150 Reason and Its Rivals (ca. 1550– 1815)opinion called for “a rough and sharp kind of punishment” of misconduct.
Among the topics treated were the question of female camp followers (“a
great disgrace”), the need for regular commissary arrangements, the duties
of various offi cers, eligibility for ser vice, military oaths, military courts and
punishments, plus various off enses such as disobedience, desertion, cow-
ardice, and theft . Ayala had plainly acquired great insights into human
nature in the course of his military ser vice.
Alliances with Infi dels
A third striking indication of the new statecraft in action concerned military
alliances with infi del powers. Th e traditional view in the Middle Ages had
been that Christian powers should not enter into such arrangements. It will be
recalled that King Alfonso IX of León had been excommunicated in the twelft h
century for committing that sin. Commercial treaties with Muslim and other
non- Christian powers were permitted, but not po liti cal or military ones. It may
be noted that this stricture had nothing to do with just- war doctrine. It was
more in the nature of a general precautionary mea sure. Beginning in the six-
teenth century, however, attitudes— and practices— began to change.
Th e decisive step occurred in 1536, when King Francis I of France con-
cluded a military alliance with the Ottoman Empire, directed against his
archrival, Charles V. Th is was done with some caution, in combination with
a commercial agreement. Th e commercial terms were put in writing, but the
po liti cal and military arrangements were secret and oral. Th e plan was for
the two powers to mount a coordinated attack against Charles V in Italy.
Some cooperation did occur. Turkish troops landed briefl y in Italy, and a
French fl eet assisted the Turks in besieging Corfu. When Francis made
peace with Charles in 1538, however, the Ottoman alliance lost its chief ra-
tionale, but it did not mark the end of French- Turkish cooperation. In 1543,
a Turkish fl eet assisted a French one in besieging Nice. Th e Ottoman fl eet
even wintered in 1543– 44 at Toulon, where a slave market and a mosque
were established. Th is development shocked public opinion and proved a
propaganda gift to Charles V. Later in the century, however, the empire
followed France’s lead by concluding a military alliance with Persia in
1595— although this initiative was directed against the Turks and not
against any Christian power.