Die Ordnung der Religionen

In 1614-26, the Roman nobleman and humanist Pietro Della Valle travels through the Ottoman Empire, Persia and India. At a time of radical change, he is looking for new allies for Rome: Against the Protestants he tries to restore unity with the Oriental Christians. Against the Ottomans he seeks to form an alliance with the Shiite Shah Abbas I. His travelogue, the "Viaggi" (3 parts, 1650-63), documents his ambitions and contains extensive explanations of many Asian religions, which are then as well as today in the centre of interest.
In the form of a history of concepts and ideas, I examine how Della Valle deals with the great religious diversity of Asia in the "Viaggi" and what role religion plays in the conflicts at that time. What hopes and fears does Della Valle associate with the various religions? What strategies does he pursue in relation to them? Where does he draw borders and build bridges?