On 30 June 1422, Felice Brancacci and Carlo Federighi left Florence for Cairo, where they were to meet Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Dīn Bārsbay (1422-38). Their embassy sought to establish diplomatic ties with the sultanate, and in particular free access to Mamluk ports and markets for Florentine merchants, at tariffs equal to, or if possible lower than, those paid by the Venetians. The city of Florence had also asked the ambassadors to obtain a funduq and to promote the city's gold coin, the Florin, which they hoped could rival or replace the Venetian Ducat. "And," the city council instructs them, "be careful and avoid being cheated" (96).
The two ambassadors and their attendants first headed to Pisa. The city had been a major maritime power, rival to Genoa and Venice and important trading partner of the Egyptians. Florence had been intermittently at war with Pisa and had conquered it in 1406; the republic then bought the former Pisan port of Livorno (Leghorn) from Genoa in 1421. One of the main objectives of the embassy, as Felice Brancacci relates in his diary, was to present the Florentine republic as the successor and heir to the privileges formerly enjoyed by the Pisans. From Pisa the ambassadors went to Livorno, where they embarked on 13 July. The city council had instructed them to avoid the Genoans and to cultivate good relations with the Venetians. Brancacci relates their stays in the Venetian ports of Zakynthos, Methoni (on the Peloponnese) and Candia (in Crete): as instructed by the city council, they made diplomatic visits to the officers of the Signoria of Venice, offering gifts and stressing the cordial relations between the two commercial republics. Through these descriptions and in the instructions given by the council, it is clear that Venice is an important ally, since it has a network of port cities that provide key stopping points for Florentine ships, and it has granted favored trading status to Florentine merchants. Yet Venice is also a rival (as is notably seen in the ambition to have the Florin replace the Ducat in Levantine trade).
The ship's next stop was Rhodes, where (as the council had instructed them) they visited the Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, bringing him gifts and letters from the Signoria of Florence. The council clearly saw Rhodes as an important ally in their endeavor, for they instructed the ambassadors to inform the Knights of their intention to carry out trade in the region and to request to establish a trading base there. They were also to ask about diplomatic protocol to be observed in Egypt. On 17 August, the ship set sail from Rhodes and arrived in Alexandria on the 19th. The ambassadors spent the next three months in Egypt: Brancacci describes their arrival in Alexandria, their voyage to Cairo where they were received in state by the Sultan, and their return to Alexandria. He gives a vivid description of their reception: the climb on horseback up the stairs to the Cairo citadel, their passage through long corridors lined with heavily-armed Mamluk soldiers, innumerable antechambers where they were asked to wait, their arrival finally in an audience room, filled with armed guards and musicians. They made their way to the center of the room towards the Sultan seated on a dais, bowing and repeatedly kissing the floor as they advanced. The ambassadors were allowed to say a few words of greeting and then were dismissed, told that it was enough: they had to make their way backward, facing the sultan and kissing the floor. It was at a second audience that they presented in detail their requests: the trading privileges previously enjoyed by Pisa, a funduq with a consul, and recognition of the Florin as a currency of trade in the Mamluk territories alongside the Ducat. The sultan granted their three requests. Hence, their mission was in all appearance a success, but of course the devil is in the detail: the application of the agreement depended on the goodwill of a number of Mamluk officials subordinate to the Sultan, who had their own agendas.
Indeed, one of the themes that runs through Brancacci's narrative is the venality of the various Egyptian officials he has to deal with: customs officials, porters, doormen, translators, various civil and military authorities. Everyone, it seems, wants a gift. Everyone explains that his intervention is key to the success of the Florentines' embassy and that he should be richly rewarded for it. The ambassadors had anticipated the need to bring gifts, but clearly the extent of this constant demand strained their budget and offended Brancacci.
When he is not complaining about requests for bakshish, Brancacci offers vivid descriptions of his surroundings. He travels to Matariya, north of Cairo, a sanctuary associated with the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt. He relates his visits to Coptic churches and monasteries in Babylon (Old Cairo), where the Florentines were warmly received. He marvels at the sight of an elephant, of which he offers a long, detailed description. He describes the different colors of turbans worn by Jews, Christians and Muslims. He explains how the Muslims fast during the day in Ramadan ("their Easter") and eat all night.
Geopolitics and religion created dangers for European travelers in the Mamluk lands, even those who had the theoretical protection of the sultan. As the embassy was making its way through the streets of Cairo to the citadel, "someone who is considered a holy man" attacked Federighi with a stick, exclaiming "our prophet demands that we should kill these Western dogs. Look what has become of the Muslim faith. Westerners travel on horse, and we on foot!" (66) A crowd gathered, the Italians were forced off their horses, and a tussle followed: they felt lucky to get away alive and unharmed. Various Mamluk officials subsequently expressed their regret for the incident. The sultan was preoccupied with the activities of Genoan and especially Catalan pirates in the region; he sought assurances from the ambassadors that the Florentines would do what they could to bring them to heel. Brancacci saw a group of thirteen European pilgrims that had been captured in Jerusalem, and reported that the Mamluks had sealed off the Church of Holy Sepulcher to pressure European maritime powers to curb the Catalans.
Mahnaz Yousefzadeh provides a good, readable English translation of Brancacci's Diary, based on Dante Catellaci's 1881 edition of the Italian text. She also provides, in an appendix, translations of the instructions given by the Florentine city council to the two ambassadors. Sultan Barsbay issued two letters to the Florentine Commune in 1422, confirming the privileges he granted to the city: Michele Amari published a translation in Italian and Yousefzadeh provides an English translation based on Amari. These documents help understand the importance and the implications of the mission for both parties.
In an introductory chapter, Yousefzadeh places Brancacci's mission and text in the context of Florentine political, diplomatic and economic history. And also, intriguingly, in the context of art history and artistic patronage in Florence. After his return from Egypt, probably between 1423 and 1427, Felice Brancacci commissioned a decorative program for the Brancacci chapel in the Florentine Church of Santa Maria del Carmine. The frescoes, most of which were painted by Masaccio, focus on the life and miracles of St. Peter. Yousefzadeh focuses on what is probably the best-known painting in the cycle, the Tribute Money, based on the story of Peter and the tax collector (Mt 17:24-27). At Jesus' instructions, Peter miraculously finds a coin in the mouth of a fish, which he gives to the tax collector. In Masaccio's singular version of the story, Peter seems to show reluctance and disdain as he takes the coin from the fish, then hands it to the overeager tax collector. Yousefzadeh sees Peter's attitude as echoing Brancacci's own discomfort and disdain at having to pay endless tips, gifts and bribes during his time in Egypt.
Yousefzadeh's translation makes available Brancacci's fascinating text to a large English-speaking audience of students and scholars. Her introductory essay and translation of related documents helpfully place the diary in context. The book could fit well into a number of undergraduate courses in Mediterranean studies.