Intelligence Report of Spanish Agent Juan De Briones and His Accounts of 1578-1579 Ottomans’ Campaign to Persia

After the Battle of Lepanto (1571) and the Conquest of Tunis (1574), dissonantly exhausting each other s powers in reciprocal supremacy struggle, Ottoman Empire and Spain paused their longrunning domination struggle in Mediterranean by making a truce on February 7, 1578. In Braudel s words, after this moment Ottoman Empire shifted its attention towards East and Spain shifted its attention towards Atlantics. Felipe/Phillip II of Spain tried to closely monitor Ottoman Empire s Persia campaign conducted via Caucasia through his own spy network. This espionage report sent to Felipe II is addressed in the framework of relations of Spain, Ottoman and Persia and is regarded as an invaluable source of information as recordings of foreign observer who witnessed the period during Ottomans 1578-1579 Persia campaign