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Swedish contacts with the Islamic world were renewed at the time of the Vasa kings,
late 16th and early 17th centuries.
The study of Oriental languages begin at Swedish universities, books are printed with Oriental typefaces,
diplomatic relations are opened with the Crimean Tatars against the common enemy Russia.
The Ottoman Empire still was a threat to the European powers and a possible ally in their internal conflicts. Several European travellers studied the political and social organisation of the Ottoman state with both admiration and deprecation. In 1657 king Charles Gustav sent two ambassadors to the Porte to obtain the Sultan's support against the Russians. One of them was Claes Rålamb who returned with a travelogue and rich collections. After the unsuccessful Turkish siege of Vienna 1683 Turkey was no more a threat to Europe and the interest in Turkish culture increased. The five-year-long sojourn of King Charles XII in Turkey contributed to the interest for Oriental matters, which continued in the 18th century with diplomacy, trade and exploration. Towards the end of the 18th century relations change, and after Napoleon's Egyptian expedition and the Greek liberation war Turkey is not considered any more a European power of equal rank but a tyranny in decline. At the same time the 'Romantic Orientalism' appears within literature and art and scholarly Oriental studies begin in Sweden. Literature: Arne, T.J., Svenskarna och Österlandet. Stockholm 1952. Said, E.W., Orientalism. Stockholm 1993. |