The Crescent of the Sultan

Chapter 143: Dealing with the Counterfeit Prince and the Shias (2-in-1)

A carpet is big enough to hold two Sufis, but the world is not big enough to hold two kings.

——Selim I the Ruthless

Judging from the propaganda in the past two days, the people of the Ottoman Empire did not have any obvious resistance to these new bills. This is enough.

After the wedding banquet, Selim instructed Mahand and the Ulama to make final changes to the adjusted Islamic law.

The headscarf law cannot be abolished. Today Emperor Cypriot asked Muslims to take off their headscarves. Maybe tomorrow Muslims will take off not only Emperor Cypriot's crown, but their heads may also be taken away.

This legal preaching is to slightly loosen the restrictions on Islam in order to further promote the reform plan of Emperor Cyprus.

The days passed, and it was the end of 1790.

Sudan looked at the autumn leaves outside the window and couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

A few days ago, the royal doctor had already received the news that Anna was pregnant. For some reason, when he heard about this, Selim felt that his connection with the world was getting deeper and deeper.

The child still in Anna's belly is like a link between Selim and the world.

Sultan was thinking about his future child when Paul's voice came from outside the door.

"Your Majesty, a descendant of the Safavid dynasty has been found. Do you want to receive him now?"

"Bring it in."

Selim said calmly.

Looking at the young man who cautiously poked his head in from the door, he couldn't help but look at this so-called descendant of the Safavid dynasty found by Justinian.

His appearance is not outstanding, he is of a relatively average level, and his figure is quite tall.

After casually looking at it for a few times, Selim lost interest and then asked calmly.

"You are sure that you are a descendant of the Safi family, the son of Ismail III, the rightful Padishah of Persia, the king of all kings of Iran."

The young man's face looked a little pale, but he still answered firmly.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the great Ottoman Sultan, Caliph of the Islamic world, Lord of the Two Holy Mosques.

I am the last bloodline of the Safi family, Ismaili-Safi.

Muhammad Qajar killed his father and all the descendants of the Safi family. Only I escaped.

All this is because I have a loyal servant who helped me escape from Persia and came here to seek your help.

But he unfortunately passed away on the road. "

Selim did not listen carefully to what this so-called descendant of the Safavid dynasty said. After all, the Ottoman Empire just needed an excuse.

As for whether this Safavid descendant is real, as far as the information given by Justinian is concerned, it is most likely false.

To be honest, Justinian didn't know where he got such a thing.

This guy might as well make up a servant to follow the prince to escape, but it turns out that the prince is going to defect to the Ottoman Empire Sultan. In order to make a career, the servant decisively kills the prince and replaces him.

Emperor Sai was willing to use him for this story.

"Well, if it is, then so be it.

Go get some information about the Persian court and learn the history of the Safi family, so that you can use it in your subsequent expedition against Persia.

Remember, be rigorous, understand? "

The Ismail nodded vigorously and was immediately led out by Paul.

Selim picked up the information on the desk and couldn't help but start thinking about the plan for the Great Expedition.

According to common sense, winter is not suitable for sending troops.

Because of the geographical environment in the Mediterranean region, between the Ottoman Empire and Persia, although the climate is relatively mild throughout the year, military operations can be carried out most of the time without obvious seasonal restrictions.

There are exceptions to this rule during winter, when the area can experience snowfall and severe weather conditions, causing some strategic constraints.

Therefore, every war between the Ottoman Empire and Persia was chosen at the right time.

These military operations generally take place in the dry seasons of summer and early autumn. During this period, the weather is relatively stable and the ground is drier, so transportation and military movement capabilities are better.

By the way, Selim I, the ruthless Ottoman Empire, defeated Ismail, the founding monarch of the Safavid dynasty, in the Battle of Chaldiran in August 1514.

The latter almost collapsed after suffering this major blow and eventually died.

But from Selim's point of view, this was entirely Ismail's fault.

This man started an army at the age of 12, unified Persia and leveled the two rivers at the age of 22. It can be said that he was the proudest man in the world.

However, the smooth sailing of unification made Ismail a little arrogant.

Where does this arrogance manifest itself?

After Ismail eliminated the Aries Dynasty in 1505, he had three main threats left: the Ottoman Empire in the west, the Uzbeks in the northeast, and the Portuguese colonists who invaded the Hormuz Islands in the south.

Among them, the Uzbeks, in particular, took the initiative to challenge Ismaili.

The Uzbeks who emerged in the Transoxiana region were originally a nomadic tribe on the steppes. Their leader, Shaibani Khan, was eager to conquer the remaining heritage of the Timurid Empire in Khorasan.

In 1506, the ruler of Khorasan, Hassan Bekhara, a descendant of Timur, died. Several of his sons had internal strife. The Uzbeks were able to invade Khorasan and control most of the area, including Mashkha. Germany, Tus and Herat were therefore bordering the Safavid dynasty.

In 1509, Shaibani Khan sent troops to attack Kerman through the Kavir Desert, looting and massacring them.

Because Ismail was busy suppressing the war in Shirfan, he had no choice but to compromise temporarily and write a letter to show friendship.

But this was regarded as weak by Shaibani Khan, and he wrote a very threatening and insulting reply to Ismaili, along with a begging stick and a begging bowl (a begging tool commonly used by Sufi dervishes). Tools), indicating that Ismail should remember the original occupation of his fathers, go back to beg for penance, and intensify the harassment of the south.

This completely angered Ismail. After the west was stabilized, Ismail decisively sent troops to Khorasan and provided asylum to Badi Orzaman, the son and successor of Hassan Beqara.

In November 1510, Ismail gathered an army from all over the country, totaling 17,000 men.

The army quickly captured Tus and Mashhad and advanced towards Herat.

Shaibani decisively retreated into Mulu City to hold on.

Shaibani's choice was correct. Ismail sent troops in a hurry, not expecting that the Uzbeks would avoid fighting. Therefore, although Mulu City was surrounded, they did not prepare enough siege equipment to attack the city.

Outside the city, Uzbek tribal reinforcements continued to gather and expanded to 28,000 people.

In order to force Shaibani to fight, Ismail decided to adopt Shaibani's approach. He wrote a letter to Shaibani, saying that he was about to return to the country to suppress the rebellions in Azerbaijan and Diyarbakir, and asked Shaibani to continue hiding in the city until he had dealt with the rebels. Come back and take care of him.

Ismail, on the other hand, had his "retreating" troops burn all the old tents in the camp.

An elite group of 300 red-headed cavalry led by Emil Berg Muslu was stationed near the burned camp. (The Safavid Order wears a red hat as a symbol)

This small group continued to conduct lightning raids and then feigned retreat. Shabani and his army fell into a trap and pursued the Safavid army. Ismaili had already prepared a trap for Shabani.

He organized his troops into a horseshoe formation, and the decoy squad led the unsuspecting Shaybani army into the encirclement.

Ismail provided all the troops with torches dipped in oil and lit them simultaneously. The sudden light of fire caused panic among the Uzbeks. Ismail took the lead and led the red-headed cavalry to launch an assault on the Uzbeks in the encirclement.

Nearly 10,000 Uzbek soldiers died in the battle, and Shaibani himself also died in the battle.

This war allowed Ismail to spend 10 years building an empire that basically encompassed the entire Iran, South Caucasus, Mesopotamia, Eastern Anatolia and Khorasan.

He has reached the peak of his life. As we all know, behind the peak is usually an abyss.

After the war, Shaibani's body was cut up by the Ismailis: the skin from the head was peeled off in pieces, stuffed with straw, and given to his "friend" in Constantinople, the Ottoman Sultan Bayez. II, both sides had planned to attack the Safavid dynasty (it was this incident that triggered the rage of Selim I, who was still a prince at the time, and became the source of his hatred of Ismail).

However, Ismail had no idea that the future Ottoman Sultan would hate him so much.

He was still savoring his victory. The skull of Shaibani Khan was made into a wine cup inlaid with gems by Ismail, which became his collection; the limbs were dismembered and paraded around the four borders of Persia as a token of appreciation. The Uzbek threat has been removed.

After that, Ismail conquered Mulu and Herat and controlled the entire Khorasan. As the second city directly under the royal family in the empire, Herat became the center of the Khorasan Province, and the "Pearl of Khorasan" was able to shine again.

Not only war, Ismail also engaged in political agitation.

On the Turkish-Iranian border, Transcaucasus and Azerbaijan, a large number of Turkmens who tended to be Safavid Shia maintained contact with Ismail I, and the Safavid dynasty had also been inciting Shia followers in these areas He killed Sunnis and even launched a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire, which completely angered Selim I.

The Sultan recalled the Battle of Chaldiran, although in his heart he did not feel that Selim I was really his ancestor.

However, this kind of glory is still worthy of nostalgia. The Sultan does not care, but the people have to.

In addition, Selim I's treatment of the Shiites was something that Emperor Sai needed to avoid.

Historically, in order to curb the momentum of rebellion in the empire and maintain the stability of the empire, Selim I immediately took many harsh measures.

This "cold man" ordered the massacre of Shias, and those who were not executed were branded and exiled to Europe.

This is what Emperor Sai needs to avoid in particular, because in his view, this is completely a way to discredit himself. Although it was useless to blacken the Ottoman Empire in that era, it was still strong after all.

But if you look at the entire Battle of Chaldiran, you will find that Selim I's methods were too rough.

This battle was just a small-scale battle at the beginning, because Ismaili I had been retreating, using the tactics of retreating as the enemy advanced and clearing the country with strong walls. This made Selim I, who was unable to catch the main force of the Ismaili army for a decisive battle, very angry.

The strong walls and clear fields also meant that although the Ottomans continued to advance closer to the front line, logistical supplies became increasingly difficult, because the supply cities and villages along the way were all demolished by the old fox Ismail I, while the Ottoman supply lines were Getting longer and longer.

In such a critical moment, it depends on the "Cold One". He directly uses the trick of attacking the enemy to save him, and orders the army to approach the capital of the Safavid Empire - Tabriz!

Sure enough, this move worked. The Ottomans who arrived in Tabriz in August 1514 forced Ismail with no way to retreat. Ismail had no choice but to fight Selim, and this was Chardiran. battle.

Let us return to July 1514, when Selim I the Cruel reorganized his army. The army totaled 120,000 people, including infantry, cavalry and artillery. It is worth mentioning that at this time, the Ottoman army had already It was equipped with muskets, and brought 200 cannons and 100 mortars.

These hot weapons eventually became key props that determined the direction of the battle, and also announced the end of the traditional cold weapon era in which "cavalry was king."

By August 22, after a long march of more than 1,000 miles, the Ottoman army finally arrived at Chaldiran in northwest Azerbaijan, heading straight for Tabriz.

At this time, Ismail I personally led 60,000 tribal cavalry to stand ready after clearing the country for a long time. This cavalry regiment followed him in the south and north, conquered the east and west, made great achievements in battle, accumulated countless experience, and was among the trump cards. The trump card, the best among the best, and the basis for Ismail I to conquer all directions!

However, due to the technological limitations of the regional environment at that time, the Safavid army was only equipped with backward weapons such as bows, arrows, and spears. It had not even seen muskets and artillery like those in the Ottoman army. Therefore, in terms of combat weapons In terms of equipment, the Safavid army was inferior.

However, the cavalry of the Safavid dynasty had two experienced commanders, namely the governor of Diyarbakır, Muhammad Khan Ustajiru and Nur Ali Khalifah, and the army was led by the Persian Shah Ismail. Yi Yi personally led it.

When the battle officially started on August 23, two commanders of the Safavid army suggested to Ismail I: take advantage of the fact that the Ottoman army had come from afar and had not yet established a stable foothold, and immediately launched a fierce attack, specifically to wait for work to attack the troops who were tired from the long march. The Ottomans, in order to prevent the Ottoman artillery from exerting its power and make up for their own disadvantages in weapons and equipment.

No matter from which point of view, these are quite correct suggestions, but unfortunately, all these originally correct suggestions were rejected by Ismail I, and even the outstanding campaign commander was ridiculed by his superiors. Durmish Khan Samrul even advised Isma'il to wait until the enemy forces were deployed before launching an attack.

Ismail I, who had been fighting for half his life, really accepted Durmish. sweat. Samru's advice and said: "I am not a robber, whatever God has ordained will happen."

As a result, the Safavid Empire's only advantage, which was waiting for work, was handed over to others because of Ismaili I's pretentiousness, which ultimately led to a great defeat.

But is it possible for Ismail to win if he attacks first?

It is very possible, because the Ottoman army at this time was already exhausted after a long period of Ismaili clearing the country. If they attacked suddenly, this army would probably collapse.

The problem of Selim I was exposed here. His logistics was quite fragile.

The question is, what does this have to do with the treatment of Shias?

Of course there is. If Emperor Sai were to handle it, he would not massacre the Shias at all, but would conscript them.

You said that this group of people is prone to rebellion. Haha, the Turkmen princes dare to cause trouble in the Ottoman Empire, but these civilians do not.

The "ruthless ones" can allocate a small number of troops to guard them and force these Shia believers to participate in logistics and transportation. If they run out of food, they can also learn from Qin Zongquan. This is no more economical than massacre.

Of course, Emperor Sai would definitely not do this in this great expedition. After all, Emperor Sai came from the civilized world. How could he learn from the Qin Zongquan? At most, he would let these Shia believers contract the infrastructure and large-scale construction in the eastern part of the empire to their death. Expeditionary Logistics.

The falsified prince will endorse it. How can one Persian have two orthodox ones?

Sultan smiled and began to look forward to it.

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