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Spies for the Sultan: Ottoman Intelligence in the Great Rivalry with Spain
Translated into English for the first time, this is a fascinating history of intelligence practices and their impact on great power rivalries in the early modern era
In the sixteenth century, an intense rivalry between the Ottoman Empire and the Spanish Habsburg Empire and its allies spurred the creation of early modern intelligence. Translated into English for the first time, Emrah Safa Gürkan's Spies for the Sultan reconstructs this history of Ottoman espionage, sabotage, and bribery practices in the Mediterranean world.
Then as now, collecting political, naval, military, and economic information was essential to staying one step ahead of your rivals. Porous and shifting borders, the ability to assume multiple identities, and variable allegiances made conditions in this era ripe for espionage around the Mediterranean. The Ottomans used networks of merchants, corsairs, soldiers, and other travelers to move among their enemies and report intelligence from points far and wide. The Ottoman sultans invested in the novel technologies of cryptography and stenography. Ottoman intelligence operatives not only collected information but also used disinformation, bribery, and sabotage to subvert their enemies.
This history of early modern intelligence is based on extraordinary archival research in Turkey, Spain, Italy, Austria, and Croatia, and it provides important insights into the origins of modern intelligence.
In the sixteenth century, an intense rivalry between the Ottoman Empire and the Spanish Habsburg Empire and its allies spurred the creation of early modern intelligence. Translated into English for the first time, Emrah Safa Gürkan's Spies for the Sultan reconstructs this history of Ottoman espionage, sabotage, and bribery practices in the Mediterranean world.
Then as now, collecting political, naval, military, and economic information was essential to staying one step ahead of your rivals. Porous and shifting borders, the ability to assume multiple identities, and variable allegiances made conditions in this era ripe for espionage around the Mediterranean. The Ottomans used networks of merchants, corsairs, soldiers, and other travelers to move among their enemies and report intelligence from points far and wide. The Ottoman sultans invested in the novel technologies of cryptography and stenography. Ottoman intelligence operatives not only collected information but also used disinformation, bribery, and sabotage to subvert their enemies.
This history of early modern intelligence is based on extraordinary archival research in Turkey, Spain, Italy, Austria, and Croatia, and it provides important insights into the origins of modern intelligence.
- GenresHistory
256 pages, Hardcover
Published May 1, 2024
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86 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 11, 2025
The author addresses a subject both fascinating and seldom plowed: the Ottoman secret service during the 16th century. The effort is considerable and the result is mercifully condensed.
The authors’s approach is to describe the intelligence system of the Ottomans as a block rather than to try to distinguish evolutions and changes. The reader this walks away with a clear understanding of the subject: the intelligence efforts of Istanbul were significant, imaginative (brazen even) and bore significant results.
This interest for both intelligence gathering and all sorts of covert ops was not unique to the Sultans. It actually reflects a larger, Europe-wide, evolution. However the ottomans went about it in a rather peculiar way: their services were not centralised. Each of the prominent households hovering around the sultan had its own (vizirs, capudanpachas, powerbrokers of all sorts).
What also distinguished the Ottoman secret service was that, as they avoided sending permanent diplomatic representation abroad, they did not have the “station chiefs” European powers tended to enjoy, including in Istanbul. Instead, the Porte tended to pressure other states (primarily Venice and Ragusa) to act as information providers.
Despite the rather positive assessment of the author, one cannot but observe quite how crude Ottoman operations were. Apparently they did not use cypher nor were able to break foreign codes. Nowhere do the Turks organise the sort of redundant information transfers that Venice was able to pull out. Moreover, it appears that their adversaries prouves a lot more able to influence Ottoman grandees than the reverse.
Still, these comments are proof of quite how engaging the author manages to to make his book.
The authors’s approach is to describe the intelligence system of the Ottomans as a block rather than to try to distinguish evolutions and changes. The reader this walks away with a clear understanding of the subject: the intelligence efforts of Istanbul were significant, imaginative (brazen even) and bore significant results.
This interest for both intelligence gathering and all sorts of covert ops was not unique to the Sultans. It actually reflects a larger, Europe-wide, evolution. However the ottomans went about it in a rather peculiar way: their services were not centralised. Each of the prominent households hovering around the sultan had its own (vizirs, capudanpachas, powerbrokers of all sorts).
What also distinguished the Ottoman secret service was that, as they avoided sending permanent diplomatic representation abroad, they did not have the “station chiefs” European powers tended to enjoy, including in Istanbul. Instead, the Porte tended to pressure other states (primarily Venice and Ragusa) to act as information providers.
Despite the rather positive assessment of the author, one cannot but observe quite how crude Ottoman operations were. Apparently they did not use cypher nor were able to break foreign codes. Nowhere do the Turks organise the sort of redundant information transfers that Venice was able to pull out. Moreover, it appears that their adversaries prouves a lot more able to influence Ottoman grandees than the reverse.
Still, these comments are proof of quite how engaging the author manages to to make his book.
December 8, 2025
I just finished reading Spies for the Sultan by Emrah Safa Gürkan and was amazed by how such academic depth could be presented in such a gripping narrative. The book scrutinizes Ottoman intelligence and counterintelligence mechanisms within the complex political atmosphere of the 16th century.
However, it achieves this not merely through dry documents, but by delving into the lives, fears, and motivations of the historical figures of the era. In doing so, you are not just observing a state mechanism; you are witnessing a grand picture of the Mediterranean shaped within the triangle of the Ottomans, the Habsburgs, and Venice. It is a unique resource for those wishing to understand the diplomacy and human stories of the period through the lens of espionage. Highly recommended.
However, it achieves this not merely through dry documents, but by delving into the lives, fears, and motivations of the historical figures of the era. In doing so, you are not just observing a state mechanism; you are witnessing a grand picture of the Mediterranean shaped within the triangle of the Ottomans, the Habsburgs, and Venice. It is a unique resource for those wishing to understand the diplomacy and human stories of the period through the lens of espionage. Highly recommended.
November 10, 2025
I don't know if the writing in this book would get me a passing grade in an introductory-level history course. Whether the author or the translator is responsible for this word salad is irrelevant. Rather painful to get through.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews