НЕКОЛИКО ДОКУМЕНАТА О УЛОЗИ КОТОРА У ВЕНЕЦИЈАНСКОМ БЕЗБЕДНОСНО-ОБАВЕШТАЈНОМ СИСТЕМУ (1537–1538)
SEVERAL DOCUMENTS ON THE ROLE OF KOTOR IN THE VENЕTIAN SECURITY-INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM (1537–1538)

Summary/Abstract: The paper contains several ducali that the Venetian doge Andrea Gritti sent to Melchior Michiel, the rector and provisor of Kotor (Cattaro), as well as several Michiel’s reports addressed to the Venetian Council of Ten. All documents were created in 1537 and 1538, on the eve and at the beginning of the war between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. The collection and fund in which the documents are preserved are located in the State Archives of Venice and are crucial for understanding the role of Kotor as a postal centre, through which regular written correspondence between Venice and its diplomatic representative (bailo) in Constantinople was conducted. Intelligence data arrived in Kotor from the Ottoman capital, most often through confidants who were employed for various espionage missions. The documents tell us that the rector and provisor of Kotor was asked to send loyal, experienced and worthy persons to the Ottoman capital in order to learn about Turkish war plans. On the other hand, the rector’s reports sent to the Council of Ten bear witness to the actions undertaken by this Venetian governor, who hired individuals who performed intelligence duties. The rector conveyed to the Signoria what he had found out from the confidants who had already returned from Constantinople and warned of one dragoman who was on his way to Venice and whom he deemed not sympathetic to the interests of the Republic. From one of the reports, we find out about the conflicts that the Ottoman Empire had on the other side, against Safavid Persia and in India.

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