For nearly 400 years, the Ottoman Empire dominated what is now Turkey, southeastern Europe, and the Middle East. Today, interest in the history of this empire is greater than ever, but at the same time, few people know that the stops had many "dark" secrets that they hid from prying eyes.
1. Fratricide
The early Ottoman sultans did not practice primogeniture, in which the eldest son inherits everything. As a result, a number of brothers often claimed the throne. In the first decades, it was not uncommon for some of the potential heirs to take refuge in enemy states and cause a lot of problems for many years.
When Mehmed the Conqueror besieged Constantinople, his own uncle fought against him from the walls of the city. Mehmed handled the problem with his characteristic ruthlessness. When he ascended the throne, he executed most of his male relatives, including even ordered to strangle his baby brother right in the cradle. He later issued his infamous law which read: The one of my sons who should get the Sultanate should kill his brothers"From now on, each new sultan had to take the throne by killing all his male relatives.
Mehmed III tore out his beard in grief when his younger brother begged him for mercy. But at the same time, he "did not answer him a word," and the boy was executed along with 18 other brothers. And Suleiman the Magnificent silently watched from behind a screen as his own son was strangled with a bowstring when he became too popular in the army and became a danger to his power.
2. Cells for shehzade
The policy of fratricide was never popular with the people and the clergy, and when Ahmed I died suddenly in 1617, it was abandoned. Instead of killing all potential heirs to the throne, they began to imprison them in the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul in special rooms known as Kafes ("cages"). An Ottoman prince could spend his entire life imprisoned in Kafes, under constant guards. And although the heirs were kept, as a rule, in luxury, many shehzade (sons of the sultans) went crazy with boredom or became depraved drunkards. And this is understandable, because they understood that at any moment they could be executed.
3. The palace is like a silent hell
Even for a sultan, life in Topkapı Palace could be extremely bleak. At that time, there was an opinion that it was indecent for the Sultan to talk too much, so a special form of sign language was introduced, and the ruler spent most of his time in complete silence.
Mustafa I considered that this was simply unbearable and tried to abolish such a rule, but his viziers refused to approve this ban. As a result, Mustafa soon went mad. He often came to the seashore and threw coins into the water so that "at least the fish would spend them somewhere."
The atmosphere in the palace was literally saturated with intrigue - everyone fought for power: viziers, courtiers and eunuchs. The women of the harem gained great influence and eventually this period of the empire became known as the "sultanate of women". Ahmet III once wrote to his Grand Vizier: " If I move from one room to another, then 40 people line up in the corridor, when I get dressed, then security is watching me ... I can never be alone".
4. Gardener with the duties of an executioner
The rulers of the Ottomans had complete power over the life and death of their subjects, and they used it without hesitation. Topkapi Palace, where petitioners and guests were received, was a terrifying place. It had two columns on which severed heads were placed, as well as a special fountain exclusively for the executioners so that they could wash their hands. During the periodic purges of the palace from objectionable or guilty people, whole mounds were piled in the courtyard from the tongues of the victims.
Curiously, the Ottomans did not bother to create a corps of executioners. These duties, oddly enough, were entrusted to the palace gardeners, who divided their time between killing and growing delicious flowers. Most of the victims were simply beheaded. But it was forbidden to shed the blood of the Sultan's family and high-ranking officials, so they were strangled. It was for this reason that the head gardener was always a huge muscular man, able to quickly strangle anyone.
5. Death Race
For delinquent officials, there was only one way to avoid the wrath of the Sultan. Beginning in the late 18th century, it became customary for a condemned grand vizier to escape his fate by beating the chief gardener in a race through the palace gardens. The vizier was summoned to meet with the head gardener, and after an exchange of greetings, he was presented with a goblet of frozen sherbet. If the sherbet was white, then the sultan granted the vizier a respite, and if it was red, he should have executed the vizier. As soon as the condemned man saw red sherbet, he immediately had to run through the palace gardens between shady cypresses and rows of tulips. The goal was to reach the gate on the other side of the garden that led to the fish market.
There was only one problem: the vizier was pursued by the head gardener (who was always younger and stronger) with a silk cord. However, several viziers managed to do so, including Khachi Salih Pasha, the last vizier who was the last to participate in such a deadly race. As a result, he became a sanjak-bey (governor) of one of the provinces.
6. Scapegoats
Although the grand viziers were theoretically second only to the sultan in power, they were usually executed or thrown into the crowd to be torn apart as a "scapegoat" whenever something went wrong. During the time of Selim the Terrible, so many grand viziers were replaced that they always began to carry their wills with them. One vizier once asked Selim to let him know in advance if he was to be executed soon, to which the sultan replied that a whole line of people had already lined up to replace him. The viziers also had to calm the people of Istanbul, who always, when they didn’t like something, came in a crowd to the palace and demanded execution.
7. Harem
Perhaps the most important attraction of the Topkapi Palace was the Sultan's harem. It consisted of up to 2,000 women, most of whom were bought or kidnapped slaves. These wives and concubines of the Sultan were kept locked up, and any outsider who saw them was executed on the spot.
The harem itself was guarded and ruled by the chief eunuch, who, because of this, had great power. There is little information about living conditions in the harem today. It is known that there were so many concubines that some of them almost never caught the eye of the Sultan. Others managed to get such a huge influence on him that they took part in solving political issues.
So, Suleiman the Magnificent fell madly in love with the Ukrainian beauty Roksolana (1505-1558), married her and made her his chief adviser. Roksolana's influence on the politics of the empire was such that the grand vizier sent the pirate Barbarossa on a desperate mission to kidnap the Italian beauty Giulia Gonzaga (Countess of Fondi and Duchess of Traetto) in the hope that Suleiman would pay attention to her when she was brought to the harem. The plan eventually failed, and Julia could not be kidnapped.
Another lady - Kesem Sultan (1590-1651) - achieved even more influence than Roksolana. She ruled the empire as regent in place of her son and later grandson.
8. Blood Tribute
One of the most famous features of early Ottoman rule was the devshirme ("blood tribute"), a tax imposed on the non-Muslim population of the empire. This tax consisted in the forced recruitment of young boys from Christian families. Most of the boys were enrolled in the corps of the Janissaries - the army of slave soldiers, who were always used in the first line during the Ottoman conquests. This tribute was collected irregularly, usually resorted to devshirma when the sultan and viziers decided that the empire might need additional manpower and warriors. As a rule, boys aged 12-14 were recruited from Greece and the Balkans, and the strongest were taken (on average, 1 boy per 40 families).
The recruited boys were rounded up by Ottoman officials and taken to Istanbul, where they were entered on a register (with a detailed description in case anyone ran away), circumcised, and forcibly converted to Islam. The most beautiful or smartest were sent to the palace, where they were trained. These guys could achieve very high ranks and many of them eventually became pashas or viziers. The rest of the boys were initially sent to work on farms for eight years, where the children simultaneously learned the Turkish language and developed physically.
By the age of twenty, they were officially Janissaries, the elite soldiers of the empire, who were famous for their iron discipline and loyalty. The blood tribute system became obsolete in the early 18th century, when the children of the Janissaries were allowed to join the corps, which thus became self-sustaining.
9. Slavery as a tradition
Although devshirme (slavery) was gradually abandoned during the 17th century, this phenomenon continued to be a key feature of the Ottoman system until the end of the 19th century. Most of the slaves were imported from Africa or the Caucasus (the Adyghes were especially valued), while the Crimean Tatar raids ensured a constant influx of Russians, Ukrainians and Poles.
Initially, it was forbidden to enslave Muslims, but this rule was quietly forgotten when the influx of non-Muslims began to dry up. Islamic slavery largely developed independently of Western slavery and therefore had a number of significant differences. For example, it was somewhat easier for Ottoman slaves to gain freedom or achieve some kind of influence in society. But at the same time, there is no doubt that Ottoman slavery was incredibly cruel.
Millions of people died during slave raids or from exhausting work. And that's not even talking about the castration process that was used to fill the ranks of the eunuchs. What was the mortality rate among the slaves, evidenced by the fact that the Ottomans imported millions of slaves from Africa, while in modern Turkey there are very few people of African descent.
10 Massacres
With all of the above, we can say that the Ottomans were quite a loyal empire. Apart from devshirme, they made no real attempt to convert non-Muslim subjects. They received Jews after they were expelled from Spain. They never discriminated against their subjects, and the empire was often ruled (we are talking about officials) by Albanians and Greeks. But when the Turks felt threatened, they acted very cruelly.
Selim the Terrible, for example, was very alarmed by the Shiites, who denied his authority as a defender of Islam and could be "double agents" of Persia. As a result, he massacred almost the entire east of the empire (at least 40,000 Shiites died and their villages were razed to the ground). When the Greeks first began to seek independence, the Ottomans resorted to the help of Albanian partisans, who committed a series of terrible pogroms.
As the empire's influence declined, it lost much of its former tolerance for minorities. By the 19th century, massacres had become much more common. This reached its climax in 1915, when the empire, just two years before its collapse, slaughtered 75 percent of the entire Armenian population (about 1.5 million people).
Continuing the Turkish theme, for our readers.
The Ottoman Empire in the six centuries of its existence knew both the greatest triumphs and humiliating defeats. She undeniably played one of the key roles in world history, being closely connected both with the Christian world and with the world of the East. In the Ottoman emperors, European ambitions intertwined with the severity of Eastern despotism, forcing them to keep at court a whole staff of executioners who executed violators of the law of the great Eastern empire.
In books about the history of the Ottoman Empire, executions are often given a separate chapter - so many traditions and features have accumulated in the work of executioners for almost 6 centuries! Each estate in the empire had its own methods of execution: for example, commoners who could not have committed serious crimes were often subjected to the most painful executions, such as hanging on a hook by the rib, impaling or quartering. Civil servants were usually beheaded with a sword, but for the upper class, including employees of the Sultan's court and his entourage, exclusively bloodless methods of execution were chosen: for example, strangulation with a bowstring or a silk scarf. But for different classes, not only certain methods of execution were relied upon, but also certain executioners. So, the lower classes executed the executioners, who were selected from the palace guards of the Sultan's court. Mostly, they were deaf, so that their hand would not tremble when they heard the terrible cries of the condemned during the execution. The elite could only be executed by the head of the palace guard, who tried to finish his job as quickly and painlessly as possible for the condemned.
Each case was individually considered by the Supreme Court, and at this time the convict was waiting for the verdict in the Topkapi Palace. He learned the decision of the court in a very peculiar way: the guard brought him a bowl of sherbet. Each accused wanted to get a cup of white drink - this would mean the removal of all charges. If the sherbet was red, it meant the death penalty. Then the convict drank the drink and within three days the death sentence was carried out. For all estates, this procedure was the same.
But for some people who occupied a particularly high position in the state, the hope of avoiding execution remained even after they were offered red sherbet. The head of the palace guard offered the convict to pass the test: to win a race through the palace to the place of execution - the entire distance took about 300 meters. If a prisoner was the first to run to the place of execution, his punishment was immediately mitigated, replacing the death penalty with expulsion from the state. If the head of the guard wins, he immediately executed the convict through strangulation.
Despite the apparent simplicity of the competition, the prisoner's chances of a favorable outcome were extremely small: only athletes served in the palace guards, and it was extremely difficult to defeat them. In addition, the guards knew perfectly well all the tricks and traps of the path along which they would run. In the entire history of the tradition, only a few prisoners managed to escape death, ahead of the head of the palace guard. One of the lucky ones, Haji Salih Pasha, convicted in November 1822, was able to win the competition. He was doubly lucky: the sultan not only replaced his death penalty with exile, but also offered the post of governor-general of Damascus. However, such cases were rather the exception to the rule: the head of the guard usually easily won the race.
How exactly this tradition began is unknown. The first mention of it dates back to the end of the 18th century, and it ends approximately closer to the middle of the 19th century.
Illustration: "The Grand Vizier gives an audience in Kubbealti", Jean Baptiste Vanmour
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1. How did shekhzade ascend to the throne?
The documented history of the Turkish state begins with Mete-kagan (Oguz-khan. 234-174 BC), who ruled the great Empire of the Huns. Therefore, many traditions of the later period were called "Oguz custom". According to this legal custom, everything in the state belongs to the Dynasty, and the administration of the state according to the Turkish tradition occurs through the joint participation of members of the Dynasty.
There was no official system of selection of the Ruler written out by law. Each of the heirs had the right to ascend the throne. Therefore, the next ruler usually became the most ambitious and the most capable. Although this method of succession ensured the transfer of power to the most deserving heir, it was also the cause of many troubles.
Western engraving depicting Valide Sultan and Şehzade
2. How were sehzade brought up?
They began to study theoretical knowledge in the palace. Well-known scientists were invited as mentors to the shehzade. As a foreign language, they certainly studied Arabic and Persian.
In the third courtyard, Topkapi, under the supervision of ich oglans shehzade, learned to ride a horse and use weapons. For the practical application of the studied theory, shehzade was sent to sanjaks.
Scene from the daily life of the shekhzade in the third courtyard of Topkapi, a miniature from Surname-i Vehbi
3. When did shezhades stop being sent to sanjaks?
After the uprising of Shehzade Bayezid during the time of Kanuni Sultan Suleiman, only the heir to the throne began to be sent to the sanjaks. Selim II's son Murad III and Murad III's son Mehmed III were sent governors to Manisa.
While the heirs were in sanjaks in the position of governors, the rest of the shehzade were in the palace under control. For stability in the state, it was enough for the heir to the throne, who ascended the throne, to acquire offspring, as the rest of the shehzade were executed.
Since the time of Sultan Mehmed III, who ascended the Ottoman throne in 1595, the heirs to the throne did not go to sanjaks, they also remained to live in Topkapi.
Sultan Ahmed I did not execute his younger brother Mustafa when he became Sultan in 1603 because he had no heirs of his own. When they appeared with him, state officials did not allow Mustafa to be executed. Thus, the fratricide that had lasted for more than two centuries for the benefit of the state was put to an end, and all the heirs lived under supervision in Topkapi.
Miniature of Manisa
4. "Vicarage on paper" - how is it?
During the reign of Mehmed III, the tradition of sending all the shehzades as governors to the sanjaks was interrupted, but the heirs to the throne - Veliakht Shehzade - continued to go to the sanjaks.
In the subsequent period, the oldest heir to the throne, although bi even on paper, was certainly appointed governor. Only instead of them, the so-called mutesselims (representatives) left as governors. The son of Sultan Ibrahim Şehzade Mehmed was appointed governor of Manisa when he was 4 years old. With Sultan Mehmed IV, the tradition of appointing sehzade as governors ceased not even on paper.
Qanuni Sultan Suleiman checks the belongings of Şehzade Bayezid (drawing by Munif Fehmi)
5. What sanjaks were allocated for shehzade?
In the Ottoman Empire, during the reign of their father, shekhzades were sent as governors to the regions, next to them was an experienced statesman - lala.
Thanks to the vicegerency, shehzade learned the art of public administration. The main sanjaks for shehzade are Amasya, Kutahya and Manisa. Usually shekhzade went to these three regions, but, of course, possible sanjaks were not limited to them. According to a study conducted by Khaldun Eroglu, throughout the Ottoman history, sehzade were governors in the following sanjaks:
Bursa, Inönü, Sultanhisar, Kutahya, Amasya, Manisa, Trabzon, Shebinkarahisar, Bolu, Kefe (modern Feodosia, Crimea), Konya, Aksehir, Izmit, Balıkesir, Akyazi, Mudurnu, Hamidili, Kastamonu, Menteshe (Mugla), Teke (Antalya) ), Chorum, Nigde, Osmandzhik, Sinop and Chankyr.
Sultan Mustafa III and his sehzade
6. What were the duties of the lal under shehzad?
Until the period of the Empire, a mentor was assigned to the shehzade, who was called "atabey". During the Empire, the same tradition continued, but the mentor was called lala.
When the shehzade went to the sanjak, a mentor was assigned to him, the lala was responsible for managing the sanjak and teaching the shehzade. Letters sent from the palace to the sanjak were addressed to the lala, not to the shehzade. Lala was also responsible for the upbringing of the shehzade and it was he who was obliged to stop any attempts by the heir to oppose his father.
The position of lala was preserved even when the shehzade was no longer sent to sajaks. At that time, lala was selected from the palace staff.
7. Where did the shekhzade live in the palace?
During the reign of Mehmed IV in 1653, male members of the Dynasty, in addition to the Padishah, lived in a 12-room building called "Shimshirlik", its other name is. The building had everything for the comfort of shehzade, only it was surrounded by high walls and boxwoods (shimshir in Turkish). Doors in Shimshirlik were closed with a chain from both sides, black harem aghas were on duty around the clock both in front and behind the door. In 1756, the French merchant Jean-Claude Flash compared the building to a safe cage.
Shehzade, who were kept in Shimshirlik, had no right to go outside and communicate with anyone. In case of illness, doctors were called to Shimshirilik, and they carried out treatment there.
In the 18th century, the life of a shehzade in Shimshirlik became easier. During the reign of Osman III from 1753 to 1757, Shimshirlik was slightly rebuilt, the height of the outer wall was reduced, and more windows were made in the building. When the Padishah went to the palace in Besiktash or some other palace, he began to take the shekhzade with him.
Sultan Ahmed III and his sehzade
8. What did the forced life of shehzadeh locked up in the palace lead to?
Shimshirlik is the result of the fact that the Padishahs no longer wanted to kill their brothers and nephews. But sometimes these shekhzade were used by the malicious enemies of the Sultan for blackmail.
Padishahs usually, apart from official ceremonies, did not see the shekhzade who lived in the Cell. The heirs were not particularly educated. As a result, inconspicuous Padishahs are in power. Especially in the second half of the 17th century, some shekhzdade ascended the throne straight from Shimshirlik, due to the lack of any education and minimal knowledge about the world, they experienced great difficulties in gaining power, their actions were completely directed by statesmen.
The fratricide that lasted for 2 centuries (especially very small shehzade) from the point of view of today plunges us into horror. But all events should be evaluated in their historical outline. In order to avoid fratricide, there had to be a clear system of succession to the throne. It appeared only in the 17th century, when the senior shehzade was the direct heir. Thanks to the legitimization of fratricide in the early period of history, the Ottoman Empire occupies a special place in Turkish history. It was thanks to this law that the Empire managed to survive for 6 centuries.
Sultan Ahmed III with his heirs in the palace in Ayvalik (detail from Levni's miniature)
9. When did the last execution of shehzade take place?
For the first time in the history of the Ottoman Dynasty, Ahmed I did not execute his brother Mustafa, but fratricide was not immediately abolished. After this incident, there were a few more exceptions.
The son of Ahmed I Osman II during his reign ordered the execution of his younger brother Şehzade Mehmed, who was only a couple of months younger than him. Further, Murad IV, who ascended the throne, was also forced to follow the same path, because he could no longer cope with harem conspiracies. Mehmed IV, although he tried to execute his brothers, Valide Sultan and other government officials prevented this. After Mehmed IV's unsuccessful attempt at fratricide, with one exception, the era of the "Law of Fatih" came to an end.
10. What happened to the children of shehzadeh?
Shekhzade, who lived in Shimshirlik, was served by concubines and harem aghas. Agamas could not see each other alone in the shekhzad. They lived in the Shimshirlik building on the first floor. The heirs met all their needs within the walls of the Cell. They could enter into an intimate relationship with any concubine they liked, but they could not have children. If a concubine accidentally became pregnant, she had an abortion. Some still managed to keep the child and raise him outside the palace.
Shehzade was also not allowed to grow a beard. The beard was a symbol of power, so Shekhzadeh, who ascended the throne, began to grow a beard at a special ceremony called "irsal-i dashing" (literally: letting go of the beard)
© Erhan Afyoncu, 2005
FATIHA LAW.
3 posts
In this topic, we will talk about the Law of Mehmed II Fatih and what the "Women's Sultanate" is.
A bit of history. What kind of power awaits our Nurbana - the wife of Sultan Selim II?
The female sultanate is a historical period in the life of the Ottoman Empire, which lasted a little over a century. It is characterized by the transfer of actual power into the hands of the four mothers of the sons of the sultans, whose sons, the ruling padishahs, obeyed them unconditionally, making decisions about domestic and foreign policy, national issues.
So these women were:
Afife Nurbanu Sultan (1525-1583) - Venetian by origin, birth name Cecilia Baffo.
Safiye Sultan (1550-1603) - Venetian by origin, birth name Sophia Baffo.
Mahpeyker Kösem Sultan (1589-1651) - Anastasia, most likely from Greece.
Hatice Turhan Sultan (1627-1683) - Hope, originally from Ukraine.
The correct date of the "Women's Sultanate" should be considered 1574, when Valide Sultan became Nurbanu. And it is Nurban Sultan who should be considered the first representative of the historical period of the Ottoman Empire called the "Women's Sultanate".
Nurbanu began leading the harem in 1566. But Nurban managed to seize real power only during the reign of her son Murad III.
In the year of accession to the throne, Murad III, succumbing to the influence of Nurbanu's mother and the Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha Sokollu, who was an obedient executor of Nurban's will, gave the order to execute all his half-brothers, explaining his decision by Mehmed Fatih's Law on fratricide, issued in 1478. Prior to this, the Law had not been used for 62 years, so there was no need for it.
When Suleiman ascended the throne, he had no rival brothers at that time.
Also, when his son Selim ascended the throne, he (Selim) no longer had brothers. (Mustafa and Bayazet were executed by Suleiman, Cihangir died a natural death and he was not a contender for the throne due to illness, and Mehmet was specially infected with smallpox back in Manisa by competitors for the throne.
After 21 years, when Sultan Murad III, the son of Selim II, the new Sultan, the son of Murad III, dies, Mehmed III again uses this law and again this will be done at the insistence of the mother of the Sultan, already Valide Safie Sultan.
Mehmed III executed 19 of his half-brothers in 1595. This year will go down in history as the bloodiest year of the application of the Fatih Law.
After Mehmed III, Ahmed I will ascend the throne, whose concubine will be the famous Kösem, in the future the imperious and cunning Valide Sultan.
Ahmed I will introduce the practice of imprisoning the brothers of the ruling sultans in one of the palace pavilions, in the "Cafes" (translated as "Cage"), which, however, is not a repeal of the Fatih law, but only supplements the right of choice - death or a cage for life imprisonment. Yes, and Kösem Sultan did not make any effort to introduce this practice, since she was able to interfere in the decision of the sultans much later.
Let us only mention that the ruling Sultan Murad IV, the son of Kösem, who was left without heirs in 1640, out of fear of competition, will try to kill his own brother, another son of Kösem. However, Kösem, who at that time had enormous power, would prevent this, because otherwise, the rule of the Ottoman dynasty would have ceased, and the Ottomans ruled the empire for 341 years.
In fairness, we note that the Fatih Law was in effect until the beginning of the 20th century, until the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist. It was last used in 1808 when Sultan Mahmud II, who took the throne, killed his brother Sultan Mustafa IV.
Who is Mehmet Fatih? Whose name made powerful sultanas and their heirs to the throne tremble with fear throughout almost the entire existence of the Ottoman Empire?
The mention of the name of Mehmet Fatih made Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan and her sons shudder, only Mahidevran slept peacefully, not being afraid that her son would be hit.
Nothing else is to blame for everything - as the LAW ON FRATHY, the law that was invented and introduced by Mehmet Fatih (the Conqueror), the ancestor of Sultan Suleiman, the one who conquered Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul. The law allows the reigning brother to kill all the other brothers so that later they do not encroach on his throne.
Mustafa, the son of Mahidevran, did not fall under the law of Fatih, since he was the eldest and main heir to the Ottoman throne. Of course, Makhidevran was lucky in this, because before him the Sultan had sons from previous concubines - from Fulane and Gulfem. But they died of illness during the years of epidemics, and THEREFORE, Mustafa became the first and main contender for the Ottoman throne.
Mahidevran was not afraid of the Fatih law.
After Mustafa, the Sultan had 6 children from his new beloved concubine and future wife - Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska: daughter Mihrimah and 5 sons (Mehmet, Abdalla, Selim, Bayazet, Cihangir.) Abdallah died in infancy, so they did not consider it necessary to introduce him into the series, it wasn't even mentioned.
To all of the above, Hürrem was most afraid of this damned law, because she knew that having reigned, Mustafa would kill her sons, no matter how kind or merciful he seemed - the law is the law, and the Council will insist on the execution of this law in order to live in peace, without fear that one of the brothers will encroach on the throne.
And now more about the Fatih law:
In 1478, Mehmet II Fatih the Conqueror introduced the Law of Succession, the second more common name of the law of fratricide.
The law states: “Any person who dares to encroach on the Sultan's throne must be immediately executed. Even if my brother wishes to take the throne. Therefore, the heir who becomes the Sultan must immediately execute his brothers in order to preserve order.
Mehmed II introduced his law at the end of his reign. It was supposed to serve as a reliable protection for the heirs of Mehmed II from pretenders to the throne, opponents dissatisfied with the power, primarily from the relatives and half-brothers of the ruling sultan, who could openly oppose the Padishah and revolt.
To prevent such unrest, the brothers were to be executed immediately after the accession of the new sultan to the throne, regardless of whether they encroached on the throne or not. This was very easy to do, since it was impossible to deny that at least once in their lives, legitimate shehzade did not think about the throne.
And finally, we note that the Fatih Law was valid until the beginning of the 20th century, until the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist. It was last used in 1808 when Sultan Mahmud II, who took the throne, killed his brother Sultan Mustafa IV.
The Ottoman Empire lasted until 1922 and collapsed due to defeat in the First World War.
The law of Fatih, or what the great Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska was most afraid of.
Fatih law. The cruel and immutable rule of the existence of the powerful Ottoman dynasty, the inevitable fate that terrifies the powerful sultanas who gave birth to their master shehzade. How was this custom established, which gave rise to many intrigues at the foot of the Sultan's throne?
The mere thought that her sons would become victims of the Fatih Law made Hürrem Sultan's heart shrink in burning anxiety. On the contrary, Mahidevran was not very worried about the fact that this norm would bring misfortune to her son Mustafa in the future. The fact is that Mehmet Fatih legalized true fratricide- the heir who was lucky enough to become the chosen one of Allah and ascend the throne was obliged to kill his brothers in order to avoid confusion and disobedience.
Mustafa was lucky: he was the eldest boy among the children of Sultan Suleiman and did not fall under the Fatih Law. Of course, if the sons of the previous favorites, Gulfem and Fyulane, survived, then Mahidevran would have to desperately intrigue in order to save the life of his only shehzade. However, fate for the time being allowed the main wife of the ruler to remain calm and not think about the sad fate of the mother who lost her son.
But over the head of the sons of the red-haired Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska Sultan, the Law of Fatih swayed like a sword of Damocles. The mother of five boys knew perfectly well that if the son of her rival became a sultan, then they would not live. No matter how kind and understanding brother Mustafa is, he will stop at nothing, wanting to save the state from collapse and civil war. The law is strong, but it's law. The Council will insist on its implementation, denying family feelings in the name of the interests of the country.
More about Fatih Law
Having made many glorious campaigns, Mehmed Fatih became famous among his subjects not only as a conqueror, but also as a legislator. The law “On the Succession to the Throne”, published in 1478, which entered the annals of history as the law on fratricide, stated that any person who dared to encroach on the throne of the sovereign should be put to death. Even if it is the next of kin. It followed from this that the new sultan would first of all be obliged to destroy all potential rivals for supreme power.
This norm appeared at the end of the reign of Mehmed II and was supposed to help secure the rights to the throne of the heirs of Fatih himself, and not of his half-brothers and uncles, who had the opportunity to oppose the reigning padishah and lead the population dissatisfied with the rule. For the purposes of the internal security of the empire, it was necessary to immediately secretly or explicitly eliminate male competitors, all the more so since there were always reasons: every legitimate shehzade dreamed of the throne at least once in his life.
The last time the law on fratricide was implemented was in 1808, when Mahmud II dealt with his brother Mustafa IV. Subsequently, this norm will cease to exist along with the collapse of the Ottoman state after the defeat in the First World War in 1922.
Fatih law: in the struggle for power, all means are good
Any empire rests not only on military conquests, economic strength and powerful ideology. An empire cannot exist for a long time and develop effectively without a stable system of succession to the supreme power. What anarchy can lead to in an empire can be traced to the example of the Roman Empire during its decline, when virtually anyone who offered more money to the Praetorians, the capital guard, could become emperor. In the Ottoman Empire, the question of the order of coming to power was regulated primarily by the Fatih law, cited by many as an example of cruelty and political cynicism.
The Fatih law of succession came about thanks to one of the most famous and successful sultans of the Ottoman Empire The Sultans of the Ottoman Empire: 600 years of conquest, luxury and power 
, Mehmed II (r. 1444-1446, 1451-1481). The respectful epithet "Fatih", that is, the Conqueror, was given to him by admiring subjects and descendants as recognition of his outstanding merits in expanding the territory of the empire. Mehmed II really did his best, having carried out numerous victorious campaigns both in the East and in the West, primarily in the Balkans and in Southern Europe. But his main military act was the capture of Constantinople in 1453. By that time, the Byzantine Empire had actually ceased to exist, its territory was controlled by the Ottomans. But the fall of the great city, the capital of a monumental empire, was a momentous event that marked the end of one era and the beginning of the next. The era in which the Ottoman Empire had a new capital, renamed Istanbul, and she herself became one of the leading forces in the international arena.
However, there are many conquerors in the history of mankind, much less than the great conquerors. The greatness of the conqueror is measured not only by the scale of the lands conquered by him or the number of enemies killed. First of all, it is a concern to preserve what has been conquered and turn it into a powerful and prosperous state. Mehmed II Fatih was a great conqueror - after many victories, he thought about how to ensure the stability of the empire in the future. First of all, this required a simple and clear system of inheritance of power. By that time, one of the mechanisms had already been developed. It was concluded in principle, on which the life of the Sultan's harem was built - "one concubine - one son." Sultans very rarely entered into official marriages, usually concubines gave birth to children. So that one concubine does not receive too much influence and does not start intrigues against sons from other concubines, she could have only one son from the Sultan. After his birth, she was no longer allowed to have intimacy with the master. Moreover, when the son reached a more or less sane age, he was appointed governor in one of the provinces - and his mother had to accompany him.
In politics, brothers are the most dangerous
Nevertheless, difficulties with the succession to the throne still remained - the sultans were not limited in terms of the number of concubines, so they could have many sons. Taking into account the fact that every adult son could be considered a full-fledged heir, the struggle for future power often began even before the death of the previous sultan. In addition, even having received power, the new sultan could not be completely calm, knowing that his brothers were capable of revolting at any moment. Mehmed II himself, having finally come to power, resolved this issue simply and radically - he killed his half-brother, a potential rival in the struggle for power. And then he issued a law according to which the Sultan, after ascending the throne, has the right to execute his brothers in order to maintain the stability of the state and in order to avoid future rebellions.
Fatih law in the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire: the southern bridge between East and West 
formally acted for more than four centuries, until the end of the existence of the sultanate, abolished in 1922. At the same time, one should not make a fanatic out of Mehmed II, who allegedly bequeathed to his descendants to mercilessly destroy all brothers. The Fatih law did not say that each new sultan was obliged to kill his closest relatives. And many sultans did not resort to such drastic measures. However, this law gave the head of the empire the right to ensure the political stability of the entire state through such intra-family “bleeding”. By the way, this law was not a cruel whim of a maniac sultan: it was approved by the legal and religious authorities of the Ottoman Empire, who considered that such a measure was justified and expedient. The Fatih law was often used by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire. So, during his accession to the throne in 1595, Sultan Mehmed III ordered the death of 19 brothers. However, the last case of the application of this extraordinary legal norm was noted long before the fall of the empire: in 1808, Murad II, who came to power, ordered the murder of his brother, the previous Sultan Mustafa IV.
Fatih law: laws and serials
It is unlikely that such a large number of non-Turkish people, that is, those who did not study the acts of Mehmed II in the school history course, would have remembered the Fatih law in our time, if it were not for the notorious TV series “The Magnificent Age”. The fact is that the scriptwriters made the Fatih law one of the main plot springs of the whole story. According to the script, Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, the famous concubine and beloved wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, began to weave her intrigues against other concubines and the eldest son of Sultan Suleiman. At the same time, her main activity was directed precisely against the Fatih law on succession to the throne. The logic was this: Sultan Suleiman had an eldest son born to another concubine. Consequently, it was he who had the highest chances of taking the throne of his father. In this case, the new sultan could use the law of Fatih and kill his brothers, the sons of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska.
Therefore, Hürrem Sultan allegedly sought to get Suleiman to repeal this law. When the Sultan did not want to repeal the law even for the sake of his beloved wife, she redirected her activities. Not being able to abolish the law as a threat to her sons, she decided to abolish the root cause - and began to intrigue against her eldest son Suleiman in order to discredit him in the eyes of his father, and, if possible, destroy him. This activity led to the strengthening of the influence of Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, which thus became the ancestor of the tradition that is known in the history of the Ottoman Empire as the "Women's Sultanate".
The version as a whole is interesting and not devoid of logic, however, it is just an artistic version. Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska is not an activist of the "Women's Sultanate", this phenomenon, characterized by the great influence of harem women on the political situation in the country and even on the supreme power, arose half a century after her death.
In addition, it is again worth remembering that the Fatih law did not provide for the inevitable reprisal of the Sultan over the brothers. It is characteristic that in some cases the law was circumvented: for example, in 1640, before his death, Sultan Murad IV ordered the death of his brother. However, the order was not carried out, since if it was carried out, there would be no direct heirs in the male line. True, the next sultan went down in history as Ibrahim I the Crazy, so the big question is whether the order was not followed correctly - but that's another story ...
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Fatih Law
Fatih Law
Name of the law
founder of the law
Fatih Law- one of the sacred traditions of the Ottoman Empire, used by the sultans when they ascended the throne. The Fatih law called on the sultans who received the throne to kill all their brothers and their male descendants in order to prevent internecine wars in the future.
Cases of the murder of close relatives during the struggle for power in the Ottoman dynasty occurred from the very first days. The execution of a rival in the struggle for the throne, often executed all his sons, regardless of age. Before Murad II, in all cases, only guilty princes were executed: rebels and conspirators, opponents in armed struggle. Murad II was the first to impose punishment on underage innocent brothers, ordering them to be blinded absolutely without their fault. His son, Mehmed II, immediately after ascending the throne, executed his newly born brother. Later, the Sultan issued a collection of laws, one of the provisions of which recognized the killing of innocent shehzade for the sake of maintaining order as legal.
The Ottomans inherited the idea that shedding the blood of members of the dynasty is unacceptable, so the relatives of the sultans were executed by strangling them with a bowstring. The sons of the Sultan killed in this way were buried with honor, usually next to the deceased father. Bayazid II and Selim I did not apply the Fatih law during the accession, since relations with the brothers were sorted out with weapons in their hands, only one son survived Suleiman I, therefore, in its pure form, the Fatih law was applied from the accession of Murad III in 1574 until the death of Murad IV in 1640:
Murad III, the eldest son of Selim II, during his accession in 1574, used his right to execute innocent minor brothers according to the Fatih law. The number of those executed is estimated at five or nine. Mehmed III, the eldest son of Murad III, upon accession to the throne, also ordered the execution of his young brothers. He had 19 of them. Fearing a conspiracy on the part of his own sons, Mehmed introduced a pernicious custom not to send shehzade to sanjaks, but to keep them with him on the territory of the Sultan's palace. Ahmed I, the eldest of the sons of Mehmed III, who survived him, twice ordered the execution of Mustafa, but both times there were troubles that forced the superstitious Sultan to cancel the order. Ahmed's son, Osman, ordered the execution of his brother, Mehmed. Osman himself was soon deposed and killed. Murad IV ordered the execution of at least two of his underage brothers. Despite the fact that he never had sons who survived infancy, Murad ordered the execution of his last brother and only heir, Ibrahim, but his mother saved him, and Ibrahim succeeded Murad on the throne. Ibrahim was killed later, after the rebellion of the Janissaries and the overthrow.
In the future, the Fatih law was no longer applied. It is estimated that 60 shehzade were executed throughout the history of the Ottoman Empire. Of these, 16 were executed for mutinies and 7 for attempted mutiny. All others - 37 - for reasons of common good.
Magnificent century
Mustafa swears he will never execute Mehmed
For the first time, the law ordering the death of their brothers upon accession to the throne is mentioned in the third season. On the hunt, Suleiman tells his son Mehmed about this, and he, having met with Mustafa, asks him if his brother will be able to execute his brother. Shehzade swear to each other that whoever of them ascends the throne, he will never execute the other.
Execution of Bayezid and his sons
In the fourth season, the Fatih law is mentioned in almost every episode. There are three contenders for the throne - shekhzade Mustafa, Selim and Bayazid. The mother of Selim and Bayazid Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska is ready to do anything so that the throne goes to one of her children, and for this purpose she begins to weave intrigues around Mustafa. Bayazid and Mustafa swear to each other that if one of them ascends the throne, he will not kill the other, but the mothers of shehzade actively oppose this. After the execution of Mustafa, only two rivals remain - Selim and Bayazid, and each of them knows that either the throne or death awaits him. Behind Selim is his father, behind Bayezid is his mother. More than one battle takes place between the shehzade, and as a result, their youngest shehzade finds himself in Persian captivity, from where Selim ransoms him and executes him along with all his sons in order to ensure a peaceful rule for himself.
Empire of Kösem
Little Mustafa I before execution in a dungeon
The Law of Fatih is mentioned in the very first episode. Ahmed talks about his childhood, marred by the death of his brothers and the cruelty of his father, who died due to illness and thus allowed Ahmed to ascend the throne. In front of Shehzade, his older brother, Mahmud, was killed, and Dervish Pasha later recalls that if he had not poisoned Mehmed III, Ahmed himself would have been executed. Following the law, the new sultan must take the life of his younger brother Mustafa, but he cannot do this despite pressure from both his mother and Safiye Sultan. He makes several attempts to kill the boy, but each time something stops him. As a result, Ahmed never commits atrocities, which deserves universal recognition. However, because of his mercy, Mustafa has to sit in a cafe all his life, because of which the latter goes crazy.
Execution of sehzade by order of Halime Sultan
After the death of Ahmed, Fatih's law becomes almost the main character of the series: in order to protect both his children and all the shehzade who will still be born in the Empire, Kösem Sultan abolishes fratricide. She, on behalf of her husband, adopts a new law on "the oldest and wisest", according to which the eldest of the Ottoman clan becomes the sultan. But this does not help stop the bloodshed: on the orders of Valide Halime Sultan, who does not take into account the new order, all the nephews of the new padishah are almost executed, and twice. Osman II, having finally ascended the throne, cancels the law adopted by his stepmother and returns fratricide. Thus, the execution of his brother, sehzade Mehmed, becomes possible. Also, even during the life of Ahmed, Iskender, the “lost shehzade”, is executed, but later he turns out to be alive, and Kösem, in order to ensure a peaceful reign for his son in the future and deprive Safiye Sultan of his heir, does everything to deal with him. During the second reign of the insane Mustafa, in order to preserve the order of the children, Kösem is almost executed again, and Osman is killed by the Janissaries. His son, Mustafa, is also executed.
Execution of Shehzade Bayezid
In the second season, the Law of Fatih reigns from the first episode to the last: as soon as Sultan Murad takes power into his own hands, his brothers begin to fear for their freedom, and then for their lives. Gulbahar Sultan, having barely arrived at the palace, immediately begins to tell his son that one day the Sultan will execute him in any way, and therefore it is necessary to overthrow the current padishah before this happens. As soon as shekhzade Kasim commits a misdemeanor, he is put in a cafe, and a few years later, due to the intrigues of his mother, he is completely executed. Despite all the attempts of Valide Kösem Sultan to save the life of all shehzade, Bayazid is the first to die at the hands of the executioners, getting involved in the game of his mother, Kasym is killed the second, and Ibragim, who also spent several years in the cafe, Kösem literally protects with his body. Later, the padishah executes the elderly Mustafa I, who is still sitting in the cafe.
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Süleyman ve Roksolana / Suleiman and Roksolana
Fatih Law
Why is he needed? And who invented it?!
Well, for starters, I remind you, for those who have forgotten or simply did not know what this law is called. The Fatih law is the very law that allows you to kill all your brothers and completely interrupt their lineage (that is, kill all their descendants, in the male line), if (you are still lucky) and you took the throne, that is, you became the Sultan.
For starters, not much about the creator of this very law. Sultan Mehmed II, popularly called Fatih, which means the Conqueror, was the Ottoman Sultan from 1444 to 1446 and from 1451 to 1481. (Great-grandfather of Sultan Suleiman Kanuni).
Mehmed II was born on March 29, 1432 in Edirne. He was the fourth son of Murad II by his concubine Hyuma Hatun (it is assumed that she was of Greek origin).
When Mehmet was six years old, he was sent to the sanjak-sarukhan of Manisa, where he stayed until August 1444 (up to 12 years), that is, until he took the throne.
At the time of accession to the throne, Mehmed II ordered to drown his half-brother Ahmed-Kucuk. After that, in fact, Mehmed II legitimized this custom with his decree, which read: "One of my sons who takes the throne, has the RIGHT to kill his brothers so that there is order on earth." Most experts in the judiciary approved this law. THIS IS THE LAW OF FATIHA.
In fact, this sultan became famous not only for his famous laws, he led numerous conquests during the Balkan wars conquered Serbia, Herzegovina, Albania. In 1467, Mehmed II approached the possessions of the Mamluk rulers of the Karamanids - Ak-Koyunlu - Memluk. In 1479, the Sultan undertook a campaign against the Venetians, who held the vast territory of Albania under control. Mehmed II besieged the fortresses of Shkodra (Ishkodra) and Kruya (Akchahisar). His most important conquest, for which he actually received the nickname "Fatih" was the conquest of Constantinople in May 1453 (at that time he was 21 years old).
Wives and concubines:
From the beginning of the reign of Sultan Mehmet II (since 1444), the main element of the Ottoman family policy was living with concubines, not officially marrying them, as well as the main principle (which I think a lot of people have heard of) “one concubine one son ( Shehzade), as well as the policy of restricting the birth of wives from noble families, was carried out through sexual abstinence. Inside the Sultan's harem, a peculiar policy was probably applied to prevent those concubines who had already given birth to sons into the bed of the Sultan. One of the reasons for the policy of "one concubine one son" was that the mothers of the Sultan's children, when sending their sons to govern the sanjaks, accompanied them and headed their house in the provinces.
1. Emine Gulbahar Khatun: mother of Cevher Khatun and adoptive mother of Bayazid II (As the adoptive mother of Bayazid and the widow of Mehmed, she received a title equal to the title of valid Sultan that appeared later. She died in 1492 in Istanbul. She was buried in the Fatih Mosque. In memory of her adoptive mother Bayazid II, after her death, built the Khatuniya mosque in Tokat).
2. Sitti Myukrime Hatun: was the LEGAL wife of Mehmet, the daughter of the sixth ruler of Dulkadiridy, Suleiman Bey, and the biological mother of Bayezid II. (Her son ascended the throne 14 years later, after the death of Myukrime. Another wife of Mehmed, Emine Gulbahar Hatun, received the then equivalent of the title of Valide Sultan, as his adoptive mother).
3. Gulshah Khatun: mother of the beloved son of Sultan Mehmed II - shehzade Mustafa (1450-1474). (Shehzade died of an illness in June 1474, at the age of 24. Grand Vizier Mahmud Pasha, who had a bad relationship with Mustafa, was blamed for his death. He was strangled, but buried in his mausoleum, which he built and bears his name. And most importantly, on the day of his funeral, the Sultan declared mourning, which was a sign of his changeable character).
4. Chichek khatun: mother of shekhzade Cem
5. Helena Khatun
6. Anna Khatun
7. Alexis Khatun
Sons: Sultan Bayezid II, Shehzade Mustafa, Shehzade Cem and Shehzade Korkut.
Daughters: Dzhevger khatun, Seljuk khatun, Khatije khatun, Iladi khatun, Aishe khatun, Hindi khatun, Ainishah khatun, Fatma khatun, Shah khatun, Huma sultan and Ikmar sultan. (I think many people wonder why the first daughters were called khatun, and the last 2 sultans, I explain, until the reign of Bazid II, the daughters of the sultan were called Khatun, and after his ascension to the throne, the daughters of sultans were called Sultans).
Mehmed II died when he moved from Istanbul to Gebze for the final formation of the army (for the next campaign). While in the military camp, Mehmed II fell ill and died suddenly, as was assumed from food poisoning or due to his chronic illness. There was also a version of poisoning. The body of the lord was brought by Karamani Ahmet Pasha to Istanbul and was put up for parting for twenty days. On the second day after the ascension of Bayezid II to the throne, the body was interred in the mausoleum of the Fatih Mosque. The funeral took place on May 21, 1481.
Fire safety requirements for warehouses of oil and oil products Warehouse buildings intended for the storage of oil, oil products, due to their explosion and fire hazard, must be […]
For almost 400 years, most of the territories of Southeast Europe, Turkey and the Middle East were under the Ottoman Empire. It was founded by brave Turkic horsemen, but the empire soon lost much of its original strength and vitality, in a state of functional dysfunction that kept many secrets.
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10Fratricide
In the early periods, the Ottoman sultans did not practice the principle of primogeniture, when the eldest son is the only heir. Therefore, all existing brothers immediately claimed the throne, and the losers then went over to the side of enemy states and for a long time caused many problems to the victorious sultan.
When Mehmed the Conqueror tried to conquer Constantinople, his own uncle fought against him from the walls of the city. Mehmed solved the problem with his characteristic ruthlessness. After taking the throne, he simply ordered the killing of male relatives, including not sparing his baby brother. Later, he issued a law that took the lives of more than one generation: “And one of my sons who leads the Sultanate must kill his brothers. Most ulema already allow themselves to do this. So let them keep doing it."
From that moment on, each new sultan took the throne, killing all his male relatives. Mehmed III tore his beard out of grief when his younger brother asked not to kill him. But he "did not answer a single word," and the boy was executed along with 18 other brothers. The sight of their 19 wrapped bodies paraded through the streets was said to have made all of Istanbul weep.
Even after the first round of killings, the rest of the Sultan's relatives were also dangerous. Suleiman the Magnificent watched in silence from behind a screen as his own son was strangled with a string; the boy became too popular in the army, so that the Sultan could not feel safe.
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9
In the photo: Kafes, Kurucesme, İstanbul The principle of fratricide was never popular with the people and the clergy, so it was quietly abolished after the sudden death of Sultan Ahmed in 1617. Instead, potential heirs to the throne were kept in the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul in special rooms known as "Kafes" ("cells").
One could spend his whole life imprisoned in Kafes under the constant supervision of the guards. Imprisonment was generally luxurious in terms of conditions, but with very strict restrictions. Many princes went crazy with boredom, or went into debauchery and drunkenness. When the new sultan was brought to the Gate of the Lord so that the viziers could testify their allegiance to him, it may have been the first time he went out into the streets in several decades, which did not affect the new ruler's abilities very well.
In addition, the threat of liquidation from the ruling relative was constant. In 1621, the Grand Mufti refused Osman II's request to strangle his brother. Then he turned to the chief judge, he made the opposite decision, and the prince was strangled. Osman himself was later overthrown by the military, who were to lead his surviving brother out of the Kafes by breaking the roof and pulling him out with a rope. The poor man went two days without food or water, and was probably too mad to notice that he had become a sultan.
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8Silent hell in the palace
Even for the sultan, life in Topkapı could be extremely boring and unbearable. Then it was considered indecent for the Sultan to talk too much, so a special sign language was introduced, and the ruler spent most of his time in complete silence. Sultan Mustafa considered this completely intolerable, and tried to lift such a ban, but his viziers refused. Mustafa soon went mad and threw coins from the shore to the fish for them to spend.
Intrigues in the palace were woven constantly and in large quantities, as viziers, courtiers, and eunuchs fought for power. For 130 years, women from the harem had a great influence, this period became known as the "women's sultanate". Dragoman (chief translator) has always been a powerful person, and always a Greek. The eunuchs were divided along racial lines, the chief black eunuch and the chief white eunuch were often bitter rivals.
At the center of this madness, the Sultan was watched over wherever he went. Ahmet III wrote to the Grand Vizier: “If I go from one room to another, 40 people line up, when I need to put on my pants, I don’t feel the slightest comfort in this environment, so the squire should fire everyone, leaving only three or four people to I could be calm." Passing their days in complete silence under constant surveillance and in such a poisonous atmosphere, several Ottoman sultans of the last period lost their minds.
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7
The power in the Ottoman Empire completely controlled both the life and death of its subjects. Moreover, death was quite common. The first courtyard of the Topkapı Palace, where petitioners and guests gathered, was a terrible place. There were two columns on which severed heads hung and a special fountain in which only executioners could wash their hands. During periodic total “cleansings” in the palace, whole mounds of cut off tongues of the guilty were piled in this courtyard, and a special cannon fired every time the next body was dumped into the sea.
Interestingly, the Turks did not specifically create a corps of executioners. This work was carried out by the palace gardeners, who divided their time between executions and the cultivation of delightful flowers. They decapitated most of their victims. But it was forbidden to shed the blood of members of the royal family and high-ranking officials, strangulation awaited them. As a result, the head gardener was always a huge, muscular man who was capable of strangling any vizier at any moment.
In the early periods, the viziers were proud of their obedience, and any decision of the Sultan was accepted resignedly. The famous vizier Kara Mustafa very respectfully greeted his executioner with the humble words “So be it”, kneeling with a noose around his neck.
In subsequent years, attitudes towards such conduct of business changed. In the 19th century, Governor Ali Pasha fought so hard against the Sultan's men that he had to be shot through the floorboards in his house.
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6
There was one way for the loyal vizier to avoid the Sultan's wrath and stay alive. Beginning in the late 18th century, it became customary that a condemned grand vizier could escape execution by beating the chief gardener in a race through the palace gardens.
The convict was brought to a meeting with the chief gardener, and after an exchange of greetings, a goblet of frozen sherbet was presented to the vizier. If the sherbet was white, this meant that the Sultan had granted a reprieve. If red, then an execution should take place. As soon as the vizier saw the red sherbet, he had to immediately run away.
The viziers ran through the palace gardens between the shady cypresses and rows of tulips, as hundreds of eyes watched from the windows of the harem. The convict's goal was to reach the fish market gate on the other side of the palace. If the vizier reached the gate before the chief gardener, he was simply exiled. But the gardener was always younger and stronger, and, as a rule, was already waiting for his victim at the gate with a silk cord.
However, several viziers managed to avoid execution in this way, including Khachi Salih Pasha, the last one to participate in this deadly race. After running with a gardener, he became governor of one of the provinces.
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5Mauling the viziers
In theory, the grand vizier was the second person after the sultan, but it was he who was executed or thrown to the mob to be torn to pieces whenever things went somehow wrong. Under Sultan Selim the Terrible, there were so many grand viziers that they always began to carry their wills with them. Once one of them asked Selim to let him know in advance if he was going to be executed, to which the Sultan cheerfully replied that a line had already lined up to replace him.
The viziers also had to calm the people of Istanbul, who had a habit of coming to the palace and demanding execution for any failure. It must be said that people were not afraid to storm the palace if their demands were not met. In 1730, a rag-clad soldier named Patrona Ali led a crowd to the palace and they managed to take control of the empire for several months. He was stabbed to death after trying to get a butcher to lend him money for the ruler of Wallachia.
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4
Perhaps the most terrible place in Topkapı Palace was the imperial harem. It numbered up to 2000 women - the wives and concubines of the Sultan, most of them were bought or kidnapped as slaves. They were kept locked up in the harem, and for an outsider, one look at them meant immediate death. The harem itself was guarded and ruled by a chief Black Eunuch, whose position was one of the most powerful in the empire.
Very little information has come down to us about the living conditions in the harem and about the events taking place within its walls. It was believed that there were so many concubines there that the Sultan had never even seen some of them. And others were so influential that they participated in the management of the empire. Suleiman the Magnificent fell madly in love with a concubine from Ukraine, whose name was Roksolana, married her, and made her his chief adviser.
Roksolana's influence was so great that the grand vizier ordered the kidnapping of the Italian beauty Giulia Gonzaga in the hope that she could capture the attention of the Sultan. The plan was thwarted by a brave Italian who broke into Julia's bedroom and took her away on horseback just before the kidnappers arrived.
Kesem Sultan had even more influence than Roksolana, she effectively ruled the empire as regent for her son and grandson. But Turhan's daughter-in-law did not give up her positions without a fight, and Kösem Sultan was strangled with a curtain by Turhan's supporters.
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3Blood tax
In the early Ottoman period, there was a devshirme (“blood tax”), a type of tax in which boys from the Christian subjects of the empire were taken to the service of the empire. Most of the boys became janissaries and slave soldiers who were always at the forefront of all Ottoman conquests. The tax was collected irregularly, only when the empire lacked the available number of soldiers. As a rule, boys aged 12-14 were taken from Greece and the Balkans.
Ottoman officials rounded up all the boys in the village and checked their names against baptismal records from the local church. Then the strongest were selected, at the rate of one boy for every 40 households. Selected children were sent on foot to Istanbul, the weakest were left to die on the roadsides. A detailed description of each child was prepared so that they could be traced when escaping.
In Istanbul they were circumcised and forcibly converted to Islam. The most beautiful or smartest went to the palace, where they were trained so that they could join the elite part of the sultan's subjects. These guys could eventually reach very high ranks, and many of them became pashas or viziers, like the famous Grand Vizier from Croatia Sokollu Mehmed.
The rest of the boys joined the Janissaries. At first they were sent to work on farms for eight years, where they learned Turkish and grew up. At the age of 20, they officially became Janissaries - the elite soldiers of the empire and iron discipline and ideology.
There were exceptions to this tax. It was forbidden to take from the family an only child or children from men who served in the army. For some reason, they did not take orphans and Hungarians. Residents of Istanbul were also excluded on the grounds that they "have no sense of shame." The system of such tribute ceased to exist at the beginning of the 18th century, when the children of the Janissaries were allowed to become Janissaries.
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Slavery remained the main feature of the Ottoman Empire until the end of the 19th century. Most of the slaves were from Africa or the Caucasus (the Circassians were especially valued), and the Crimean Tatars provided a constant stream of Russians, Ukrainians, and even Poles. It was believed that Muslims could not legally be enslaved, but this rule was quietly forgotten when the recruitment of non-Muslims ceased.
The famous scholar Bernard Lewis argued that Islamic slavery appeared independently of Western slavery, and therefore had a number of significant differences. For example, it was easier for Ottoman slaves to gain freedom or take high positions. But there is no doubt that Ottoman slavery was incredibly brutal. Millions of people died from raids or from
exhausting work in the fields. This is not even to mention the castration process used to obtain eunuchs. As Lewis pointed out, the Ottomans brought millions of slaves from Africa, but there are very few people of African descent in modern Turkey today. This speaks for itself.
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In general, the Ottoman Empire was quite tolerant. Apart from the devshirme, they made no real attempt to convert their non-Muslim subjects to Islam and welcomed the Jews when they were expelled from Spain. The subjects were never discriminated against, and the empire was practically ruled by Albanians and Greeks. But when the Turks themselves felt threatened, they could act very cruelly.
Selim the Terrible, for example, was very concerned that the Shiites, who denied his authority as the defender of Islam, could be double agents of Persia. As a result, he marched through the east of his empire, slaughtering livestock and killing at least 40,000 Shiites.
As the empire weakened, it lost its former tolerance, and the minorities had a hard time. By the 19th century, massacres had become more and more common. In the terrible year of 1915, just two years before the collapse of the empire, a massacre of 75 percent of the Armenian population was organized. About 1.5 million people died then, but Turkey still refuses to fully recognize these atrocities as the Armenian genocide.
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Conclusion
It was an article Secrets of the Ottoman Empire. TOP 10 interesting facts. Thank you for your attention!
