Dubrovnik’s ‘Antemurale Christianitatis’

Abstract

Probably the most important rhetorical strategy of the Dubrovnik Republic, traditionally used in dealing with Christian rulers in order to defend its state interests, was the one that supported the image of Dubrovnik as a ‘wall of Christianity’. Such a rhetorical argument was not chosen by chance. It was continuously present in diplomatic documents from the Middle Ages onwards and throughout the early modern period. It is particularly represented in the framework of diplomatic communication with Papal Rome. Papal Rome was still seriously interested in supporting the existence of the Dubrovnik Republic during the 17th century. In an effort to gain the addressee’s attention and achieve an effective outcome, Dubrovnik’s diplomatic rhetoric still used different variations of the same basic discourse, which was not just a mere phrase, but also a certain reflection of real circumstances. The image of existence on the very border of Christendom, which highlighted the necessity of taking the republic‘ s needs into account, took on an additional dramatic note during the Candian War (1645–1669). Emphasizing the fragile position of the small republic located between the opposing Venetians and the Ottomans, the Dubrovnik Senate did not fail to point out the exceptional need to preserve Dubrovnik’s neutrality. Highlighting of the geostrategic importance of Dubrovnik and, accordingly, the necessity of maintaining it was particularly evident in the period after the earthquake of 1667.