The Crescent of the Sultan

As the performance came to an end, the first day of the wedding banquet came to an end.

It will be held at Belem Palace for six consecutive days, but Emperor Sai will definitely not go, he still has to do business.

It was already midnight, and the guests were leaving Belem Palace one after another. After seeing off several big shots, Paul immediately led the royal carriage to the palace gate.

"Your Majesty, this way."

Paul looked at the two people behind him with a look of shame. Before the Grand Mufti left, the two people were already as close as one person.

Fortunately, it only took a minute or two. Soon, Paul led the two of them into the carriage.

Not long after, the carriage had returned to Topkapi Palace, and Emperor Seth and Anna immediately returned to the palace.

Across the sea, there was only a little bit of light left in the Aya Sophia Mosque. The crescent moon gradually disappeared into the clouds. Anna closed the curtains and the room fell into darkness.

The night was very long. Gradually, the new moon left the clouds and penetrated into the clouds again. Between the penetration and withdrawal, many stars scattered, and the shimmering light combined to form waves of erupting blue waves.

Time passes slowly, the sun gradually rises in the sky, the clouds are stained with red, and the new moon seems to be weak. After the last blue wave surges, the sun disperses the clouds and the new moon at the same time.

The panting and moaning that had been lingering in the Sultan's palace suddenly stopped. The maids waiting outside the palace were finally able to relax a little. They suddenly collapsed on the ground, with sporadic water stains on the blankets.

"Well, Your Majesty, don't make trouble."

Anna, who was still asleep, slapped Selim's mischievous hand away, making Sultan a little embarrassed.

The Sultan walked to the window, opened the curtains, and the sun shone into the room, immediately brightening the dark room. Emperor Sai looked around, looked silently for a while, and then looked away.

I have to say that the fighting was too fierce last night.

It is comparable to when Mehmet II conquered Constantinople.

Our army first blocked the Bosporus and cut off the enemy's retreat.

Then lay logs, add lubricating oil, and sail directly on dry land, preparing for a simultaneous attack on land and water.

Then the Urban cannon faced off against the Theodosian city wall, tearing down the opposing city defense.

The two armies fought fiercely for a long time, and both sides suffered heavy losses. In the end, the great Ottoman Sultan defeated the enemy through a small door.

Simply the greatest conquest in history.

As for the messy room, Emperor Sai pretended not to see it. In order to defeat the enemy, this was a necessary payment.

After wandering for a while, Emperor Sai immediately called the maid outside to come in and clean up. As for the Sultan himself, he returned to the bed and fell asleep again.

You ask why, and you’re right to ask. The Sultan is not only a believer in Allah, but also a believer in Hui Lung Awami.

Selim and Anna lay down to sleep, but Ludovica, who came in to clean up, couldn't sleep.

“Why are there so many places?”

The girl's cheeks turned red and she muttered in a voice that only she could hear.

"What's this?"

The girl suddenly felt a sticky feeling on her palms. She was a little confused because she was obviously wearing gloves.

The girl looked carefully and saw that the glove had been scratched at some point, and some white stuff stuck to the palm of her hand.

She took off her gloves and smelled them, immediately confirming her suspicion.

"These two are too careless."

The girl looked at the white liquid on her hand while imagining the scene of the Sultan and His Highness Anna, and she was a little stunned.

She moved her hands slowly, the blush on her face getting worse.

Emperor Sai, who had just fallen asleep at this time, was gradually awakened by the increasingly loud noise. He rubbed his eyes. The scene in front of him was unforgettable. He immediately understood that this little girl must have taken too much hallucinogens.

The Sultan immediately called the maids outside and asked them to deal with it, and at the same time moved Anna to another room.

After twisting his aching body, Emperor Sai left the Topkapi Palace immediately. He had to talk to his confidants about something.

In the small manor, Isaac Pasha, Yusuf Pasha, Haji Pasha and Muhammad-Ali Pasha had already arrived.

As for why Selim didn't look for someone else, it was because this matter was not a glorious thing. As early as the promulgation of the "Imperial Edict" in January, after arranging for Muhammad Ali Pasha to go to Syria, he had an idea .

The Kurds who have been entrenched in southeastern Anatolia must be dealt with. The "Imperial Edict" in January actually has little influence on this group of people, because in the history of the Ottoman Empire, this group of people has always been semi-autonomous. state.

They have good relations with many people in the empire, so the meeting must not be expanded.

"Your Majesty, what do you think? The Kurds are not easy to deal with."

Yusuf Pasha had not yet resigned as Grand Vizier at this time, so naturally he was the first to speak.

They were originally remnants of historical problems, which were also related to the empire's old rival, the Safavid dynasty.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Safavid dynasty and the empire fought against each other;

First of all, most Kurdish Muslims are Sunni and have a natural affinity with the Ottoman Empire, which also believes in Sunnis, and are willing to support the Ottoman Empire against the Shia Safavid Persians.

Secondly, the empire had strong economic and military power.

In 1514, the empire completely defeated the Persians at the Battle of Chaldiran, and from then on most of the Kurds became imperial subjects.

Of course, Imperial rule over the Kurdish region was more tolerant and liberal than that of the Safavid Padishah.

But this tolerance is not without consequences. "

Yusuf was still talking.

Emperor Sai had already begun to complain in his heart.

"So this is the fault of our ancestor, the Sultan with the same name as this emperor, Selim the Cruel I."

Yusuf said.

“Your ancestor, the Great Sultan Selim I the Ruthless, took the advice of Hakim Idris, a high-ranking official in Betiris and a Kurd.

The advantage was that the empire built a strong barrier against the Persians on its eastern border.

In 1639, Sultan Murad IV and Padishah Abbas II of Safavid Persia signed an agreement to divide the border between the two countries, and the border line ran across the northern part of the Kurdish region.

This agreement marked the Persians' recognition of Ottoman dominance over most of the Kurdish region. The agreement remained in force until the 19th century

The downside was that the empire established sixteen local Kurdish principalities with autonomous status. "

Isaac Pasha said immediately.

“But this move inadvertently created a system of local self-government.

Under this system, the Kurdish Emir Principality had a government structure similar to that of the central empire, maintained administrative independence, and was entitled to retain most tax revenues.

Although they had to provide part of the army for the Sultan.

What is even more intolerable is that these principalities also have judicial power and can appoint qadi (judges), and these emirs have the final power of adjudication.

It is not that the imperial government has not thought about solving these Kurds, but the reason why Gaomen finally tolerated the semi-independent status of these Kurdish principalities was actually out of helplessness.

These principalities are located in the eastern border areas of the empire. Once a rebellion occurs, the imperial army will be beyond their reach. In addition, the local mountains, deep ravines, and dangerous terrain make it difficult to manage directly.

Therefore, the imperial government hopes to exchange political decentralization for the loyalty of the Kurds.

But autonomy has strengthened the Kurds' sense of independence, making any attempt to curtail their political privileges met with fierce opposition.

Autonomy also consolidates the vested interests of the Kurdish aristocracy, who are unwilling to suffer losses in economic interests and social status by abolishing autonomy.

This is also the reason why your "Imperial Edict" basically doesn't work for them. "

After hearing this, Emperor Cyril wanted to dig the graves of these sultans more and more. The religious and ethnic issues in the Balkans were already a headache, but he didn't expect that these people also had a lot of trouble in Anatolia.

The Cold Ones and the Kurds were comfortable, but Emperor Cyprus was not. It was almost the 19th century, and there was still such a force so close to Constantiniya. Emperor Cypriot would never be able to swallow this sigh of relief.

Moreover, the strategy in the Arabian region also requires a stable rear area. This is not unfounded.

In later generations, there are many provinces with concentrated Kurdish populations in southeastern Turkey (such as Mardin, Bingol and Kars Provinces).

In Iraq, it mainly refers to the Kurdish Autonomous Region consisting of the three northern provinces of Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah.

In Iran, it includes the Kurdish province in the northwest and its adjacent areas, as well as areas near the border with Turkey in northeastern Syria.

In Syria, it mainly includes Kurdah in the northwest and Hasakah in the northeast. The Kurdish regions of various countries are actually connected together to form the Greater Kurdish Region.

In the Ottoman Empire, these places are connected except for Iran. It would be interesting if the 50,000-strong army of Emperor Cyprus went out to fight, and the Kurds waved their flags and directly rose up, cutting off Emperor Cypriot's logistics.

After the death of Emperor Cypriot, it can be said that some families in Constantiniya were happy and some were sad.

First, Topkapi Palace had to cry for a while, and then a group of guys whose interests were harmed in the reform started laughing, and the two sides probably got into a fight.

Now that Emperor Sai has been defeated and the Guards have been cleared, Haji Pasha is expected to be able to control the situation.

Then the new order faction and the conservative faction will negotiate together, and it is estimated that Mahmoud or Mustafa will have to be promoted, and the reforms will probably be greatly compromised.

Of course, these are not the key. The key is that Emperor Sai is dead.

It is simply that the late emperor failed to start his business half way through. No, it should be that the late emperor collapsed suddenly before enjoying the blessings.

This was something Emperor Sai could not tolerate.

The question arises, is it possible for the Kurds to rebel? If this Emperor Sai was his true self, he would definitely not have thought of it.

It's a pity that this one is a time traveler, so there is nothing we can do.

As far as Selim knew, the reforms of the Ottoman Empire in the original time and space were severely opposed in the Kurdish region.

The reasons why the Kurds oppose the reform come from three aspects: political, economic and religious: tribal forces are unwilling to lose their vested political and economic interests; religious circles are opposed to the adoption of Western laws and systems.

The most extreme way to oppose reform is to rebel.

In 1806, the Baban Principality first launched a rebellion.

The Principality of Baban was established in the 16th century and was very active in the 17th and 18th centuries, annexing large areas of surrounding land.

The direct cause of this rebellion was the death of Ibrahim Pasha Beibei, the founder and tribal leader of Sulaymaniyah Province in Iraq, the leader of the Baban Principality.

In line with the principle of taking advantage of your illness to kill you, the Gaomen decided to take the opportunity to completely control this area, so they abolished the practice of electing the emir from the Baban tribe and forcibly appointed people from other tribes to succeed Ibrahim's position.

This move was strongly opposed by Ibrahim's nephew Abdulrahman Pasha, who began to attack government forces and pro-government Kurdish tribes.

The war lasted for nearly three years. In 1808, Abdulrahman was defeated and fled to Iran. After quelling the rebellion in the Baban Principality, the Ottoman Empire continued to strengthen its control over the Kurdish region and strengthen its central authority.

In 1826, Sultan Mahmud II (the five-year-old younger brother of the Great), who was determined to reform, stepped up his offensive in the Kurdish region.

Mahmoud II's pressing step by step made the Kurdish nobles panic. They decided to take preemptive strikes and launched rebellions in southern Turkey, Riwanduz, Erbil and Mosul in Iraq.

In 1833, Emir Muhammad of the Principality of Solan led 10,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry from Riwanduz, charging all the way and controlling almost the entire southern Kurdish region. However, he failed to form an alliance with the Emir of the Principality of Potan. alliance.

Mahmoud II attached great importance to this rebellion and deployed troops from Hivas, Mosul and Baghdad to suppress it. The fighting was extremely fierce.

The Ottoman army failed at first and was forced to retreat. Emir Muhammad's ambitions grew and he attempted to pursue the victory and capture the Kurdish region of Iran in one fell swoop.

In order to win over the Iranian government to deal with the Ottoman Empire, Emir Muhammad announced that he recognized the sovereignty of Persia, but the Persian government has not provided him with any help.

As for why, it’s because the Persian Qajar Dynasty is simply the Persian version of the Qing Dynasty, far inferior to the Ottoman Empire.

In this case, Emir Mohammed had to continue to fight alone, but this man was indeed awesome. He defeated the government forces in Riwanduz.

At this critical juncture, the Ottoman government had no choice but to appeal to people's religious sentiments and persuaded a Kurdish mullah named Mullah Khati to issue a "fetwa" (religious decree) prohibiting the Kurds from opposing the Caliphate.

Soon support for Emir Muhammad dwindled and the rebels dispersed without a fight.

Emir Muhammad was forced to surrender and was then taken to Istanbul to be summoned by Mahmud II. A year later, he was assassinated by Mahmud II's men.

Such a tribe cannot be tolerated by Emperor Sai. He just asked Muhammad Ali to bring the Sipaxi cavalry over in advance. This time, he will fight with words first. If the fight with words fails, he will fight with force. He must let the Kurds see the Sudan's strength. The sharpness of the knife is detrimental.

"Your Majesty, how do you want to solve it?"

Haji Pasha asked at this time.