A really interesting read. You'd think, more than taking out an external enemy, a king, during the middle ages, would be more afraid of losing legitimacy among his subjects.
Maybe this could be considered another historical event/marker of the start of the European Renaissance alongside 1492 and 1453.
It might've helped that Barbarossa was previously a Christian pirate before becoming a Muslim admiral in the Ottoman navy. A sign he's not as motivated by religious dogma than by power. It's much easier to trust someone when interests align.
You're right, it's culturally determined. You'll be surprised to learn that the culture of a mother affect the offspring even in a patriarchal society.
That said, it was a figure of speech. He was definitely not a Cristian converted to Islam and whoever thinks otherwise perhaps got confused because of the notion that his mother was a Cristian perhaps?
Maybe this could be considered another historical event/marker of the start of the European Renaissance alongside 1492 and 1453.
It might've helped that Barbarossa was previously a Christian pirate before becoming a Muslim admiral in the Ottoman navy. A sign he's not as motivated by religious dogma than by power. It's much easier to trust someone when interests align.