Franco - Ottoman alliance The Franco - Ottoman alliance , also Franco - Turkish alliance , was an alliance established in 1536 between the king of France Francis I and the Turkish sultan of the Ottoman Empire Suleiman the Magnificent . The alliance has been called " the first non - ideological diplomatic alliance of its kind between a Christian and non - Christian empire " . It caused a scandal in the Christian world , and was designated as " the impious alliance " , or " the sacrilegious union of the Lily and the Crescent " ; nevertheless , it endured since it served the objective interests of both parties . The strategic and sometimes tactical alliance was one of the most important foreign alliances of France and lasted for more than two and a half centuries , until the Napoleonic Campaign in Egypt , an Ottoman territory , in 1798 – 1801 . The Franco - Ottoman alliance was also an important chapter of Franco - Asian relations . Background . Following the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmet II and the unification of the Middle East under Selim I , Suleiman , the son of Selim , managed to expand Ottoman rule to Serbia in 1522 . The Habsburg Empire thus entered in direct conflict with the Ottomans . Some early contacts seem to have taken place between the Ottomans and the French . Philippe de Commines reports that Bayezid II sent an embassy to Louis XI in 1483 , while Djem , his brother and rival pretender to the Ottoman throne was being detained in France at Bourganeuf by Pierre d ' Aubusson . Louis XI refused to see the envoys , but a large amount of money and Christian relics were offered by the envoy so that Djem could remain in custody in France . Djem was transferred to the custody of Pope Innocent VIII in 1489 . France had signed a first treaty or " Capitulation " with the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt in 1500 , during the rules of Louis XII and Sultan Bayezid II , in which the Sultan of Egypt had made concessions to the French and the Catalans , and which would be later extended by Suleiman . France had already been looking for allies in Central Europe . The ambassador of France Antonio Rincon was employed by Francis I on several missions to Poland and Hungary between 1522 and 1525 . At that time , following the 1522 Battle of Bicoque , Francis I was attempting to ally with king Sigismund I the Old of Poland . Finally , in 1524 , a Franco - Polish alliance was signed between Francis I and the king of Poland Sigismund I . A momentous intensification of the search for allies in Central Europe occurred when the French ruler Francis I was defeated at the Battle of Pavia on February 24 , 1525 , by the troops of Emperor Charles V . After several months in prison , Francis I was forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Madrid , through which he had to relinquish the Duchy of Burgundy and the Charolais to the Empire , renounce his Italian ambitions , and return his belongings and honours to the traitor Constable de Bourbon . This situation forced Francis I to find an ally against the powerful Habsburg Emperor , in the person of Suleiman the Magnificent . Alliance of Francis I and Suleiman . The alliance was an opportunity for both rulers to fight against the rule of the Habsburg . The objective for Francis I was clearly to find an ally in the struggle against the House of Habsburg , although this policy of alliance was in reversal of that of his predecessors . The pretext used by Francis I to seal an alliance with a Muslim power was the protection of the Christians in Ottoman lands , through agreements called " Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire " . King Francis was imprisoned in Madrid when the first efforts at establishing an alliance were made . A first French mission to Suleiman seems to have been sent right after the Battle of Pavia by the mother of Francis I Louise de Savoie , but the mission was lost on its way in Bosnia . In December 1525 a second mission was sent , led by John Frangipani , which managed to reach Constantinople , the Ottoman capital , with secret letters asking for the deliverance of king Francis I and an attack on the Habsburg . Frangipani returned with an answer from Suleiman , on 6 February 1526 : The plea of the French king nicely corresponded to the ambitions of Suleiman in Europe , and gave him an incentive to attack Hungary in 1526 , leading to the Battle of Mohács . The Ottomans were also greatly attracted by the prestige of being in alliance with such a country as France , which would give them better legitimacy in their European dominions . Meanwhile , Charles V was manoeuvring to form a Habsburg - Persian alliance with Persia , so that the Ottoman Empire would be attacked on its rear . Envoys were sent to Shah Tahmasp I in 1525 , and again in 1529 , pleading for an attack on the Ottoman Empire . With the War of the League of Cognac ( 1526 – 1530 ) going on , Francis I continued to look for allies in Central Europe and formed a Franco - Hungarian alliance in 1528 with the Hungarian king Zapolya , who himself had just become a vassal of the Ottoman Empire that same year . In 1528 also , Francis used the pretext of the protection of Christians in the Ottoman Empire to again enter into contact with Suleiman , asking for the return of a mosque to a Christian Church . In his 1528 letter to Francis I Suleiman politely refused , but guaranteed the protection of Christians in his states . He also renewed the privileges of French merchants which had been obtained in 1517 in Egypt . Francis I lost in his European campaigns , and had to sign the " Paix des Dames " in August 1529 . He was even forced to supply some galleys to Charles V in his fight against the Ottomans . However , the Ottomans would continue their campaigns in Central Europe , and besiege the Habsburg capital in the 1529 Siege of Vienna , and again in 1532 . Exchange of embassies . In early July 1532 , Suleiman was joined by the French ambassador Antonio Rincon in Belgrade . Antonio Rincon presented Suleiman with a magnificent four - tiered tiara , made in Venice for 115 , 000 ducats . Rincon also described the Ottoman camp : Francis I explained to the Venetian ambassador Giorgio Gritti in March 1531 his strategy regarding the Turks : Ottoman embassies were sent to France , with the Ottoman embassy to France ( 1533 ) led by Hayreddin Barbarossa , and the Ottoman embassy to France ( 1534 ) led by representatives of Suleiman . Combined operations ( 1534 - 35 ) . Suleiman ordered Barbarossa to put his fleet at the disposition of Francis I to attack Genoa and the Milanese . In July 1533 Francis received Ottoman representatives at Le Puy , and he would dispatch in return Antonio Rincon to Barbarossa in North Africa and then to the Asia Minor . Suleiman explained that " he could not possibly abandon the King of France , who was his brother " . The Franco - Ottoman alliance was by then effectively made . In 1534 a Turkish fleet sailed against the Habsburg Empire at the request of Francis I , raiding the Italian coast and finally meeting with representatives of Francis in southern France . The fleet went on to capture Tunis in the Conquest of Tunis ( 1534 ) on 16 August 1534 and continued raiding the Italian coast with the support of Francis I . In a counter - attack however , Charles V dislodged them in the Conquest of Tunis ( 1535 ) . Permanent embassy of Jean de La Forêt ( 1535 - 37 ) . Trade and religious agreements . Treaties , or capitulations , were passed between the two countries starting in 1528 and 1536 . The catastrophic defeat in the Conquest of Tunis ( 1535 ) at the hands of Andrea Doria motivated the Ottoman Empire to enter into a formal alliance with France . Ambassador Jean de La Forêt was sent to Istanbul , and for the first time was able to become permanent ambassador at the Ottoman court and to negotiate treaties . Jean de La Forêt negotiated the capitulations on 18 February 1536 , on the model of previous Ottoman commercial treaties with Venice and Genoa , although they only seem to have been ratified by the Ottomans later , in 1569 , with ambassador Claude Du Bourg . These capitulations allowed the French to obtain important privileges , such as the security of the people and goods , extraterritoriality , freedom to transport and sell goods in exchange for the payment of the selamlik and customs fees . These capitulations would in effect give the French a near trade monopoly in the Orient . Foreign vessels had to trade with Turkey under the French banner , after the payment of a percentage of their trade . A French embassy and a Christian chapel were established in the area of Galata in Constantinople , and commercial privileges were also given to French merchants in the Turkish Empire . Through the capitulations of 1535 , the French received the privilege to trade freely in all Ottoman ports . A formal alliance was signed in 1536 . The French were free to practice their religion in the Ottoman Empire , and French Catholics were given custody of holy places . The capitulations were again renewed in 1604 , and lasted up until the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 . Military and financial agreements . Jean de la Forêt also had secret military instructions to organize a combined offensive on Italy in 1535 : Through the negotiations of de La Forêt with the vizir Ibrahim Pasha it was agreed that combined military operations against Italy would take place , in which France would attack Lombardy while the Ottoman Empire would attack from Naples . The Ottoman Empire also provided considerable financial support to Francis I . In 1533 , Suleiman sent Francis I 100 , 000 gold pieces , so that he could form a coalition with England and German states against Charles V . In 1535 , Francis asked for another 1 million ducats . The military instructions of Jean de la Foret were highly specific : Finally , Suleiman intervened diplomatically in favour of Francis on the European scene . He is known to have sent at least one letter to the Protestant princes of Germany to encourage them to ally with Francis I against Charles V . Francis I effectively allied with the Schmalkaldic League against Charles V in 1535 . Italian War of 1536 – 1538 . Franco - Ottoman military collaboration took place during the Italian War of 1536 – 1538 following the 1536 Treaty negotiated by Jean de La Forêt . Campaign of 1536 . Francis I invaded Savoy in 1536 . starting the war . A Franco - Turkish fleet was stationed in Marseilles by the end of 1536 , threatening Genoa . While Francis I was attacking Milan and Genoa in April 1536 , Barbarossa was raiding the Habsburg possessions in the Mediterranean . In 1536 the French Admiral Baron de Saint - Blancard combined his twelve French galleys with a small Ottoman fleet belonging to Barbarossa in Alger ( an Ottoman galley and 6 galiotes ) , to attack the island of Ibiza in the Balearic Islands . After failing to capture the tower of Salé , the fleet raided the Spanish coast from Tortosa to Collioure , finally wintering in Marseilles with 30 galleys from 15 October 1536 ( the first time a Turkish fleet laid up for the winter in Marseilles ) . Joint campaign of 1537 . For 1537 important combined operations were agreed upon , in which the Ottomans would attack southern Italy and Naples under Barbarossa , and Francis I would attack northern Italy with 50 , 000 men . Suleiman led an army of 300 , 000 from Constantinople to Albania , with the objective of transporting them to Italy with the fleet . The Ottoman fleet gathered in Avlona with 100 galleys , accompanied by the French ambassador Jean de La Forêt . They landed in Castro , Apulia by the end of July 1537 , and departed two weeks later with many prisoners . Barbarossa had laid waste to the region around Otranto , carrying about 10 , 000 people into slavery . Francis however failed to meet his commitment , and instead attacked the Netherlands . The Ottomans departed from Southern Italy , and instead mounted the Siege of Corfu in August 1537 . where they were met by the French Admiral Baron de Saint - Blancard with 12 galleys in early September 1537 . Saint - Blancard in vain attempted to convince the Ottomans to again raid the coasts of Apulia , Sicily and the March of Ancona , and Suleiman returned with his fleet to Istanbul by mid - September without having captured Corfu . French ambassador Jean de La Forêt became seriously ill and died around that time . Francis I finally penetrated into Italy , and reached Rivoli on 31 October 1537 . For two years , until 1538 , Saint - Blancard would accompany the fleet of Barbarossa , and between 1537 - 38 Saint - Blancard would winter with his galleys in Istambul and meet with Suleiman . During that time , Saint - Blancard was funded by Barbarossa . The campaign of Saint - Blancard with the Ottomans was written down in " Le Voyage du Baron de Saint Blancard en Turquie " , by Jean de la Vega , who had accompanied Saint - Blancard in his mission . Although the French accompanied most of the campaigns of Barbarossa , they sometimes refrained from participating in Turkish assaults , and their accounts express horror at the violence of these encounters , in which Christians were slaughtered or taken as captives . Franco - Habsbourg Truce of Nice ( 1538 ) . With Charles V unsuccessful in battle and squeezed between the French invasion and the Ottomans , kings Francis I and Charles V ultimately made peace with the Truce of Nice on 18 June 1538 . In the truce , Charles and Francis made an agreement to ally against the Ottomans to expel them from Hungary . Charles V turned his attention to fighting the Ottomans , but could not launch large forces in Hungary due to a raging conflict with the German princes of the Schmalkaldic League . On 28 September 1538 Barbarosa won the major Battle of Preveza against the Imperial fleet . At the end of the conflict , Suleiman set as a condition for peace with Charles V that the latter returns to Francis I the lands that were his by right . The Franco - Ottoman alliance was crippled for a while however , due to Francis ' official change of alliance at Nice in 1538 . Open conflict between Charles and Francis would resume in 1542 , as well as Franco - Ottoman collaboration , with the 4 July 1541 assassination by Imperial troops of the French Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Antonio Rincon , as he was travelling through Italy near Pavia . Italian War of 1542 – 1546 and Hungary Campaign of 1543 . During the Italian War of 1542 – 46 Francis I and Suleiman I were again pitted against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V , and Henry VIII of England . The course of the war saw extensive fighting in Italy , France , and the Low Countries , as well as attempted invasions of Spain and England ; but , although the conflict was ruinously expensive for the major participants , its outcome was inconclusive . In the Mediterranean , active naval collaboration took place between the two powers to fight against Spanish forces , following a request by Francis I , conveyed by Antoine Escalin des Aimars , also known as Captain Polin . Failed coordination in the campaign of 1542 . In early 1542 , Polin successfully negotiated the details of the alliance , with the Ottoman Empire promising to send 60 , 000 troops against the territories of the German king Ferdinand , as well as 150 galleys against Charles , while France promised to attack Flanders , harass the coasts of Spain with a naval force , and send 40 galleys to assist the Turks for operations in the Levant . A landing harbour in the north of the Adriatic was prepared for Barberousse , at Marano . The port was seized in the name of France by Piero Strozzi on 2 January 1542 . Polin left Constantinople on 15 February 1542 with a contract from Suleiman outlining the details of the Ottoman commitment for 1542 . He arrived in Blois on 8 March 1542 to obtain a ratification of the agreement by Francis I . Accordingly , Francis I designated the city of Perpignan as the objective for the Ottoman expedition , in order to obtain a seaway to Genoa . Polin , after some delays in Venice , finally managed to take a galley to Constantinople on 9 May 1542 , but he arrived too late for the Ottomans to launch a sea campaign . Meanwhile , Francis I initiated the hostilities with Charles V on 20 July 1542 , and kept with his part of the agreement by laying siege at Perpignan and attacking Flanders . André de Montalembert was sent to Constantinople to ascertain the Ottoman offensive , but it turned out that Suleiman , partly under the anti - alliance influence of Suleyman Pasha , was unwilling to send an army that year , and promised to send an army twice as strong the following year , in 1543 . When Francis I learnt from André de Montalembert that the Ottomans were not coming , he raised the siege of Perpignan . Joint siege of Nice ( 1543 ) . Most notably , the French forces , led by François de Bourbon and the Ottoman forces , led by Barbarossa , joined at Marseilles in August 1543 , and collaborated to bombard the city of Nice in the Siege of Nice . In this action 110 Ottoman galleys , amounting to 30 , 000 men , combined with 50 French galleys . The Franco - Ottomans laid waste to the city of Nice , but were confronted by a stiff resistance which gave rise to the story of Catherine Ségurane . They had to raise the siege of the citadel upon the arrival of enemy troops . Barbarossa wintering in Toulon ( 1543 - 1544 ) . After the Siege of Nice , the Ottomans were offered by Francis to winter at Toulon , so that they could continue to harass the Holy Roman Empire , and especially the coast of Spain and Italy , as well the communications between the two countries : During the wintering of Barbarossa , the Toulon Cathedral was transformed into a mosque , the call to prayer occurred five times a day , and Ottoman coinage was the currency of choice . According to an observer : " To see Toulon , one might imagine oneself at Constantinople " . Throughout the winter , the Ottomans were able to use Toulon as a base to attack the Spanish and Italian coasts , raiding Sanremo , Borghetto Santo Spirito , Ceriale and defeating Italo - Spanish naval attacks . Sailing with his whole fleet to Genoa , Barbarossa negotiated with Andrea Doria the release of Turgut Reis . The Ottomans departed from their Toulon base on May 1544 after Francis I had paid 800 , 000 ecus to Barbarossa . Captain Polin in Constantinople ( 1544 ) . Five French galleys under Captain Polin , including the superb " Réale " , accompanied Barbarossa ' s fleet , on a diplomatic mission to Suleiman . The French fleet accompanied Barbarossa during his attacks on the west coast of Italy on the way to Istanbul , as he laid waste to the cities of Porto Ercole , Giglio , Talamona , Lipari and took about 6 , 000 captives , but separated in Sicily from Barbarossa ' s fleet to continue alone to the Ottoman capital . Jerôme Maurand , a priest of Antibes who accompanied Polin and the Ottoman fleet in 1544 , wrote a detailed account in " Itinéraire d ' Antibes à Constantinonple " . They arrived in Constantinople on 10 August 1544 to meet with Suleiman and give him an account of the campaign . Polin was back to Toulon on 2 October 1544 . Joint campaign in Hungary ( 1543 - 1544 ) . On land Suleiman was concomitantly fighting for the conquest of Hungary in 1543 , as a part of the Little War . French troops were supplied to the Ottomans on the Central European front : in Hungary , a French artillery unit was dispatched in 1543 - 1544 and attached to the Ottoman Army . Following major sieges such as the Siege of Esztergom ( 1543 ) , Suleiman took a commanding position in Hungary , obtaining the signature of the Truce of Adrianople with the Habsburg in 1547 . Besides the powerful effect of a strategic alliance encircling the Hapsburg Empire , combined tactical operations were significantly hampered by the distances involved , the difficulties in communication , and the unpredictable changes of plans on one side or the other . From a financial standpoint , fiscal revenues were also generated for both powers through the ransoming of enemy ships in the Mediterranean . The French Royal House also borrowed large amounts of gold from the Ottoman banker Joseph Nasi and the Ottoman Empire , amounting to around 150 , 000 écus as of 1565 , the repayment of which became contentious in the following years . French support in the Ottoman - Safavid war ( 1547 ) . In 1547 , when Suleiman the Magnificent attacked Persia in his second campaign of the Ottoman - Safavid War ( 1532 – 1555 ) , France sent him the ambassador Gabriel de Luetz to accompany him in his campaign . Gabriel de Luetz was able to give decisive military advice to Suleiman , as when he advised on artillery placement during the Siege of Vān . Consequences . The alliance provided strategic support to , and effectively protected , the kingdom of France from the ambitions of Charles V . It also gave the opportunity for the Ottoman Empire to become involved in European diplomacy and gain prestige in its European dominions . According to historian Arthur Hassall the consequences of the Franco - Ottoman alliance were far - reaching : " " The Ottoman alliance had powerfully contributed to save France from the grasp of Charles V , it had certainly aided Protestantism in Germany , and from a French point of view , it had rescued the North German allies of Francis I . " ' Political debate . Side effects included a lot of negative propaganda against the actions of France and its " unholy " alliance with a Muslim power . Charles V strongly appealed to the rest of Europe against the alliance of Francis I , and caricatures were made showing the collusion between France and the Ottoman Empire . In the late Sixteenth Century , Italian political philosopher Giovanni Botero referred to the alliance as " a vile , infamous , diabolical treaty " and blamed it for the extinction of the Valois dynasty . Even the French Huguenot Francois de La Noue denounced the alliance in a 1587 work , claiming that " this confederation has been the occasion to diminish the glory and power of such a flourishing kingdom as France . " Numerous authors intervened to take the defense of the French king for his alliance . Authors wrote about the Ottoman civilization , such as Guillaume Postel or Christophe Richer , in sometimes extremely positive ways . In the 1543 work " Les Gestes de Francoys de Valois " , Etienne Dolet justified the alliance by comparing it to Charles V ' s relations with Persia and Tunis . Dolet also claimed that it should not be " forbidden for a prince to make alliance and seek intelligence of another , whatever creed or law he may be . " The author François de Sagon wrote in 1544 " Apologye en défense pour le Roy " , a text defending the actions of Francis I by drawing parallels with the " Parable of the Good Samaritan " in the Bible , in which Francis is compared to the wounded man , the Emperor to the thieves , and Suleiman to the Good Samaritan providing help to Francis . Guillaume du Bellay and his brother Jean du Bellay wrote in defense of the alliance , at the same time minimizing it and legitimizing on the ground that Francis I was defending himself against an aggression . Jean de Montluc used examples from Christian history to justify the endeavour to obtain Ottoman support . Jean de Montluc ' s brother Blaise de Montluc argued in 1540 that the alliance was permissible because " against one ' s enemies one can make arrows of any kind of wood . " In 1551 , Pierre Danès wrote " Apologie , faicte par un serviteur du Roy , contre les calomnies des Impériaulx : sur la descente du Turc " . Cultural and scientific exchanges . Cultural and scientific exchanges between France and the Ottoman Empire flourished . French scholars such as Guillaume Postel or Pierre Belon were able to travel to Asia Minor and the Middle East to collect information . Scientific exchange is thought to have occurred , as numerous works in Arabic , especially pertaining to astronomy were brought back , annotated and studied by scolars such as Guillaume Postel . Transmission of scientific knowledge , such as the Tusi - couple , may have occurred on such occasions , at the time when Copernicus was establishing his own astronomical theories . Books , such as the Coran , were brought back to be integrated in Royal libraries , such as the " Bibliothèque Royale de Fontainebleau " , to create a foundation for the " Collège des lecteurs royaux " , future Collège de France . French novels and tragedies were written with the Ottoman Empire as a theme or background . In 1561 , Gabriel Bounin published " La Soltane " , a tragedy highlighting the role of Roxelane in the 1553 execution of Mustapha , the elder son of Suleiman . This tragedy marks the first time the Ottomans were introduced on stage in France . International trade . Strategically , the alliance with the Ottoman Empire also allowed France to offset to some extent the Habsburg Empire ' s advantage in the New World trade , and French trade with the eastern Mediterranean through Marseilles indeed increased considerably after 1535 . After the Capitulations of 1569 , France also gained precedence over all other Christian states , and her authorization was required for when other state wished to trade with the Ottoman Empire . Military alliance under Henry II . The son of Francis I , Henry II , also sealed a treaty with Suleyman in order to cooperate against the Austrian Navy . This was triggered by the 8 September 1550 conquest of Mahdiya by the Genoese Admiral Andrea Doria , for the account of Charles Quint . The alliance allowed Henry II to push for French conquests towards the Rhine , while a Franco - Ottoman fleet defended southern France . Cooperation during the Italian War of 1551 – 1559 . Various military actions were coordinated during the Italian War of 1551 – 1559 . In 1551 , the Ottomans , accompanied by the French ambassador Gabriel de Luez d ' Aramon , succeeded in the Siege of Tripoli . Joint attacks on Italy ( 1552 ) . In 1552 , when Henry II attacked Charles V , the Ottomans sent 100 galleys to the Western Mediterranean . The Ottoman fleet was accompanied by three French galleys under Gabriel de Luez d ' Aramon , who accompanied the Ottoman fleet from Istanbul in its raids along the coast of Calabria in Southern Italy , capturing the city of Reggio . The plan was to join with the French fleet of Baron de la Garde and the troops of the Prince of Salerne , but both were delayed and could not join the Ottomans in time . In the Battle of Ponza in front of the island of Ponza with 40 galleys of Andrea Doria , the Franco - Ottoman fleet managed to vanquish them and capture 7 galleys on 5 August 1552 . The Franco - Ottoman fleet left Naples to go back to the east on 10 August , missing the Baron de la Garde who reached Naples a week later with 25 galleys and troops . The Ottoman fleet then wintered in Chios , where it was joined by the fleet of Baron de la Garde , ready for naval operations the following year . Joint invasion of Corsica ( 1553 ) . On 1 February 1553 , a new treaty of alliance , involving naval collaboration against the Habsburg was signed between France and the Ottoman Empire . In 1553 , the Ottoman admirals Turgut and Koca Sinan together with the French squadron raided the coasts of Naples , Sicily , Elba and Corsica . A Franco - Ottoman fleet accomplished an Invasion of Corsica for the benefit of France . The military alliance is said to have reached its peak in 1553 . In 1555 , the French ambassador Michel de Codignac , successor to Gabriel de Luetz d ' Aramon , is known to have participated to Suleiman ' s Persia n campaign , and to have sailed with the Ottoman fleet in its campaign against Piombino , Elba and Corsica . The Ottoman admiral Turgut Reis was one of the key Ottoman protagonists in these actions . On 30 December 1557 , Henry II wrote a letter to Suleiman , asking him for money , saltpeter , and 150 galleys to be stationed in the West . Through the services of his ambassador Jean Cavenac de la Vigne , Henry II obtained the dispatch of an Ottoman fleet to Italy in 1558 , with little effect however apart from the sack of Sorrento . The Ottomans also contributed by the Ottoman invasion of the Balearic islands in 1558 . The conflict would finally come to an end with the Peace of Cateau - Cambrésis ( 1559 ) and the accidental death of Henry II that same year . The newfound peace between the European powers however created long - lasting disillusionment on the Ottoman side . Support of Protestantism under Charles IX . Ottoman power was also used by the French in the religious conflicts on the European scene . In 1566 , under Charles IX , the French ambassador to the Ottoman Empire intervened in favour of the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Empire , after a request for Ottoman help by William I of Orange , so that a Dutch - Ottoman alliance was considered and a letter was sent from Suleiman the Magnificent to the " Lutherans " in Flanders , offering troops at the time they would request , and claiming that he felt close to them , " since they did not worship idols , believed in one God and fought against the Pope and Emperor " . The Ottoman Empire was indeed known at that time for its religious tolerance . Various religious refugees , such as the Huguenots , some Anglicans , Quakers , Anabaptists or even Jesuits or Capuchins and Jews ( Marrano s ) were able to find refuge at Constantinople and in the Ottoman Empire , where they were given right of residence and worship . Further , the Ottomans supported the Calvinists in Transylvania and Hungary but also in France . The contemporary French thinker Jean Bodin wrote : The Ottoman Empire was at the height of its power , but for the forty years after these events , France would become embroiled in the bitter French Wars of Religion , and Ottoman power would start to slowly weaken after the 1571 Battle of Lepanto . In 1572 , after the death of the Polish king Sigismund Augustus , who had been under a Polish - Ottoman alliance of his own , Poland elected the French Henri de Valois , rather than Habsburg candidates , partly in order to be more agreeable to the Ottoman Empire . The choice of Henri de Valois had apparently been proposed by the Ottoman Grand Vizier Mehmet Sokolli . When Henri left to return to France in 1575 , he was succeeded by Stephen Báthory of Poland , who also had been supported by the Ottomans in obtaining the Transylvanian throne in 1571 . In 1574 , William of Orange and Charles IX of France , through his pro - Huguenot ambassador François de Noailles , Bishop of Dax , tried to obtain the support of the Ottoman ruler Selim II in order to open a new front against the Spanish king Philip II . Selim II sent his support through a messenger , who endeavoured to put the Dutch in contact with the rebellious Moriscos of Spain and the pirates of Algiers . Selim also sent a great fleet in the Capture of Tunis in October 1574 , thus succeeding in reducing Spanish pressure on the Dutch . French Huguenots were in contact with the Moriscos in plans against Spain in the 1570s . Around 1575 , plans were made for a combined attack of Aragonese Moriscos and Huguenots from Béarn under Henri de Navarre against Spanish Aragon , in agreement with the king of Algiers and the Ottoman Empire , but these projects foundered with the arrival of John of Austria in Aragon and the disarmament of the Moriscos . In 1576 , a three - pronged fleet from Constantinople was planned to disembark between Murcia and Valencia while the French Huguenots would invade from the north and the Moriscos accomplish their uprising , but the Ottoman fleet failed to arrive . Ottoman support for France would continue , as well as support for the Dutch and the English after 1580 , and support for Protestants and Calvinists , as a way to counter Habsburg attempts at supremacy in Europe . For a time though , the Ottoman – Safavid War ( 1578 – 1590 ) turned the Ottomans ' attention away from Europe . Ottoman - Persian diplomatic rivalry in Europe . The conflict between the Ottomans and the Persians led the latter to try to forge a counter - acting Habsburg - Persian alliance with other European powers against the Ottoman Empire , particularly with the Habsburg Empire , Italy and Spain . This plan was formalized by two major diplomatic endeavours : the Persian embassy to Europe ( 1599 – 1602 ) , and the Persian embassy to Europe ( 1609 – 1615 ) . The results however seem to have been limited . Continuation . For the three centuries following the beginning of the alliance , the Ottoman effectively continued to respect their commitment to protect Christian communities in their realm . The French kings succeeding to Francis I also generally maintained their pro - Ottoman policy . Numerous Ottoman embassies were received at the French court : from Suleiman to Francis I in 1533 , from Suleiman to Charles IX in 1565 ( embassy of Hajji Murad ) , from Selim II to Charles IX in 1571 , from Murad III to Henry III in 1581 . Henry IV . Even before Henry IV ' s accession to the throne , the French Huguenots were in contact with the Moriscos in plans against Habsburg Spain in the 1570s . Around 1575 , plans were made for a combined attack of Aragonese Moriscos and Huguenots from Béarn under Henri de Navarre against Spanish Aragon , in agreement with the king of Algiers and the Ottoman Empire , but these projects foundered with the arrival of John of Austria in Aragon and the disarmament of the Moriscos . In 1576 , a three - pronged fleet from Constantinople was planned to disembark between Murcia and Valencia while the French Huguenots would invade from the north and the Moriscos accomplish their uprising , but the Ottoman fleet failed to arrive . Henry IV continued the policy of Franco - Ottoman alliance and received an embassy from Mehmed III in 1601 . In 1604 , a " Peace Treaty and Capitulation " was signed between Henry IV and the Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I , giving numerous advantages to France in the Ottoman Empire . An embassy was sent to Tunisia in 1608 , led by François Savary de Brèves . An embassy was again sent to Louis XIII in 1607 , and from Mehmed IV to Louis XIV in 1669 in the person of ambassador Müteferrika Süleyman Ağa , who created a sensation at the French court and even triggered a Turkish fashion . The Orient came to have a strong influence in French literature , as about 50 % of French travel guides in the 16th century were dedicated to the Ottoman Empire . French influence remained paramount at Istanbul , and the Capitulations were renewed in 1604 , forcing all nations to trade under the protection and flag of France , except for England and Venice which were competing , with Holland , for influence in the Levant . In the context of competition for influence between Western powers , relations between France and the Ottoman Empire started to cool significantly . In 1643 , the French lost the custody of the Holy Places to the Greeks . Revival of the alliance under Louis XIV . Initially , the sentiment of Louis XIV towards the Ottoman Empire seems to have been quite negative , and French troops assisted the Austrians against the Turks at the 1664 Battle of Saint - Gothard , or the Venetians against the Turks at the Siege of Candia in 1669 under François de Beaufort . One of the reasons was that Louis XIV was in a shifting alliance with the Habsburgs , especially through his marriage with Marie - Thérèse of Spain in 1660 . Louis XIV ' s mother , Anne of Austria , was a Habsburg too . In 1673 , Louis XIV sent a fleet to the Dardanelles and obtained new capitulations recognizing him as sole protector of the Catholics . Soon Louis XIV revived the alliance to facilitate his expansionist policies . Louis XIV refrained from entering into a formal alliance with the Ottoman Empire , but maintained a cautious neutrality favourable to the Turks , encouraged them to open a new front against the Habsburgs , and effectively took advantage of their conflict with the Holy Roman Empire to further the territorial interests of France . In 1679 and 1680 , Louis XIV through his envoy Guilleragues encouraged the Ottoman Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa to intervene in the Magyar Rebellion against the Habsburg , but without success . Louis XIV communicated to the Turks that he would never fight on the side of the Austrian Emperor Leopold I , and he instead massed troops at the eastern frontier of France . These reassurances encouraged the Turks not to renew the 20 - year 1664 Vasvar truce with Austria and to move to the offensive . From 1683 and for a period of sixteen years , the Holy Roman Empire would be occupied in fighting the Ottoman Empire in the Great Turkish War . Louis XIV refused to participate in the Holy League , a coalition of European powers against the Ottomans , adopting a position of neutrality , and encouraged Mehmed IV to persevere in his fight against the Habsburgs . Pamphleters and poets would criticize the position of Louis XIV , and reinforce the unity of the League , by describing a battle between European " Liberty " on the one hand and " Eastern despotism " associated with " French absolutism " on the other . The Ottoman Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa almost captured Vienna , but was finally repulsed at the Battle of Vienna in 1683 . On that occasion , Louis XIV not only declined to help the Austrians , but on the contrary tried to prevent John III Sobieski from saving the city of Vienna , and he used the opportunity to attack cities in Alsace and parts of southern Germany . He was able to sign the Truce of Ratisbon on 15 August 1684 , giving him several territories which covered the frontier and protected France from foreign invasion . In 1688 , Louis XIV again attacked the Habsburg Empire , in effect relieving pressure from the Ottomans . Louis XIV was reviled for this action , and was called : The Ottoman were able to stage a counter - attack and succeeded in the Siege of Belgrade ( 1690 ) , but they were finally defeated however in 1699 with the Treaty of Carlowitz . Cultural exchanges . By the end of the 17th century , the first major defeats of the Ottoman Empire reduced the perceived threat in European minds , which led to an artistic craze for Turkish things . There was a fashion for Turkish things with " Turquerie " , just as there was a fashion for Chinese things with " Chinoiserie " , both of which became constitutive components of the Rococo style . Orientalism started to become hugely popular , first with the works of Jean - Baptiste van Mour , who had accompanied the embassy of Charles de Ferriol to Istanbul 1699 and stayed there until the end of his life in 1737 , and later with the works of Boucher or Fragonard . French literature also was greatly influenced . In 1704 was published the first French version of " A Thousand and One Nights " . French authors used the East as a way to enrich their philosophical work and a pretext to write comments on the West : Montesquieu wrote the " Lettres Persannes " in 1721 , a satirical essay on the West , Voltaire used the Oriental appeal to write " Zaïre " ( 1732 ) and " Candide " ( 1759 ) . French travelers of the 17th century , such as Jean de Thévenot or Jean - Baptiste Tavernier routinely visited the Ottoman Empire . There were also numerous culinary influences . Coffee was introduced to Marseilles by Pierre de La Roque in 1664 , but the fashion for coffee in Paris was triggered by the Ottoman ambassador to Louis XIV , Suleiman Aga , in 1669 . Fashionable coffee - shops emerged such as the famous " Café Procope " , the first coffee - shop of Paris , in 1689 . In the French high society wearing turban s and caftan s became fashionable , as well as lying on rugs and cushions . A carpet industry " façon de Turquie " ( " in the manner of Turkey " ) was developed in France in the reign of Henry IV by Pierre Dupont , who was returning from the Levant , and especially rose to prominence during the reign of Louis XIV . The Tapis de Savonnerie especially exemplify this tradition ( " the superb carpets of the Savonnerie , which long rivalled the carpets of Turkey , and latterly have far surpassed them " ) which was further adapted to local taste and developed with the Gobelins carpets . This tradition also spread to Great Britain where it revived the British carpet industry in the 18th century . Continued support from Louis XV to the Revolution . Ottoman embassies . In the early 18th century , the Ottoman ruler Ahmed III ( 1703 – 1730 ) endeavoured to send an embassy to France in order to formally establish France as a strategic ally against the common Russian and Austrian enemy . In 1720 , Mehmed Efendi was assigned as Ottoman ambassador to Louis XV and sent to Paris . His embassy of eleven months was notable for being the first ever foreign representation of a permanent nature for the Ottoman Empire . During 1721 - 22 , he visited France on an extensive fact - finding mission , with the objective of gathering information for the modernization of the Ottoman Empire . On his return to the Ottoman capital , Mehmed Çelebi presented his contacts , experiences and observations to the Sultan in the form of a book , a " Sefâretnâme " . Another embassy , led by Mehmed Said Efendi would visit France in 1742 . Diplomatic and technical collaboration . Throughout the period , contacts were varied and multiple . France was willing to help in order to maintain strategic balance in Europe . Through its intervention and that of Ambassador Louis de Villenneuve in negotiating the 1739 Treaty of Belgrade , France effectively supported the Ottoman Empire into maintaining a strong presence in Europe against Austria for several more decades , and " re - emerged in its traditional role as the Ottomans ' best friend in Christendom " . Also , as the Ottoman Empire was losing ground militarily during the 18th century , it made numerous efforts to recruit French experts for its modernization . The French officer and adventurer Claude - Alexandre de Bonneval ( 1675 – 1747 ) went in the service of Sultan Mahmud I , converted to Islam , and endeavoured to modernize the Ottoman army , creating cannon foundries , powder and musket factories and a military engineering school . Another officer François Baron de Tott was involved in the reform efforts for the Ottoman military . He succeeded in having a new foundry built to make howitzer s , and was instrumental in the creation of mobile artillery units . He built fortifications on the Bosphorus and started a naval science course that laid the foundation stone for the later Turkish Naval Academy . Louis XVI . Under Louis XVI from 1783 , a French Military Mission was sent to the Ottoman Empire to train the Turks in naval warfare and fortification building . Up to the French revolution in 1789 , about 300 French artillery officers and engineers were active in the Ottoman Empire to modernize and train artillery units . From 1784 , Antoine Charles Aubert reached Constantinople with 12 experts . The same year , French engineering officers André - Joseph Lafitte - Clavé and Joseph - Monnier de Courtois arrived to instruct engineering drawings and techniques in the new Turkish engineering school " Mühendishâne - i Hümâyûn " established by the Grand - Vizier Halil Hamid Pasha . Mostly French textbooks were used on mathematics , astronomy , engineering , weapons , war techniques and navigation . However , all instructors had to leave with the end of the Franco - Ottoman alliance in 1798 . Revolutionary France . This policy continued after the French revolution , as France was clearly in need of an eastern diversion against its continental enemies . For the Ottoman Empire , the French Revolution was a godsend , since conflict between European powers could only weaken the states that were its traditional enemies . For Sultan Selim III , this was a golden opportunity to modernize , and achieve the " New Order " ( Nizam - i Jedid ) . He established permanent embassies in several European countries , and turned to France for help . Various experts were sent , and in 1795 , French envoy extraordinaire Raymond Verninac attempted to establish a Treaty of Alliance . A young artillery officer by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte was also to be sent to Istanbul in 1795 to help organize Ottoman artillery . He did not go , for just days before he was to embark for the Near East he proved himself useful to the Directory by putting down a Parisian mob in the " whiff of grapeshot " and was kept in France . In 1796 , General Aubert - Dubayet was sent to the Ottoman court with artillery equipment , and French artillerymen and engineers to help with the development of the Ottoman arsenals and foundries . Infantry and cavalry officers were also to train the Spahis and Janissaries , but they were frustrated by the opposition of the Janissaries . This relationship would sour with the ascent of Napoleon I . Epilogue : Napoleon I . With the advent of Napoleon I , France adopted a strongly expansionist policy which put it in direct contact with the Ottoman Empire . Following the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797 , France acquired possessions in the Mediterranean such as the Ionian islands as well as former Venetian bases on the coast of Albania and Greece . Relations with the Ottoman Empire became all of a sudden more conflictual . Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt in 1798 and fought against the Ottomans to establish a French presence in the Middle East , with the ultimate dream of linking with Tippoo Sahib in India . Although the long period of Franco - Ottoman friendship was now over , Napoleon I still claimed great respect for Islam , and appealed to the long history of friendly relations between the Ottoman Empire and France : Napoleon had toppled the Mamluk bey s , the effective rulers of Egypt under nominal Ottoman suzerainty , but still raised the French flag side - by - side with the Ottoman banner throughout the Egyptian territory , claiming his love for Islam , and saying that they were saving the Ottomans from the Mamluks . Selim III however immediately declared a Jihad and sought the help of Britain and Russia , who felt both threatened by Napoleon ' s conquests . On January 9 , 1799 , the Ottoman Empire allied with Russia , and two days later with Great Britain . Britain took the opportunity to ally with the Ottoman Empire in order to repel Napoleon ' s invasion , intervening military as during the Siege of Acre with Admiral William Sidney Smith in 1799 , or under Ralph Abercromby at the Battle of Abukir in 1801 . By 1802 , the French were completely vanquished in the Middle - East . A final , but short - lived , alliance . Soon however , in 1803 , France and Great Britain were again at war , and Napoleon went to great lengths to try to convince the Ottoman Empire to fight against Russia in the Balkans and join his anti - Russian coalition . On its side , Russia vied for Ottoman favour , and succeeded in signing a Treaty of Defensive Alliance in 1805 . Napoleon continued his efforts to win the Ottoman Empire to his cause . He sent General Horace Sebastiani as envoy extraordinary . Napoleon promised to help the Ottoman Empire recover lost territories . He wrote to the Sultan : In February 1806 , following Napoleon ' s remarkable victory in the Battle of Austerlitz in December 1805 and the ensuing dismemberment of the Habsburg Empire , Selim III finally refused to ratify the Russian and British alliances , and recognized Napoleon as Emperor , formally opting for an alliance with France " " our sincere and natural ally " " , and war with Russia and Britain . He also sent Muhib Efendi to Paris as ambassador ( 1806 – 1811 ) . Selim III ' s decisions in favour of France triggered the 1806 Russo - Turkish War and the 1807 Anglo - Turkish War . Selim III repelled the British fleet of John Thomas Duckworth with the help of Sebastiani , but lost several major encounters against Russia , and he was finally toppled by his Janissaries as he was trying to reform his army , and replaced by Mustafa IV . Mustafa IV however persisted with the Franco - Ottoman alliance , and sent ambassador Halet Efendi to Paris to work out the details . Concurrently , Napoleon also formed a Franco - Persian alliance in 1807 , through the signature of the Treaty of Finkenstein . In a final reversal however , Napoleon I finally vanquished Russia at the Battle of Friedland in July 1807 . The alliance between France and the Ottoman Empire was maintained , and a peace settlement was brokered between Russia and the Ottomans , but the territories the Ottomans had been promised ( Moldavia and Wallachia ) through the Treaty of Tilsit were never returned , although the Ottomans themselves had complied with their part of the agreement by moving their troops south of the Danube . Faced with betrayal by Russia , and the failure of France to have the agreement enforced , the Ottoman Empire , now ruled by Mahmud II , finally signed on 5 January 1809 a Treaty of Peace , Commerce and Secret Alliance with Great Britain , which was now at war with both France and Russia . In 1812 , through the Treaty of Bucharest , the Ottoman Empire and Russia agreed to make peace , just as Russia was anxious to liberate this southern front in anticipation of Napoleon ' s Invasion of Russia , with Russia keeping Bessarabia and the Ottomans regaining Wallachia and Moldavia . In the post - Napoleonic world , at the 1815 Congress of Vienna , the Ottoman Empire was still recognized as an essential part of the European status quo . Crimean War and Syria . In the Crimean War , a French - British - Ottoman alliance against Russia was signed on 12 March 1854 . In another example of cooperation , in 1860 , France later intervened in the Ottoman territory of Syria , with the agreement of the Ottoman Empire , with the objective to fulfill its mission to protect Christians in the Middle - East , following massacres of Maronite Christians . At that time , France , led by Napoleon III , claimed to continue its ancient role as protector of Christians in the Ottoman Empire .