and Colocasio, Muley
al-Hassan was buried in the holy city of Qayrawan, but he was interred
in the zawiya complex of Sidi Abid el- Ghairiani (d.1402) rather than
in the mausoleum of Sidi Arfa.105 The tomb chamber was enriched in
later centuries with a massive painted wooden vault, carved stucco frieze,
and colorful tiled walls. The ground plan shows Muley al-Hassan’s burial
site across from the tomb of Sidi Abid106 (Fig. 5.10). This high traffic
location meant that visitors passed by both tombs every time they made
their ritual ablutions in preparation for entering the prayer hall. The white
marble slab streaked with gray lacks any inscription; the surface features a
shallowly carved horseshoe arch of the type associated with mosque archi-
tecture in general, and with the mihrab, in particular107 (Fig. 5.11). As
such, the tomb is a figurative gateway to the afterlife. Muley al-Hassan’s
simple tombstone differs markedly from the elaborately inscribed twelfth-
century gravestones that García de Toledo brought back from Tunis, that
were installed in his father’s garden at Pozzuoli108 (Fig. 5.12). Without
documentation, we can only hazard a guess that the modest commemo-
rative slab in Qayrawan was commissioned and paid for by the sons of the
deceased king.
While Qayrawan was the site of somber funeral rites for Muley al-
Hassan, cities in the Habsburg orbit celebrated the victory at Mahdiyya
with artillery displays, bonfires in the streets, torches, and lit candles
displayed in windows.109 In addition, masses were celebrated to give
thanks. If Juan de Vega’s role in Qayrawan was a fiction, an elaborate civic
celebration did welcome the viceroy’s return to Palermo. In his Commen-
tary, Nucula describes how Vega was led through triumphal arches like
Fig. 5.10 Groundplan of the Zawiya of Sidi Abid, Qayrawan (Credit: Christine
Cavalier)
those once erected for the ancient Roman victor, Scipio Aemilianus [i.e.,
Africanus]:
And when [the Viceroy] had returned [after the defeat of Dragut], Palermo
experienced incredible happiness, on account of such a great victory, and
the return of the man [Vega] himself, and it…ordered triumphal arches
to be built…as well as multiple statues to be placed within these [arches].
Among these [sculptures], though I shall omit some (lest I go on too
long), was one of Scipio Aemilianus, who received the victorious Vega as
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Fig. 5.11 Tomb slab for Muley al-Hassan, ca. 1550, Zawiya of Sidi Abid,
Qayrawan, Tunisia (Credit: Collection of the author)
Fig. 5.12 Pompeo Sarnelli, “Quattro Epitaffi,” La Guida de’ Forestieri curiosi
di vedere, e di riconoscere le cose più memorabili di Pozzuoli (Naples: Antonio
Bulifon, 1769), engraved foldout between pages 56 and 57 (Credit: General
Reference Division, New York Public Library)
he was returning, and who called him the Fourth Africanus in a beau-
tiful poem. He assigned the cognomen [Africanus] first to his grandfather
Scipio, who set a tax upon Carthage; to himself he assigned the cognomen
Second Africanus, he who destroyed [Carthage] to its very foundations;
Caesar Charles V, the Third Africanus, commander of the Roman people,
who wrested the kingdom of Tunisia from the hands of the great pirate
captain Barbarossa, and restored it to king [Muley] Hassan; then, he
assigned the cognomen Fourth Africanus to Juan de Vega, viceroy of Sicily,
who, with a modest force, subdued [the port city of] Aphrodisium, highly
fortified by nature and by design, and protected by a robust Turkish guard,
and [who] subjected that entire region, which was properly called Africa,
to Caesar’s command.110
After Vega’s return to Palermo, he rechristened the city’s Porta dei Greci
as the Porta d’Africa; he attached to it the gates that he had brought
back as spoils from Mahdiyya, forming a permanent reminder of his role
in the victory.111 But although Nucula’s references to the heroic struggle
between Scipio and Hannibal may have appealed to learned antiquarians,
that ancient conflict did not align easily with the complicated relations
between the Habsburgs, Hafsids, the Sabbiyya, and the Ottomans in
contemporary North Africa.
In Naples, García de Toledo would also be welcomed in a triumphal
procession and would also receive the epithet, “Africano.” The Neapolitan
poet, Luigi Tansillo, wrote Sonnets for the Siege of Africa. And the Design
for a Golden Necklace Bestowed on Don Garzia of Toledo by Naples (Naples:
Mattia Cancer, 1551).112 Just as Nucula had accompanied Juan de Vega
to Mahdiyya, so too Tansillo went to the siege with his patron, Don
García. In his celebratory text, Tansillo explains that the city of Naples
decided to offer the victorious general a golden necklace. Pedro de Salazar
also mentions the city’s donation:
And, after the [officials] took into account the fact that Don García had
been the main reason for the victory at Africa [i.e. Mahdiyya], because he
encouraged the Prince to take it, some of them thought about giving him
3,000 ducats; but others didn’t want to do that, and they contradicted
them, saying that they would rather give him a golden necklace of the
same weight, with pieces worked subtly and beautifully representing the
siege of Africa. And, once they agreed [on the necklace], they decided
how it should be made and they ordered the work. And once it was made,
they presented it to him with great solemnity.113
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Tansillo was asked by three local goldsmiths, Marco Andrea Dancora,

Annibale Dancora, and Lorenzo de Lorenzi to provide the program for
the work.114 He gave them instructions for fourteen pendants, comprised
of paired historical and allegorical images, along with a portrait of García.
The histories range from the departure of the ships from Naples, arrival
on the shores of Africa, the attack on Monastir, the victory at Mahdiyya
over the Ottoman Dragut, landing at Messina, and the victorious return
to Naples with booty and slaves. Tansillo focuses on the enemy, Dragut,
rather than on the Habsburg ally, Muley al-Hassan. The exiled king of
Tunis makes no appearance on the pendant representing Mahdiyya nor
does his burial in Qayrawan have a place on the golden necklace since
that meritorious deed was associated with Juan de Vega rather than with
Don García.115 Although the necklace is presumed lost, an entry in Pedro
de Toledo’s inventory likely refers to it: “A golden chain of twenty-four
pieces with different people in historical scenes, and it is the one that
Naples donated to his Excellency.”116
In Rome, artillery displays celebrating the victory in Mahdiyya took
place at the Castel S. Angelo, while Julius III celebrated a mass in the
basilica of S. Pietro. Nucula describes the booty that Juan de Vega sent to
the pope: “Two lions and their caretakers, six African horses with livery,
six African captives to lead the horses, six African dogs, six banners taken
in the victory, twelve bows and arrows, twelve shields, and chains with
locks that once held Christian captives – all to be kept at the seat of
the Apostle in perpetual memory [of the victory].”117 In making this
donation, Vega was self-consciously emulating Charles V who gave the
lock and chains of the port of Tunis to Pope Paul III in 1536.
Finally, in imperial Augsburg the victory at Mahdiyya was celebrated
before an audience made up of Habsburg royalty and their guests:
The duchess of Lorraine [Christina of Denmark] came…she was brought

to the Palace by the king of the Romans [Ferdinand I Habsburg], His
Highness [Philip II] and by the King of Vélez [Muley Abu Hassan,
called Boacen]; while in the countryside he regaled her with his happi-
ness over the victory in Africa [i.e. Mahdiyya]. He held a tournament in
the form of a game of canes with some of his men, in which despite being
old, he conducted himself with utmost agility and skill…a very enjoyable
spectacle.118
This Abu Hassan, the former king of Fez, who currently ruled Vélez off
the coast of present-day Morocco, followed in Muley al-Hassan’s foot-
steps, appearing in Augsburg to petition Charles V for help.119 He must
have been encouraged by the Mahdiyya victory to ask for military and
financial assistance in his campaign to regain Fez.
Despite public rejoicing throughout the Habsburg empire from
Palermo to Augsburg, the situation in Mahdiyya deteriorated immedi-
ately following the victory. In 1551 an ambassador wrote to the Duke
of Ferrara that the King of Qayrawan had changed sides and was now
conspiring with Dragut; he “rebelled because he had thought that his
Majesty would give him Mahdiyya.”120 In the same year, the Habsburgs
faced a humiliating defeat at Tripoli at the hands of Dragut who then
went on to attack Sicily and Malta. After the Knights of Malta turned
down the invitation to occupy Mahdiyya, Sancho de Leyva was sent to
strengthen the fortress against further Ottoman incursions. In a 1551
letter intended for the emperor, the new governor outlined the crit-
ical need for more walls and fortification; he decried the lack of clerics
and church fixtures, food shortages, insufficient fresh water, and poor
morale.121 Leyva also described the bitter enmity between Amida, Ahmet,
and the King of Qayrawan, arguing that each would remain loyal but
only if Charles did not ally with the others. He wrote, for example,
that Amida would observe the terms of his treaty with the Habsburgs
as long as Ahmet was kept out of power. And, although Leyva did not
trust the King of Qayrawan, he thought that he would continue to
supply horses, merchandise, and building materials, including limestone
and wood. Leyva concluded that Ahmet’s only hope was Charles, since
the prince feared both Amida and the King of Qayrawan, even though he
was related by marriage to the Sabbiyya princess, Khadmallah.122
In 1552 the Spanish soldiers at Mahdiyya, frustrated by overdue back
pay, mutinied against Sancho de Leyva.123 Rather than spend any more
time or resources to maintain the fortress, Charles V eventually decided
to abandon the site to Dragut. In 1554 the city was blown up and
destroyed.124 If Muley al-Hassan’s grasp on Tunis had proven weak,
vulnerable to Amida’s takeover, the loss of Mahdiyya was an even more
vivid example of the frailty of Habsburg ambitions in North Africa. And
yet, after Charles V died in 1558, the commemorative events staged across
Europe made frequent reference to the recent battles waged against the
Ottomans for control over the ports along the Sahel. In Brussels, for
example, the funeral procession included an allegorical ship of Victory
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with Tunis, Mahdiyya, and Tlemcen represented on the hull, and brief
textual mentions of Kelibia, Sousse, and Monastir.125 The funerals staged
in Naples and Rome also celebrated these short-lived victories.126
The exequies for Charles V held between 1558 and 1559 replayed
elements of the triumphal entries discussed in Chapter 3. As in those
earlier festivities, the programs included references to Muley al-Hassan
either asking for help or receiving the emperor’s assistance to regain
his kingdom. Although visual evidence does not survive, the Vermeyen
portrait type likely inspired such images of petition. In early December
1558 in Valladolid, for example, the catafalque included representations of
the Tunis campaign on a banner, on trophies, and in paintings as well as in
Latin epitaphs all expressing the same theme: “He restored the kingdom
to Muley al-Hassan.”127 In Seville, paintings accompanied the catafalque,
among them a detailed representation of the siege of Tunis and the
restoration of Muley al-Hassan.128 In Naples the following February, the
catafalque featured an epitaph explaining how Charles responded kindly
to Muley al-Hassan’s request for help and then restored his realm.129
Thus, the Habsburg lord and his North African vassal would be linked
in death as they were in life. While Charles’ three crowns—Spain, the
Netherlands, and the Holy Roman Empire—played a central role in
lavish ephemeral funeral displays, Muley al-Hassan’s simple tomb slab
in Qayrawan recalled a mosque or mihrab, and his role as Amir al-
Mu’minin, leader of the faithful. The commemorative imagery for each
ruler emphasized steadfast adherence to Christianity or Islam.
To conclude, Muley al-Hassan’s attempts to recover Tunis from
Amida, his hopes for prince Ahmet, and an unexpected rapprochement
with Qayrawan together provide the context for a new interpretation of
Vermeyen’s late monumental prints and Forlani’s unique map. Despite
being usurped and forced into exile, the resilient king persevered. But the
Hafsid-Sabbiyya alliance was fleeting; events moved too quickly for these
images to remain relevant. And Habsburg claims to victory at Mahdiyya
were compromised despite the best efforts of chroniclers, historians,
poets, and artists. As politics hardened in Spain under Philip II, after the
second Revolt of the Alpujarras (1569–1571) and the eventual expulsion
of the Moriscos (1609–1614), such tactical alliances between Christians
and Muslims no longer served official Habsburg rhetoric.130 While the
Tunis campaign would continue to feature in Habsburg iconography
well into the seventeenth century, the short-lived victory of Mahdiyya
would always be overshadowed by the triumph of Tunis in 1535. If the
restoration of Muley al-Hassan to power had been the goal of the earlier
campaign, his death at Mahdiyya removed him from the political arena
for good. But the unforgettable king was now available for new purposes.
In the next chapter, we will trace phantom sightings, urban legends,
and pious fictions associated with Muley al-Hassan in the two centuries
following his death.
Notes
1. Federico Odorici and Michele Amari, Letter inedite di Mulay Hassan
e Ferranta Gonzaga (1537–1547) (Modena, 1865) [Estratto dal Vol. 3
degli Atti e Memorie delle Deputationi di Storia patria per le provincie
modenesi e parmensi], pp. 185–187.
2. Anon., La presa di Africa con il successo delle cose occorse narrando
battarie assalti dirupi cave fossi trinzere tanti di dentro quanto di so[p]ra
fate durante lo assedio per infino ala presa (s.l. s.d.).
3. In his poem, the Clorida, Luigi Tansillo mentions that a battle at Kelibia
was painted on the walls of García de Toledo’s villa at Chiaia; L’egloga e
i poemetti, ed. Francesco Flamini (Naples, 1893), p. 187.
4. For an introduction to the voluminous material, see Peter Burke, “Pre-
senting and Representing Charles V,” in Charles V, 1500–1558, and
His Time, ed. Hugo Soly (Antwerp: Mercatorfonds, 1999), pp. 393–
477; Hendrik J. Horn, Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen: Painter of Charles V
and his Conquest of Tunis. Paintings, Etchings, Drawings, Cartoons and
Tapestries, 2 vols. (Dornsprijk: Davaco, 1989); and Sylvie Deswarte-Rosa,
“L’Expédition de Tunis (1535): images, interprétations, répercussions
culturelles,” Chrétiens et musulmans à la renaissance, eds. Bartolomé
Bennassar and Robert Sauzet (Paris: Honoré Champion, 1994), pp. 75–
132.
5. Paolo Giovio, Elogi degli Uomini Illustri, ed. Franco Minonzio (Turin:
Einaudi, 2006), p. 943: “nuova veste infelice.”
6. For conditions in the fortress, see Anne Brogini and María Ghazali, “Un
enjeu espagnol en Méditerranée: les présides de Tripoli et de La Goulette
au XVIe siècle,” Cahiers de la Méditerranée 70 (2005): 9–43.
7. Odorici/Amari (1865), pp. 185–187. Letter of 22 February 1546 to
Ferrante Gonzaga: “poiche questo usurpatore non opera altrimenti che
i Turchi, e dice se esser turo; (in fatti) ha concubine turca e cortigiani
turchi. Mio figlio e turco (in ogni cosa) […] Quanti sono ribelli in Tunis
non operano altrimenti che i Turchi: vestono a fogge turchesche ed alla
turchesca sono governate.”
8. For prince Philip’s order to negotiate with Amida, see Gennaro Varriale,
“Un juicio de frontera: El caso de Francisco de Tovar, Alcalde de la
200 C. L. BASKINS
Goleta,” Actas de la XI Reunión Científica de la Fundación Española de

Historia Moderna: Comunicaciones, eds. Antonio Jiménez Estrella and
Julián J. Lozano Navarro, vol. I (Granada: University of Granada, 2012),
pp. 1224–1235; pp. 1231–1232. The Venetian ambassador, Andrea
Navagero, noted in a dispatch of 25 April 1545: “It has been confirmed
that Charles will not miss the opportunity to make a treaty with this
new king…” See Nuntiaturberichte aus Deutschland 1533–1559, ed.
Walter Friedensburg, vol. 1:8 (Gotha: Friederich Andreas Perthas, 1898),
p. 658. See Fernand Braudel, “Les Espagnoles et l’Afrique du Nord
de 1492 a 1577,” Revue africaine 69 (1928): 184–233 and 351–428,
p. 425; and Primitivo Mariño, Tratados internacionales de España. Carlos
V. II. Tratados con el Norte de Africa, vol. 2 (Madrid: Consejo Superior
de Investigaciones Científicas, 1980), pp. 170–220, 226–229.
9. Odorici/Amari (1865), p. 191: “F[acci]o intender ad V. alta Signoria,
come del dì che se mosse Amida nostro fratello contro le cose di nostro
padre, sono stato sempre in la Goletta per sicurità de la persona mia,
temendo de non veder in me quello che vidi in mio padre; et avendo
el Cap. Don Fra.co Tovara et el Marescal da Leon lassato andar el mio
fratello, et tenuto me in cambio suo senza darmene noticia, nè aver de
ciò la voluntà mia, supplico la vostra bona gratia che ne voglia far avisito
a sua M.ta, et procurarmi licenzia di quella di poterle andar a baciar la
mano. Et f[acci]o intender anco a la Vostra alta S.ria come lo capitano
Luis Peres de Vengas ha fatto treofa [tregua] con nostro fratello, ed ha
mandato nostro padre fra li Arabi e me a Pal.mo; et me ha dispiaciuto de
non aver trovato V.S., quantunque il Vicerè mi abbia usato ogni cortesia;
et mi farà grazia far avisito lo Imperator come mio padre desidera venir
a basar la mano de sua M.ta, et io me reputo esserle da figlio…”.
10. Paolo Giovio, La seconda parte dell’ Istorie del suo tempo, ed. Ludovico
Domenichi (Venice: Giovan Maria Bonelli, 1560), Bk 44, p. 742: “Ma
suo figliuolo Maomete, il qual era stato statico, pigliando vie poco usate,
si fuggì nel paese degli Arabi à parenti dell’avolo sua Lentigesia, per
esser sicuro da gli ag[g]uati, & aspettare il successo dell’imperio del
fratello.” Charles Monchicourt, Kairouan et les Chabbïa (1450–1592)
(Tunis: Aloccio, 1939), p. 6, for Lentigesia [Arabic, Djezia].
11. See A. E. Popham, “Catalogue of Etchings by Jan Cornelisz. Vermeyen,”
Oud Holland 44 (1927): 174–182, on p. 179; Kurt Steinbart, “Jan
Cornelisz Vermeyen,” Marburger Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft 6
(1931): 83–113, on p. 91; Julius Held, “Rubens’ ‘King of Tunis’ and
Vermeyen’s Portrait of Mulay Ahmad,” Art Quarterly 3 (1940): 173–
181; and Horn (1989), vol. 1, pp. 19–20; Th. Marita Wijntjes, “Le
portrait de Mawlay Ahmad,” Al-Qantara 20 (1999): 215–220; and
cat.#36 in The Renaissance of Etching, eds. Catherine Jenkins, Nadine
M. Orenstein, and Freyda Spira (New York: Metropolitan Museum of

Art, 2019), pp. 72–73, 86–88.
12. The Muley Ahmet print is rare, there are only a few extant copies. Horn
(1989), vol. 1, p. 19, reads the line, “cum gracia et privilegio,” to date
the etching of Ahmet according to the privilege of 1536. But, according
to Jan van der Stock, Printing Images in Antwerp. The Introduction of
Printmaking in a City: Fifteenth Century to 1585 (Rotterdam: Sound &
Vision Interactive, 1998), pp. 149–151, 239, this privilege was renewed
several times up to 1541, leaving open the question of dating. Given the
historical context, we should return to Popham and Steinbart who dated
the etching to ca. 1545/6.
13. Horn (1989), vol. 1, pp. 39, 99.
14. On the lost painting, see Gert-Rudolf Flick, “Vermeyen: Portrait of
Mulay Ahmad, called ‘The King of Tunis’,” Missing Masterpieces: Lost
Works of Art 1450–1900 (London: Merrell, 2003), pp. 29–38.
15. Vermeyen’s Muley Ahmet is only slightly smaller than Enea Vico’s monu-
mental, engraved portrait of Charles V of 1550 (56.3 × c 36.9 cm); see
Rosemarie Mulcahy, “Enea Vico’s Proposed Triumphs of Charles V,”
Print Quarterly 19 (2002): 331–340.
16. The Latin caption reads, “Mulei Ahmet Princeps Africanus Filius Regis
Tunesi.” Popham and Steinbart both used the spelling, “Ahmed,” but
Held altered the name to Ahmād without offering any explanation for
the change. This erroneous spelling has misled scholars into assuming
that the print represents Amida. As we will show, the iconography does
not support that identification.
17. The location of the background was first identified by Held (1940), p. 6.
The same Zaghouan scenery appears in the background of the left wing
of the Micault family triptych of 1548, as recognized by Horn (1989),
vol. 2, A106.
18. For example, see the woodcut vignette on the title page of Benedetto
di Falco, Descrittione dei luoghi antichi di Napoli e del suo amenissino
distretto (Naples: Giovanni Francesco Sugganapo, 1548).
19. Jean-Michel Massing, “The Depiction of Africa,” The Image of the Black
in Western Art, vol. 3 pt. 2, eds. David Bindman, Henry Louis Gates,
and Karen C. Dalton (Cambridge: Belknap Press, 2011), pp. 128–134,
on p. 134 claims that the crescent moon refers to the Ottomans. More
likely the moon refers to the Muslim lunar calendar. Inclusion of a
crown of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily makes sense in a portrait
of Ahmet, but it would be unthinkable for an image of Amida. He had
usurped his father’s Spanish backed rule in Tunis and was unfaithful to
the Habsburgs.
20. Held (1940), p. 181 made this identification with the assistance of
Richard Ettinghausen. Compare the lettering on a 1554 dinar of Ahmed
202 C. L. BASKINS
Sultan (ie. Amida); see Monchicourt (1939), p. 142. See also, Harry W.
Hazard, The Numismatic History of Late Medieval North Africa (New
York, 1952), pp. 180–181 and plate 3.
21. Mariño (1980): Document 36 (1550), pp. 237–242, and Document
38 (1552), pp. 246–249, include mentions of Ahmet swearing oaths of
fealty to the Habsburgs on the Qur’an.
22. Odorici/Amari (1865), pp. 190–191: “Come voi sapete, noi non
abbiamo un solo amico in questi paesi. Tutti si studiano a farci del male:
e ciò per l’amistà che noi vi portiamo. Tutto quanto da noi si opera per
amor vostro, e per (mantenere) il Vostro dominio, offende (costoro).
Come voi sapete, questo turco Dragut muove contro questo paese qui.
Dio lo confonda! Chieggiamo intanto dalla generosa bontà della Signoria
vostra che mandiate a dire all’ispettore e al Capitano della Goletta che ci
diano gli armamenti de’quali abbiam uopo e della polvere, poichè questo
paese è debole e (i terrazzani) desiderano i Turchi nemici vostri e nostri.
Tanto noi sottomettiamo alla Signoria vostra. Preghiamo inoltre la sua
bontà, che lasci liberamente recare frumento in questo paese, perocchè
que’ di Kairewan ci sono nemici, que’ di Tunisi peggio, come voi ben
sapete; e lo stesso que’ di Susa. Se voi non provvedete a trovare chi ci
fornisca di vittuaglie di cotesti paesi, noi non ne troveremo affatto da noi
stessi per cagione della terribile carestia che patiamo adesso. Date dunque
tal prova di bontà al paese ed a noi. Richieggiamo con ciò la bontà della
Signoria vostra che conceda l’aman ai marinari di questi paesi, e che in
qualche modo dimostri loro la sua protezione e benignità. Facciamo anco
sapere alla Signoria vostra ritrarsi che una fregata sia stata presa dai Turchi
presso Kalibia. Tanto dovevamo significarvi. Preghiamo la Signoria vostra
che ne faccia risposta. Se di qui, etc.” See Monchicourt (1939), pp. 122,
131.
23. Monchicourt (1939), pp. 123, 132. Pérez de Vargas had sent Sheikh
Bouzeiane as emissary to prepare the way for Muley al-Hassan.
24. Monchicourt (1939), p. 121, draws much of his information from Pedro
de Salazar’s Hystoria de la Guerra y presa d’Africa (Naples: Mattia
Cancer, 1552); see now the modern edition, Pedro de Salazar, Historia
de la Guerra y Presa de África, ed. Marco Federici (Naples: Università
degli studi di Napoli, 2015). Treaties with the King of Qayrawan appear
in Mariño (1980), pp. 235 and 239. See Juan Bautista Vilar, Mapas,
planos, y fortificaciones hispanicos de Túnez s.XVI-XIX (Madrid: Instituto
de Cooperación con el Mundo Árabe, 1991), p. 142.
25. For the print as an “impression from real life,” see Otto Benesch, “The
Orient as a Source of Inspiration of the Graphic Arts of the Renaissance,”
Festschrift Friedrich Winkler, ed. Hans Möhle (Berlin: Mann, 1959),
pp. 242–253; Horn (1989), pp. 32, 78; and Suzanne Boorsch, “Jan
Cornelisz. Vermeyen: An Oriental banquet, Mulay Hasan and his Retinue

at a Repast,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 52 (1994): 22.
26. Salazar (1552) f.7r; Luis del Mármol Carvajal, Libro tercero y Segundo
volumen de la primera parte de la descripcion general de la Affrica
(Granada: Rene Rabut, 1573), p. 287r. See also Luis del Mármol
Carvajal, Jean-Pierre Vittu, and Mika Ben Miled, Histoire des derniers
rois de Tunis: du malheur des Hafçides, de la prise de Tunis par Charles
Quint-- de Kheyr-ed-Din Barberousse, Darghut-- et autres valeureux
raïs (Carthage, Tunisia: Cartaginoiseries, 2007); Monchicourt (1939),
pp. 78–80, 124, 242, 244; and Alberto Mannino, Gli infanti di Tunisi
e la communità musulmana di Palermo tra il XVI e il XVII secolo
(Palermo, 2018), p. 144.
27. See Vermeyen’s representation of Muley al-Hassan and Charles V nego-
tiating the terms of the treaty in 1535 (Fig. 2.9), in which the king also
makes emphatic hand gestures to accompany his speech.
28. Antonfrancesco Cirni, Successi della armata della Maestà Catolica
destinata all’impresa di Tripoli di Barberia, della presa delle Gerbe,
e progressi dell’armata Turchesca (Venice: Giovanni Bariletto, 1560),
p. 29r: “Questo Re haveva buona presentia, era di mediocre statura
con una gran barba canuta, & in arrivando si fece cavare gli stivaletti,
e messesi a sedere in terra sopra i tapeti. Il suo vestito era alla Moresca
con una giubba lunga infino a meze gambe di quella tela sottile listata.
Dicono che questo Re fra Mori è tenuto, come il Papa fra noi.”
29. Salazar (1552), f. 50, “papa que fue…sanctissimo moro.”
30. Mármol Carvajal (1573), p. 286v, compares the Sharif of Qayrawan to a
bishop. See Fernand Braudel (1928), p. 974 and Monchicourt (1939),
pp. 106–108. In Giovio/Minonzio (2006), pp. 970–973, the Sharif of
Morocco cradles a large tiara in his left arm. The portrait of “Scerifo
Rex” holding a tiara was copied twice for Archduke Ferdinand II’s
collection at Ambras; see Friedrich Kenner, “Die Porträtsammlung des
Erzherzogs Ferdinand von Tirol,” Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Samm-
lungen Allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses 19 (1898): 6–146, on pp. 140–141.
For tiaras in the Ottoman context, see Gülru Necipoğlu, “Süleyman
the Magnificent and the Representation of Power in the Context
of Ottoman-Habsburg-Papal Rivalry,” The Art Bulletin 71 (1989):
401–427.
31. Giovio, La seconda parte dell’ Istorie del suo tempo, ed. Ludovico
Domenichi (Venice: Bartolomeo Cesano, 1554), Bk 33, p. 328 notes
how Muley al-Hassan had earlier used Amida’s marriage for political
advantage: “With great happiness he celebrated the wedding of his son
Amida and threw a sumptuous feast for the whole population, and
beyond that unprecedented level of courtesy, he also gave all sorts of
things to eat to all the groups and orders of the city, and also with
204 C. L. BASKINS
various strategies and gifts he recruited the neighboring Bedouins and

the African leaders: “Con allegrezza grande celebrava le nozze di suo
figliuolo Amida, & faceva un solenne convito a tutto il popolo, & oltra
a quella nuova qualità di cortesia, donava anchora a cose da mangiare
d’ogni sorte a tutte le compagnie e ordini della città, & ancho con
diversi artifice & doni s’andava acquistando gli Arabi suoi vicini, e i primi
huomini Africani.”
32. Salazar (1552), f. 7r. For confusion of the name, Hametalfa=Ahmet Arfa,
see Monchicourt (1939), pp. 50–70, 103–105; and Salazar (2015), pp.
lxxxiv, 31. Gaetano Capasso suggests that Muhammad ben Abi Tayyeb
emerged as the leader of the Sabbiya after the death of his uncle Sidi Arfa
in 1542; see “Il governo di Don Ferrante Gonzaga in Sicilia dal 1535 al
1543,” Archivio Storico Italiano 31 (1906): 337–461, on p. 387.
33. Mármol Carvajal (1573), p. 287r.
34. Mariño (1980), pp. 111–112, 246–249: Documents 36 and 38 relate to
the 1550 treaty with the King of Qayrawan.
35. Fra Prudencio de Sandoval, Historia de la Vida y Hechos del Emperador
Carlos V (Pamplona: Bartolomeo Paris, 1614), vol. 2, p. 615: “Tambien
vino un Embaxador del Rey de Tunez con ciertos recados que su Rey le
enviava, y ofreció otros tantos Alarbes.”
36. Varriale (2012), pp. 1224–1235.
37. Gennaro Varriale Arrivano li Turchi Guerra navale e spionaggio nel
Mediterraneo (1532–1582) (Novi Ligure: Città del silenzio, 2014),
pp. 125–126.
38. ASF, Mediceo del Principato 9, document 4604, folio 260. “Passando
di qua per cotesta volta il s.or [signor] Infante di Tunizi, Muleibuc-
chere, figluolo del Re cieco [Mulay Hassan], et sapendo io quanta sia
la devozione et servitù sua et di suo padre verso la M.tà [Maestà] V.
[Vostra], ho giudicato debito mio di riceverlo, accarezarlo et honorarlo
in questo suo transito…”
39. Anon, Diario del pontificato di Papa Paolo III dall’anno 1543 (Biblioteca
Vaticana, MS Capponi, 29). See Monchicourt (1939), pp. 124–125.
40. Giovio/Minonzio (2006), p. 945.
41. See Erika Spivakovsky, “Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Averroism,”
Journal of the History of Ideas 26 (1965): 307–326; ibid., Son of the
Alhambra: Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (Austin: University of Texas
Press, 1970); and Richard Kagan, Clio and the Crown: The Politics of
History in Medieval and Early Modern Spain (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 2009), p. 82.
42. Giovio, Istorie (1560), Bk 44, p. 742: “Essendo dunque per viaggio
capitato Muleasse à Roma & essendo ricevuto à convito dal Sig. Cardi-
nale Alessandro Farnese, menato innanzi al Papa maggiore onore non gli
fece, se non che solamente gli baciò il ginocchio & ancor che havendo
egli coperto il cerchio de gli occhi con una benda di lino non vedesse
nulla, nondimeno col collo intirizzato, et ritto mostrava l’insolenza della
superbia reale.” See also, Bernardo Segni, Istorie fiorentine dall’ anno
MDXXVII al MDLV , ed. Gargano Gargani (Florence: Barbèra Bianchi,
1857), p. 429; Segni copies Giovio and Bandello.
43. Paolo Giovio, Elogia virorum bellica virtute illustrium veris imaginibus
supposita, quae apud Musaeum spectantur (Florence: Torrentini, 1551),
Bk 6, pp. 313–315 on p. 315. Giovio/Minonzio (2006), p. 943 renders
the Latin into Italian: “Quando fu condotto al papa non si lasciò indurre
ad altra forma di omaggio se non onorarlo in ginocchio con il baccio di
rito.”
44. From 5 to 8 March (1547 = 1548), Duke Cosimo considered the loan:
ASF, Mediceo del Principato filza 638, folio 201 and folio 203.
45. ASF, Mediceo del Principato filza 187, folio 39.
46. ASF, Mediceo del Principato filza 1174, folio 129. Andrea Pasquali was
the Medici court physician.
47. Angelo Massarelli, Concilium Tridentinum, ed. Sebastian Merkle, vol. I
(Freiburg: Herder, 1901), p. 752.
48. Giovambattista Giraldi, Commentario delle cose di Ferrara (Venice:
Giovanni de’Rosi, 1556), p. 179; Giovanni Maria di Massa, Memorie di
Ferrara (1582–1585), ed. Matteo Provasi (Ferrara: Deputazione provin-
ciale ferrarese di storia patria, 2004), p. 91; Gustave Gruyer, L’art
ferrarais, a l’époque des princes D’Este, vol. 1 (Paris: Plon, 1897),
pp. 180–181.
49. Federigo Amadei, Cronaca universale della citta di Mantova, vol. 2
(Mantua: Citem, 1955), p. 626. “Anno 1548 – A dì 24 marzo giunse a
Mantova, per andarsene presso dell’Imperadore, il Re di Tunisi, cacciato
fuori de’ suoi Stati dal di lui proprio figlio.”
50. On the lost frescoes at Marmirolo, see Frederick Hartt, Giulio Romano
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1958), p. 260.
51. For Aldrovandi’s 1571 note about the “Paropsis quae fuit regis Tunetis
ex jaspide confecta,” see Per dare qualche splendore a la gloriosa città di
Milano: Documents for the Antiquarian Collection of Isabella d’Este, eds.
Clifford M. Brown, Anna Maria Lorenzoni, and Sally Hickson (Rome:
Bulzoni, 2002), p. 30.
52. Odorici/Amari (1865), p. 192; see Monchicourt (1939), p. 125.
53. Cesare Foucard, Relazioni dei duchi di Ferrara e di Modena coi re di
Tunisi. Cenni e documenti (Modena: Pizzolotti, 1881), pp. 33–36. See
Giovanni Ricci, I Turchi alle porte (Bologna: Mulino, 2008), pp. 156–
157.
54. Odorici/Amari (1865), pp. 137, 192.
55. Die Chronik Eisenberger, ed. Hartmut Bock (Frankfurt am Main:
Schriften des Historischen Museums, 2007), p. 108.
206 C. L. BASKINS
56. Nicolaus Mameranus, Catalogus familiae totius aulae caesareae per

expiditionum adversus inobedientes usque Augustam Rhaeticam, omni-
umque principum comitum etc. ibidem 1547 et 1548 praesentium (Colo-
niae: Heinrich Mameranus, 1550), pp. 9–10. “Molei Lasen, Rex Thuneti
in Africa, Imperator de secta Mahometana, excaecatus & regno pulsus
per filium natu grandiorem, venit Augusta ad Caesarem in Mense Aprili
exul ac profugus.”
57. Mameranus (1550), p. 10. “Molei Mahamed tertius eius filius & iunior
venit huc in Mense Iunio post patrem. Horum familiam praesertim ex
nobilibus in calce principum familiae posui, simulós nonnihil de ipsorum
vestitu attigi.”
58. Jean de Vandenesse, “Le Journal des Voyages de Charles Quint de
1514 à 1551,” ed. Louis Prosper Gachard, Collection Des Voyages des
Souverains des Pays-Bas, vol. 2 (Brussels: F. Hayez, 1874), p. 557.
59. Des Grafen Wolrad von Waldeck, Tagebuch während des Reichstags
zu Augsburg 1548, ed. C.L.P Tross (Stuttgart: Litterarischer Verein,
1861), p. 74: “Eadem inter octavam et nonam pomeridianum rex
Thunis, quem alii Carthaginis potius regem putant, lectica vectus cum
altero ejus filiorum exiguo satellitio comitatus Augustam venit. Gens
semioaethiopica, cujus vestitus Turcam redolet.”
60. Gregorio Leti, La vie de l’empereur Charles V , part 3 (Brussels: Josse di
Grieck, 1715), p. 326.
61. Batholomew Sastrow, Being the Memoirs of a German Burgomaster, trans.
Albert D. Vandam (London: A. Constable, 1905), p. 245. The Polish
Reformer Jan Laski, and his brother Stanislas, studied many languages
including Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.
62. Mameranus (1550), p. 104.
63. Katherine Bond, “Mapping Culture in the Habsburg Empire: Fashioning
a Costume Book in the Court of Charles V,” Renaissance Quarterly 71
(2018): 530–570; see pp. 553–555, for the date of Muley al-Hassan’s
arrival in February 1548. On p. 570, Bond proposes that the album
made with parchment, now in the Museo Stibbert, Florence, MS 2025,
was painted in Brussels, between 1548 and 1549. She considers the
Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid, Res 285, album made on paper,
to be a close copy.
64. Mameranus (1550), pp. 103–104.
65. Mameranus (1550), p. 104.
66. See Valentine Groebner, “Complexio/complexion: Categorizing Indi-
vidual Natures, 1250–1600,” in The Moral Authority of Nature, eds.
Lorraine Daston and Fernando Vidal (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 2004), pp. 361–383; and ibid., “The Carnal Knowing of a
Coloured Body: Sleeping with Arabs and Blacks in the European
Imagination, 1300–1550,” The Origins of Racism in the West, ed.
Miryam Eliav-Feldon (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009),

pp. 217–231.
67. Benvenuto Tisi, called Garofalo, decorated the Salone del Tesoro in
the palace of Paolo Costabili in 1506. Modern scholars dispute Giorgio
Vasari’s claim that Girolamo da Carpi painted the Fall of the Goletta on
the façade of Pietro Soncini’s palace in Ferrara. See Uta B. Ullrich, Der
Kaiser im ‘giardino dell’ Impero’: zur Rezeption Karls V. in italienischen
Bildprogrammen des 16. Jahrhunderts (Berlin: Mann, 2006), p. 71.
68. Antonio Frizzi, Memorie per la storia di Ferrara, vol. 4 (Ferrara: F.
Pomatelli, 1796), p. 326. See also Monchicourt (1939), p. 129.
69. For medieval Ifriqiya, see Gustavo Hannezo, “Mahdia,” Revue tunisi-
enne 15 (1908): 46–59, 149–159, 244–252, 365–369, 412–427, 544;
Mohammed Hassan, “Regards croisés Orient-Occident sur la ville de
Mahdia,” La città crocevia di incontri in ambito arabo-islamico e
mediterraneo (Palermo: Academia Libica, 2007), pp. 47–62.
70. See Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra, La imagen de los musulmanes y del
Norte de África en la España de los siglos XVI y XVII: los caracteres de
una hostilidad (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas,
1989); Mercedes García-Arenal and Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra, Los
españoles y el Norte de África, siglos XV-XVIII (Madrid: Mapfre, 1992);
Beatriz Alonso Acero, “El norte de África en el ocaso del emperador
(1549–1558),” in Carlos V y la quiebra del humanismo político en Europa
(1530–1558) Madrid, 2000, ed. José Martínez Millán, vol. 1 (Madrid:
Sociedad Estatal para la Conmemoración de los Centenarios de Felipe II
y Carlos V, 2001), pp. 387–414, on p. 414; and María José Rodríguez
Salgado, “Carolus Africanus?: el Emperador y el turco,” in Carlos V y la
quiebra del humanismo político en Europa (1530–1558), pp. 487–531.
71. For an overview of events in Mahdiyya from 1550–1554, see Vilar
(1991), pp. 140–147; Mármol Carvajal, Vittu, and Ben Miled (2007),
pp. 114–117; Miguel Martínez, “The Spell of National Identity: War
and Soldiering on the North African Frontier (1550–1560),” Journal
of Spanish Cultural Studies 12 (2011): 293–307; and ibid., Front
Lines: Soldiers’ Writing in the Early Modern Hispanic World (Philadel-
phia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), pp. 86–100; and Cristelle
Baskins, “De Aphrodisio expugnato: The Siege of Mahdia in the Habs-
burg Imaginary,” Il Capitale Culturale, supp. 6 (2017): 25–48.
72. A seventeenth-century author, Girolamo Condurella e Perino, described
Muley al-Hassan’s reception in Palermo in 1549, “blind in both
eyes…they disembarked at the pier from which they made a beautiful
entrance [into the city] with a very large cavalcade.” See Mannino
(2018), pp. 19–20.
73. Tommaso Fazello, Della Storia di Sicilia, Deche due, trans. Remigio
Fiorentino (Palermo, 1817), Bk 3, p. 561 “…e da lui intesi molte delle
208 C. L. BASKINS
cose della sua stirpe, le quali trovai esser tutte bugie, e diversissime
dagli annali de’ Maomettani, e particolarmente questo, che diceva che la
sua stirpe avea regnato in Tunisi successivamente quasi novecento anni,
avvengachè per gli annali Maomettani si trovi che Tunisi diventò regno
già cinquecento anni sono, e dal quel tempo in quà essersi accresciuto e
fatto grande.” From the conversation with Muley al-Hassan in Rome in
1548, Giovio reports that the Hafsids claimed to have ruled Tunis for
954 years; see Giovio (1560), Bk 44, p. 743.
74. Giovio (1551), Bk 6, p. 313.
75. Giovio (1575), Bk 6, p. 360. Giovio/Minonzio (2006), p. 943.
76. Since Amida had usurped the realm, Muley al-Hassan could not be
buried in Tunis. For the burial sites of Hafsid rulers, see Abdel-Hakim El
Gafsi, “Note sur les cimitières en Tunisie,” Sharq Al-Andalus 6 (1989):
173–183; Raja El Aoudi-Adouni, Stèles funéraires tunisoises de l’époque
hafside, 628–975/1230–1574, 2 vols. (Tunis: Institut national du patri-
moine, 1997), vol. I: pp. 6–7. Jonathan M. Bloom, Architecture of the
Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700–1800 (New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2020), p. 220.
77. For surveys of this material, see Paul Rachel, Die Geschichtsschreibung
über den Krieg Karls V. gegen die Stadt Mahedia oder Afrika (1550)
(Dresden: Meinhold, 1879); Henri Bégouën, Notes et Documents pour
servir à une Bibliographie de l’Histoire de la Tunisie (Paris: A. Picard,
1901), pp. 43–56, 95–104; José Solís de los Santos, “Las relaciones
de sucesos en la historiografía latina de Carlos V,” in Humanismo
y pervivencia del mundo clásico: homenaje al profesor Antonio Prieto,
eds. Josè María Maestre Maestre, Joaquín Pascual Barea, Luis Charlo
Brea, vol. 4:3 (Alcañiz: Instituto de Estudios Humanísticos and Madrid:
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2009), pp. 1317–1350;
Martínez (2011); and ibid. (2016), Ch. 3.
78. Alonso de la Cueva, La lettera de la presa d’Africa venuta all’illustr. et
reverendissimo cardinal de la Cueva con il nome e il numero de’ morti
e feriti de l’una et l’altra parte (Bologna: Anselmo Giaccatello, 1550),
pp. 1–4.
79. Anon., La dechiaratione del successo de tutte le cose occorse de l’una
parte & l’altra nella presa d’Africa: con il nome de li collonelli & capi-
tani & persone ferite et morti di conditione, con la resolutione di cio a
da fare l’essercito & il bottino fatto da nostri: et un sonnetto in laude
dil. S. Astorre Baglione & di tutta l’armata alli 25 di settembre (s.l.,
1550). This work appears to be an Italian translation of an earlier report
dated September 13; see the anonymous, Die Eroberung der Stat Affrica
(Augsburg: Hans Zimmerman, 1550).
80. Given the reports of widespread famine in the Sahel, this Declaration
must have exaggerated the amount of food taken in the sack.
81. Anon., La presa d’Africa (s.l., s.d.). See ff. 1v and 3r.
82. See Anon., Romance y relacion verdadera, delo que passo en la conquista
dela fortissima & inexpugnable ciudad de África en Berbería, ganada
per fuerza de armas por los Soldados viejos Españoles del Emperador y
Rey nuestro Senñor (1550), ff. 8r and 12v. The text was included in
Lorenzo Sepúlveda, Romances nueuamente sacados de historias antiguas
dela crónica de España compuestos por Lorenço de Sepulueda. Añadiose el
Romance dela conquista dela ciudad de Africa en Berueria, en el año
M.D.L. y otros diuersos, como por la Tabla parece (Antwerp: Johannes
Steelsius, 1551), pp. 237–254.
83. Salazar, Hystoria (1552), ff. 28r and 59v; José Solís de los Santos, “Pedro
de Salazar,” in Diccionario Biográfico Español, ed. J. Olmedo Ramos,
vol. 45 (Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia, 2009), pp. 220–222;
Marco Federici, “Corsari del mediterraneo e viceré d’Italia: La Historia
de la Guerra y Presa de Africa di Pedro da Salazar (Napoli, Mattia
Cancer, 1552),” in Lingua spagnola e cultura ispanica nel Regno di
Napoli fra Rinascimento e Barocco: testimonianze a stampa, ed. Encar-
nación Sánchez García (Napoli: Tullio Pironti, 2013), pp. 63–83; ibid.,
“Pedro de Salazar en el Panorama Historiográfico de la Nápoles del
Virrey Toledo,” in Rinascimento meridionale: Napoli e il viceré Pedro
de Toledo (1532–1553), ed. Encarnación Sánchez García (Naples: Tullio
Pironti, 2016), pp. 433–456; and ibid., “Nápoles y la conquista de al-
Mahdiyya (1550): alianzas militares y reflejos literarios del suceso,” in
Italie et Espagne entre Empire, Cités et États. Constructions d’histoires
communes (XV e -XVI e siècles), eds. Alice Carette, Rafael M. Girón-
Pascual, Raúl González Arévalo, Cécile Terreaux-Scotto (Rome: Viella,
2017), pp. 245–259.
84. Mármol Carvajal (1573), p. 287r.
85. Juan Cristóbal Calvete de Estrella was the humanist tutor of Philip
II; see, De Aphrodisio expugnato (Antwerp: Martin Nutius, 1551). The
text was republished in the Rerum à Carolo V (Antwerp: Jean Beller,
1554), edited by the Flemish ambassador Cornelis Schepper. See José
Luis Gonzalo Sánchez-Molero, “Juan Cristóbal Calvete de Estrella (ca.
1510–1593),” in Juan Christóval Calvete de Estrella, El felicíssimo viaje
del muy alto y muy poderoso príncipe don Phelippe, ed. Paloma Cuenca
(Madrid: Sociedad Estatal para la Conmemoración de los Centenarios de
Felipe II y Carlos V, 2001), pp. xvii–l, on pp. xxxii, xxxvi, and xl; Solís
de los Santos (2009), pp. 1327–1331.
86. See Marco Federici’s “Introduction” to Salazar (2015), pp. xi-cx; Erika
Milburn, Luigi Tansillo and Lyric Poetry in Sixteenth-Century Naples
(Leeds: Modern Humanities Research Association, 2003), p. 12.
87. Horatius Nucula, Commentariorum De bello aphrodisienis libri quinque
(Rome: Luigi Dorico, 1552), p. 107. A schematic woodcut map of the
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North African coast and part of southern Sicily appears on pp. 8–9. For
Nucula’s eyewitness experience of Mahdiyya, see Pompeo De Angelis,
L’impresa di Orazio Nucula ternano nel Mediterraneo dei corsari all’epoca
di Carlo V (Terni: Kion, 2014).
88. Vincenzo Colocasio, Quarti belli punici libri sex (Messina: haeredes
Ioannis Bartoletti and Petruccio Spira, 1552). He was originally from
Marsala but active in Messina, see Giuseppe Beccaria, “Vincenzo Colo-
casio, umanista siciliano del secolo XVI,” Archivio storico siciliano 25
(1900): 1–52; Rosario Scalabrino, “Un umanista imitatore dell’ ‘Africa’
nella Sicilia occidentale,” Convegno petrarchesco (11–13 ott. 1931),
Supplemento agli Annali della cattedra petrarchesca, I (Arezzo, 1936),
pp. 84–90; and Solís de los Santos (2009), p. 1333.
89. Calvete (1551), p. 23v.
90. Nucula (1552), p. 107.
91. For Babbi’s letter, see Francesco Palermo, “Documenti relative al tempo
e al governo di Don Pietro di Toledo vicerè di Napoli dal 1532 al 1553,”
Archivio Storico Italiano 9 (1846): 91, 93–144; on p. 132: “…che fu
vero che il re di Tunisi messe in Africa per difensione di quella terra 200
balestrieri a cavallo.”
92. Eugenia Serebrennikov, “Plotting Imperial Campaigns: Hieronymous
Cock’s Abortive Foray into Chorography,” Nederlands Kunsthistorisch
Jaarboek 52 (2001): 186–215, on p. 193. See Joris Grieken, G. Liutjen,
and Jan van der Stock, Hieronymous Cock: The Renaissance in Print
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013), p. 91. Compare the map
to the Nova copia (August 1550), and Il Vero et Ultimo Aviso della
Presa d’Affrica (s.l., 25 September 1550). For prints of besieged cities in
early modern Europe, see Martha Pollak, Cities at War in Early Modern
Europe (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010); and Palmira
Brummett, Mapping the Ottomans: Sovereignty, Territory, and Identity
in the Early Modern Mediterranean (New York: Cambridge University
Press, 2015).
93. Salazar (1552), p. 79v: Ch. 42 How the Viceroy blessed the main
mosque to bury the soldiers:
Mirando y considerando el visorrey el gran peligro a que los

maestros de campo y otros capitanes y oficiales heridos de perder
las vidas stavan, y los que muertos avía y que no stavan en tierra de
christianos para sepultarlos en lugar sagrado, fue a ver la mezquita
mayor; y viéndola grande y muy suntuosa y de hermosos hedi-
ficios, y que en ella avía siete naves muy altas y siete puertas y
muchos arcos de piedra que las sostienen sobre grandes y hermosos
mármores y columnas de dos en dos y de quatro en quatro,
la mandó bendezir y poner nombre Sanct Juan, a invocación
delsancto de su propio nonbre, para que dél memoria en la ciudad

quedasse.
See also Nucula (1552), pp. 264–265. Vilar (1991), p. 146; Varriale
(2014), p. 133.
94. Calvete (1551), f. 6r. The vertically oriented map would be turned ninety
degrees and used as a frontispiece in the later compilation edited by
Schepper, Rerum à Carolo V (1554), f. 153.
95. Salazar (1552), pp. 32, 78, 152.
96. Salazar (1552), p. 85v: “Los soldados que ricos avían venido se
començaron a luzir, adornando y conponiendo sus personas con ricas
ropas de sedas, cadenas, y clabos de oro, y otras Joyas de los mesmo, y
triunphar y jugar llamándolos los otros soldados que no avian ido a la
conquista los brabos…”
97. Vilar (1991), pp. 438–440.
98. For conflation of the Dome of the Rock with the Temple of Solomon,
see Carol Herselle Krinsky, “Representations of the Temple of Jerusalem
before 1500,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 33
(1970): 1–19; and Kathryn Blair Moore, The Architecture of the Chris-
tian Holy Land: Reception from Late Antiquity through the Renaissance
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017), pp. 82–90.
99. Tommaso Fazello OP, De rebus Siculis decades duae (Palermo: Ioannes
Matthaeus Mayda, 1560), p. 643; Diego de Fuentes, Conquista de Africa
(Antwerp: Philip Nutius, 1570), p. 15; Mármol (1573), pp. 273v–274r;
and Sandoval (1614), vol. 2, pp. 667–668.
100. Unlike the news pamphlets and chronicles, contemporary poems about
Mahdiyya tend to portray Muslims in a negative light; see, Guerre in
ottava rime IV, Guerre contro i Turchi (1453–1570), eds. Marina Beer
and Cristina Ivaldi (Modena: Pannini, 1988), entries for Paris Mantovano
Fortunato, pp. 728–732; and Arcangelo da Lonigo, pp. 734–742.
101. An anonymous woodcut of Monastir appears in Salazar (1552), p. 21v.
102. Calvete (1551), p. 24r.
103. Nucula (1552), pp. 141–142.
104. Colocasio (1552), ff. 53v–54r.
105. The site which dates to the fourteenth century, includes a mosque and
madrasa. Monchicourt (1939), p. 136 states that Muley al-Hassan was
buried in the zawiya of Sidi Abid; see also Robert Brunschvig, La
Berbérie orientale sous les Hafsides des origines à la fin du XV e siècle
(Paris, Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1940), vol. 1, p. 372.
106. Monchicourt (1939), pp. 8, 134–136.
107. Monchicourt (1939), p. 135, published a drawing of the slab with
slightly misleading borders. See El Aoudi-Adouni (1997), vol. 2,
pp. 681–682, for a typology of Hafsid funerary decoration. Horseshoe
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arches or lobed arches with small fleurons, were the most common forms.
Thanks to Mouayed Mnari, Ahmed Saadaoui, and Moez Sghaier for
photographs taken on site.
108. Elisabetta Serrao, “Ex Spoliis Victoriae Africanae: Sull’origine delle
iscrizioni arabe di Napoli e Pozzuoli,” Europe e Islam tra I secoli XIV
e XVI/Europe and Islam between 14 and 16th Centuries, eds. Michele
Bernardini, Clara Borrelli, Anna Cerbo, Encarnación Sánchez García
(Naples: Istituto Universitario Orientale, 2002), pp. 479–495.
109. Salazar (1552), p. 83v.
110. Nucula (1552), pp. 312–313.
111. See Maurizio Vesco, “Un nuovo asseto per il quartiere della Kalsa nel
Cinquecento: L’ addizione urbana del piano di Porta dei Greci,” Il
quartiere della Kalsa a Palermo, eds. Giovanna Cassatta, Evelina De
Castro, Maria Maddalena de Luca (Palermo: Regione Siciliana, Asses-
sorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana, 2013), pp. 47–65; and
Baskins (2017), pp. 36–37.
112. See Milburn (2003), pp. 12, 73–84; Rossano Pestarino, “Lirica narrative:
I sonnetti per la presa d’Africa di Luigi Tansillo,” Critica letteraria 153
(2011): 693–723.
113. Salazar (1552), p. 294. “Y considerando entre ellos que don García avía
sido principal causa que África se ganasse, por aver movido y puesto al
príncipe a que tomase la en presa della, uvo paresceres de algunos se le
presentassen tres mil ducados; y paresciéndoles a otros no los estimaría
lo contradixeron, mas antes le presentassen un collar de oro del mesmo
peso, labrado en las pieças dél por muy sotil arte y lindo primor la tomada
de África. Y resolutos en ello, dieron la orden de cómo se avía de hazer
y mandaron ponerlo por la obra; y hecho con gran solemnidad se le
presentaron.”
114. For Tansillo’s instructions, see Poesie liriche, edite ed inedite, ed.
Francesco Fiorentino (Naples: Domenico Morano, 1882), pp. 280–289.
Milburn (2003), pp. 74, 77.
115. The omission is surprising since García knew Muley al-Hassan from the
visits the king had made to Naples in 1543 and 1547. See Varriale
(2014), pp. 120–126; and Chapter 4 above.
116. See Carlos José Hernando Sánchez, “La vida material y el gusto artís-
tico en la corte de Nápoles durante el renacimiento. El inventario de
bienes del Virrey Pedro de Toledo,” Archivo Español de Arte 261
(1993): 35–55, on p. 45: “una cadena d’oro de beinte y quatro pieças
con diversos personajes ystoriados y es aquella que la dicha çibdad de
napoles dio a su eçelençia.” Don García may have sent one of the
pendants from his necklace to Philip II, according to a suggestive entry
in the king’s posthumous 1607 inventory; see Francisco Javier Sánchez
Cantón, “Inventarios reales: Bienes muebles que partenecieron a Felipe
II,” Archivo Documental Español 11: 2 (1959), p. 72: “Una caxuela de

plata pequena; tiene dentro una cañuela y en ella esculpida la ciudad de
Africa sitiada, que embió a su Magestad don García de Toledo; que pesa
la caja de plata una honza y 3 ochavas y media…” Or, “a little silver
box. Inside a tube [from which hung?] a relief of the Siege of Africa
[Mahdiyya], that don García de Toledo sent to His Majesty; the silver
box weighed one ounce…”
117. Nucula (1552), pp. 361–362; Concilii Tridentini Diariorum pars
secunda: Massarelli Diaria V-VII, ed. Sebastian Merkle (Freiburg:
Herder, 1965), vol. 2, Diary 6, p. 214. See Kenneth Sutton, The Papacy
and the Levant, 1204–1571, vol. 3 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical
Society, 1984), pp. 535–536.
118. ASF, Mediceo del Principato, filza 4308, unnumbered folio. Letter
3 October 1550 from Bernardo di Antonio de’ Medici in Augsburg
to Cosimo I de’ Medici in Florence: “Venne la duchessa di Lore-
na…condotta a Palazzo in mezzo del Re de Romani [Ferdinand I
Habsburg], di Sua Altezza [Philip II] et del Re di Vélez [Muley Abu
Hassan], il quale per trattenerla in campagna su allegrezza della presa
d’Affrica fece un torniamento con alcuni suoi a guisa di giuoco di
canne, dove egli, ancorché vecchio, si maneggiò con somma agilità et
destrezza…spettacolo assai dilettevole.”
119. Beatriz Alonso Acero, Sultanes de Berbería en tierras de la cristiandad:
Exilio musulmán, conversión y assimilación en la Monarquía hispánica
(siglos XVI y XVII) (Barcelona: Bellaterra, 2006), pp. 66–73; Eloy
Martín Corrales, Muslims in Spain, 1492–1814: Living and Negotiating
in the Land of the Infidel (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2020), pp. 98–100.
120. Sutton (1984), p. 535: “Rebellato perchè haveva qualche intentione de
havere esso Affrica da sua Maestà.” See also Varriale (2014), p. 132 on
the king of Qayrawan’s conflicted loyalties after the siege of 1550.
121. See Sancho de Leyva’s letter of 1551 in Vilar (1991), pp. 146–147,
441–444.
122. By 1560 Ahmet was exiled in Palermo; see Monchicourt (1939), p. 150;
Mannino (2018), p. 82; Cristelle Baskins, “The Play of Mistaken Iden-
tities on the Porta Nova, Palermo,” Jews and Muslims Made Visible in
Christian Iberia and Beyond, 14th to 18th Centuries, eds. Borja Franco
Llopis and Antonio Urquízar-Herrera (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2019),
pp. 331–354.
123. On the 1552 mutiny in Mahdiyya, see Balthasar del Hierro, Destruy-
cion de Affrica (Sevilla: Sebastian Trugillo, 1560); and Martínez (2016),
pp. 86–123.
124. Before the city was blown up in 1554, prior to being abandoned to
the Ottomans, the bodies of elite officers were exhumed and returned
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to Monreale outside Palermo for reburial. See Salazar (1552), p. 79v;

Mármol Carvajal (1573), p. 284v; and Vilar (1991), p. 146.
125. Anon., Descrittione delle pompe funerale fatta in Brussele alli xxix di
decembre M. D. LVIII per la felice, [et] immortal memoria di Carlo V
Imperatore, con una nave delle vittorie di sua Cesarea Maestà. (Milan:
Francesco Moschenio, 1559), f. 11v; Jan and Lucas van Doetecum,
Amplissimo hoc apparatu et pulchro ordine pompa funebris (Antwerp:
Christophe Plantin, 1559); Jaynie Anderson, “Le roi ne meurt jamais.
Charles V’s Obsequies in Italy,” El Cardenal Albornoz y el Colegio de
España, ed. Evelio Verdero y Tuells, vol. 5 (Bologna, 1979), pp. 379–
399; Stephanie Schrader, “‘Greater than Ever He Was.’ Ritual and Power
in Charles V’s 1558 Funeral Procession,” Nederlands Kunsthistorisch
Jaarboek 49 (1998): 69–94; and Minou Schraven, Festive Funerals in
Early Modern Italy: The Art and Culture of Conspicuous Commemoration
(Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2014), pp. 53–80.
126. See Ludovicus Fernández Temigno, Inscriptiones in cenotaphium Caroli
V. Imp. Caes.Neapoli excitatum (Naples: Matthias Cancer, 1599), ff. 2v,
12r. Giovanni Antonio Summonte, Historia della città e regno di Napoli,
vol. 4 (Naples: Antonio Bulifon, 1675), pp. 322–323. Sandoval, “Honras
en Roma,” (1614), pp. 845–856. And Olga Berendsen, “Taddeo
Zuccaro’s Paintings for Charles V’s Obsequies in Rome,” The Burlington
Magazine 112: 813 (1970): 809–811; although Berendsen depends on
Sandoval, she only describes part of the funeral décor.
127. Juan Cristoforo Calvete de Estrella, El Túmulo imperial (Valladolid:
Francisco Fernández de Córdoba, 1559), ff. 12v, 15, 15v, 18v. On f.
19, Calvete mentions the Tunis tapestries designed by Jan Vermeyen and
Pieter Coecke van Aelst, woven in Brussels in “gold, silver, and silk.” See
Juan José Abella Rubio, “El túmulo de Carlos V en Valladolid,” Boletín
del Seminario de Estudios de Arte y Arqueología 44 (1978): 177–200.
128. Laurencio de San Pedro, “Exequias del Invictissimimo Emperador Carlos
V en Sevilla,” Biblioteca Capitular y Colombina, Sevilla, MS. 59-1-3.
Memorias eclesiásticas y seculares de la muy noble y muy leal Ciudad de
Sevilla (1698), f. 178. Thanks to Borja Franco for this reference; see
Franco Llopis (2017), pp. 107–108.
129. Temigno (1559), f. 20; and Summonte (1675), p. 321.
130. See Franco Llopis (2017), pp. 97, 99.
CHAPTER 6
Pious Fictions
“Dios puede azer mas de esto!”1

Muley al-Hassan, according to Camillo
Tutini, Naples, 1633
By the beginning of the seventeenth century, Habsburg power waned

in North Africa and the Ottomans consolidated their control over much
of the region. After Muley al-Hassan’s death in 1550, and the final defeat
of the Hafsids in 1574, the historical king of Tunis was available for
new purposes.2 This chapter will show how the Flemish artist Peter Paul
Rubens, and his circle in Antwerp, brought together the Vermeyen and
the Versailles portrait types that we first identified in the Introduction. We
will raise the possibility that the panel portrait of Muley al-Hassan might
have once been in Rubens’ own collection. Then we turn to a reformula-
tion of the Versailles portrait, engraved by members of the Rubens shop,
and published in a book about the Tassis family, official postmasters of
the Habsburg empire.3 Although that text claimed to be based on fact, it
launched a phantom sighting of the King of Tunis that still contributes to
his posthumous legend.4 The chapter concludes by examining the appear-
ance of Muley al-Hassan in seventeenth-century Neapolitan hagiography
relating to the miraculous blood of S. Gennaro. This history of reception
shows how the Hafsid king continued to play a role in the performance
of Habsburg identity.

Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05079-4_6
216 C. L. BASKINS
Rubens’ Two Kings of Tunis

In the fourth chapter of this book, we offered the suggestion that
the Versailles portrait might have been painted by Stephan van Calcar
for Viceroy Pedro de Toledo. My hypothesis was based on the King’s
lengthy sojourn in Naples in 1543 and his close ties with the viceregal
court, which included Calcar, a visiting portraitist known for combining
Northern stylistic elements with Venetian qualities. In addition, the artist
of Muley al-Hassan’s portrait must have studied the Tunisian embassy
figures sculpted by Francesco Laurana on the triumphal arch of the Castel
Nuovo dating ca. 1460. This working hypothesis links location, occasion,
and artistic production. Further documentary evidence would provide
definitive proof. For the time being, we might borrow from the language
of detection to say that Calcar is “in the frame.”
In the absence of firm documentation, I will continue to work with
circumstantial evidence to speculate about the movement of the king’s
portrait from Naples to Brussels where it was eventually sold in the
early nineteenth century. An ideal candidate for the transfer of Muley
al-Hassan’s portrait from Naples to Flanders would be Cardinal Antoine
Perrenot de Granvelle, the son of Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle who
had accompanied Charles V on campaign in Tunis. Cardinal Granvelle
must have been proud of his father’s role in brokering the peace treaty
of 6 August 1535; recall that after signing the treaty, Muley al-Hassan
swore an oath of fealty as captured by the Versailles portrait. In the
late 1540s–1550s, Granvelle worked with the imperial court in Brus-
sels on a Habsburg publicity campaign that included Vermeyen’s Tunis
tapestries, Maarten van Heemskerck’s engraved Victories, Leone Leoni’s
bronze Charles as Virtue Defeating Heresy or Fury, and Titian’s oil on
canvas portrait of Charles at Mühlberg. In 1550, Granvelle received a
draft of Paolo Giovio’s “History of Tunis” for review.5 The Cardinal
commissioned his own abbreviated copy of the Tunis tapestries from the
Pannamaker shop in Brussels in 1565.6 For his library, he took from the
Escorial three volumes of a Qur’an that Charles had seized in Tunis7
(Fig. 6.1).
When in residence in Besançon, the Cardinal must have frequented the
cathedral of S. Etienne. In the chapel of the Holy Shroud, he would have
seen the memorial to Girolamo II Tuttavilla, Count of Sarno, who had
died in the attack on the Goletta on 23 June 1535.8
6 PIOUS FICTIONS 217
Fig. 6.1 Anon., Qur’an, late 15thc, f.2. Bibliothèque nationale de France,
Paris, Ms Arabe 438 (Credit: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris)
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Cardinal Granvelle also served as Viceroy of Naples (1570–1575),

during which time he oversaw the detention of Muley al-Hassan’s son,
Amida, in the Castel S. Elmo. In a letter to Philip II, dated 27 July 1574,
the Cardinal describes Amida as, “old and sad and deeply upset about
being absent from Tunis.”9 Granvelle ultimately concluded that, unlike
Muley al-Hassan, Amida could not be trusted to ally with the Habsburgs.
Thus, a long-standing connection to the Hafsid rulers of Tunis suggests
that the Cardinal would have been drawn to the Versailles portrait. This
seems all the more likely, since we know that he was a major art collector,
and patron of Antonis Mor, a Netherlandish painter much appreciated
for his portraits, whose name has sometimes been associated with the
Versailles panel.10 The Cardinal’s collection once numbered over 240
portraits. Perhaps Muley al-Hassan’s portrait was packed in the crates of
artwork he shipped from Naples to Brussels, along with antiquities, prints,
and works by Dürer, Bosch, Brueghel, and Titian.11
Although we can only speculate that the Versailles picture left Naples
bound for Flanders in the later sixteenth century, the next probable
mention of it takes us to Antwerp. After the death of Peter Paul Rubens
in 1640, an inventory was drawn up in preparation for the sale of his
estate. Listed as numbers 148 and 149 were, “Two portraits of a King
of Tunis after Antonio Moro.”12 This entry has elicited much discussion
about the attribution and the fate of the works.13 Scholars follow Julius
Held in assuming that it was Jan Vermeyen, rather than Mor, who made
portraits of Muley al-Hassan and his son (now lost). Left unexplained by
Held is the location of the pictures, presumably Brussels where Vermeyen
spent the bulk of his career. Nor did Held explain how Rubens would
have known about them. Could Cardinal Granvelle’s collection in Brus-
sels or Besançon have been the point of contact between Rubens and the
portraits, whether they were painted by Vermeyen, Antonis Mor, Stefan
van Calcar, or some other unknown artist? Held went on to argue that
even if neither of Vermeyen’s paintings survived, his etching of Muley
Ahmet preserves the appearance of the original portrait, although in
reverse14 (Fig. 6.2). He then demonstrated that Rubens’ African Man,
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Fig. 6.3) was based on the Muley Ahmet
print, although reversed and with corrected proportions, along with the
addition of vibrant color. Held proved that Rubens’ painting now in
Boston corresponds to one of the two Kings of Tunis mentioned in the
1640 inventory.
Fig. 6.2 Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, Muley Ahmet, ca.1547, etching, 46.4 ×
37.7 cm, Boijmans van Beuningen Museum L 1959/51 (PK) (Credit: Boijmans
van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam [public domain])
To date, no one has considered the possibility that the Versailles

portrait (Fig. 6.4) could have been the other “King of Tunis” mentioned
in the Rubens inventory. Yet, the style of the supposed artist, Calcar,
is arguably closer to Antonis Mor than Vermeyen; perhaps, pace Held,
the two lost portraits were made by two different artists. Note that the
Versailles panel and Rubens’ Boston painting are almost the same size
and format. The figures in each, father and son, stand in similar postures;
Muley al-Hassan appears in three-quarter length while the African Man is
closer to half-length. Muley al-Hassan faces the viewer with a direct gaze
while his son offers a sidelong glance. Muley al-Hassan stands against a
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Fig. 6.3 Peter Paul Rubens, African Man, ca.1610, oil on panel, 99.7 ×
71.5 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, #40.2 (Credit: Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston)
plain black background while his son appears before a bright landscape
view of Zaghouan. Each man wears a white turban with a chin scarf,
but Muley al-Hassan’s is simpler, with just two folds wrapped around the
head, while his son has a more bulbous turban with many interwoven
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layers of fabric flecked with gold. Their garments also differ; Muley al-
Hassan wears a crimson velvet marlota while his son wears a silky green
robe with peach-colored accents at the sleeves and on the tassel in the
center of his chest. Each man wears an item that crosses the body from
right shoulder to left hip; Muley al-Hassan has a folded barracan, or black
cape, while his son has an embroidered strap. Each man grasps a sword
hilt with his left hand. Muley al-Hassan’s sword has pseudo-Arabic on the
pommel while his son’s sword juts out more dynamically but features a
plain pommel. Despite the differences we have just enumerated, enough
similarities remain to argue that Rubens’ African Man fuses aspects of
the Versailles portrait with Vermeyen’s Muley Ahmet etching.
Do we have sufficient grounds to propose that the Versailles painting
once belonged to the Rubens estate? If Held could use the Vermeyen
etching of Muley Ahmet to argue for a lost original painting, the Versailles
portrait of Muley al-Hassan can be matched with an extant engraving
that points to Rubens and Antwerp. Rubens’ colleagues, Nicholas van der
Horst and Paul Pontius, must have had direct knowledge of the Versailles
portrait because they made faithful use of it in an engraving that would
be published in a 1645 encomium on the Tassis family15 (Fig. 6.5).
We can also assume that the author, Jules Chifflet, saw the orig-
inal painting because he describes the pseudo-Arabic characters on the
pommel of Muley al-Hassan’s sword even though these do not appear in
the Horst and Pontius engraving found in his book. We will have more
to say about Chifflet’s text below. For now, it seems evident that the
Versailles portrait was known in Antwerp, especially within the Rubens
shop, but there are no direct copies of it in Rubens’ own oeuvre. Perhaps
it entered his collection during his later career, well after his active interest
in North African subjects that can be dated to the years ca. 1608–1621.16
Another possibility would be that the portrait belonged to Frans Synders,
with whom Rubens frequently collaborated. Snyders was one of the artists
tasked with drawing up the 1640 inventory; his own estate, inventoried
in 1659, included “a king of Tunis, Muleasses,” valued at the substan-
tial price of 18 guilders; the title shows that the painting was clearly
identified as Muley al-Hassan rather than his sons Amida or Ahmet.17
In 1652, the estate of the printer Jan van Meurs, who published the
Rubens inventory, also listed a painting of the King of Tunis.18 The chain
of evidence presented here is suggestive but not conclusive; nevertheless,
we can assume that the Versailles portrait of Muley al-Hassan was known
Fig. 6.5 Nicholas van der Horst and Paul Pontius, “Muley Hazen,” in Jules
Chifflet, Les marques d’honneur de la maison du Tassis (Antwerp: Balthasar
Moretus, 1645), engraving, 32.1 × 20.8 cm, p. 76. (Credit: Collection of the
author)
to artists and publishers in Antwerp, one of whom likely had the picture
in his own collection.
We are on firm ground for the sale of the Versailles portrait in Brus-
sels in 1835, with the Baron D’Eprémesnil acting as the agent between
unnamed sellers and the French royal museums.19 In a letter dated 8
February 1535, the portrait of “Moulay Hassan” is listed first, followed
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by another of “Perrenot Granville,” although the entry does not specify

whether this was the senior Nicolas, or his son, Cardinal Antoine; in addi-
tion, “M. D’Eprémesnil guarantees that all of these portraits are original
and that he will supply, on demand, either engravings or positive infor-
mation [ie. identification].”20 If he had been asked to supply a print to
identify Muley al-Hassan, then D’Eprémesnil would have had to turn to
the engraving by Nicholas van der Horst and Paul Pontius.21 It appears
that the link between the painting and the print was known at the time.
Just a few years after that sale, an 1840 catalogue of the works of Rubens
locates one of the two Kings of Tunis in the William Long Wellesley
collection in Brussels. Held showed how that work had to be identified as
the African Man in Boston.22 While both portraits of the Kings of Tunis
were located in Brussels and sold there in the 1830s, for now, we can only
wonder whether they might once have been part of the same collection.
The Habsburgs and Tunis 1573–1574

Why would Rubens and other artists of his generation be interested in
portraits of Tunisian kings? Let us turn from thorny provenance issues
to the well-documented struggle over Hafsid Tunis in the late sixteenth
century. We began this book by looking at Habsburg intervention in
Tunis (1535–1543). In the fifth chapter we examined the brief exer-
tion of Spanish control in Mahdiyya (1550–1554). After the impressive
victory at Lepanto in 1571, the Habsburgs were poised to reclaim Tunis
from the Ottomans. Although Philip II was ambivalent about the 1573
campaign, his illegitimate half-brother Don Juan of Austria, along with
Gabrio Serbelloni and Álvaro de Bazán, the Marchese de Santa Cruz,
recovered Tunis, built a new fortress to protect the lagoon, and brought
Ahmet back from his exile in Palermo to serve as governor.23 Mean-
while, in Naples, Viceroy Granvelle kept Amida in protective custody at
the fortress of S. Elmo. It seems likely that the memory of Ahmet, the
Hafsid prince who faithfully served the Habsburgs over several decades,
inspired Rubens to make his ca. 1609 painting after Vermeyen’s Muley
Ahmet etching.24 Be that as it may, Don Juan of Austria’s deceptively
easy conquest revived the hopes of 1535 in vain. In the following year,
the Ottomans returned and put a decisive end to Habsburg aspirations in
North Africa.
Around this time, the printmaker Frans Hogenberg issued a suite of
eight etchings based on Vermeyen’s Tunis tapestry cartoons (Köln, ca.
1570–1574).25 These prints would have supplied contemporary viewers

with background information about the ongoing struggle for dominance
in North Africa. In a more private context, Álvaro de Bazán, veteran of
the recent Tunis campaign, invited the Genoese artist, Giovanni Battista
Perolli, to decorate his new palace in Viso de Marqués, Spain. The cortile
frescoes dating to 1576–1586 illustrate many naval battles in the western
Mediterranean; one bay shows a large scene set near the fortress of the
Goletta, with the walled city of Tunis visible on the distant horizon. In
the right foreground, there is a military camp with soldiers guarding the
large red tent of Don Juan of Austria. Accompanied by two shield-bearing
pages, Bazán approaches the tent where his commander sits on a raised
dais ready to receive the keys to the vanquished city.26 An excerpt from
the long painted caption says: “[H]aving fought with great valor and the
Turks having fled the city, the Marchese [de Santa Cruz] received notice
about Don Juan [of Austria] who marched the next day with the whole
army back to Tunis where the Marchese went to receive him, and he
delivered the joyous keys to his Highness as a worthy sign of great success
in the important battle…”.
The Gonzaga of Mantua included the King of Tunis in a lost fresco
frieze of portraits copied from Giovio’s collection of portraits in Como. In
1599 some German visitors to the Castello di S. Giorgio noted portraits
of the Sultan of Egypt, Tamerlane, the King of Mauritania, Saladin,
and “Muleasse re di Toledo.”27 Since this sequence of Muslim rulers is
identical to other cycles that derive from Giovio, the name “Muleasse”
probably refers to Muley al-Hassan of Tunis rather than to a Nasrid ruler
of Toledo. Copies of Giovio’s collection were made for Ferrante Gonzaga,
Cosimo I de’ Medici, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, Ferdinand of Tyrol,
Philip II, Manfredo Settala, and many others. Tunisians also made an
appearance in an anonymous contemporary costume album28 (Fig. 6.6).
The nearly identical bearded male figures wear exaggerated white
turbans with veils below the chin. The man at left has a striped, red
caftan with a line of buttons down the front; the other figure wears an
olive-green frogged jacket over a gray brocade tunic.
Antwerp
Let us shift our attention from the history of the late Hafsids to posthu-
mous legends about the King of Tunis. The most influential example is
Jules Chifflet’s, The Marks of Honor of the House of Tassis (1645), which
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Fig. 6.6 Italian, “Tunetani,” Album of Costume Studies, ca. 1600, watercolor
on paper, 9.9 × 14.5 cm, Morgan Library PML 5675, f.103r (Credit: The
Morgan Library & Museum, New York)
includes the portrait of Muley al-Hassan designed by Nicholas Van der

Horst and engraved by Paulus Pontius based on the Versailles painting,
discussed above.29 The book also contains a pendant figure, identified by
the author as Jean-Baptiste de Tassis, Lord of Hemessen. His engraved
portrait is a carbon copy of Muley al-Hassan with the exception of the
face and frame (Fig. 6.7).
Our task is to explain how and why these figures were inserted into
the Marks of Honor. We can start by identifying Jules Chifflet, the author
of the Tassis family encomium, who came from the Franche-Comté, born
into a family of antiquarian scholars, doctors, and clerics.30 He was fiercely
proud of his Burgundian heritage and an ardent supporter of Spanish
Flanders. Chifflet shared the legacy of Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle,
Antoine Perrenin, Jean Bérot or Etrobius, and Guillaume de Montoiche,
whose texts on the Tunis campaign we examined in Chapter 2. As a young
man, Chifflet studied in Louvain, Brussels, and Bescançon. In 1645 he
Fig. 6.7 Nicholas van der Horst and Paul Pontius, “Jean Baptiste de Tassis,” in
Jules Chifflet, Les marques d’honneur de la maison du Tassis (Antwerp: Balthasar
Moretus, 1645), engraving, 31.7 × 19.9 cm, p. 77 (Credit: Houghton Library,
Harvard University)
was starting his career and eager to obtain patronage from powerful fami-
lies like the Tassis. He was also writing at the high point of the production
of family histories in seventeenth-century France.31
The patron who commissioned Chifflet to write the Marks of Honor
was Alexandrine of Rye-Varax, Countess of Tassis, the widow of Count
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Leonhard II.32 The work was dedicated to her 24-year-old son, Lamoral
de Tassis.33 The family traced its origins to Bergamo, Italy; in the early
sixteenth century they became the official postmasters to the Habsburgs
and gradually established branches throughout Europe.34 The family also
boasted among its members the famous poet, Torquato Tasso. In the
Marks of Honor, Chifflet was able to provide evidence of the fami-
ly’s connection to the noble Della Torre dynasty (Italian: Torriani, or
German: Thurn); this genealogical project accomplished Alexandrine’s
goal of elevating the family’s noble status. In 1646, Lamoral took over
as head of the post and the Tassis were allowed to add Della Torre to
their name and coat of arms; from then on, they became the house of
Thurn and Taxis.
In the Introduction, Chifflet explains the genesis of the Marks of
Honor. He tells the reader that his teacher in Leuven, Erycius Puteanus
or Eric de Putte, had planned to translate into Latin Alonso López De
Haro’s history of the kings and nobles of Spain, including a section on the
Tassis family.35 Puteanus never completed this task, but it seems reason-
able to assume that Chifflet inherited his teacher’s project. In addition,
Jules Chifflet belonged to a network of authors and artists working with
the Plantin-Moretus press in Antwerp. Both his father Jean-Jacques and
his uncle Philip published there, which must have eased the way for Chif-
flet’s own ventures into print.36 The artists who illustrated the Marks of
Honor were colleagues of Rubens with close ties to Balthasar Moretus,
the head of the press.37 We know that Moretus would have been familiar
with African kings since he commissioned Rubens to paint the Three
Magi in 1618.38 For the figure of Balthasar, Rubens revisited the African
Man he had painted ca. 1609. In his Introduction, Chifflet offers high
praise both for Rubens and his collaborator: “It was the invention of Mr.
Vander-Horst, gentleman of Utrecht and famous pupil of Rubens (which
is to say [of] the greatest painter there ever was).”39 In addition, Van
der Horst’s colleague Paul Pontius had already started making engravings
after Rubens’ works in the 1620s. Given their access to the Rubens studio,
we might wonder if the artists had already seen (and perhaps copied) the
Versailles portrait of Muley al-Hassan some time before the author Chif-
flet or his publisher Moretus commissioned the illustrations for the 1645
Tassis family encomium.
Even if we cannot say exactly how Van der Horst and Pontius became
aware of the Versailles portrait, it evidently served as the model for the
full-page engraving of Muley al-Hassan in the Marks of Honor. For the
framing around the figure, the two artists seem to have consulted Hendrik
Hondius’ 1619 reissue of Jan and Lucas van Doetecum’s Funeral of
Charles V (Antwerp: Plantin, 1559).40 The updated version of that
text features a print representing the emperor’s funerary cabinet from
S. Gudule in Brussels (Fig. 6.8). It shows how the cabinet provided a
framed space in which to display Charles’ tunic, sword, orb, and heraldry.
The central elements within an inner raised frame are flanked by two
fluted pilasters topped by Corinthian capitals supporting the Habsburg
miter crown at left and the imperial crown at right. On either side of the
cabinet, small, suspended plaques contain the French form of Charles’
motto, “PLVS” and “OVLTRE.”41 Heraldic animals appear at the top of
the structure; two crouching lions of Flanders flank another lion, within
a castle brandishing a sword, that represents the kingdoms of León and
Castile. A strapwork cartouche at the bottom gives the date, 1558.
Van der Horst and Pontius place the figure of Muley al-Hassan from
the Versailles painting within an architectural structure adapted from the
funerary cabinet plate published by Hondius, including paired columns,
Habsburg crowns, the motto, weapons, and heraldic animals. Both prints
feature a raised internal frame; in the Van der Horst and Pontius image
the thick frame surrounding the king retains the effect of a painted panel.
At the lower perimeter of the internal frame, two brackets seem to wrap
around the rustic columns to clamp the picture into place; thus, the
central portrait appears as an image within an image. Whereas the plain
black background of the Versailles painting does not suggest a setting
for the king, the print puts him in a recessed space, a fictive room hung
with lavish brocade drapery. In addition, Van der Horst and Pontius
position the king between two large composite columns that support a
wide curved entablature and terminate in tree-like stumps resting on tall
plinths. Replacing the lions from the Hondius example, Van der Horst
and Pontius present two elephants with trunks supporting a royal crown
above Muley al-Hassan; below the crown, we see a spray of stalks of
wheat. Recall that Vermeyen’s etching of ca. 1547 showed Ahmet accom-
panied by a crown of the Regno, or the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily,
a crescent moon, and Arabic script standing for the shahada, or the
profession of faith. In their later print, Van der Horst and Pontius juxta-
pose stereotypical references to the flora and fauna of Africa with two
large miter crowns topped with Christian crosses that proclaim Habsburg
dominion. As in the Hondius image of the funerary cabinet, the 1645
print also features Charles’ motto in French, PLUS OVTRE, on ribbons
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Fig. 6.8 Jan and Lucas van Doetecum, Amplissimo hoc apparatu et pulchro
ordine pompa funebris Bruxellis á palatio ad Diuae Gudulae templum processit:
cum rex Hispaniarum Philippus Carolo V. Rom. Imp. pare[n]ti moestissimus iusta
solueret (The Hague: Hendrik Hondius, 1619), etching, 24 × 16.7 cm, pl.34
(Credit: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam [public domain])
winding around the two columns; below we find bundles of weapons

including arrows, swords, maces, a halberd, and spears. The crescent
moon, star, and sun motifs depicted on the quiver at the left and the
shield at the right might refer to the Hafsids; similar images can be found
on the Hafsid weapons and flags in Vermeyen’s Tunis tapestries woven
in Brussels. These weapons displayed prominently to either side of the
King of Tunis should be seen as belonging to Hafsid allies rather than to

Ottoman enemies. In the center of the image, Muley al-Hassan grasps his
own sword with his right hand, as he does in the Versailles painting; but
in the print, there is no pseudo-Arabic script to invoke the oath of fealty
sworn on the Qur’an. Instead, the pommel appears as a smooth blank
cylinder.
The two plinths at the bottom of the composition feature small fictive
reliefs. AFRICA sits at the left leaning on a lion and wearing an elephant
trunk headdress while FORT[UNA] REDUX, or the goddess of Fortune,
holds a ship’s rudder and a cornucopia.42 Together these personifica-
tions remind the viewer that Charles V sailed across the Mediterranean
to defeat Barbarossa and that he returned victorious from Tunis. At the
bottom of the print, in the center foreground, a nude male and a partially
clad female figure kneel to either side of the inscribed cartouche. Behind
the man, we see remnants of the defeated Ottoman army: a discarded
turban, a flag with a crescent moon, a bow and arrows, a shield, sword,
and lances. Behind the woman, there are naval motifs including a ship’s
prow, oars, anchors, a canon, and a powder keg. The man and woman
represent the Christian slaves liberated by Charles and his troops. They
are beginning to discard their shackles and manacles while they remove
their prisoners’ caps. The depiction of the emblem of Christ on the caps
perhaps reminded viewers that, according to the capitulations of 1535,
Muley Hassan agreed to allow Christians to worship freely in his realm.
Finally, on the lower edge of the center cartouche, the artists included
their names: “Nicolaas van der Horst designed [it] and Paul Pontius
engraved [it].”43
In the center of the cartouche a French inscription explains the image:
“Muley-Hazen, King of Tunis, divested of his Realm and restored by
Emperor Charles V in the year 1535.”44 The pithy statement recalls the
epigrams featured in the Italian triumphal entries held in 1535–1536. Not
only does the print contain an image within an image, but it also collapses
different moments of time. The portrait suggests a present moment, in
medias res. The king’s sword is partially drawn from the scabbard as he
makes his oath of fealty just after the siege of Tunis. The prisoners below
him have just been released and are still ridding themselves of their chains
of bondage. But the cartouche speaks in the past tense; the events are
over and have been consigned to history. The king’s long and varied
career is distilled into one moment, in a doubly framed portrait, within a
monumental allegory of Habsburg fame.
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On the following page, the reader encounters an almost identical

image of Jean-Baptiste de Tassis, Lord of Hemessen (1470–1541) also
designed by Van der Horst and cut by Pontius. Note that the plate
has slightly smaller dimensions and a markedly different design for the
frame. Before we examine Chifflet’s highly fictionalized Chapter 5 titled,
“Lord Jean-Baptiste de Tassis received Muley al-Hassan magnificently in
his palace,” let us compare the two pendant prints.45 Whereas Muley al-
Hassan appears within an elaborate frame with symbolic accoutrements
and vignettes, Tassis stands within a simplified frame that features a
broken pediment, scrollwork, and two small helmeted heads. Centered
over the subject of the portrait is the Tassis coat of arms held in place
by two lions rampant standing for the province of Belgium. Just below,
two crossed quill pens imply deeds worthy of commemoration; the same
motif can be found under the African elephants in the portrait of the
King of Tunis. Tassis also appears within a recessed space under a large
drape, with a narrow floral border, held up by two cords with thick tassels.
Tassis wears North African clothing like Muley al-Hassan, with only a few
minor differences; his tunic appears to have a brocade pattern and the
folded cape that crosses his chest is striped. He makes the same gesture as
the King of Tunis, pulling a sword out of its scabbard while staring out
at the viewer. At the bottom of the image, the base of the frame contains
a long inscription in French: “Jean-Baptiste de Tassis, Knight, Lord of
Hemessen, born in the city of Bergamo, dressed in the style of the nobles
at the court of Muley Hazen, King of Tunis, who stayed in his hotel
in Brussels, when he came to beg for help from the Emperor Charles
V.”46 Unlike the cartouche positioned under Muley al-Hassan with its
economical phrasing and thick lettering evocative of carved stone, the
Tassis inscription features slender calligraphic lines more akin to a hand-
written text. Only the names of Jean-Baptise de Tassis, Muley Hazen, and
Charles V appear in heavy block letters. The cartouche on the previous
page supplies the year 1535, but the inscription on the pendant portrait
lacks a precise year for this supposed trip to Brussels. This imprecision is
symptomatic of Chifflet’s chapter, considered below.
Although the images of Muley al-Hassan and Jean-Baptiste de Tassis
were both based on the Versailles panel, and inserted as pendant portraits
in Chifflet’s book, the Tassis composition is simpler, less detailed, and
based entirely on poetic license. Neither the face nor the feudal gesture
belongs to the person mentioned in the text. It seems likely that the
portrait of Jean-Baptiste was hastily composed to match the pre-existing
print of the King of Tunis, and then rushed to fit the production schedule
of the Marks of Honor. It is curious, for example, that Nicholas Van der
Horst did not base his image on two portraits found in Brussels that show
the subject without a mustache or beard. For example, the young Jean-
Baptiste appears in a tapestry commissioned from Bernard van Orley by
his uncle Frans around 1518.47 The tapestry once hung in the family
chapel in the church of Notre Dame du Sablon in Brussels, near the
Tassis residence. In it, Jean-Baptiste kneels, wearing a green robe, hands
clasped together in prayer. His face appears in profile and he is beardless;
his brown curly hair is cut into bangs and just reaches his shoulder. In the
altarpiece Jean-Baptiste commissioned around 1540 for the same chapel,
he appears as an aging man.48 He kneels in the foreground, along with
his wife, before a scene of the Crucifixion. He wears a black robe with
a fur collar and a black skullcap with small tufts of gray hair escaping at
the temple. Wrinkles crease his forehead and the area around his eyes;
stubble dots his cheeks and chin, but he remains beardless. Even though
Van der Horst provides a faint indication of this altarpiece in the illustra-
tion of the Tassi family chapel in Notre Dame du Sablon (Marks of Honor,
p. 141), he fails to give his figure of Jean-Baptiste the same features
depicted in the painting. Instead, he seems to have turned to the portrait
of a different Jean-Baptiste, i.e., Joannes Baptista de Taxis (1546–1588),
who was not even born until after the death of his namesake, the Brus-
sels postmaster. We can consult the Armamentarium Heroicum by Jakob
Schrenk van Notzing, with illustrations by Giovanni Battista Fontana and
Dominicus Custos (Innsbruck, 1601), for an engraving that shows this
soldier wearing upper body armor, brandishing a baton of command, a
sword hanging by his left side, and a helmet on the ground by his feet. He
looks out with a haughty expression and shares the same facial features,
large mustache, and pointy beard shown in the portrait by Van der Horst
and Pontius. Famed for his military career, this later Jean-Baptiste was
also known to Van der Horst who collaborated with Cornelis Galle on
an image of his tomb monument, including a full-length portrait (Marks
of Honor, foldout following p. 140). We can only surmise that Chifflet
and his patron, Countess Alexandrine, wanted to ascribe martial virtues
to the postmaster Jean-Baptiste, a distant ancestor who bore the title of
Count Palatine, but who lacked real experience on the battlefield. In his
new guise in the 1645 print, Jean-Baptiste seems to be making an oath
of fealty, like the King of Tunis, even though the Tassis were not royal
vassals. They wielded authority not with a sword, but rather with a patent
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of nobility and written charters from the Habsburg rulers who allowed
them to manage a far-flung postal network that stretched from Spain to
Austria.
Despite its flimsy historical pretext, the Van der Horst and Pontius
image of Jean-Baptiste de Tassis, dressed in North African costume, was
to inspire a portrait in an anonymous fresco cycle painted ca. 1650 in the
Villa Tasso in Zogno, near Bergamo49 (Fig. 6.9). The abbreviated bust
within an oval format retains a distant memory of the Versailles portrait.
A clumsy Latin caption surrounding the figure says, “Jean-Baptiste Tassis,
ambassador from the King of Spain to the kings of France and England
and host of the King of Tunis.”50 The designer of this fresco has confused
yet another Jean-Baptiste with the postmaster who supposedly hosted
Muley al-Hassan in Brussels. This time, the caption must refer to Jean-
Baptiste’s son, also named Jean-Baptiste de Tassis (1530–1610), who
served as ambassador for Spain, whose own sons would go on to become
postmasters in Rome and Antwerp.51 Thus, Chifflet’s fanciful invention
was to cast a long shadow on Tassis family iconography.
Confused identities and imprecise dates not only trouble the portraits
of Jean-Baptiste de Tassis, but they also plague Chifflet’s anecdote about
this venerable ancestor of the family. Starting with Chapter 3 of the
Marks of Honor, Chifflet introduces Jean-Baptiste and his brothers. In the
following chapter, he notes how Maximilian I conferred nobility on the
Tassis in 1512 along with the title of Counts Palatine. He allowed them
to add an imperial eagle to family heraldry that consisted of a hunting
horn and the badger (Italian: tasso). The rapid increase in wealth and
power was not without conflict among the members of the family. Chif-
flet tactfully ignores the drawn-out legal dispute that eventually resolved
in Jean-Baptiste’s favor after the intervention of Charles V and Cardinal
Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle.52 In 1534 Charles conferred the right
to display the imperial double-headed eagle on the Tassis crest. There
was some excuse for the Tunis digression of Chapter 5, given that a few
Tassis family members had fought in North Africa over the course of the
sixteenth century. In Chapter 3 we met Bernardo Tasso, who brought
back from Tunis a vaso moresco that he used as an inkwell. Another
veteran was Jean-Baptiste’s son Raymond (1515–1579), who fought in
the Tunis campaign of 1535 before going on to head the Madrid branch
of the post.53 From the Milan branch of the family, there was Antonio
(1533–1620), who served at Djerba in 1560 and was taken captive by the
Ottomans; after regaining his freedom, he became postmaster of Rome.
Fig. 6.9 Anon., Giovanni Battista Tassi, ca. 1650, ex Villa Tasso, Zogno, Italy,
fresco, dimensions unknown (destroyed 1943) (Credit: Archivio Bortolo Belotti,
Comune di Zogno [Bergamo])
He fought in Tunis again in 1574, and endured a second captivity in

Istanbul, before returning to run the Roman post.54 Perhaps Chifflet was
inspired by stories about Antonio, along with items of clothing, weapons,
or other mementos of North Africa once preserved by the Tassis family.
As he begins Chapter 5, Chifflet says that he, “has placed here a
History useful to all, glorious to our Princes, and honorable for the
Tassis family.” It consists of “many details, worthy of memory, that have
been omitted until the present day, by those historians who have written
about his subject before me.” With these words, the author admits that
he sought novelty in his encomiastic text, bringing to light overlooked
material; in fact, he invented the episode to embellish the reputation of
the Tassis family. Printed in the margins are the names of his sources:
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Alonso López De Haro, the chronicler Jean de Vandenesse, the humanist

Jean Bérot known as Etrobius, the historian Juan Cristóbal Calvete de
Estrella, and Marcus Mastelijn, known as Mastelinus, Augustinian canon
at the Priory of Groenendael outside Brussels. These authors provided the
raw ingredients from which Chifflet concocted his tale of courtly hospi-
tality and royal beneficence. He wove together a variety of information
about the King of Tunis, drawn from different times and places, to form
this appealing posthumous legend.
Chifflet Unraveled
Chifflet has exercised a tenacious hold on modern scholarship where he is
often cited as a reliable primary source. We need to examine Chapter 5 of
the Marks of Honor in detail in order to reveal the artifice of the text. The
following section offers a series of synopses in italics—rather than word-
for-word translations—alternating with an analysis of Chifflet’s sources:
(Page 71) Muley al-Hassan is compared to Masinissa, the first Numidian

king who fought in the second Punic war. Initially an enemy of the Romans,
Masinissa eventually changed sides. This ancient example provides a parallel
to Muley al-Hassan who chose to side with the Habsburgs. Both kings were
fugitives at some point in their tumultuous reigns, but Masinissa died while
in possession of his throne whereas Muley al-Hassan would be deprived of his
by his own son [Amida]. Then, we read about the arrival of Barbarossa,
the death of Muley al-Hassan’s father, and rivalry with his brother Rashid.
The two brothers are as different as “black and white.” Barbarossa pretends
to help Rashid but overthrows the throne. The people of Tunis prefer Muley
al-Hassan to Rashid despite his reputation for voluptuousness and sensuality.
In the opening paragraph, Chifflet draws on ancient history, but also

on the Habsburg steward, Vandenesse, who wrote that Charles learned
about the death of Muley al-Hassan’s father in 1531.55 “In Brussels from
February 25 to March 15. In February, Muley Muhammad died, the king
of Tunis, a Moor, leaving two sons, the heir called Muley Rashid and the
younger, Muley Hassan.” This brief entry in a contemporary diary was
enough for Chifflet to create the connection between Brussels and Tunis.
Chapter 5 continues (page 72):
Despite his poor character, Muley al-Hassan does not lack courage. He goes to
Brussels to ask Charles V for help against the usurpation of his father’s realm,
and to counter the pirates that trouble the coasts of Sicily and Naples . Given
the ambition, vigilance, and daring of Barbarossa, the brigands venture even
into Spain itself. The arrival of Muley al-Hassan at the imperial court was
very welcome since it allowed Charles V, the most Christian prince of the
world, to display his zeal in the defense of the church against its enemies.
And, he did so while his cousin [Francis I] was pursuing friendship with the
Ottomans. Since Muley al-Hassan’s just cause would give Charles the oppor-
tunity to stop Barbarossa’s invasions, he assembled ships to chase the Infidel
out of Tunis, over which he had become tyrant. In addition, the emperor
wanted to free the Christians taken captive through the infamous traffic in
slaves.
The claim that Muley al-Hassan went to Brussels in 1534 lacks any histor-
ical evidence and was likely inspired by the brief note in Vandenesse. Until
Mastelinus in 1630, no primary source in Arabic, Spanish, Italian, French,
or German refers to Muley al-Hassan having made a trip to Brussels.
Neither Paolo Giovio nor Matteo Bandello includes it in their detailed
histories of the king. As we have seen, the Rex Thunissae broadsheet
published by Sylvester van Parijs preserved the image of Muley al-Hassan
in the act of recounting his complaints before Charles in the imperial
camp outside Tunis; the woodcut inspired paintings in many sixteenth-
century portrait collections as well as the illustration in Paolo Giovio’s
Elegies (Fig. 6.10).56 Writing more than a hundred years later, Chifflet
borrows the scene of Muley al-Hassan humbly requesting the Emperor’s
help during an invented Flemish sojourn. But he relocates that exchange
from the military camp in Tunis to the imperial court in Brussels.
First, we can address practical considerations that argue against the
veracity of this trip. Why would the exiled king make such a lengthy,
difficult journey to Flanders when Charles was not in residence? From
October of 1533 to March 1534 the emperor was in Alcalá de Henares,
after which he went to Segovia, Toledo, and Palencia. By the fall he was in
Madrid, as attested by his 14 November 1534 letter to the Genoese agent
Luigi de Presende; that letter makes it clear that Charles had not yet met
Muley al-Hassan.57 Chifflet correctly notes that the emperor was eager to
curtail the activities of the Ottoman corsairs and to free Christian captives.
In spring 1535 the emperor went to Barcelona to assemble troops for the
military campaign to be waged that summer. After Barbarossa seized the
realm in 1534, Muley al-Hassan withdrew from Tunis to the countryside.
He lacked access to his treasury or his ships and would have been too
poor to undertake a journey to Europe. No documents survive from the
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Fig. 6.10 Tobias Stimmer, “Muley Hassan, King of Tunis,” in Paolo Giovio,
Elogia virorum bellica virtute illustrium (Basel: Pietro Perna, 1575), Bk 6,
woodcut, f. 359r (Credit: Houghton Library, Harvard University [public
domain])
ports of entry in Sicily or Southern France, or from any of the cities that
he would have passed along the way to Brussels. Other correspondence
shows that even after Charles arrived in Tunis in 1535, he impatiently
waited for his first meeting with the deposed king. There is nothing in
the documentary record to suggest that the emperor and the exiled king
had already met in Brussels before the 1535 campaign.
While Muley al-Hassan spent time at the imperial court, he lodged at the
palace of Jean-Baptiste de Tassis. It was up to this honorable knight to put
up with the Africans from that gross and barbarous nation, to show them
splendid treatment and an extraordinary welcome. This strange king lived
on things that would kill another person. He ate meats sauced with ambergris
that scented the rooms where he dined. He typically ate peacocks and pheasants
swimming in expensive perfumes; each dish could cost 100 ducats. He also
loved music so much that he covered his eyes to maximize the pleasure of
listening through the ears alone.
Chifflet would not have found any mention of Jean-Baptiste de Tassis

hosting Muley al-Hassan in his palace in the pages of the Tassis family
histories written by Francesco Zazzera or Alonso López De Haro.
The idea for this invented anecdote probably derived from Antoine de
Perrenin who had accompanied Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle to Tunis
in 1535.58 Perrenin wrote that when Muley al-Hassan arrived at the
military camp, Charles V instructed the Burgundian Louis Du Praet,
knight of the Golden Fleece, Chamberlain, and ambassador, to house
the king of Tunis in his own tent.59 Du Praet’s act of hospitality could
have served as a model for Jean-Baptiste’s own supposed service to the
emperor, extending a similar generous welcome to the deposed king.
Chifflet transposed the story from a Burgundian tent to a Flemish palace,
from the battlefield of Tunis to the imperial court of Brussels. Muley
al-Hassan’s taste for expensive but disgusting foods can be located in
sources that refer to his sojourn in Naples in 1543.60 The reference to
the king covering his eyes in order to enjoy music comes from Hassan
al-Wazzan, known as Leone Africano, who ascribed the behavior not to
Muley al-Hassan but rather to his father.61
[Muley al-Hassan] spent a lot of time hunting, especially at Groenendael,

two leagues from the town of Brussels, where the princes used to go in order to
appreciate the beauty of the forest [of Soignes]. It is said that seven crowned
rulers once sat there at the foot of an ancient tree.
The scene of Muley al-Hassan enjoying the hunt in the forest around the
Monastery of Groenendael comes from Mastelinus. He dates the meeting
of the seven crowned rulers to 1556, but that would be six years after the
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king’s death.62 Mastelinus wrongly identified one of the participants. He

must have been referring not to the king of Tunis, at that date Amida,
but rather to his ambassador. Francisco López de Gómara mentions
meeting with this Tunisian visitor at the imperial court.63 “Muhammad
had 30 sons from 200 women, not counting daughters, according to what
Muley Amida’s ambassador told me when he came to see the Emperor
in Brussels in 1555.” Prudencio de Sandoval echoes López de Gómara,
“According to a report that Amida’s ambassador made in Brussels when
he went to the Emperor in the year 1555.”64 In fact, diplomatic activity
in January 1554 resulted in Amida entering into a treaty with the Spanish
governor of the Goletta.65 In March of that year, tribute animals arrived
in Genoa.66 At the same time, a shipment of goods was sent from Tunis
to Malaga bound for the Habsburg treasury at Valladolid.67 Finally, a
payment record from July 1555 shows that Charles V instructed his
goldsmith in Brussels to make a gold chain for the ambassador: “…to
Anthoine Dauxon goldsmith, 344 pounds for gold and 16 pounds for
making a chain presented to the ambassador of the King of Tunis in
consideration of the visit that he made from his country to see his Majesty
to discuss some affairs concerning service to his Majesty…”68 While
an ambassador from Tunis was physically present in Brussels in 1555,
Muley al-Hassan was only to be seen there in the form of Vermeyen’s
tapestry cartoons or the colorful threads woven on the looms in William
Pannamaker’s shop.
Muley al-Hassan dressed in the fashion of his own country and the Lord
Tassis, to honor his guest, dressed the same. The only difference being that
Muley al-Hassan dressed in purple, ancient mark of kings, while Tassis was
in clothof gold, like nobles at the court of Tunis.
Chifflet’s claim that Muley al-Hassan wore purple or that Jean-Baptiste de

Tassis was dressed in cloth-of-gold strains credibility; he exaggerated the
wealth and luxuriousness of the Hafsid court in order to add luster to the
supposed visit to Brussels. In contrast to this imaginary pomp, contem-
porary descriptions of Tunisian dress mention yellow pelts, burnooses,
green, blue, or purple tunics, or crimson marlotas. Recall the costumes
of the Hafsid embassy in Christoph von Sternsee’s album of the 1540s
(Fig. 6.11).
6
Fig. 6.11 Anon, “The King of Tunis in Barbary,” Costumes of the Time of Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire, and King of Spain, of Costumes of all Nations of the World, ca. 1547/8, ff. 47v–48r, watercolor on parchment,
Museo Stibbert, Florence, MS 2025 (Credit: Museo Stibbert)
PIOUS FICTIONS
241
242 C. L. BASKINS
Chifflet once again seems to have borrowed this detail about clothing
from Etrobius and Perrenin, who each described how Charles V gave
sumptuous garments to Muley al-Hassan’s envoys to the imperial camp
in Tunis in 1535: “…garments woven with gold and silk, from the
generosity and munificence of his Royal Majesty.”69 Perhaps Chifflet
had learned about the cloth-of-gold garment alla moresca that Pedro de
Toledo gave Muley al-Hassan during his 1543 sojourn in Naples. In either
case, the gold clothing was a present to the Tunisians from a European
host. Such gifts were meant to reflect the magnificence of the Habsburgs
and their representatives, like Jean-Baptiste de Tassis.
Before Muley al-Hassan returned to Africa with the help of the Emperor, he
had himself painted along with Tassis, both dressed alike as they were during
his sojourn at the court of Brussels. The scimitar carried by Tassis in his
portrait was engraved with many Arabic letters just like that of the king.
Without doubt Muley al-Hassan left him a benevolent gift [the portraits].
The most unlikely claim in the entire chapter is that Muley al-Hassan
would be the patron of pendant portraits. The Hafsids followed the Maliki
school of jurisprudence which forbade naturalistic representation. Unlike
the Ottoman sultans who employed dynastic portraiture, the Hafsids
preferred to express their patronage by building mosques, madrasas, or
garden villas. In addition, we have seen that the king’s treasury was once
filled with Qur’ans and other books, precious ointments and pigments,
gems and jewelry, metalwork, weapons, and livery for horses. Inventories
of the Hafsid goods sent to Spain in 1554 make no mention of portraits.
An added difficulty is the fact that the engraved portrait of Jean-Baptiste
de Tassis by Van der Horst and Pontius does not resemble his image in
the tapestry or the altarpiece from the Tassis family chapel in Notre Dame
du Sablon, discussed above. Thus, the print could not have been based
on an actual portrait visible in Brussels in 1534. Nor does Chifflet under-
stand the function of the Arabic letters that he says were engraved on
the scimitar, but are, in fact, missing from the engraving. Whereas we
have connected the pseudo-Arabic found on the pommel of the sword
in the Versailles painting with Muley al-Hassan’s oath of fealty sworn on
the Qur’an, the Arabic that Chifflet imagines on Jean-Baptiste’s scimitar
serves only as exotic decoration. But even though neither the engraved
portrait of the king of Tunis nor of the Habsburg postmaster features
legible Arabic, Chifflet’s mention of the script proves that he had seen
the Versailles portrait which seems most likely to have been in Antwerp.
In fact, that painting of Muley al-Hassan might have been part of the
inspiration for Chapter 5 of the Marks of Honor.
The production of pendant portraits at the conclusion of the king’s
supposed visit to Brussels, is strongly reminiscent of his long stay in
Naples, during which Pedro de Toledo and Muley al-Hassan might have
been painted in tandem.70 Naples was the site of another display of same-
ness and difference involving Muley al-Hassan and the governor of Casale
Monferrato. As we noted in Chapter 4, a contemporary writer joked that
people in Naples mistook the governor for the king of Tunis based on
their physical resemblance. The likeness of one man could supply the
portrait of the other.
If your Excellency wants to have a portrait of the king of Tunis, just depict
the governor of Casale [Monferrato], because here [in Naples] everyone
who sees him who knew the said king, says that he is [Muley al-Hassan],
and they run after him to stare, saying that he has come here in disguise,
and they point him out to one another.71
Nicholas van der Horst and Paul Pontius reversed that logic of substi-
tution when they copied the stance, costume, and gesture of Muley
al-Hassan for the portrait of Jean-Baptiste de Tassis. While we do not
know if Chifflet had access to this letter or whether he knew about the
anecdote, he also makes Muley al-Hassan into a mirror for his supposed
host. The king of Tunis reflects back onto Jean-Baptiste de Tassis an
example of royal patronage and gift giving as customarily practiced at
Habsburg courts.
These two domestic portraits are worthy of being illustrated here, along with
an explanation by a certain poet in Latin verse:
The son of Carthage having been driven from his homeland,
Asks Charles V for help. The Emperor is happy to grant this unusual request
And sends him to the palace of Jean-Baptiste de Tassis.
At first envious of its magnificence, Muley al-Hassan realizes how much he
has lost.
And he almost abandoned the religion of African kings (i.e. Islam).
But then he says, “I was hoping never to go back and to spend my days here.
It would be no loss to leave the (Hafsid) kingdom, when I have found a new
one (i.e. Christianity).” Upon his departure, he arranges for his portrait to
be painted
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Wearing clothing like that of a royal guest .72
While Chifflet does not name the poet who wrote this poem, the most
likely author would be his teacher Erycius Puteanus who also composed
the Latin epitaph for the Tassis family chapel in Notre Dame du Sablon,
Brussels.73 While Chifflet says that the poem will explain both portraits
(found on pages 76 and 77), it only briefly refers to Charles sending
Muley al-Hassan to lodge with Jean-Baptiste. In the next several lines,
the exiled king compares Islamic North Africa and Christian Europe;
he considers exchanging an earthly kingdom for a heavenly one. The
presumed author, Puteanus, thus renders into elegant Latin the rumors
spread by Barbarossa in 1535 and again by Amida in 1543 about Muley
al-Hassan having not only appealed to the Habsburgs for help but also
having converted to Christianity.74 Might the author have been aware of
Luis del Mármol Carvajal’s recollection of a conversation with Ahmet in
Palermo in the 1560s? The exiled Hafsid prince explained how his sword
was decorated with “a lance flanked by two swords pointing upwards, and
on top three half-moons, and over them a crown, and above the crown
a bright star.”75 Since Ahmet told Mármol that Muley al-Hassan claimed
descent from the Magus Melchior, the star must refer to the one that
guided the Magi to Bethlehem. Finally, Puteanus may have been aware of
debates in early seventeenth-century Naples over the question of whether
Muley al-Hassan came close to accepting baptism; see below.
Chifflet says that Jean-Baptiste dressed like a Tunisian to honor his
guest; but in the poem, Muley al-Hassan is said to dress like a royal
guest. Since Tassis was a postmaster rather than a king, Muley al-Hassan’s
clothing must be understood to reflect the magnificence of Charles
himself. According to the poem, we might expect to see Muley al-Hassan
in the Vermeyen/Sylvester van Parijs “petition” format; yet in the print,
he makes the oath of fealty gesture familiar from the Versailles portrait.
Perhaps the omission of the Arabic letters on the king’s sword was
intended to erase his connection to Islam. Even so, the print does not
show the king of Tunis as a potential convert. While two freed Chris-
tian captives appear at the bottom of the Van der Horst and Pontius
engraving, they are shown in a smaller scale and outside the frame that
contains the figure of Muley al-Hassan. As these various observations
reveal, the Latin poem does not “explain” either portrait. The lack of fit
between word and image argues that each element was composed sepa-
rately and only brought together by Chifflet in the course of writing the
Marks of Honor.
Finally, Chifflet brings Chapter 5 to a quick conclusion, first noting
that Muley al-Hassan was restored to power in 1535 with the help of
Charles V.
(page 78) But, God, justly angered by the king’s crimes, for having blinded
his relatives, lowered Muley al-Hassan to such an extent that he had his own
two eyes gouged out by his son Amida. After that he retired to Sicily where
he lived at the Emperor’s expense until the end of his days. Having died,
his body was returned to Africa and given a royal burial in Qayrawan.76
His portrait makes it easy for the reader to recognize Muley al-Hassan’s
appearance in the full flower of his age before he plunged into misery.
The timeline moves from Muley al-Hassan’s blinding in 1543 to his

journey from Augsburg to Sicily in 1548, and then to his death and subse-
quent burial in Qayrawan in 1550. This terse sequence of events suggests
that Chifflet had access to Paolo Giovio’s discussion of the king of Tunis
either in the Histories of his Own Time or the Elegies, even though he
doesn’t cite those texts in his marginal notes.77 Chifflet ends the chapter
by arguing that since the engraved portrait represents Muley al-Hassan
with healthy eyes, it must show him prior to the tragic confrontation with
Amida which occurred after the king returned to Tunis. Although Chif-
flet claims in Chapter 5 to describe an episode that took place in Brussels
in 1534, he repeatedly refers to things that only happened nine years
later. Gold garments, food sauced with ambergris, pendant portraits, and
possible conversion are all associated with Muley al-Hassan’s residence at
the Neapolitan court before his abrupt return to Tunis in the fall of 1543.
But such inconsistencies and fabrications did not trouble the Tassis family
in their bid to improve their noble standing in the Habsburg orbit.
“God Can Do More Than That!”

In his 1645 Marks of Honor, Chifflet raised the possibility that Muley
al-Hassan was tempted to convert to Christianity. That unlikely idea had
already developed into a full-fledged pious fiction in South Italy. In the
seventeenth century, Neapolitan writers began to circulate the story that
Muley al-Hassan had seen the miraculous blood of S. Gennaro, but that
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his hard heart did not succumb to conversion.78 This sudden and striking
insertion of Muley al-Hassan into the hagiographical literature can be
understood in relation to the influx of Muslim slaves after the battle of
Lepanto in 1571, the Ottoman takeover of Tunis in 1574, the expul-
sion of the Moriscos 1609, along with Counter-Reformation emphasis
on saints, miracles, and relics, the rising power of the Inquisition, and
new religious orders devoted to education and conversion. In the midst
of a divided Christendom and fearsome Ottoman expansion, the king of
Tunis recalled both past alliances and offered hope for a future global
Christianity.
In his book, The Excellence of Catholic Rulers, dedicated to King Philip
III of Spain, Camillo Borrello explains the history of S. Gennaro (272–
305 CE), one of the most important patron saints of Naples:
San Gennaro, the bishop of Benevento, endured martyrdom in the city of

Pozzuoli; his relics, along with ampules filled with his blood, are kept in
Naples. Every year, these are taken from their resting place…in a solemn
procession; the body of the saint, as well as the relics, is transported, with
the entire citizenry moving together in procession, and when the relics are
in sight of the blood – which had for such a long time been absolutely
hardened like a stone becomes liquid in the manner of wax, and with a
bubbling is lifted up through the ampules.79
Borrello follow this background information with a reference to Muley

al-Hassan: “When Muley Hassan, king of Tunis, caught sight of [the
blood], he declared in a loud voice, that he himself had seen the greatest
miracle. And in a moment’s time, when the body was moved to a distant
location, the blood returned to its former solidity.” Note that Borrello
does not offer a date for the event, nor does he mention the issue of
conversion. For this author, the point is that a Muslim king acknowl-
edged the miraculous liquefaction. But some writers critiqued Borrello’s
account of Muley al-Hassan’s awe-struck reaction to S. Gennaro’s blood
relic.
Borrello was followed by Camillo Tutini who wrote On the Memory
of the Life, Miracles, and Cult of the Martyr San Gennaro.80 The book
appeared in three editions, the first two are sparsely illustrated while
the last one features crude etchings based on the frescoes in the Trea-
sury Chapel in the Duomo. Unlike Borrello, Tutini provides a date and
context for Muley al-Hassan’s supposed viewing of the liquefaction; he

also introduces for the first time the question of conversion:
Muley al-Hassan, the king of Tunis, having come to Naples in 1543 to

recruit soldiers, in order to recover the kingdom taken from him by his
son, and residing there for a long time, the Viceroy Don Pietro di Toledo
wanted to show him the blood of S. Gennaro, hoping that the sight of
such a great miracle would turn him into a Christian. [The king] seeing
the marvel, began to say that he had seen a great thing. [But] just when
those in attendance began to think that he would ask for the water of holy
baptism and become Christian, [Muley al-Hassan] said in Spanish: ‘God
can do more than that.’ And that was the end of the viewing.81
While Tutini borrows Borrello’s version of events, he also undercuts it. If

this Muslim witness to the blood of S. Gennaro briefly raises hopes for
conversion, he also disappoints those in attendance by belittling God’s
miracle! It’s as if Muley al-Hassan is reprimanding the Christians for being
so gullible. This oddly puts the Muslim skeptic in a superior position, for
surely Christians would have to agree with him that God is capable of
greater things. Tutini here offers a more than casual echo of contempo-
rary Protestant challenges to the cult of saints and miracles, although he
displaces that critique from heretics onto an infidel.
The next author, Neapolitan lawyer and historian, Francesco de’ Pietri,
does not refer to Muley al-Hassan by name, but given the timing and
context, we can assume that he knew Borrello and Tutini. In his History
of Naples , de’ Pietri makes an oblique reference to Muley al-Hassan: “Are
you, African, so inflexible, more unfeeling than stone, that you (yourself)
do not dissolve in the presence of solid blood liquefying at will?”82 The
longer epigram from which this excerpt derives would be republished
many times in antiquarian studies and guidebooks to Naples. Thus, the
African whose heart remained hard while the martyr’s blood liquefied
became proverbial.83
Finally, we can turn to the Discalced Carmelite, Brother Girolamo
Maria di S. Anna who combines the texts mentioned so far in his History
of the Life, Virtue, and Miracles of the Bishop and Martyr San Gennaro.
Muley al-Hassan, King of Tunis, who having come to Naples in the year
1543, while Don Pietro di Toledo was Viceroy, for the reasons recorded
by historians, having observed the miraculous liquefaction of the Blood
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of our Saint, while one hoped that he would have asked to be baptized,
abandoning paganism, [instead] he solemnly pronounced these words in
Spanish: God can do more than that. Camillo Borrello, however, maintains
that he had said loudly, ‘One sees a great miracle.’84
The author juxtaposes Tutini’s skepticism and Borrello’s sincerity, leaving

it up to the reader to compare the two and decide for him or herself.
Given these accounts by Borello, Tutini, de’ Pietri, and Brother Maria
di S. Anna, we might ask if any Muslim kings were ever known to have
converted in Naples, whether by witnessing the blood of S. Gennaro or
by some other means? The answer would be a resounding no, although
one can find occasional examples of Tunisian kings who flirted with Chris-
tianity. In the early fourteenth century, for example, the ruler Ibn Lihyani
employed the promise of conversion as a way to navigate between the
powers of Aragon and Sicily.85 But the strategy failed, and he even-
tually withdrew to Cairo. In Tunis itself, we know that the king was
protected by his rebattini, or Christian military guards; they lived in their
own neighborhood complete with a church and priests. Still, conversion
of Muslim royalty was rare in actual practice even if it was a recur-
ring theme in fiction, romances, plays, or in the repertories of street
singers.86 Most Christian converts were prisoners, slaves, or servants
rather than kings.87 Between 1583 and 1664 there were 2365 conver-
sions of Muslims in Naples, more than twice the number in Rome or
Venice during that same time.88 These low-status converts were either
forced, seeking manumission, or were desperate for a pardon for a
criminal offense.
No primary sources mention Muley al-Hassan visiting the Cathe-
dral, the Treasury Chapel, or the blood of S. Gennaro. And, although
Tutini says that the Viceroy took him to see the blood relic, there is no
evidence in sixteenth-century biographies of Pedro de Toledo. In addi-
tion, 1543 was not an auspicious time to visit Neapolitan churches and
their relics.89 Passions had been enflamed recently by the charismatic
but heretical preachers Juan Valdés and Bernardino Ochino; there was
a general perception of spiritual disorder in the city. And when Arch-
bishop Francesco Carafa made his pastoral visit of 1542–1543, he found
appalling conditions. He noted that only a few priests were capable of
performing the mass or hearing confession; some could not read Latin.
Churches and chapels were being used to store building stones, oil,
and other merchandise. Carafa imposed a fine on priests who could not
produce their own chalice. Many clerics were absent from their posts, and
in the habit of paying other priests to do their jobs. So, in the aftermath
of Carafa’s dire findings, it is not surprising that our seventeenth-century
authors diverted attention away from the degraded state of Neapolitan
churches and created a brand-new narrative about the King of Tunis and
his supposed reactions to the miraculous liquefaction of the blood of S.
Gennaro.
In his letter of 1543, Giovio wonders in jest whether Muley al-Hassan’s
tour of the Eternal City might have culminated with conversion.90 Inter-
estingly, Pope Paul’s account books of 1544 do record the conversion of
one of the king’s travel companions: “And on the 18th [June], 25 gold
[ducats] paid to the most Reverend Francesco Vannutio for dressing that
Moor who was with the King of Tunis, and who came to Rome to be
baptized.”91 Whether Giovio knew about this companion, we cannot say.
Later in 1548, after meeting Muley al-Hassan in a face-to-face interview
in Rome, Giovio called the king of Tunis a great Averroist, the Amir
al-Mu’minin, and a superstitious believer in astrology. Giovio was under
no illusion about the king being open to conversion, nor does he make
any mention of the king or his companion witnessing the blood of S.
Gennaro.
For the Hafsids, Christian conversion was more a political than a spiri-
tual matter. During the king’s absence from Tunis in 1543, his unfaithful
son Amida spread the rumor that his father had become Christian; he
did it in order to usurp the realm. In making this claim, Amida was
echoing Barbarossa who had used the same rumor in 1535 to under-
mine the loyalty of the king’s subjects. In 1558 Amida himself would
rebuke his Habsburg counterparts for trying to make him a Christian.92
His younger brother Ahmet complained in 1570 about a rival uncle who
was spreading rumors about his having converted to gain political advan-
tage.93 Given the habitual accusations and rumors about conversion, it is
hard to imagine Muley al-Hassan being willing to visit the blood relic of
S. Gennaro, despite Borrello’s earnest account. He had too much to lose
by doing so.
Following the Ottoman takeover of Tunis and the subsequent Hafsid
exile in Palermo and Naples, Amida’s son, Amida II, was instructed
in the faith by the Carthusians of S. Martino in Naples; and once he
converted, he became known as “Carlo d’Austria.”94 His baptism took
place in August of 1575 in the Palatine Chapel of the Castel Nuovo,
with Don Juan of Austria, hero of Lepanto, and Violante de Osorio,
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wife of Luis Álvarez de Toledo, acting as godparents. Carlo then served

as a soldier, fighting for the Spanish in northern Europe, but he even-
tually donned a Franciscan robe, and provided funds for burial in the
church of S. Maria la Nova. Other converts include Ahmet’s niece who
in 1588 was baptized “Maria” in the Palatine Chapel of the Royal Palace,
in Palermo.95 More family members would eventually join the ranks of
the Christians—all of these examples provided fuel for the seventeenth-
century hagiographical texts we examined earlier.96 It must have seemed
reasonable for Camillo Borrello writing in 1611 to assume that Muley
al-Hassan had visited the famous Neapolitan blood relic of S. Gennaro,
given the recent high-profile conversions of his grandchildren.
Nevertheless, the association of Muley al-Hassan and S. Gennaro was
limited to seventeenth-century Naples. In Prudencio de Sandoval’s Life
and Deeds of Charles V (1681), the king of Tunis is represented unam-
biguously as an infidel. For the portrait of Muley al-Hassan, Sandoval’s
illustrator, Gaspare Bouttats, took the king’s shoulder length bust from
the Van der Horst and Pontius image in Chifflet and reversed the figure
(Fig. 6.12). In the new abbreviated portrait, the king tilts his head slightly,
his brows now appear smooth, and his forthright gaze has been soft-
ened; he seems inquisitive rather than threatening. The print frames the
cameo of Muley al-Hassan in a Temple of Janus with the god appearing
as a double-headed bust in a niche centered over the Doors of War
being opened on the left by Discord and on the right by Anger.97 A
snarling Hydra of heresy dominates the foreground; its wake of destruc-
tion includes a fallen sculpture, a plumed helmet, a drum, weapons, a
flaming altar, a classical column, and a crucifix.98 The print reminds
the reader that Charles V took his fleet to Tunis to chase away the
Ottoman corsair Barbarossa and restore Muley al-Hassan to the throne;
but Sandoval makes no mention of the supposed viewing of the liquefied
blood of S. Gennaro, conversion, or baptism. The text describes Muley
al-Hassan as an observant Muslim, whose holy book is the Qur’an, and
yet who served under the Crown of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily.
Conclusion
We have seen how the Versailles portrait of Muley al-Hassan was well
known in Antwerp, especially within the shop of Rubens and the Plantin-
Moretus press. Further north, collectors in the Dutch republic continued
to show interest in Jan Vermeyen’s King of Tunis portrait (lost), perhaps
Fig. 6.12 Gaspar Bouttats, “Muley Hazen, King of Tunis,” in Fra Prudencio
de Sandoval, Historia de la vida y hechos del emperador Carlos V. maximo, fortis-
simo, rey catholico de España, y de las Indias, islas, y tierra firme del mar oceano
(Antwerp: Geronymo Verdussen, 1681), vol. 2, engraving, p. 182v (Credit:
Houghton Library, Harvard University [public domain])
as recalled by the broadsheet published by Sylvester van Parijs (Antwerp,

1535). In 1644, for example, the Amsterdam dealer Jan Bocx listed the
following picture he received from another dealer in Antwerp: “The King
of Tunis painted by Master Jan with the beard, florins 24;” while in
the Hague, the 1656 inventory of David Beckx noted: “A portrait of
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the King of Tunis by Jan Vermeyen.”99 The Van der Horst and Pontius
prints were also in circulation as single sheets. For example, the wealthy
Amsterdam lawyer Laurens van der Hem owned the engraved portraits
of Muley al-Hassan and Jean-Baptiste de Tassis , along with Vermeyen’s
etching of Muley Ahmet , according to an auction document of 1684100
(Figs. 6.13, 6.14, 6.15). In addition, van der Hem commissioned Dirk
Janszoon van Santen to hand color his prints. Apparently, the artist did
not have Chifflet’s text to consult, since he chose his own color schemes.
Muley al-Hassan wears a crimson marlota, as in the Versailles portrait, and
stands under a blue and gold drape, while Jean-Baptiste wears blue rather
than the cloth-of-gold, as he stands beneath a red drape with gold tassels.
Note that the artist does not differentiate the two men by skin color; he
uses the same beige or light brown paint for each. Prince Ahmet has the
same skin tone and wears an orange tunic, crossed by a sky-blue strap,
accented by a lavender sleeve. The cartouche at the upper right is painted
in the same dull orange pigment with its central shield painted a royal
blue, while the sword, crown of the Regno, and the Arabic inscription
appear in gold. The caption identifying the figure as Muley Ahmet was
trimmed away at some unknown date.
A close reading of the Marks of Honor reveals that Jules Chifflet is not
a reliable historical source, but rather an inventive writer who sought to
embellish the reputation of the Tassis family. He created a story about
Muley al-Hassan that had a tenuous relation to historical facts. This pious
fiction was brought to life by the vivid engraving that Van der Horst and
Pontius made based on the Versailles portrait. For scholars in Northern
Europe today, Chifflet’s anecdote about imperial Brussels has been taken
as proof of tolerance and cosmopolitanism. But we must guard against our
own tendency to embroider on the posthumous legends about the king of
Tunis.101 Even if Chifflet’s chapter on Muley al-Hassan is fictional, it still
bears witness to a truth. The Hafsids were an integral part of the Habs-
burg world, ranging from the presidios of North Africa to the imperial
court of Augsburg. Hafsid responses to Christianity ran the gamut from
resistance to conversion; they demonstrated both aversion and assimila-
tion. The Tunisian rulers were enticingly foreign and yet utterly familiar:
Mori amici, moros amigos . The enduring presence of the King of Tunis in
Habsburg visual culture merits our attention and argues for greater inclu-
sion in modern history. Studying the portraits of Muley al-Hassan obliges
us to acknowledge a more diverse, complex, and interesting past.
Fig. 6.13 Nicholas van der Horst and Paul Pontius, “Muley al-Hassan,”
engraving, 32.4 × 20.6 cm, in Jules Chifflet, Les marques d’honneur de la maison
du Tassis (Antwerp: Balthasar Moretus, 1645), p. 76. Herzog Anton-Ulrich
Museum, Braunschweig, Kunstmuseum des Landes Niedersachsen, p-slg-illum-
ab2-0072 (Credit: Herzog Anton-Ulrich Museum)
254 C. L. BASKINS
Fig. 6.14 Nicholas van der Horst and Paul Pontius, “Jean Baptiste de
Tassis,” engraving, 31.9 x 20.1 cm., from Jules Chifflet, Les marques d’hon-
neur de la maison du Tassis (Antwerp: Balthasar Moretus, 1645), p.77. Herzog
Anton-Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig, Kunstmuseum des Landes Niedersachsen,
p-slg-illum-ab3-0092 (Credit: Herzog Anton-Ulrich Museum)
Fig. 6.15 Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, Muley Ahmet, ca. 1547, etching, 45.4
x 35.1 cm., Herzog Anton-Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig, Kunstmuseum
des Landes Niedersachsen, p-slg-illum-ab2-0071 (Credit: Herzog Anton-Ulrich
Museum)
Notes
1. Camillo Tutini, Memorie della vita, miracoli, e culto di S. Gennaro
martire (Naples: Beltrano, 1633), p. 104: “Essendo venuto in Napoli
nel 1543 Muleassen re di Tunisi per assoldar gente, volendo ricuperare il
256 C. L. BASKINS
regno toltogli dal figliuolo, e quivi dimorando gran tempo, il viceré D.

Pietro di Toledo gli volle far vedere il sangue di S. Gennaro, sperando
che dalla vista di sì gran miracolo dovesse farsi cristiano. Costui in veder
tal maraviglia cominciò a dire che avea veduto una gran cosa, e quando
credevano gli astanti, che dovesse chiedere l’acqua del santo battesimo
e farsi cristiano, disse in lingua spagnuola: Dios puede azer mas d’esto, e
questa fu la conclusione di tal veduta.”
2. See with further bibliography, Cristelle Baskins, “The Play of Mistaken
Identities on the Porta Nuova, Palermo,” in Another Image: Jews and
Muslims Made Visible in Christian Iberia and Beyond, Fourteenth to
Eighteenth Centuries, eds. Borja Franco and Antonio Urquízar-Herrera
(Leiden: Brill, 2019), pp. 331–354. For the late Hafsids, see Juan
Bautista Vilar, Mapas, planos, y fortificaciones hispanicos de Túnez s.XVI –
XIX (Madrid: Instituto de Cooperación con el Mundo Árabe, 1991);
Beatriz Alonso Acero, Sultanes de Berbería en Tierras de la Cristiandad:
Exilio Musulmán, Conversión Y Asimilación en la Monarquía Hispánica
Siglos XVI y XVII (Barcelona: Bellaterra, 2006); Gennaro Varriale, “Dal
simposio alla prigionia: gli ultimi hafsidi e il meridione italiano,” Orien-
talia Parthenopea 11 (2011): 9–30; Ibid., Arrivano li Turchi. guerra
navale e spionaggio nel Mediterraneo (1532–1582) (Novi Ligure: Città
del silenzio edizioni, 2014); and Alberto Mannino, Gli infanti di Tunisi
e la communità musulmana di Palermo tra il XVI e il XVII secolo
(Palermo, 2018).
3. On pious fiction, see Anthony Grafton, Forgers and Critics: Creativity
and Duplicity in Western Scholarship (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univer-
sity Press, 1990). More recently, Literary Forgery in Early Modern
Europe, 1450–1800, eds. Walter Stephens and Earle A. Havens (Balti-
more: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019), p. 211. For the Gonzaga,
Farnese, Orsini, Giustiniani, and others, see Eckhard Leuschner, “Roman
Virtue, Dynastic Succession, and the Re-Use of Images: Constructing
Authority in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Portraiture,” Studia
Rudolphina 6 (2006): 5–25. For the literary reception, see Anthony
Ossa-Richardson, “Sir Thomas Browne, Paolo Giovio, and the Tragi-
comedy of Muleasses, King of Tunis,” Studies in Philology 113 (2016):
669–694.
4. Rubén González Cuerva notes the “creation of an incredible legend in
seventeenth-century Flanders,” see “Infidel Friends: Charles V, Mulay
Hassan and the Theatre of Majesty,” Mediterranea - ricerche storiche
17 (2020): 445–468, on p. 466. Another urban legend lies beyond
the scope of this chapter. In the nineteenth century, the blind King of
Tunis was rumored to have been buried in the garden of the palace of
the Marchese S. Isidoro in the Guilla district of Palermo; see Mannino

(2018), pp. 88–90.
5. T. C. Price Zimmermann, Paolo Giovio. The Historian and the Crisis
of Sixteenth Century Italy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
1995), p. 238; and Richard Kagan, Clio and Crown: The Politics
of History in Early Modern Spain (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins
University, 2009), pp. 82, 87.
6. Hendrik Horn, Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, Painter of Charles V and His
Conquest of Tunis: Paintings, Etchings, Drawings, Cartoons & Tapestries,
vol. 1 (Dornsprijk: Davaco, 1989), pp. 131, 165.
7. Robert Jones, “Piracy, War, and the Acquistion of Arabic Manuscripts in
Renaissance Europe,” Manuscripts of the Middle East 2 (1987): 96–110.
On p. 100:, Charles V seized three volumes of a Qur’an from Tunis in
1535; they were kept in the Escorial until Cardinal Granvelle took them
for his own library. On p. 107: inscription from the second volume:
“c’est l’achoran que Charles le Quint, Empereur des Romains et Roy des
Espagnes, aporta de ses expéditions de Tunis et Alger et que le cardinal
Granvele avoit tire de l’Escurial pour le mettre en sa bibliothèque.”
Today they are Paris, BnF MS Arabe 438, 439, 440. Noted by Sylvie
Deswarte-Rosa, “L’expédition de Tunis (1535): images, interprétation,
répercussions culturelles,” in Chrétiens et musulmans à la Renaissance,
eds. Bartolomé Bennassar and Robert Sauzet (Paris: Champion, 1998),
pp. 75–132, on p. 128.
8. August Castan, “La conquête de Tunis en 1535. Racontée par deux
écrivains franche-comtois, Antoine Perrenin et Guillaume de Monto-
iche,” Mémoires de la société d’émulation du Doubs 5 (1890): 259–320;
on pp. 266–267, 292–293. The episode involving the Count of Sarno
was recounted by Spanish chroniclers as well as Paolo Giovio. According
to Horn (1989), vol. 1, pp. 198, 202, the caption on The Fall of the
Goletta tapestry, designed by Vermeyen and Cocke van Aelst, refers to
his death early in the campaign. His decapitated head and severed right
hand were presented to Barbarossa.
9. Alonso Acero (2006), p. 172. Note 225, AGS, Estado, Nápoles,
Legajo 1064, f. 44. Cardenal Granvela a Felipe II, 27 julio 1574:
“Viejo y melancolico y siente infinito no hallarse en Túnez.” For
Granvelle’s involvement in the last Tunis campaign, see Salvatore Bono,
“L’occupazione Spagnuola e la Riconquista Musulmana di Tunisi (1573–
1574),” Africa 33 (1978): 351–382.
10. Henri Hyman, Antonio Moro. Son Oeuvre et son Temps (Brussels, 1910),
p. 88. There is no mention in Joanna Woodall, Anthonis Mor: Art and
Authority (Zwolle: Waanders, 2007).
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11. For the 1607 inventory of Granvelle’s collection, see August Castan,
Monographie du Palais Granvelle a Besançon (Besançon, 1867), pp. 37–
78. For Granvelle’s political career and art patronage see the essays
in Les Granvelle et les anciens Pays-Bas, eds. Krista de Jonge and
Gustaaf Janssens (Leuven: Universitaire Pers Leuven, 2000); Edward
Wouk, “Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, the Quatre Vents Press, and the
Patronage of Prints in Early Modern Europe,” Simiolus 38 (2015): 31–
61; and Antoine de Granvelle l’éminence pourpre: images d’un homme
de pouvoir de la Renaissance, eds. Laurence Reibel et Lisa Mucciarelli-
Régnier (Milan: Silvana, 2017). For relations with the Tassis, including
transfer of works of art, see Juan Carlos D’Amico, “Arts, lettres et
pouvoir: correspondance du cardinal de Granvelle avec les écrivains, les
artistes et les imprimeurs italiens,” in Les Granvelles et l’Italie au XVI e
siècle, le mécénat d’une famille, eds. Jacqueline Brunet, Gennaro Tosanco,
and Sylvie Béguin (Besançon: Cêtre, 1996), pp. 333–363; Giulia Grata,
“Tasso documents conserved at the Municipal Library of Besançon,
France,” I Tasso e le Poste d’Europa, ed. Tarcisio Bottani (Bergamo:
Corponove, 2012), pp. 283–288; and Almudena Pérez de Tudela, “Las
relaciones artísticas de Antonio Perrenot con la ciudad de Nápoles previas
a su virreinato en su correspondecia conservada en el Palacio Real de
Madrid,” in Dimore signorili a Napoli. Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano e il
mecenatismo aristocratico dal XVI al XX secolo, ed. Antonio Ernesto
Denunzio, et al. (Naples: Intesa San Paolo, 2013), pp. 323–344.
12. For the 1640 inventory, see Jeffrey Muller, Rubens, the Artist as Collector
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984), p. 121; and A House
of Art: Rubens as Collector, eds. Kristin Belkin, Fiona Healy, and Jeffrey
M. Muller (Antwerp: BAI, 2004), pp. 137–139, 330.
13. Julius Held, “Rubens’ King of Tunis and Vermeyen’s Portrait of Mūlāy
Ahmad,” The Art Quarterly 3 (1940): 173–181; reprinted in Rubens
and His Circle: Studies by Julius S. Held, eds. Anne W. Lowenthal,
David Rosand, and John Walsh, Jr. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univer-
sity Press, 1982), pp. 3–8; Th. Marita Wijntjes; “Le portrait de Mawlāy
Ahmad,” al-Qantara 20 (1999): 215–220; Gert Rudolf Flick, Missing
Masterpieces: Lost Works of Art 1450–1900 (Merrell, 2003), pp. 29–
37; and Kristen Belkin, Copies and Adaptations from Renaissance and
Later Artists. German and Netherlandish Artists, 2 vols. (Antwerp:
Rubenianum, 2009), p. 14.
14. Held (1940) assumes that Vermeyen’s etching represents Ahmād
(Amida) rather than Muley Ahmet as the caption clearly states. In
Chapter 5, I argued that the etching dates to circa 1547 rather than
1535.
15. Jean-Michel Massing thinks that the Versailles painting is a “clumsy
copy” made after the 1645 engraving; see, “The Depiction of Africa,”
in The Image of the Black in Western Art, eds. David Bindman, Henry
Louis Gates, and Karen C. Dalton, vol. 3, pt. 2 (Cambridge: Belknap
Press, 2011), pp. 128–134, on p. 430. Neither the Cinquecento style
nor the uneven proportions of the figure support his suggestion.
16. Elizabeth McGrath, “Rubens and His Black Kings,” Rubens Bulletin 2
(2008): 87–101.
17. Compiled by the Antwerp dealer Matthijs Musson: “Een koeninck van
Tuenis Mucleasses 18 gl; see Muller (1984), p. 121; Flick (2003),
pp. 35–37; and Massing (2011), p. 430.
18. Although Jan van Meurs’ inventory is frequently said to date to 1659,
the document is dated 1652. See Jean Denucé, The Antwerp Art
Galleries: Inventories of the Art Collections in Antwerp in the 16th and
17th Centuries (Antwerp: De Sikkel, 1932), p. 135; and Erik Duverger,
Antwerpse kunstinventarissen uit de zeventiende eeuw, vol. 6 (Antwerp:
Koninklijke Academie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schone Kunsten
van België, 1992), pp. 264–269.
19. For the Baron D’Eprémesnil as art agent in Brussels, see Gaston Brière,
“Observations sur un portrait par Hyacinthe Rigaud au musée de
Toulouse,” in Bulletin de la Société de l’Histoire de l’Art Française (Paris:
Jean Schemit, 1907), pp. 80–87.
20. Archives des musées nationaux, Musée du Louvre, Département des
peintures (1827–1835), #20144790/60, letter of February 8, 1835:
“M. D’Eprémesnil assure que tous ces portraits sont originaux et qu’il
fournira á l’appui ou des gravures ou des renseignments positifs.”
21. As explained in the Introduction, Gaspar Bouttats’ illustration in Fra
Prudencio de Sandoval, Historia de la Vida y Hechos del Emperador
Carlos V , vol. 2 (Antwerp: Geronymo Verdussen, 1681), p. 182v
only shows the head and shoulders. Likewise, anonymous illustrations
in Gregorio Leti Vita dell’ invittissimo imperadore Carlo V. Austriaco
(Amsterdam: Georgio Gallet, 1700), vol. 3, following p. 84, or La vie
de l’empereur Charles V (Brussels: Josse di Grieck, 1715), vol. 3, p. 325,
present abbreviated busts. Only Van der Horst and Pontius reproduce
the full figure based on the Versailles panel, including costume, sword,
and gesture.
22. André van Hasselt, Histoire de P. P. Rubens (Brussels, 1840), p. 350.
See Max Rooses, L’oeuvre de P. P. Rubens, vol. 4 (Antwerp, 1890),
p. 275; and Held (1984), p. 3. Provenance information provided on
the Boston, Museum of Fine Arts website: https://collections.mfa.org/
objects/32728.
23. See Charles Monchicourt, Kairouan et les Chabbïa: 1450–1592 (Tunis:
Aloccio, 1939), pp. 184–219; Bono (1978), pp. 351–382; Vilar (1991),
pp. 159–181; and Gianclaudio Civale, “Tunisi Spagnola tra Violenza e
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Coesistenza (1573–74),” Mediterranea Ricerche Storiche 21 (2011): 51–

88.
24. Hendrik van Balen, another Antwerp artist associated with the Rubens
shop, painted an image of Álvaro II Bazán, the Captain General of the
Spanish Navy, giving thanks to the Virgin Mary, with saints and angels.
Bazán kneels at left while in the background European and Ottoman
ships engage in a fierce battle in the bay near the fortress of the Goletta
in 1612. Oil on canvas, dated to 1621, Museo Nacional de San Carlos,
Mexico City. There is a wash drawing related to the composition in the
Kupferstich Kabinett, Dresden, inventory C920.
25. Horn (1989), vol. 1, pp. 130–131, 163–164. Some of the Tunis mate-
rial was reissued by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg, Civitates orbis
terrarum, vol. 2 (Köln, 1575).
26. Rosa López Torrijos, “Palazzo di don Álvaro de Bazán,” in La pittura
in Liguria, ed. Elena Parma (Genoa: Sagep, 1999), pp. 229–244, on
p. 241: “…LO QVAL HIZO EL MARQVES CON MVCHO VALOR
Y HVYENDO LOS TVRCOS DELA CIVDAD SE / APODERO
DELLA AVISANDO AL SEÑOR DON IVAN EL QVAL EL DIA
SIGVIENTE MARCHO / CON TODO SU EXERQITO LA BUELTA
DE TVNEZ DONDE SALIO EL MARQVES A RECIVIRLO / Y LE
ENTREGO LAS LLABES HOLGOSE S.A. COMO / LO MEREQIA
TAN BVEN SVCESO E IMPORTANTE JORNADA….” See also Rosa
López Torrijos, Entre España y Génova. El Palacio de Don Álvaro de
Bazán en El Viso (Madrid: Ministerio de Defensa, 2009).
27. Il Palazzo Ducale di Mantova, ed. Giuliana Algeri (Mantua: Sometti,
2003), p. 246.
28. Captioned, “Tunetani.” See Album of Costume Studies, Morgan Library,
New York: PML 5675, f.103r.
29. Les Marques d’Honneur de la Maison de Tassis (Antwerp: Balthasar
Moretus, 1645).
30. Jules Chifflet (1615–1676). For an introduction to the family and their
publications, see Autour des Chifflet: aux origines de l’ érudition en
Franche-Comté, eds. Laurence Delobette and Paul Delsalle (Besançon:
Presses Universitaires de Franche-Comté, 2007); and Birgit Houben,
“ ‘Vous estez les premiers vassaux que j’aye et que j’aime le plus.’
Burgundians in the Brussels Court of the Widowed Isabella and of the
Cardinal-Infant don Ferdinand (1621–1641),” A Constellation of Courts:
The Courts and Households of Habsburg Europe, 1555–1665, eds. René
Vermeir, Dries Raeymaekers, and José Eloy Hortal Muñoz (Leuven:
Leuven University Press, 2014), pp. 223–254. The Chifflet collection
of books, medals, seals, and paintings went to the city of Besançon; see
Anon., “Musées de Besançon,” in Inventaire général des Richesses d’Art
de la France, Monuments Civils (Paris: Plon, 1891), vol. 5, pp. 79–81.
31. See Orest Ranum, Artisans of Glory: Writers and Historical Thought in
Seventeenth-Century France (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
Press, 1980); and Jay M. Smith, The Culture of Merit: Nobility, Royal
Service, and the Making of Absolute Monarchy in France, 1600–1789 (Ann
Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996), p. 58.
32. In the previous year Chifflet had published the Traitté de le maison de
Rye ou Description sommaire de son antiquité, dignitez, emplois, alliances
et autres grandeurs (s.l., 1644), about Alexandrine’s birth family. On
the widowed Alexandrine as head of the Tassis postal system from 1628
to 1646, see Nadine Akkerman, “The Postmistress, the Diplomat, and
a Black Chamber? Alexandrine of Taxis, Sir Balthazar Gerbier and the
Power of Postal Control,” in Diplomacy and Early Modern Culture,
eds. Robyn Adams and Rosanna Cox (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan,
2011), pp. 172–188; and Ibid., Invisible Agents: Women and Espionage
in Seventeenth-Century Britain (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018),
pp. 1–26.
33. Nicholas van der Horst designed two bust portraits of Count Lamoral
Tassis, in addition to the full-page image found following the title page
and dedication in Chifflet (1645). In the first example, Cornelis II Galle
engraved the plate after Van der Horst’s design (Antwerp, 1670); in the
second, the engraving was made by Pieter de Jode (Antwerp, 1673).
34. See Le Poste dei Tasso, un impresa in Europa, ed. Vittorio Ambrosini
(Bergamo, 1984); De post van Thurn und Taxis: La poste des Tour
et Tassis, 1489–1794, eds. Luc Janssens and Marc Meurrens (Brussels:
Algemeen rijksarchief, 1992); Simone Tasso e le poste di Milano nel
Rinascimento, eds. Giorgio Migliavacca and Tarcisio Bottani (Bergamo:
Corponove, 2008); I Tasso (2012); and Rachel Midura, “Masters of
the Post: Northern Italy and the European Communications Network,
1530–1730,” Ph.D. Dissertation, Stanford University, June 2020.
35. Alonso López de Haro, Nobiliario genealogico de los reyes y titulos de
España, vol. 2 (Madrid: Widow of Fernando Correa de Montenegro,
1622), pp. 18–40. López de Haro consulted Francesco Zazzera, Della
Nobiltà dell’Italia (Naples: Giovanni Battista Gargano and Lucretio
Nucci, 1615), unpaginated.
36. Max Rooses, Le Musée Plantin-Moretus (Antwerp, 1919), pp. 293–294;
and Leon Voet, The Golden Compasses. The History of the House of
Plantin-Moretus (New York: Abner Schram, 1969–1972).
37. J. Richard Judson and Carl Van de Velde, Book Illustration and Title
Pages, vol. I (London, Corpus Rubenianum, 1978); Balthasar Moretus
and the Passion of Publishing, ed. Dirk Imhof (Antwerp: Museum
Plantin-Moretus, 2018); and Gitta Bertram, Peter Paul Rubens as a
Designer of Title Pages: Title Page Production and Design in the Begin-
ning of the Seventeenth Century (Heidelberg: Arthistoricum.net, 2018);
262 C. L. BASKINS
Ulrich Heinen, “Antwerpen am Euphrat verteidigen – Rubens malt

für Europa: zur Vielfalt des frühneuzeitlichen Orientalismus,” in Das
Bild des Feindes: Konstruktion von Antagonismen und Kulturtransfer im
Zeitalter der Türkenkriege, eds. Eckhard Leuschner and Thomas Wünsch
(Berlin: Mann, 2013), pp. 355–448, on p. 397 wonders whether Rubens
had advance knowledge of Chifflet’s book; the artist’s death in 1640,
however, calls this idea into question.
38. McGrath (2008), p. 96. Peter Paul Rubens, Black Magus, ca. 1618,
Plantin-Moretus Museum, Antwerp.
39. Chifflet (1645), pp. 8–9: “C’est tout ce que l’invention du Sr Vander-
Horst Gentilhomme d’Utrecht, & fameux disciple de Rubens (c’est à
dire du plus grand peintre qui fut jamais au monde….” Van der Horst
was born in Antwerp and died in Brussels; Chifflet mistakenly called him
a gentleman from Utrecht.
40. See, Amplissimo hoc apparatu et pulchro ordine pompa funebris Bruxellis
á palatio ad Diuae Gudulae templum processit: cum rex Hispaniarum
Philippus Carolo V. Rom. Imp. pare[n]ti moestissimus iusta solueret (The
Hague: Hendrik Hondius, 1619), plate 34.
41. Earl E. Rosenthal, “Plus Ultra, Non plus Ultra, and the Columnar
Device of Emperor Charles V,” Journal of the Warburg and Cour-
tauld Institutes 34 (1971): 204–228; and Ibid., “The Invention of the
Columnar Device of Emperor Charles V at the Court of Burgundy in
Flanders in 1516,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 36
(1973): 198–230.
42. For the elephant head iconography, see Joaneath Spicer, “The Personifi-
cation of Africa with an Elephant-Head Crest in Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia
(1603),” in Personification, eds. Walter Melion and Bartholomeus
Ramakers (Leiden: Brill, 2016), pp. 677–715. Fort. Redux appears on
Roman coins; see Heinen (2013), p. 400.
43. “N. van der Horst del[ineavit] and Paul. Pontius sculp[sit].”
44. “MVLEY-HAZEN, Roy de Thunes, despouillé de son Royaume, et
restabli par l’Emp. CHARLES V. l’an M.D.XXXV.”
45. Chifflet (1645), pp. 70–78.
46. Chifflet (1645), p. 77: “Messire JEAN BAPTISTE DE TASSIS, Cheva-
lier, Seigneur de Hemessen, natif de l’estat de Bergame, vestu á la façon
des grands de la cour de MULEY-HAZEN, Roy de Thunes qui logea
en son hostel a Brussels, quand il vint implorer le secours de l’Empereur
CHARLES V.”
47. Max Piendl, Wandteppiche des Hauses Thurn und Taxis (Munich:
Hirmer, 1967); Ibid., Beiträge zur Geschichte Kunst und Kulturpflege
im Hause Thurn und Taxis (Kallmunz: Lassleben, 1978); and Marco
Lorandi, “Le poste, le armi, gli onori. I Tasso e la committenza artistica.
Internazionalità del potere, internazionalità dell’arte,” Le Poste dei Tasso

(1984): 87–138.
48. Regina Simerl, “The Votive Altar of John Baptist de Taxis dated 1540—A
Mystery Told Through Images,” I Tasso e le Poste (2012): 201–210.
49. For this cycle, destroyed in 1943, see Bortolo Belotti, Cimèli tasseschi di
Zogno (Bergamo: Arti grafiche, 1932), pp. 3–14.
50. “IO. BAPTA TASSUS. LEGAT. REGIS. HISP. AD REGES GALa et
BBITa REGISQ. TVNESI HOSPES.”
51. Joseph Rübsam, Johann Baptista von Taxis (Freiburg: Herder, 1889).
52. Simone Tasso (2008), pp. 106–108.
53. Simerl (2012), p. 204.
54. Chifflet (1645), pp. 225–229. See Marco Gerosa, “Antonio Tasso e
le guerre mediterranee tra la Spagna e il Turco (1560–1576). Note a
margine di una recente pubblicazione,” Quaderni brembani 7 (2009):
116–124.
55. Jean de Vandenesse, “Le Journal des Voyages de Charles Quint de
1514 à 1551,” in Collection Des Voyages des Souverains des Pays-Bas,
ed. Louis Prosper Gachard, vol. 2 (Brussels: F. Hayez, 1874), p. 98:
“25e à Bruxelles jusques le 15e de mars. Au moys de febvrier audict,
mourut Mulauser, roy de Thunes, maure, laissant deux filz, l’aisné
nommé Mule-Roset, et le moins-né Mule Asem.”
56. Sylvester van Parijs published the Rex Thunissae (1535) in Antwerp in
two versions. Could Chifflet have seen copies of them? A portrait of
Muley al-Hassan based on the Vermeyen prototype would later enter
Giovio’s growing collection in his villa in Como; it then circulated
through the Tobias Stimmer woodcut in the posthumous publication of
the Elegies (1575+). And it would be the model for copies of Giovio’s
portrait made for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, Cosimo de’Medici, Philip
II, Ferdinand of Tyrol, Manfredo Settala, and others.
57. Letter in “Appendix,” in Memorial historico, vol. 6 (Madrid: Real
Academia de la Historia, 1853), pp. 516–517.
58. See the discussion of sources in Chapter 2. Etrobius translated Perrenin’s
account into Latin. That text, the Commentarium seu potius diarium
expeditionis Tuniceae (Louvain: Jacobus Batius, 1547), was included
in the collection published by Cornelis Schepper, Rerum à Carolo V
(Antwerp: Beller, 1554). See Castan (1890), p. 308: Jules Chifflet
calls Antoine de Perrenin, an “homme curieux et de grand applica-
tion,” as well as an “homme très intelligent qui estoit natif de Gray
en Bourgongne et bourgeois de ladite ville.”
59. On Louis Du Praet, also known as Lodowijck van Praet (1488–1555),
Flemish knight of the Golden Fleece, ambassador, and favorite of the
emperor, see Damiano Muoni, Tunisi: Spedizione di Carlo V Impera-
tore 30 Maggio – 17 Agosto 1535 (Milan: Giuseppe Bernardoni, 1876),
264 C. L. BASKINS
p. 45. For the king of Tunis lodging in his tent, see Antoine de Perrenin,
“Expédition de l’Empereur contre Barbarousse et Thunis, 1535,” in
Staatspapiere zur geschichte des kaisers Karl V. Aus dem Königlichen archiv
und der Bibliotheque de Bourgogne, ed. Karl Lanz (Stuttgart, 1845),
pp. 535–581, on p. 556: “Puis fut mene au pavilion de monsieur de
Praet, chevalier de l’ordre et second chambellain de l’empereur.” Etro-
bius (1547), p. 60 copies Perrenin. Also reported by Paolo Giovio,
“Letter to Federico Gonzaga (14 July 1535),” in Lettere volgari, ed.
Ludovico Domenichi (Venice: Sessa, 1560), f.79v: “…restando con
pochi allogiando con Mons. di Prato.”
60. Paolo Giovio and Matteo Bandello both describe Muley al-Hassan eating
food sauced with ambergris during his 1543 trip to Naples, discussed
above in Chapter 4. Perrenin (1845), p. 563, claimed that the king of
Tunis ate with his feet! This grotesque misunderstanding of the practice
of eating cross legged on the floor has been repeated uncritically by
modern scholars, for example, by Horn (1989), vol. 1, p. 20.
61. Historiale Description de l’Afrique, Tierce Partie du Monde (Lyon:
Temporal, 1556), Bk 5, p. 282. “Puis quand quelquun veût chanter
en sa presence, il se fait bander les yeux, comme quand l’on veût ailler le
chaperon aus fauconx, & puis entre là, ou les dames sont l’attendans.”
62. See Marcus Mastelinus, Necrologio Monasterij Viridis vallis (Brussels: J.
Meerbecius, 1630), p. 73. If this event had taken place in 1556, as the
author claims, then two of the rulers would have been deceased. The
living rulers would have been Charles V, Philip II, Eleonore of Austria,
Mary of Hungary, and Ferdinand I of Austria. Ferdinand’s wife, Anne
of Bohemia and Hungary, died in 1547, and Muley al-Hassen died in
1550. This gathering was also mentioned by Erycius Puteanus, Bruxella
(Brussels: Ioannis Mommarti, 1646), pp. 35–36. See Ossa-Richardson
(2016), pp. 678–679.
63. Francisco López de Gómara, Guerras de mar del Emperador Carlos V ,
eds. Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra and Nora Edith Jiménez (Madrid:
Sociedad estatal para la conmemoración de los centenarios de Felipe II
y Carlos V, 2000), p. 41: “Mahumet tuvo 30 hijos sin las hijas en 200
mujeres, segun me contò en Bruselas un embajador de Muley Hamidi
que vino el año de 1555 al Emperador.”
64. Sandoval (1681), vol. 2, p. 141: “Segun una relación que hizo en
Bruselas un Embaxador de Muley Hamidy que vino alli al Emperador
año 1555.”
65. Tratados Internacionales de España. II España-Africa de Norte, ed. Prim-
itivo Mariño (Madrid, 1980), pp. 250–253, treaty between Alonso de la
Cueva and Amida.
66. Almudena Pérez de Tudela and Annemarie Jordan Gschwend, “Renais-
Iberia and Central Europe,” in Early Modern Zoology: The Construction

of Animals in Science, Literature, and the Visual Arts, eds. Karl A. E.
Enenkel and Mark S. Smith (Leiden: Brill, 2007), pp. 419–447, p. 434.
67. Anon., “Inventario de varios efectos que partenecieron al Rey de Túnez,”
Revista de Archivos, Bibliotecas, y Museos 5 (1875): 379–384, 396–397;
Pedro de Madrazo and Rudolf Beer, “Über Krönungsinsignien und
Staatsgewänder Maximilian I. und Karl V. und ihr Schicksal in Spanien,”
Kunsthistorische Sammlungen des Allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses 9 (1889):
446–464, p. 452; Rudolf Beer,“Acten, Regesten und Inventare aus
dem Archivo General zu Simancas,” Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen
Sammlungen des Allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses 12 (1891): XCI–CCIV; José
Ignacio Tellechea Idígoras, “El tesoro de Muley Hasan. De Túnez a
411–423; and Fernando Checa Cremades, “The Period of Charles V.
Collections and Inventories of the House of Austria,” in The Inventories
of Charles V and the Imperial Family, ed. Fernando Checa Cremades
(Madrid: Valverde, 2010), vol. 1, pp. 70, 74.
68. Edmond Roobaert, “Meester Anthoine Dauxon (†1560), Goudsmid
van de Keizer en Meester-Generaal van de Keizerlijke Munt in de
nederlanden,” Liber memorialis Erik Duverger: Bijdragen tot de kunst-
geschiedenis van de Nederlanden, eds. Henri Pauwels, André Van den
Kerkhove, and Leo Wuyts (Wetteren: Universa, 2006), pp. 277–304,
on p. 288. Lille, Archives Départementales du Nord, Chambre des
Comptes, B. 2.510, f.621v: “[…] a anthoine dauxon orphevre, asscavoir
IIIc XLIIII lb pour or et XVI lb pour facon dune chaine presentee a
lambassadeur du Roy de Thunes en consideracion du seiour [séjour]
quil a faict vers sa majeste es pays de par deca pour aulcunes affaires
concernans le service dicelle sa majeste dont nest besoing de declaracion
[…]”.
69. Etrobius (1547), f.24 “…quator milibus ducatorum, vestibusque auro
intertextis & sericeis ex liberalitate & munificentia Cesarae Maies-
tatis donatus…” The Spanish version of Perrenin is quoted in Rubén
González Cuerva and Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra, Túnez 1535: Voces
de una campaña europea (Madrid: Polifemo, 2017), p. 77. “And he gave
them a gift of 100 doubloons, along with a lot of rich outfits in gold
and silk to show the generosity of His Majesty.”
70. Carlo de Lellis, Discorsi delle Famiglie Nobili (Naples: Onofrio Savio,
1654), p. 407: “Volle portarsi un quadro col ritratto suo, e di Gio.
Battista a suo lato, vestito con l’istessa sua Real divisa…”.
71. Diane H. Bodart, Tiziano e Federico II Gonzaga: Storia di un rapporto
di committenza (Rome: Bulzoni, 1998), p. 140: “Se Vostra Excellentia
desiderava haver la figura del re di Tunis, dovra fare rettrare il commis-
sario di Casale, perchè qua tutti questi ch’el vedono et che hanno
266 C. L. BASKINS
conosciuto il prefato Re, dicono che è quello, et gli corrono drieto per
maraviglia, dicendo che è venuto in qua stravestito, et se’l mostrano l’uno
l’altro a dito.” ASM AG b.812 c.196r.
72. Poenorum soboles solio exturbata paterno,
A Carolo Quinto Caesare poscit opem.
Insolito Augustus laetatus supplice, clara
Baptistae Tassi tecta subire iubet.
Protinus Herois captus splendore Mulaeus,
Obliquo amissas lumine cernit opes:
Et ferme Afrorum Regum liquisse penates
Immemor, haudquaquam tristia fata vocat:
Sic ait, Hinc vellem ut numquam remeare liceret,
Et cura hic sinerent ducere posse dies.
Nulla esset iactura, vetus liquisse parentum
Regnum, ubi iam video me reperisse novum.
Hinc abiens, volvit Regum et simili prope cultu
Hospitis atque suam pingier effigiem.
I offer a loose translation of the original Latin, without any attempt to

preserve the meter, rhyme, or elegant phrasing. Thanks to Amanda Jarvis
and Maya Chakravorty for their assistance; Anthony Ossa-Richardson
provided help with a key phrase.
73. Illustrated in the Marks of Honor, foldout following p. 172.
74. See Chapter 4 for Giovio’s playful speculation about Muley al-Hassan
having converted in Rome in 1543; see Paolo Giovio, Lettere [Latine e
volgari], ed. Giuseppe Guido Ferrero, vol. 1 (Rome: Istituto poligrafico
dello Stato, Libreria dello Stato, 1956), p. 315.
75. Luis del Mármol Carvajal, Libro tercero y segundo volumen de la primera
parte de la descripcion general de Affrica (Granada: Rene Rabut, 1573),
p. 244. See also Luis del Mármol Carvajal, Jean-Pierre Vittu and Mika
ben Miled, Histoire des derniers rois de Tunis du malheur des Hafçides,
de la prise de Tunis par Charles Quint – de Kheyr-ed-Din Barberousse,
Darghut– et autres valeureux raïs (Carthage: Éditions cartaginoiseries,
2007).
76. See Chapter 5 above. Chifflet mistakes the city of Africa (Latin:
Aphrodisium, Arabic: Mahdiyya) for the continent.
77. See Chapter 5 for Giovio and the burial in Qayrawan. The same sequence
of events is found in Matteo Bandello, “Crudeltá di Amida figliuolo di
Muleasse re di Tunesi contra esso suo padre in privarlo del regno e
fargli acciecare gli occhi,” in La quarta parte de le Novelle del Bandello
novamente composte (Lyon: Alessandro Marsigli, 1573), ff. 16–26. Paul
Sebag, “Une nouvelle de Bandello (XVIème siècle): Moulay Hassen et
Moulay Hamida,” IBLA: Institut des Belles Lettres Arabes 34 (1971):

35–62.
78. I presented on Muley al-Hassan’s supposed viewing of the blood
of S. Gennaro in Naples: “Hard Hearts and Boiling Blood: Muslim
Encounters with S. Gennaro in Early Modern Naples,” Brown Univer-
sity, Providence, R.I., February 2019; and “God Can Do More Than
This: The King of Tunis in Viceregal Naples,” Renaissance Society of
America, Toronto, March 2019. See Helen Hills, The Matter of Miracles:
Neapolitan Baroque Sanctity and Architecture (Manchester: Manchester
University Press, 2016). On the growing role of the viceroy in the cult
of S. Gennaro, see Céline Dauverd, Church and State in Spanish Italy:
Rituals and Legitimacy in the Kingdom of Naples (New York: Cambridge
79. Camillo Borrello (d. 1631), was a native of Oliveto Citra, east of Naples;
he was a professor of Civil Law at the University of Naples and served in
the Neapolitan courts. Camillo Borrello, De regis catholici praestantia
(Milan: Hieronymous Bordonum, 1611), p. 452: “In Civitate Pute-
olorum, †martirium passus est Sāctus Ianuarius Episcopus Beneventanus,
cuius reliquiae Neapoli asservantur, cum ampulla eius sanguine plena,
quae quotannis ponitur in aliquo ex Sedilibus Nobilium Neapolitanorum
Magna cū Pompa, postmodum eiusdem sancti viri corpus, & reliquiae
asportantur, tota Civitate processionaliter eunte, & vt in conspectu
reliquiae sunt cum sanguine, statim sanguis, tam longo temporum
curriculo ad modum ferè lapidis induratus, tamquam cera liquescit, &
bulliendo elevatur per ampullas: quod cum semel inspexisset Muleassen
Tuneti Rex, † alta voce, maximum Miraculum se videre asseruit: &
statim corpore transeunte, & à loco distāte in pristinam sanguis duritiem,
reuertitur.”
80. Camillo Tutini (Salerno 1594–Rome 1666), was a cleric and histo-
rian roughly contemporary with Borrello. See his De’ pittori, scultori,
architetti, miniatori et ricamatori napolitani e regnicoli, ed. Laura
Giuliano (Matera: Giannatelli Matera, 2021). He is also noted for writing
about Vesuvius and the revolt of Masaniello in 1648.
81. Tutini (1633), p. 104.
82. Francesco de Pietri (Naples 1575–1645), Dell’ historia Napoletana, 2
vols. (Naples: G.D. Montanaro, 1634), Bk 1, p. 15: Caute vel asperior,
vel sis adamantinus Afer / Sanguine quin duro sponte liquente liques?
83. Hills (2016), pp. 119, 196, 200, states that the blood of S. Gennaro
remained hard in the presence of unbelieving Muslims. I have found no
documents to support that claim. In contrast, Dauverd (2020), p. 114,
finds that the blood of S. Gennaro liquified in response to threats from
Turks.
268 C. L. BASKINS
84. F. Girolamo Maria di S. Anna, Istoria della Vita, Virtu e Miracoli di San
Gennaro, vescovo e martire (Naples: Felice Mosca, 1707), p. 141: “Al
rapportato fatto del secondo giovanetto Turco assai simile a quello, che
si racconta (a) di Muleasse Re di Tunisi; quale essendo venuto in Napoli
l’Anno 1543 in tempo, ch’era Viceré D. Pietro di Toleto per le cause, che
rapportano l’Istorici, avendo osservato il miracolo della liquefazione del
Sangue del nostro Santo, quando si sperava che avesse avuto a chiedere
di esser battezzato, et abbanonare il paganesimo, pronunciò solamente
in lingua spagnuola queste parole: Dios puede azer mas d’esto, benchè
Camillo Borrello riferica (a), che ad alta voce detto avesse; Magnum
miraculum se videre.”
85. Michael Lower, “Ibn al-Lihyani: Sultan of Tunis and would-Be Christian
Convert (1311–18),” Mediterranean Historical Review 24 (2009): 17–
27.
86. More Christians converted to Islam than vice versa; see Bartolomé and
Lucile Bennassar, Les Chrétiens d’Allah: L’Histoire Extraordinaire des
Renégats, XVI e Et XVII e Siècles (Paris: Perrin, 1989); and Rosemary
Lee, “Theories of Failure: Islamic Conversion in Early Modern Rome,”
Essays in History 45 (2012): 59–74.
87. General studies: Salvatore Bono, “Conversioni di Musulmani al Cris-
tianesimo,” Chrétiens et musulmans à la Renaissance, eds. Bartolomé
Bennassar and Robert Sauzet (Paris: Champion, 1998), pp. 429–445;
Nabil Matar, “Muslim Conversion to Christianity in the Early Modern
Period: Arabic Texts, European Contexts,” Mediterranean Identities in
the Premodern Era, eds. John Watkins and Kathryn Reyerson (Farnham:
Ashgate, 2014), pp. 211–229; Tijana Krstíc, “Islam and Muslims in
Europe,” The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern European History,
1350–1750, ed. H. Scott, vol. 1 (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2015), pp. 670–693; Peter Mazur, Conversion to Catholicism in Early
Modern Italy (New York: Routledge, 2016). For Naples, see Giuliana
Boccadamo, Napoli e l’Islam: storie di musulmani, schiavi e rinnegati in
età moderna (Napoli: M. D’Auria, 2010); Peter Mazur, The New Chris-
tians of Spanish Naples (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013); Gennaro
Varriale, “Redimere anime: La Santa Casa della Redenzione dei cattivi
a Napoli, 1548–1599,” I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance 18
(2015): 233–259; and Ibid.; “Tra il Mediterraneo e il fonte battesimale:
musulmani a Napoli nel XVI secolo,” Revista de Historia Moderna 31
(2013): 91–108.
88. Peter Mazur, “A Mediterranean Port in the Confessional Age: Religious
Minorities in Early Modern Naples,” in A Companion to Early Modern
Naples, ed. Tommaso Astarita (Leiden: Brill, 2013), p. 224.
89. Antonio Illibato, Il liber visitationis di Francesco Carafa nella diocesi di
Napoli (1542–1543) (Rome, 1983); Ibid.; “La visita pastorale napoletana
del 1542–1543,” Archiva ecclesiae 22–23 (1979–1980): 283–309. In

general, see Jennifer Sellwyn, A Paradise Inhabited by Devils: The Jesuits’
Civilizing Mission in Early Modern Naples (Farnham: Ashgate, 2004).
90. See Chapter 5 above.
91. Léon Dorez, La cour du pape Paul III, d’après les registres de la trésorerie
secrète (collection F. de Navenne), 2 vols. (Paris: Ernst Leroux, 1932), vol.
2, p. 298: “1544, fol. 20 a. [June 18] È più a di 18 venticinque d’oro in
oro pagati al R.do messer Francesco Vannutio per far vestire quello Moro
che stava col Re di Tunisi, e ch’è venuto a Roma per battezzarse…29
b.---”.
92. Monchicourt (1939), p. 165.
93. Monchicourt (1939), p. 239.
94. See Monchicourt (1939), pp. 198–205; Boccadamo (2010), p. 177;
Varriale (2014), pp. 231–234; and Mannino (2018), pp. 50–52.
95. Monchicourt, (1939), pp. 244–245; and Alonso Acero (2006), p. 151.
96. Mannino (2018), pp. 95–142. For the famous case of Don Filippo of
Tunis, also known as Mahmet Celebi, see Teobaldo Filesi, “Un principe
tunisino tra Islam e Cristianesimo (1646–1686),” Africa: Rivista trimes-
trale di studi e documentazione dell’Istituto italiano per l’Africae l’Oriente
25 (1970): 25–48; and Matthieu Bonnery, “Un homme entre deux
mondes: la vie mouvementée de Don Philippe d’Afrique, prince de Tunis
(1627–1686),” Tiempos Modernos 8 (2003): 1–34.
97. Bouttats used the same Temple of Janus frame for engraved portraits of
enemies of the church like Anne Boleyn and rebels like John Frederick,
the Duke of Saxony. He derived the frame from a Rubens design for the
titlepage to vol. 3 of Frans van den Haer, Annales Ducorum seu Prin-
cipum Brabantiae Titiusque Belgii (Antwerp: Plantin-Moretus, 1623).
See Bertram (2018), pp. 221–223.
98. Borja Franco Llopis, “Images of Islam in the Ephemeral Art of the
Spanish Habsburgs: An Initial Approach,” Il Capitale culturale, supp. 6
(2017): 87–116, on p. 102.
99. Flick (2003), p. 35: “Den Conick van Thunes geschildert van Meester
Hans met den Baert, fl 24”; and “Een contrefrytsel van den coningh van
Thunis gedaen bij Hens Mayer.”
100. See Christian von Heusinger, “Die Sammlung illuminierter Porträts
im Braunschweiger Kupferstichkabinett,” Niederdeutsche Beiträge zur
Kunstgeschichte 40 (2001): 9–43, on pp. 19, 43; Erlend de Groot,
The World of a Seventeenth-Century Collector: The Atlas Blaeu-Van der
Hem (‘t-Goy Houten: HES & De Graaf, 2006). Dirk Janszoon van
Santen (1637–1708) hand colored many of Van der Hem’s prints. In
general, see Susan Dackerman, Painted Prints: The Revelation of Color
270 C. L. BASKINS
in Northern Renaissance & Baroque Engravings, Etchings & Woodcuts

(University Park, PA: Penn State Press, 2002).
101. For example, Hyman (1910), p. 88; Heinen (2013), p. 401; Dirk G.
Van der Walderen, “The Family of Thurn and Taxis and the Orient:
Manifestations of the Exotic in Brussels in the Sixteenth and Seven-
teenth Century,” Culture of Politics or Cultural Politics: Ambassadors as
Cultural Actors in the Ottoman-European Relations, conference paper,
Istanbul, Pera Museum, 2013; and Paul Arblaster, “Antwerp and Brus-
sels as Inter-European Spaces in News Exchange,” The Dissemination of
News and the Emergence of Contemporaneity in Early Modern Europe,
ed. Brendan Dooley (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2010), pp. 193–205,
p. 195 mistakenly claims that Muley al-Hassan was in Brussels in 1556;
and Ibid., From Ghent to Aix: How They Brought the News in the Habs-
burg Netherlands, 1550–1700 (Leiden: Brill, 2014), p. 29 asserts without
evidence that the King of Tunis was in Brussels in 1544.
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Abbreviations
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ASM: Archivio di Stato di Mantua
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 283
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Ibid.; The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II ,
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Ibid.; “Herman Posthumus et l’entrée de Charles Quint à Rome,” Bulletin de
l’Association des Historiens de l’Art Italien 5 (1998): 2–13.
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Hermannus Posthumus, l’entrée à Rome de Charles Quint et Latino Giove-
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Ibid.; “Les fêtes napolitaines de 1535 en l’honneur de Charles Quint: un
carrefour de cultures,” in PART[h]Enope, Naples et les arts / Napoli e le arti,
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286 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Merchants and the Spanish Crown (New York: Cambridge University Press,
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Ibid.; Church and State in Spanish Italy: Rituals and Legitimacy in the Kingdom
of Naples (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2020).
Davis, Natalie Zemon; Trickster Travels: A Sixteenth-Century Muslim between
Worlds (New York: Hill and Wang, 2006).
Ibid.; “Leone Africano Describes Africa to Europeans,” in Revealing the African
Presence in Europe, ed. Joaneath Spicer (Baltimore: Walters Art Museum,
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Duverger, Erik; Antwerpse kunstinventarissen uit de zeventiende eeuw, vol. 6
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Edelstein, Bruce; ‘Acqua viva e corrente’: Private Display and Public Distribution
of Fresh Water at the Neapolitan Villa of Poggioreale as a Hydraulic Model
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Press, 2016).
Federici, Marco; “Corsari del mediterraneo e viceré d’Italia: La Historia de la
Guerra y Presa de Africa di Pedro da Salazar (Napoli, Mattia Cancer, 1552),”
in Lingua spagnola e cultura ispanica nel Regno di Napoli fra Rinascimento
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Toledo,” in Rinascimento meridionale: Napoli e il viceré Pedro de Toledo
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pp. 433–456.
Ibid.; “Nápoles y la conquista de al-Mahdiyya (1550): alianzas militares y
reflejos literarios del suceso,” in Italie et Espagne entre Empire, Cités et États.
Constructions d’histoires communes (XV e –XVI e siècles), eds. Alice Carette,
Rafael M. Girón-Pascual, Raúl González Arévalo, Cécile Terreaux-Scotto
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290 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Galasso and Aurelio Musi = Archivio storico per le province napoletane 119
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Ibid.; “Pedro de Toledo entre el hierro y el oro: construcción y fin de un virrey,”
in Rinascimento Meridionale. Napoli e il Viceré Pedro de Toledo (1532–1553),
ed. Encarnación Sánchez García (Naples: Tullio Pironti, 2016), pp. 3–66.
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292 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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294 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 297
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Index
A Alcalá de Henares, 17, 39, 237

Abacinate/abacination, 149 Alcazava, 36
Abd Faris al-Aziz II, 32 Aldrovandi, Ulisse, 102, 118, 177,
Abî Taieb, Muhammad ben (modern 205
Muhammad ben Abî Tayyeb), Alfonso d’Avalos, Marchese del Vasto,
172, 204 36, 42, 78, 90, 102
Abu Abdallah Muhammad Azweghi, Alfonso of Aragon, 32, 86
98, 104, 105, 143 Algeria, 18, 80, 167
Abu Bakr, 18, 165, 166, 174–176, Algiers, 41, 105, 142, 149, 182
185, 186, 191, 192 Almohad, 36
Abu Ishaq Ibrahim, 65 Álvarez de Toledo, Eleonora, 141
Abu Omar Uthman, 32 Álvarez de Toledo, Fernando, 45, 90,
Adarga, 129, 189 103, 167, 188
Adorne, Anselme, 37 Álvarez de Toledo, Luis, 250
Africa. See Mahdiyya Álvarez de Toledo, Pedro, 14, 84,
Ahmed. See Amida 125, 127, 131, 133, 134, 136,
Ahmet, 14, 15, 18, 150, 165–167, 138, 139, 141, 145, 146, 175,
169–174, 178, 185, 186, 191, 186, 196, 216, 242, 243, 248
192, 197, 198, 218, 222, 224, Amato, Giovanni Antonio, 84
229, 244, 249, 250, 252 Ambassador, 32, 41, 51, 57, 104,
Alarcón de Mendoza, Hernando, 47, 105, 143, 176, 180, 197, 234,
81, 82 239, 240
Alberti, Leon Battista, 123, 127, 150 Ambergris, 4, 40, 148, 172, 245
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive 303
license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05079-4
304 INDEX
Amida, 14, 129, 144, 146–150, 163, Bedouin, 29, 38, 42, 47, 48, 51, 166,
165, 166, 169, 173, 177, 180, 167, 171, 174, 176, 185, 186,
182, 190, 192, 197, 198, 218, 189, 192
222, 224, 240, 244, 245, 249 Bejaïa, 103, 167
Amida II, 249 Belgium, 167, 232
Amir al-Mu’minin, 176, 198, 249 Bellay, Cardinal Jean Du, 102
Angevin, 131 Berber, 10
Angleria, Girolamo, 143 Bergamo, 228, 232, 234
Anguillara Sabazia, 115 Bérot, Jean, 56, 57, 226, 236
Antwerp, 4, 5, 10, 167, 170, 172, Besançon, 104, 216, 218, 226
187, 188, 215, 218, 222, 225, Bezoar, 101
228, 229, 234, 243, 250, 253 Bizerte, 31
Aphrodisium. See Mahdiyya Blind, 149, 165, 177, 178, 180, 185,
Arabic, 1, 11, 17, 18, 31, 39, 42, 47, 186, 245
55, 56, 138–140, 163, 169, 172, Blood relic, 15, 144, 246, 248–250
176, 191, 222, 229, 231, 237, Boabdil, 138
242, 244, 252 Boacen, 196
Aragon, 10, 31, 32, 248 Bocx, Jan, 251
Aragonese, 131, 132, 134, 136 Boissard, Jean Jacques, 10
Archbishop, 144, 248 Bologna, 134, 177, 178, 185
Arcos, Licenciado, 53, 70 Booty, 52–54, 100, 104, 127, 133,
Aretino, Pietro, 116 134, 185, 196
Augsburg, 166, 174, 178, 180, 181, Borrello, Camillo, 246, 248
196, 197, 245, 252 Bouttats, Gaspar, 4, 250
Averroes, 48, 176 Bouzeiane, Sheikh, 202
Avvisi, 17, 76, 184 Braun, Georg, 189
Brussels, 9, 15, 167, 197, 216, 218,
223, 224, 226, 230, 232–234,
B 236–240, 242–245, 252
Babbi, Francesco, 186, 210 Burnoose, 3, 127, 136, 240
Baccio d’Agnolo, 93 Busseto, 142
Baeza, Ramadan, 102
Baglione, Astorre, 185, 208
Bandello, Matteo, 124, 147, 165, 237 C
Barbarossa, 13, 101, 105, 123, 134, Caesar, 134, 195
231, 236, 237, 244, 249, 250 Caid, 36
Barbary, 32, 48, 125, 145, 146, 176 Cairo, 127, 248
Barcelona, 237 Calabria, 47, 81, 88, 90
Bardo, 31, 32, 37, 38, 49, 131 Calcar, Jan Stephan van, 134, 136,
Barracan, 3, 128, 222 138, 140, 216, 218, 219
Bazán, Álvaro de, 104, 224, 225 Calvete de Estrella, Juan Cristóbal,
Beckx, David, 251 186, 187, 236
INDEX 305
Cambi, Tommaso, 53, 133, 134, 143 198, 229, 231, 237, 244,
Camel, 33, 92, 98, 189 247–250
Camughi, Anfran, 104, 120 Christianity, 15, 18, 42, 55, 58, 141,
Canes, 48, 89, 145, 196 144, 198, 244–246, 248, 252
Captivity, 10, 235 Christina of Denmark, 196
Caracciolo, Ascanio, 145 Cirni, Antonfrancesco, 172, 203
Caracciolo, Colantonio, 146, 149 Cirta. See Constantine
Citadel, 36, 37, 39, 40, 48, 49, 52,
Carafa, Francesco, 248
53, 77, 98, 103, 133, 147, 148,
Carlo d’Austria. See Amida II
165
Carnival, 88, 127, 129 Cloth-of-gold, 127, 142, 242, 252
Caro, Annibale, 90 Cock, Hieronymus, 187–189
Carthage, 31, 36, 167, 178, 195 Coecke van Aelst, Pieter, 13, 54, 167,
Casale Monferrato, 89, 129, 243 214
Castaldo, Antonino, 84, 124, 136, Colocasio, Vincenzo, 186, 191, 192
140, 141, 147, 148 Colonna, Ascanio, 128, 133, 145, 146
Castel dell’Ovo, 32 Como, 102, 225
Castello di S. Giorgio, 225 Constantine, 84
Castel Nuovo, 32, 83, 86, 127, 131, Conversion, 18, 31, 100, 144,
132, 134, 136, 145, 216 245–250, 252
Castel S. Angelo, 196 Corenzio, Belisario, 60
Castel S. Elmo, 218 Coronation, 77, 82, 92, 93, 95, 96,
Castile, 229 98, 123
Cerezeda, Martín García, 13, 46, 47, Cosenza, 14, 77, 80–83, 86–88, 90,
143 92, 98, 134
Cristoforo dell’Altissimo, 156, 158
Chabbia. See Sabbiyya
Crown, 14, 18, 36, 52, 57, 77, 78,
Charles V, 1, 3, 4, 13, 14, 17, 33, 34,
80–82, 92, 93, 99, 143, 169,
39, 41, 45, 51, 58, 75, 77, 78,
173, 229, 244, 252
82, 84–86, 89, 90, 95, 100, 104,
Crucifix, 56, 57, 81, 82, 139, 250
123–125, 127, 131, 134, 139,
Crusade, 13, 31, 182
141, 142, 144, 147, 163, 167,
Cueva, Alonso de la, 129, 185
174, 175, 177, 178, 182, 183,
Custos, Dominicus, 233
186, 195–198, 216, 229, 231,
232, 234, 239, 240, 242, 250
Chifflet, Jules, 5, 15, 153, 222, 223, D
225–228, 232–237, 239, 240, Daniele da Volterra, 142
242–245, 250, 252, 253, Danza, Paolo, 84, 111
260–263, 266 Dauxon, Anthoine, 265
Christian, 12, 13, 15, 32, 36, 38, Della Torre, 228
46–48, 50, 52, 55, 56, 92, 95, D’Eprémesnil, Baron, 223, 224, 259
100, 125, 129, 131, 133, 144, De Spenis, Geronimo, 124, 129–131,
163, 165, 178, 187, 191, 196, 133, 139, 141, 143–149
306 INDEX
D’Este, Alfonso, 177 F

D’Este, Ercole II, 178, 181 Falcon/falcons, 38, 41, 55, 98
Dinar, 38 Farnese, Alessandro, 144, 176, 225
Dioscuri, 140 Farnese, Ottavio, 142
Djerba, 234 Fatimid Ifriqiya, 182
Djezia. See Lentigesia Fazello, Tommaso, 182, 189
Doetecum, Jan van, 214, 229 Ferrara, 102, 177, 181, 197
Doetecum, Lucas van, 229 Fez, 197
Dolce, Lodovico, 49, 52, 70, 112 Fireworks, 80, 128, 144
Don Juan of Austria, 224, 225, 249 Flanders, 4, 216, 218, 226, 229, 237
Don Luis of Portugal, 100 Florence, 14, 17, 77, 81, 86, 88, 90,
Doria, Andrea, 36, 42, 82, 104, 182, 92, 93, 96, 98, 105, 123, 129,
185, 186 134, 141, 142, 144, 176, 180,
Dragut, 163, 165, 171, 172, 182, 241
185, 186, 196, 197 Fonseca, Girolamo, 146
Dromedary/dromedaries, 41 Fontana, Giovanni Battista, 233
Du Bellay, Jean, 100, 102 Forlani, Paolo, 189, 198
Ducat, 32, 33, 40, 52, 55, 128, 144, Fortune, 88, 95, 231
195, 249 Forum, 90, 144
Duomo, 81, 246 France, 105, 238
Du Praet, Louis, 45, 47, 239 Francesco de’ Rossi. See Salviati
Francesco dell’Indaco, 142, 159
Franchini, Francesco, 81, 109
E Franciscan, 36, 55, 146, 250
Eagle, 87, 125, 187, 234 Francis I, King of France, 88
Egmond, Maximilan van, 102 Franco, Battista, 92
Elephant, 229, 231, 232 Frederick II, Hohenstaufen, 81
Emperor, 1, 4, 10, 13, 14, 27, 36, Fuentes, Diego, 189, 211
41, 43, 46–48, 51, 54, 55, 57,
75, 77, 80–82, 84, 86, 88, 90,
91, 93, 98, 105, 127, 134, 139, G
141, 142, 146, 166, 176, 178, Gaddi, Giovanni, 90, 114
180, 182, 197, 198, 229, 231, Gaeta, 125
232, 237–240 Galeazzi, Agostino, 109
Engraving, 4, 82, 92, 171, 222, 224, Galle, Cornelis, 233
228, 233, 242, 244, 252 Galley, 36, 131, 147, 186
Epicuro, Marco Antonio, 84, 86 Genoa, 41, 46, 80, 125, 133, 134,
Escorial, 216 141, 182, 240
Espersa, Juan Francesco, 128 Germany, 166, 176
Etching, 10, 15, 167, 169, 170, 187, Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo, 93
222, 224, 229, 246, 252 Gineta, 180
Ethiopian, 144, 178 Giovanni da Nola, 84
INDEX 307
Giovio, Paolo, 10, 124, 134, 143, 183, 186, 195, 215, 218, 224,
147, 165, 176, 183, 237, 245 230, 240, 242, 244, 249, 252
Gold, 3, 32, 39–41, 43, 53, 55, 81, Halal, 48, 131, 148
100, 102, 103, 134, 144–146, Halq al-wadi. See Goletta
177, 222, 240, 242, 249, 252 Hammamet, 104, 166
Goletta, 31, 34, 36, 38, 40, 48, 49, Happel, Eberhard Werner, 10
51, 53, 55, 57, 58, 77, 84, 92, Hashish, 40, 148
104, 105, 129, 134, 147, 165, Hassan al-Wazzan, 31, 239. See also
167, 177, 216, 225, 240 Leone Africano
Gómez Zagal, Alvar, 47–48, 55, 82 Heemskerck, Marten van, 92, 108,
Gonzaga, Ercole, 53 109, 114, 216
Gonzaga, Federico, 45, 89, 143 Held, Julius, 218, 222, 224, 231
Gonzaga, Ferrante, 17, 53, 102, 104, Hem, Laurens van der, 252
125, 128, 165, 170, 177, 225 Hercules, 13, 81, 125
Gracián, Diego, 186 Hogenberg, Frans, 71, 189, 224, 260
Granada, 12, 55 Hondius, Hendrik, 229, 230
Granvelle, Antoine Perrenot de, 216, Horse/horses, 32, 33, 41, 45, 51, 52,
218, 224, 234 55, 80, 95, 98, 105, 125, 127,
Granvelle, Nicolas Perrenot de, 13, 131, 146, 196, 197, 242
39, 216, 226, 239 Humanitas , 86, 96, 127
Grazzini, Anton Francesco, 95 Hurtado de Mendoza, Diego, 39, 63,
Greek, 40, 140 176, 186
Groenendael, 236, 239
Guademala, 172
Guldi, Niklaus, 11, 48, 53, 70, 89, I
106 Iberia, 1, 12
Guzmán, Gaspar de, 188 Ibn Abî Dinâr, 24, 154
Ibn Lihyani, 248
Ibn Rushd. See Averroes
H Infidel, 102, 247, 250
Habsburg, 1, 3, 9, 10, 13–15, 17, 27, Insausti, Jerónimo de, 134, 156
31, 34, 36, 41, 42, 47, 50, 52, Istanbul, 235
55, 57, 58, 75, 77, 80, 82, 86, Italy, 1, 174, 228
88, 89, 91, 95, 100, 104, 124,
125, 134, 141, 143, 147, 149,
163, 165, 167, 169, 171, 174, J
182, 183, 185–189, 192, Jason, 13
195–198, 215, 216, 218, 224, Jews, 10, 181
228, 229, 231, 234, 236, 240,
242–245, 249, 252
Hafsid, 1, 10, 14, 15, 18, 31, 36, 37, K
39–41, 77, 80, 104, 125, 139, Kairouan. See Qayrawan
150, 165, 167, 169, 173, 174, Kelibia, 104, 163, 171, 198
308 INDEX
Keller, Diethelm, 10 Madrassa, 32

Khadmallah. See Guademala Madrid, 42, 129, 174, 180, 234, 237
Khayr ed-Dine, 13, 36 Maffei, Nicola, 89, 129
Köln, 189, 224 Maghreb, 182
Mahdia. See Mahdiyya
Mahdiyya, 14, 163, 182–189, 192,
L 195–198, 224
Lagoon, 31, 36, 148, 224 Mahometa. See Hammamet
Lannoy, Filippo, 52, 53 Malaga, 240
Laski, Stanislas, 180 Maliki, 9, 134, 242
Latin, 57, 80, 82, 84, 86, 90–93, Malta, 42, 182, 197
134, 139, 163, 186, 191, 198, Mameranus, Nicolas, 178, 180, 181,
228, 234, 243, 244, 248 185
Laurana, Francesco, 32, 86, 132, 136, Manetti, Latino Giovenale, 90, 143
216 Manlio, Ferdinando, 84, 155
Lega, Giovan Domenico, 84, 86–88
Mantua, 45, 53, 89, 102, 177, 225
Lentigesia, 166, 200
Map, 29, 31, 34, 36, 37, 42, 49, 51,
León, 55, 229
77, 163, 167, 183, 185–189, 198
Leone Africano, 36–38, 40, 148, 239
Maramaldo, Fabrizio, 101
Leoni, Leone, 216
Margarita of Austria, 142
Lepanto, 224, 246, 249
Maria di S. Anna, Girolamo, 247,
Leti, Gregorio, 4, 178, 179
248, 268
Leyva, Sancho de, 197
Marlota, 3, 127, 128, 136, 240
Libyan, 191
Marmirolo, 90, 177
Lille, 47, 80
Mármol Carvajal, Luis del, 124, 148
Lion/lions, 38, 39, 41, 131, 196,
Marquart von Künigsegg, Johannes,
229, 231, 232
100
Loffredo, Giovanni Battista, 147
Marquis de Cañete, 51
López de Gómara, Francisco, 56, 57,
77, 240 Marseille, 129
López de Haro, Alonso, 228, 236, Martirano, Bernardino, 81, 83, 84
239 Marzucca, 128, 165
López, Fernando, 188 Masinissa, 236
Lorraine, Cardinal Jean de, 92 Mastelinus, 236, 237, 240
Los Cobos, Francisco de, 55, 104, Mauretania, 42
115, 166 Maximilian I, 234
Lucca, 75 Medici, Alessandro de’, 92, 95, 143
Luckio, Johann Jacob, 10 Medici, Bernardo di Antonio de’, 213
Medici, Cosimo de’, 176, 177, 213
Medina, 31, 36
M Mediterranean, 1, 10, 15, 31, 32,
Mace, 34, 78, 80, 230 131, 136, 150, 225, 231
Machiavelli, 27 Mehmet II, 3
INDEX 309
Melchior, 244 N
Mendoza, Bernardino de, 55, 57 Naples, 10, 14, 15, 31–34, 42, 53,
Messina, 32, 104, 105, 196 77, 80, 81, 83–90, 93, 96, 98,
Meurs, Jan van, 222 100, 103, 105, 123–136,
Mihrab, 192, 198 138–145, 147–150, 169, 172,
Milan, 36, 45, 88, 134, 165, 166, 175, 182, 186, 194–196, 198,
177, 178, 234 216, 218, 224, 229, 237, 239,
Miranda, Francesco, 52, 53, 69, 70 242–244, 246–250
Mochis, Prospero de, 143, 159 Nasrid, 12, 225
Nautical chart, 32, 76
Modena, 177
Negroni, Pietro, 81, 83, 84, 109,
Monaco, Guglielmo, 132
134, 140
Monastir, 104, 163, 182, 190, 196,
Nelli, Niccolò, 82, 83
198
Nice, 105
Montoiche, Guillaume de, 56, 72, Nocella, Orazio. See Nucula, Horatius
120, 226, 257 Norman, 12, 182
Moor, 11, 38, 40, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48, Notre Dame du Sablon, 233, 242,
52, 56, 57, 133, 145, 147, 167, 244
172, 180, 181, 190 Nucula, Horatius, 186, 189,
Mor, Antonis, 218, 219 190–192, 195, 196, 209
Moresca, 14, 88, 89, 127, 129, 142, Numidia, 183, 191
172, 242 Nunes, Pedro, 118
Moretus, Balthasar, 228, 253
Mori amici, 11, 182, 183, 189, 252
Moriscos, 10, 55, 198, 246 O
Moro amico, 167 Ochino, Bernardino, 248
Morocco, 13, 197 Order of Barbary, 117
Morone, Giovanni, 177 Order of the Golden Fleece, 125
Moros amigos , 11, 252 Orley, Bernard van, 233
Mosque, 32, 39–41, 187, 189, 192, Orsini, Giordano, 185, 256
198, 242 Osorio, Violante de, 249
Ostrich, 32, 33, 41, 92, 131, 143
Muhammad, 56, 57, 181, 191
Ottoman, 1, 9–11, 13, 27, 29, 31,
Muhammad ibn al-Qasim al-Ru’ayni
36, 41, 49, 56, 80, 85, 87, 93,
al-Qayrawani. See Ibn Abî Dinâr
98, 104, 105, 125, 149, 150,
Mühlberg, 178
163, 171, 172, 181–183,
Muleasses, 10, 18, 221, 222, 225 186–189, 192, 195, 197, 215,
Muley Abu Hassan. See Boacen 224, 231, 234, 237, 242, 246,
Musi, Agostino de’, 58, 78, 107 249, 250
Musi, Lorenzo de’, 92, 107
Muslim, 9, 11, 15, 33, 82, 88, 100,
129, 131, 134, 141, 169, 178, P
182, 191, 225, 246–248, 250 Palazzo Ajutamicristo, 125, 152
310 INDEX
Palazzo Colonna, 141 123, 124, 127–130, 134, 136,

Palazzo Medici, 141 138–140, 142, 144, 147, 149,
Palazzo Medici Madama, 142–144 167, 169, 171, 172, 174, 178,
Palencia, 237 179, 183, 196, 198, 215, 216,
Palermo, 18, 75, 83, 104, 105, 123, 218, 219, 222, 223, 226, 228,
125, 165, 166, 182, 192, 195, 229, 231–234, 237, 242–245,
197, 224, 244, 249 250, 252
Pallavicino, Francesco, 177 Portugal, 13, 36, 42, 48, 78, 185
Pannamaker, William, 216, 240 Pozzuoli, 14, 100, 139, 146, 192,
Paolo Costabili, 181 246
Parijs, Sylvester van, 4, 9, 10, 46, 78, Prayer beads, 3, 128, 139
167, 183, 237, 244, 251 Presende, Luigi de, 42, 47, 51, 237,
Pasquali, Andrea, 177, 205 238
Pauluzio, Sigismondo, 70 Presidio, 1, 166, 252
Pedro IV of Aragon, 65 Protestant, 178, 247
Pérez de Vargas, Luis, 166, 171, 202 Punic War, 31
Perfume, 40, 148, 149 Puteanus, Erycius, 228, 244, 264
Perolli, Giovanni Battista, 225 Putte, Eric de. See Puteanus, Erycius
Perrenin, Antoine, 13, 39, 43, 45, 47,
48, 51, 52, 55–57, 226, 239,
Q
242
Qayrawan, 14, 163, 165, 166,
Philip II, 83, 108, 196, 198, 213,
171–173, 182, 183, 185, 186,
218, 224, 225, 263, 264
189, 191, 192, 196–198, 245
Pietri, Francesco de’, 247
Quattromani, Bartolo, 81–83, 108
Pino, Giovanni Battista, 86, 87, 112
Qur’an, 56, 57, 77, 100, 102, 138,
Pio da Carpi, Ridolfo, 88, 89, 92
170, 216, 231, 242, 250
Poggibonsi, 141
Poggioreale, 127, 131
Pontano, Giovanni, 84, 86, 112 R
Pontius, Paul, 4, 5, 222–224, 226, Rabat, 36, 55
228, 229, 232–234, 242–244, Rahmouna, 128, 133, 165
252, 253 Raineri, Antonfrancesco, 143, 159
Pope Julius III, 134, 182 Ras al-Tayba. See Restabia
Pope Paul III, 41, 90, 92, 100, 142, Rebattini, 131, 248
143, 196, 249 Regno, 10, 170, 229, 252
Porta Capuana, 84, 96, 127, 128, 131 Relazione, 29, 34, 37, 48–50, 53
Porta d’Africa, 195 Relazioni, 17, 23, 31, 49, 76, 184
Porta dei Greci, 195 Renzi, Nicola, 143, 159
Porto Farina, 31, 38 Restabia, 31, 38, 61
Portolan, 32, 76 Riparoli, Bernardo, 100
Portrait, 1, 3, 4, 13–15, 27, 41, 46, Roman, Hieronymus, 128
56–58, 78, 89, 90, 99, 100, 105, Romano, Giulio, 113, 116, 205
INDEX 311
Rome, 14, 17, 31, 38, 77, 78, 80, Settala, Manfredo, 225
84, 86, 90–93, 98, 100, 102, Seville, 39, 198
123, 134, 141–144, 148, 176, Sfax, 104
196, 198, 234, 248, 249 S. Felice, 93, 95–98
Rota, Bernardino, 84 Sforza, Francesco, 36, 45, 51, 65
Rubens, Peter Paul, 4, 15, 16, 215, S. Gennaro, 15, 144, 215, 245–250
216, 218–220, 222, 224, 228, S. Giacomo degli Spagnoli, 133, 135,
250, 261, 262, 269 146
S. Giovanni Maggiore, 133
S. Giuseppe, 145
S S. Gudule, 229
Sabbiyya, 14, 163, 171–174, 183, Shahada, 169, 229
186, 189, 195, 197 Sharif, 165, 171–174, 185, 190
Sachs, Hans, 107 Sheikh, 29, 42, 43, 98, 129, 182
Sala, Andrea, 84, 90, 95 Sicily, 10, 12, 14, 31, 34, 42, 75, 77,
Saladin, 225 81, 83, 89, 100, 102, 104, 125,
Salazar, Pedro de, 173, 185–189, 150, 166, 169, 174, 178, 182,
191, 192, 195 195, 197, 229, 237, 238, 245,
Salonika, 185 248, 250
Salviati, 92 Sidi ‘Arafa al-Shabbi, 173
Sanabria, Alonso de, 13, 38, 39, 54, Sidi Abid el-Ghairiani, 192
57 Sidi Ibrahim, 32, 132, 136
Sangallo, Antonio da, 90, 114 Siege, 13, 15, 27, 31, 39, 40, 77, 84,
Sangro, Francesco di, 131 86, 90, 102, 104, 105, 143, 167,
Sanseverino, Ferrante, 146 180, 183, 185–188, 192, 195,
Santacroce, Girolamo, 84 198, 231
Santen, Dirk Janszoon van, 252, 269 Siena, 98, 105, 123, 134
Santiago, 57, 138 Silk, 40, 41, 43, 53, 103, 189, 242
Sardinia, 42 Simancas, 17, 41
Sastrow, Bartholomew, 180, 206 S. James, 56, 138, 146
Scabbard, 3, 41, 55–57, 167, 231, S. John, 187
232 S. Louis, 13
Schepper, Cornelis, 57, 72, 209, 211, S. Marco, 90, 92, 93
263 S. Maria la Nova, 146, 250
Schoen, Erhard, 80 Snijders, Frans, 222
Schrenk van Notzing, Jakob, 233 Solerio, Bernardo, 188
Scimitar, 43, 49, 102, 242 Solomon, 189
Scipio Africano, 193, 195 Soria, Lope de, 65, 66, 69
Scudi. See Ducat Sorrento, 145
Seggio, 128 Sousse, 104, 171, 182, 198
Segovia, 237 Spain, 3, 10, 13, 36, 82, 181, 198,
Serbelloni, Gabrio, 224 225, 228, 234, 237, 241, 246
312 INDEX
Spanish Quarter, 133 Tosini, Michele, 93

S. Paolo, 140 Tournament, 48, 196
Spices, 53, 148 Tovar, Francisco de, 40, 147, 166,
S. Pietro, 196 174
SS. Apostoli, 160 Trapani, 45, 100, 125, 182
S. Spirito, 93, 160 Treaty, 14, 41, 54–57, 75, 123, 139,
Stauroteca, 81, 82 166, 197, 216, 240
Sternsee, Christoph von, 43, 45, 129, Tripoli, 197
143, 174, 180, 240 Triumphal arch, 80, 81, 90, 95, 192,
Stimmer, Tobias, 10, 115, 183, 184, 216
238 Tunis, 1, 3, 4, 10, 11, 13–15, 17, 18,
Strada, Jacopo, 10 27, 29, 31, 32, 34, 36–43, 45,
Studiolo, 142, 143 46, 48–52, 54, 55, 57, 58,
Sufism, 171 75–77, 80–82, 84–86, 88–90,
Suleiman the Magnificent, 3 92, 93, 95, 97, 98, 100,
Sultan, 3, 10, 27, 182, 225, 242 102–105, 123–125, 127–129,
Summonte, Giovanni Antonio, 84 131–134, 136, 139–149, 163,
165–167, 171, 173, 174, 176,
178, 180, 182, 183, 185, 186,
T 192, 196–198, 215, 216, 218,
Tajoura, 104 224–226, 230–234, 236, 237,
Tamerlane, 225 239, 240, 242–250, 252
Tansillo, Luigi, 195, 196 Tunisia, 10, 13, 18, 180, 194, 195
Tapestry, 54, 55, 224, 233, 240, 242 Tunisians, 1, 15, 17, 32, 41, 49, 52,
Tassis, Alexandrine de, 227, 228, 233 55, 86, 88, 95–98, 123, 128,
Tassis, Jean-Baptiste de, 226, 131, 133, 136, 140, 144–146,
232–234, 239, 240, 242–244, 177, 178, 180–183, 191, 216,
252 224, 225, 240, 242, 244, 248,
Tassis, Lamoral de, 228 252
Tassis, Raymond de, 234 Turban, 3, 34, 49, 77, 78, 80, 97,
Tasso, Antonio de, 234 99, 138, 172, 181, 221, 231
Tasso, Bernardo, 102, 234 Turgut Reis. See Dragut
Tasso, Torquato, 102, 119, 228 Turk, 181, 195, 225
Taxis, Joannes Baptista de, 233 Tuscany, 90, 92, 93, 141
Tercios, 187 Tutini, Camillo, 246–248, 255, 267
Timotheus, 87 Tuttavilla, Girolamo II, Count of
Titian, 216, 218 Sarno, 104, 216
Tlemcen, 198
Toledo, García de, 104, 145, 149,
185–188, 192, 195, 237 U
Tomb, 13, 192, 198, 233 Uffizi, 156
Torre d’Oro, 131, 134 Utrecht, 228
INDEX 313
V 222, 223, 226, 228, 229, 232,

Valdés, Juan, 248 234, 242, 244, 250, 252
Valladolid, 198, 240 Vicaria, 161
van Buren, Maximilian, 102, 118 Viceroy, 14, 33, 34, 36, 47, 51, 81,
Vandenesse, Jean de, 178, 236, 237 82, 84, 88, 89, 100, 102, 110,
van der Horst, Nicholas, 4, 222–224, 124, 125, 127, 128, 131–134,
226–229, 232–234, 242–244, 136, 138–141, 144–147, 149,
250, 252 165, 166, 175, 182, 186,
Vannutio, Francesco, 144, 160, 249, 190–192, 195, 216, 218, 224,
269 247, 248
Vasari, Giorgio, 17, 90–95, 97, 142 Vico, Enea, 108, 110, 145, 201
Vassal, 14, 15, 45, 47, 51, 57, 75, 82, Vienna, 30, 50, 54, 93, 95, 97
86, 88, 89, 92, 95, 105, 149, Villa, 32, 37, 38, 49, 100, 102, 127,
166, 167, 178, 180, 198 139, 146
Vavassore, Giovanni Andrea, 34, 35,
77, 79 W
Vega, Juan de, 166, 182, 185–193, Wellesley, William Long, 224
195, 196 Welser, Ludwig, 104
Vélez, 196, 197 White Moors, 11
Venice, 10, 17, 32, 34, 124, 129, Wolrad II, Count of Waldeck, 178
189, 248 Woodcut, 4, 9, 10, 13, 29, 30, 34,
Vermeyen, Jan Cornelisz, 4, 9, 10, 35, 37, 49, 50, 77, 78, 80, 92,
13–15, 27, 29, 46, 54, 55, 97, 125, 163, 164, 170,
76–78, 166–170, 172–174, 183, 183–185, 187, 188, 237, 238
198, 215, 216, 218, 219, 222, Wurtemburg, 174
224, 229, 230, 240, 250, 252,
257, 258, 263
Versailles, 3, 4, 13–15, 27, 28, 41, Z
56–58, 77, 89, 99, 105, 123, Zaghouan, 167, 170, 221
124, 127–130, 134, 136, 137, Zawiya, 192
139, 140, 142, 147, 149, 169, Zaytuna, 36, 39
174, 179, 215, 216, 218, 219, Zazzera, Francesco, 239, 261

Hafsids and Habsburgs in The Early Modern Mediterranean

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NEW TRANSCULTURALISMS, 1400 –1800

Hafsids and Habsburgs

New Transculturalisms, 1400–1800

I am thankful that the editors of the New Transculturalism series stuck

Diane Bodart, Katherine Bond, Giuseppe Capriotti, Danielle Carra-

“Facing Tunis is an original study that artfully interweaves visual and

“Baskins offers a fascinating new approach to the figure of Muley

5 Vanishing Acts 163

Fig. 1.1 Anon, Muley al-Hassan, oil on panel, 92 × 76 cm.

Fig. 1.5 Jules Porreau, Muley Haçan the Sovereign of Tunis

Fig. 2.6 Giovanni Andrea Vavassore, Map of the Siege of Tunis

Fig. 3.7 Diagram of the S. Marco Triumphal Arch, Rome (5 April

Fig. 4.4 Anon., Pedro de Toledo, oil on canvas, 66 × 80 cm,

Fig. 5.6 Anon., “Muley Hassen, King of Tunis,” in Gregorio Leti,

Fig. 6.12 Gaspar Bouttats, “Muley Hazen, King of Tunis,” in Fra

This book is the culmination of research inspired by an anonymous

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

silent about Muley al-Hassan’s response to his own painted likeness—if

Fig. 1.6 Anon, after

Table 1.1 Vermeyen type in print and illustrated books

“Rex Thunissae” (Antwerp: Sylvester van Parijs, 1535), colored woodcut

Salvatore Bono, Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra, Robert C. Davis, and

common feature of early modern experience, pertains to this project.21

Art History and North Africa

A related problem is that studies of the art and architecture of Tunisia

reveal that the King of Tunis is shown swearing an oath of fealty to

of Africa (1573), with detailed information about the political fortunes

Transliteration and Translation

North African ambassador attributed to Domenico Tintoretto (New York:

altro Mediterraneo. Una storia comune fra scontri e integrazione (Rome:

Hafsids and Habsburgs

In the age of Machiavelli, Muley al-Hassen was a Renaissance prince;

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 27

Fig. 2.2 Anon, after

The Lost World of Muley al-Hassan

Porto Farina and Bizerte, adjacent to the ruins of ancient Carthage; in

spent twenty ducats on an organ to be sent to the son of the king of

In addition to commenting on government officials and the king’s

According to Paolo Giovio, Muley al-Hassan complained about his

In Tunis there is a superb and sumptuous Moorish library; as in those

Among the precious items in Muley al-Hassan’s storehouses, there might

The Tunis Campaign

from Madrid, explaining that he was moved by the great injustice of

The King of Tunis in Africa...expertly portrayed from life in that attitude

A lamenting Muley al-Hassan also appears in an undated anonymous

In the Histories of His Own Time, Giovio inserts a long theatrical

…even if I am a humble exile, I dare to hope in your very great justice

The Venetian humanist Lodovico Dolce paraphrased this relazione in his

Fig. 2.8 Anon., “Vignettes,” from El sucesso de la grandissima impresa fata da

Barbarossa addressed the inhabitants of Tunis who were understandably

Barbarossa was not spreading unfounded rumors; he had seized Charles’

In the anonymous “Copy of a Letter from Tunis,” Muley al-Hassan and

Of course, Vermeyen probably witnessed firsthand the scene taking

any other nations, Christian or Ottoman, and to remember the pledge

The artist of the Versailles portrait represents Muley al-Hassan’s gesture

Spanish to maintain the fortress of La Goletta, and to tolerate the practice

4. Sylvie Deswarte-Rosa, “L’expédition de Tunis (1535): images, interpré-

12. Francesco Cerone, “La politica orientale di Alfonso di Aragona: Le

Pedro de Madrazo and Rudolf Beer, “Über Krönungsinsignien und

di Prato.” On Lodowijck van Praet (1488–1555), Flemish knight of

alcun parente, o ver amico, à cui e gli devesse o desiderasse di salvarlo,

94. Sigismondo Pauluzio, Notte d’Aphrica (Messina: Petruzo Spira, 1535),

la vendità de li schiavi (quantunque in non molta quantita, rispetto la