Ambrogio Contarini

Ambrogio Contarini was a Venetian merchant and diplomat, known as the author of a noteworthy report on Persia under Uzun Ḥasan.

Born into a noble Venetian family, Contarini as many other noblemen participated in the lucrative trade with the East. He even lived in Istanbul where he worked as a trader until 1463 when the war between the Ottoman Empire and the Venetian Republic broke out.

Hired by the Republic, in 1474 Contarini was sent on a diplomatic mission to Uzun Hassan, the Turkmen ruler and the Venetian ally, in order to arrange a joint attack on the Ottomans. He traveled through central Europe, through Kiev and Georgia, reaching Tabrīz after seventh months. Without having achieved any concrete results, Contarini returned to Venice in 1477.

A written report on his mission was drawn up in the same year and published in 1486 in Vicenza by the printer Leonardo from Basel, with the title “Questo e el viazo de mister Ambrosio Contarin ambasador de la illustrissima signoria de Venesia al signor Uxuncassan Re di Persia”. His report was translated in Latin, French and English in subsequent centuries.