Sir Edward Barton (c. 1562 – 28 February 1598) was an English diplomat who was Ambassador to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, appointed by Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

of England. Barton went to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in 1578, in the pay of the

Levant Company The Levant Company was an English chartered company formed in 1592. Elizabeth I of England approved its initial charter on 11 September 1592 when the Venice Company (1583) and the Turkey Company (1581) merged, because their charters had expired, ...

, as secretary to the founder of the English embassy in the city, William Harborne and in 1588 was left by Harborne as English agent. By this time, he was fluent in Turkish and well respected in the court. This was a time of war between England and Spain, and Barton was charged with trying to obtain the support of the Ottomans in this struggle, while of course working to defend English commercial interests by for example trying to persuade the Porte to prevent

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

from trading in cloth in Ottoman territory. Barton requested a portrait of Elizabeth I from England which he could show the Sultan and hang in his lodgings to comfort English visitors. In 1590, Poland asked Barton to urge Sultan

Murad III Murad III (; ; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Safavid Iran, Safavids. The long-inde ...

not to attack the Cossacks in Poland, who constantly raided the Empire. His argument was that injury to Poland, which was an active trading partner with England, who were in turn at war with Spain, was in effect aiding "the main enemy of the Turks". Barton did so, and the Sultan agreed to peace with Poland. In 1596, Barton accompanied Sultan Mehmet III in his campaign against Hungary and was present at the siege of

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights, Eger is best known for Castle of Eger, its ...

. During his time in the city there were difficulties with his neighbours, who were offended by the raucous behaviour of guests at Barton's parties. On 28 February 1598, Barton died of dysentery and his body was ceremonially taken from Pera House to the island of Heybeliada for burial in the cemetery of the Christian church. The Fugger agent in Venice reported that "the funeral of the late English envoy was carried out with great solemnity and attended by many distinguished gentlemen and representatives of foreign countries".''The Fugger News-Letters, Second Series'', trans. L.S.R. Byrne (London: John Lane, 1926), p. 302. His grave was later removed to the British Haydarpaşa Cemetery in the district of

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is border ...

References

1560s births 1598 deaths 16th-century English diplomats Ambassadors of England to the Ottoman Empire 16th-century English knights Levant Company {{England-diplomat-stub