Description
One of the most enigmatic figures in Malta’s chequered history was certainly ‘Padre Ottomano’, allegedly the firstborn son of Sultan Ibrahim. This mysterious character and his mother, allegedly Sultana Zafira, were captured by the knights of Malta when they seized a giant galleon as a prize on 28 September 1644. This would lead to Sultan Ibrahim declaring war on the Venetians whom he accused of collaborating with the knights with the resultant bloody war of Candia. In the meantime the young boy was educated in Malta and took the vows of a Dominican friar becoming known as Padre Ottomano. After much-publicized sojourns in Naples, Rome, and Paris, the famous padre also participated in one of the Christian campaigns of the war of Candia. But the great scheme to instal him as a pretender to the throne of Sultan Mehmet IV and therewith cause a rebellion in the Ottoman empire failed. Subsequently he stepped back from the great scene of European politics and ended his days in Malta as prior of POrto Salvo in Valletta and vicar general of the Dominicans. This book tries to sort out the many facts and fiction around this celebrity and the first time presents a true and balanced picture of the events connected with this figure.
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